“Make your ambition plan out the plan, not the plan planning out the ambition.”
* Ali, the author
Once again I sat in the cell, drip drip drip… empty cells around me, just like my heart: caged and hallow. The ground is shattered and the walls are filled with cracks, just like my core. My eyes can barely see, for the moonlight that peers into my cell are faint, just like my resolve.
I recall those cold twenty-one days that have passed since I have known Paul Heethen at the restaurant. Those three weeks weren’t just for me to sit at the palace and wait idly, no… far from it. The true reason we had breakfast with Mr. Heethen was for Waldo to acquire information on a new job. A masquerade was being held by a fellow named James Shamilton, apparently, at some point during the party, he had planned to display his most extravagant purchase: The Star of Neptune. As the name suggests, a blue sapphire gem shaped like a star, he was just asking for it to be stolen, and well… that's exactly what we did. Of course, Waldo didn’t let me be part of the scene without training; alas, many painful hours have been spent in that department… We first started with the basics: how to pickpocket on the fly, gather information on the go, and train my body physically to be agile, flexible, and graceful. I managed to pick up on that stuff pretty quick, but right when I was about to master the basics Waldo begin to teach me how to become a gentleman.
“Now remember Edward, stand proud, your stance must emit an aura of confidence”
I stood up tall and stiffened my back, then I slowly relaxed it, asserting my body.
“Yes perfect! If you want to add a little spice to it, you may put your hand into your pocket”
“Now, I have taught you how to gather information by listening to conversations, but as a gentleman thief, you must also converse. To do so, you must understand the target, are they male? Female? Give them a small smile and lock eyes with them but make sure you do not hold it for long. Understand?”
I nod my head
“Good, when you speak, make sure to have a soft-spoken tone and in a way charm them, make them open up to you and make you seem trustworthy, but remember speak softly, especially when they have caught on. Never I mean never forget how to act like a gentleman. I want you to make this not a mask, but almost your true personality”
To make it my true personality, huh
“Now then, let us move on to other matters”
Waldo and I spent the rest of those days covering the other qualities of being a phantom thief to name a few: being a master of disguise, acting without being violent, reflexes training, memory training, and finally having over 5 backup plans. Of course, there were much more preparations that were held, but I do not want to you bore you with those details, friend. Instead, I will let you witness it.
On January 17 one week before the heist, Waldo sents out his notice to Mr. Shamiliton it reads, “On January 24 10: 35 pm I Arshan Yuured will steal your treasure that you will display”
And so the destined day finally arrived, it is 7:22 pm Waldo, Paul, and I are standing on the roof of a building a few houses down from Shamilton’s party.
“Alright, I have a clear view of everything from here, did you bring the equipment, Edward?” asks Paul
I nodded my head and I pulled out a sack filled with many infiltration tools consisting of wheel cutters, lock picks, grappling hooks, rope, dummies, masks, and finally a calling card.
“Gentleman, I think this is the perfect opportunity to showcase my latest invention, The Phantom Talkie” Stated Waldo with joy.
To think that Waldo has the talent to engineer such game-changing equipment is a little bit frightening. He clips the Phantom Talkie to my collar and handed me a small device he called an “earpiece”
“This type of technology will not be known to the public for at least 90 years! I say those long hours I spent creating this shall be fruitful tonight” boasted Waldo.
“Now then let us quickly discuss the plan…”
***
15 minutes later
Walking down the street to Shamilton’s party felt like the longest walk of my life, every step I took made my heart beat louder and louder. I can almost feel my heart will pop out and explode from my ears, but then all my feelings of worry have been washed away when I saw the shadowy figure leaping from roof to roof, that's when my heart started to beat with a different tempo, that same tempo I felt that night, a giant smirk has been engraved on my face and before I knew it I was already at the doorstep of Shamilton with my white masquerade feathery mask on. A man with a guest list approaches me,
“Evening, can I see your invitation?”
Paul and I spent hours in the hideout perfecting the forgery of the invitation, the naked eye cannot differentiate between the real one and the one we fabricated.
However, the ma raised his right eyebrow, and an almost shocked expression formed on his face.
“Mr. Dalton Jackson? I thought you couldn’t make it due to your cold?”
I felt my heart drop to my stomach, and cold sweat ran down my face, I wanted to take a deep breath and let out a sigh, I wanted a hole to appear and sallow me hole, I wanted to just bolt out there but I knew if I do that Waldo’s plan will fall to pieces.
“To be frank with you, I am merely attending the party for a short time to”
I lean in a little and whisper,
“A business opportunity between Shamlton and me. I am just trying to power through this cold for his sake”
“Uh Huh, well can you please take off your mask? We do this with everyone before they enter”
Even though he didn’t buy the lie, I still have one more ace up my sleeve,
“Ahaha! Of course, give me a second, by the way, can you check the time for me?”
He looks down at his watch using that moment I turn my head and picked green moss from the entrance of the outer side of the door and from my right pocket I pulled out a miniature glass water bottle, splashed my finger a bit, and took off my mask
“It is 7:4- OH! Um, well it is my p-pleasure to welcome y-you Mr. Jackson! Oh and uh here take this tissue, you have some… green mucus, hope you get better”
“Thank you” I grabbed the tissue and headed into the party, I almost started to laugh my worry away due to the fact of how detailed we made the mask of Dalton Jackson.
Inside the mansion, hundreds of people have gathered here even so the place is spacious enough for each person to claim their personal space. Not only is everyone wearing a masque, but the dim lighting of the chandler cannot even reflect on the crimson walls to provide enough lighting to see someone’s face fully. The perfect environment for a thief. However, I didn’t have time to spare exploring the party I was already late meeting with Waldo. Heading to the bathroom I eavesdropped on a conversation between 3 gentlemen and a lady, “you know, Mr. Shamilton acts like he isn’t worried about Arshan Yuured but that is just a facade, he hired over 50 private guards here today” says the tallest man
“Oh my! Do you really think we will see that thief today?” said the lady
I walked away with a smile on my face.
I entered the bathroom, locking the door behind me I started to unscrew the vent then I begin speaking into the Phantom Talkie
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“This is Phantom speaking, route 3 A/2 has been secured”
“Arshan speaking, great work Phantom I will be there in just a second”
A few moments later I feel vibrations emitting from the vents above me and I see a red figure drop down and land in front of me without venting any noise. He stands up and brushes off “the dust” as I hand him his gear.
He wraps his hat, cloak, and suit with a black clothing material then he too puts on the mask of Dalton.
“Currently it is 8:05, I still have 2 hours and 30 minutes before my actual appearance. I will use that time to scout the area and even possibly acquire new information on our next job. You did well” stated Waldo as he placed his arm on my shoulder squeezing it a bit.
“Leave the rest to me now”
“I am grateful to your kind words but preceded with caution. I heard that there are disguised guards in between the crowd, 50 I believe” I murmured
Waldo smiles and heads out of the bathroom, I soon follow shortly.
An hour and thirty minutes have passed, and I haven’t heard anything from Waldo or Paul nor have I gained new information on potential jobs or the party itself. Deciding to take a breather I sat on a black leather chair and drank a glass of red wine a server has offered. Shamilton has spent an ungodly amount of money to run this party. Private chefs from France, Italy, and Spain. Dancers and entertainers roam around the place keeping the guest busy. They have even set up plays at the back of the house. Oh and most importantly snacks! It was my first time trying out octopus. It had an interesting texture that is, to say the least. To cease my boredom, I head over to the refreshment table with my empty glass of wine. As I was pouring myself a glass, in almost a purposeful manner someone bumped into me causing me to spill the wine on myself. It was a blonde woman wearing a white feathery mask decorated with small plastic jewels. Her light blue eyes gazed dead at my soul, yet her red lips had a friendly expression. Even so, I was still furious by the fact she stained my clothes; alas, staying true to my word I had to keep my gentlemanly persona.
“Oh! I deeply apo-” knowing what she wanted to say I cut her off immediately
“Don’t fret, tis but a stain, milady”
A grabbed her white-gloved hand in order to perform a simple illusion trick of pulling a tissue from her wrist. Using a little bit of “magic” I wiped off the red stain
“Imppresive!” she said in awe. In response, I did a mere friendly laugh
“Now if you will excuse me” I turn around with my new cup of wine and begin to head back to my seat, however, I am grabbed and pulled by the arm as I turn around I see the woman again in my face.
“Where are you heading off to? Let us have a little chat, or can I not take you away?”
I was against the idea, but I pulled up my sleeve and looked at my watch realizing I still have another fifty minutes to kill.
“I have time, let us go sit down”
Sitting across from each other we begin to chat
“So, where did you learn that?”
Her question left me quite puzzled,
“Pardon?”
“Where did you learn magic, and more importantly, why”
“Ah… well, my grandfather is a magician, he traveled around the world performing shows for a living, and he was quite successful. By the time my brother and I were born he retired, so he had a lot of time to spare with us. He showed us tricks, illusions, and other magic things. I still remember how much they boggled my mind, but I never cared to actually learn them; however, unlike me, my brother made it his one and only ambition: to become a magician. He spent hours every day begging his grandfather to teach him, but he kept on repeating the phrase, a magician doesn’t reveal his secret, hahaha. But he didn’t give up, his begging went to observing, he watches the tricks observing everything. In order to deepen his understanding of being a magician, he started researching how the human mind works. Eventually, with the help of his grandfather he sat off his magician career and his first debut occurred at Small London Theater”
I paused… then I swallowed hard knowing well what she is going to ask. Leaning forward, her white legs crossed and eyes filled with innocence she asked, “then what happened next?”
I let out a long sigh and dropped the pitch of my voice,
“His performance was great, the crowd was loving it, I was loving it, and most importantly he was loving it. Alas, everything must come to an end even people’s lives. Getting to his final act… amidst the crowd gunshots were going off, and a bullet hit my brother. I rushed over to him as quickly as possible. As I was rushing to him I saw him standing in a pool of red which made me feel… it made me feel like the light I was once yearning for to always stay by my side, to guide me… slip away from my fingers. When I finally reached him I grabbed him and rushed to the closest hospital… his body was already getting cold. However, I managed to get him to see a doctor in time… or so I thought. The doctor said the bullet hit his right lung… there was a good chance of saving him, but even if they did he wouldn’t have that much time to live anyway… so he requested to see me, he wanted me to attend his first and final magic show. When I entered the room… his skin was pale and his eyes were almost lifeless… But I can swear they flickered a little bit with life when I sat down next to him. He turned his head to me and held out his hand telling me to hold it. Even on his deathbed, he still acted like my older brother… H-he only had one wish and that was to have the same ambition of learning magic as he did…”
From her blue eyes, I see a teardrop falls
“I- am sorry for your lost I-”
“If you will excuse me now, I have some matters to attend to now”
“I-I see… well before you leave. You could put out one show for this party”
“Hmm?”
“Mr. Shamilton has this room that oversees this floor, filled to the brim with special equipment that I think will make a beautiful show… Farewell now”
I look down at my watch and see I still have 30 minutes to spare, so I head to the room the lady mentioned
“Interesting…”
******
25 minutes later
Everyone is gathered at the center of the hall where everyone is glaring at Mr. Shamlitons giant blue star. However, that is not why everyone’s attention is captured. No, they are waiting for him. The room is dead silent
Tick
Tick
Tick
Cutting the silence is Mr. Shamiltons roaring voice, “It seems that Arshan Yuured is not a man of his word, heh, a thief is still a thief after all”
“My my, I find your words to be quite hurtful, Mr. Shamilton”
There he was, standing in his red and black outfit just like that night.
“GET HIM!”
As the rumors said, around fifty men took off their masks, and even open fire at him, but that did not shake the crowd or Arshan. Arshan leaps from the ceiling and dives, dodging all the bullets. Before this scene, Arshan had set up a lens that magnifies the moonlight to the point it is blinding. That is why he is moving without fear. Like a gentle breeze, Arshan landed on the top of the tree causing the leaves to rustle a little bit as he plucked out the giant star from it.
“You know Mr. Shamilton, this was too easy, I think it was actually my easiest job to the point it was quite boring. But I will acknowledge your effort, take this memento”
He flicks a card at shamilton, which lands on the ground. Shamilton is left with his mouth wide open while Arshan laughs as he launches his grappling hook to the ceiling and begins ascending
But…
“PHANTOM DO YOU HEAR ME?? PHANTOM!!”
“What is the matter?”
“FINALLY I CAN REACH YOU! LISTEN ARSHAN AND YOU ARE IN DANGER, THE POLICE HAVE SURROUNDED THE BUILDING ENTIRELY THEY ARE CURRENTLY MARCHING IN, LEAVE N-”
BANG!
Arshan’s rope has been shot causing him to fall
“NO!”
A man with brown hair walks up to Arshan,
“Ace detective Maximums Kogoro,” said the man as he takes out his credentials while aiming his gun with the other hand
“Arshan Yuured the gentleman thief, you are under arrest, give up the star afterward keep your hands in the air”
Arshan throws the star near Shamilton’s feet, and slowly rises his arms
“Time to show reveal your true self”
It was just like before… when I couldn’t do anything when that guiding light slips away from me again… but I heard his voice…
At that moment I heard my brother's voice telling me to do it… SHOUTING TO ME THAT IT IS TIME!
“....ITSSSS SHOWTIME!!!”
The room becomes pitch black
And there I was standing on top of a chandelier while the stage lights shined upon me… wearing Arshan Yuured’s outfit… I take off my hat and bow a little, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tonight's magic show. Now… as you can see my left hand is empty, but if I do this” I swipe my left hand with my right hand
“Woah… The Star of Neptune appeared from thin air” shouted one of the guests as he pointed me
I grinned as I threw The Star of Neptune at the ground making it shatter.
This made the crowd say things like, “WHAT!” “THE STAR!!” “ IMPOSSIBLE!” However, the priceless reaction of Shamilton dropping to the floor with tears in his eyes brought joy to me. Unxedpictly however I heard the word, “BRAVO!” I look down trying to locate where I heard the words then I saw her, the blonde lady. She stood there smiling while clapping her hands.
Heh
“Not impressed ace detective Kogoro?”
“The only amusement I will get is seeing your rotting corpse in jail!”
He fired his gun at me, but only for it to hit the glass, causing it to shatter, from which I appear somewhere else
“My, it seems you lose your temper easy, ace detective Kogoro”
“Where the hell are you hiding!!??”
“Heh… HA HAHAHAHAHA! Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is the night that shall be the debut of a rivalry…. Arshan Yuured the thief against Ace detective Kogoro!”
Kogoro keeps on firing at me, but all he hits is glass… until he is finally out of ammo…
The crowd screams a scream I didn’t expect, a scream that you only hear at a magic show…
“Well well well… now is the time ladies and gentlemen that you see my final act of the night! MY ESCAPE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA”
The room goes pitch black once again, I grab Arshan and head out from the roof
The lights turn on again as I am standing at the skylight casting my shadow on the crowd
“Till we meet again…”