“Only two people in the world have access to the vault door. The first being the mawhger behind it all, but getting their cooperation would be very impossible without revealing our other hands. However, the second is much more reachable: a maintenance worker who comes to check on things whenever something goes wrong.”
“His job is simple, whenever an alert goes off that something in the system has tripped or is faulty, he schedules a visit, walks inside the vault door, and checks a panel right there along the wall to make sure everything is running fine. He then leaves within minutes, and the door is closed again.”
“There are a few reasons he might make a trip, but the easiest is if the power goes out. So I went ahead and made the power blink there this morning, and our dear mechanic has already scheduled an appointment for tonight. When the door opens at the exact designated time, nothing will trigger, and you’ll be able to enter the vault
“We thought about using my mother’s power to force him to comply and open the door, but that’s a lot more handling and variables than we want to deal with. So Valen’s already secured him. He’s comatose and captive, so when needed, you’ll use his limp body to get inside.”
“But once you’re in, the hard part isn’t over. I mentioned the panel is just inside the door, so there’s no real reason for the technician to go beyond a few steps, and it’s designed as such. Basically, there’s a very tight space where you’re allowed to walk freely. Fortunately, there’s no weight sensors or cameras pointing right at that spot, meaning you can stand there forever, or you could if not for the next issue”
“The big caveat is again the door. It is designed to close again after ten minutes with no way to open it from the inside. Apparently the maintenance man’s inspection only takes about five, so he’d have no reason to dally for so long, and there’s a bonging timer warning him, and now you, of the limit.”
“If the door closes, and anyone’s still inside, they will surely die very quickly due to the lack of ventilation. Effectively meaning that once you make it in, there’s a ten minute timer to make it back outside.”
“So in summation, to get the toy, you have to open the glass without cutting or breaking it, go through lasers both ways without touching them or triggering the weight sensors, all without being seen by the cameras or the Fiend sensors. And to get inside, you have to open the door using our captured friend which will only open at the exact designated time. And once you’re in, you only have ten minutes.”
“To even get to that point, you have to make it to the door without being noticed by or killing any guards. There are two stationed right at the door, so you’d have to subdue at least them without killing them, and make sure you do so within the one-hour radio check window.”
“Sounds simple, doesn’t it? So now let’s discuss the plan.”
◆◆◆
“Damn that Draz!” Krayat actually screamed as soon as they’d been teleported to the staging point of their heist. Phon had told them she’d be moving them atop a windmill near the vault they were going to rob, but instead, the trio of Krayat, Whill, and Valen all appeared about two lages in the air.
It seemed there’d been a passing skycraft flying over the area, and The Vixen hadn’t been able to resist picking the funniest option—for her, at least as she watched the chaos from the comfort of home. The three Fiends had been teleported to the bottom of the skycraft and were now freefalling towards Rathe.
Whill made the first move, using his Curse to pull the two women towards him, wrapping an arm around each one. “I can save us when we get closer!” The Deterrent exclaimed, though he didn’t sound extremely confident in himself. “But uhhhh… at this speed, I’ll rip right out of my clothes and slam into the ground! Don’t know if I’ll be able to hold you both, either, without breaking your ribs!”
Upon hearing that, Krayat chose to recuse herself from the equation. She compressed herself down to her usual hand with an eyeball on the back that latched onto Whill’s arm. The thief then crawled down the man’s sleeve over to his chest pocket. From there, she shrunk further into just an eyeball and sprouted an ear, slipping into the clothing.
Whill then shifted his arms, grabbing Valen with both, now carrying her like a bride. “That helps, but we’re still going too fast!”
“I can slow us down!” The Bloodletter screamed back. The sound of glass shattering briefly cut through the torrent of wind and eggplant-colored blood swirled around them. Once Valen could grab full control, the blood flew beneath their feet and semi-solidified.
Whill’s butt hit the firm blood at a steep angle, and his backside began sliding against it. Valen had to concentrate hard, continuously moving the blood down at a similar rate of their descent, shifting the blood at the back that they’d already crossed over and returning it to the front.
The woman had created a perpetual slide with a slight angle that steadily slowed their descent. As they continued towards the ground, she raised the angle slightly to slow them down even more, but didn’t do too much at once to avoid any rash injuries. Once they were descending at a much more reasonable pace, however, the ride almost became pleasant, like something out of a waterpark, just far more dangerous.
“I can see the windmill!” The Deterrent shouted again, lowering his voice halfway through upon realizing how loud he was being now that the wind was reduced. And with them getting closer to their target, they couldn’t afford to be caught so early into the heist—before they’d even made it to the starting line. Fortunately, it was the dark of night, so the guards wouldn’t see the Fiends soaring from the sky down their magic blood slide.
“We’re slow enough,” Whill confirmed. “Just get us over it and drop us. I’ll land us safely!”
Valen did as instructed, and even though the man was more confident in his words now, it didn’t hide the panic in his face as soon as the blood vanished, retreating back into one of The Bloodletter’s empty vials. And the woman wasn’t exactly comforted watching his fear as they plummeted once more, refusing to look down at the ground herself.
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But Whill’s face eased up as their speed slowed, catching them with his power and steadily lowering them down to the top of the windmill. Hell, by the end, his face almost looked gallant. It was nothing that would make the shipping obsessed woman fall for him, but she had a brief musing that maybe for once he deserved to be the protagonist of a story.
Whill did actually appear quite a bit in Fiend fan fiction, but as a side or gag character. He was usually tragically killed off or made the butt of the joke so that the focal points of the story could be boosted. Never once had Valen seen a story with the man actually as the hero or main love interest. But now the gears were starting to turn in her mind.
“Well we didn’t die immediately, so it’s a start,” Krayat stretched as she returned to her full body. “Now let’s see how these gadgets work.” She pulled a small, extendable scope out of her pocket, along with her phone, and began scouting the area.
“So I wasn’t really expecting it to be a farm,” Whill pointed out as he joined the scouting with his bare eyes. “I guess Phon did say all the guards were in disguise, but I don’t know, didn’t guess they’d be farmers. In my head, I suppose it was construction or an office complex.”
“What offices have windmills?” Valen retorted, but she scanned around herself, taken in by the scenery. “What kind of farm is this anyways.”
“Beans,” Krayat gave a short answer but then elaborated. “Basically every kind of bean you can think of. It’s a surprisingly efficient farm too, and it uses ex-convicts for its labor. That bastard probably bought a pre-existing farm and converted it into this nightmarish holding cell for my beloved, all to torment me.”
“See that barn over there,” the woman continued, pointing off into the darkness at an inconspicuous barn that was illuminated by just a few lights. “That’s the vault.”
“Huh,” Whill was simultaneously disappointed and impressed. “This really isn’t how I pictured this grand heist, but it makes sense, I suppose. Definitely would never think there’s something valuable in there, which would make it a great place to hide something. And you're right, I think I see those two guards the boss mentioned.”
“Yes, check the map on your phones,” Krayat gave new orders. “The scope that she had made for me marks the guards I scout and puts them on the map. I think I’ve just about got the entire area covered.”
Valen leant over the edge of the windmill, comparing a dot that was moving on her phone to a tractor that was driving rather close by. “Guessing the moving dots are people actually working. We shouldn’t target them, or the others might be suspicious if the machines stop moving. The ones standing still are likely those actively on guard duty. We should remove all the ones between here and the vault door.”
The Bloodletter then reached into her bag. Instead of pulling out another vial of blood, she instead retrieved a smaller pouch and handed it over to Whill. The man opened it up curiously and looked inside, pulling out what appeared to be a small green marble. “What are these, exactly?”
“Blood pellets,” Valen answered, unphased. “So I can use just a small dose of blood instead of wasting an entire vial. These are Drim Drazahs. I’ll use them to knock out the guards. And I do have an air pistol to shoot them, but my aim isn’t great. So do you think you can make the shots, Mr. Ponde?”
“Yeah, let me take care of this.” The man pointed his thumb at himself with pride. “As long as I can see them, I can hit them. Straight shots are my specialty. Uhh, Ms. Krayat, or thief lady, whatever you want to be called, could you please let me know when a guard is clear and no one is looking at them. Once they’re down, I’ll bring them back here too.”
“Just Krayat is fine,” The Burglar insisted. She then began scouting the guard closest to them. “Clear!” she let out a restrained shout when the time was right.
Whill had placed the pellet in the palm of his hand, holding it against his skin with his Curse and aiming his arm at the guard. The man propelled the shot forward, intentionally missing the guard, instead hitting the ground just beneath their feet.
A fungus immediately grew out of the splatter of green blood and exploded into spores that wafted at the guard’s face. In just a second, the guard collapsed, but the blood then sprouted vines to catch and bind them before they hit the ground with a thud. Once Krayat gave the all-clear again, Whill used his power to pull the guard up to the top of the windmill.
Ruby blood from Rishaki immediately wrapped around the victim, creating a stasis coffin, meaning they wouldn’t wake up even once the effect from the spores waned. Valen then opened a portal using Roque’s blood, storing the coffin inside. She placed it next to the one already there, holding the unconscious maintenance worker.
“Ugh, this next one’s through the windmill blades,” Whill complained as he lined up the shot. “But I can do it!” He didn’t do it, the pellet slamming and then splattering over one of the windmill fans. “Okay, that was a mulligan, but now I’ve got the timing. Let’s try again!”
He nailed it on the second shot, and the guard was debilitated and extracted in seconds, but the windmill blades became a problem again. Whill had to suspend the guard for a second, waiting for the right timing, praying that no one noticed the floating body. He didn’t want to rush it, doubting that hitting the windmill would kill the guard, but it’d be just plain stupid if that’s how the heist failed. So he waited for the right moment and secured the guard successfully.
“You two are more competent then you look,” the thief offered a pittance of backhanded praise once the path had been cleared. “We even have some time to spare before the door will open.”
So the group waited around, watching the area to see if anyone would come to check up on the guards they’d already captured—someone else they’d need to subdue—but no one ever did. They’d started their assault right after the hourly radio check, and the door would open right at the half-hour, so they were comfortable within the window.
“What is this orb doing here?” The Burglar mentioned suddenly as they were lounging around, ready to strike down the floating ball that had flown near her face.
“Oh, that’s one of Chorus’ cameras,” Valen spoke up. “I guess they sent one to record us. It’s nothing to worry about really, and you get used to it. I hadn’t even realized one was around until you said something.”
“Fine then, I will leave it be,” the thief mentioned, but then looked right at the orb’s lens. “But don’t take this as consent for me to be shown, not that I’m sure it matters to you anyways.”
Whill, on the other hand, welcomed their intrusive voyeur, and began diving in front of the camera, trying to be included in as many angles as possible. Eventually, the orb got fed up with his antics and flew away to get some more establishing shots.
Then when the time got down to a few minutes from when the door could be opened, the heist crew finally made their move. Krayat returned to Whill’s pocket just to make things easier and the man hoisted Valen back up into his arms. The Bloodletter then shrouded them in Rezin’s blood, making them effectively invisible.
While they would probably be fine since the line of guards had been removed, it still might have caught some eyes seeing a few Fiends floating through the air. Whill jumped off the windmill but didn’t fall at all, and he slowly hovered his way over to the vault door, above the rows of beans sprawled beneath them.
Once they made it there, Krayat did another quick scouting of the area to confirm no one could see them from any angle. When she was certain, she gave the all clear, and Valen pulled out their unconscious maintenance worker. With Whill’s help, the two of them lurched the comatose man upright and pried his eye open for the retinal scanner.
The vault door lurched open right on time, and the heist had officially begun.