Chapter 30: I’m taken

" Wee-ew! Wee-ew!!!" Sounds of alarms echo through the building, interrupting Alexander's fascination of the statue displayed in front of us.

" Eh? That was quick." Alexander frowns slightly.

" It's okay, we can continue viewing the art for another 10 minutes." I pat his head to console him. He's interested in the art of this world, but the alarms rang earlier than we thought they would.

Nick speed walks from across the hall towards us. He whispers urgently, " Hey! Why didn't you guys listen to me?"

" It wasn't us." Alexander shakes his head.

Nick pauses, glancing at the upper floors. " Then, it was either Riley or Sophia."

" Let's check on Riley first." Alexander offers seeing that Nick wanted to go there first.

Nick nods, agreeing. Discreetly, the three of us make our way up the stairs as the people below panic. After the alarms blared its guts out, metal gates came down covering the perimeter of the glass walls, trapping all that's within inside the building.

As there were people running in all directions, we didn't attract too much attention as we headed towards where Riley was earlier.

When we got there, Riley was in a corner struggling to change out of her skin tight black outfit and into a waiters outfit.

" Damn it..." Nick grumbles as he runs up to the painting that was on the floor. It was the one she wanted to steal. As the paintings frame was huge, Alexander stepped up to help him hang it back on the wall.

" Huh?! You guys..." Noticing us, Riley exclaims with a guilty expression.

Nick ignores her as he turns to me. " Oliver, is there any way you can get that rope down?"

The rope Riley used to get down got caught in the metal sheets that covered the few meters of the glass ceiling above us. Half of the rope was covered in the space between the ceiling and the metal sheet as it was dragged along by the metal. The problem was that the other half of the rope was dangling down. Riley couldn't pull it down either.

We need to get rid of traces of a theft, so that they can think it's a false alarm and lower their guards. Then we can escape.

" Yeah." Nonchalantly, I nod. I lean down and pull up the pants on my right leg. I pull out a dagger I had strapped under my sock.

" You won't be able to cut it. That rope is twisted polypropylene wrapped in nitrile." Riley anxiously bites her nail.

Ignoring the troublesome kid, I head towards the rope.

Standing three feet away from it, I take my stance. Right leg back, waist turned to the right before springing back straight as my arm flings the dagger.

The dagger leaves an arc in its path before connecting with the rope. Cleanly cutting it off, without marking the wall. Both the rope and my dagger fall down. I pick up my small knife as Nick goes to quickly grab the rope and throw in the janitor closet down the hall.

With the scene all cleaned up, we head down stairs.

Nick sighs heavily, and grabs champagne off the plate held by a waiter walking by.

We huddle in a crowed corner to fit in while secretly whispering to each other.

" Don't drink too much, we need to get out of here first." Alexander whispers patting Nick's shoulder.

" It's fine, my brain works better tipsy." Nick grumbles like an alcoholic.

Someone from in front the crowd calls out to us. " Well, well, if it isn't Nick Edger. What are you doing here?" A bald middle aged man walks up to Nick.

I pull Alexander by the waist and step away from them. Riley does the same, she turns around and goes around calming the guests as the other servers were doing.

" Fuck." Nick swears under his breath before turning to face his arch nemesis. " John Hoffman. What are you doing here?" Nick grunts.

" I got called in by the company, since it's a big day and all. What I'm curious about is, why are you here?" John Hoffman tries to gauge out Nicks intentions for coming to the museum opening of a company that fired him, unfairly at that.

" A friend asked me to come on their behalf." Nick continues gulping his drink.

" Really now? Who is it?"

" An owner of one of the exhibits here."

" Hm, I see. Well, it was nice seeing you, but I have some work to do." John glances at his watch before walking away.

Once we leaves our close premises, we get closer to Nick.

" Nick, who was that?" Riley asks, face full of curiosity.

" An insurance investigator." Nick gulps the last of his drink before turning to me. " Why'd you jump away when he came?"

" We've crossed paths before."

John Hoffman had chased after Oliver on a mission of his a couple years ago, to retrieve a painting for his employer. The insurance company John works at had plans for that painting, so they sent John to guard it. Of course, Oliver succeeded, but since then John would chase after Oliver.

He didn't recognize me right now because Oliver always wore a mask during his missions.

" Ladies and gentleman, please calm down! Our proficient guards are handling the situation as we speak. We haven't found any indications of theft, we are assuming it's a false alarm as the alarms are new additions." The director of the museum calms down the crowd.

We had to wait about an hour before they decided to let us out.

At the gates they checked everyone's IDs.

" Do y'all have?" Nick raises his driver's license to finish the latter part of his question.

" Yeah." Alexander and I nod.

" Yup." Riley takes out her ID, with a fake name and her picture on it.

" Then we're all set, let's go." Nick steps forward.

" Wait, what about Sophia?"

" Ah, she already left earlier." Nick waves his hand dismissing Riley's worry.

" Please step forward." A security guard comes up to us.

Nick hands him his ID before he places his watch, phone, and car keys in a bucket. He then steps through the metal detector.

Riley goes next, and passes without an issue. Seems her ID was legitimate.

Alexander goes next. As he was putting his wallet in the bucket John Hoffman comes and starts hovering.

He watches as Alexander passed without issue. How irksome.

I step forward when it's my turn. I hand the guard my ID. John takes a look over the guards shoulder.

" Oliver Black, Huh?"

" Do you need something?"

" Not really, but I am required to follow up on all suspicions."

" So you see me as someone suspicious, how entertaining. Please, do go on." I chuckle. I can't stop every cannon fodder from seeking death.

" Why are you here?"

" I'm on a date." I answer dully as I take off my silver watch.

" With who?" He glances at Riley, seeing that she was waiting for me next to Alexander. Nicks left already, he's waiting at his car to talk to us.

" My lover." I drop my stuff in the bucket the guards holding. I step into the detector, ignoring John's annoying presence.

However, the man didn't get the hint.

" I feel like we've meet before, have we?" He muses following along.

" If that's your catchphrase for flirting then it's horribly outdated. And I'm taken." I stare down at him before turning to the guard. " My stuff."

The guard stares back and forth between his flustered superior and me. He complies with my order.

I take my watch and turn my back on them. I exit the building without any more interference.

" Oliver!" Alexander waves me over. He says when I reach him, " Nick said to meet up at his place."

" I'll meet you guys there, I need to go get my things from the rooftop." Riley side hugs Alexander before running off.

" Tsk." I click my tongue in annoyance.

" Hahaha, she's just a kid. Come on." Alexander appeases me with a kiss on my cheek, before dragging me to our car.