The Thief | Teen Ink

The Thief

May 22, 2009
By Jeff O&#39Brien BRONZE, Montclair, New Jersey
Jeff O&#39Brien BRONZE, Montclair, New Jersey
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment

It was a cool summer night in Paris and the streets had finally settled down. I was sitting in my room drawing; if anyone had seen me drawing and they didn’t know who I was or what I did, they would’ve thought I was an architect. But, if anyone knew who I was or what I did and they saw me, they would know what I was up to. I was drawing the blueprints of Musee De Louvre, the museum in Paris that had many famous paintings, but one that I was especially interested in was the Mona Lisa. For those of you who don’t know me, though, it still isn’t clear what I do, but I’m going to tell you, I am a thief!

I am sitting in my room drawing blueprints because I need to find a way in to the museum in which I can steal the Mona Lisa. I study the blueprints all night; I find sewers that lead to different sections of the museum that are too far from the Mona Lisa.

“ARGHH! I have had it with this insane plan! I can’t take it anymore, I could get arrested and I have spent the all night with this! This is my FIRST big steal and it will be my LAST!” I exclaimed to myself.

My nerves were starting to get to me; this job was way too hard and complicated. But I traveled all the way out here and I had a team counting on me. I pulled out the blueprints again and looked at it closer than I ever had. I studied each corner and cracks in the walls, until I finally found a narrow passageway that brought me into the section that the Mona Lisa was in. It was so narrow that I wouldn’t be able through it; I had to get a drill that would widen the passageway. I called my team, which consisted of a Brit, a Frenchman, an Australian, and a Nigerian. I was the American in the team and also the head of the team.

“Guys! I need a drill to get me into the museum. Can you guys get one by tomorrow?” I exclaimed into my phone.

“Are you crazy, Chap?” shouted the Brit.

“No, Monsieur,” said the Frenchman.
“Easily done, Mate!” cheered the Australian.
“Alright. Thank you guys. Don’t forget the meeting place, men!” I commanded.
The next day, I walked through the streets of Paris taking in every little thing. From the Eiffel Tower to the small bricks in every building. I knew it would be the last time I ever set foot in this beautiful city, unless I decided not to go through with the plan. But I would never do that. I ate a great lunch of snails and crepes; it was possibly one of the most delicious meals I ever had. For dinner, I had delicious spaghetti with meat sauce, but I couldn’t finish it because I was too nervous. That night, my crew and I had rented a cleaning service van that we all met up in. We drove slowly through the streets and most of my crew was anxious, except for me, I had finally calmed myself; the plan would work. We crawled to the parking lot at which point we started to set up.
“I’m not so sure about this, guys. I think I might quit.” whined the Australian.

“Be quiet! And get to work!” I shouted.

“No. I quit!” the Australian cried out.

“Fine. I’m not going to try to stop you, but you can’t tell anyone of this operation.” I commanded.
“O…”
BAM
“Don’t worry he won’t be telling anyone!” said the Brit roughly.
The Australian lay dead with one bullet in his back. The Brit had shot him, but the crew and I knew that we didn’t have time to worry about it. So I got into my outfit and the Nigerian acquired the surveillance of the museum. The Frenchman got all tools out and prepared everything, and finally the Brit was just sitting there. He had a simple job, to shoot anyone that tried to enter the museum.
I took the drill from the Frenchman, and all my other tools. The Frenchman opened a sewer entry for me. I started to climb down the ladder into the sewer. I got down and started making my way to the spot where I had to drill. After about 30 minutes of walking, I finally got to where I needed to be.
Once there I started to drill. The hole I was making was very small and was hard for me to get through, but eventually I made it to the G section of the museum, the section that the Mona Lisa was in. Now I relied completely on my Nigerian. I was blind, it was too dark to see anything, and I couldn’t take night-vision goggles with me because it would have been too much weight. So, my Nigerian contacted me through a small earpiece and told me where to go; it was a closed line that only the Nigerian and I could hear through.
“Take a right, then a left, next go straight, and take your third right,” ordered the Nigerian.
“Okay, I have to ask you a question. Why do you steal?” I asked.
“Well it isn’t for the thrill…probably for my family. I am a poor man without this. I need to provide for my family. What about you, boss?” responded the Nigerian.
“Probably because I have nobody to love and I find this can distract me. I have arrived!” I whispered.
The room that the Mona Lisa was in was always lit. I took my spray and slowly I sprayed the room. Hundreds of red laser lines appeared. I had expected this, so it didn’t come as a surprise. I examined each line, and I found a way through the lasers, but it didn’t matter. The Nigerian had hacked into the security system already and could do whatever he wanted with the cameras, guards, etc.
“Turn them off please.” I requested.
“You got it boss!” said the Nigerian.
And indeed, within seconds, the lasers shut off. I started to walk toward the painting, the room was incredible and it was truly great. It had a dome ceiling that had been painted by Pablo Picasso, a sculpture by Michelangelo, and off course what I had come for, the Mona Lisa, I took my crowbar, and I started to crack the frame open. I finally got it open and I took the painting out and rolled it up and put it in a canister that I had. I had got it, now I just had to get out. I started to walk to the exit, when it hit me.
Maybe I’m not a criminal. Maybe I’m just trying to find love; maybe the Nigerian is just doing what he can to provide for his family. Maybe the Frenchman doesn’t want to steal, maybe he has to, but I am pretty sure the Brit is corrupt. That is when I realized this had to end tonight. So I started talking to the Nigerian about my new plan.
“Hey, there is a new plan. Make sure you and the French are ready to go, but make sure the Brit is off-guard. I can provide you with money, we are not stealing the Mona Lisa, but don’t tell the Brit.” I barked into the earpiece.
“Okay sir. But how will we know when to go?” questioned the Nigerian.
“Trust me, you’ll know. Just be outside waiting with nothing.” I ordered.
So I returned the Mona Lisa to its place and I put the frame back on. Then I dialed three simple digits, 9-1-1; my new plan had just started.
“9-1-1, what is your emergency?” asked the woman in French.
“I saw a man with a gun outside the Musee De Louvre…I’m scared.” I whined.
“We are on our way; we will be there in five minutes.” She said and then hung up.
Now I was racing against the clock, I had a small amount of c-4 with me. I took half of it and blew through the wall that was when the alarm sounded. Now I started sprinting to the nearest car, I hotwired it and started driving to where my crew was. As I was driving I knew there would be a large stone wall right before I got to my crew was. So I started preparing the rest of the c-4. I drove toward the wall and then I threw the rest of the c-4 at the wall. BOOOOOM. The Brit was surprised, the police were coming, and I was stopping. The Nigerian and the Frenchman started running toward the car and so did the Brit, but the Brit didn’t get there in time because he wasn’t ready to go. I started driving and the Brit started shooting, but the police came and they shoot him down, before he hurt anybody.
We all made it out okay. I slowly pulled up to a 24-hour bank and took all my money out, $350,000,000; all my other small time steals had built up over time. I gave $100,000,000 to the Frenchman and $150,000,000 to the Nigerian, so they could start new lives. I kept $100,000,000 for myself. We didn’t say anything to each other and we departed in separate directions. I never saw them again, but I’m sure they did well. In the end I moved to Rome, and got an apartment there, hoping one day I would find love. But for now I would live life to the fullest.


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