Another Day in Paradise

"Can you walk faster?" whispered Rose, a few steps ahead of me in the hallway.

"Give me a break," I said with a sigh.

As soon as we walked out the doors, Rose finished her champagne glass and started to pull clips out of her hair. I opened the automatic car doors and sat down in the driver's seat while she sat beside me.

"Did you get them?" I asked.

"Of course, I did," she replied, taking out her last hair clip.

"Where is it?"

Rose looked at me and pointed at her neck and ears to the most expensive, exquisite jewelry that has ever been in the Fontaine Bijoux Exhibition: the Emerald Jade set. They cost a total of 1.2 billion dollars and have been around since the beginning of the 8th century.

I started the car and quickly left the parking spot while Rose took off her long brunette wig, revealing her short strawberry blonde hair.

"How long until the first checkpoint?" asked Rose.

"About five minutes."

In a matter of seconds, police sirens started to blare behind us.

"Come on. Come on. Come on," I said, driving through a red light and quickly turning right onto a street with a "Do Not Enter" sign.

"Try going onto Lakeland Avenue," instructed Rose. "It gets us back on track."

"I thought I was the driver," I replied, sighing while I followed her suggestion.

"You are. But I'm going to drive after the first stop, and I memorized backup routes just in case you went Louisiana on me."

"It was one time, Rose."

"One time?! You got lost and drunk during our anniversary trip!"

"You're not letting that go, are you?" I exhaled, turning into the Rosewood Mall's parking lot.

"That was a month ago. I'm still processing that."

"Come on, Rose. I was annoyed. There was a casino. I had a nice time, got a bit tipsy, and didn't make it back to the hotel because I passed out."

"You ended up in one of the place's rooms!"

"The manager put me there with the money I had won during one of the games! Plus, there still is money left from those rounds, and I didn't do anything stupid that night," I told her, defending myself while driving into the mall's parking lot.

"Aside from drinking and gambling until you passed out," retorted Rose, stretching her arms out towards me. "Now, can you please stand still for a few seconds while I help you take off your blazer?"

"I'm driving, but I'll try."

"Thank you," she exhaled while her nimble hands took off my blazer and tie and threw them backward. Rose handed me a black leather jacket while I stopped the car.

In seconds, she took a grey hoodie out from underneath her seat and slipped it on. Rose only left the car after pulling her hood over her head to hide the jewelry. We only talked after entering a red Sedan and closing the car's doors.

While Rose turned on the car, I took off my pants, revealing the beach shorts I wore underneath. I unzipped the leather jacket, rolled up my sleeves, and undid the first three buttons of my shirt.

"Different enough?" I asked.

"Yes," said Rose while we left the parking lot. She was expressionless and didn't take her eyes off the road. I sighed deeply before speaking again.

"Come on, Rose. You still didn't let that go?"

"No."

"That was last month, Rose. Plus, I wasn't the only one that had a mishap during that trip," I continued, while she took a right turn.

"I only crashed that rental car because I was looking for you."

"You were in the opposite lane!"

"I got distracted by all of the people in the streets. It was Mardi Gras, after all. But we can't discuss this right now. We need to stay focused, or we won't be able to finish the job and get the money." Rose took a left turn after she finished speaking.

"You're right, Rose. But we need to get passed this issue."

"Agreed," said Rose. "Now, can you help me with this skirt?"

"Sure."

I quickly unzipped the back of the long skirt and pulled it down, revealing short, thin leggings beneath. They were black, the same color as the skirt. Rose turned onto the highway as soon as I finished helping her.

"Do you think we lost them, Liam?" asked Rose.

"I don't hear any sirens."

"Let's hope they don't check the surveillance camera feeds during the next five minutes."

Rose sped up a bit more to buy us some time.

"Do you think Steiner will say anything?" I asked, trying to fill the silence.

"If anything, he'll be impressed that we finished the job faster than he predicted."

At that moment, I started to hear the blaring of police sirens in the distance.

"Are they for us?" asked Rose.

I turned around and saw a black car being pulled over: a black Mazda. The make of the vehicle was identical to our previous one.

"No. Thank goodness you suggested the mid-heist car switch."

"You're welcome. But, just to be safe, I'm taking your leather jacket, and you're putting on the extra hoodie. We can't be recognized during the final step."

"But what about the jewelry?"

"I'll put it in my sneakers."

"That sounds like a good plan."

"I know," replied Rose, with a sly grin on her face. She took the next exit and entered Saugus.

When we arrived at the mall, Rose removed the necklace and earrings before taking off her hoodie. After we both finished changing, and Rose finished hiding the jewelry, we abandoned the red Sedan and walked out of the mall.

Rose tucked some hair behind her ear and started talking to me in French.

"After we finish the job, do you want to get some sushi?"

"Yes. Sometimes your English is so good that I forget your family is originally from France."

"We decided to keep the language in the family. Your French is still pretty reliable," said Rose while we crossed the street.

"I practiced a lot with you during college. If it weren't for that, I would've probably failed the class."

"No, you wouldn't have. You're brilliant, Liam."

"Thank you, Rose. But that still doesn't change the fact that I'm not as linguistically gifted as you," I continued as we took a right turn at the end of the block.

"What are you talking about? You speak Italian and Cantonese."

We entered a grey building before I answered.

"You have a point. But you also speak Spanish, and you're learning German."

"Okay, fine. I surrender," said Rose, while we started climbing up the stairs to the second floor.

I mockingly celebrated while Rose rolled her eyes at me. After reaching the second floor, we opened the door. Seconds later, a group of uniformed policemen ran past us and stormed into the seventh suite. Moments later, the cops took Steiner out of the establishment with his arms cuffed behind his back.

"Those two have the Emerald Jade set! Not me!" yelled Steiner.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"They are Peter Kowalski and Jennifer Miller! Check their IDs!" continued Steiner, desperately trying to take us down with him.

Two of the police officers separated from the group and pat-frisked us.

"May we see your IDs?" asked a female cop, after the men finished checking us for evidence of the jewelry being in our possession.

"Yes," Rose and I said, pulling out our wallets.

"I'm sorry, sir. But these are Rose Elaine Charpentier and Liam Johnson."

"I drove her here to pick up a document that she got translated from French to English," I continued, pointing to suite number four.

"Really?" asked another policeman.

"Yes. It's two recommendation letters from France. I'm applying for a Ph.D. in Linguistics. The professors and doctors I assisted for six months in their research wrote these letters for me. However, they did so in French. Therefore, I had to hire a certified translator."

"Can we come in with you to verify your alibi?" asked the female officer.

"Yes," replied Rose. "Follow me."

After Rose entered the agency with two other police officers, Steiner spat on my shoes.

"You both are liars of the worst kind."

"What makes you think we're lying?" I asked.

Rose emerged with a large, yellow envelope and the two policemen.

"They're telling the truth. These recommendation letters are from France, and she is applying for a Ph.D.," confirmed the female police officer.

"LIARS!" screamed Steiner in anguish.

"Edward Steiner, you are under arrest for the-"

Steiner kicked one of the policemen and tried to run towards Rose and punch her. The female cop grabbed him and continued telling Steiner his Miranda Rights while taking him away.

"We truly apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation. Have a great evening," said one of the policemen before leaving.

"You're welcome, and you too!" replied Rose, after all the cops left.

As soon as everyone left the hallway, we both walked into the translation agency.

"Hi, Nancy. I'm sorry, but I forgot to pick up the receipt."

"Oh, it's right here," she replied, opening up one of her side drawers.

Seconds later, the power went out inside the building.

"The coast is clear. The backup generators will activate in a few seconds. Do you have the set?"

"It's right here," said Rose, quickly taking off her sneakers and giving Nancy the necklace and earrings.

"You both are outstanding. You got rid of my competition and completed the task at hand," said Nancy. She put away the Emerald Jade set into a secret compartment in her bookshelf. "Can you hand me the yellow envelope?"

"Yes," I replied, putting the package on the table.

Nancy put the reward money into the envelope and handed it back to us. The building's power returned as soon as Rose took the yellow package, and I grabbed the receipt and an extra container for the pending dollar pills.

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Davis."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you," she said with a kind smile that could fool any security camera. "Have a great evening."

"You too," said Rose, before we left her establishment 1.2 billion dollars richer than we were that morning.