Mirror Heist: Triple Trouble.

Submitted into Contest #222 in response to: Write a story that includes someone saying, “You’ve got this.”... view prompt

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Adventure Drama Suspense

Mister Kent and Misses Kent leave the lobby on their way to lunch. They have to go out to lunch since ALL the hotel’s restaurants have been ‘reserved’.

"Okay Laura, Misses Kent is wearing her blue dress with the black ruffles, black Valinto heels and the big black Saint Lauren handbag." George studies Misses Kent's outfit on the hotel lobby camera in the cleaning closet. Mister and Misses Kent walk through the hotel doors, but none of the reception desk sees them. All they see is Mark's card trick. No one is at the reception desk , so they don't feel bad to watch. They don't have to see whom is leaving only whom is approaching the desk.

Laura fumbles through her hotel room closet only two floors down from Mister Kent's Penthouse. 

George has worked in the hotel as a cleaner and took pictures of all the clothes misses Kent has brought on their trip. So now Laura has a total duplicate closet of Misses Kent's outfits, but it was all necessary for the plan... 

"Blue dress with black ruffles. Blue dress with black ruffles." Her shaky breathing and nervous clattering of hangers is audible through her ear piece. 

"Laura, its okay, calm your breathing a bit.

Take deep breaths. You've got this. There is no one in the universe as talented as you.” Mark tries to calm her and whispers to a corner to not look suspicious to his front lobby co-worders.

“We need you like a bear needs tuna!” George chips in. 

“George, grisley bears eat salmon.”

Laura laughs a little. “Okay, you guys have to stick me to salmon tonight when we celebrate.”

“Deal.” Mark whispers. 

Laura starts breathing deeper and slower as if she is about the dive under water. With steadier hands she takes the blue dress with black ruffles from the hanger, puts on the blonde wig over her brown hair and transforms into misses Kent.

"Thank you for the motivation, George, but we rehearsed this so many times I AM Misses Kent by now." Laura takes a deep breath in a slowly breathes it out walking down the hall to the elevator. On the non-luxurious floors there are no cameras. Over the past few months she has rehearsed and rehearsed for this part. Perfect. 

Mark and George has guided and coached her to walk, talk and act like Misses Mary Kent. Finally she gets to be part of something bigger. No longer does she have to do petty crime or side hustles. After this job she can go to Greece like she always dreamed. 

Laura goes down to the lobby and walks confidently to the hotel desk, as Misses Kent would. 

"Good morning, Misses Kent, how can I help you?" Mark beams at their million dollar baby that they have coached for so many months. "Oh, I feel so silly, but I locked myself out of my room. It’s quite a pickle.” She has the accent and tone spot on.

The rest of reception desk gives a quick glance and nod politely to their elite guest. 

“Oh my misses Kent I am so sorry to hear that. Here, I will make you a copy - no problem!”

With a few key strokes and a hotel card the plan is set in motion.

The essence of the plan is for a third party - Laura to get into the room. Of course Mark or George could have done the job, but it would make them obvious suspects. It all comes to the miraculous wonder that Misses Kent ‘herself’ goes into the room and then leaves and is the last person seeing leaving the room on the cameras. If the cameras are disabled in the penthouse the alarm will trip - causing a total lockdown, but that is not all.

Dearest  Carl sits on the penthouse floor guarding the door. Killing him with disabled cameras - big no no. His security smart watch would go off. So removing his bracelet without alarm would also pose a threat. 

The goal is to rise no alarm and have no obvious suspects. 

“Priceless jewels vanish into chin air” sounds a lot better than “Armed robbers steals priceless jewels at luxurious hotel”

Laura sets her well crafted fake Valentino heel into the elevator and as the elevator door closes the real curtain rises. 

The keycard activates access to the penthouse. Walking once again confidently to the door past Carl. He acknowledges her, but does ask why she came back, because usually she does forget things. 

The keycard opens the door and she’s in. For a moment the whole team has a quick sigh of relief, but it’s not over yet.

“George, are you ready?” Mark is playing solitaire on his hotel computer.

“Roger, I am strapped in.” George tugs the ropes one last time to make sure all is secure before he app sales down from the roof to the penthouse.

“Laura you ready?” 

“Yes yes coming” high heels click in the marble floor as she hurries to the bullet proof window to open for George. 

“Yes!” They high five and make their way to the safe. Another option was to app sale from the roof to the pent house, but all glass was bullet proof. To blow up or crack it would once again cause a commotion. So it had to opened from inside. This is where George and Mark decided to get a talented look alike. This is where the plans destiny became final.

George approaches the safe in his hotel cleaning uniforms strapped into the app sailing harness. The fine Italian leather gloves make contact with the safe and a master starts his artistic ritual.

Laura watches in quiet expectations. The gears are slowly and carefully turned. George might not know what fish Gridley bears eat, but at latest he knows how to crack a safe. A mere two three minutes suddenly feels awfully long, but its stopped, with the click of the internal lock opening. George and Laura simultaneously breathe out s sigh of relief. The door is slowly opened and there it is. 

A few of Misses Kent’s favorite Jewels, some of them have historic value, like Elizabeth Tailor’s Emerald ring (Misses Kent’s birthday stone), some of Mister Kent’s watches and cuff-link, cash, Xixi vase from the Qin dynast bought from the auction, Pelikan Souverän M400 Fountai pen, Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Black Rollerball Pen and Pablo Picasso 1931 pencil drawing also bought on auction last week. 

This safe contents all together are more or less 11 million.

The Picasso pencil sketch is forst in tje bag. George  empties the jewelry boxes into the Saint Lauren Sac de Jour tote bag. Laura puts on her gloves and also start helping. Thank goodness Misses Kent loves big handbags! The empty jewelry boxes are neatly put back into the safe. 

The pens, cuff-links and watches leave the safety if their boxes and dive into the handbag. The Vase and the vase has to stay. 

“Holy shit” Mark’s voice shout a whisper over earpieces.

“What?!”

“She’ in the lobby! Guys you have to het out!”

There are three more Jewls left and quickly removes from the boxes and stuffed into the bag.  The sage door is slammed and locked. George runs to the window and Laura closes behind him. 

Almost there final stretch. 

“Guys she’s on her way to the elevator!”

Laura skidded ti the door then gracefully exits in-front  of Carl the security guard. 

Laura pushes her hotel floor button frantically. 

She has to be anywhere below the Pent house before misses Kent sees there is someone where they do not belong. 

“Okay she pressed her button.”

The eke are door opens and its all over. That was too close.

“Good job guys.”

She flops down onto the bed next to the more or less 9 million dollars now minus the vase. 

Suddenly there is a knock at the door. It starless her. All the anxiety us back again. Was she too kate? Did miss Kent see the person on her floor stopped at this one? Is that even possible?

There is a nock again. Yes, it is on her door. The bag is flung to the other side of the bed. A robe is pulled over the dress. The knocking does not stop.

The door is flung open and there stands a uniformed hotel personal.

“Afternoon madam, its check out time.” 

Laura clutches her chest. “Oh, oh ofcourse. I will be right down.”

Now Mark, George and Laura cheers with their champagne glasses.

As promised Laura got her Salmon. Mark chose the lobster and George a big rib eye.

“To the most talented Salmon ever!”

“Thank you guys, I had great coaches.”

November 03, 2023 16:00

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1 comment

Nina H
21:46 Nov 08, 2023

This would make a great movie! Such suspense throughout!!! Clever plot of the look-alike to make the heist! A few typos and grammatical fixes to watch that slipped by I’m sure, but such an engaging story! I could just picture her fancy attire and then the celebration dinner at the end 😄

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