The Vulture Crown

“Jonny, I need your help, there onto me and I don’t have much time!”

“Don’t worry I’m coming down to your level now.”

“Argh!”

“Marco? Marco are you there?”

“They caught me Jonny! Run!”

2 months earlier

Paris is just the thing I needed after these past few weeks. It is not easy leaving such a high-end job. Here I was thinking that working for the governments secret cooperation would be an interesting line of work. “To a knew life,” I cheered and clinked my glasses together gulping down the rest of my beer.

Loud buzzing reaches my ears. Peering down at my phone an unfamiliar number stares back up at me. Weird, I thought.

“Hello?” I press the cold phone to my ear, waiting for an answer.

“Jonny. For a second there I thought you weren’t gonna pick up.” The voice exclaimed with relief. 

“Freddy? Why are you calling?” I sternly asked, hiding my worry for what I know is coming.

“What? Now that your retired your good friend can’t call you anymore?” Freddy chuckled.

He took my silence as a sign to continue talking.

“Look,” he sighed, “I need your help. It is the only time I’ll ask I swear, I just can’t pull it off myself and you are the only one I know with the skills to help me.”

“Freddy, you know I left that life behind me, and your line of work goes against everything I stand for. The answer is no, and that’s final. I am enjoying these work free days in Paris, not having to constantly look over my shoulder.”

“What if I told you, you would get 18 million dollars out of it?”

I went silent again.

“Jonny, I’m in deep man. I have loan sharks tracking me down as we speak, and I need fifteen million as soon as possible. The Vulture crown is my way out. It is Cleopatras crown, and it is being moved to the Louvre Museum in 2 months. If we put together a small team, we might be able to pull off a smooth heist. The crown is worth ninety million dollars. That money is life changing man, even for you.”

“The Louvre Museum. Freddy that is one of the most heavily guarded museums. How are you planning to pull this off?”

“Don’t worry I have a plan, and an idea of who I am going to recruit to help us out. Meet me at Rue Montorgueil tomorrow morning.”

“See you there.” Ending the call, I head out of the small café, taking in the fresh breeze that softly hits my face as I walk towards my loft across the busy street.

-

There was a sea of people crowding the Rue Montorgueil when I arrived the next morning. Squeezing past the sardine like crowd, I made it to the door of a brown, sixty story brick building. Looking up, the sun glared down back at me, causing me to squint. All those levels and he chose the basement. Scoffing, I walk inside and take the elevator to the bottom level.

The bottom level was dusty and had dark patches of Mold growing on every wall. Paint was peeling from the roof and mice were squeaking from the boards beneath me.

“Jonny, I see you finally made it,” Freddy greeted me.

I was welcomed by three men in orange jump suits sitting hunched over at a big table and Freddy standing at the head of it, a big whiteboard behind him. I cautiously join the men at the table, sitting next to a well-built man with a scar running over his left eye.

“The man you are sitting next to is Marco, to your right is Gregory and across from you is Will. These men are your new heist partners.” Freddy explained.

2 months later

Putting on my new glasses, me, Marco, Will and Gregory all hop into an all-black drive, our fake car almost identical to the real one, transporting the crown. Leaving the garage, we head onto the main road waiting for Freddy to give us the signal to move in. “Switch when you reach the tunnel.” Freddy’s voice crackled through the walkie talkie.

Gregory drove under the bridge cutting the real car off, forcing it into a different lane. Marco and I climb out of the back windows, jumping onto the real car as lightly and as swiftly as possible, without being detected by whoever was inside the car.

Climbing down under the vehicle, we connect our clips to the cars metal, keeping us securely connected. The two cars finally leave the tunnel, and we all hold our breath, waiting to see which car the security follows. After a few minutes, Gregory exits the freeway with the fake car, the security and helicopters follow close behind. They all breathe out in relief. Now for the fun part.

Marco and I climb on the roof of the vehicle, cutting a circular hole into the roof. Once inside I remove the real crown from the bullet proof glass box it is encased in and switch it with the fake crown. At the same time, Marco knocks both guards in the front two seat unconscious and takes control of the car. I hide the crown in Marcos brown bag and throw the unconscious security guards out of the car. Soon enough, we arrive at the Louvre Museum.

The knocked-out security guards cards hang around me and Marco’s necks as we enter the museum’s grounds. Successfully passing security, we leave the car with the locked case and head towards the vault room. Marco passes a smirk to me; we are so close to leaving and getting the money from selling the crown. “I’ll go to the level below and keep an eye out for any security coming up,” Marco informs me as I carefully place the case on the stand. Opening the case, I go to take the crown out, when I hear a faint gunshot.

Static makes it way to my ears and I go to grab my walkie talkie.

“Jonny, I need your help, there onto me and I don’t have much time!” Marco exclaimed with panic.

“Don’t worry I’m coming down to your level now.” I spoke.

“Argh!”

“Marco? Marco are you there?”

“They caught me Jonny! Run!”

I grab my bag and run; however, I am stopped by two large men blocking my exit. I adjust my glasses and make a run for it. I don’t get far though as one of the two men tackle me to the ground, leaving me groaning in pain at his weight on me. They handcuff me and roughly pull me with them towards the police cars waiting for us outside. I look up, making eye contact with a worried Marco, but that is cut short when I am shoved into the backseat of the blue police car.

Arriving at the police station, I am led straight to a small room. A stern officer sits upright in front of me, a file in hand. “We have evidence to put you away for a long time Jonny.” He starts.

I laugh.

“Is something funny? Because as far as we both know, you are being charged on several accounts of theft and burglary. You are facing serious charges.” The officer continuous.

“With what evidence?” I asked.

 “There are several security cameras catching you and your team sneaking past security and bringing in the fake crown. Security’s body cameras also caught you and your men in the act of vandalism and theft in the vans.”

Smirking I said, “But sir, I am not in any of those videos. I am innocent.”

With an unconvinced look, the officer pulled out his device, bringing up the security cameras and body cam videos. To his surprise every video I appeared in, my face was covered by a bright orange light.

“So, I guess I am a free man. No?” I questioned.

Shocked, the officer had no choice but to let me go after realising he had nothing to hold against me. I took my belongings and made my way out of the police station, making a quick pit stop to the evidence room, a smile stretching across my face.

My ringtone catches my attention. Grabbing my phone out of my pocket I answer it.

“Jonny,” Freddy said quietly, “I am sorry, I should not have dragged you into this. I knew the risks, but I still persuaded myself and you that it was going to be a success. I hope you could forgive me; I know you don’t like the idea of doing jail time and neither do I.”

“I forgive you Freddy. You didn’t know any better than the rest of us. Stay safe in there.” I replied.

“Thanks buddy, you too.”

Hanging up, I walked towards my ride, removing my glasses with the connected orange light to them, and hopped onto my motorcycle. A sharp object sat poking out of my bag. I grab it out and my hand comes into contact with the crown. I smirk putting the crown back into my bag.

Marco was too busy doing his own job whilst in the black car, he failed to take notice of what I was doing. I never switched the crowns in the van. I had instead put the fake crown in Marcos’s pouch and poured a liquid I had acquired a month prior to the heist over the real crown, to make it look fake when the officers confiscated it.

After our arrests, they put the fake crown back in the museum and the real crown lay in their evidence room catching dust, whilst waiting for me to come collect it again. 

I drive towards the closest exit out of this city with ninety million dollars sitting in my bag and a newfound sense of freedom.