Jewel Thief

by Rai Huntley

Jewel Thief

The thief sprinted down the bland sterile corridor; her pursuers were gaining and she had no intention of being caught. She rounded the turning to the left, slipping on the well polished floor. Quickly regaining her balance, she headed for the stairwell, half running, half jumping down the steps in her haste. The girl flung herself at the door at the end of the next corridor which slammed shut behind her.

Katya realised her mistake a moment too late. Emerging from the blackness of the night was her most dangerous rival surrounded by his gun wielding lackeys. Better to face the museum guards than these thugs. Something hard connected to her skull and she slumped to the ground unconscious.

Katya woke feeling groggy and with a blinding headache. She had been propped up against a desk and her hands tied behind her to one of its legs. Strangely her legs had been left free and her mouth was not covered; something she'd expect from a fellow jewel thief. It was something she wouldn't hesitate doing to a rival – anything to delay them giving chase and regain the prize. She'd never kill though, it was against anything she believed in. She wasn't some common thief in the business to burgle some random home at the risk of unexpected discovery by the homeowners. She always worked alone, for the thrill she got from obtaining some of the world's most prized and protected treasures: any money she did earn was a (rather hefty) bonus. Joseph Williamson on the other hand wasn't so honourable, being the most feared leader of an infamous thief gang. Joe wouldn't think twice about killing anyone who got in his way. Which is why Katya felt herself extremely lucky to be alive despite being appalled at ending up in this humiliating position as she wrestled with the rope to free herself.

Finally managing to free her hands, Katya rubbed her sore wrists. Reaching up behind her head, she felt for where she'd been hit. A large painful lump had formed under her long black hair, but, the girl sighed with relief, there was no blood. Inspecting her person, Katya wasn't at all surprised to learn her bag of tools along with the rare emerald she'd recently stolen was gone. Just great.

She looked around the room properly then. The room was small, the only lighting coming from a slither of sunlight shining through a tiny grate in the ceiling. There were no doors or windows. The walls appeared to be made out of wood panelling. Other than the desk, the only furniture consisted of a near empty bookcase, an office chair and a filing cabinet. This was clearly someone's office. But where it was, Katya could only imagine.

Katya carefully went over the room looking for an exit and a possible weapon. She wasn't about to let the little fact of being captured get in the way of going after the jewel once more – or her rival. By a cat flap in the right wall, a plate of food had been pushed through the small space. “What sort of game are you playing with me, Joe? A girl could think you want me to escape,” she said aloud. Upon inspection, it was clear the cat flap was far too small to squeeze through. Pushing the chair under the grate in the ceiling, Katya climbed up, but to her disappointment, the ceiling was too high and she noticed the grate couldn't be more than a few inches square. I'm slim, but not that tiny, she groaned to herself.

Temporarily stumped, Katya paid attention to the desk to look for something she could use as a weapon, for defensive purposes if necessary, she reasoned . Finding nothing of importance there, she tried the filing cabinet. The first two drawers were locked, the third contained nothing more than a few scraps of paper and some empty files, the fourth and final drawer, an old desk lamp minus its bulb. This will have to do, she thought as she picked it up. Now all she had to do was find a way out. Placing the lamp on the desk, she walked to the walls and started moving her hands over them feeling for any loose panels. After some probing, one of the panels along the left wall rattled a little. Being unable to remove it, she tried to slide it across – with success. The panel slid along the wall to reveal an opening. Katya grabbed the lamp and went through the gap, being careful to slide the panel back into place before leaving her prison. Now all that was left to do was find Joe and take back that which was rightfully hers.