A lone figure stood atop the library, staring at the ocean in the distance. The man was in a white lab coat and took the time to polish his glasses to better enjoy the night sky horizon.
"You're late," the scientist spoke without turning around. Behind him stood a jolly old man in a suit.
"Sorry if I'm not exactly punctual to secret meetings on rooftops in the middle of the night," the man spoke. "Do you have them?"
"Of course, I have them. Just promise me you'll keep them safe, Jon." The scientist picked a silver briefcase off the ground and handed it to his friend.
"You have my word. Will I be seeing you around tomorrow?"
"Sadly no, I'm leaving for the lab first thing in the morning. Besides, you'll be busy welcoming the new students and all. 'Tis the duty of any headmaster."
"Fair enough. I'll keep them safe, Jon, you have my word." The two friends shook hands and went their separate ways. Headmaster Jon let out a deep breath and proceeded to stare out into the distance, enjoying the view his friend had.
"I thought he'd never leave," a robotic voice said nearby.
Jon turned around to find a stranger in all black standing behind him. Jon could not figure out who that stranger was because of a black cloth covering his face.
"Who are you?" the headmaster asked.
"Doesn't matter. Just hand over the briefcase and I'll be on my way."
Jon tightened his grip on the handle of the case and stared down the thief. As an act of self-defense, the brave headmaster reached into his jacket and took out a baton.
"If that's how you want to play it." Jon watched the thief vanish before his very eyes. The grip on his baton vanished, alarming Jon. He turned to see that his weapon was now gone, nowhere to be seen. What Jon felt next was the powerful impact of his baton on the back of his head, knocking him out cold.
"You had every chance to avoid that," the shadowy attacker said, standing over Jon. "Now let's see what we have in here."
After applying a bit of brute force, the thief managed to pop open the briefcase. Sitting pretty in the case was a handful of gemstones, attached to bands and pieces of metal.
"ALERT. YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO HANDLE THIS PARCEL. THIS BRIEFCASE WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN TEN... NINE... EIGHT-"
"Oh no!" The thief shut the case tight, but the countdown continued. In a last-ditch effort to save his life, he chucked the briefcase off the roof of the library.
The prize he had revealed exploded into bits before his very eyes. Thankfully, he was unharmed by the blast.
"There goes that paycheck," the shadowy man sighed. Not looking to stick around any longer, the thief vanished into the night and left headmaster Jon atop the library.
