The Joker

9.

(Sorry this took me so long! I've been dealing with the bustle of being back at college. But I think I've finally found time to write, so expect another chapter soon after this one. Don't forget to leave a comment or vote if you're liking this story so far!)

After eating their way through two dozen hot dogs, Peter and Loki had successfully managed to quell their munchies. The remainder of the marijuana had been tossed into a storm drain, as Loki's curiosity had been satisfied and he didn't feel the need to smoke it again.

They spent the rest of the evening reading up on the gold reserve, so that they would be ready for that night. It took some traveling to reach the bank, but they nevertheless showed up at ten minutes until midnight. "Do you see Black Cat?" Loki asked as Peter' suit scanned the structure from the rooftop directly across from it.

Peter shook his head. "No heat signatures other than the dozen or so security guards all hanging out in the basement, where the vault is."

And quite an impressive vault it was, too. There was an elevator dedicated entirely to gold bars that ran from the street level down to it. Peter figured that was their best bet to get down undetected. Elevator shafts were ideal for hiding.

The vault itself bore a ninety-pound, steel cylinder that protected the only entrance to the vault. It was nine feet tall and set into a frame made of concrete and steel. When closed, the 140-ton frame created an airtight, watertight seal that protected the gold inside. Once closed, the cylinder had four holes for four steel rods to be inserted. Every night, the vault was locked, and time clocks were engaged, keeping the vault locked until the next business day.

Around the vault were more concrete walls reinforced by steel, and 24-hour security camera monitoring, as well as motion sensors and armed guards. Suffice to say, it was a VERY difficult place to get into. Peter doubted that would stop Black Cat for more than a minute. "Karen, what's the easiest way in?" he asked the suit.

"It seems one of the office windows on the third floor was left unlocked. You should start there. Engaging retro-reflective panels," Karen instructed calmly.

Peter's body was instantly invisible. "Do you have some sort of cloaking spell or something you can do, Loki?"

Loki snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. "Damn," he swore. "Apparently, that's one of the spells I can no longer perform for some reason." Sighing in annoyance, he kept trying the spell. No dice.

"I can loop the security camera footage, if you would like," Karen offered. "That would make him invisible to those watching. As long as he isn't spotted by guards, he can get in undetected."

"Uh, sure," Peter conceded. "Thanks, Karen."

"My pleasure." There was a beeping, and all of a sudden, security feeds popped up to the left of Peter's eye display. "You can keep watch of the real camera footage here. It should help you figure out where guards might be in relation to you."

"Sounds good," Peter replied. "Hang on to my back, Loki. I'll lower us down to the window."

Together, they hopped from the rooftop. Peter swung them over to the other side, where he landed with his feet firmly stuck to the wall. Peter crept along between the windows until they reached the right office. Silently, he opened the window and pulled himself inside.

Loki climbed from his back. "We're successfully inside, Peter. We just have to make it down to the first floor and find the elevator shaft."

Nodding in agreement, Peter quietly opened the office door and motioned for Loki to step out into the hallway. They slunk along through the darkness, as quietly as cats, until they reached a door at the end of the hall. It led to a stairwell that was normally used for fires and by those who disliked elevators. The problem was that Peter's suit was reading a heat signature inside. It appeared one of the guards had opened a window and was leaning out of it, smoking a cigarette so as not to set off any fire alarms.