Lone Wolf

The Theft

Kella hoped her voice sounded calmer than she felt as she greeted the patrol. She didn't know anyone in this unit well, so they didn't notice the unusual flush in her cheeks as they acknowledged her. Her hands smoothed over her blond hair, ensuring that no strands escaped the neat twist worn by all the female staff. She didn't dare walk too quickly, so it took a few minutes to reach her destination. The dry goods warehouse was where most deliveries were stored upon arrival. It also housed all the non-refrigerated food, so it was dangerously close to the bustling kitchen. The only things not stored here were the valuable historical pieces like the one she was about to help steal. Those deliveries were kept near the museum wing in a vault until they could be prepared for display. That vault was where she spent most of her time during the past five years of employment here. Her employer was a collector of fine things, most of which served no purpose other than to show off to guests at his parties. Kella chose a couple of empty storage containers that looked the right size, shoved them onto a large antigrav skid, and headed back out the door. She walked intentionally and crossed her fingers that no one would question her. At the doorway, she came face to face with Chari from housekeeping.  The woman's girth was enough to block even the double wide loading door due to the unwieldy skid Kella had to manage. Chari was talking to a white-uniformed kitchen worker who was obviously itching to make his escape from the conversation. Kella did her best to scoot past without being seen, but there was no avoiding Chari. "Kella, is that you behind that bulky skid! My goodness, where are you off to with that?" The white uniform scurried away.

Kella managed a tight smile. "Yes it's me. There was a big delivery of books and manuscripts today. Mr. Paravyn was anxious for me to look over them as soon as possible." She inched a bit farther into the doorway, but the obstacle blocking the path didn't earn the name Chatty Chari for nothing.

Chari raised her eyebrows. "Another shipment already? I thought you were still cataloguing the ones from last week?"

Kella shifted her feet and stayed as close to the truth as she could. "Oh, I'm still cataloguing all right. I hear this new batch was an unexpected gift from some business associate looking to curry favor. You know how excited the boss gets about his antique reading material, so he's in a pretty good mood this morning. But that also means he's on my case to give him a complete list and detailed condition report in record time, so..."

Chari didn't take the hint. "Ooh, if he's in such a good mood, maybe he'll let the house staff go home early like he did after that doctor gave him good news about the latest clinical trial."

"You never know." Kella let out a nervous laugh, but tension made her voice crack. Her nerves would give her away if she wasn't careful. She also hoped Chari didn't get near enough to Mr. Paravyn to discover his true mood today. Word came late last night that the clinical trial had not gone well after all. Three of the five test subjects suffered massive organ failures and the two survivors developed other unpleasant side effects. Not one had shown signs of the kind of ocular regeneration that was the goal of this new treatment. The black market doctor was returning to the drawing board and Mr. Paravyn would have to rely on the eyes of his staff for the foreseeable future. Chari prattled on, whining about all her usual complaints: her back, her husband, her work. The moment Kella caught sight of a white uniform trying to sneak into the storage room from behind Chari, she called out a "Good morning!" The older man was a veteran of the kitchen staff. He flinched and gave Kella a dirty look as Chari turned her attentions to him. Kella smirked to herself as she swooped out the door with the skid and left the man behind to fend for himself.

No one else stopped her and she carefully steered around each corner until she reached the closet that held what she hoped was her ticket out of here. If it was possible to look bored while concealed behind a helmet and full body armor, the thief did. He snapped to action almost immediately, but she blocked him from leaving the closet. "If I help you get out of here with that thing, you have to take me with you." She squared her shoulders and put as much authority into her voice as she could muster.