chapter 1- july 4th (part 2)

“You sure like to keep me waiting.” Katie accused, as Ellie strolled into the fake office.

“Well, you can stop worrying. He just wanted me to eat breakfast in bed. All of the intelligence about Wallis worked like a charm. I guarantee after our dinner date he will be begging for me to be his girlfriend.” Ellie confidently grinned, as she sat down across from Katie. Katie Ford was the mastermind behind the whole plan. While she sat relaxed in her professional office attire, Ellie couldn’t ignore the commanding presence of her teammate. Katie stood at 5’7 and maintained luscious curly black hair. She was slightly thinner than Ellie largely because of her narrow waist and slightly pear shaped frame.

“Good. I’ve got some news myself. I’ve secured a job at the museum and Dana has arrived. I’ve waited for you to get back before we brief her on the heist.” Katie explained, as she hit a button on her phone and a tiny woman wearing thick black framed glasses walked in. She was a short 5’1 brunette, who looked to weigh a miniscule 105lbs.

“Great, a hipster.” Ellie muttered, totally willing to bet that the clothes Dana was wearing came from a thrift store somewhere. She was wearing a pair of large brown boots, jean shorts, and a white tank top with a black lightning bolt logo down the middle under her unbuttoned plaid shirt.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too. Dana Cunningham.” Dana introduced herself, as she shook Ellie’s hand.

“Ellie Mitchel. So, you are the tech? How old are you?” Ellie doubted, as she guessed this girl was a teenager.

“Yeah, I’m 21 and I’ll have you know I’m the best tech on this side of the country. How old are you? Late twenties?” Dana overestimated trying to get a read on the temperament of her future teammate.

“Mid-twenties. 25 if you must know. How do you know Katie?” Ellie questioned, already not liking this girl’s attitude.

“I’ve worked with her before.” Dana shrugged, as she took a seat and quickly spun herself around in the office chair for good measure.

“Everyone has huh?” Ellie rolled her eyes at Dana’s childish mannerisms.

“Excuse me! Are you two ready to go over the plan?” Katie asked, as she shot Ellie a tempered stare.

“Toats! So, what’s the plan this time boss?” Dana smiled, as she leaned back and put her feet on the table.

“You are never going to believe it.” Ellie muttered, as she was still coming to terms with the plan herself.

“It’s a four person job and I’ve already contacted the fourth person. She is on her way.” Katie explained, as she clicked on an overhead projector.

“Who is it?” Dana asked, as her curiosity got the better of her.

“Taylor Lewis.” Katie replied, matter-of-factly.

“Haha, are you kidding me?” Dana laughed, as she took her feet off the table and sat up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ellie asked.

“You already have Ellie. I’ve looked up her shtick. She’d as good a physical specimen that you are going to need for any job. Taylor is exactly the same. Except, how long has it been since she’s pulled a job anyway? A year and a half? She’ll totally be rusty.” Dana explained, as Ellie studied her new teammate.

“Correct as always. Let me explain and then you can voice any doubts. I’ve already paid you handsomely, the least you can do is listen.” Katie bargained, as she pointed to the screen on the wall.

“Go ahead.” Dana muttered, as she leaned back.

“Alright. The plan is to hit the Museum of Arts and Sciences. Now before you start crying, hear me out. There is nothing worth stealing there yet, but there is going to be a special exhibit for Thanksgiving. This exhibit will contain over fifty pearls which are the property of Scineque Industries.” Katie began, as Dana looked pretty serious.

“How much are these pearls worth?” Dana asked, as she looked at the picture of them on the screen.

“A million per pearl.” Ellie smirked, as she actually appreciated how attentive Dana was being.

“What’s so special about them?” Dana shrugged, as she looked to Katie for answers.

“These pearls have historical and cultural value beyond their natural cost. I believe their former owner was the royal family of England. They were originally a gift from Sir Francis Drake during the 1500s. More recently they were donated to a museum in England which eventually ran into significant monetary problems only to be bought out by Scineque Industries.” Katie explained, as she ran through the slides of her presentation.

“This isn’t personal is it? Scineque Industries is one of the world’s largest corporations. They could make life pretty tough for us if they find out who we are.” Dana countered in a serious tone.

“They won’t find out who we are. We are too good. And when the gig is over anyone who is concerned can change their identity for all I care. Everyone I’ve hired for this job has a clean record. So, no worries. Now, the security at the museum during the time the pearls will be there is going to be significant. This is why I am going to act as the insider. I got a job giving tours at the museum. I will become familiar with the layout and security system. What I already know is that they will be setting up laser trip wires, cameras, and even a glass case to protect the pearls. Furthermore, nobody goes into or out of the museum without a full body scan that includes any bags or purses.” Katie explained, as she paused to take a sip of water.

“This sounds like a lot of trouble. How do you plan on pulling it off?” Dana asked.

“This is where I come in.” Ellie elaborated, as she nodded to Katie. “The CEO of Scineque Industries has a son named Wallis. He is a spoiled punk, but Katie has provided me with some personal information you may find very interesting.”

“True. Wallis Scineque is going to be at the event on Thanksgiving and he will be bringing a plus one. The information Ellie is referring to is Wallis’s sexual preferences. He has a thing for assertive blondes, and women who think they are out of his league. Furthermore, he has a sexual fetish which will be very useful for us to take advantage of.” Katie paused, as she looked to Ellie and hesitated.

“Haha, what is it?” Dana pleaded, while looking to Ellie with a smile.

“Don’t look at me. I’m still not happy about it.” Ellie groaned.

“He is what’s called a feeder. He has an increased attraction to women who gain weight. He is particularly fond of very thin women, such as Ellie, who get fat. This works for my plan because the only way to get the pearls out of the museum is inside someone’s stomach.” Katie reluctantly explained.

“Gross.” Dana shook her head.

“More like, clever. Fifty-two pearls, each half the size of golf balls, takes up a lot of space in the human stomach. None of us could currently fit all those pearls safely inside our bellies, but luckily the human belly can stretch quite a bit with practice. Practice that Ellie will get from dating a feeder and going along with every desire he has. The only way to fool the full body scanners is behind a wall of body fat.” Katie finished, as she let Dana take in the plan.

“This could.. work.” Dana nodded the more she thought about it.

“The plan on game day is for Ellie to go to the event as Wallis’s date. I will make sure I am working on that day. I’ll let you and Taylor into the museum and she will shoot me with a stun gun. I’ll wake up twenty minutes later and call the cops. That way my innocence is maintained. In the meantime, Dana, you will disable all of the cameras and laser trip wires from the control room. If there is any security in there Taylor will take care of them. Next, Dana you will guide Taylor through the air vents to the main display room. It will be locked so Taylor will need to drop down from the ceiling, steal the pearls and make her way back to the air vents so she can rendezvous with Ellie in the ladies’ bathroom near the cafeteria. Once there, Taylor will give the pearls to Ellie who will eat them and return to the party like nothing has happened. The police will arrive, search the guests, they won’t find anything and we will all meet back at the safe house late that night to divvy up the take and go our separate ways.” Katie concluded, as she looked to Dana for approval.

“I’m in.” Dana smiled.

“I thought so.” Ellie nodded.

“There is one thing I don’t understand. Ellie, why did you agree to this?” Dana questioned.

“Think about it, 52 million split four ways is 13 million each. And for my part, Katie has promised me 16 million. That’s three million dollars to sit on my ass and get fed and pampered by a man who will worship me for it.” Ellie grinned.

“Whose share of the take is that coming out of? Cause I’m sure not giving up any of my 13 million for Ellie to grow a fat ass.” Dana complained to Katie.

“Calm down. I’ll be giving Ellie 3 million of my take because of the minimal role I will be playing in the actual heist.” Katie explained, as she put Dana’s worried to rest.

“Are you okay with that?” Dana asked Katie.

“Yeah, yeah. Hunky dory. So Ellie, are you ready for your big date tonight?” Katie smiled, as Ellie gave her a confident grin.

“Almost, I was wondering if I could borrow that little white dress you have.” Ellie whispered.

“Are you kidding? It’s too small for you.” Katie refused.

“That’s the point, I want to wear something pure sexy and tight!” Ellie enthused.

“Umm? I’ll go get it. Try not to spill wine on it or something.” Kate relented.