A New Kind of Criminal (Troyler AU)

Chapter 3: Tyler

Tyler didn’t know what it was, but there was something about that boy that intrigued him. Although, right now, the boy wasn’t his problem. He had more pressing issues.

“I have things to take care of. Zoe?” He asked, signaling her to follow him.

“Right.” He heard her confirm behind him, following as he left the room.

They walked down to the control room in silence, nothing but the sound of their footsteps echoing through the halls to keep them company.

Tyler placed his face in front of the eye recognition sensor, trying not to blink as it flashed a light to read him. This was the only room with this kind of security. The building as a whole did have pretty restrictive security, although they were able to bypass it earlier because of Isabella. The thing was, although they were running a high-tech illegal operation, they did all have to live in this building, and being forced to give your fingerprint to get a bowl of cereal in the morning was kind of a hassle.

This room however, held the core of their operation. All of their databases, security systems, surveillance, weapon storage, pretty much everything important was housed in this room. So, Tyler didn’t feel comfortable just leaving it open to anyone who wandered by.

The metallic door slid open, allowing him and Zoe to enter.

“Okay.” Zoe spoke. “The auction starts in one hour, meaning we have to get dressed, and get the security badges for entrance in that amount of time.”

Tyler nodded to her, already knowing this information. This is why he had left the others to deal with their unexpected guest.

Originally, they were supposed to nab the painting last weekend, giving them plenty of time in between to prepare for it’s sale. Unfortunately, there had been a snag in the plan when the museum decided to randomly reset all their security codes, forcing Isabella and Luca to re-hack the entire system.

Zoe sat down in a chair facing half a dozen monitors, all displaying various projects the techies had been working on. She opened up the blue prints to the building the auction would be housed in tonight, the Winton Hotel. They didn’t expect to need an escape route. If everything went to plan, they would just use the front door.

Zoe however, never took any chances when it came to stuff like this. She kept a hard exterior, shunning most people, but she really did care deep down. If any of them were ever caught, she’d blame herself as the designated master of escape tactics.

Tyler reviewed the plan in his head again as he walked over, painting in hand, to a full set of restoration tools. He may be an art thief, but he had no intention of harming the precious works he stole and sold to the highest bidder. He made sure all the items he ‘collected’ were in pristine condition while they were with him.

As he worked on preserving the painting, he let his mind wander back to Troye.  How did a kid that age end up locked in a museum at midnight? He wondered as well about the infringement on Troye’s record.

Homosexuality was right next to murder on the list of felonies according to the government. Troye’s small infraction must have been a report, most likely with no substantial evidence to convict him with. If there was even a mention of the possibility of some being gay, they were given this type of infraction, put permanently on probation. If an officer had actually caught him, or there had been any hard evidence of his crime, he would surely be imprisoned, or even executed by now.

“Alright,” Zoe said, snapping him out of his train of thought. “Time to costume up.” She was smirking, a sparkle in her eyes. Despite her hatred of people underestimating her due to her femininity, she did love this part of the job. They had to charade as upper class socialites whenever they attended auctions. If you didn’t blend in with your customers, no one wanted to buy.