Burgles

Chapter 4

          I wore my cryo suit over my clothes most of the time, but I couldn't do that in Hightown. Everyone was watching. If South Bay bred the strange, Hightown, officially named North Bay, produced the "sophisticated." All who lived or visited this place needed money. Not being able to display wealth openly assured you a swift ticket out of Hightown and into Riverside. Perhaps another reason Riverside was so populated.

          I squeezed myself into a tuxedo. Cat ways didn't exist in this district, so I had to maneuver my way through the streets. Best to look my best. No overdressing here. I exited the back door of a tuxedo shop I had broken into and began my pursuit of JJ. Looking at my watch, I knew this wouldn't be easy. JJ had found her way to the New East Living Museum, or NELM for short. Possibly the worst place she could have chosen. Why was she there? I casually made my way through the city streets to the outskirts of the NELM, passing through the borough's drunken night life. The place was huge, and its security was off the charts. Prisons weren't around anymore, but the NELM looked like one. Every security measure of every past prison may have been consolidated into this one facility. I took a deep breath and checked my percentage. Fifty percent juice would likely be enough, but I replaced it to be safe. With a new vial of liquid nitrogen flowing through my suit, I started for the NELM and stepped into a sea of crumbling asphalt. Sometimes, on particularly difficult heists or jobs, I liked to envision everything as a classic video game. This was level one; stay in the shadows and avoid the spotlights.

          The building stood about twelve hundred yards away, and the parking lot was swarming with rotating spotlights. I darted forward a few paces, took a hop backwards and then dove to the right. Without time to steady myself, I ended up needing to dive to the left. It could have started off better, but I soon found a spot free of the lights. Here I studied the pattern. The lot was checkered with "safe zones" like the one I stood in now. Moving from one zone to the other was all I needed to do. I stood a while longer, watching the dance pattern the lights made across the gray, striped stage, and devised a routine. Ten paces forward, three right, two back, five forward, three left, two back, and ten forward to the next "safe zone." And so I went, until I reached the finale of act one. The monotonous movements lulled me into a daze that rendered me almost unable to realize my routine had ended. A light swept toward me as I stepped onto the lighter sidewalk. I stood frozen and then instinctively dove into a hedge a few feet in front of me. The small shrubbery did little to conceal me. I closed my eyes and waited to see if the dark green leaves would camouflage my black tuxedo. The light passed over me. Nothing happened. Rolling off the hedge, I got to my feet and sprinted up the stairs to the overhang of the entrance. For some reason this area was void of light. Why so many lights in the parking and none in the front of the building? I shrugged and prepared for my next level.

          Level two; breaking and entering. Peering into the NELM, I could tell this part of the game was going to be darker. A few lights illuminated exhibits of paintings, diagrams, and live plants, but I saw no surveying spotlights. I hoped security inside would be easier, but had a feeling, if anything, it would be on the same level, or, more than likely, higher; most assuredly different, and probably more difficult. Only one way to find out. I approached the door with my lockpicking tools in hand. However, the door didn't have a normal locking mechanism. It required a fingerprint. No time to make a mold, but I recalled hearing electronics don't work well in cold conditions. Could I freeze my way in? Reaching into my satchel, I took out one of the liquid nitrogen vials and studied it. On top of the vial I noticed a button that appeared to open a spigot when pressed. Here went nothing. I pushed the button and poured about half the vial onto the fingerprint pad. Something clicked. I pulled the door handle and the door opened. To be honest I didn't expect that to work. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. The silence inside was eerie. No sound except an occasional drip-drop of water.