CHAPTER TEN: THE ETIQUETTE OF A SUCCESSFUL HEIST (Draft 1)

They gasped when they saw George and Vanessa Garnet in the background with worried looks on their faces, talking to a very smug red-haired young woman that looked a lot like Alexandra Speed. 

"Sarah," Silver hissed, "Can you confirm their identities?" 

"They’re your parents, Silver," Sarah answered almost immediately, "George Garnet and Vanessa Garnet – and Ashlynn Speed." 

Silver and Cherry's eyes widened. Silver frowned; that was the night Ashlynn had disappeared. The article dictated that Ashlynn was an uninvited guest who arrived out of nowhere and cause a huge commotion. But this picture didn't show her creating any commotion. Well, not a widespread panic at least. The only form of dread shown in the picture was on the faces of Silver's parents. 'They knew each other,' Silver realised. She glanced back at the note in her hand, "find out why she was there that night." Could it be referring to the night she had disappeared? 

Silver took a deep breath just as a lightbulb goes off in her head. She abruptly turned to Cherry, with an impish smile on her face, "I have an idea!" 

Cherry tilted her head in confusion, "Okay..." She recognised the wicked expression on Silver's face. She'd often see it on the Gemstones right before something got stained, shattered, or even burnt to the ground. 

"The question is – are you willing to do it?" Silver continued. 

"I don't know..." Cherry answered, still suspecting her, "What is it?" 

Silver grinned like a Cheshire cat, "Why don't we hack into Ashlynn's criminal files?" 

 

Scarlet walked down the clean pavement leading up to the Speed mansion, where Alexandra, Flame and Blaze lived. 

Flame had called her a few minutes earlier, asking her to come over so he could 'discuss' something with her and the others. She smiled secretively. Something told her that the 'discussion' would be based on the upcoming heist. The same heist which she still thought was stupid. 

When she eventually reached the magnificent manor, a butler led her up to Blaze's bedroom, where everyone had already gathered. 

She took a deep breath before walking into the room, wearing a bright and friendly smile on her face – which was returned by everyone in the room. 

She joined Blaze and Chloe who were sitting cross legged on the shiny, marble floor. Gio leaned on one of the posts of Blaze's bed. They all looked up at Flame who stood in front of them, crossing his arms and looking content with himself. 

"So, what's the plan, chief?" Blaze asked teasingly. 

Flame shook his head and laughed, "Have some patience, my dear subordinate." 

Gio chuckled, "Come on Flame, don't keep us in the dark!" 

Flame signaled, "First things first, what do you guys think we should do to execute a successful heist?" 

Blaze, Chloe and Gio shared puzzled looks; wondering what direction this conversation was heading to. Suddenly, Scarlet raised her hand, shocking everyone around her, including Flame, "Perhaps we should start by finding out how we can accomplish it without getting caught. So... taking note of any surveillance cameras, any security guard that would be on duty the night we plan to do this, and any hidden dangers or threats to our mission." 

Flame's eyes twinkled, "That's right Scarlet! We need to do everything we can to make sure we don't get caught!" 

"Okay, okay, hold on!" Blaze cut in, "How do you two know all this?" 

Flame shrugged, "My mother's the criminal here. Must be hereditary or something." They all turned to Scarlet for her answer. 

She gave them a nervous smile, "My siblings and I were rarely allowed outside our manor, so some of us constantly snuck in and out in the middle of the night." 

"Wow..." Gio responded, clearly astonished. He turned to Flame, "I could hack into the security system to switch off the video surveillance covertly while you guys do your thing." 

Chloe leaned towards Blaze, "What did he just say?" 

Blaze whispered back, "I think he just volunteered to turn of the security cams." 

Flame nodded in approval, "Great! So, G's in charge of the CCTV cameras. What about the guards?" 

"I mean, my dad IS the police chief. I'm sure Blaze and I can figure out who would be on duty that night," Chloe proposed. 

Flame smiled. He observed Scarlet, "Since you're clearly experienced in sneaking in and out of places, you'll be helping me sneak into the police station." 

Blaze clapped her hands together, "Perfect! What else do we need?" 

"Other than knowing who would be on duty that night, we should also find out where they would be positioned," Gio suggested. 

"And any security precautions we would need to bypass," Chloe guessed. 

"And we need a floor plan of the station," Scarlet conjectured. 

Flame stared at everyone, "Is that all?" 

"I think so," Blaze answered. 

Flame gave them all a mischievous grin, "Well. This'll be fun."