The Blue Court Diamond 8
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Chapter 8 - The Phantom Thief
Smoke filled the room, obscuring sight and making it hard to breathe, but Peter had been prepared for it. He covered his mouth hand nose with a cloth and waited it out. He could tell that Neal and some of the others were also prepared by the fact that only a few bodies thumped to the floor.
The smoke cleared fairly quickly, revealing Kaitou Kid perched on top of the display case.
“How?” Peter asked.
“It’s surprisingly sturdy,” Kid offered.
“How did you get in?” Peter asked.
“Through the front door,” Kid answered. “The hotel’s security is really bad.”
“And the rest of the security in this room?” Peter asked.
“That was slightly easier, although I do have to say that the laser system on the ceiling was a bit of a surprise,” Kid said.
“Why haven’t you stolen the Blue Court Diamond yet?” Peter asked.
“He already has,” Neal said just as kid flashed the diamond at them.
“So why haven’t you escaped yet?” Peter asked.
“Why haven’t you tried to catch me yet?” Kid countered.
“Well, for one, I didn’t want to chance hitting the display case with the diamond in it and, for the other, I know how dangerous you can be,” Peter answered.
“He doesn’t want pink hair,” Neal chimed in. “His wife would laugh at him.”
“Watch it or I’ll send you to have your hair dyed,” Peter muttered to Neal.
“I don’t have pink hair dye,” Kid informed Peter.
Peter lunged at Kid and crashed into the display case. Hid had done a back flip off of the case just in time and was now standing a few feet away. A smoke pellet left behind on the display case exploded, coating Peter a fine shade of lavender.
“I do have lavender dye,” Kid added.
Neal snickered. “You were right, he is dangerous.”
“Don’t be so quick to laugh,” Peter said. “You’ve got a bit of color yourself.”
“What?” Neal quickly checked his clothes for lavender.
“You’ve got purple streaks in your hair,” Peter said.
“Why did you have to touch my hair?” Neal whined to Kid as he checked his hair in a nearby mirror.
“Just be thankful that you’re not in my task force,” Kid said as he tilted his head to motion behind them.
Neal turned to look and found the five teens gagged and handcuffed together in a tangle. It was a very clever way of hiding the fact that four of the teens were in on it and one of the teens in the pile was a doll. Still, Neal was glad that Kid hadn’t done that to them. Despite all of the rumors that Peter never heard, they really didn’t feel that way for one another.
Peter glanced at the group out of the corner of his eye and Kid took advantage of the brief moment of inattention. But, instead of escaping, Kid pounced on Peter and knocked him to the floor. Peter squawked and Neal blinked in surprise.
“What do you know of the Pandora?” Kid asked.
“It’s a gem that can grant immortality,” Peter answered.
“How do you know that?” Kid asked.
“My family used to guard the Pandora, though the name has changed several times,” Peter answered.
“Why haven’t you pulled your gun?” Kid asked.
“Because you don’t use one and I don’t need it to catch you,” Peter answered. He held up his right hand, revealing the fact that Kid’s hand was attached to the other end.
“That’s what you think,” Kid said before another wave of smoke filled the room.
Peter had to close his eyes until the rose scented smoke dissipated. He could tell that he was still handcuffed to someone, but when he opened his eyes he found that he was handcuffed to Neal. Kaitou Kid was gone.
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It took a few minutes to get everything together and confirm that Kid really had escaped. It had only taken Peter a second to detach himself from Neal and go after Kid, but he couldn’t find the thief in the crowd of law enforcement officials that had filled the lobby. Alerting security and untangling the five teens took longer, but reports came back negative for Kid.
“I can’t believe he got away,” Peter said as he paced the room.
“I can’t believe he touched my hair,” Neal said as he inspected the damage once more.
“Good work, Burke,” Hughes said as he entered the room, actually sounding pleased with Peter.
“Kid took the Blue Court Diamond and escaped,” Peter said as he turned to face his boss. “That was not good work.”
“He didn’t escape with the diamond,” Hughes said. He crunched through the wreckage of the display case and picked up a gem that glittered in the light.
“Kid wouldn’t have just left it behind,” Peter said. He stepped forward. “Let me see that.”
“You’re the expert,” Hughes said as he handed over the gem.
It looked a lot like the Blue Court Diamond, but the color was off. “Neal?” Peter asked as he held his empty hand out. Neal took out a jeweler’s eyepiece and handed it to Peter. Peter then inspected the diamond some more. “It’s a fake,” Peter said as he handed both objects over to Neal.
“A pretty bad one at that,” Neal remarked as he looked at the jewel.
“So, Kid did get away with the diamond,” Hughes said. He then shrugged. “Oh well, he’ll return it in a day or so. You should get back to the conference.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Peter asked, staring at his boss.
“This conference is important, you need to trust your team. Besides, Kid always returns what he steals,” Hughes replied. “To be honest, we kind of expected it.”
“Then why bother trying to keep it safe in the first place?” Peter asked.
“Because we have to look like we’re doing something,” Hughes said. “Now get back to the conference and I’ll fix everything up here.”
“What on earth is wrong with him?” Peter wondered out loud as they were ushered out of the room. “What on earth is wrong with the world?”
“You’re just noticing new things about it,” Neal said. He patted Peter on the arm as they entered the crowd in the lobby.
“I’d rather I didn’t,” Peter muttered.
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Chapter 9
Chapter 8 - The Phantom Thief
Smoke filled the room, obscuring sight and making it hard to breathe, but Peter had been prepared for it. He covered his mouth hand nose with a cloth and waited it out. He could tell that Neal and some of the others were also prepared by the fact that only a few bodies thumped to the floor.
The smoke cleared fairly quickly, revealing Kaitou Kid perched on top of the display case.
“How?” Peter asked.
“It’s surprisingly sturdy,” Kid offered.
“How did you get in?” Peter asked.
“Through the front door,” Kid answered. “The hotel’s security is really bad.”
“And the rest of the security in this room?” Peter asked.
“That was slightly easier, although I do have to say that the laser system on the ceiling was a bit of a surprise,” Kid said.
“Why haven’t you stolen the Blue Court Diamond yet?” Peter asked.
“He already has,” Neal said just as kid flashed the diamond at them.
“So why haven’t you escaped yet?” Peter asked.
“Why haven’t you tried to catch me yet?” Kid countered.
“Well, for one, I didn’t want to chance hitting the display case with the diamond in it and, for the other, I know how dangerous you can be,” Peter answered.
“He doesn’t want pink hair,” Neal chimed in. “His wife would laugh at him.”
“Watch it or I’ll send you to have your hair dyed,” Peter muttered to Neal.
“I don’t have pink hair dye,” Kid informed Peter.
Peter lunged at Kid and crashed into the display case. Hid had done a back flip off of the case just in time and was now standing a few feet away. A smoke pellet left behind on the display case exploded, coating Peter a fine shade of lavender.
“I do have lavender dye,” Kid added.
Neal snickered. “You were right, he is dangerous.”
“Don’t be so quick to laugh,” Peter said. “You’ve got a bit of color yourself.”
“What?” Neal quickly checked his clothes for lavender.
“You’ve got purple streaks in your hair,” Peter said.
“Why did you have to touch my hair?” Neal whined to Kid as he checked his hair in a nearby mirror.
“Just be thankful that you’re not in my task force,” Kid said as he tilted his head to motion behind them.
Neal turned to look and found the five teens gagged and handcuffed together in a tangle. It was a very clever way of hiding the fact that four of the teens were in on it and one of the teens in the pile was a doll. Still, Neal was glad that Kid hadn’t done that to them. Despite all of the rumors that Peter never heard, they really didn’t feel that way for one another.
Peter glanced at the group out of the corner of his eye and Kid took advantage of the brief moment of inattention. But, instead of escaping, Kid pounced on Peter and knocked him to the floor. Peter squawked and Neal blinked in surprise.
“What do you know of the Pandora?” Kid asked.
“It’s a gem that can grant immortality,” Peter answered.
“How do you know that?” Kid asked.
“My family used to guard the Pandora, though the name has changed several times,” Peter answered.
“Why haven’t you pulled your gun?” Kid asked.
“Because you don’t use one and I don’t need it to catch you,” Peter answered. He held up his right hand, revealing the fact that Kid’s hand was attached to the other end.
“That’s what you think,” Kid said before another wave of smoke filled the room.
Peter had to close his eyes until the rose scented smoke dissipated. He could tell that he was still handcuffed to someone, but when he opened his eyes he found that he was handcuffed to Neal. Kaitou Kid was gone.
-
It took a few minutes to get everything together and confirm that Kid really had escaped. It had only taken Peter a second to detach himself from Neal and go after Kid, but he couldn’t find the thief in the crowd of law enforcement officials that had filled the lobby. Alerting security and untangling the five teens took longer, but reports came back negative for Kid.
“I can’t believe he got away,” Peter said as he paced the room.
“I can’t believe he touched my hair,” Neal said as he inspected the damage once more.
“Good work, Burke,” Hughes said as he entered the room, actually sounding pleased with Peter.
“Kid took the Blue Court Diamond and escaped,” Peter said as he turned to face his boss. “That was not good work.”
“He didn’t escape with the diamond,” Hughes said. He crunched through the wreckage of the display case and picked up a gem that glittered in the light.
“Kid wouldn’t have just left it behind,” Peter said. He stepped forward. “Let me see that.”
“You’re the expert,” Hughes said as he handed over the gem.
It looked a lot like the Blue Court Diamond, but the color was off. “Neal?” Peter asked as he held his empty hand out. Neal took out a jeweler’s eyepiece and handed it to Peter. Peter then inspected the diamond some more. “It’s a fake,” Peter said as he handed both objects over to Neal.
“A pretty bad one at that,” Neal remarked as he looked at the jewel.
“So, Kid did get away with the diamond,” Hughes said. He then shrugged. “Oh well, he’ll return it in a day or so. You should get back to the conference.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Peter asked, staring at his boss.
“This conference is important, you need to trust your team. Besides, Kid always returns what he steals,” Hughes replied. “To be honest, we kind of expected it.”
“Then why bother trying to keep it safe in the first place?” Peter asked.
“Because we have to look like we’re doing something,” Hughes said. “Now get back to the conference and I’ll fix everything up here.”
“What on earth is wrong with him?” Peter wondered out loud as they were ushered out of the room. “What on earth is wrong with the world?”
“You’re just noticing new things about it,” Neal said. He patted Peter on the arm as they entered the crowd in the lobby.
“I’d rather I didn’t,” Peter muttered.
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Chapter 9