Guardians of the Edge: Last of the Portal Keys

Chapter Two: Museum

Dim emergency lights lit the stairwell, the main system shut down for the night. Aiden knew there was still plenty of light for the cameras and hovered in his place, breathing through his eagerness to move as Antoinette unslung her backpack and retrieved the mobile data unit. The plan had been to h****k the connection from the originating transmitter and route it through theirs. The system was wireless, making the takeover simple for one of Antoinette's tech savvy. He had every confidence in his talented mother and flashed her a wave when she again gave the thumbs up. Antoinette left the transmitter at the top of the landing, easing her way down the first step as she checked and rechecked her hand-held while Eric and Aiden performed constant visual sweeps to make sure they hadn't missed anything the blueprints may have left out.

Aiden slipped the spiked gloves from his slightly trembling hands, stowing them in one of his pockets as he waited and shook out his fingers, knowing he had to steady himself if he was going to pull off his next part of the plan. No time for excitement. He focused instead on the feeling of the floor under his feet, the smell of the air filtered through his mask and the steady quiet of the stairwell. The silicone sleeves on his shoes were silent and ensured a better grip once he reached the marble of the main floor.

Antoinette continued to make her way down the stairs to the first camera. Aiden noted with satisfaction the light on the unit shone amber, meaning it was in replay mode. He laughed to himself they of all families would resort to one of the oldest tricks in the thief's book.

If a gambit works, Eric always said, don't mess with it.

Aiden ignored the cameras from then on, fully trusting his mother, focusing on his own work and letting Antoinette do hers.

Your task is the most important thing you can do, Eric's voice rang in his head. Keep your wits about you, but forget everyone else's.

When they reached the landing of the second floor, Antoinette and Eric repeated their magnet trick and disabled the mechanical door alarm. Aiden, prepared for their move, slid through the open door and down the hall of the second floor office complex. He sensed rather than heard his parents easing away behind him, with their own jobs to complete. On his own, he felt his eagerness rise and had to scold himself to return to calm. Aiden counted doors to the first corner then hung a left, pausing to ensure there weren't cameras after all. Again, the blueprints turned out to be accurate.

Aiden crouched next to the door to the second office, sliding a pair of skin-tight gloves over his hands. No trembling, perfect. He allowed himself a little jolt of confidence as he tried the handle. Unlocked, as he knew it would be.

Trust is our best friend, Eric said. Other people's, that is.

Aiden slipped into the office, closing the door behind him, feeling the first stirrings of haste, knowing his timing had to match his mother's. But hurrying would only get him in trouble. Balance was the key.

He removed a small hand-held device from one pocket and activated it while he drew and expelled steady, even breaths. It registered the proximity of electronics, the more powerful the more visible. Counting steps, he reached a small desk halfway into the room before crouching below it. The display on his hand-held flashed. Aiden checked his watch, bouncing slightly on his haunches to expel some of his pent-up energy. Three minutes.

Aiden unhooked his backpack and pulled free his knife. Rechecking with his hand-held, he made three decisive slits in the carpet before using the edge to pull back the flap. His minicomputer pinned the fold of flooring as he replaced the knife and slid a compact hand-drill out of his bag. His fingers fumbled the specially designed bit for a moment, but he caught it before it could drop. Aiden hissed at himself through his teeth before carefully loading the thin cylinder of metal into the drill. Eric had calculated the length of the bit to a hundredth of a millimeter, measuring and re-measuring the distance between the wooden floor and the ceiling panel below.

Aiden switched on the drill and gritted his teeth. This was another risky part. The bit made a great deal of noise. It was up to his father to make sure Aiden was alerted if the sound brought anyone running.

It took seven nervous seconds as calculated for him to drill down to the ceiling tile. Aiden disassembled the bit and drill more slowly to ensure he didn't fumble again, still berating himself for the slip up, until his father's voice broke through.

Bygones are bygones, Eric said. Don't let the past's mistakes let you get caught in the future.

Aiden shook off his self-anger and carefully stowed his tools away before rechecking his hand-held. He grinned to himself. Right over the target. He looked at his watch. One minute.

The hand-held went back to press down the flap of carpet while Aiden rummaged in his bag once more. Out came a thin insulated tube. Despite the layers of protection, he still felt the bite of cold coming from it. Aiden slid the stopper from the cylinder and attached a funnel-like head to the top, this time without hesitation or worry, his confidence rising back to normal levels. He sat on his haunches, fighting the bounce in his knees, counting his breaths like his mother taught him and the ticking of the seconds. Once again his need to hurry grabbed him and shook him. He had to be on time. One moment either way and they failed. Aiden waited, counting down. He knew his mother would be at the electrical panel on the other side of the building. They had to be in sync to fool the alarm system in the room below.

Ten seconds. He inserted the funnel head into the hole, happy to see his hands were steady.

Five seconds. He adjusted his grip on the tube, breathing speeding up despite his best efforts.

Four seconds.

Three.

Two.

One.

Aiden twisted the tip of the tube as he exhaled deeply, opening the top to allow the tiny dry ice pellets inside to slide free and down the hole.

Steam from the cooling air rose from the hole as he dispensed the pellets into the floor. Two seconds. Four. Six. At the eight-second mark, the pellets ran out. He pulled the funnel free and disassembled it from the now empty tube, stuffing it into his backpack. He allowed one glance at the hand-held, one reassurance he'd done his job right. The pulsating spot had gone dark.

With the desire to shout and cheer raging inside him, Aiden replaced the device in his pocket and slid free a tube of epoxy. Within two heartbeats he drew three wavy lines of glue with his now shaking hands, capped it and tossed it in his pack, grinning so hard his face hurt. Aiden turned to go before turning himself around with a soft curse, shaking his head at his lack of control.

His last act in the room was to flip the lip of carpet back and use the toe of his shoe to press it in place.

We never let them know where we were, came Eric's voice. Just that we have what's theirs.

Aiden shouldered his backpack, tightening the straps firmly as he left the room, reminding himself he needed to keep focused. He slipped out and back down the hall, arriving near the stairwell exit at exactly the same time as his parents.

Antoinette made the okay circle with her fingers as they went back into the stairwell. He felt the warm pressure of Eric's hand on his shoulder and knew they had done it.

They still had far to go, but he allowed himself a further moment of joy before following his parents to the first floor.

***