Post by Seabreeze Swiftrun on Oct 21, 2007 7:53:26 GMT -4
This is a story I had to write for my Lit. class last year. I love it, it's one of my best stories so far, and it's complete. 
Taking El Bellaco
London, England: April 3, 2007
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you two in here,” said a young woman as she paced the length of a small meeting table, her long, honey brown hair swishing every time she turned around. Two people were sitting at the table, a tall man with short, curly light brown hair and hazel brown eyes, and a teenage girl with long blond hair tied back in a pony-tail and blue-green eyes.
The girl sat hunched over a laptop, her fingers moving like lightning on the keyboard. Not bothering to look up, she said, “Not really. It’s not that hard to hack into your computer ya know.”
The woman stopped short. “You hacked into my computer?!” She glared at the girl. “Penny, how many times do I have to tell you, my computer’s off limits!”
Penny shrugged, her eyes still locked on the computer screen. “Too many to count. Besides, you’re the one who left it lying there.” Finally looking up into the woman’s angry face, she grinned, “You know I can’t resist a peek at what you’re planning, so it’s your fault I know what we’re up to next.”
Finally, the man sitting next to Penny spoke up. “So, what exactly are we up to Jewel?” He asked the woman. Jewel opened her mouth but before she could even take a breath Penny piped up “We’re robbing a casino, Vince.”
Jewel stared angrily at Penny, “Remind me next time we’re in Orlando to dump you back at that orphanage we saved your sorry behind from. As for our next mission,” she said, turning to Vince, “We’re not robbing any old casino. We’re robbing the richest casino in the world, El Bellaco.”
“The Villain?” Vince asked. “I’ve never heard of it before.”
“That’s because it is owned by Juan Perez, one of the deadliest, most powerful criminals in the world. Only rich villains like himself are allowed into the casino, so very few even know it exists. The money Perez put into the construction of the casino alone is more than we’ve ever stolen. Pulling off this heist will make us very rich indeed.”
“And you just happened to stumble upon a thief’s dream come true,” Vince looked at her accusingly.
“I have my connections,” Jewel shrugged nonchalantly. “I just happened to pay the right price at the right time.”
“So, what’s the plan?” asked Penny.
“Same as usual,” Jewel replied. “Vince, you’ll need to try and get a job inside the casino. Once you have secured a position, remember to take some reconnaissance photos. I want you to find any entryway I can use to get in and escape from, any room that might be safe to hide out in. I want you to locate the safe and all the surveillance cameras. If there is anything else that might be of interest be sure to tell me about it. Penny,”
“I know, I know. You want me to hack into the guy’s computer system and retrieve any information I can, get connected to the surveillance cameras and any other security device, and make sure that everything runs smoothly during the heist.”
“Precisely,” said Jewel. “We’ll be flying to Spain tomorrow. One week later and we fly back to London. As soon as we land I want you to start your assignments immediately. The hotel we’re staying at is only a few miles north of the casino, so I want daily face reports from each of you. Understood?”
Penny and Vince nodded. “Good,” said Jewel. “I’ll be seeing each of you here by four a.m. tomorrow. You are dismissed.”
Madrid, Spain: April 10, 2007
El Bellaco stood tall and proud on top of a giant hill, looking down on the world below with contempt. Inside the casino was bustling with villains of all sorts, some were cheating at cards while others tried their hands at the lotto machines. Little did they know the machines were rigged. Body guards stood at attention throughout the casino; it was their job to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves, and emptying their bank accounts.
Back in the loading docks workers were stacking crates when a large grey van pulled into the docks. Confused, the workers put down their crates and stared when a woman wearing coveralls and a grey jacket hopped out of the van. Throwing a pack over her shoulder, she strolled towards the workers. Suddenly, she stumbled, falling face down. Picking herself up, she dusted off her clothes and straightened her honey brown hair with her fingers. The workers stared at her. She seems harmless enough, they reasoned. After all, she is dressed like one of us. Still, you can never be too careful.
“What are you doing here?” One of the workers asked in English. The woman stared coolly at him. Completely ignoring his question, she turned to face the crowd. “Which one of you is in charge?” She asked, in perfect Spanish.
The man who had just asked her the question replied, “I am, and I will ask again; what are you doing here?” He asked in Spanish, a cold edge to his voice.
“I’m here on business,” The woman replied. Pulling out an envelope from her pocket, she handed it to the man. “There’s a crate of cracked plates that Perez wants returned to the factory, so he sent me to pick it up.” She said as the man read over her letter. “You’ll notice that his signature is on the letter, as well as his seal on the envelope.”
The man looked at the seal and signature multiple times before sighing and handing the letter back to the woman. “It’s Perez’s seal and signature all right. You’re free to go about your business.”
“Thank you,” the woman said. She turned away from the workers as she walked towards the double doors to the entrance of the casino.
“That was clever work Penny,” Jewel spoke into a small device around her wrist as she walked down a faculty hallway. “I know Vince let us ‘borrow’ the seal for a few minutes, but that was really solid work on the signature forgery.”
“It was nothin’,” Penny replied. “All I did was scan his signature from another piece of paper onto my computer, paste it to the letter, and trace over it with a pen. Those idiot dockers are too stupid to tell the difference.”
“Still, I congratulate you, and as soon as this job is over remind me to buy you anything you want, my treat.”
“Is that before or after I remind you to dump me back at the orphanage in Orlando?”
“Very funny,” Jewel said as she turned right down another hallway. “How much further to the safe?” She whispered into the device as two guards approached. They were used to workers coming and going, and they barely gave Jewel a second glance as they passed.
“Not much further,” Penny said. “It’s just straight down this hall and through a security door on the left. Vince should already be waiting for you with the crate.”
“Thanks, Penny. I’ll keep in touch once we have the money.”
“Be careful Jewel. While you may be safe from the security cameras, I doubt any guards you meet will be pleased to see someone trying to break into their boss’ safe.”
“Don’t worry Penny,” Jewel said as she stopped and un-shouldered her pack. Pulling out a sleek, black whip, she wrapped it over her shoulder like a coil of rope. “I’ve done similar things multiple times. Anyone foolish enough to cross me will receive the same punishment as his predecessors.” Jewel smiled. This could get fun, she thought to herself as she continued her trek down the hall.
A few minutes later Jewel reached the security door to the safe. Pulling out a latex print of Juan Perez’s thumb (again, thanks to Vince), she placed it on the print scanner. The scanner whirred, processing the information. Suddenly, a green light appeared on the top of the door.
“Name?” The door asked.
“Juan Perez,” Jewel replied in a perfect imitation of the casino owner’s voice. Again the light on the door turned green.
“Password?”
“Money is power.”
The door did nothing for a moment, then suddenly, “Welcome, Juan Perez.” The door said, turning on its hinges as it opened. Jewel grinned, it’s too easy to fool a computer, she thought to herself as she walked through the door.
Vince arrived ten minutes later as Jewel was unloading the safe of its contents. He was carrying a crate large enough to hold two full grown men. Heaving, he set it down in front of her, trying to avoid her accusing glare.
“Where were you?” She asked, her voice cracked with both anger and worry. “I thought something bad happened to you. What took you so long?”
“I’m sorry,” he panted. “But I have just received urgent news. Perez is on to us. Apparently he found out about the informant and the information he passed on. The news is spreading like wild-fire and I doubt Perez will be long before he checks the safe.”
“Then we need to hurry,” Jewel said as she started putting the money into the crate. “I guess it’s very convenient all the bills are in hundreds,” She commented dryly as they both started loading the crate.
The workers at the loading docks had just received the call from Perez when Jewel and Vince burst through the double doors, racing towards the van. Vince carried the crate on his shoulders, running as fast as he could while Jewel, whip in hand, followed close behind.
One of the workers fished through his belt. Pulling out a pistol, he aimed at Vince when, “Crack!” The man yelped, dropping the gun as he stared in shock at the whiplash on his hand. Another man took aim and succeeded in firing a few rounds before the whip curled around his leg. Jewel yanked, hard, sending the man tumbling to the ground.
“You ok, Vince?” Jewel asked, concerned.
“I’m fine,” he grunted as sweat poured down his face. “Man this thing is heavy.” He was slowing down now, allowing for one of the workers to take better aim at the tired man.
“We’re almost to the van,” Jewel said as her whip wrapped around the man’s pistol, yanking the gun away from him.
“What’s goin’ on?” Penny asked as she exited the van, leaving the back doors open. “And why didn’t you guys call me when you got the money?” A bullet passed within a hair’s breadth of her face. “Crack!” The whip curled around the man’s neck, dashing him to the ground.
“Ah,” she said, staring in shock at her would be killer’s unconscious form. She was still staring when Jewel and Vince reached the van. Pulling her inside, they quickly shut the back doors just as reinforcements, along with Juan Perez himself, arrived on scene.
“Quick,” He screeched. “Close the landing doors! Shoot out their tires! Do anything, just stop them!”
It was too late. The van roared to life as bullets pounded its sides. Completely ignoring the bullet holes through the windows, the van raced out the landing doors, making it just before they slide shut.
Howling, Perez flew into a rage. He cursed as he kicked over piles of crates, scattering their contents all over the floor. The guards and workers took the time to slip away as he continued his rampage of destruction. Furious, he kicked at small, red object on the ground. He missed, sending his feet flying from under him. For minutes Perez laid there on the ground, weeping at his loss. Then finally regaining control of himself, he picked himself up and peered down at the object he had tried to kick. Bending down, he picked the object up. It was a plastic ruby ring.
A child’s toy, he thought to himself. He held it up to his face. There, etched into the face of the ruby, were the initials, JG. JG, he seethed, clutching the ring in his fist. “I’ll find you.” he vowed. “I’ll find you, and once I do, I’ll make you hijos de perras pay for the wrong you did me tonight.”
Taking El Bellaco
London, England: April 3, 2007
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you two in here,” said a young woman as she paced the length of a small meeting table, her long, honey brown hair swishing every time she turned around. Two people were sitting at the table, a tall man with short, curly light brown hair and hazel brown eyes, and a teenage girl with long blond hair tied back in a pony-tail and blue-green eyes.
The girl sat hunched over a laptop, her fingers moving like lightning on the keyboard. Not bothering to look up, she said, “Not really. It’s not that hard to hack into your computer ya know.”
The woman stopped short. “You hacked into my computer?!” She glared at the girl. “Penny, how many times do I have to tell you, my computer’s off limits!”
Penny shrugged, her eyes still locked on the computer screen. “Too many to count. Besides, you’re the one who left it lying there.” Finally looking up into the woman’s angry face, she grinned, “You know I can’t resist a peek at what you’re planning, so it’s your fault I know what we’re up to next.”
Finally, the man sitting next to Penny spoke up. “So, what exactly are we up to Jewel?” He asked the woman. Jewel opened her mouth but before she could even take a breath Penny piped up “We’re robbing a casino, Vince.”
Jewel stared angrily at Penny, “Remind me next time we’re in Orlando to dump you back at that orphanage we saved your sorry behind from. As for our next mission,” she said, turning to Vince, “We’re not robbing any old casino. We’re robbing the richest casino in the world, El Bellaco.”
“The Villain?” Vince asked. “I’ve never heard of it before.”
“That’s because it is owned by Juan Perez, one of the deadliest, most powerful criminals in the world. Only rich villains like himself are allowed into the casino, so very few even know it exists. The money Perez put into the construction of the casino alone is more than we’ve ever stolen. Pulling off this heist will make us very rich indeed.”
“And you just happened to stumble upon a thief’s dream come true,” Vince looked at her accusingly.
“I have my connections,” Jewel shrugged nonchalantly. “I just happened to pay the right price at the right time.”
“So, what’s the plan?” asked Penny.
“Same as usual,” Jewel replied. “Vince, you’ll need to try and get a job inside the casino. Once you have secured a position, remember to take some reconnaissance photos. I want you to find any entryway I can use to get in and escape from, any room that might be safe to hide out in. I want you to locate the safe and all the surveillance cameras. If there is anything else that might be of interest be sure to tell me about it. Penny,”
“I know, I know. You want me to hack into the guy’s computer system and retrieve any information I can, get connected to the surveillance cameras and any other security device, and make sure that everything runs smoothly during the heist.”
“Precisely,” said Jewel. “We’ll be flying to Spain tomorrow. One week later and we fly back to London. As soon as we land I want you to start your assignments immediately. The hotel we’re staying at is only a few miles north of the casino, so I want daily face reports from each of you. Understood?”
Penny and Vince nodded. “Good,” said Jewel. “I’ll be seeing each of you here by four a.m. tomorrow. You are dismissed.”
Madrid, Spain: April 10, 2007
El Bellaco stood tall and proud on top of a giant hill, looking down on the world below with contempt. Inside the casino was bustling with villains of all sorts, some were cheating at cards while others tried their hands at the lotto machines. Little did they know the machines were rigged. Body guards stood at attention throughout the casino; it was their job to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves, and emptying their bank accounts.
Back in the loading docks workers were stacking crates when a large grey van pulled into the docks. Confused, the workers put down their crates and stared when a woman wearing coveralls and a grey jacket hopped out of the van. Throwing a pack over her shoulder, she strolled towards the workers. Suddenly, she stumbled, falling face down. Picking herself up, she dusted off her clothes and straightened her honey brown hair with her fingers. The workers stared at her. She seems harmless enough, they reasoned. After all, she is dressed like one of us. Still, you can never be too careful.
“What are you doing here?” One of the workers asked in English. The woman stared coolly at him. Completely ignoring his question, she turned to face the crowd. “Which one of you is in charge?” She asked, in perfect Spanish.
The man who had just asked her the question replied, “I am, and I will ask again; what are you doing here?” He asked in Spanish, a cold edge to his voice.
“I’m here on business,” The woman replied. Pulling out an envelope from her pocket, she handed it to the man. “There’s a crate of cracked plates that Perez wants returned to the factory, so he sent me to pick it up.” She said as the man read over her letter. “You’ll notice that his signature is on the letter, as well as his seal on the envelope.”
The man looked at the seal and signature multiple times before sighing and handing the letter back to the woman. “It’s Perez’s seal and signature all right. You’re free to go about your business.”
“Thank you,” the woman said. She turned away from the workers as she walked towards the double doors to the entrance of the casino.
“That was clever work Penny,” Jewel spoke into a small device around her wrist as she walked down a faculty hallway. “I know Vince let us ‘borrow’ the seal for a few minutes, but that was really solid work on the signature forgery.”
“It was nothin’,” Penny replied. “All I did was scan his signature from another piece of paper onto my computer, paste it to the letter, and trace over it with a pen. Those idiot dockers are too stupid to tell the difference.”
“Still, I congratulate you, and as soon as this job is over remind me to buy you anything you want, my treat.”
“Is that before or after I remind you to dump me back at the orphanage in Orlando?”
“Very funny,” Jewel said as she turned right down another hallway. “How much further to the safe?” She whispered into the device as two guards approached. They were used to workers coming and going, and they barely gave Jewel a second glance as they passed.
“Not much further,” Penny said. “It’s just straight down this hall and through a security door on the left. Vince should already be waiting for you with the crate.”
“Thanks, Penny. I’ll keep in touch once we have the money.”
“Be careful Jewel. While you may be safe from the security cameras, I doubt any guards you meet will be pleased to see someone trying to break into their boss’ safe.”
“Don’t worry Penny,” Jewel said as she stopped and un-shouldered her pack. Pulling out a sleek, black whip, she wrapped it over her shoulder like a coil of rope. “I’ve done similar things multiple times. Anyone foolish enough to cross me will receive the same punishment as his predecessors.” Jewel smiled. This could get fun, she thought to herself as she continued her trek down the hall.
A few minutes later Jewel reached the security door to the safe. Pulling out a latex print of Juan Perez’s thumb (again, thanks to Vince), she placed it on the print scanner. The scanner whirred, processing the information. Suddenly, a green light appeared on the top of the door.
“Name?” The door asked.
“Juan Perez,” Jewel replied in a perfect imitation of the casino owner’s voice. Again the light on the door turned green.
“Password?”
“Money is power.”
The door did nothing for a moment, then suddenly, “Welcome, Juan Perez.” The door said, turning on its hinges as it opened. Jewel grinned, it’s too easy to fool a computer, she thought to herself as she walked through the door.
Vince arrived ten minutes later as Jewel was unloading the safe of its contents. He was carrying a crate large enough to hold two full grown men. Heaving, he set it down in front of her, trying to avoid her accusing glare.
“Where were you?” She asked, her voice cracked with both anger and worry. “I thought something bad happened to you. What took you so long?”
“I’m sorry,” he panted. “But I have just received urgent news. Perez is on to us. Apparently he found out about the informant and the information he passed on. The news is spreading like wild-fire and I doubt Perez will be long before he checks the safe.”
“Then we need to hurry,” Jewel said as she started putting the money into the crate. “I guess it’s very convenient all the bills are in hundreds,” She commented dryly as they both started loading the crate.
The workers at the loading docks had just received the call from Perez when Jewel and Vince burst through the double doors, racing towards the van. Vince carried the crate on his shoulders, running as fast as he could while Jewel, whip in hand, followed close behind.
One of the workers fished through his belt. Pulling out a pistol, he aimed at Vince when, “Crack!” The man yelped, dropping the gun as he stared in shock at the whiplash on his hand. Another man took aim and succeeded in firing a few rounds before the whip curled around his leg. Jewel yanked, hard, sending the man tumbling to the ground.
“You ok, Vince?” Jewel asked, concerned.
“I’m fine,” he grunted as sweat poured down his face. “Man this thing is heavy.” He was slowing down now, allowing for one of the workers to take better aim at the tired man.
“We’re almost to the van,” Jewel said as her whip wrapped around the man’s pistol, yanking the gun away from him.
“What’s goin’ on?” Penny asked as she exited the van, leaving the back doors open. “And why didn’t you guys call me when you got the money?” A bullet passed within a hair’s breadth of her face. “Crack!” The whip curled around the man’s neck, dashing him to the ground.
“Ah,” she said, staring in shock at her would be killer’s unconscious form. She was still staring when Jewel and Vince reached the van. Pulling her inside, they quickly shut the back doors just as reinforcements, along with Juan Perez himself, arrived on scene.
“Quick,” He screeched. “Close the landing doors! Shoot out their tires! Do anything, just stop them!”
It was too late. The van roared to life as bullets pounded its sides. Completely ignoring the bullet holes through the windows, the van raced out the landing doors, making it just before they slide shut.
Howling, Perez flew into a rage. He cursed as he kicked over piles of crates, scattering their contents all over the floor. The guards and workers took the time to slip away as he continued his rampage of destruction. Furious, he kicked at small, red object on the ground. He missed, sending his feet flying from under him. For minutes Perez laid there on the ground, weeping at his loss. Then finally regaining control of himself, he picked himself up and peered down at the object he had tried to kick. Bending down, he picked the object up. It was a plastic ruby ring.
A child’s toy, he thought to himself. He held it up to his face. There, etched into the face of the ruby, were the initials, JG. JG, he seethed, clutching the ring in his fist. “I’ll find you.” he vowed. “I’ll find you, and once I do, I’ll make you hijos de perras pay for the wrong you did me tonight.”
