All That Glitters - Part Three by: Enemyoffun Mike Carter is the man about campus who lives life in the fast lane. He's quarterback of his college football team, well liked by the student population and quite a ladies man. But due to gambling, Mike has a money problem. To make ends meet he takes a job at as a security guard at a museum and things go down hill from there all thanks to a gold orb.

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Author's Note: Here's Chapter Three. Things are starting to progress a little faster now. After this one, things should move a lot faster. I'd like to thank djkauf for the awesome and super quick editing and everyone else for their input so far on this story, you know who you are.

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Chapter Three:

“You look a green around the gills kid, Coach run you rampant again today?.”

I nodded at my partner, Frank, not sure what to say. I guess I was kind of nervous. Here we were, just the two of us, walking the dark halls. We did this three or four times a night just to make sure there was no one prowling about. It kind of made me laugh a bit inside because here we were looking for potential threats and I was one. My palms were sweaty as I held the flashlight, shining it up and down the hall. We were in the Ancient Americas exhibit; it was one of the newer ones. It boasted of having over twelve thousand artifacts or something like that. This was our usual route. We usually started at that creepy stuffed elephant thing in the middle and make our rounds from there. First it was the Americas then we worked our way south, passing the Gift Shop, crossing Stanley Field Hall and into the animal exhibits.

It was the same path night after night. It was kind of boring but it was orderly. Frank liked order and seeing as he was the senior guard of our duo, he was kind of in charge.

“Hey, what’s up with you, kid? Usually you like to brag about shit. You have a rough night?”

How do you tell someone that you’re supposed to steal something from right under their nose and also mention your mother’s life may depend on it? I sighed. “I got kind of smashed last night, lost some money at the tables, pissed off the wrong guy.”

Frank shook his head. “I told you to stay away from that shit, kid. Nothing good comes from that stuff.”

We passed by the giant Olmec Head statue and I shivered. That thing gave me the creeps. But not as much as that T-Rex skeleton, they had. It was the museum’s pride and joy, the most intact T-Rex skeleton ever or something like that. I took the tour once or twice, it bored the hell out of me, the guide was hot, though.

I stopped at the stairs, leaning against the door. I needed to get up there soon. We were only supposed to patrol the Main Level. The guys upstairs were just about to make the shift change and if I didn’t get up there now, I’d miss my chance. But that still meant I had to figure out a way to ditch Frank. I really liked the guy, he was good for a chat but he was dead weight. Especially tonight. If I didn’t ditch him soon there’d be no chance of me getting in the Hall of Gems tonight. I took a deep breath. I reached into the pocket of my coat, my fingers brushing against the business card inside. I pulled it out and looked at it. It was the one Bea gave me earlier. I brought it and my cell phone with me because I was hoping to get some time to give her a call but personal calls were frowned upon.

I reached into my other pocket and took out my cell.

“What are you doing with that?” asked Frank, shining his beam on my phone.

“Hoping to call this girl I met.”

He sighed and looked around. Our relief shift wouldn’t come for another hour. Then the two of us would be off to the break room to sit for an hour until they came back around and switched with us again. See, I told you it was boring. We did this routine for a couple of hours straight, first them, then us, then them, and us again. It went on and on and it was as boring as hell.

“Tony will have your ass and mine if he catches you.”

Tony was his supervisor, the boss of the guards if you will. He was a grumpy son of a bitch but he meant well and he knew his shit. I also knew not to cross the bastard. He might have been old and walked with a limp but he could kick my ass, no problem.

“I’ll slip upstairs; make the call from the bathroom. Tony will never know.”

Frank shined the light on his wristwatch. “You’ve got twenty minutes. Meet me over by that squid thingy.”

I smiled and nodded. “You’re the best, Frankie my man. Remind me to get you some tickets to next season's home opener.”

“Just give me the game ball with your John Hancock and we’ll call it even.”

I nodded. I pushed open the stairwell door and slipped inside.

I took the steps two at a time, my heart pounding in my chest. I couldn’t believe I was really doing this. I knew I said I would, but this was some serious shit. As soon as I did it, I’d have to disappear too. This place had security up the yin yang, especially in the Gems room. There were lasers and motion sensors and all that crazy shit. And it’s not like I have a bottle of wine to swap for the thing. Hey, I saw it in a movie on AMC the other night. Peter O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn, God, she was a stone cold fox. So I’ve got a thing for old movies, so sue me. I did say I was a History major didn’t I? I kind of like the past I just don’t like people knowing I like it.

I pushed open the door to the Upper Floor, finding myself standing before the Brooker Gallery but I completely ignored it. The Hall of Gems was on the other side of the museum. Which meant there was a lot of space between me and there. It also meant there was a lot of space for me to get caught. Somewhere up here, two of my fellow guards were making their way about, just finishing up their shift. I looked at my watch; they still had a few minutes. I clicked off my flashlight and crept along the wall, disappearing into the Evolving Planet Exhibit. I crept around, hiding behind one of the displays. I sat and waited. It didn’t take long for me to spot the two bobbing lights.

I knew these guys, Joey and Hank. They were students like me, trying to make some extra cash on the side. How the two of them got to be paired together was beyond me. I was under the impression that younger guards were paired with senior ones. I sat and waited. The bobbing lights got closer and closer. When they swept over the exhibit, I ducked, hoping that the beams would miss me. Luckily, the two geeks were too preoccupied with other things. They were talking about that Giant superhero the whole city was obsessed about. That’s all they talked about in fact. It got kind of annoying, listening to them prattle on and on about her in the locker-room. The two of them needed to get real girlfriends.

I held my breath the entire time they swept by me. Finally, the two bobbing lights disappeared, the darkness slowly swallowing them. With any luck that would be their last pass. I waited a few more seconds then risked turning my light on again. I looked at my watch. Shift changes took about ten minutes. I cursed. I didn’t give me a lot of time to get to the Gems and grab one but maybe I could hide inside and wait it out. Frank had given me about twenty minutes but he was horrible with time. I always had to remind him when the shifts started and ended.

I took a deep breath and silently got to my feet. I made my way through the exhibit, moving as fast as I could. I almost crashed into a kiosk selling dinosaur souvenirs, cursing because I stubbed my toe on the corner of it. The rest of the way I half walked, half limped. I made good time, passing all these unfamiliar places. There were a lot of things up here that I saw on the tour I took but none of them really stood out. Except the Hall of Gems. The only reason I remembered it was because of the way the girl seemed to talk about it. She was real passionate about it, going on about each precious stone and the value of them. Because of her tour, I knew exactly what one I wanted. It was a blue stone, about the size of a fist; it kind of looked like a bug. The stone’s worth was estimated in the hundreds of thousands, more than enough to pay off Ballard.

I moved through the shadows, finally making it to the Gems.

I gulped when I saw what I’d be up against. There were lasers just like I thought. There were cameras too and I’m sure there were motion sensors in there as well. I sighed. How in the hell was I supposed to get past all that. I’m not Catherine Zeta Jones after all. I ran my fingers through my hair, groaning. Each of us guards had a card key that opened electronic locks and things like that. But there was no way I could use it to bypass all this security. I bit my lip, damn it I should have thought this through a little better.

I started pacing, clicking on my light to look at my watch again.

Damn, I only had about five minutes left. I was almost out of time. If I didn’t do something and quick, I was screwed. My mother was screwed too. I took a deep breath and clenched my fists at my sides. I cursed and took a step toward the room. The hell with this. I was one step away from the lasers when something happened. I’m not sure how to explain it but all the cases in the room started to vibrate. The glass rattled, the metal bases they were on slowly lifted from the ground. I watched, wide eyed as they floated in the air for a few seconds then slowly lowered to the ground. The rattling stopped. What the hell just happened? I took a step away, clenching my fists again. Only one case rattled this time, the base lifting from the ground, the glass vibrating violently.

It was the case with the blue stone. It floated up, the glass surrounding it shattered. I jumped, the breaking sounding like a gun shot. The case fell to the ground, making the loudest boom I’d ever heard. The stone rolled out of its holder and right into one of the red beams. The alarm that followed was loud and blaring. I took a step back, slapping my hands over my ears. A large metal door dropped down in front of the exhibit. I panicked, stumbling backwards, knocking into the rail. Something fell out of my pocket and hit the ground. I tried to grab it but the darkness swallowed it. I went for my flashlight but it was already too late.

I heard the sound of running and two beams cut through the darkness, dancing across the floor toward me. I turned before they could get a real good look at me. But I’m sure they knew I was there.

“Hey” said a voice; it sounded like Joey. “What the hell are you doing up here?”

I took a deep breath and made a split second decision. It wasn’t the smartest one but it was the only thing I could come up with. I ran. I charged the two of them. I slammed into both of them. They were frail little guys; I easily bowled them over. Hopefully neither one of them got a good look at me before I charged them. They hit the ground and I ran over the top of them. I didn’t even stop to see if they were all right. I needed to get the hell out of this place and fast.

I ran for the nearest elevator. I whipped out my key card. I knew I couldn’t go out of any of the known entrances but maybe I could use the loading dock. The guy there was old and lazy; he slept on the job all the time.

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Damn it, that was really stupid. I cursed as the elevator continued its downward descent. I knew it was a bad idea from the beginning and yet that thought of my mother in trouble seemed to fuel my stupidity. Why didn’t I contact the police? I knew it’d get Billiards in trouble but there were more important things than illegal gambling establishments. Now I was screwed both ways. I rubbed the heels of my hands into my eyes and groaned. It was only a matter of time before they figured out it was me and then I was really screwed. What’s worse, I realized what I dropped back there. I didn’t notice it was missing until I stuck my hand into my coat pocket and what I didn’t find shocked me: my phone. I stupidly dropped my damn cell phone. Now it was lying there, in plain sight for all the world to see. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out it didn’t belong there, that I didn’t belong there. I cursed again, feeling the bile rise up my throat. I forced it back down, hunching over a bit as I did so.

Maybe I can talk my way out of this. I am Mike Carter after all.

The elevator dinged and came to a stop. When the door opened, I was greeted by darkness and musty smell. I groaned. In my haste, I pushed the wrong button. This wasn’t the loading dock; it was the basement. They stored a lot of the old exhibits down here, artifacts from all over history. I’d only been down here once or twice. It was a huge twisting maze, filled with wooden crates and towering metal shelves. It kind of reminded of that place at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I took a deep breath and debated what to do next. I looked at the buttons, wondering if I could slip out of the loading dock now. I was pretty certain that the whole museum was on alert now.

I cursed again, I was so fricking screwed. By force of habit, I turned on my flashlight, shining it about in front of me. I held the door open with one hand and took a look around. The basement was kind of cool; it’d be a lot cooler if I wasn’t being chased. I scanned along the nearest stack of boxes, wondering if there was anything cool in there. I continued to move the beam along the row until I got it as far as it would go. When I reached the other end, realization dawned on me. There was a stairwell at the other end of this place, one with an exit that led right outside. It was for emergency use only, in case of a fire but it was there, nonetheless. I smiled and stepped out of the elevator, allowing the door to rumble shut behind me.

I walked along the little hall that the two stacks on either side of me created. They both towered over me, their contents secure in their boxes. I wondered f there was anything worth pawning in one of those. Ok it’s crazy but I’ve still got a real problem. Even if I went to the cops about Ballard now, they’d still take me in for attempting to rob the museum. It was a pretty serious offense; probably land me in federal prison for the rest of my life. I groaned. There’s no way I could do prison, I’m too pretty; I’d be someone’s bitch in ten minutes. I groaned again, there was no way I could go to jail. But what alternative did I have? If I didn’t get Ballard the money, they’d do something to my mother. Her safety was my top priority.

I moved along the stacks, my beam directly in front of me. I scanned it along the floor mainly, making sure I didn’t walk into something that I’d regret later. There were a lot of twists and turns in this place and very little light. If I made a wrong turn, I could get lost and that was bad. This place stretched the whole of the museum and one wrong turn and I could be stuck down here for days. Thinking about that made me shiver and made me all the more vigilant. My heart beat loudly in my chest and was a constant reminder that what I was doing was the stupidest thing in the world. But that was the story of my life. What you don’t think I know I’m a dick. Hey, I know. It’s just sometimes I get carried away. It’s not my fault. All my life I’ve been kind of good at football and there were a lot of people who took advantage of that.

I blame my Anjo coach for that. He sort of stepped into my life after my father left, my mother even dated him for a bit. Coach Dave became a surrogate father figure to me and for a long time I thought he was the coolest.

He had this philosophy to life. He always used to say, “If you have it then flaunt it.” It kind of stuck with me. He was the one who really pushed me into the sport. When I tried out for the team, he saw potential and encouraged me. He even practiced with me when all the other kids left. He not only cared about me but he treated me like a father should treat his son. But there was something off about him too. I didn’t realize it at the time but he was kind of a player. While he was dating my mother, there were always these other women around too. He called them his “special friends” and always made me promise not to tell my mother about them. Dave was a good looking guy and it amazed me that all these women kept throwing themselves at him.

I was crushed when my mother found out. My Mom was a fox when I was younger, she knew and a lot of the single men knew it. But after Dave, things kind of feel apart for her. She went into a depression. He took advantage of her and it ruined her. After they broke up, she pulled me out of Dave’s team. I went to another team. Dave kind of made it his life’s goal to make me miserable for some reason. But in the end I showed him up, our team pummeled his in the Championship. I think it made my mother a little happier.

Unfortunately for me, a little of Dave rubbed off. When I got older and into high school, I got tall and good looking. Hey, I can’t deny what’s true. Common sense kind of took a back seat to my ego. See I can admit it and yet it was like a monster. Women loved me and threw themselves at me, just like Dave. But unlike Dave, I didn’t make a habit of dating more than one girl at a time. Because I never dated any of them. I kind of fooled around a bit and moved on. I carried the philosophy all the way through high school and into college. It’s one of those things where you know you’re doing something wrong but you can’t seem to stop. Kind of like my gambling, it’s this addiction, something that you know is going to bite you in the ass someday but you can’t stop. Consider me bitten. After this was over, I’m never stepping into another gambling establishment again.

I shined the light on my watch and moaned. I’d only been down here a couple of minutes and it already felt like a few hours. It was kind of hard going, moving through the dark with only the dim light of your flashlight guiding you. The only other lights in this place were far off and they flickered, casting light sporadically into the place. As I stumbled along at my slow pace, I first heard them as they entered the room. For a moment, I thought it was my imagination, until I heard the tapping of their feet on the concrete. I cursed and snapped my light off, stopping dead in my tracks. Because the room was so large, their footfall and voices echoed all around me.

“You sure he came down here,” asked one of them, it sounded like Joey.

“Duh, where else would he go” That one was Hank.

Then a third voice spoke, which surprised me. “This is pointless; we should wait for the cops.”

I could recognize Frank’s from anywhere. I sighed. It never occurred to me that they’d drag him into this but why wouldn’t they.

“He could be gone by then,” said Joey, the three of them were moving through the stacks. “Besides this is the only other place left to go. We have all the other exits blocked. I know there’s a way out of here down here somewhere.”

“This is crazy,” said Frank, huffing along. “There’s no way it was Mike.”

“Hey we know what we saw.”

Shit, so they did see me. I took a deep breath and started moving again. They weren’t that far behind me. It was only a matter of time before the three of them caught up. I put some of my constant exercise into play and picked up my pace. I moved as quickly as I could, not daring to use my light anymore, in case they spotted it. I used the dim overheads as guidance. The flickering bulbs were enough to cast circles of light onto the area in front of me. I moved and wove, going from one mazelike pathway to another. I was moving pretty fast too. I got a little cocky and wasn’t paying attention. There was a patch up ahead where the light didn’t show. I figured it was a straight run so I kind of took it as fast as I could go.

I’m not sure why there was a box in the middle of the walkway. But I slammed into it going as fast as I could. The noise was loud and booming. I smashed right through it, getting tangled up and going onto my knees. It hurt like hell. There was some kind of vase inside. It shattered under my weight. I cursed as I pushed myself to my feet. There was no way that they didn’t hear that. As soon as I got to my feet, I heard them running as fast as they could. Luckily, the three of them were out of shape but I knew my luck wouldn’t last for long. I pushed my way through the wreckage and ran as fast as I could, abandoning any attempt to make sense of where I was going.

I was going along pretty good until I hit a dead end. I cursed, slamming my hands angrily into the stack. It shook a bit but luckily, it didn’t go toppling over. Imagine the mess that would cause. I took a deep breath and backpedaled. There was another path that branched off a few feet back. I found it without any problem and started down it faster than I thought I could run. I made a good pace again and others were slowing down. They were definitely out of shape, especially poor Frank with that beer gut of his.

I came to the end of this pathway, stopping at the stack there to catch my breath. Hey, I’m an athlete but I’m not a super man, even I get a little winded. I rested my hand against one of the boxes and something weird happened. The box got hot under my fingertips. I jumped back, surprised. What the hell? I stared at the box for a few seconds then shook it off. There was no way that just happened. I cautiously touched the box again. The burning was gone but it rattled slightly. Not happening, this is just your imagination. I shook off the crazy feeling and started to walk away, laughing. The box rattled some more, shaking everything about. I got about ten feet away and there was a huge crash. I snapped around, half expecting the others to jump on me. Instead, I saw the wooden box on the ground, busted to bits, its contents spilled about.

I cursed. First, I broke a vase and now this. I took a risk and snapped on my light, seeing what mess I made now. Most of the stuff was junk, broken shards of pottery and things like that. I bent down and started stuffing it back inside, making sure I didn’t break anything. I thought I got it all when my light caught a glint of something underneath the stack. I sighed and reached inside, my hand cupping around a round object. When I pulled it out, my eyes got as big as saucers. It was some kind of object, shaped like a football. It was about as big as one too and looked to be made of solid gold.

I hefted it in my hand, it weighed about a pound or two. Someone must have had a thing for gold shaped thingies. I laughed and made to shove it back in the box. But something sharp stabbed me in the finger. I cursed, dropping the stupid thing on the ground. It bounced and rolled away. I cursed again, sticking my finger in my mouth. It was probably a splinter of wood but it hurt like hell. I looked around with my light, finding the gold football a few feet away. I shook my head and walked over to it, picking it up. It felt lighter than before and warm. The warmth disappeared as soon as I cradled it and carried it back over to the box.

I’m losing my mind. I dropped it into the box and lifted the remnants of it, putting it back on the shelf. I started to walk away but something made me stop. I’m not sure what it was, maybe it was my need to save my mother. But that thing was made of gold; it probably cost a damn fortune. I cursed; there was no way I could take it. I shook my head and started to walk away but my conscience failed me. I snapped around and went to the box. I took off my regulation jacket, grabbed the gold orb thingy and wrapped it up. Ok, so I’m going to hell but my mother’s life depends on it.

After that, I seemed that much more anxious to get the hell out of there, especially seeing as dropping that second box really got the others running. I moved a lot faster, not stopping for anything. I wove and zipped through the pathways, finally finding that glorious exit I was looking for. I tore the door open, not bothering to stop as an alarm sounded. There was a flight of stairs leading up. I took them two at a time, running as fast and as hard as I could go. After about ten minutes, I found the exit. It too sounded an alarm but I kept running. I ended up in an alley behind the museum but I ran through it, splashing water from puddles, running as if hell-hounds were at my heels. Who knows, maybe they were after what I’d just picked up.

I got out into the street and flagged a cab. When it got there and I jumped inside, I finally took a deep breath. I sighed, wiped my sweaty brow and told the driver where to go. Then I unfolded my jacket and looked at my prize: the gold orb seemed to gleam and shimmer, radiating a brilliance that I’d never seen before.

I’m in so much trouble.

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I didn’t go straight home; I’m not that dumb. I had the cabby drop me off at a corner near an ATM. Luckily I still had my wallet with me or else I’d be screwed. My clothes were back in the locker room at work, probably in an evidence bag by now. After withdrawing some cash, I went into the nearest thrift store. It was still open, what are the odds. I got some jeans, a shirt and a backpack. I dressed in the bathroom, stuffing my work clothes into the pack. I made sure the gold orb was wrapped up in my jacket; I didn’t want to take any chances. Before I left, I bought a hat and some sunglasses too. The girl behind the counter was gorgeous and a part of me wanted to flirt but I forced it way down. This was one instance where I didn’t want to make a lasting impression.

I left the thrift store in a rush and went to a local twenty-four hour convenience store. I was starving. I looked at my watch; it was about one in the morning. I tore into a burrito and slugged down my pop with reckless abandon. The guy at the counter looked at me like I was nuts but I didn’t care. I just tried to break into a museum display, got chased through the bowels of a mazelike basement and stole an artifact made of solid gold. I think that’s grounds for a little craziness. I dropped a twenty on the counter, told the kid to keep the change and left.

My conscience caught up with me. The guilt tore through me, wracking my body. But what choice did I have. They were going to hurt my mother if I didn’t get them the money. They were going to hurt me, too, but my mother was more important. I started pacing on the sidewalk, looking very much like a nut. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of people around. My conscience kept flipping back and forth, from doing the right thing to doing what I was asked to do. I had something that was worth a lot of money but at the same time, Ballard was a crook and needed to be in jail. But if I turned him in then he could easily retaliate. But the police thought I was some kind of thief. At least I’m sure they did now. I hadn’t exactly stopped to see if the news was broadcasting my image yet. But that was only a matter of time.

In the end, my good Angel side won out. I went to the nearest pay phone and dialed 911. I told them that I had reason to believe that Henry Ballard was involved in some nefarious gambling plots; I gave some examples. Then I gave them my mother’s name and address, telling the dispatcher that I thought she might be in danger. When the woman asked for my name, I refused to give it to her. There was no way I was going to let Ballard connect this back to me. I’m not sure if the woman on the other end believed me or not but at least it was a start. I felt better after doing it and finally hailed a cab home. Sure enough on the way there, it didn’t take long for the museum incident to make the radio. There was an APB out on a suspect fitting my description, wanted in questioning for an attempted theft at the Fields Museum. It didn’t mention me, thank God, but it was only a matter of time. Just to be safe I had the cabby drop me off a block from home. When I got to the Tides, my suspicions were correct. There were two black and whites outside the building. I groaned. There was an officer outside talking to the doorman.

I took the alternative route. There was a back door I sometimes slipped in and out of from time to time. The guy there was named Eddie; he was a fan. He was standing outside when I approached, smoking a cigarette. He smiled when he saw me.

“Mike, where the hell you been. You’re missing all the action.”

“I was at work” I bit my lip. Why the hell did I tell him that? I decided to play dumb. “What’s going on?”

Eddie tossed his cig onto the ground and rubbed it out with his heel. “The cops are looking for someone here; they think they might be connected to some kind of robbery.”

I played dumb again. “No shit. Any idea who?”

He shook his head. “If I were to guess, I’d say it was the guy in 10B, he’s always kind of given me the creeps.”

I nodded. “You think you can let me up the back way, I don’t want to walk through the mess in the front.”

“Sure thing, bro” He took out his key and opened the door for me.

“Thanks, I owe you some sideline seats for the home opener.”

"Get me the phone number of a hot cheerleader and we'll call it even."

I slipped into the building, smiling at my ingenuity. I ran up the back stairs until I got to a proper floor. I slipped out the door and went to the elevator. I punched in a random floor number, biding my time. When I exited the elevator, I went to one of the hallway windows and stared out it. I had a perfect view of what was going on down below. Luckily, it was so late that there was no one in the hall. I stood by the window for what seemed like hours watching the police cars. Finally, two officers exited the building and got into their cars. I sighed, glad that that was over. I went back into the elevator and went to my floor.

When I got to the door, I realized I didn’t have the key. Damn Rick is going to be so pissed off. I knocked on the door, it opened real fast. Almost as if Rick was standing there waiting for me. He was dressed in his pajamas but I could tell I didn’t wake him.

“Jesus Christ Mike, what the hell did you do?”

I didn’t get time to respond. He grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me inside. The apartment was dark. Rick pushed me over to the couch and dead bolted the door. I sighed, dropping the backpack on the floor and collapsed onto the couch.

“You won’t believe the night I had.”

“That seems to be the only thing you know how to say lately.”

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. “Don’t start, I kind of fucked up.”

“You’re telling me. The police just left here, they think you’re involved with some kind of botched museum robbery.”

I smiled slightly. “I can explain.”

His eyes widened. “What the hell did you do?”

So I took a deep breath and told him everything. When I was done, Rick collapsed into the armchair across from me. This time he ran his fingers through his hair. He stared at me, not saying anything for the longest time. When he finally spoke, I heard the disappointment in his voice.

“I told you that that gambling of yours was going to get you in serious trouble.”

“Hey, it wasn’t the gambling. Ballard had me in his crosshairs whether I wanted it or not. He was gunning for me. I was going to pay him back one way or the other. That man is crazy.”

Rick nodded. “Tell me about it. He’s been one of my father’s biggest adversaries for a while now. He keeps trying to push some kind of land development deal in my father’s district but my father keeps vetoing it down. Why he wants land in the north of the state is beyond me. Some political analysts think he’s going to try to run against my father in the next election. The scary part is, he’s got a chance to win the thing.”

I groaned. That’s all this state needed, a psychopath in Congress.

“He threatened my Mom. His goon told me if I didn’t swipe one of the gems from the museum that they were going to hurt her bad.”

Rick sighed. “You should have called the police.”

“Duh, I know that, now.”

Rick got to his feet and started pacing. He did that when he was thinking. Finally, he stopped and turned to me. “The police have eyewitnesses placing you outside the Gem Hall and your phone. They’ve got enough credible evidence to at least bring you in for questioning. I might be able to convince my Dad to help but he’s not going to like it. But he may be willing to toss his hat into the ring if there’s a chance Ballard can see jail time for this.”

I opened my mouth, shocked. “You don’t have to do this, Rick.”

“No, but I’m going to.”

See, we’re real good friends, the best of friends. The only problem is if the situation were reversed would I do the same for him. I’d like to think so but my ego tended to get in the way a lot. I groaned. Why was I such an ass all the time?

I yawned, struggling to my feet. I grabbed the pack, hefting it in numb, tired fingers. “I’m going to hit the sack. Can you give me a heads up if the police try to knock down the door?”

He smiled and nodded. I started to trudge for my room when he asked the question I was hoping he wouldn’t. “What’s in the bag?”

I stopped dead in my tracks. After everything he said he was going to do, I couldn’t lie to him. But I couldn’t tell him the truth either. So I bit my lip and lied. “It's my work clothes. I needed to get out of them so I got this stuff at a thrift store. I didn’t want to look too incriminating.”

“You might want to get rid of them, then.”

I nodded. “I’ll do it in the morning.”

I grabbed the doorknob and opened my door. I kicked off my shoes, sitting on the bed as I did so. I stared at the pack as I dropped it at my feet, stripping off my jeans as I did so. What the hell was I going to do with that thing? I groaned and fell back on the bed, closing my eyes. Right before I drifted off to sleep, I swore a strange golden glow filled the room. I snapped my eyes open and looked around, thinking maybe Rick had turned the light on. But there was nothing. I groaned and went to sleep, thinking nothing about the pain in my stomach.