Chapter Six
Six Months Later

Sqweky felt... excited. This Randolph guy, he knew what he was about. Surmas had been right, with the new things that he had taught him; Sqweky's skills had become unsurpassable. Even challenges now seemed fairly easy. Sqweky felt a great shock, at first, to learn that Surmas was so much more skilled than he. At first.

Tonight though... Tonight they were to take on a job that would be king of all thefts. They would go down in legend. Sqweky laughed to himself at that thought. For some reason, it amused him. However, the thought was not unrealistic. Apparently some client of Randolph's really, REALLY wanted a certain museum piece that would leave the city tomorrow. Usually, this would not be too difficult. But this was a different museum: The Museum of Supernatural Arts. Mostly known as the "Haunt House." Despite its name, magic was not practiced inside of it, for any reason. Many of the artifacts inside were either of magical value, or religious importance. AND... Nothing had ever been stolen from it. The guards inside were commonly known for being crueler than the Hammers when they catch thieves. Tonight though... Sqweky shivered with anticipation at the thought of pulling off this heist.

Surmas and Sqweky had both been through most of the few public viewings that the museum offered, and had "acquired" a copy of the blueprints of the building, along with a few other necessities. So far, Randolph had made good with his promises, and had paid all expenses concerning the job. And was going to pay an astounding rate for the piece. Sqweky didn't even try to think what the buyer was paying for it.

Everything was planned. All they had left to do was wait for nightfall.

When darkness had fallen on the city, Sqweky and Surmas went to work. Most of the time, one could pull off any job without the others help. Not tonight. Tonight they would need each other, if they wanted to survive. They reached the actual building without a problem. The premises were sparsely guarded. (It was what's in the inside that matters.) The best point of entry, Surmas had decided, was from the roof. There was a glass sunroof that was right above the main exhibit hall where the item was located.

Sqweky still wasn't sure what the item was, exactly. He knew what it looked like, but not why it was so important. Why anyone would want an iron ball with two masks on it was beyond him. You couldn't fit it over your head, and it wouldn't hold anything. There weren't even any precious adornments on it. Yet it was the center display, and Sqweky and Surmas were getting sixteen THOUSAND gold pieces, just to steal and deliver it. So Sqweky just assumed it was some sort of religious icon that some rich nut wanted. The museum didn't help either. All they ever said about it on the tours was that was of "unknown origin" and was believed to "carry a curse" due to some runes written on the sides.

When they reached the sunroof, access was all too easy. Getting up on the roof had been hard, as it was difficult to hide two men climbing up a grappling hook. But no one saw them, and no one patrolled the roof. The sunroof had several panels that lifted up and were right over several support beams. Once inside, they reviewed the plan.

"Wait here and get ready. I'll find the generator for the electricity. Once it goes off, you'll have to swing down and grab it in the dark. Then get your way back outside and to the safehouse. If it takes me more than three hours, don't take any chances, just leave. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good, now get ready."

Which Sqweky did. He set his grappling hook in place and envisioned the run and the swing. Getting a mental picture in his mind of where the icon was. He took a few runs, just to make sure he had them down right. And then, he waited. And waited. By the moon he waited almost two hours. Then the lights went out. Almost immediately, several shouts went up. Not shouts of alarm, but of annoyance. Most of the guards might not realize what was happening for several minutes more.

This museum was a strange thing. Once this 'electricity' thing came out, the museum immediately switched all forms of lighting with it. As things go, it was still fairly recent. Most lords didn't even use it yet, and those who did, used it sparingly. And Lords had everything first. The only thing that confused Sqweky was how Surmas knew to kill the generator.

No time for that now. Sqweky thought to himself. He took his short little run, and swung. Being three floors up made the wait a bit long, but so was the rope. And the moon let a little light through the sunroof. However, the biggest help was the immense size of the hall. It was long enough that the swing was possible. Which was good, because it would be the fastest way to snag the icon. Assuming that he snagged it on the first try. Sqweky didn't think about that though. He started his run. No turning back now. Rising to his full height, he started running south along the beams, and jumped off when the rope was almost fully extended. As he did so, he slipped his right foot into the hole at the end of the rope. It was dark, but the windows on the ceiling provided just enough light to make out basic shapes. If he was right, he would reach the icon at the bottom of the swing. It was a long way down, and the swing seemed to take forever. Sqweky didn't let that bother him, though. He kept his foot in the hole, and the opposite arm outstretched. Right at the bottom of the swing, his hand started to touch something. It started to tip, and he raised his hand just a bit. His hand slid into some hole and he took whatever it was with him on the swing up.

He managed to stop himself at the second-floor balcony by placing one foot on one side of it, the other foot on the other side, and squeezing. It worked, barely and tenuously, but it worked. He looked hastily at what he had. If it was some mask or something else... It was the icon! Sqweky hurriedly stuffed it in the bag brought just for the icon and let himself swing down again, climbing the whole way. By the time the guards made it into the hall with torches, Sqweky was on the outside, on the ground and on his way home.

Perhaps it was the euphoria for succeeding, perhaps it was the penetrating chill that this strange, snowless winter had, or perhaps it was both. Whatever the reason, Sqweky was careless and someone saw him climbing the wall. Sqweky might not have noticed the shouting if and arrow hadn't struck the wall half an inch from his leg, as it still dangled on the museum side. If Sqweky wasn't so used to pain, he might have been caught with a broken leg on the other side, having fallen in an awkward manner. But Sqweky was too hard for that. It hurt, more than anything had ever hurt him in his life, but he ran. Taff, it hurt, but Sqweky continued to run. It hurt so much that Sqweky didn't even realize he was actually wincing with each step.

From the sounds coming behind him, guards were starting to come and search. Guards were easy enough to hide from, even guards from the Haunt House. But, there was a Hammer garrison near here, and if the guards went to them, Sqweky was actually in danger of being caught red-handed. Fortune was with him, though, and he found a canal. Sqweky had the sudden realization that he had no idea where was, or how he had gotten here, but it was welcome, and he jumped in, and found a shadow to hide in, (swimming was impossible with his leg.) He knew shock was setting in, but if he were to be found, shock would be the least of his worries. Sure as his leg was broken, Sqweky heard voices from the street above him, and his spirit sank.

"Art thou sure that there was a sound from near here?"

"I'm pretty sure, I though I heard a splash or something."

It was a guard and a hammer; that wasn't good.

"Well, then, to be sure, If thou wilt strip off, and check below, I wilt let thee up when thou'rt done with thy search. If he is not in the near area, he will be either far away, or not here at all."

"You got something for me to dry off with?"

"As it so happens, I have an extra cloak that thou canst dry thyself with."

"Well, then, I'll get goin'. If ya can't trust a Hammer, who can ya trust?"

Sqweky seemed to think that if he got caught, he wouldn't be able to trust the Hammer at all, or the guard, for that matter.