Chapter 231: 231 | Story Quest: Grand Theft Crystal
The bus rumbled on through California farmland. Three hours into the ride, my phone buzzed.
Group chat. The one without Misato.
Belle: so tonight’s still on right
I stared at the message. My brain took a second to catch up.
Oh.
Oh.
The heist. The Platinum crystal. The insane plan that Belle had proposed back when we were desperate and broke and ranked seventh.
I typed fast.
Jace: we literally just won 5k each
Belle: and?
Jace: and we can just run more gates instead of stealing from the academy
Jace: we’re in FIRST PLACE
Belle: which is why security will be focused on Blair’s squad getting investigated not us
Belle: plus we’re off campus
Belle: perfect alibi
Jordan’s phone buzzed. He groaned and rolled over, still passed out in the back row.
Naomi’s phone lit up. She picked it up from where it rested on her lap, read the messages, and her face went carefully blank.
Belle sent another message.
Belle: 100k crystal splits 5 ways = 20k each
Belle: that’s FOUR successful gate runs worth of money
Belle: and we can do it in one night with zero risk
I looked up from my phone. Met Belle’s eyes across the aisle.
She looked back at me with a smile that was all teeth. Her amber eyes had that shine they always got when she talked about money. Like someone had replaced her pupils with actual dollar signs.
I was not getting through to her. Not even a little bit.
I glanced at Naomi.
Help me, I mouthed.
Naomi set her jaw. Typed something into the group chat.
Naomi: Belle we don’t need to do this anymore
Naomi: we have money now
Naomi: real money
Belle: 5k is not real money
Belle: 5k is rent for my mom for THREE MONTHS
Belle: 20k is rent for a YEAR
I typed again.
Jace: we run three more gates at this pace we’ll have that in a month
Jace: without risking expulsion
Belle: or we do it tonight and bank an entire semester’s worth of paychecks in four hours
Belle: I’m doing this with or without you
Naomi’s knuckles went white around her phone.
I typed faster.
Jace: Belle don’t be stupid
Belle: don’t call me stupid when you’re the one too scared to take easy money
That one stung. And she knew it would.
Jordan’s phone buzzed again. He mumbled something incoherent and rolled toward the window.
Belle kept going.
Belle: my mom’s landlord raised rent AGAIN
Belle: she’s working three jobs and still can’t make ends meet
Belle: I send her everything I can but it’s not enough
Belle: this crystal is literally sitting there unguarded
Belle: waiting for someone smart enough to take it
I understood where she was coming from. I did. Desperation makes people do things they know are wrong because the alternative is worse.
But this was insane.
Jace: what if we get caught
Belle: we won’t
Jace: what if we DO
Belle: then I take the fall alone
Belle: I’ll say I forced you
Belle: Naomi you can say you tried to stop me
Naomi: Belle no
Naomi: we’re not letting you do this alone
Belle: so you’re in?
Naomi stared at her phone. I could see the internal war playing out across her face. The practical side that wanted to help her family. The moral side that knew stealing from the academy was wrong.
She looked at me.
"What do you think?"
"I think it’s a terrible idea."
"But?"
"But Belle’s right about one thing. Security won’t be watching us tonight. Everyone’s focused on Blair throwing a fit about the rankings."
Belle leaned forward in her seat. "See? Jace gets it."
"I said you were right about security. I didn’t say I agreed with the plan."
"You’re scared."
"Yeah. Of getting expelled."
"You’re also considering it." Her smile got wider. "I can tell."
She could. Because despite every logical reason why we should absolutely not break into the restricted section and steal a hundred thousand credit crystal, part of me was doing the math.
Twenty thousand credits.
That was forty days of emergency essence if I needed to buy it instead of extract it. That was equipment upgrades. That was leverage and options and breathing room.
That was also jail time if we got caught.
I typed again.
Jace: if we do this
Jace: IF
Jace: we plan it properly
Jace: no improvising
Jace: no heroics
Jace: we map every ward and every patrol route first
Belle’s grin went absolutely feral.
Belle: I already mapped it
Belle: been scouting for two weeks
Belle: guards change shifts at 2300
Belle: there’s a six minute gap between patrols
Belle: plenty of time if we move fast
I looked at Naomi again.
She bit her lower lip. Stared at her phone. Then typed.
Naomi: my dad’s boat needs repairs
Naomi: engine keeps breaking down
Naomi: he can’t afford to fix it and he can’t work without it
Naomi: 20k would solve everything
My chest did something uncomfortable.
Naomi was the good one. The moral center. The person who cried when we killed monsters because they were still living things.
And now she was considering grand theft because her father needed a new boat engine.
This was my fault. All of it. I’d normalized this kind of thinking. Made them comfortable with bending rules because I needed milk to survive and that required breaking every moral boundary that should have mattered.
Jordan: what are we talking about
Apparently he’d woken up.
Belle: heist
Jordan: cool I’m back asleep
Belle: 20k each
Jordan: I’m awake
Jordan: that’s suicide
Belle: that’s strategy
Belle: I have Silver detection now thanks to Jace
Belle: I can see every ward from 50 meters out
Belle: we disable them in sequence and grab the crystal before anyone notices
Jordan: and if someone DOES notice?
Belle: Jace has something for that
Belle: we disappear for 45 minutes
Belle: by the time we come back the guards will have moved on
I hadn’t thought of that. Using the Sanctum as an emergency escape route was actually smart.
Which terrified me because it meant this plan might actually work.
Jace: we need to vote
Jace: all four of us
Jace: unanimous or we don’t do it
Belle: fine
Belle: all in favor?
Naomi: I’m in
Belle: obviously I’m in
Jordan: this is stupid
Jordan: I hate all of you
Jordan: yes I’m in
Three dots appeared next to my name in the chat. Everyone waiting for my response.
I looked out the window. Vineyards rolling past. Normal people living normal lives that didn’t involve debating whether to commit felonies for tuition money.
My fingers hovered over the screen.
This was wrong. Obviously wrong. We’d just won first place. We had money coming in from legitimate gate clears. We didn’t need to risk everything on a heist that could destroy us.
But twenty thousand credits.
That was real money. Life-changing money for people like Belle and Naomi whose families actually struggled instead of just complaining about trust fund delays.
And if Belle was doing this with or without us, at least having the squad involved meant she wouldn’t die alone when it inevitably went sideways.
I typed.
Jace: yes
Jace: but we do it MY way
Jace: full reconnaissance first
Jace: exact timing on everything
Jace: and if ANYTHING looks wrong we abort immediately
Belle: deal
Belle: meet at my room at 2200
Belle: bring dark clothes
The chat went quiet.
I locked my phone and slid it into my pocket. Closed my eyes and leaned back against the seat.
"You okay?" Misato asked from beside me. Her clone was driving us home.
"Yeah. Just tired."
"You look stressed."
"Gate aftereffects. Always hits me delayed."
"Mm."
She didn’t push. Just went back to her tablet, reviewing our performance metrics from yesterday’s extraction.
The bus rolled on. My phone felt heavy in my pocket. Like it weighed a thousand pounds instead of a few ounces.
Twenty thousand credits or expulsion.
Those were the stakes Belle had just set.
And I’d said yes.
Because apparently I was just as stupid as the rest of them.
The System pinged. New notification.
◆ STORY QUEST UNLOCKED ◆
TITLE: THE MIDNIGHT HEIST
OBJECTIVE: Infiltrate the academy’s secure vault and retrieve the [Platinum Crystal] without being identified or apprehended.
SUCCESS CONDITIONS:
Acquire the target item.
Escape the vault undetected.
Remain uncaught for 24 hours post-heist.
REWARDS:
+1 Active Ability Slot
10,000 Points
Title Awarded: [Master Thief]
FAILURE CONDITIONS:
Triggering a high-level security alarm.
Being identified by faculty during the attempt.
Apprehension by academy security forces.
CONSEQUENCES ON FAILURE:
Immediate expulsion from San Nicolas Academy.
System Reset: All accumulated points, levels, stolen abilities, and upgrades will be permanently wiped.
