Chapter 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.