Breaking and Entering

Breaking and Entering

Madril quietly opened the office door after picking the lock. This was the easy part. The studios in the museum had little protection. He stepped over to the table and uncovered the frame. This was it. His grandfather's painting, one of six the museum owned, donated by his grandmother years ago.

He started to wrap it in the canvas when the light flicked on. A plainclothes cop and the security guard both had their weapons drawn.

"Set it down, gently."

"You're taking this way too seriously. I wasn't going to steal it!"

The security guard snorted. "Oh sure, they all just break in to take a gander and leave."

The cop walked Madril out to the car. It was a regular sedan, no wire cage, no cherries on the roof. He shoved Madril in the passenger seat. He spoke to the security guard for a few minutes and then climbed in. He didn't look at Madril, just drove. They pulled up in front of an office building.

What the... Madril wondered what the heck was going on. The cop took him inside. Several offices were occupied, even though it was four in the morning. The cop took the cuffs off. Madril rubbed his wrists and looked around.

"You're wondering why you're here instead of booking."

Madril nodded.

"This isn't a police station, obviously. We haven't actually arrested you and the security guard works for us. You walked into that museum like it was a dime store. Just how good are you?"

"Good enough. I've never been caught. Until today." Madril glared. "And I wasn't going to take it. I just noticed it was missing and wanted to know if it'd been stolen."

"You would have found it."

"Yeah, and stole it back. I would have sold it though, spent the rest of my life livin' it good." Madril leaned back in the chair.

"I'd like to offer you a job. We need someone to break into buildings and I think you have the talent."

"How much?"

"Enough to keep your bills paid." The cop leaned forward. "I'm not a cop. I'm your cousin. My name is Folano Bartoga. I own this security company. I found your mother about a year ago and have kept tabs on you two."

"Spying?" Madril shifted uneasily. "Shit."

"So you get a choice, work for me, or I take you to jail." He smiled.

"Fine. I wasn't going to steal it, you know."

"I know."

Entry for "Invalid Item"

. - Honorable Mention

***9-22-13 This item has been edited and now exceeds the word count limit of 300 for the contest.

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