Chapter 4: The Heist

Tri chuckles to herself as she climbs down into her backpack. "The look on his face... priceless." She grins, her eyes and fur tips bright purple.

Topher lifts up the backpack. "Huh. I was expecting this to be heavier..."

"Was that a crack about my weight, kitty-boy?" She glares up at him.

He shakes his head, "It's just that you've got a four bedroom apartment in there, as well as a control room."

She smirks, "Okay, I'm going into camouflage mode. if the museum guard asks to look inside your bag, don't panic. All you've got in here is some harmless school supplies and a water bottle."

He nods, "Got it. What I don't get is why you aren't just teleporting us in there."

Tri rolls her eyes, "Timeless Through The Ages is charging right now. I told you that. Anyway, this is so much more fun."

Topher sighs, "Alright. Let's do this." He zips the bag closed, hoisting it onto his back.

His foster mother looks up when he comes down the stairs, "Where are you headed, Chris?"

He smiles at her, "I'm heading to the museum to check out the Jewellry Through The Ages exhibit." It's not a lie, exactly. He's going to check it out of the museum, just without permission.

She smiles back, "Okay. But be back by one, okay?"

He nods, figuring that gives him just enough time to pull the heist off and deliver the goods to his "employer" before arriving at home. "Okay, Lenna." He gives her a quick hug before heading out the door.

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Midnight stands in front of a large crown in a glass case, reading the description. She had a rare hour-long break from the restaurant, and decided to visit the travelling jewellry exhibit at the museum.

Topher glances around the area. If he was only stealing one piece of the exhibit, he wouldn't need Tri's help. But a whole exhibit wouldn't fit in a regular backpack, so when he was given the job, he thought instantly of Tri. "Here goes..." He closes his eyes and throws out his arms to the sides, freezing time.

The backpack opens, and Tri steps out. "Huh. Nice use of your powers."

"You didn't know I was going to do that?" He shakes his head. "Anyway, let's just get this done before the effects wear off." Topher's power is to freeze time, but he can never be sure for how long, because it varies. It's never been shorter than ten minutes though, and that's plenty long to steal an exhibit if you don't have to worry about alarms.

They put all of the pieces into a special room in Tri's backpack that she cleared out for the occasion. "If Phineas and Ferb found out I was using this to help a thief..."

He flinches, "Just make sure we have everything please."

She obliges, climbing down into the bag again. She counts the objects up quickly, then gives Topher the thumbs up before turning camouflage mode on again. He zips up the bag and puts it on his back, moving to the exact position he was in before he froze time. Just in time, too. Suddenly, alarms start blaring loudly, and patrons gasp as the objects that were there instants before are gone.

Midnight stares at the empty case in shock for a couple moments. "It just disappeared."

Topher walks up beside her, "They all did. Everything is gone."

She turns towards him, "How is that even possible?"

"I... I have no idea." He jumps as the museum security guards block off all entrances to the room.

The head of security stares in shock at the empty cases, broken glass, and stunned patrons.

"Nobody leaves this room until the police get here, understand?"

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"Did you see anybody suspicious when you were in the museum?" The police officer looks down at Topher.

He shakes his head, "All I know is that the jewellry was there when I walked into the room, and gone before I got to look at any of it."

The officers look at each other, "That's what everyone is saying. It just vanished."

"That's impossible, though!" Topher looks down, "I mean, I'm not the smartest kid in my grade, but I know that stuff can't just disappear."
The police officers nod. "That's the problem, kid. We can't figure it out."

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Midnight watches the young cat leave the museum. Her questioning had been equally short, but being as she had been questioned before Topher, she decided to wait for him to be done. Something about the way he had responded to everything being gone didn't seem quite right. She wonders if he knows anything about it, and decides to follow him.

He ducks under a dock at the beach, and gets down on all fours, crawling into a cave in the bank. Midnight follows him at a distance, not wanting to let him know she's there. She watches in surprise as he stands up almost thirty feet into the tunnel, the small hole enlarging into a huge cavern, filled with pedestals that are holding various objects.

Topher groans at the empty room, "I did what you told me to. You can at least show up to our meeting."

A taller cat moves out of the shadows. "Hello son. Nice to see you again."

"I wish I could say the same." Topher pulls the bag off his back and unzips it. "I got the whole collection for you."

Zachary raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms, "In that little bag? Christy, I thought you knew that I'm smarter than that."

His son clenches his jaw, "Don't call me that. And this is no ordinary backpack." He reaches in his hand, and Tri passes him the first piece. "Where do I put them this time, Zach?"

Midnight watches from behind a large statue that she recognises as having been stolen a few months ago piece by piece from a museum in a larger town not too far away. Topher unloads the entire collection onto the cart. "Good work, son. I'll contact you next time I need a job done."

The younger cat hisses under his breath, "You always do, Dad. You always do."

The waitress moves back out of the tunnel to confront Topher when he comes out.


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