Artificial Wealth

Crickets were chirping as night began to fall across the city. A blanket of
darkness covered from the tops of buildings down to the equally black tar of
the road. Cars continued driving past, as they always have, are, and will.
Pedestrians were always few and far inbetween, whether for their own safety or
simply the ability to drive wherever they needed to at night. The city was more
than plentiful in its supplies of taxis and buses, if a personal car was too
much to ask of a person. However, one refused any motorized means of transport;
not for a lack of money or want of exercise, but for a want of quiet.

A tall, gray trenchcoat concealed him as he walked down the slowly wetting
sidewalks; rain had just begun to fall upon him. He didn't mind, it wouldn't
affect anything either way.

He stopped in front of a building and glanced up to assure himself, then continued
around to the side. The figure approached a window and pulled a small needle
from his pocket, then clamped it with a small piece of angled metal. He turned
the needle in a perfect circle with help of the other piece, quietly pulling
out a disc of glass for him to sneak through, as he hopped through and dumped
his entry tools by the window.

Quietly stepping through the building, a stairwell slowly came into view as
the figure quietly crept down it, keeping his breathing low and quiet as to not
bring any possible attention to him. He hadn't seen anyone yet, but it's best
not to take a single chance.

At the bottom of the staircase was a long corridor of doors, each slightly
looking more durable than the last. After scanning the hall, he darted down to the
very end and looked at what lay in front of him. A large metal door, most
likely made of some government-secret compound. Worth a fortune on its own, but
that's not what he was here for. Besides, getting the thing out would prove
more than arduous in its own right, especially while staying quiet.

He looked at the keypad in front of him that kept the door locked and
shoved his hand into his pocket. After a few moments of shoving about he pulled
out a small screwdriver and began to undo the panel. He let out a long breath.
"One shot."

Prodding at wires and circuits within the panel, he pressed on for what
eventually led to upwards of twenty minutes until he heard the sound he'd been
hoping for - a small click. He stepped back and placed the cover panel back on
and slowly pulled open the large door, seeing yet another door inside, equally,
if not more, durable than the one just before. Instead of a keypad blocking his
path, however, it was a small screen. It took the figure a moment to recognize
it, realizing it was a retinal scanner. He needed the eye of the building's
operator to get through, and that was out of the question.

Once more he pulled the front panel off, seeing a very basic system, and as
such, a very small window of breaking through it, if a window at all. He sighed
once again and slowly pushed bits of circuitry and wires out and around with
the screwdriver, careful not to accidentally put his hands on any part of it.

Fifty. Solid. Minutes. His eyes almost began to shut during parts of his
work, but they didn't. He kept awake, kept strong and kept focused until that
relieving click sounded once more. A long sigh from the figure, followed by a
minute of rest before he put the panel back onto the device and swung open the
door.

Inside was a single crate. It was easy to open, all he had to do was throw
the lid off and look at the spoils that he had earned.

A small white box sat inside. Pristine, polished, corners and edges
perfectly crafted; it looked inhuman, and it almost was. The figure grinned and
pulled a small cloth around it, then held it close to him, placing the lid back
on the containment box and exiting through both doors, shutting them both
behind him. He sighed, the same grin still on his face. "I hate doing
things quietly, but for a piece of this price and caliber.. well, I suppose
it's worth it."

Just under an hour had passed as the figure stepped back into a building
and began up a small flight of stairs, stepping into a familiar office. He set
the box down on his desk and threw off his trenchcoat, opening his still clean
black suit to fresh air once again. The Godfather pulled his hat off, setting
it on a rack and sat in his chair, glancing at the newfound prize he'd obtained
once again from the FBI's underground laboratory storage unit. He knew exactly *what*
it was, but what it could *do* was an entirely different story.

He placed both his hands on top and pulled them apart, revealing a small
opening in the top. He plugged in a small laptop through a USB connection and
waited for a moment, before the screen was immediately flooded with new
windows, slowly closing one by one, leaving a single one behin, "D.R.47
TERMINAL."

The entire FBI's database was now at his fingertips, the suckers put
everything into this device. The entire knowledge of the government- anything
and everything that had been collectively logged under the government's watch
was now at his disposal, and he was thrilled.

He opened another window into a folder, (D:) D.R.47, and began to drag its
contents over onto another server he had hooked up beforehand. Though it did
take awhile, it was eventually all said and done. He pulled the box from the
computer's connection and threw his large coat back on, stepping outside once
again, clutching the box.

Just before the crack of dawn, he arrived just behind a small diner,
another man waiting there as well.

"The object?"

"In all the conditions you need it for."

"Wonderful." The man stepped to the side, revealing a few
briefcases; some filled with raw bundles of cash, others filled with gold, one
even completely packed with raw, uncut diamonds. "Sixteen million in mixed
currencies. I figured you'd want a bit of extra for the hassle of turning it
all into liquid capital."

"You know me so well, don't you."

"Hardly. Just the sorta thing one would assume, yeah?"

"Of course."

The two shook hands and parted ways, the Godfather smiling to himself,
another thought crossing his mind. Of course he could just let the guy have it,
but if it's worth that much money, surely he could just sell it again, couldn't
he?

He grinned, slowly piecing together scraps of a plan in his head.