Jack pulled the blueprint file back up on his screen.
The bright blue schematics illuminated his pale face in the pitch-black basement.
The target was The Aurelia Gallery on 57th Street.
On the surface, it was a sleek, high-end art gallery catering to Manhattan's wealthiest snobs.
Underneath, three levels down in a reinforced concrete vault, sat the Russian mob's $4.5 million war chest.
Jack leaned forward, analyzing the security measures line by line:
Four heavily armed Russian guards inside the vault monitoring room.
Laser motion grids protecting the main underground hallway.
A silent alarm wired directly to the NYPD 17th Precinct, set to trigger if the vault door was tampered with or if power was cut.
"Direct force is impossible," Jack muttered, clicking his pen against his knuckles.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"If I breach the vault by force, the silent alarm trips, NYPD arrives in four minutes, and I get cornered like a rat."
He leaned back, his eyes narrowing into cold, calculating slits.
"So... we don't breach it in silence. We make so much noise that the security team panics and breaches it for us."
Jack pulled out his yellow notebook, drawing a precise timeline of his upcoming heist.
He didn't need high-tech explosives.
He had his modified shortwave radio rig, his newly acquired Basic Lockpicking & Wiretapping Mastery, and $2,254 in cash to buy supplies.
The plan was elegant, chaotic, and completely Joker-esque:
Phase 1: The False Flag. Using his wiretapping mastery, Jack would hijack the gallery's internal intercom and fire alarm system, broadcasting a spoofed emergency signal that simulated a violent raid by their rivals—the Maggia family.
Phase 2: The Security Trap. When the paranoid Russian guards inside the vault hear the Maggia raid alarm, their standing order is to transfer the bearer bonds and diamonds into mobile security cases for evacuation. They would open the vault door from the inside.
Phase 3: The Ghost Extraction. While the guards scramble to secure the perimeter, Jack will slip into the vault through the building's old ventilation shaft, bypass the internal electronic locks, swap the real diamonds for fake glass, and slip out into the Manhattan rain before anyone realizes the war chest is gone.
Jack closed his notebook with a sharp clack.
A brilliant, translucent purple notification flared warmly across his vision.
[ System Mission Generated! ]
Objective: Execute the stealth heist on the 57th Street Russian Mob Vault without triggering an NYPD response or being identified.
Time Limit: 48 Hours.
Rewards:
+0.5% Template Synchronization (Brings total to 2.3%)
$1,000 System Cash
Unlocked Trait: Chemical Intuition (Basic)
Jack stared at the glowing violet text.
+0.5% synchronization. The largest jump yet.
And unlocking Chemical Intuition meant he could finally start experimenting with real Joker toxins on his workbench.
"Two point three percent," Jack whispered softly.
His smile widened, dark and full of razor-sharp malice in the flickering lamp light.
"Tomorrow night... we rob the Russians blind."
....
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