The Emerald

Jackpot! Lauren thought happily as she looked into the box. Inside was the very emerald that she was looking for! Smirking, Lauren picked up the emerald and carefully closed the jewelry box, sitting it back where she had found it. Lauren carefully climbed down from the chair and tiptoed out of Karen's bedroom.

Next thing she had to do was disable the cameras. Looking around, Lauren saw a closed door down the hall. She tiptoed to the door and turned the knob, only to find it locked. Well, at least I know where the camera room is. She thought. Now I just need to find the key.

Lauren quietly made her way back to the bedroom. She checked the jewelry box again, but the key wasn’t there. She checked the closet; no luck. She looked through the side table drawers; zilch.

Lauren tiptoed back out into the hall again and finally noticed a potted plant by the locked door. Surely, she’s not… Lauren thought as she waddled over to the plant. She lifted it up and, sure enough, the key was there. Lauren groaned as she shook her head, picking up the key and unlocking the door.

Upon opening the door, Lauren saw a row of about eight TVs with wires attached to them. Lauren smirked. This is too easy. She thought as she went over to the TVs and pulled out the wires, disabling the camera feed. For extra measures, Lauren ejected the current tape and removed the film before walking into the living room and tossing it into the fireplace, smirking as she watched the film begin to melt.

--

Back in the car, Rachel was snoring loudly as Cassandra was reading the article again. They both jumped a bit as Rachel’s phone began to ring.

“Hello?” Rachel asked, answering the phone.

“Rachel, Cassandra, it’s Lauren!” Lauren said over the other end, her voice rather smug. “I got the emerald and the cameras are offline.”

“Already?” Cassandra asked. “This seemed a little too easy, if you ask me.”

“Who cares?” Lauren asked, giggling a bit. “Just bring the car around and get ready to pick me up.”

“Rodger that.” Rachel said as she hung up.

--

Lauren hung up the phone and waddled over to the front door. Thankfully, Karen had forgotten to lock the top locks, so all she had to do was unlock the last one. After unlocking the door, Lauren ran outside to see the getaway car just pulling up.

“Well, girls,” Lauren said as she sauntered up to the car, handing Rachel the emerald, “we got our meal ticket!”

“This little rock is going to make us millions!” Cassandra squealed as Rachel held it up.

“It certainly is.” Lauren said with a giggle as she walked over to the back seat and pulled on the door handle.