Budgeree
Part One
by Cory
 

    Angie squinted at the screen on the Ambler, then sighed.  The words seemed to blur, and she could barely read them anymore.  Her head ached, and she desperately wanted some aspirin.
    She stood up, setting down her near empty coffee mug on the table beside the Ambler.  She trudged up the stairs to Rollie's loft, and searched through his drawers for something to make her feel better.
    Her hands closed on a bottle, and she pulled it out.  ASA tablets.  Those would do.  She went in the washroom, and downed two tablets with a glass of water.  She glanced at herself in the mirror.  She looked horrible.  She had bags under her eyes, and her face was pale.  Her hair was slightly unkempt and messy, and she ran her fingers through it.  It didn't help.
    Suddenly Bluey barked, and Angie spun around, eyes wide.  "Bluey?" she called, stepping out of the bathroom and down the steps from Rollie's loft.  "Bluey!".  Then she saw the robot, staring at the telephone booth, the loft's secret entrance.  Her barked at her, then crawled forward, his spidery legs whirring softly.
    A loud beeping from the Ambler made Angie jump, and she whirled around.  An alarm clock flashed across the screen, with the time: 1:30 a.m.  She looked at it, curious, then remembered.  She'd set the timer on when she'd started, to remind her to get some rest.  She smiled, and sat down in front of the Ambler, saving all of her progress and then shutting it down.
    Bluey barked.  Angie spun around, and saw now that he was at the loft entrance.  Angie stopped, then loaded the security cam views of the outside of the loft.  The front camera showed nothing unusual -- only the typical empty view of Brewery Lane.  To be sure, she checked all of the other cameras.  Nothing.
    Angie frowned, then sighed.  Standing up, she reached for her coffee mug.
    It was gone.
    Angie felt something strange was going on.  She knew she'd set it down on the table.  Where did it --
    Then she froze, because she had heard a soft footfall behind her.  Someone was in the loft.  It couldn't be Bluey.  He was right beside her.  She stood silent for a moment.  There was nothing.  Finally, she slowly turned around.  Nobody was there.
    Then a shadow on the wall caught her eye.  She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she moved closer to it.  The shadow didn't move.  Finally she reached it, and for a split second saw its source ...
    Then the black-clad figure across the loft bolted for the door, knocking over a chair in the process.  Bluey barked, and Angie chased after him.  The figure vaulted over a railing, bumping into some shelves, and knocking them in Angie's way.  She jumped back as the shelves came crashing down.  She dashed around them, in pursuit of the figure ...
    But he was already gone.
    Angie ran to the door, and looked down the street.  The intruder was nowhere in sight.  Upset, she grabbed the cell phone, and sitting with her back to the wall, to watch the door, dialed Mira's number.
    Finally, a sleepy voice answered the phone.  "Sanchez."
    "Mira, it's me," said Angie quickly.
    "What is it?" said the police officer.  She knew Angie would have a good reason for calling, but she was annoyed that it had to be at night.
    "Someone just broke into the loft ... "
    "What?!"
    "I was upstairs -- in, uh, Rollie's bathroom, when Bluey barked.  He saw the intruder before I ever did."
    "Are you okay?"
    "Yeah -- I - I'm fine.  He ran away when I saw him.  I don't know why he was here, what he was doing, what he wanted ... but he was here."
    "Angie ... it couldn't have been ... "
    Angie froze.  Could it have?  "I ... uh, I mean ... maybe.  Yeah, but ... why would he be breaking in here?"
    "I dunno," said Mira.  "But he's certainly the only one who could bypass the security systems you have."
    Angie nodded.  "You ... you could be right.  Oh Mira, I just ... "
    Mira paused.  "Yeah ... I know.  You're not the only one."
    Angie sniffed, and felt herself starting to cry.  "Mira ... how ... when will he come back?"
    "I don't know, Angie.  I wish I knew."
 
 

Part Two

Note:  For lack of confusion, part one is dated Friday, June 6th
 

TWO DAYS EARLIER (Wednesday, June 4th)
    "Yeah, yeah, that's right.  A fiction slash documentary.  Crazy, huh?  Somebody thought it would make a good movie."  Rollie gripped the cell phone with his left hand as he used a pencil to edit the design specs for one of the effects rigs. "The Aussie's Heart -- the dramatic story and history of the stone from the rugged outback."  He chuckled.  "Yeah, it's the Hollywood view.  Do you really believe any of these American guys have ever been to the outback?  Believe me, they have no idea ... but hey, it's my job.  You should see the paycheck!  You wouldn't think they'd have such a sum left over after negotiating with the Australian government to use the real 'Budgeree' for some scenes ... yeah, Budgeree's the stone's real name.  You should see the thing!  It was almost impossible to make a fake one for the stunt sequence -- it's so brilliant! ... the stone, I mean.  Anyway, Lou, I gotta go.  Yeah, I'll see you and Kaia next time I'm in Florida.  Okay, bye bye."  He pressed a button on the phone, hanging up.
    "Took long enough," grumped Angie as she passed by, pushing a cart of equipment down the hall.
    Rollie stood up from the folding chair, stretching.  "Sorry, love" he said, "I haven't talked to Lou for a while."
    "Well, now that Lou's gone, how 'bout helping me out?   We gotta wrap up here soon -- they're shutting down the museum the minute we're gone.  They're holdin' up for us, Rol."
    "Alright, alright," said Rollie, holding up his hands.  He grabbed the specs he'd been working on and slipped them into a file folder on the table beside him.  "I'm helping."
    He followed Angie who was pushing the cart of equipment down the museum hallway.  She turned left, and followed a wider hall which opened up into a large exhibit room.  In the center, on display, was the fabulous large "Budgeree" stone, which the Hollywood execs had stupidly, in Rollie's opinion, dubbed The Aussie's Heart.  It was the Budgeree, and should always stay Budgeree.  There was a barrier between the walkway and the main display case, and when the museum closed a web of lasers would be turned on.  Rollie was still amazed at the security systems they had on it, considering it was only in the museum for a few weeks, most of which were being spent by the film company.
    Angie pushed the cart toward the exit door, weaving around the lights, cameras, and cables from the crew.  The few scenes being shot in the exhibit hall were to be used for the documentary part of the film.
    At the exit door, Rollie and Angie met the museum proprietor, Colin Fratesi, and a museum guard.  "You guys all set?" he asked.  Angie nodded, and as Rollie and Angie made their way to the museum entrance the guard locked up behind them.
    Angie headed straight for the F/X van, which was parked beside the makeup trailer.  Rollie first had to stop by the director's trailer and drop off the specs in his hand.  Waving good-bye to Fratesi, he followed the path around the museum to where the trailer was parked.
    One of the trailer windows was open, and Rollie could see from the glow inside that Linus Harroway, the director, was still there.  As he got closer, he could hear Linus talking on the phone.  "Right," came the director's British voice, "it's all in place.  Yes ... yes, we're all set.  We go for the stone Saturday night."
    Rollie stopped dead in his tracks.  What did he mean, go for the stone Saturday?  Rollie moved behind Linus' white Chrysler, which was parked beside the trailer.  From there, he could see Linus inside.  He was smoking a cigar, and leaned back in a small recliner.  Linus smiled.  "I think I've even gotten just the man to go in.  Yeah ... he's from down in the Bronx.  You should see him ... he could break in anywhere.  Uh huh, okay, sure.   Right then ... we'll go take the Budgeree stone on Saturday.  You know where to meet.  Okay ... till then, good friend.  Goodbye."
    Rollie frowned.  This was not good.  He stood up, forgetting totally about the folder for Linus, and ran back to the F/X van.
    He arrived and saw that the van was empty, and his red truck was gone.  "Where's Angie?" said Rollie to a security guard.
    "She left just a minute ago -- said something about being tired about waiting for you."
    Rollie sighed.  Just great -- but hey, that was Angie.  He thanked the guard, and climbed into the van.  Starting the engine, he pulled out of the parking lot, and hurriedly dialed Mira's number on his cell phone.  It rang a number of times, and finally Mira picked it up.  "Mira!" Rollie said, relieved.
    "Tyler," said Mira, slightly surprised.  "You're lucky I'm on night shift, or else I wouldn't've answered.  What is it now?"
    Rollie sighed.  "You're never going to believe this, but the director of my movie is going to steal the Budgeree stone."
    "The what?"
    "Budgeree stone ... an Australian jewel that's on loan from the Australian embassy to our film company for the week.  Budgeree is an Australian bush word for 'good' or 'pretty', which is what the stone symbolizes."
    Mira was all business now.  "How did you find out?"
    "I overheard the director in his trailer.  Mira, we have to do something."
    "Yeah, okay.  Where and when is this heist going to take place?"
    "He said the heist is taking place on Saturday -- the stone's here at the New York Historical Museum, seventeen two twenty-four East Avenue.  He didn't say when, but sometime in the night."  Rollie crossed through an intersection when the light changed, and traveled up a ramp to the interstate highway.
    "Okay, so we still have time.  Listen, you said the stone's on loan from the Australian embassy?"
    "That's right."
    "So we're really going to have to talk to them about what to do.  I mean, it is our turf here, but since it's officially their stone, we should let them know.  The NYPD would still work in conjunction with them.  I'll try and get in touch with them right away, though I have no idea how long it'll take for a response."
    Rollie interrupted Mira.  "No, wait.  I have an old friend who's one of the higher-ups there.  Let me get in touch with him, and you'll get a response much faster."
    Mira paused.  "Alright, but you have to come down here right after.  Agreed?"
    "Agreed," said Rollie.  He turned off the interstate and onto an exit ramp.  "Call you in an hour."
    "Agreed."  He hung up, and in a few minutes was home.  A light sprinkle of rain was beginning to pour down.  He braked the van, and saw that Angie had left already.  He unlocked the shop door, making sure all of the security systems were still active.  Then he ran up the stairs to his living quarters above the loft.  He turned down a small hallway and then entered his bedroom.  Reaching a closet he opened it.  Almost immediately half of his stuff crammed inside fell out.  Rollie grimaced at the mess, reminding himself that someday he was going to have to clean up the place.  Sighing, he searched through the scattered things until he found what he was looking for, a small black leather address book.  He opened it, and looked through the list until he found the entry he wanted: Wesley Tanner, Australian embassy, Washington.  720-555-2183.
   "Blue!" called out Rollie, carrying the book back into the main workshop area.  "Cell phone."  Then he read out the number.
    After five rings the call was answered.  "Wesley?" said Rollie.
    "Rollie!" exclaimed Tanner.
    "Yes, it's me," said Rollie, relaxing.  "How is it going?"
    "Not bad.  Enjoying the stone?"
    "Well, actually," said Rollie carefully, "that's what I'm calling about.  You see, uh, it's going to be stolen."
    There was a long pause.  "Did I hear you right?" said Tanner, finally.
    "Yeah, you did," said Rollie.  "We're filming over at the museum.  I overheard the director talking about it when filming wrapped up.  Whoever he was talking to, they were planning to steal the stone this Saturday.  So I called a friend at the NYPD, and she said she'd try to get the embassy.  Well, I knew you ... "  He left the sentence unfinished.
    Tanner paused again.  "Well, uh, I'm going to have to talk to the higher-ups.  Is your friend going to contact us?"
    "Yeah, she said she would, so expect a call."
    "Good.  Are you doing anything special?  Do you have the time to drop by?"
    "Wes, I can't go to Washington -- "
    "Oh, oh no.  No, I'm here in New York right now."
    "What?!"
    "Yeah, embassy business.  I'm staying at the Regency East Hotel, suite 122."
    "Really?  Well, sure, I guess so."  Rollie glanced at the clock.  "What time?"
    "Well, I know it's late, but can you come tonight?"
    "Yeah, okay.  See you there."

    The digital clock on the van's dashboard read 11:04 as Rollie pulled up in front of the Regency East.  Pushing open the door, he jogged across the quiet parking lot.  It had been  raining for an hour now, and he didn't want to get too wet, if he could help it.  The hotel entrance was sheltered by a fancy lit carport.  Suddenly, there was a screech of tires, and a white Chrysler whizzed by, narrowly missing Rollie.  Rollie squinted through the darkness at the car, but didn't catch the licence.
    Suite 122 was high up on the sixteenth floor.  Tanner opened the door immediately, and Rollie entered.  He removed his wet shoes, and noticed that the carpet was slightly damp where he placed them, inside the closet.
    "So," said Tanner, motioning for Rollie to sit on one of the two large couches in the middle of the room, "take it from the top."
    "Well, I was just about to leave the museum to go back to the shop, and I had to go deliver a folder of specs for a scene we're shooting in a few days to Linus Harroway, the director.  I'd just left the exhibit hall where the stone is kept with Angie.  I heard him talking on a cell phone about stealing the stone."  To the best of his recollection, he repeated the phone conversation to Tanner.
    "Hmm," said Wesley, reaching across to a platter of cold vegetables between the couches.  "I guess this Harroway must have thought there was no one around the trailer when he made the call."  Then he stopped.  "Before we go on, would you like a drink?  The bar here comes with the room.  And I haven't had a guest in here yet, so it's still almost fully stocked."
    Rollie shook his head.  "No, thanks.  Pretty nice place here, though."  The room was decorated very tastefully.  There was a large screen TV in one corner, and large ferns and taller plants sat in intricately painted pots in different places around the room.  A large set of double glass doors opened into a bedroom, which had a large bathroom, king size bed, and another TV, not to mention the bar.
    "Yeah, the joys of my job.  Uh, I talked on the phone to the ambassador in Washington and I have an odd proposal for you."
    Rollie quickly snapped back to attention.  He leaned forward, and grabbed a carrot stick, chewing on it as Tanner continued.  "I know you've helped the police many times before, and this would be like one of those jobs."
    Rollie looked at Tanner.  "Alright, what is it?"
    "I assume you have a copy of the stone for scenes in the movie where you cannot use the real thing?"  Rollie nodded.  "Our proposal is simply this.  You're an F/X guy, it should be a snap; break into the museum the night before the heist, and replace the Budgeree stone with the fake.  Then, when they go to steal the stone, we'll catch them all in the act -- and they wouldn't get the real one anyway.  There's only one catch.  The ambassador said that since this is so important, if you were to do it, you would have to go under our care, with a guard.  No contact with the outside world, lest someone find out about the upcoming heist -- or should I say, double heist."  He stopped.  "Can you do it?"
    Rollie thought.  Finally, he sighed.  "Fine.  I'll do it."  He knew that Angie would handle the F/X stuff well -- she was getting almost as good as him.
    "Good," said Tanner.  "You can go back to your loft, go get whatever you need.  Then come back here.  You'll stay here tonight.  I'll book you another suite.  Then, tomorrow morning, I'll have a guard come and stay at your room.  All your meals, fees, etc., will be paid by the Australian embassy."  He Rollie straight in the eye.  "So, will you do it?"  He stuck out his hand to shake.
    Rollie sighed.  The room guard sounded extreme, but what the hell.  Might as well.  Should be easy enough.  So Rollie reached out and gripped Tanner's hand.  "All right.  I'll do it."
    Tanner smiled.  "Good.  I hoped you would."

Thursday, June 5th
    Angie arrived at the loft early to pick up the equipment they needed for the day.  She unlocked the door.  "Rollie?" she called.  There was no answer.
    She went upstairs to Rollie's room.  The closet was open, and a lot of the things were scattered on the floor.  The bed had not been slept in.  But as she moved closer, she saw a card laying on the pillow.  Biting her lip, she picked it up.

                   Angie,
                         Gotta go for a while.  Be back next week.  I hope you can
                    take care of the film till then.  I know you can.
                                                                                    Love,
                                                                                    Rollie
 
 
 

Part Three
 

Thursday, June 5th - 6:48 a.m.
Regency East Hotel, Suite 126

   Rollie yawned, and flicked the "on" switch on the coffeepot.  He was exhausted, and had been up all night.
    There was a knock on the suite door, and Rollie opened it.  In the doorway stood a large, muscular black man, and beside him stood Wesley Tanner.  "Good morning, Rollie," said Wesley.
    "Uh, yeah, hi," said Rollie, blinking at the tall man.  "Uh, who's this?"
    Tanner smiled.  "Your personal guard," he said.  "Rollie Tyler, meet Tommy 'AK' Vibezzo."
    "Uh, yeah," said Rollie, staring up at the huge man, who towered over Rollie.
    AK grunted, and Tanner laughed.  "He likes you," he said, chuckling.  AK growled, and Tanner held up his hands.  "Okay, okay, sorry.  Anyway, AK, this is who you're to watch until Saturday."  He turned to Rollie.  "I want you to stay in the suite as much as possible.  If you must go somewhere, you will take AK with you.  Agreed?"  Rollie nodded.  "Good," said Tanner.  "You have everything you need?"
    "Yeah ... I-I think so."
    "Good.  I'll come back this evening.  Until then, enjoy the high life."
    "Thanks," said Rollie.
    As Tanner walked back down the hall to his suite, AK unfolded a chair across the hall and sat down in it, pulling out a newspaper.  "Let me know if you order room service," he said, "so I know they're coming."
    "Okay," said Rollie.  "Sounds good.  I - I'll just be in here."  He quickly darted back into the room, and shut the door.

New York Historical Musuem - 11:58 a.m.
    "Hey, Angie."  Angie spun around, startled, and saw the proprietor of the musuem, Colin Fratesi.
    "Oh, hi Colin," she said.  "Can I, uh, help you?"
    "Where's Rollie today?  I haven't seen him around.  I need to talk to him."
    "Well, frankly, Colin, I have no idea," she said.  "You see, he wasn't at the loft this morning.  I don't know where he's gone."
    A worried look crossed Colin's face.  "Oh," he said.  "And you have no idea where he is?"
    "No," said Angie.  "He hasn't called anyone or talked to anyone here, has he?"
    "No.  Well, can you handle my problem?"
    "I guess so.  What is it?"
    "Well, it seems you guys tapped into the computer system here and now my office terminal's on the fritz.  I can't guarantee the security of the system without the terminal."
    "Oh, I can help with that," said Angie.

Regency East Hotel, Suite 122 - 12:12 p.m.
    The cell phone rang.  Wesley Tanner picked it up.  "Tanner -- who is this?"
    "Wesley," said a voice.  "Are you okay to talk?"
    "Go ahead."
    "Everything's going fine.  I set up the virus in Fratesi's terminal, and the security officer's terminal.  There's no way the security cameras can be properly fixed until Saturday morning -- "
    " -- at which point we'll be long gone," interrupted Tanner.  "Good work.  What extra security measures will Fratesi put in until the cameras are active again?"
    "My guess, a coupla extra guards at the doors, and a guard on the roof, but we can take care of him.  It should be a cinch."
    "Good.  Keep me posted."

New York Historical Musuem - 12:45 p.m.
    "Well, sorry Colin, I can't do anything for it now."  Angie walked out of Fratesi's office.  He followed her.
   "What?!"
   "You could probably salvage most of the data if you brought the terminal into a shop, but this virus has eaten its way through quite a chunk of your system."
    "But -- but how ... I didn't do anything."
    Angie was about to say something  when Linus Harroway came by, going the opposite way.  Fratesi grabbed his arm tightly.  "I need to talk to you  now ... " he said forcefully, leading him back into his office.

Regency East Hotel - 11:30 p.m.
   Rollie peered out the peephole.  AK was still there, and had moved on from the newspaper from a cheap paperback from the lobby gift shop.  Rollie opened the door.  "Uh, hi, AK," he said.
    AK grunted.
    "Do - do you want some coffee?" offered Rollie.
    AK looked up.  "Yeah," he rumbled.  "Black."
    Rollie reached across and handed the plastic insulated cup full of coffee from the suite's coffeemaker over to AK, who took it in his huge paw.  "Thanks," he said, and he downed it in one gulp.
    "More?" asked Rollie, but AK shook his head.  "Okay," said Rollie.  "See you in the morning."

Friday, June 6th
Regency East Hotel - 12:08 a.m.
    Rollie peered out the peephole.  AK had keeled over, and was snoring.  Rollie smiled.  The knockout drops had worked.  He just hoped the elephant would stay sleeping until he got back.  Quickly, he changed into a black turtleneck and pants, and put on a black stocking mask, all of which he pulled out of the bag of stuff he had gotten from the loft the night before.  Then he quietly opened the door, and, so not to disturb AK, he slipped out.
 

Part Four
 

Friday, June 6th - 5:02 a.m.
Rollie's Loft
    A knock on the door roused Angie from her light sleep, and she answered it.  Mira stood there.  "Angie," she said, "I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner."
    Angie looked out at the street.  It was still dark outside.  "It -- I'm okay," she said.  "Nothing else has happened."
    Mira nodded silently, and walked in.  The loft was still a bit messy, and she stepped over the cast of a monster.  After a long period she looked at Angie.  "Do you really think it was him?"
    Angie sat slowly down in a chair.  "Yeah," she said.  "It had to be him."

Regency East Hotel - 5:08 a.m.
    A.K. awoke with a jolt.  For a moment, he didn't know where he was, then his mind warmed up.  Hotel -- guarding some guy for Wesley.  Was supposed to stay awake.  Dammit, I was supposed to stay awake!
    A.K. glanced up and down the hall, as if to make sure no one had seen him.  He stood up, and his toe knocked over a plastic coffee cup.  Strange -- even with coffee, he'd fallen asleep.
    Suddenly a thought hit him.  Had someone drugged his coffee?  They might have wanted to get to that guy in the room -- Tyler, yeah, that was his name.  What would Wes do if someone did something to Tyler?  Quickly, A.K. turned and knocked on Tyler's door.  There was no answer.  He knocked again.  Still no answer.
    Nervous, he knocked a third time.  Finally the door opened, and A.K. breathed a sigh of relief.  Wesley wasn't going to kill him after all.  The Tyler guy was safe.
    "What is it?" said Rollie to A.K., squinting at him.  "You woke me up."
    A.K. opened his mouth, and for a moment, no sound came out.  "Uh, nothin'," he said.  "Just checkin' in."  He sat down again, and Rollie realized that that was all he was going to say.  So he shut the door again, leaving A.K. still out in the hall, wondering what had happened.

New York Historical Museum - 2:45
    Angie sighed.  She wished that Rollie were back, but no, he had to run off and leave her with the whole movie.
    A shout from the AD's direction brought Angie running over.  "What is it?" she said.
    "What kind of a crew are we working with!?" exclaimed Terrance.  "Someone has screwed up the lighting in our shot -- we're gonna have to do it all over again."
    "What?" said Angie, watching a piece of footage they had just filmed on the small TV screen.
   Terrance came over beside Angie.  "Joey and his boys had set up the lighting for this shot yesterday night so we could just go and shoot today.  It was supposed to be set up so that when the camera pans by here," he pointed to an area on the screen, "light would reflect off the stone and into the lens.  But it didn't.  It did yesterday, in a test run.  Someone screwed something up."
    Angie watched the footage again.  Terrance was right.  It didn't reflect like it was supposed to.  Suddenly the lighting supervisor, Joey, came over.
    "Hey, Joe," said Terrance.  "I need to talk to you about your boys. Now."  He pulled Joey over to the side, and described the situation.
    Joe held up his hands.  "Hey, don't look at me, bud.  There's nothing wrong with the gear.  No one moved anything.  Your camera must be wrong."
    "What the hell do you mean?" exclaimed Terrance, his face reddening.  "Our camera's on the track.  We couldn't change anything.  Someone must have moved one of the lights."
    "No man.  They're in exactly the same places they were before."
    "Joey, face it, you're an idiot.  If we can't be wrong, you have to be."
    "We're not!"
    "Guys, guys," said Angie, barging into the argument.  "We'll just fix it and reshoot, okay?"
    Fuming, the AD and lighting supervisor walked away in opposite directions.  "This is really gonna screw up the schedule," grumbled Terrance.
    Angie walked back over to the Ambler, when suddenly a thought hit her.  She ran back over to Terrance again, and tapped him on the shoulder.  "Terrance," she said, "could anyone have moved the stone?"
    "What?"
    "No one went in and changed the position of the stone in the pedastal, did they?  If so, it would have affected the reflections on its surface."
    Terrance sighed.  "Angie, that's ridiculous.  You know as well as I do that no one goes near that thing.  Joey screwed up.  He does it sometimes.  We'll reshoot."

11:33 p.m.
    "So, are you ready?" said Tanner to Rollie.
    "Yeah, ready as I'll ever be," said Rollie, heaving a pack onto his shoulders.
    "Good," said Tanner.  "Let's go."
    As they drove to the museum, Rollie glanced over the museum security plans one last time.  "We'll go in through the cleaner's access door around the back of the museum.  From there, I disable a security camera and head into the main room."
    "Oh," said Tanner.  "Don't worry about the camera.  Their system just happened to be attacked by a virus."
    "Really," said Rollie, flatly.  "So, then, I guess we can expect more guards?"
    "Yes," said Tanner, "just two, guarding the viewing hall.  But it shouldn't be hard to evade them.  They won't pay much attention."
    Rollie took this in.  It seemed almost too easy?  "So I guess the stone'll just be lying on the ground for us to pick up, right?"
    Tanner laughed.  "No -- that's the one thing you have to work for."
    Rollie faked amusement.  "Then thanks -- for a moment I thought you didn't need me."

11:42 p.m.
   Tanner pulled the car into a parking spot on a deserted stretch of road, a block from the museum.  Switching off the engine, he looked at Rollie.  "Shall we go?"
    Rollie nodded, and he and Tanner stepped out of the car.  Rollie reached in and grabbed his gear.  Quietly, they jogged through the bushes at the side of the road, and they found themselves in the rear parking lot of the museum, where Harroway's trailer was parked.  The lights inside were off now, and no one was in it.  Rollie contemplated going inside, but decided against it.
    Hiding behind the edge of the trailer, Rollie looked across at the building.  He took his bag off of his shoulders, and opened the top flap.  Out of the bag he pulled a small gadget.  He crossed the parking lot, and attached the gadget to the door.  A light flashed, and the small box beeped.  There was a click, and the lock on the door disengaged.
    Tanner's jaw dropped as Rollie swung the door open for him.  "How did you do that?" he said, amazed.
    "The box produces an electromagnetic field which overrides the programming holding the lock in place," explained Rollie.  "You can pick something almost like this at your local Radio Shack."
    Tanner shook his head, and grinned.  "God, that really makes me feel secure."
    Rollie couldn't help but smile.   He stepped through the door, and Tanner followed.
    Rollie shut the door softly, and the lock  clicked back into place.  He turned on a small flashlight, and shone it around the darkened room.  Across from them was a door.  "That opens up into the corridor by the hall," explained Rollie.  He moved over to the door and opened it a crack, peering out.
    The corridor opened up to the large viewing hall.  At the far end of the hall were two security guards.  One was reading a magazine, and the other snored softly.
    Rollie shut the door again.  "Good," he said, "I won't need any distraction for them.  Stay here," he told Tanner.  "I'll go get the stone."  He opened the door a little bit more and squeezed through.  Carefully, he tiptoed through the darkened corridor.  He entered the main hall, and knelt down behind a display case.  Peering out, he could see the stone in the center of the room.  Four glowing laser beams formed a web around the display case, and Rollie was thankful for the dusty museum air.
    Carefully, he crept up to the edge of the cordoned off area around the stone.  He looked across the room.  The guard was closing the magazine, and put it on the floor.  Rollie held his breath.  The guard stood up, and started walking toward Rollie.
    Rollie bent low, hiding behind a pedestal as the guard went past.  Then, when the guard had sat back in his seat, Rollie crawled back over to the case.
    The guard opened a magazine, and turned his back to the case.
    Rollie examined the crisscrossing lasers.  He took a metal contraption out of his pocket, and extended the claw-like grabbers at the end.  He carefully reached up between the lasers, and quietly he used the claws to grab the stone.  He brought the Budgeree stone through the laser beams, and stuffed it in his pocket.  Then, from a second pocket, he produced an identical looking stone.  He placed it in the claw grabbers, and carefully reached back through the lasers again ...
    The guard heard a soft sound from the display pedestal.  He looked up --
    -- and saw the stone sitting where it was supposed to be.  He chuckled to himself, and turned back to his magazine.
    Rollie exhaled.  It had been close.  Carefully, he made his way back to the far corridor, where he met Tanner.
    "You have the stone?" asked Tanner.
    "Yes," said Rollie, breathing heavily.
    "Let me have it."
    Reluctantly, Rollie gave Tanner the gleaming Budgeree.  "It's gorgeous," said Tanner.  "The embassy owes you a great debt."
    "Right," said Rollie.  "Now let's go."
    Rollie and Tanner ran through the cool night air, and soon they reached the car.  Tanner was about to open the door when Rollie stopped him.  "Wesley, wait."
    "What is it, Rollie?"
    "What are you going to do with the stone?"
    "Give it to the embassy," said Tanner, moving to open the door.  "I'll drop you off at the hotel, then I'll leave for Washington."
    Rollie grabbed his hand.  "Are you sure?"
    Tanner studied Rollie, frowning.  "What?"
    "Are you sure you're not going to sell it yourself?"
    "Rollie, what are you talking about?"
    "I heard Harroway talking in his trailer," said Rollie, his grip on Tanner's arm tightening.  "He had a white Chrysler.  I called you, and in the Regency Hotel parking lot, I almost got run over by the identical car.  Then I get to your room.  I could tell someone had been there.  It was Harroway, wasn't it?"
    "Rollie -- "
    "You're in on this, aren't you?" said Rollie, drawing his face closer to Tanner's.  "And you almost had me fooled.  Except for one thing.  I had never told you that Harroway was in his trailer.  Yet somehow you knew.  How was that?  Did he tell you when he was at the hotel?  Or was it you on the phone???"
   Harroway bit his lip.  Suddenly, he reached under his black sweater --
    -- and pulled out a gun.
 
 
 

Part Five
 

    "Whoa!" said Rollie, putting his hands in the air.  But suddenly, he realized the gun wasn't pointed at him.
    Rollie spun around to see Colin Fratesi, the museum proprietor, staring down at him and Tanner across the barrel of a .22 .  A cold blue light reflected off the gun from an old streetlight.  Fratesi's didn't seem to have his usual smiling, pleasant look.  "Good evening, gentlemen," he said, and he smiled.  No, grinned.  "Actually," he said, glancing at his watch, but keeping the gun trained on Rollie and Tanner, "good morning, gentlemen.  Having a nice night?"
    Tanner stepped back, and shoved the stone into Rollie's hands to get a better grip on his gun.  "Fratesi," exclaimed Tanner.  "I should have known."
    Rollie glanced back and forth between the two men, not sure what was going to happen.  "Hey, uh ... "
    "Shut up, Tyler," said Fratesi, waving the gun at him.  "Just give me the stone."  He stepped towards the F/X artist, and a cold blue neon light.  "Now."
   Rollie glanced in Tanner's direction, then back at Fratesi.  "What's going on?" he said.
    Tanner had a desperate look on his face.  "Rollie, you can't do it -- don't give it to him, or the embassy will lose the stone forever!"
   "Give me the stone!" shouted Fratesi, angrily.
    Suddenly Rollie realized what was going on.  "Oh my god," he murmured.  His mind worked busily, and the puzzle pieces began to fall into place.  He turned to Colin.  "You were the mastermind from the beginning, weren't you?" he said.  "You were going to steal the stone."  He smiled, in spite of the situation.  "It was you on the phone, talking to Harroway in his trailer!  But I overheard, and went to you, Wesley."  He turned to his Australian friend.  "You had to find out about the whole plot, so you made Harroway think that you wanted the stone, and made him a better offer."
    Tanner was nervous.  "Rollie," he said, "I'm so sorry I never told you.  I knew you suspected I was bad.  This wasn't supposed to happen.  I expected Linus Harroway to spill the beans.  But he didn't, and I just had to go ahead with this."
   "You ... " spat Fratesi, moving across the front of the car, but keeping his gun trained on Tanner.  "You were trying to find out about me.  But Linus was too smart for both of us.  He made me think everything was okay, and we'd go ahead with the operation tomorrow.  But I didn't feel right.  So I stayed late.  And good thing, too."  He waved his gun angrily at Rollie.  "Now enough chatting.  I want the Budgeree."
    Rollie seemed suprisingly nonchalant.  "Really?" he said.  He held the stone up.  "Fine."
   "No!" exclaimed Tanner, as Rollie tossed the stone to Colin Fratesi.
    "There you go," said Rollie.  "Good riddance."
    Fratesi turned the stone over in his hands.  "You're a smart man, Mister Rollie Tyler," he said.  "And I thank you."  Carefully keeping his gun trained on Rollie and the ambassador, Fratesi made his way across the road to a black car.  He climbed into the driver's seat, turned on the engine, and sped away.  He smiled evilly at the two of them, and waved mockingly.
    Pleasantly, Rollie smiled and waved back.
    As soon as Fratesi had left, Tanner dropped his gun.  He grabbed the front of Rollie's coat and slammed him against the side of the car, his face mere inches away from Rollie's.  Beads of sweat had formed across his forehead, and he shook from nervousness.  "What the hell were you doing!?" he shouted, almost desperately.  He slammed Rollie harder against the car.  "You just lost the Australian government the Budgeree stone!!"
   Rollie smiled pleasantly, again.  "Au contraire, Monsieur Tanner," he said, adopting a French accent.  "The stone ... " he gestured in the air emphatically, "it has never left my safe care."
   "What the hell do you mean?!" said Tanner, roughly letting go of Rollie.

Saturday, June 7th - 2:13 a.m.
Rollie's Loft

    Angie stared sadly at a picture of Rollie on his nightstand, when a bark from Bluey startled her.  "Bluey!" she called out nervously.  Was someone here?
    She heard the dog begin to whimper, the way a puppy does when when it meets its mother.  She knew only one person the dog would make that sound with.  "Rollie!" she shouted, jumping up from the bed.
    She hurried down the stairs to see Rollie standing at the foot of the stairs, patting Bluey.  There was another man with him, who looked in wonder around the loft.  Rollie looked up and saw Angie.  She raced into his open arms, and kissed him.
    "Oh god, I was so worried about you," said Angie, hugging him tightly.  "What happened -- where did you go?  And why did you break in?"
    Rollie smiled.  "Long story," he said.  "But I have a strange question to ask you, first."
    "What is it?"
    "Where's your coffee mug?"
    Angie almost laughed.  "What?"
   "No, really.  Where is it?"
    "I - I don't know," said Angie.  She let go of him and glanced around the loft.  "I haven't seen it since you -- broke in."
    "Really," said the man.
    "Oh, dear," said Rollie.  "I'm sorry Ange, I forgot.  Angie Ramirez, meet Wesley Tanner, Australian ambassador to the United States.  Wes, Angie."
    Angie took the attractive Australian man's hand.  "Hello," she said, smiling warmly.
    "Hi," said Tanner, softly.
    Angie must have seen the worried look cross Rollie's face, because she laughed softly.  "Two smart, sexy Australian men," she said.  "Hmm."
    Wesley and Rollie exchanged glances.  "Right," said Rollie, trying to steer the conversation back on track.  "Now, where did you say the mug was?"
    Angie was still grinning as she searched the loft for the mug.  She found it on one of the equipment shelves, with some cold, day old coffee still inside.  "Don't know what you need it for," she said, picking up the heavy object, "but here it is."
    "Thanks, sweety," said Rollie, who dumped the remaining coffee into the sink.  The mug was a made of a strong plastic, with an extra wide, unscrewable base, to keep it from tipping.  Rollie grabbed the base, and took it off.  To Angie and Wesley's amazement, out dropped the Budgeree stone.
    Rollie caught it before it hit the floor, and held it up to the light.  "Here it is, Wes."
    Neither Wesley nor Angie knew what to say.  "See," said Rollie, "what Angie said about me 'breaking in' was true.  I got my equipment for the museum break.  But I didn't trust you.  So I did what no one would have thought.  I broke into the museum that night, before I came here, and took the real stone."
    'You -- you stole it already?"
    "Oh yes," said Rollie.  "I did it so that if you did escape with the stone we got tonight, you wouldn't have the real one anyway."
    Angie just stared, openmouthed.  "You broke into the museum and stole the Budgeree?" she said to Rollie.
    "Twice," he added.  "And wasn't too hard, huh Wes?"
    Tanner was grinning, and was ecstatic.  "Oh -- my -- god!" he exclaimed.  "Can you imagine how Fratesi's gonna feel!"
    "Oh, and that reminds me," said Rollie.  "I have get Mira to put an APB on Colin."  He tossed the stone into the air, and caught it again.
    Angie sighed.  "Fratesi?!  I have absolutely no idea what is going on," she moaned.
    "Don't worry, love," said Rollie.  "I'm sure Colin won't either."

TO BE CONTINUED