Chapter 53

Warehouse District, 1600 Olympic Boulevard, Suite 100, Los Angeles, California, United States

"So you just call this 9-1-1 number and they help you, no matter what?" Gen asked, turning off the device that she'd used for the first time and didn't look forward to using again anytime soon. It was strange talking to a disembodied voice—like a bizarre magic akin to telepathy. Emperor's was the only voice she wanted in her head and even then, that had taken some getting used to.

"You call them when you have an emergency and need help," Emperor stated.

"Well, I wouldn't say our situation was an emergency, but we did need someone to cart that foolish coward back there away." Gen nodded down the road where they'd left Hamilton Dixon, trapped in his sports car which was so badly damaged, even the windows wouldn't roll down. He would be fine until the authorities got there and arrested him, hoping to find all the evidence that pinned him to the robbery at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Now they just needed to find the stolen medieval artifacts and the person behind the big heist, who Hamilton couldn't name, due to magic.

Gen dropped the electronic device on the ground, picked up her boot and crushed it with her heel, enjoying the crunching noise it made. "But that 9-1-1 service is nice to have. Now the police can come and clean up our mess. Are we ready to go and dirty some stuff up?"

"Yes, absolutely," Emperor responded, stationed beside her in the darkened street. "And I have some ideas of how we can do that and make the best entrance possible."

Gen grinned up at him. "I'm listening. It's all about the element of surprise."

"Well, we don't want to just waltz in there, do we?" Emperor nodded his large head in the direction of the oversized metal building across the street.

Amidst the shadowed underbelly of Los Angeles, a warehouse pulsated with illicit activity, its insides filled with stolen relics of time past. The opened roll-up doors showed the activity happening within the metal walls. Men, fueled by desperation and greed, hustled beneath the skeletal beams, their shouts clashing with the clang of the crates of artifacts and treasures they'd taken from various places.

Emperor's telepathy had determined that not only was the warehouse housing some of the medieval items from LACMA. There were also items stolen from other museums all over the City of Los Angeles. It was filled to the brim with millions of dollars of valuable pieces, robbed from various sources.

The men inside the warehouse all had the same guards on their minds as Hamilton Dixon, which meant they worked for the same person. That was what Gen and Emperor had to figure out. But most importantly, they had to shut down this operation.

Crime that was controlled was one thing. Crime that could be used to benefit the community and society at large was understandable and served a purpose. But this, well, it was an abuse to the arts, history and the people who the City of Los Angeles belonged to—the citizens.

As the vans screeched to a halt inside the warehouse, the air crackled with a frenetic energy. The armed men, their voices raw with panic, scrambled to unload their ill-gotten cargo, the fear of capture hanging heavy in the air.

Gen turned to Emperor, her chest also building with excitement similar to the villains in the warehouse in the distance. The men frantically unloading the stolen goods didn't want to get caught after their close call at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. They thought they'd gotten away from their pursuers.

But more than anything, Gen wanted to bring down these men, making them pay for stealing that which belonged to the people. It belonged to history. It was her heritage and those of the future deserved to see it. Bad men didn't deserve to profit from the artifacts of Gen's youth.

"Right, we need to make a grand entrance," Gen agreed, returning her attention to studying the warehouse ahead. "So what's the plan? I don't want to wait until backup arrives and risk any of those thieves getting away."

"Oh, no," Emperor stated. "No one is fleeing on my watch."

"You don't wear a watch, do you?" she teased.

He cut his eyes to the top of the building, ignoring her silly joke. "We're going to ensure that we are in a position to keep all the criminals contained until they can be carted away. You wanted to climb before, so I hope you're still up for the challenge."

Gen nodded, excited for the adventure to come next as she took her place high atop her dragon, ready to soar off into the night and stop a theft that should have never happened.