Robbing the Federal Reserve

Alex was currently wearing the Helm of Darkness and Scott's sandals, looking up at his future victim.

He gazed upon the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a 22-floor building in Manhattan constructed of the finest limestone. It's tall arched windows hinted at the biblical fortune hidden inside.

'I've learned today that the Helm of Darkness also works as a lifetime MetroCard, but the ride was still a pain.' Alex had enjoyed hopping the metro's turnstile like a boss, but he suffered on the train whenever someone would try to sit on him. Being undetectable was a double-edged sword.

At the door of the Federal Reserve, stood police officers, but he was fearless as they had no clue he was right next to them. He waited by the bank entrance until someone opened the door, at which time he entered behind them before the door swung closed.

The inside of the bank consisted of an extremely long corridor. It was accented by stone pillars reaching upwards and ending in graceful arches that met the two-story ceiling. This created the illusion of being inside a financial cathedral. The lights made the interior glow in golden hues against the backdrop of rich, rosewood furniture. It was the embodiment of elegance.

'This definitely looks like a place where Illuminati would meet to devise malicious schemes.' Alex's mind immediately went to a dark place. He walked down the corridor, careful not to bump into an occasional passerby.

'Where is the elevator?' Alex asked.

'All the way in the back, Sir,' Scott replied.

He continued walking to the back of the bank. Finally, he saw a stainless steel, extremely wide industrial elevator located all the way in the rear.

'What time do they do their daily deposits and withdrawals?'

'In 15 minutes, Sir,' Scott answered.

'How do you know all this?' Alex probed.

'...Google, Lord.'

...

'Google has everything now.' Alex decided it was best to trust his General for once, at least while he risked being caught and put in a cage, tied up with a face mask like Hannibal Lecter.

He waited again for a short while until he saw 3 people walking to the elevator. Behind them were two security guards pushing a large cart covered with a tarp. Alex nearly started drooling when he saw yellow light glimmer from the bottom right corner. It was a cart of gold!

'Don't be impatient, that's just an appetizer, the real main course is still downstairs.' Alex held himself back from stealing this gold and running immediately.

The three bank staff went over to the elevator's security panel before all scanning their key cards. Only after all 3 of them did so, did the elevator door open from the middle. The inside of the elevator was very spacious. There was enough room for a dozen individuals along with the large cart.

The cart of gold was wheeled in by the security, followed by the staff, and finally an unseen thief. Soon after, the door closed and the elevator began its descent.

'This elevator sure is slow and we've been going down for ages. Is this thing taking us to the Underworld?' Alex was growing impatient.

'There is no such elevator to the Underworld, Lord,' Hades clarified.

'I know, I was just jok--.'

'The Underworld had an escalator, Lord. I felt it would be more convenient.'

Alex nearly fell over and knocked into the guards before reminding himself to try to not talk to Hades before the robbery was finished.

'Sir, the vault sits 80 feet below street level. The reason for the slow descent is that gold is extremely heavy, so the elevator was built this way for safety,' Scott answered as a normal person would.

Finally, the elevator reached its destination and stopped. The metallic door opened. The security wheeled out the cart of gold and everyone exited the elevator before the door closed.

They exited into a large room with polished marble walls and floors. In the center were two massive metallic doors made of cold dark metal. Each one connected to a bronze-colored wheel shaped like a car's steering wheel, but closer in size to a sea vessel's helm.

The three bank staff proceeded to use keys attached to their necklaces to unlock each one. Finally, each of the two security staff grabbed a wheel and pulled them apart, causing the two doors to open with a sound of steam escaping.

The inside of the doors opened up to a small hallway. The 5 staff members proceeded to wheel the gold and head onwards, leaving the gate open behind them. Alex tiptoed nearby, his heartbeat slowly rising in anticipation. He only took a few steps when suddenly, he was frozen in place, nearly instinctually raising his hand to shield his eyes. 'El Dorado...' he thought.

There it was. Blinding yellow light.