Chapter 89: Emptying the Vault Part I

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Emptying the Vault Part I

The vault was larger than Penelope had expected.

From the corridor, she had only been able to see the rows of gold bars resting inside the nearest secured section. Once she stepped farther inside, however, she realized the gold represented only a fraction of what the vault contained.

Reinforced cabinets lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Hundreds of private security boxes occupied an entire section, while locked cases had been arranged neatly across industrial shelving units. Several larger containers bore inventory labels identifying precious metals, loose gemstones and private collections belonging to clients whose names meant absolutely nothing to Penelope.

Five days ago, entering a place like this would have resulted in several very unpleasant conversations with law enforcement.

Tonight, there was nobody left to stop them.

Erik moved deeper into the vault, reading the labels attached to the secured storage sections as he passed.

"Gold bullion is here," Erik said, gesturing toward the section they had already noticed. "Platinum is stored separately. There should also be loose stones and investment-grade diamonds somewhere farther inside."

Kai slowly looked around.

"So, hypothetically speaking, how many years in prison would this have gotten us last week?" Kai asked.

"Several," Erik replied without looking at him.

"That’s disappointingly vague."

"I’ve never needed to calculate the prison sentence for emptying a commercial jewelry vault."

Kai nodded thoughtfully.

"See, this is why people should broaden their education."

Erik ignored him.

Ben walked toward one of the shelves and stared through the reinforced glass protecting several containers of loose gemstones.

"I don’t think I’ll ever look at money the same way again," Ben admitted.

Penelope glanced toward him.

"Why?"

Ben gestured around them.

"Because five days ago, I would’ve been afraid to breathe too hard near any of this."

Kai smiled.

"And now?"

Ben considered the question.

"Now I’m wondering whether those cases have handles."

Kai laughed.

"You’re adapting beautifully."

Penelope smiled before turning toward the gold.

Oddy had been silent for nearly thirty seconds.

That was concerning.

’Oddy?’

No response.

Penelope waited.

’Oddy.’

Its voice finally appeared.

’Host.’

Penelope immediately became suspicious.

’What?’

’Take it.’

Penelope looked at the rows of gold bars.

’I intend to.’

’All of it.’

’Yes.’

’Now.’

Penelope nearly laughed.

Apparently, Oddy’s patience had officially expired.

Erik finished examining the nearest inventory labels before turning toward the group.

"We prioritize precious metals and loose stones first," Erik instructed. "After that, sealed inventory and private collections. We don’t know how much time we have, so anything that requires extensive sorting stays until the end."

Penelope looked at him.

"I can take everything."

The words came out before she considered how they sounded.

A brief silence followed.

Kai looked around the enormous vault.

Then he looked at Penelope.

"Everything?"

Penelope realized her mistake.

As far as everyone else knew, she had awakened her space ability yesterday morning.

Nobody knew how large it was.

More importantly, she had never actually told them.

Penelope maintained a perfectly calm expression.

"Probably."

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"That was significantly less convincing."

"My space is large."

"How large?"

Penelope paused.

Oddy immediately responded inside her mind.

’Very large.’

’Not helping.’

Penelope looked around the vault.

"Large enough."

Kai stared at her.

Penelope stared back.

Neither spoke.

Then Kai nodded.

"Fair enough."

That was it.

No interrogation.

No suspicion.

Penelope almost blinked.

Kai had always been good at recognizing boundaries.

If she wanted them to know more, she would tell them.

Until then, there were more important things to worry about than the exact dimensions of an ability she had awakened less than two days ago.

Erik accepted the answer just as easily.

"Then we change priorities," Erik said.

Penelope looked toward him.

"If capacity isn’t an immediate concern, we don’t waste time sorting," Erik continued. "We clear by section."

That was exactly what Penelope wanted to hear.

"Perfect."

Kai looked at her.

"You sound disturbingly happy."

"I’m being efficient."

"You have the expression you used to make when you found something expensive on sale."

Penelope frowned.

"I do not have a sale expression."

"You absolutely have a sale expression."

"Kai."

"You’re making it right now."

Penelope ignored him and approached the nearest stack of gold.

She placed one hand against the first bar.

It disappeared.

Then the next.

And the next.

Ben watched with open fascination as entire stacks began vanishing.

The process accelerated quickly.

Penelope didn’t need to collect every bar individually. As long as the objects were touching one another and she could establish contact with the connected group, she could transfer larger quantities at once.

A full stack disappeared.

Then another.

Within seconds, an entire section of shelving stood empty.

Ben stared.

"That is ridiculously convenient."

"It really is," Penelope agreed.

Oddy was significantly less composed.

’GOLD!’

Another stack disappeared.

’MORE GOLD!’

Another.

’HOST, THERE IS SO MUCH!’

’I know.’

’TAKE THAT ONE.’

’I’m taking all of them.’

’THAT ONE FIRST.’

Penelope stared at the completely indistinguishable stack Oddy was apparently emotionally attached to.

’Why?’

Oddy became silent.

Then it answered.

’It looks valuable.’

Penelope almost stopped working.

’They are all gold.’

’Exactly.’

There was no arguing with that.

Across the vault, Erik and Kai began opening unsecured cases and moving their contents into larger groups so Penelope could collect them more efficiently.

Ben joined them.

Nobody stood idle.

Within minutes, they had developed a system.

Erik identified and organized.

Kai moved heavier cases and cleared shelving.

Ben consolidated smaller containers.

Penelope stored everything.

Killian remained near the vault entrance initially, periodically checking the corridor before helping move the larger secured containers.

The process was surprisingly efficient.

What would once have required trucks, equipment and hours of labor disappeared with a touch of Penelope’s hand.

Gold bullion vanished.

Platinum followed.

Sealed containers of loose diamonds disappeared next.

Then came sapphires.

Rubies.

Emeralds.

Uncut stones.

Investment-grade gemstones stored in protective cases.

Penelope didn’t ask how much any of it was worth.

The number would have been meaningless now.

Oddy didn’t care about monetary value either.

It cared about something entirely different.

’Host.’

Penelope touched another case.

It disappeared.

’What?’

’The world likes them.’

Her hand stopped.

That got her attention.

’The gemstones?’

’Yes.’

Penelope looked toward the cases waiting beside her.

She already knew precious stones contained energy useful to her world, which was the entire reason she had insisted on visiting the jewelry district.

But Oddy’s tone had changed.

The manic excitement was still there, but something more serious existed beneath it.

’How much does this help?’ Penelope asked.

Oddy became quiet.

Then it answered.

’Not enough.’

Penelope’s excitement dimmed slightly.

Of course.

She had known rebuilding and strengthening an entire world wouldn’t be accomplished by emptying one jewelry store.

Still, Oddy continued.

’But much.’

Penelope smiled.

That was enough.

For now.

She touched the next group of cases.

They disappeared.

Killian watched from several feet away.

His attention wasn’t on the gemstones.

It was on Penelope.

More specifically, it was on the amount she had stored.

He had already watched her clear much of the showroom upstairs.

Now entire stacks of gold, heavy cases of precious metals and container after container of gemstones were disappearing into her space.

Yet Penelope showed no indication that she was approaching a limit.

Interesting.