The fluorescent light fixture dangled haphazardly from what was left of the ceiling, its flickering bulbs providing unsteady but limited illumination. The figure with the stethoscope didn’t care that everyone was half blind, so long as they kept quiet. Even with heightened senses and the tools of the trade, absolute silence was required. Fortunately, vampires don’t breathe. Unfortunately, these could be some fidgety bastards. A few more clicks of the tumblers, and… bingo.
Without warning the others, the safecracker set one foot against the frame and jerked back, choleric ichor fueling their muscles. The grinding shriek of metal on metal woke the rest of the team from their stupor, as the vault door swung open, “Caine’s balls that’s loud!”
“Blasphemer.”
“I’m just saying they could have oiled their hinges.”
“They were running from hunters. I doubt helping someone loot their goodies was high on their list of priorities, else they wouldn’t have set those wards.”
“Don’t remind me,” the figure rubbed their arms reflexively as they remembered the traps the group had faced.
“Whatever. All I gotta say is, eat your heart out George Clooney.”
The foursome just smiled, basking in the moment and staring into the now open vault. The cool glow of LED flashlights swept across the small room with its shelves of strange objects. The Golden Nugget had lived up to its name with this buried treasure, even though they were untold stories beneath the floor of that Casino. Finally, one broke the silence.
“Just assume that everything here’s trapped or cursed.”
“Like a monkey’s paw? They probably used up all the wishes.”
“Can it! Just grab it all; we’ll sort it out later. The buyers are waiting.”
The first thief darted toward an old Persian statuette, some sort of incense holder. When their hand closed about it, the air was split with another shriek. It escaped the throat of a Cainite gripped by terror and drowned out the sound of quiet canine laughter from the darkness.
