Reverse Heist – Part 2 ;The Plan No One Wants to Follow

The four of them sat inside a quiet van, parked a block away from the museum.

No one was speaking. The weight of what they were about to do sat heavy in the air.

This wasn’t just a heist.

It was a return — something none of them had ever done before.

Zara finally broke the silence.

“We have to put the artifact back before the full moon hits midnight,” she said, pulling up a holographic map of the museum. “That’s when the seal resets. If we miss it, the curse spreads.”

Ayaan raised his eyebrows. “Curse? You mean that thing’s actually... alive?”

Zara nodded slowly. “Not alive. But aware. It was never meant to leave the vault it came from. We broke something sacred.”

Laila, their most fearless member, scoffed. “We’ve broken a lot of things. What’s one more?”

Zara looked directly at her. “This one fights back.”

There was silence again. Even Laila didn’t have a comeback.

The Plan

Zara laid out the steps.

They had only 18 minutes from the moment the security cameras looped. That would give them time to sneak past the new laser grid, avoid two night guards, and reach the chamber where the artifact — the Eye of Mithra — had once rested.

But now, the spot was empty.

Their goal? Put it back exactly as it was before.

Not just physically — but with the right rituals, light pattern, and orientation. Anything wrong, and the artifact might “wake up” again.

Rami, the newest and youngest on the team, asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Why now? After all this time?”

Zara’s voice softened.

“Because it’s cracking. I saw the core flicker. If it breaks open completely, we don’t just lose a city... We lose control of time.”

Rami blinked. “Time?”

Zara nodded. “It holds a fragment of an ancient timeline. One that was locked away for a reason.”

What Went Wrong Then

Ayaan stood and paced the van.

“We were kids when we took it. Chasing glory. We didn’t know what it really was.”

Laila crossed her arms. “We knew enough to run. That’s all we cared about.”

Zara added, “And now, it’s caught up to us.”

They all looked at the black box sitting in the center of the van. Inside it was the Eye. Glowing. Watching.

The Doubts Begin

Laila said, “What if putting it back makes it worse?”

Zara didn’t blink.

“Then we go down trying to fix what we broke. That’s still better than doing nothing.”

Everyone looked at her.

For the first time, she wasn’t the shy one behind the screen.

She was the only one who had truly understood the danger from the start.

Hook Ending

A soft vibration came from Zara’s wrist device.

She looked at it and froze.

“They’ve moved the artifact chamber,” she whispered. “The museum just changed the layout.”

Ayaan cursed under his breath.

“How do they know?”

Zara met his eyes.

“They don’t know we’re coming...”

She paused.

“They know something wants to return.”