Mona Lisa Heist

"Ready?" Pica whispered, eyeing her team.

They nodded. They had rehearsed for months. Pica smirked. She was the leader. She planned to pilfer the Mona Lisa, and then sell it to a buyer who was offering billions. This was the con to end all cons. Next stop was retirement on a tropical island.

She checked her watch. It was time.

"Go," she said.

The heist was flawless at first. They breached the alarms, decrypted the codes, and infiltrated the gallery. They replaced the painting with a replica and headed for the exit.

"Bravo, everyone," Pica said. "We did it."

"Hold on," Casso said. "There's something I need to tell you." He pulled out a gun.

"I'm sorry. I got a better offer."

"You traitor," Pica screamed.

”Nothing personal; It's just business."

Pica hurled the painting at him and sprinted for the car. Casso dodged and fired at everyone.

A searing pain burned Pica’s back when she collapsed.

Casso grabbed the painting, and chuckled. "Nice try," he said. "But this is not the Mona Lisa." He flipped it over and saw her signature. It was her self-portrait. He realized too late that it was also a bomb.

Everyone involved perished.