AudioBoxer
Aug 1st, 2002, 11:01 PM
There was so much of a crowd around New York Harbor there was no way Rob could get a picture of the Queen Anne diamond without using a zoom lens. Or a crane.
The boat chugged into the harbor, blowing its foghorn so that everybody on shore would know it was time to clap. The gang plank lowered. The crowd hadn't been this tense since that morning when they'd waited for the Challenger to blow up. At last, Queen Anne herself descended the gang plank, wearing the gigantic three thousand carat diamond as the centerpiece of a necklace.
Rob tried to snap off what shots he could between the hands clapping over peoples' heads. He didn't see how that tiny-yet-overweight woman could carry that much weight around her neck without falling over.
'Good lord,' he thought, 'That must be worth big bucks. Sure wish I had assets like that.' He stared down at his camera. 'With what I'm making from ol' P.J., I can barely afford to renew my comic book subscriptions, maintain my archery equipment, and buy steroids for my right arm!'
At that instant, something caught his attention.
The next instant, it caught everybody's attention.
From among the throngs emerged a very fast-moving man wearing a ski mask. He flashed up to Queen Anne like a man who knew exactly what he was doing and yanked the diamond necklace straight off her neck.
"My diamond!" Queen Anne yelped. "My precious diamond! Oh my, I think I'm going to faint." And then, she did.
"Ha HAAAH, you puny fools!" the man with the ski mask on chortled. "Your precious Queen Anne diamond is MINE now! I, SKI MASK, now posess the Most Powerful Diamond in the Universe!!"
Rob buried his face in his hands between snapshots. 'What a ham,' he thought. 'Give anybody in this city a funky costume and he goes crazy.'
"Well," the captain of the guard commanded, "What are you waiting for? Shoot! SHOOT!!"
"We can't, sir," replied one of the armed guards. "Our guns aren't loaded."
"WHAT?!?"
"The Queen's order, sir. Gunshot noise upsets her."
"Well, you'd better do SOMETHING quick before he -"
zzzzZZZZZZIP. . . .
"- gets away." The captain of the guard snapped his fingers bitterly.
'Well well,' Rob thought. 'Live robbery of the Most Powerful Diamond in the Universe, and I've got it all on film.' He looked to where the thief had gone. A sharp photographer's eye like his should be able to pick out his trail without any problems. 'I wonder how much P.J.'d pay me for some closeup photos of Ski Mask.'
He cast his gaze skyward, pensive. A vivid image of the Chartreuse Arrow formed before his eyes. He'd been looking for an opportunity like this one. 'And I wonder what he'd give . . . for pix of the guy who brought Ski Mask in. . . .'
The boat chugged into the harbor, blowing its foghorn so that everybody on shore would know it was time to clap. The gang plank lowered. The crowd hadn't been this tense since that morning when they'd waited for the Challenger to blow up. At last, Queen Anne herself descended the gang plank, wearing the gigantic three thousand carat diamond as the centerpiece of a necklace.
Rob tried to snap off what shots he could between the hands clapping over peoples' heads. He didn't see how that tiny-yet-overweight woman could carry that much weight around her neck without falling over.
'Good lord,' he thought, 'That must be worth big bucks. Sure wish I had assets like that.' He stared down at his camera. 'With what I'm making from ol' P.J., I can barely afford to renew my comic book subscriptions, maintain my archery equipment, and buy steroids for my right arm!'
At that instant, something caught his attention.
The next instant, it caught everybody's attention.
From among the throngs emerged a very fast-moving man wearing a ski mask. He flashed up to Queen Anne like a man who knew exactly what he was doing and yanked the diamond necklace straight off her neck.
"My diamond!" Queen Anne yelped. "My precious diamond! Oh my, I think I'm going to faint." And then, she did.
"Ha HAAAH, you puny fools!" the man with the ski mask on chortled. "Your precious Queen Anne diamond is MINE now! I, SKI MASK, now posess the Most Powerful Diamond in the Universe!!"
Rob buried his face in his hands between snapshots. 'What a ham,' he thought. 'Give anybody in this city a funky costume and he goes crazy.'
"Well," the captain of the guard commanded, "What are you waiting for? Shoot! SHOOT!!"
"We can't, sir," replied one of the armed guards. "Our guns aren't loaded."
"WHAT?!?"
"The Queen's order, sir. Gunshot noise upsets her."
"Well, you'd better do SOMETHING quick before he -"
zzzzZZZZZZIP. . . .
"- gets away." The captain of the guard snapped his fingers bitterly.
'Well well,' Rob thought. 'Live robbery of the Most Powerful Diamond in the Universe, and I've got it all on film.' He looked to where the thief had gone. A sharp photographer's eye like his should be able to pick out his trail without any problems. 'I wonder how much P.J.'d pay me for some closeup photos of Ski Mask.'
He cast his gaze skyward, pensive. A vivid image of the Chartreuse Arrow formed before his eyes. He'd been looking for an opportunity like this one. 'And I wonder what he'd give . . . for pix of the guy who brought Ski Mask in. . . .'