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Chapter 16: Where Did Phantom Thief Kid Go?
The waiter appearing before Tim and his father was none other than Darren, the Phantom Thief Kid himself.
It had to be said, security at Vanaver Manor had been incredibly tight these past two days. Darren had expended considerable effort just to sneak in.
The Vanaver family's memorial banquet was a three-day event with hundreds of invited guests. Clearly, the manor's regular staff wasn't enough to provide proper service to so many VIPs. Such grand banquets didn't happen every day, after all.
So, Ms. Samantha had transferred additional personnel from the family's servant training agency.
This resulted in many unfamiliar faces among the banquet staff—faces even the manor's internal employees didn't recognize.
Undoubtedly, this was fantastic news for Darren.
As long as his professional skills were solid and his service attitude excellent, he didn't even need to disguise himself as a specific waiter. Just wearing the uniform was enough to avoid suspicion.
Of course, the cautious Darren still minimized eye contact with other waiters and kept his true face hidden.
Thus, Darren busied himself serving wine and water while secretly observing the manor's environment and setting up undetectable traps when no one was looking.
Moments ago, he bumped into Tim entering with his father, Jack, and took the initiative to approach them.
He couldn't really avoid it; since he had been keeping his distance from other staff, he was the only waiter near Tim and Jack. Ignoring them would have been a dereliction of duty.
"I'll take this one. And get a glass of orange juice for my son."
Jack picked a glass of wine from the tray and ordered juice for Tim.
In this country, an eighteen-year-old could legally own a rifle, but they couldn't drink alcohol until twenty-one. Tim, being a high school student, naturally couldn't touch adult beverages.
"Certainly. Please wait a moment."
Just as Darren turned to head to the beverage station, Tim stopped him.
"Wait. No need for the juice. I'm not thirsty right now."
"Is there anything else you require? Please feel free to ask. We strive to meet all our guests' needs," Darren asked politely.
"Nothing major. I just have a few questions," Tim said with a neutral expression.
"Please go ahead. However, I am just a server, so I may not be able to answer everything."
"It's fine. My questions concern you guys. With so many guests arriving today and staying for two nights, do you have enough manpower?"
Hearing Tim's question, Darren kept his face impassive but praised him inwardly. hitting the key point immediately. He noticed it within minutes of arrival. As expected of the smartest Robin.
"Please rest assured. The Vanaver family will not let any guest feel neglected." Darren answered obliquely.
"Does Vanaver Manor usually have this many staff working?" Tim pressed.
"Of course not. A large number of staff were temporarily transferred here for this week. But don't worry, all servers at the banquet are professionals. Service quality will not decline," Darren answered truthfully.
His conjecture confirmed, Tim immediately fell into thought.
"Then, if there are no other requests, I will leave you two to enjoy the evening."
With that, Darren took his tray and moved on to the next newly arrived guest.
"What's wrong, Tim? What are you thinking about?" Jack asked curiously, glass in hand, seeing his son silent for so long.
"Nothing. Just some unimportant details."
Jack didn't mind Tim's brush-off. Tim had a habit of falling into deep thought at odd moments since long ago. Jack was used to it.
Suddenly, Jack spotted an acquaintance at the party and excitedly introduced him to Tim.
"Look over there, Tim. That's former diplomat Mr. Tom Hudson. We're alumni. He has a very pretty daughter; you two should meet... Hey! Tim? Where are you going?"
Before he could finish, Jack saw his son running off.
"I saw a friend. I'm going to go say hi," Tim replied without looking back.
"Friend? Whose family? Boy or girl?"
Before Jack could ask for details, Tim had disappeared. The father shook his head helplessly and walked over to chat with Hudson alone.
As for Tim, he stealthily made his way to the manor's internal security room.
This area was off-limits to outsiders, but Robin's infiltration skills were on par with any master thief in the world.
He used a small trick to lure the guards away, then plugged a USB-like device into the server with lightning speed before pulling it out. He slipped away unnoticed, the whole process taking less than ten seconds.
After leaving the restricted area, Tim pulled a communicator from his pocket and put it in his ear.
"Can you hear me, Oracle?" Tim whispered.
"Done. I'm in. The entire surveillance system of Vanaver Manor is now under my control." Inside the Clock Tower, Oracle smiled confidently. "How about your end? Any findings?"
"I have a lead. I think Kid is likely already inside the manor, and ten to one, he's disguised as a waiter."
Tim shared his deduction with Oracle, who agreed.
"I see. Disguising as a temporarily transferred waiter... indeed, it wouldn't arouse suspicion."
"The date on Kid's notice is a trap. It makes people think he'll only appear on that specific day. Before the banquet officially started, security was probably much laxer. Kid likely infiltrated during that window."
Tim's reasoning aligned perfectly with reality.
If Darren had tried to infiltrate today, facing the GCPD and Vanaver bodyguards at max alert, the effort required would have been astronomical.
"By the way, if we have the police secretly gather and search all the waiters now, wouldn't we catch Kid in one fell swoop?" Oracle had a sudden idea.
"No. I thought of that too. But the banquet is full of guests now. Kid could easily switch disguises and blend into the crowd. Unless we conduct a full body search on everyone present..."
But both Tim and Oracle knew that plan was unfeasible.
The only person with the authority to order that was Commissioner Gordon, and he would never do it. The guests were dignitaries; treating them like suspects without evidence would cause a PR disaster for the GCPD.
And the most critical point: no one could guarantee Kid's true identity wasn't one of the guests!
Tim's current hypothesis relied on Kid not being an invitee. While likely, it wasn't certain.
Although a social elite acting as a phantom thief seemed improbable, compared to a billionaire wearing a bat cowl to beat up criminals at night, it actually seemed more reasonable.
If Kid was a legitimate guest, he wouldn't need a disguise. In that case, how could they identify him?
They couldn't.
So even searching everyone wouldn't guarantee catching Kid. They needed evidence, not guesses.
"It doesn't matter. Kid's ultimate goal won't change. He will definitely approach Ms. Samantha to steal the necklace. We just need to watch her," Tim said confidently. "Now that the entire manor is under our surveillance, anyone who gets close to Samantha won't escape our eyes."
"Kid definitely doesn't know we're inside too. When he thinks he's about to succeed and gets cocky, I'll catch him off guard."
Unfortunately, Tim didn't realize that his every move had already been seen by Kid.
Next, Tim circled the manor a few times, memorizing the layout and simulating Kid's possible escape routes in his mind.
During this process, he visited the back garden where Montoya had set up her ambush.
Seeing the colorful hot air balloon, Tim finally understood what Bullock meant by "the GCPD has completely solved the notice."
"'Shaking Heavenly Road' interpreted as a colorful hot air balloon flying in the sky... I can't say it's wrong, but—"
"The balloon isn't even flying! How can it shake lying flat on the ground? And why would Kid go here first before the banquet hall? It makes no sense!"
Tim complained internally.
Even if the notice meant that, it was surely a diversion.
He didn't stay long, leaving after a quick look.
"The opening ceremony is about to start. Time to head back."
Having mapped out the manor, Tim returned to the banquet hall.
The opening ceremony was nothing special.
Hostess Samantha introduced the Vanaver family history, recounting the glories of their ancestors and showing off the prosperity of their current business. Flexing muscles, outlining future plans, attracting investment, making new partners...
Then came the eating, drinking, and mingling.
Tim kept his eyes glued to Samantha, noting every waiter and guest who came near her.
Notably, since Samantha appeared, Gordon had stuck to her side like a personal bodyguard.
Soon, the first day's events ended.
Guests were led to their prepared rooms by staff. Vanaver Manor was huge; accommodating a thousand people wouldn't be crowded.
In the dead of night, Tim... no, Robin, made his move.
He began checking everyone who had close contact with Samantha, sneaking into their rooms to search for anything suspicious.
With Oracle's cover, Robin moved in the blind spots of the cameras. The guards in the monitoring room noticed nothing.
He searched until late into the night.
Robin stepped out of the last suspect's room.
"Tsk! This Kid is good at hiding. Not a single flaw."
"Looks like I can only catch him when he reveals himself tomorrow."
Feeling unreconciled, Robin quietly returned to his room.
At that moment, a pair of eyes emerged from the shadows, silently watching Robin's back.
"Heh. Since I realized you might have guessed I infiltrated the banquet, how could I leave such a big opening?"
Darren stepped out of the shadows, laughing inwardly.
"You think you're in the dark, but it's actually the opposite..."
The next day. Evening. Less than half an hour until sunset.
One and a half hours until the dinner banquet.
"Mr. Gordon, I appreciate your effort to protect my necklace, but you don't need to follow me every step of the way, do you?" Samantha frowned at Gordon beside her.
Since early morning, Gordon had shadowed Samantha, acting as her personal bodyguard.
"It is absolutely necessary, Ms. Samantha. If we relax our protection, Phantom Thief Kid will seize the opportunity to steal the necklace," Gordon said seriously.
"The banquet started yesterday. Kid hasn't appeared yet. I don't think he's coming," Samantha said dismissively, not taking Kid seriously.
"The notice said Kid would appear at the moment of sunset today. That time is very close," Gordon explained.
"Fine. There aren't many people in Gotham who can have Commissioner Gordon as a bodyguard. I accept," Samantha relented seeing his persistence.
At this moment, Gordon wasn't the only one tense.
Every security guard in the manor was on high alert. As the sun dipped lower, the tension rose.
Tim had also hidden in the dark, ready to strike as Robin.
In the back garden, Montoya's eyelids were twitching uncontrollably. According to the plan, she was the frontline against Kid.
As everyone held their breath in anticipation, the sun finally set completely.
The sky turned dark instantly.
And then—
Nothing happened.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
Over ten minutes passed.
Phantom Thief Kid did not appear as expected.
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