Now that the moment passed, my father began to turn. "Your mother is buried in the cemetery. We used that money you gave us and put it in safe stocks. It paid the bills and let us have side by side plots. Something decent was done with that dirty money." So they did use it. That made me feel a little better. "Make sure you say goodbye to her before you leave. Love you, Jakey-boy." were the last words he said to me. He did not even face me as he said them. He was busy hobbling off with his cane. If it would have made a difference, I would have said something. He was a proud man. He clearly could have retired a long time ago. Over 50 years in a government job? His pension would be fucking amazing. And the money they invested would only add onto that. He worked because he liked working. He said he would never retire, so he would never retire. If he had his way, he would die either on the job or just after clocking out. Without even a glance back at me, he went back through the wooden door and went back to his work. I was now alone in this world. It was a crazy feeling.
Obviously, I was going to take up my father's suggestion. I wanted to say my final goodbyes to my mom. No one was keeping me here. Even if my old comrades were all still alive, over 40 years had passed. What could I even say to them? I was some 20 year old loser that crawled back into their lives. And for what? More heists? I was still young and able to go as a phantom thief. But the others would be way out of their primes. Training up a new generation here would not be worth it. Who knew all the advancements to security people could discover and implement in the course of 40 years? It was funny, but it would be better to quit while I was ahead. Real Rhombus, a true phantom thief, was never captured by the law and stole tens of millions worth of gold, jewels and cash. Undefeated and unbothered, no one would even think to look for me. I made my way straight over to her grave. It was a beautiful spot under a willow tree. Looking down at her final resting place, I cried my eyes out. I simply could not believe this shit. After everything that happened, I lost everyone important.
It was time to cut my losses. My time in this world was essentially over now. After I left here, there would be no reason to come back. My father would be dead in a couple weeks on the other side. All that was really left to do was check the secret stashes to see if my loot was still there or not. I would not be surprised if they had been found within 40 years. Going around the city, it was hard as some of the properties had changed owners. Out of the 5 stashes. 4 were accessible. They built a storefront on top of the empty lot I buried a duffle bag full of loot. Of the 4 hideaways that I could still get to, 3 still had my loot intact. I was able to recover $18 million in cash and about as much in gold, silver and jewels. The cash was useless to me. They did not have paper money. Even if the did, it was not mine. I was leaving my life as James Collins behind. Now, I would be fully assuming my identity as Collin Rhombus. I was able to fit everything into 2 duffle bags. It was practically double what I brought into the other world the first time I went. I would be a filthy rich man there. I would enjoy it all.
