The Heist (MelxStRaThEr & moondazed)

[Moondazed]

*original post by MelxStRaThEr*

“Go, go, go. No, I said, right, RIGHT, you idiot!”

A small fist slammed down on the dashboard of a jet black Honda Civic Hybrid in frustration. This baby was made for speed, being able to nearly glide down the rode at 160 miles per hour. If only, Jonathan would step on the gas. It wasn’t that hard really, yet the small needle didn’t creep an inch past 90.

Then suddenly the car swerved to the right sharply, leaving black tire streaks on the asphalt road.

“Where now?” Jonathan asked, eyes pinned to the rode ahead of them, knuckles nearly turning white as he gripped the wheel.

Victoria turned in her seat to glance out the rearview window. Nothing but the regular Chicago fog and trashy roads met her gaze. She breathed a mental sigh of relief.

“Where to now!?” Jonathan asked again, this time with a hint of anger lacing his tone.

Victoria faced the front again then, settling down in her seat.

“Take a left up here. You can slow down now, hot-shot. We lost them, no thanks to you. And you’re welcome for telling you to go right. If I hadn’t told you about that alley, we’d probably be in cuffs in the back of a police car right now.” Victoria said, smugly.

“Yeah, because YOU set off the damn alarm at the shop.” Jonathan retorted, nearly yelling.

Victoria really knew how to push his buttons. Not that she meant to or anything.

“I wanted the necklace.” Victoria said with a shrug, as she looked out her window.

“I told you not to though. You knew that the glass had an alarm on it. What part of ‘Don’t set off any alarms.’ did you not understand?”

“I understood it perfectly.” She retorted. “But do you know how much we can pawn this off for?” Victoria asked as she slowly lifted the diamond necklace out of the tan bag on her lap. It glistened in the small amount of light that made it into the car. She stared at it in satisfaction, her green eyes wide with greed.

Jonathan glared at the necklace. “It wasn’t worth risking our necks for, that’s for damn sure!”

“I never leave any fingerprints behind.” Victoria replied and wiggled the fingers on one gloved hand. “I never do. Relax.”

Victoria was a thief. That was her career. It was her life. That was how she made a living. And she was good at it too. Jonathan was too much of a coward really. He was just like her own personal taxi. Sometimes though, like tonight, he tagged along. And she gave him some of the money from their profits for his help.

“Give me the necklace.”

Victoria looked over at Jonathan with a reproachful look set on her face. Her face mirrored her thoughts. Hell no.

“No way. I stole it, I keep it.” Victoria said, she hated it when he tried to act like he was in charge of what she did with what she stole.

“Give it to me.”

“NO. You didn’t have the guts to steal it, so I did. I stole it. I keep it. End of story.” Victoria said, her words slow, as if he was a child that was having difficulty comprehending what she was telling him.

Then Victoria suddenly had the necklace in her bag and her hand on the door handle. She yanked the door open, only an inch, but as she knew he would, Jonathan slammed his foot on the brakes.

“Are you crazy!?”

“Maybe I am.” Victoria said as she hopped out of the car with surprising grace. She smiled down at Jonathan and he looked livid with anger at her. “Thanks for the lift, Johnny-O.” Victoria said. He hated when she called him that. “I’ll call you tomorrow after I sell the necklace!” Victoria added, and saluted at him with one hand and slammed the door closed with the other.

After 20 minutes of walking, Victoria had finally reached her one-room apartment. It was small, but it was hers. And that made it seem like a castle to her. She sank into the bed after changing and fell fast asleep.

♥♦♣♠

The next day Victoria decided she’d go and get rid of the necklace as soon as possible. That was her motto for life. Once you stole it, get rid of it ASAP. As soon as humanly possible. And that was what she intended to do.

Her flaming red hair was up in a messy bun. She wore jeans and a tee-shirt. The necklace was with her in her purse. As she walked down the alley, she hefted the purse farther up on her shoulder. A purse was one thing that she wasn’t used to. But it was necessary to conviently carry the stolen jewelry in.

Victoria had walked down this alley many times before. She stopped right in front of the rusty back door in the side of one of the tall buildings. She knocked three times, then paused, and then twice more. The door opened soundlessly, the hinges had been oiled if not for the rest of the door.

A tall bulky man stood there, music from farther inside met her ears.

“Hello, Martin.” Victoria greeted him.

“Victoria.” He said and nodded at her.

She’d been here so many times that she didn’t even need to show her “I.D.” anymore, which was a small cross tattooed on the palm of her hand. It was the only way to ensure that only people welcome here made it in.

Victoria walked up the steps inside and reached a landing. She opened the door and stepped inside. The music completely engulfed her now, and tons of people where there. Dealers of all types, and just people who wanted to party. Also Victoria spotted a few men playing what seemed to be poker in a far corner of the large room.

She didn’t spot any of her usual costumers who bought what she stole. Not yet anyway.

Victoria walked over to a wall, grabbed a chair, and sat down. As she did this she nodded to a few people. Then she sat there, her purse held tightly in her lap, as she listened to the music and waited. Waiting and patience were key. They fell hand in hand. Victoria could wait here all day if it meant getting the necklace off her hands.

[Moondazed]

Dana Wright was on a mission.  Not only was she the newest addition to the FBI agency that had noticed recent theft activity that followed a pattern, she was also a woman who aspired to bigger things.  Being a field agent was all fine and good, but her eye was on a management position, so she aimed to make a big splash right off the bat.  Of course, some people would call her methods shady, but she didn't feel much guilt about seducing the fencer her division couldn't seem to bust.  So what if he eventually found out?  Her ethics didn't stop shy of shutting him up permanently, should that happen. 

After months of pumping him for information... well, OK... snooping around his place when he'd finally fallen into a drunken (and mildly drugged) stupor, she'd stumbled upon a list of his contacts.  There were only four numbers, all of which she'd tracked down, but only one of them operated within the radius of the majority of the robberies, so she'd focused on him.  It hadn't taken much effort to gain his trust, he wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box, and she'd done a couple of retrievals for him to prove that she was trustworthy.  Neither had gleaned any leads on the recent rash of robberies, but she held out hope that she would yet bust that case wide open.

Which led her to the club.  She knew that she was looking for a young woman with flaming red hair and she knew the proper greeting phrase to show that she was a buyer, all she had to do was be patient and not strangle any of the losers who pawed at her or breathed their putrid breath in her ear.  Just when she was fearing for the enamel on her teeth a woman matching the description entered the bar.  Once she was seated Dana approached, her demeanor laid back.  She felt a little silly speaking the code phrase, but hopefully pulled it off without showing it.

"Hey baby... how's tricks?  Care for a ginger ale?"

The odds of anyone saying that phrase otherwise were pretty damned slim!  She managed to pull if off without cringing.

[Mindii]

Victoria did not have to wait very long at all like she had feared. In fact, it wasn’t five minutes since she walked in the place that someone had approached her. And here she had thought it would have taken hours. Maybe, just maybe, her luck was changing for the better? There was a first time for everything.

Glancing up at the other woman, Victoria gave her a once-over, her green eyes sweeping over her skeptically. It didn’t look like the woman was hiding a weapon. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried to mug her.

Of course, her would-have-been-mugger hadn’t realized that Victoria wasn’t as weak and defenseless as she looked. In fact, Victoria had a few tricks of her own up her sleeve. One of them being that she was particularly skilled in self-defense. Having lived most her childhood in a house full of older brothers, they had taught her some of what they knew, not wanting a wimp for a sister.

Victoria looked up at the woman for another second, her thoughts going at a moderate pace through her head. She hadn’t seen the woman before. However, no one like officials or snitches could get in here. This bar was a safe haven for both her and other crooks of all types.

Victoria rose from her chair and slowly a small smile tugged on the corners of her lips.

“I haven’t seen you around here before.” She observed in a conversational tone. There was an underlying hint of suspicion that she couldn’t completely erase from herself, but it was hardly audible at all. Besides, suspicion was natural for her.

“I’m Victoria.” However, she didn’t reach out to shake the other woman’s hand nor did she offer her own last name. Victoria never bothered with these formalities.

“What exactly are you looking for?” She asked bluntly.

Having been doing this for so long, there was really no way to beat around the bush. Either Victoria had something the woman might be interested in, and the woman had enough money for it, or she didn’t.

“I recently acquired a necklace that might spike your interest. It wouldn’t come cheap though.” Victoria added, after a moment’s pause. 

[Moondazed]

Quirking a brow at the girl's perusal, Dana smirked at her, thinking to herself, "Go ahead, sweetheart, size me up... just show me the goods."  She stood her ground when Victoria rose, although she made no effort to be intimidating.  Why bother? 

Her only reply to the observation that the girl hadn't seen her around was a non-committal shrug.

"Name's D.  I'm looking for the unusual, not the same old crap."  At the mention of the necklace Dana's smile became more sincere.  "Let's see if it's all you say it is."