Post by Scarlet Diaden on Sept 7, 2012 12:41:03 GMT -5
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It was a cool, quiet night in New York City. Well, sort of quiet. There was one specific neighborhood where things were a little… well, chaotic. Sirens were wailing, police cars blocked full streets, people in their pajamas were staring out windows or watching from behind the police barricades. It was a wealthy neighborhood, that was for sure, no second rate apartments, no rundown housing, everything high end and ridiculously overdone. These were the people you would expect to have an army of butlers, nannies, personal chefs… So the one question on the residents minds? What was going on?
Some of the more knowledgeable residents were pretty sure they knew what was happening. A robbery. But in a place like this, where you probably had a dozen body guards on top of the best security in existence… Who would be stupid enough to try a break in? Well…. Stupid or brave. Scarlet had been called both.
Well, specifically she was ‘Kestral Cowl’ right now. One of the most infamous thieves in New York City. She’d made a name for herself by hitting the richest residents of the city, by appearing out of nowhere, and taunting the police into a wild goose chase, always outsmarting them in the end and disappearing into the night, as if by thin air. She never hit the same place twice, and she never took anything but small trinkets.
Tonight was no different. She’d snuck into a wealthy home in the middle of the neighborhood, just a little past midnight. Most of the residents were asleep for the teenage son of the family. Him and his friends had been throwing a sort of party on the main floor. Obviously, because of this, she had no security system to deal with, simply sneaking past the drunken teenagers, and up the stairs. Kestral checked every room on her way, searching for her prize. Eventually she found it. On the nightstand. Of the couple. Huh. Well, this would be interesting.
Kestral moved like a stealth master, not a single sleek floorboard creaking under her feet. Slowly, she crept, closer and closer until she stood right next to the night stand, her pure black attire making her blend in with the darkness of the room. Carefully, and just as silent as everything else she’d done up till now, she took the antique pocket watch in her hands, looked it over once (in the total darkness. She has night vision, be jealous.), to verify it as authentic. After a few seconds, she smiled behind her face mask.
She was about to sneak out, when an idea hit. Crouching down in front of the husband, she whispered. ”Tick tock.” The unfamiliar voice was enough to rouse the sleeping man, his eyes shooting open in shock. Kestral stepped back, disappearing in the darkness and creeping out into the black hall. The man didn’t go back to sleep. Those two words were enough to make his sleepy gaze turn to the spot where the heirloom pocket watch had once lay. He was wide awake when he realized it was gone, shaking his wife until her eyes opened. Frantically they searched the entire bedroom, all the while, Kestral remained in the hall, having scaled the wall, and now balanced herself spread eagle across the ceiling, just listening. She could have escaped. Oh, she could have been down the street by now. But that was no fun. Not to mention, no challenge at all. She wanted them to know it was stolen. To call the police to report a break in. Then she’d finally have her audience, and the real show would begin.
After their desperate search proved fruitless, she heard the distinct sound of a phone dialing. 9-1-1. The thief couldn’t help but smile under her face mask once again. Time for some fun. The husband’s voice was almost hysterical as he pleaded with the police operator to send help, that there have been a break in. He didn’t know what else was taken, or if the robber was still in the house. With her enhanced hearing she heard the reassuring voice on the other end of the phone, urging him and his wife to stay in their room, to close and lock the door while help was on it’s way. Obviously, the next thing that came out of his mouth was ‘But my son and his friends are downstairs!’. That little remark was enough to get the police really moving. Kestral had never understood why things always got a little more desperate when kids were involved, especially during thefts. You’d think a normal burglar wouldn’t be stupid enough to break into a house where people were actually awake.
None the less, in a matter of minutes you could hear the sirens, growing louder and louder as they grew closer to the home. Still up on the walls, the thief started too quickly, and silently (yeah, she had mad skills. Again, be jealous.) move to the nearest window at the end of the hall that overlooked the street. It was an impressive sight, to be honest. One hand and foot on each wall, and moving about like this was second nature. It was, to be honest. It was a known fact that Kestral Cowl was faster off the ground then on it. Okay, maybe not faster… It was more like nothing slowed her down. She could scale a fifty foot building just as fast as she could run fifty feet. Anyway, point was, she was now above a window, able to watch as the police formed a half circle around the house, men and women in uniform preparing to enter the home and search it for the burglar. Okay, might be a good time to make her exit… or entrance.
The teenagers finally realized something was up, and had opened the front door. Instantly, police urged them out of the house and to ‘safety’, before storming the home. Kestral held her breath, counting to ten.
One… They were entering the house, weapons drawn.
Two…
Three… They were searching all the rooms, moving in sync with their comrades. Someone was always at the front door, just in case the culprit tried to escape.
Four…
Five… A handful of the officers were heading up the stairs, to rescue the couple and find Kestral.
Six….
Seven… The last officer was coming up the stairs.
Ei- Ah, screw counting. Kestral dropped, tucking her limbs in as she dropped onto the unsuspecting officer and instantly knocking him out cold on impact. He wasn’t hurt, that much, but the thundering THUD was enough to alert all his comrades that something was wrong. The officer that had been in front of him turned around, weapon raised. The thief didn’t wait, she bolted, but not fast enough to avoid this officer spotting her bright red hair. Instantly, they knew who it was. Into the radio the officer simply said two words.
”It’s Cowl!
By the time the officers even registered that the thief was none other than the infamous Kestral Cowl, gun shots rang out. It was the officer stationed at the front door. Seeing the insanely fast woman moving towards him, he panicked, discharging three, four shots. None hit their mark, the woman using the wall and furniture around to avoid each shot, and then fling herself clean over the rookie cop. ”You need to work on your aim!” Her taunting voice was void of her British accent, making her sound exactly like an American, which was kind of the point! How many British redheads were in New York City? …. Okay, don’t answer that, there had to be a lot. But it did narrow down the suspect list by quite a bit.
In the streets, spotlights had been turned towards the home, all on. Kestral felt like she was on center stage, everyone’s attention on her. Instantly the police were telling her to put her hands in the air and surrender. Not likely. She simply shrugged, raising her hands. ”Yeeeaaaah… No thanks. I have better things to do. See ya!” She dropped her hands to her side, looked around once, and bolted back towards the house. She didn’t run inside though. With a powerful leap, she grabbed onto the framing of the door, and… literally scaled the building like a spider, or monkey, whichever you preferred. People watched in awe as she climbed with such ease, speed, and skill. Even the police seemed a bit stunned. Obviously none of them had ever seen this flamboyant thief before, and had never really believed what they’d been told she could do. Guess they’d have to believe it now.
In less than twenty seconds she was on the roof, and out of sight. The police had gathered their wits about them, and were trying to figure out how to catch this woman, but they were too late. She was already on the roof of another home, racing across the each roof and leaping to the next…. And simply disappearing into the night.
Kestral stayed on the move for several minutes, putting as much distance between herself and her pursuers as she could. She could still hear the sirens, sometimes getting closer, sometimes farther, as they tried to discover her location. She decided to take a break, stopping on a roof top and pulling the pocket watch out of the small pocket in her form fitting, black pants, and turned it over in her hand a few times, taking in all the details.
Suddenly, she stiffened, before looking right and left. Her enhanced hearing had just heard someone. Someone close...
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