Just a Harmless Little Heist....

Julian pulled his headset off and tossed it onto the dashboard. Another successful heist. He sighed and leaned back in the passenger seat, cupping his hands behind his head. Now, just to wait for the team to return, and they'd be off.

"No time to relax yet," the driver muttered.

Julian cracked an eye open to peer at Taph. The smokey-haired scientist had actually decided to attend this one, rather than skulk in his lab the whole time. "Of course it's time to relax," Julian murmured in response, once more closing his eyes.

-

Where on earth had they got to? Jet hopped from foot to foot, scanning the alley. Nae and Carman should have been there a full thirty seconds ago. Sure, not necessarily a large space of time, but the smallest mistake could mean trouble.

There! Footsteps and panting echoed against the wall. A moment later, the siblings' forms came into view. About time...


~.~

Descriptions:
Jet- Dark brown eyes, currently slicked black (it changes a lot. XP), 21yrs old, wearing a suit.
Taph- Brown eyes, grey hair (not naturally, it's stained...), 24yrs old, wears slacks, long sleeved shirt, lab coat, sneakers and glasses.
Julian- Blue eyes, curly black, longish hair, 20yrs old, wearing jeans, T-shirt, sneakers, and hoodie.
Nae- Grey eyes, long light brown hair, 19yrs old, black pants, long sleeved shirt, masked hood, and black boots. (the one and only girl)
Carman- Grey eyes, light brown hair, 20yrs old, black pants, long sleeved shirt, masked hood, and black boots.

Nae and Carman are siblings.

Oh, and they're all wearing gloves.

Lezvie watched the team from a nearby roof, his expert eye analyzing them. They were clearly experienced, though not perfect. Though skilled burglars weren't usually his thing, this bunch seemed intriguing. He crept to a position from which he could see everything that went on, and waited.

"What kept you?" Jet demanded.

Nae only snorted and kept running, grabbing his coat sleeve to jerk him along as she passed. Jet took up running alongside her, briefly worried over the suit getting torn where Nae seized it. Carman came up on his other side and offered a more helpful reply,

"Almost ran into some trouble, took alternate route" he worked out between breaths. All the same, the corner of his mouth turned up and that familiar gleam entered his eye. "Fun job, this one. Pity they can't all be like it."

Pity? A relief, more like. Jet skidded to a halt next to the van and pulled the door open, offering Nae his hand to help her in. She grabbed his hand lightly as she leaped in and flopped into the backseat. Carman was close behind, and at last Jet scrambled in and slammed the door shut.

"We're good."

Just catching this gang wouldn't be enough. He needed their leader. Lezvie jumped down, using the wall to slow his fall, and landed silently on top of their vehicle, laying down and becoming invisible. He'd follow them home and catch their leader.

Nae tugged her mask off and stretched. Alarms and watch dogs and laser detectors... "Why can't we take more of those kinds of jobs?"

Julian chuckled in the front seat, and Jett took it upon himself to answer, "Because not all of us have the nerves to handle it."

"You worry too much." Nae grinned. Jumpy person, Julian was.

"I wouldn't say that," Taph called from the steering wheel. "There is plenty of reason to worry when conducting experiments in the outside world..."

Nae shook her head and leaned back in her seat.

Finally, Taph pulled up to the warehouse. Machines grated as the garage door opened, showing the gaping black hole of the interior. Even now, it reminded Nae of a giant mouth. "No followers this time?"

Julian shook his head. "Not one."

Lezvie rode with one ear pressed to the roof, listening to their conversations as best he could. When they stopped, he leapt off the vehicle into the rafters, hiding above the lights, watching.

The garage door closed behind the van, and a moment later, the lights flickered on. The group piled out of the van, Nae and Carman jockeying for position of storyteller about the finer, more exciting points of the job. Julian shook his head at them and pushed the door open, stepping into the kitchen. The lights came on automatically, just another thing Taph had installed that Julian didn't agree with... He turned once the group had completely entered the kitchen. "The item?"

"Here," Carman tossed his backpack in Julian's general direction, causing him to lunge to catch it. One of these days...

Lezvie followed them, using the crawlspace above the ceiling to stay out of sight but within earshot. This was uncomfortable, but he wanted to catch all of them, including the leader.

Julian unzipped the backpack and peered inside. His faith in Carman restored itself slightly as he took in how securely it had been wrapped to prevent breakage. He gave a nod. "I'll bring it up to him."

"Good," Nae tugged the rest of her hood off, letting lose the ponytail that had begun to itch by this point. "I'm gonna go change."

Carman broke away from his conversation long enough to address Julian in turn, "And we'll be along in a moment."

Julian shrugged and started off. It mattered little to him what they did, so long as the item had been procured. He turned and started down the hallway.

Finally, he was getting somewhere. Lezvie crept through the crawlspace, following the one bringing the stolen art to 'him'.

Julian scuffed up the staircase and down another hall, backpack slung over his shoulder. He slowed to a halt in front of the second door and tapped on it.

No answer.

Pounded on it.

That got a reply. A grunt, and, "What?"

"We're back."

"What from?"

Julian sighed. "From the heist."

"Right." Silence stretched for several minutes, and once again Julian was forced to pound on the door. "Sir!"

"Yes!" the muffled voice from inside said, "Yes, yes, yes, come in, Julian."

Julian obeyed, sighing as he did.

Lezvie crept into the crawlspace above the room and used his dagger to make a miniature peephole, giving him a good look at the 'he'.

The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the hall. Julian touched the switch next to the door, and light snapped into existence. Mattias lay in the same position Julian had last seen him, namely, huddled under blankets on the bed. He'd had an accident in Taph's lab. The mad scientist had blown something or other up, and which had inadvertently caused some kind of adverse effect on Mattias. Taph hadn't seemed to be effected at all, but Julian quickly put that down to the fact the scientist spent all day in the lab. Of course, this was why he'd been on the heist tonight in place of Mattias...

Pushing the matter from mind, he slipped the pack from his shoulder and withdrew the fabric encased sculpture.

"Right." Mattias sat up a little, mind seeming to come together better at the sight. "The heist tonight... Did everything go smoothly?"

Julian nodded and handed the item over. Mattias slowly unwrapped it, until finally the ebony figure came into view. They'd get a pretty price for this piece...

Finally.

Lezvie dropped down, drawing his daggers. "Make this easy on yourself, Julian, and don't try to fight me. I'm turning you all in."

Julian started as the man dropped from the ceiling. His hand went instinctively going to the glock under his jacket. How on earth had he got in? And who was he?

Mattias wobbled upright in his bed. "Friend of yours, Julian?"

Julian cast him a mild glare.

"I suppose not." Mattias regarded the newcomer coolly. "Who might you be?"

"My name is Lezvie. And I enforce the law in this town, since the recognized law enforcement is ineffective. Now are you going to come quietly, or do I have to incapacitate you and use you as a hostage against the others?"

Mattias raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Now, no need for that. I believe we may be able to work things out here." He smiled. "I am Mattias, this here is Julian. Since you are here, I assume you followed the group here..."

Julian frowned, hand still under his jacket, gripping his gun. Followed them? How? He'd watched the area himself, and he didn't miss things easily...

"At any rate," Mattias went on, "I believe there has been a misunderstanding. With your permission, I will expatiate on this matter?"

Lezvie nodded, though he kept his blades ready. "Go on."

Mattias smiled. "My thanks. Julian, a chair for the gentleman?"

A chair for him? Yeah right. Julian didn't budge. The intruder didn't need a chair.

Mattias waited a moment, but as Julian made no move to do anything about the chair, sighed and waved a hand. "Feel free to take a seat. Now, this group." He coughed a few times as that tickling reemerged in his throat. He'd think twice about venturing into Taph's lab again. "We are... Outside the law, it is true. As, I believe, you said you were. See, we bring justice to where the government turns a blind eye. This sculpture," he ran a hand over the stone, "belongs to a family who was forced from their home and the majority of their possessions. With this, they could live much more comfortably than they do currently. So you see, we were only taking back previously stolen goods."

Lezvie masked his features, but Mattias got his attention. Being a vigilante himself, he'd be inclined to go along with these people. Provided they can convince him.

"Can you prove the statue belongs to the family to whom you intend to give it, and can you prove they were forced from their home unlawfully? You don't fancy paperwork like you would to convince a court. Just convince me."

Mattias nodded. "Of course. Julian, my laptop, please?"

Julian didn't ease his grip on his weapon as he moved across the room to secure the contraption and carry it to the bed. What Mattias was doing didn't seem the wisest course of action, but that was his business. No reason to protest about it, probably wouldn't make a difference anyway.

"Yes." Mattias opened the computer and motioned to Lezvie. "You see, this is the intercourse of emails between us and this family. If you wish to see legal documentation of the eviction, you'll need to speak with Julian there. He handles those matters. However, this proves that we were not merely doing it for sport."

Lezvie slowly walked over to Mattias, looking at the screen, scanning the emails. He sheathed one of his knives and scrolled through them, his eyes darting over the screen.

The emails confirm what Mattias said. Both sets of addresses have been blacked out however, and the names initialed and highlighted. Important sections of the emails have also been highlighted.

Mattias watched as Lezvie scrolled through the emails, half studying them himself. Julian was the one who handled these matters, and though he forwarded all the emails to him regularly, Mattias tended to skim the messages. "Well, I trust you find these supportive of my claims."

"I'll accompany you to the drop. Make sure the family gets the piece. If all is as you say, then I won't have any problems with your little operation."

Mattias hesitated. "I'm afraid that is impossible. You see, we value the privacy of those who come to us, especially if they specifically request it. Which this family did, I believe..." He glanced at Julian, who gave a brief nod.

"Yes." Mattias fingered the edge of his laptop. "You cannot accompany us, as it would be a breach in the security of our client. We don't know you, sir. For all we know, you could be lying that you are outside the law. You could be a... spy, if you will. Thus far, I have only put myself and the team at risk, but I will not extend that risk to the clients."

Julian shifted his grip on his gun. He had a feeling this intruder would not like that answer, and he seemed well trained on top of that. If things went as he guessed they might, things could get messy.