It Happened One Heist

The Mark

The one called Monkey Fist calmed himself, but more so out of his own shock to have heard someone refer to him by his birth name.

Maggie relieved the pressure on his chest. She got off of him as he sat up, mentally getting his bearings like he just awoke from a horrifying nightmare.

She was relieved that they were no longer fighting, but she still could feel herself trembling all over from the shock of it all. She had just been accosted by a violent creature who turned out to be the man she thought had died.

He looked up at her and his brow furrowed as he struggled to recognize her face.

"That archeological dig back in China...?" Maggie reminded. "About, what was it? Eighteen years ago?"

He rubbed at his eyes, and he looked up at her again. "Margaret? Margaret Beckhert?" His voice was still hoarse.

"Oh, Monty! It is you!" Maggie happily threw her arms around his shoulders, nearly knocking him back down again. "You're alive!"

"Unhand me!" he declared as he angrily kicked her off with both feet. "You expect me to believe you're glad to see me after you just tried to rob me?! Under the assumption that I was dead, no less!"

Maggie scoffed in an insulted manner as she stood back up. She smoothed out her jacket as she added, "Well, that's gratitude for you! I come to pay my respects to an old friend and he accuses me of stealing!"

Monkey Fist got to his own feet, revealing that with better posture he still towered Maggie by about five inches. "Oh, really? Then I suppose this just happened to be on your person." From inside his gi he retrieved the Wufu pendant, the carved jade swinging back and forth below his fist.

Maggie frantically checked inside her jacket, finding only the handkerchief she wrapped it in. He must have gotten it during the scuffle, or maybe even when he kicked her away. Monkey Fist grinned, as she just foolishly admitted her guilt with that action.

She stubbornly threw her hands to her sides. "Damn! I suppose you're gonna turn me in now..."

"Oh, believe me, Margaret," Monkey Fist threatened as he tucked the pendant back inside his gi, "I would love to get the authorities involved for this..."

"Ha! Like I haven't eluded them before." Maggie rolled her eyes.

"No, but if they were to get in touch with the Cheer Squad..."

"'The Cheer Squad?' You mean those meddling kids who've busted you on multiple occasions? Please. Being on the lam is easy, especially when you're no longer stuck with a dead-weight spouse." Maggie raised an eyebrow with a wily smirk. "Besides, I've played this game before. I'd get an early release on good behavior, not to mention for giving them some invaluable information. The password is: Monkey Fist Lives."

His eyes widened in alarm. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I dare," Maggie grinned, not at all intimidated by the blue flames in his eyes.

Insulted, Monkey Fist grabbed at her red leather jacket, raising her off the floor to the point where her toes barely touched the rug.

"I could kill you, you know," he growled. "I could kill you right here, right now, and all my problems are solved..."

The horde of monkey ninjas cried out in alarm and hid behind the furniture, only for a few of them to peek out in anticipation. Watching their master fight with this lady wasn't fun anymore.

Maggie didn't move. She glanced down at his genetically modified hands, now witnessing the full-scope of his simian obsession.

She met his glare and, despite her elevated heart rate, she calmly replied, "Yeah. You could. What's stopping you...?"