It Happened One Heist

The Canopy

The two thieves returned to Castle Fiske and with their last assignment complete a celebration was in order.

Monty had only sustained a few minor bruises from the fight with Night Terror. Maggie laughed as she threw off her jacket and slipped her suspenders off from her shoulders. Time to cut loose and let them hang from her waist.

They held a roaring party for two as they drank red wine and put on Monty's record of "Kiss Me, Kate", since they couldn't stick around for the rest of the show.

A couple hours into the celebration, the record was left skipping and the two thieves were leaning against each other on the sofa in a blissful, half-drunken stupor.

Maggie swung her arm out, wine glass in hand. "Top me off, Monty!"

Monty leaned down and picked up the empty wine bottle. "I think we've both had enough..."

"Aw, poo." Maggie leaned her head back. "Don't you have some of that green wine we got from that weird bottle-collector guy? Why don't we break into that? I think we've earned it."

Monty chuckled. "No. I think not. That wine is far too valuable to just waste for the purposes of... well, getting wasted."

"You're no fun." She leaned to rest on his shoulder again, but almost fell into his lap, brushing the folds of his shirt aside to show the Wufu pendant underneath.

Monty was blushing, and Maggie paused when she realized she had her hand on his thigh to hold herself up.

She sat back up straight and brushed her hair back. "Yeah, you're right. I've had enough."

Monty lifted the pendant as if he hadn't observed its intricate detail in a long time. He looked over at Maggie and inquired, "You said before that this object carried a lot of sentimental value for you. Why is that?"

Maggie rubbed her eyes and tried to clear her head a bit. "Well, for starters it was just such an eye-opening experience for me. I had been terrified of bats for so long that seeing them in a different light like that... How they were important for pollinating flowers and stuff? A sign of good luck in China...? Like, seeing these things that freaked me out when I was a kid as a good thing and not a bad thing, you know?"

"Mmm." Monty nodded. He could understand that.

Maggie shifted in her seat. "Also, you might not believe me when I say this, but that expedition was the last fun experience I had on my own before I married Jeremy... He... really took something from me that I will never get back... I'll never be allowed back in the field of chiropterology. He hurt my bats, he hurt me, and I'll never see my babies again." She paused, and she rubbed at her pointed ears underneath her hair. "Those memories are all I have left."

Monty shook his head. "I don't know how you could live with someone like that."

"I didn't."

Monty glanced at her curiously, prompting her to explain.

"Why do you think I had to share a place with DNAmy...?"

Monty was shocked to hear this. He had heard of couples who slept in separate beds or separate bedrooms, but separate dwellings? He almost wanted to venture why, but he could guess that the reasons were probably very complicated and very messy.

Which reminded him. "Oh, that's right. Night Terror said something about us..."

Maggie's ears perked up.

"... allegedly having an affair?"

She slid down in her seat. She had hoped she never had to bring this up again, and especially to Monty. "Yeah... There were rumors that we had a... what people were calling a 'late-night study session'..." Maggie admitted.