Shimmer *The Seattle Superheroes*

Chapter Five: Criminal Intelligence

Chapter Five: Criminal Intelligence

Seattle, June 15, 2010; 5:37 a.m.

Humans are ridiculously stubborn creatures. They refuse to abide by the basic needs of their bodies, like sleep. Children whine and cry to not have to go to sleep. Teenagers whine and cry about not getting enough sleep. Adults don't whine and cry-not directly, at least-but they push themselves as far they can go, sleeping as little as possible and taking medications and supplements so that they don't feel the impact. This unhealthy attitude towards sleep may explain some of the more prevalent vexations found in human-kind.

      Shimmer just so happened to be one of the only creatures on Earth who didn't need to sleep every day, but she wasn't fully human. The last time that she had slept, a cat nap in the cushioned window seat in her London hotel, was thirteen days ago. Nevertheless, Shimmer felt astonishingly awake as she walked through the dawn on the cool Tuesday morning. A strange fog, uncharacteristic of the season, left the air feeling misty and invigorating. Soon, the sun rose fully and dispelled the water like grime from a glass, and Shimmer was thankful. While the coolness may have been uplifting, Shimmer hated water even more than she hated falling and bad coffee.

      Shimmer had been walking aimlessly all night, her thoughts mulling over the kidnappings. Her purposeless steps took her through the dark grey streets under the light grey sky. Several hours later, Shimmer found herself in front of a mini-mall. It wasn't shabby or run down-in fact, it seemed to be a thriving commercial center. A bistro was fronted by a patio with laughing couples and coworkers drinking tea. A bank sat, imperious, on the corner. A gaggle of girls flitted about outside of a boutique and laughed about meaningless things. A man wearing a blue hoodie caught Shimmer's eye. 

      He appeared to be perfectly commonplace, but something about him was off. Shimmer noticed his hunched, face-down posture and the way he continuously checked over his shoulder. His blue coat grabbed her attention, contrasting with the golden light of the warm day. Following his path in her head, she deduced that he was headed for a jewelry store. What kind of idiot robs a high-end jewelry store in a kitschy little shopping center in the middle of the day? She asked herself, wondering if there was some other, more understandable reason for his actions. A smart idiot, she realized, and her eyes widened. It was so un-cliché, it was perfect. He looks perfectly normal, not suspicious at all. If he were wearing black and a ski-mask, or if this were a low income area with lots of crime and that store was some creepy looking pawnshop, it would be too obvious. Here, in an area that people assume only fools would rob, no one would suspect him and everyone would be off their guard. It's perfect. It's genius.

      Shimmer very rarely worked with smart criminals, and she was ashamed to admit that the prospect thrilled her. This was different, original. She had occasionally fallen into bouts of despair-deeper than usual, that is-for the human race because all of the street crimes seemed to be focused in back-alleys and dark, abandoned houses. It was as though the thugs and ruffians were following a guide book, and not a clever one, at that.

      Blinking, Shimmer realized that she had been standing on the sidewalk, staring, as she thought about how wonderful it was to have a creative criminal instead of actually doing something to stop him. Her steps became slightly rushed as she walked towards the jewelry store. The man in the blue hoodie walked through the door while Shimmer still had twenty steps left to go, but Shimmer didn't worry. This way she was less noticeable. Within moments, Shimmer's long fingers wrapped around the handle of the door, yanking it open. Her white heeled boots tapped on the linoleum floor mildly and a bell chimed over her head.