Author Games: Caper Crew

The Crew

Who do we need in a caper crew?

The Pickpocket's the one with a light touch. If there's a part of the job that requires sleight-of-hand—whether it's to lift something, swap something, lock something, unlock something, place something, replace something—the pickpocket's the one to call.

You'll need a Cat-Burglar, otherwise known as a 'Grease Man', for tasks that aren't quite so close-quarters. Like the name suggests, there's something about the way they move and the places they end up that just isn't natural—if someone's gonna be crawling through an air duct, swinging by their knees off a telephone wire, maneuvering a pressure-sensitive laser grid, or jumping the roof of a building and a moving elevator, it'll be a cat-burglar.

When all the fancy bells and whistles are cleared away and all that's left is a triple-bolted vault or an infuriating eight-pin lock, you might call on either one to clear that last line of defense. However, these days you'll probably need a Hacker to get to that safe at all. In the computer age our virtual world can make for some very real, very impenetrable defenses; a hacker's good for almost every sort of surveillance and security in any context (and the bypassing thereof).

The Engineer is an expert on a more hands-on type of technology. If there's a gadget or goober that might make your job easier, your friendly neighborhood tinkerer should be there to build the latest James Bond gizmo for your repertoire. If there's a drone that needs to carry much more than its listed capacity, they can 'fix' it with no questions asked. If you need a convenient distraction of the explosive persuasion, a CAD setup that'll replicate a one-of-a-kind necklace to the nanometer, or a drill the size of an elephant that could single-handedly tunnel a subway system? You'll probably be counting on your engineer to run it.

To acquire that drill, though, you'll use a Fence. To acquire almost anything, actually—specialized equipment, million-dollar ball gown disguises, foolproof ID from countries so small and unheard of they don't even have a shipping address—you'll be counting on your fence. You can't cross them, either, because when the time comes your fence will be the one turning the score into cash. No matter what the situation, they know someone who knows someone (or someone who is willing to pretend to). No one knows where the fence's connections come from, but everyone can agree that they're invaluable.

No con would be complete without a conman, better known as a Grifter. While other thieves might need to avoid attention at all costs, the mark of a good grifter is being able to manipulate that attention at will for their purposes; the best grifters don't need to pick their locks, because the mark will open the doors and invite them in. Masters of persuasion with scores of confidence tricks up their sleeves, capable of slipping into a disguise so seamlessly they live the part, becoming anyone they need to be at any given moment: a hacker can steal information and a pickpocket can steal valuables, but a grifter can steal trust, and that's a much more valuable chip to cash.

Even so, no one's trusted more than an Inside Man. One way or another—as a researcher making carefully monitored visits to the archives, as a courted would-be donor, as an overworked tour guide trying desperately to make ends meet, as a night janitor with encyclopedic knowledge of the museum's labyrinthian layout—you've had access to the museum for ages. And for one reason or another—for your research grant, for your personal collection, for the satisfaction of seeing the museum squirm, simply for the cash—you're ready to turn that access into a less respectable sort of profit.

It's one thing to get in, but it's another thing to get out. Your Getaway Driver will be responsible for your exit, whether it's quick and flashy or quiet and discrete. A limo, a sports car, a nondescript catering truck, even a boat or a helicopter—if it's got wheels, a motor, or some combination or amalgamation of both or either, your getaway driver is the one who knows how to use it better than the best. At the very least, they know how to use it better than the cops.

If worst comes to worst, your Muscle is your get out of jail free card. For all the contingency plans, sometimes you just hit a point in the plan where you can't do anything but punch your way out; if you're gonna punch your way out, you're gonna need someone who punches harder than whatever you're up against. Think of a hitter as your own personal security for anything that might need securing. Even a hacker can recognize the value in a brute-force attack.