The Thief Who Stole My Heart (Boyxboy)

What the Hale?

There comes a time in every man's life when he has to make a very important decision. At this time, his choice will affect the people closest to him; for better or for worse. My time to choose had finally come and I had two options; Die Hard orTop Gun. I stared down at the two movies in my hands, still unable to make my choice. My father stood beside me, watching me impatiently. "Just pick one already, Elliot. You've already seen them both."

"Do you realize what you're asking me to do? You're basically asking me to pick my favorite child." I told him teasingly. He smiled and shook his head.

"No. I'm just asking you to choose a movie before your sister gets tired of waiting on us and makes us watch The Notebook. Again." he pointed out, giving me a knowing look. I gaped up at him.

"Don't threaten me." I glanced back down at the two movies, biting at my bottom lip. I sighed and handed him Die Hard, putting the rejected movie back on the shelf of the movie rental store. Although both my sister and I had moved out years prior, we still made it a point to have a family movie night every Friday. After much bribing and pouting, I had finally convinced Gwen, said sister, to let me pick the movie.

"Good Choice." Dad smiled, heading up towards the register. He stopped in his tracks when his phone rang loudly from the pocket of his dark jacket. He handed me his wallet and the movie, gesturing for me to pay while he took the call. His tone was professional as he answered, "This is Detective Bishop. Oh, good evening, Chief."

I sighed and put the movie back on the shelf, knowing that I'd be spending my night at a crime scene rather than watching one of my favorite movies. Dad shot me an apologetic look and shrugged as if to say duty calls. His eyebrows furrowed together and he asked the person on the other end of the call, "A robbery? Why are you calling me? I'm homicide. Its Hale? You're sure? I've got my son with me. Yes, sir, I understand. No, you're right, sir. I'll be there shortly."

I crossed my arms as my dad hung up, looking up at me with a guilty expression. "Let me guess. I need to call Gwen and tell her that we're not coming home for a while?"

"You hit the nail on the head, kiddo. You'd make a good detective one day." he chuckled as we exited the store. I scoffed and stuffed my hands into my pockets.

"With your crappy work hours? No thank you." I chuckled, shaking my head. I zipped up my hoodie as we stepped out into the chilly night. Caidia City always seemed colder than it should have. Every night felt like fall but the days could become blistering hot. We jumped into Dad's dark sedan and raced off to the crime scene. After shooting my sister a text, explaining what had happened, I turned in the passenger seat to look at my father and asked, "Who's Hale?"

"Jace Hale. He's a thief who's been hitting just about every bank and museum in the city for months." Dad explained, keeping his dark eyes locked onto the road.

"A thief? Why did the chief call you? You're a homicide detective." I questioned. "Did he kill someone?"

"That's the million dollar question. Depending on the person you ask, you'll get a different answer." Dad reached up and rubbed at the stubble on his jaw. "Last month, a cop was killed during one of Hale's heists. He was only thirty years old and had just found out that his wife was pregnant with their first child. We're still not sure if Hale was the one who pulled the trigger."

"Who else could it have been?" Although I had no interest in following in my father's footsteps and becoming a cop, I still had curious mind that often got me into trouble. Gwen would often tease me saying that I needed to learn how to mind my own business.

"Well, there were rumors that Hale had an accomplice on that particular job and that said accomplice was most likely the one who killed the cop. But, we were never able to find proof that Hale had help." he explained as we pulled up to Caidia Federal Bank. The two story building was surrounded by cop cars and yellow crime scene tape.