I Am No Prey

1- Thief in the Dark

Standing on the edge of the rooftop, the concrete comforting in its stability beneath my feet, I took a deep breath, calmed my nerves, readjusted my gloves, and made sure the domino mask and hood were firmly in place. If someone did see me today, which was highly unlikely, there was no way they would recognize me, not by my face or red hair.

 I'd be dead if my stepmom ever caught me. Not dead like a corpse. No, she'd probably force me to move back to her four story mansion, never let me see the light of day again, and I'd die of boredom. Didn't matter that I turned eighteen six months ago and found a shabby place a day after my birthday. To say that she was offended was putting it mildly. And I had no intention of going back to that place.

I looked down. One hundred and twenty feet above the grounds, the street-lamps below were faint dots of white and yellow. If I had a fear of heights, there would be no way I'd do this in a thousand years. But here I stood. My eyes looked up and I was drawn to the billboard from New Year's Eve. It was an ad for a cruise trip.

Happy New Year's!

2350! A New Decade, Make New Experiences!!

The cruise trip sign had way too many exclamation marks and the crew members in the picture were smiling way too hard for it to be comfortable.

Enough procrastinating. After doing this kind of thing hundreds of times, I figured that I'd get used to it. Nope, never happened. Holding my breath, I jumped, and wondered why I had been nervous in the first place. 

The wind rushed past my ears, tugging at my hood and threatening to pull it off, but I had made sure that the pins were secure. The ground got closer and closer. Thirty yards, twenty yards, fifteen yards, and then the rope snapped. With a sickening lurch-the breath leaving my lungs- my descent stopped. This part I hated, dangling in the air and waiting for my heart to slow and the pain around my middle to ease. 

A few minutes later, it did. With the press of a button, the suction grip on my gloves spurred to life. I latched my hand to the glass, and reeled myself closer to the building. I grinned as I pulled yet another tool from my belt. I haven't given it a name yet, but it took months to make. It resembled a stick, long, thin and small, but it could burn anything, literally anything. Well, I never tried it on flesh but since it can burn through metal in seconds, I assume it works on flesh too.

Flipping the switch, it whirred to life as I placed it to the metal panel. In seconds it turned soft. A few more and it started to resemble jelly. The glass panel wobbled. I placed my hand on the glass and immediately it stuck, fast. Carefully, I pushed, and it slid back without a sound. Turning the device off and sliding it back into my belt I kept on easing the glass back until it was on the floor inside the building. Unlatching the rope from my belt, I heaved myself inside and sighed. 

That was easy, these heists were getting easier and easier. Hacking into the mainframe earlier was like eating cake. Fun, the sugar and confection delicious even if the amount of calories made one feel guilty. 

Another sigh. Security wasn't like what it used to be. And that wasn't good news for this government facility a few miles away from the Eiffel Tower. With tentative steps, I made my way around the office to the desk. The cabinets were locked, but after quick work with the code, it beeped and opened. I grinned and pulled the file out from my bag and placed it back in the cabinet, with a side note for the owner of course. Though I doubted they'd understand what it meant. But it was hilarious watching them be frantic the entire day wondering where the file went and who took it. I probably would have made a fortune if I had decided to sell it to one of the Drakhenae countries.