Crime Pays

[Shura]

Senna sighed heavily as she roamed the halls of the dimly lit Museum looking over the painting boredly. It was about her fifth lap around the place and she was only two hours into her shift. The job had been interesting when she first got the offer but two months of seeing the same paintings and the same halls in the dead of night with no one to talk to or keep her company was starting to get to her. She couldn't exactly just sit and read a book, she was still under her observation period and the last thing she wanted was to be fired from her Job. She wasn't exactly hurting for money, Yet. But her hobbies could only bring in so much money for so long before she started to draw attention to herself which was the last thing she wanted.


Still the Museum wasn't exactly some big time famous one, they barley had traffic unless it was a bunch of school kids. The museum did have some original pieces and a few very rare collections but the museum was so small and rather unknown the chances of being targeted for a heist was low.

 

[Gobbo]

As she was making her rounds, it would be unlikely that she would notice a window silently sliding open and closed again. The alarms strangely didn't go off, as the shadow seemed to slip silently along the upper floor of the museum. The man paused, noticing the guard wandering around downstairs. He smirked a little under his mask, making his way towards the back of the museum. He had been casing the place for a few weeks now, and there was really nothing of worth there, aside from the rare artworks that had been exhibited there.


He watched the girl's movements carefully, not worried about being caught on camera. He had disabled the security system before he entered, so there was no risk of him getting caught, unless he somehow fouled up and got caught by the guard. He didn't see that happening, though.


Waiting in the shadows he watched the girl walk right past him, waiting for her to be out of sight before he started working. He slipped a razor blade from his pocket and started cutting the paintings from their frames, working with the speed of a skilled professional. Once he had taken the five paintings he felt satisfied, and quickly jotted down a small note which he rested in one of the empty frames. It had taken him two minutes to do his work, and quickly slipped back into the shadows of the darkened museum. He stuck around, waiting to see the girl's reaction before he left.

 

[Shura]

It was about another twenty minutes before Senna came around again. She was mostly going through the motions as she held her flashlight just ahead of her eyes unfocused to the hall before her. She walked just a recently installed set of paintings before pausing her mind catching something a miss. She had practically memorized the ins and outs of the place and could notice when something was a miss. She turned her head and swung the flashlight to the display gasping slightly as five blank frames in place where several bright and colorful paintings should be she neared the paintings before scanning the flashlight all around not finding a trace of where they could have gone. She spotted a note in one of the games and leaned in close to read it knowing not to touch a thing.

Note

To the wandering, lonely girl: Sorry for the inconvenience. -A

"G'damn it..." she hissed starting to call up the emergency number and get the police on the scene ASAP.

 

[Gobbo]

Aaron watched her with a small smirk, moving back towards the window he came in through. She was going to get the cops here pretty quick, so it might be a good idea to get moving. He made sure to stay as silent as he could, slipping between the shadows while keeping his eyes locked on her the entire time. Fro this angle, she was pretty cute... too bad he couldn't just up and ask for her number. He shrugged it off and slid along the wall closer to the window, but accidentally knocked into another painting which slid loudly against the wall. He cursed mentally and froze, ducking behind a statue.

 

[Shura]

Senna jumped hearing the crash. She rushed to the closest panel and turned up all of the lights and looked over towards the sound. not seeing anything immediately. She slowly approached the hall pulling out the stun gun she had. "Come out! I know your there!"

 

[Gobbo]

He froze when the lights went up, cursing under his breath. He had to get out through the window quick before she found him. As he went to leave, however, he turned and locked eyes with the girl, glancing down at the stun gun quickly.


"Okay, just hold on a moment..." he said, his piercing green eyes locked on hers. "Let's not do anything hasty. This haul's going to pull in twenty-six grand, and half of it's yours if you let me walk out of here." he said quickly, his hands up next to his head.

 

[Shura]

Senna narrowed her eyes slightly as she glared at the crook keeping her stance firm. Inside she was terrified, she was had no experience with any actual criminals. Her only saving grace was the fact that the police were on their way. She tried to keep a neutral expression when he made the tempting offer. If he hadn't been standing in front of her with a mask and no way to identify him she would have been more tempted. "Your stealing paintings not exactly the most trustworth sort at the moment. Just leave the paintings and you can go on your marry way."

 

[Gobbo]

"The paintings are going to have to come with me. I'm sorry." he said, slowly inching back towards the window. "Look, you're going to lose your job because of this anyways. Why not do it thirteen thousand dollars richer? The cameras are off, nobody's going to see you making this deal." he said, his hands still up. "It's a good deal. If I were in your position, I'd take it." He felt a sinking feeling in his gut, not sure if his persuasion would work.

 

[Shura]

"Probably because you're wearing a mask, I don't know who you are or even if any information you give me would be valid." she reasoned narrowing her eyes. inching closer as she saw him inching towards the window. "Now stop or I will shoot you." She commanded firmly.

 

[Gobbo]

He stopped suddenly, hands still up, his eyes still locked onto hers. "Alright, let's just calm down. If the mask bothers you, then here." he said, pulling it off. "Better? Now, I don't have a lot of time to waste... I'll just be going if you give me your phone number so I can get you your cut."

 

[Shura]

Senna lowered the gun slightly as he removed his masked, he was fairly good looking although a bit intimidating. She had two options make him leave the paintings or let him get away. She had seen his face so she had something on him. "Fine..." she muttered softly agreeing mostly because she didn't want to engage the fairly large man in a fight. She wrote her number on the back of a museum guide before tossing it over to him not wanting to get close.

 

[Gobbo]

Aaron picked it up and smiled a bit, tucking it into a pocket. "Many thanks, uh..." he tilted his head a bit, looking at her nametag. "Senna. I'll be in touch." he said, pulling his mask on before he turned, opening the window and suddenly jumping out of it. It was amazing how quickly he vanished, it was obvious that he was well-trained in what he did.

 

[Shura]

Senna had a sinking feeling in her stomach as he disappeared and the sirens started to come closer. She wanted to run as well but that would make her look guilty as all hell however she didn't want to deal with talking too the cops. She was tempted to pretended like she had been knocked out but she knew it would just be more trouble if they found out. So she opted for playing clueless.

 

[Gobbo]

Several days passed, and when the cops didn't come beating down his door he assumed that Senna hadn't said anything. Which was good.


He sat in his apartment, counting out the money from his fence. The money was actually better than he was expecting, and he'd be able to split the cut cleanly in half at 15 grand a piece. Not what he wanted, but he'd happily hand over half of his take to stay out of prison. After placing her money in an envelope he picked up his phone, debating on if he should call her or not. He opted instead for a text, using a specially designed app to disguise his number from her.


"Thanks for the help the other night. Meet me at Harold's Diner, on 5th and Santiago in two hours. -A" the text read, and as he clicked send he sighed a bit.


He got up to go shower and change, and by the time he got to the diner he was a half hour early. Ordering some coffee he took a booth in the back, with his back to the wall and his eyes on the door.

 

[Shura]

Senna grumbled a curse under her breath as she checked the mailbox and pulled out nothing but bills. She had enough in her saving to cover herself for a few months but being fired from her job meant she had to go job searching. Again. She cursed the crook who had robbed the museum regretting her decisions the minute she was pulled into a long ass investigation that had her going home late that evening. And then constantly questioned afterwards the following few days. It really was more trouble than it was worth.


She shook her head heading back up to her apartment when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She fished the old device out and checked to see who it was. Strangely there was no number only a text message asking her to go to a diner across town. She realized it was probably the crook and was worried about the meeting. This was a criminal but she needed the money. She debated over the text for nearly a full hours the bills acting as a glaring reminder of how she needed the money. Taking on a heavy sigh she showered and got ready for the meeting. She showed up five minutes early looking around for anyone she might find familiar

 

[Gobbo]

Aaron recognized her the moment she stepped through the door, a tiny smile on his face. She didn't look too half bad when she was out of uniform... He placed the envelope on the table and leaned forward a bit, resting his elbows on the table as he waved over at her. He glanced outside quickly, not seeing any undercover cop cars that he recognized, so he relaxed a bit. Either way, from where he was sitting he could escape through the kitchen if he needed to. He smiled lightly at her, waiting for her to take a seat.

 

[Shura]

Senna caught someone waving and looked over spotting the same man from the museum. She had mixed motioned about meeting with him and they just flared up even stronger now that they were in the same room. She took a deep breath and walked over a bit of her nerves showing as she neared the table. She spotted the envelop and was tempted to just take it and run but that would draw way more attention to herself than she wanted so she sat across from the criminal feeling more awkward then anything else.

 

[Gobbo]

Aaron sat and watched her for a few moments, smiling a little. He could tell she wasn't comfortable about being there. After several long moments he pushed the envelope over to her.


"I got more than I expected. Fifteen grand, just for you." he said with a little grin. "Sorry for breaking the monotony of your job the other night." he teased lightly, trying to make small talk.

 

[Shura]

Senna blinked as he pushed the envelop forward "15?" She questioned softly surprised at the amount. She accepted the envelop and glanced inside to make sure it was money and no just paper or some other substitute then stuffed it into her purse. She shrugged slightly at his comment. "Job was boring anyway, but it was a job." she muttered.

 

[Gobbo]

He nodded, folding his arms on the table as he watched her. She was uncomfortable being around him, that much was obvious. "If you're in the job market again, I might be able to help. I have more work planned in the next few months that may need an inside man. Or woman, in this case." he said with a small smirk. "It'll be a much bigger take than 15, if you're interested."

 

[Shura]

Senna quirked a brow suspiciously. "I have the cops questioning me already for the museum wouldn't me being at another crime would be a little suspicious....?" She questioned quietly.

 

[Gobbo]

"It won't be for a month or so. If there's no evidence, then there's no crime." he said, chuckling a bit. "It'll just look like you have bad luck being where the crimes are happening. You won't have any direct involvement, you'll just be at the wrong place at the wrong time." he explained.


"I have a movie theater I want to hit. All I need you to do is start working there, preferably as a cleaner."

 

[Shura]

Senna frowned slightly not really liking the idea of being involved in more crime. "Yeah... easy for you to say your not the one at risk of being connected." she muttered softly. The money seemed tempting enough but there was usually way too much risk involved with crime of this nature especially if your the one who is still at the scene when things are over.

 

[Gobbo]

"No, I'm the one risking thirty years in prison. There'd be no way to connect you to the crimes, so long as you don't crack during interrogation. Seeing as you didn't for this last one, I think you'd be pretty well suited for it." he said, sipping at his coffee. "Plus, it'll net you a couple months of legitimate work while I figure things out. The worst thing that's going to happen is you'll lose your job, which is seriously unlikely if you're not responsible for guarding the safe."

 

[Shura]

He had a point. She frowned slightly giving the opportunity some thought. On the up side she would have a job and get a pay out in the end. in the worst case scenario she keeps her job and doesn't get a pay out. She sighed softly shaking her head "Which theater is it?"