(19:58)
“The best you can do? It’s to stay still, stay put, and don’t go anywhere on your own… though I know that’s not possible…”
The team three’s leader answered with a sigh and a shake of his head.
“That thief’s not getting in here one way or another, we’ve already got several men on the rooftop so there’s no way he can get in without us noticing” the patrol team leader claimed.
There was one young male technician who had just finished his conversation with a police officer and was allowed inside the power room of the place. The technician nodded in gratitude as he walked inside the ‘not-so-well-monitored’ room with a small smile touching his lips.
(I'll make him be on the same team as Peonie. He'll arrive late to the scene)
Name: Saiph Syed
Age: 23
Gender: male
Personality: Saiph is a survivor. Growing up in an abusive household, it was up to him to protect his sister, Safiya, from their parents. One day he built up enough courage to take his sister and run away, leaving his town and making it to the next. He loves his sister and made sure she was able to live alone before going to classes and learning boxing. He is quiet, preferring to study his opponent before making the decision to trust them. His soft spot is his sister, he would do anything to protect her which is why not many people know about her.
Physical Features: shirt messy brown hair that have a slight curl to them, hazel eyes that seem to change colour. Saiph is tall and fairly strong. Though his body may not show. He has lightly tanned skin, a sign of his middle eastern heritage.
Usual Clothing: Saiph likes to dress comfortable but not too casual. Out side if work, he can be seen in T-shirts or a tank top with an unbuttoned shirt over top and a pair of jeans. He doesnt like sweatpants and barely wears them. He also likes hooded jackets
Other: Saiph is an artist. He likes to draw but only when it rains. He can play the piano and tries to do so every day. He owns a German Shepherd named Spirit and a Egyptian Mau named Anubis
Peonie's face fell a little, she really wanted to do something useful. "I see, sir. I shall post myself elsewhere just as an extra pair of eyes." As she turned away from the team leader, she gazed around the place, not entirely convinced that they had every position covered. If I were a thief, I'd fool people. She wandered around for a bit, keeping in the area so her leader could see her, but became distracted by the architecture of the ceiling and ended up bumping into someone. A technician? Why was a technician needed when all the defenses were working normally? "Pardon me," Peonie murmured, bowing her head a little in apology. When she looked back up at the man, her eyes widened a little. His face was vaguely familiar, but where had she seen it before? "I assume you know which area you are headed to?"
Saiph cursed loudly and ran towards the crime scene, his jacket flying open. Just as he recieved the call alerting him he was required to be arrested the scene for the jewel thief case, one of his higher ups stopped him to ask about one of his previous cases. And now he was late. "I'm sorry!" He called, hooking his badge to his belt and looking at the team leader.
The technician looked back at Peonie and smiled lightly.
“The lighting system in the second zone is not working, I was called to check on it” the man answered as he continued to his way, adjusting his cap so that it covered his face with shadows. Having walked a bit further away from the female officer, the technician glanced down at his watch then at the jewel cased in glass near him.
(19:59)
The patrol team leader sighed heavily once.
“Well at least you’re here before that damn thief strikes” the leader said as he looked down at his watch.
“Less than a minute, what is he gonna do? We’ve got mostly everything covered” the leader was quite confident with his defenses and maybe he forgot to check the officers who were coming in and out of the place, especially that one technician who just randomly showed up and is now standing beside the Ruby Cherry.
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Saiph asked, taling off his bag and setting it to the side and stretching
Peonie narrowed her eyes. She kept her distance, but her eyes were still fixed on the technician. She wasn't aware that a call had been made, nor did anything appear to be wrong with the lighting. Something about that scenario just didn't add up. A small notepad and pen sat in one of her pockets, her watch ticked quietly on her wrist. She pulled out the pad and began scribbling things down. Time, date, scenario. Anything that might have been important basically. Surely she wasn't the only one who thought something was wrong?
(20:00)
“Hm?” The leader stopped his confident posture and looked around.
“Well I guess you can—“
The lights all went out.
The small laugh broke the dark silence after the lights stopped working.
”Please allow me to take the Cherry on top today” what would be a familiar voice to officials settled in.
“‘Crescent’, stop right there!” The patrol leader shouted out as he tried to see through the dark.
With the thief’s dark navy suit, it was hard to see where he was and as the lights came back…
Not only was the thief gone, but the jewel, the Ruby Cherry, was gone as well.
The team leader cursed a bit and got out his walkie-talkie.
“Team 1 and Team 2, everyone come down from the rooftop! Scan the whole building, he’s got the jewel!”
Saiph cursed and looked to the team leader for instructions while grabbing his gun and putting it in his holster and running to the jewel case to look for clues.
(I'm unsure how to respond)
(I’ll help, emphasize on the last sentence the leader said and try to figure out where the thief might go when he hears that)
(“Team 1 and Team 2, everyone come down from the rooftop! Scan the whole building, he’s got the jewel!”)
Scan the building… Peonie shook her head after a moment, stuffing her notepad and pen back into her pocket. No, they were going about it the wrong way. The thief wouldn't be inside the building, he knew that the teams would search inside the building first.
She ran past her team mates, completely ignoring if they had said anything to her, and made her way upstairs, there was sure to be roof access up there. "He's on the roof, I'm sure of it!"
Upstairs she found a fire escape ladder that lead up to the roof, and climbed it without hesitation.
By the removed glass chamber appeared no signs of breaking or fracturing. Apparently, the thief loosened the glass box ahead of time and when it was time to strike, he just removed it and placed it back down.
No fingerprints were left on the box, none.
Now might be the right time to ask why officers working at the exhibition on how they let people come in and do such delicate preparation for a stealing.
Atop the building’s roof stood a navy dressed figure. A majority of his face was completely covered, leaving only his lips for the people to see. His crescent moon cape blew along with the winds that came around as the man was looking at the red jewel he had just stolen, appreciating its every cut.
The hatch above Peonie's head was a little loose, so pushing it up wasn't too much hard work. She hoisted herself up onto the roof, smoothing down her skirt while looking around. The wind kept threatening to blow her hair out of its bun, but she didn't pay much attention to it when she saw a figure on the other side of the roof, and they were holding the stolen jewel! "Hey, wait!" she called, slowly approaching him. She wasn't sure why she'd said 'wait', but it seemed better than nothing.
The figure turned towards the sound and grinned a bit.
”Are you here to arrest me?” the phantom thief asked, letting his hands fall to his side before he showed the jewel to Peonie.
”I don’t think you wanna try anything suspicious now, do you?” the man said with quite a straight and humble posture.
As the man spoke, the winds blew heavier and heavier until eventually… his helm came off, revealing what would be a kept secret of ‘Crescent’; his face. With his dark brown hair and emerald green eyes, it was hard to not be invited mentally to look into his eyes.
Fortunately, the man was able to catch his helm in time before it went flying elsewhere, putting it back on. The man cleared his throat.
”As I was saying…”
As the winds grew heavier, Peonie's long hair tumbled out of its bun and cascaded over her shoulders. She tucked it out of her eyes, making sure she could see the man for every second she was up there on that roof. Now she knew is face, but no one would believe her…
While it would have been nice to have arrested him, as long as he had the jewel she didn't want to do anything drastic. "I don't think arresting you is an option right now. Especially not up here."
The thief gasped a bit in surprise. He looked down at the jewel and smiled before he looked back up at the female officer.
”How about I give you an offer? I’ll hand the jewel back to you, the real one as well don’t worry, pretending like you found it along the way, saying things like ‘perhaps the thief accidentally dropped it’ and you don’t tell anyone about our little conversation up here, sound good?” the thief asked, holding the jewel delicately with his left hand.
Saiph decided to go check up on the roof just in case the thief was there, not knowing that Peonie was already up there. He ran up the stairs and reached up to open the door but dropped his badge. He cursed loudly and picked it up.
Hearing some footsteps coming up to the roof, the thief was starting to hesitate. In the end…
”Well, before anyone catches me—“ he walked right over to Peonie and grabbed her wrist to open her hand, placing the jewel down.
”See you next time cutie” he ended with a wide grin as he ran towards the ledge of the rooftop and jumped down, disappearing into the shadows of the building.
The next couple of minutes were a blur as Peonie watched the thief jump off the roof. She ran to the edge, watching in horror as he disappeared, before turning look at the jewel in her hand. Why had he gone through the trouble of stealing the Ruby Cherry to only give it back? She'd seen his face, more than once, but who would believe her if she said anything? This was a game she was going to have to play very carefully if she wanted to avoid suspicion…
As the Ruby Cherry laid on Peonie’s palm, it glittered and reflected the moonlight. Its redness was quite exquisite, rare in most minerals of the same value…
It was weird how someone who was given the chance to steal the gem did not take the chance. Perhaps the thief’s intention was not to steal it in the first place…
(I'm thinking I have to wait for something else to happen before I can respond again, right?)
Colin let out a loud "Fuck!" as he examined the glass case, eyes making note of everything. "Loosened case, should've checked beforehand." He muttered, using a gloved hand to lift up the panel of glass while scowling. "I should've seen this coming."
