by L J Branch
“I’m in,” Abbie’s voice said from Kat’s earpiece.
* * *
“Okay, so you can get me in, but how do you guys actually go about taking the car?” Abbie asked as Diamond gestured toward Jack.
“That’s where Frost comes in. Katarina can break into and out of places, but when it comes to actually going through them that’s where his skills come into play,” Diamond answered as Jack smirked.
* * *
Kneeling over the downed guard, Kat stole his I.D. card before she handed it to Jack who had just entered the room. Jack studied the picture for a moment before he glanced down at the guard. Jack placed his right hand over his face and Kat watched as Jack’s body was covered in ash, turning his form pitch black. Removing his hand, the ash seemed to fade away leaving a mirror image of the guard standing in his place.
“Alright, I found it,” Abbie began. “It’s at the North end of the docks, the third container and you’ll run into it on the right. I’ll track you through the surveillance camera and guide you if you get lost.”
“Appreciated, love,” Jack said, his voice not sounding like his own as Kat moved toward the window.
“I’m going to take the scenic route, meet you there,” Kat said as she departed. As Jack made his way through the docks, he nodded toward some of the other workers and even made a joke or two. When prompted Jack would show his ID as Abbie directed him through the docks.
“Alright, turn right and it should be right there,” Abbie said and sure enough before Jack was a P.I. cargo container.
“Perfect, and I think I found our ticket out of here,” Jack said as he spotted a semi-truck that was waiting to be loaded up. “Kat.”
“Way ahead of you,” Kat said and he saw her jump down from on top of the containers and quickly rush toward a crane. The poor driver couldn’t even shout in surprise before he found himself quickly knocked out by Kat and pushed over as she took his seat. As Kat busied herself with grabbing the container, Jack made his way to the truck and gestured toward the driver.
“Hey pal, I need your help. I need you to sign off on something before your next delivery,” Jack said making the driver groan. “Hey, I don’t like it either, too much paperwork if you ask me.”
“Amen,” the driver muttered as he opened the door and nearly as soon as he got out, he found his collar grabbed tightly by Jack.
“No hard feelings, mate,” Jack said before he slammed a powerful right hook into the man’s face that knocked him out instantly. Jack dragged his body away and hid it in between the containers. Jack then placed a hand on the driver’s face and quickly assumed his identity. As he made it back to the truck he watched as Kat loaded up the container before she hopped out of the crane. Once they made it to the container, they noticed that the container was chained shut. Thinking quickly, Jack grabbed the chains with his hands, ash covering his hands and forming what appeared to be a pair of black gloves that fit him like a second skin. On the back of his right glove, his tattoo reappeared, outlined by a bright blue crackling energy. When Jack gripped the chains, a black “I” emblem appeared on the forehead of the tattooed skull as a small circle of ice began to form on the ground around his body. Kat watched as blue sparks danced across the chains and froze them in Jack’s grasp before he ripped them off and shattered them. When the doors of the container opened, they looked inside and gave each other a high five as they saw what appeared to be a car covered in a white tarp.
“Got it!” Kat said happily.
“Good now hurry, some workers are headed your way!” Abbie warned and Kat quickly climbed into the back and closed the doors behind her while Jack climbed into the driver’s seat and drove away.
* * *
“Still, we have the issue regarding your phone. We can’t just leave it there, that’s the quickest way to get you locked up,” Diamond said with a frown.
“I can deal with that, just let me back up my data. I have a spare phone from P.I. laying around here somewhere,” Abbie said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
* * *
Abbie’s phone released smoke and sparks before it suddenly combusted, destroying itself and the terminal next to it.
* * *
“I love this phone, but you gotta appreciate the fireworks it can make,” Abbie said as Diamond and Jack once more looked at her with blank expressions while Kat seemed excited by the very idea. “What?”
“Why do you know how to do that?” Diamond asked with a raised eyebrow and in response Abbie gestured around at her apartment.
“I get bored easily and phones are easy to mess with. I honestly don’t get why so many people are startin’ to get them implanted in their heads when regular smartphones are still liable to blow up under certain conditions no matter who manufactures them. Anyway, I’m rantin’, the point is that you’d be surprised at what you can learn to do with enough free time,” Abbie said as Jack just chuckled.
“You two might have been more of a match than I realized, love.”
“Insanity loves company,” Diamond muttered as Abbie shrugged having not gotten what the big deal was.
“The real issue is what are you going to do to get away? I mean they are bound to figure out what went down before you get very far,” Abbie pointed out.
“That’s fine, remember that garage you mentioned?” Diamond asked. “If we go ahead and purchase that, we’ll be fine.”
“How?”
“You know the mark you saw at our place?” Kat asked which made Abbie nod. “We can only put it on one person at a time. That said, there is no limit when it comes to places we own. By placing the mark in that garage, we can turn it into a safe house. If a thief goes to their safe house, pursuers of any kind are the last thing we need to worry about.”
* * *
“You’ve got company,” Abbie warned as Jack drove through the streets of Santa Monica, police sirens echoing throughout the city. Glancing through his mirror, Jack saw a group of police cars pursuing him.
“Pull the vehicle over now!” an officer ordered.
“Umbra, what’s your status?” Jack questioned.
“I’m in, is it clear?”
“They’re trying to flank me so go now, straight down the middle!”
“On it!” Kat said and soon Jack heard the sound of an engine roaring to life before Kat drove out of the back of the truck and in between the officers whom all frantically swerved out of her way. The black car she was driving handled far better than any vehicle she had ever driven before. “This thing is amazing! Can I keep it!?” Kat practically begged as she outmaneuvered the cars that turned to chase her down.
“Get it back to the garage and it’s all yours,” Diamond’s voice answered. “Frost, get ready, I’m coming to extract you,” Diamond said as she drove out of an alleyway on Kat’s bike, the lower half of her face covered by a black and gold mask. When Diamond looked forward, she saw that there were only two cruisers pursuing Jack. Diamond extended her hand and a beautifully crafted black handgun formed from ash in her grasp. It was faint, but the word “Roderick” could be seen engraved onto its side in a pale gold. Taking aim, Diamond quickly released two rounds that tore through the tires of the cruisers which made them crash into each other. Diamond pulled back on the bike, and drove right over the crashed cars. “Now!” Diamond ordered after she corrected her position and drove next to Jack., Jack steered the truck toward a ditch and out of the way of any civilians before he leapt out and landed on the back of the bike. It was then that Diamond turned the bike quickly to the right and away from the crashing truck and rode through the city streets.
“I lost them,” Kat said as Jack placed a hand to his face and returned to his normal appearance, his mask still firmly in place. “Heading to the garage.”
“We’ll meet you there,” Diamond said as her gun dissolved into ash.
“Boss?”
“Yes?”
“Can we never do something that reckless again?”
“
No promises.”
* * *
Santa Monica, Band Thirteen’s Garage
Abbie looked up from her computer as Kat drove into the garage followed by Diamond and Jack a few minutes later. She simply shook her head in wonder as she heard the officers on the nearby police scanner completely forget what they were doing. The officers eventually blamed the wreckage on fugitives who apparently went in the exact opposite direction that the thieves had taken.
“And that, Abbie, is how we do things,” Kat said proudly as she stepped out of the car.
“Well you can color me impressed, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen anything like that, I couldn’t see clearly from the cameras but did you actually change your appearance?” Abbie asked Jack who just winked in response.
“I’m good at what I do.”
“I can tell,” Abbie said as she walked toward the car and placed a hand on its hood before releasing an appreciative whistle. “This thing is a beauty. Four doors too? This is how you take road trips in style.”
“Hell yeah,” Kat agreed as her mask disappeared, revealing a bright grin. “So, what now?”
“Now I take this thing apart. There is a chip I need that will be your key into the bank,” Abbie answered which made Kat look at her in horror. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt it. Besides, we were going to have to take it apart anyway if we wanted to really customize this baby later on,” that seemed to do the trick as Kat’s horrified expression turned into one of complete and utter joy.
“When will you be done?” Diamond asked and Abbie sighed as she scratched her head in thought.
“Give me a day, two at the most. It all really depends on just how much they changed the O.S,” Abbie answered.
“Then we’ll take on Magnus Financial in three days. I’ll come up with a plan while you deal with this,” Diamond said. “Good work everyone, we’ll go over the plan before the job. As for now? Let’s take a quick break.”
“Well,” Abbie began as she got Kat’s attention when they dispersed. “Guess I can scratch grand theft auto off my bucket list.”
“And you did great,” Kat said as she hugged Abbie. “Just wait, babe, we’ll make a criminal out of you yet,” Kat said with a laugh and for the life of her, Abbie could not figure out why that statement didn’t terrify her as much as she knew it should have.
CHAPTER 5: The Magnus Financial Job
Santa Monica, Midas Tower
“Father, everything is under control. I know the deadline is coming up, but don’t worry we just finished getting our preparations in order,” Diamond explained. “I understand you’re just concerned about me, and I appreciate it but you need to show a little faith. It will be done this week,” Diamond reassured. “Understood, I love you too,” Diamond said before she ended the call just as Kat walked into the study with Abbie and Jack.
“We’re back,” Kat said as she waved at her boss. “Jack and I got the info you wanted and we picked Abbie up along the way.”
“Please tell me you have good news, Abigail.”
“I do, it was slightly more difficult than I expected but I got in, even did a test run without any problems. I can now get in and out of their systems without a hitch,” Abbie said with a smile.
“Perfect, I just got off the phone with my father. Our brash approach the other day caught him off guard and I had to reassure him that everything was fine. I’m glad that turned out to not be a lie.”
“Old man was that worried, huh?” Kat asked knowingly.
“Still can’t believe Roderick is in this business too,” Abbie said before she shrugged. “But it makes sense if he’s your dad. I love his movies, think I can get an autograph?”
“I’ll make him write as many as you want if we get through this,” Diamond said as Jack approached her. Abbie watched as the skin on the back of his neck suddenly turned into ash that spread apart to reveal what looked like a metallic version of her mark. Reaching back, he popped it out leaving nothing but a thin silver ring in its place as Diamond mimicked his actions. In their palms, gold and blue circuits appeared over the surface of Diamond and Jack’s tokens, respectively. Soon black tendrils formed around the tokens and linked them together. “I’ll review this information now,” Diamond said, as they pulled their tokens apart. “We’re going to do this tomorrow evening, Kat, Jack, rest up. Abbie, you’re staying here today so we can go over the plan later.”
“Alright, I’m fine with that.”
“Good, now, like last time, please leave me to my thoughts,” Diamond ordered and the three quickly left Diamond to her thoughts.
“Gotta admit, I’ve seen some strange tech but nothing like that,” Abbie said. “Talk about a secure way to share information.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet, babe,” Kat said with a grin. “How about we show her our gear, Jack? I think she’s ready.”
“I think you’re right,” Jack said with an expression that matched Kat’s in a way that made Abbie a bit uneasy.
* * *
“You’ve already seen the masks,” Jack said as they stood in his room. Abbie watched as the ash formed his and Kat’s masks.
“Yeah, but why are their edges different colors, personal preference?”
“No,” Jack answered “The Guild is an ancient entity, one that traces its origin centuries ago during the age of the divine. The colors each represent one of the three Goddesses that were said to have taught our founders. They gave them the foundation needed to make the Guild what it is today, including the mark you bear. When you join the Guild, you join one of their sects. Every person in a band is a member of a different sect,” Jack explained. “Black means that I am a follower of Laverna, the Goddess of thievery,” Jack said and Abbie watched as Kat took off her hoodie. Soon after, both her and Jack’s clothes turned into ash. Green and blue sparks danced over their bodies respectively as the ash reformed into a pair of skin-tight mod-suits. “But though the masks are important, they are just a piece of our equipment.”
“What the…” Abbie trailed off, startled by the sudden change.
“The Thieves’ Guild’s combat class mod-suits,” Jack began as he clenched and unclenched his fist. “They were developed during the last world war as a way to combat the sudden increase of augmentations amongst civilians and private militaries. Physical augmentations and cybernetic implants are messy and require too much surgery in the long run if you want to upgrade. That’s why we have these suits, they’re symbiotic and help us change whatever we want about our bodies in an instant to serve whatever purpose. Skills and abilities that once took months or even years to learn can now be downloaded from another thief in an instant. This allows thieves to personally modify their skill-sets, hence the name. Also, it may not look it, but it’s very durable and protects us against civilian blades and light gunfire. Though getting hit by either will still leave you sore,” Jack explained to a fascinated Abbie. “Anything stronger, however, will tear right through it so we have to stay on our toes and keep moving. Especially, Kat,” Jack said and Abbie noticed then that Jack’s suit had a bit of armored plating while Kat’s lacked any extra protection whatsoever.
“I can’t afford to be weighed down like Jack, I’m not supposed to be fighting head on like him. In and out, that’s my job, and I need to do my job fast,” Kat explained. “Because of that, infiltrators and assassins lack the added protection enforcers get. Though Diamond is fortunate, she can take even more punishment than Jack, here,” Kat said though she didn’t elaborate further on that last piece of information. “What it lacks in defense it makes up for by increasing our strength, speed, and reflexes. You can touch it if you want.”
“Whoa,” Abbie whispered as she gently trailed her fingers alongside Kat’s arm. The mod-suit felt like it was a second layer of skin. “What is this made out of?”
“We call it ash, one of Laverna’s greatest gift to the Guild,” Kat said as she grasped Abbie’s hand. A shiver ran down Abbie’s spine as green sparks danced from Kat�
��s hand and over hers. Around Kat’s hand, the mod-suit turned back into ash and covered Abbie’s hand before reforming into a glove. “Shortly after the Guild was founded, Laverna sacrificed her body to protect the world. The Guild uses her ashes to continue her mission in her stead. Laverna’s ashes can temporarily take the form of any material and allow us to manipulate shadows. The Hattori family has used it to make our weapons and clothing since the Guild was founded,” Kat said as the ash formed a black cross that was identical to the one Abbie wore. A green spark danced across it before the color of the cross went from black to a pale gold. “Of all the materials it can copy, our go-to is electrum.”
“Why electrum?”
“The sparks you see? Though it’s not electricity it does share similar properties and electrum makes for the best conductor. We call this energy, presence. It’s the power of the gods. Without it, the ash would be useless as it only responds to the power of the divine with it being the remains of a Goddess,” Jack explained as he raised his hand and Abbie saw a bright blue spark of energy jump between his fingers. “Look at Kat’s traps, for example,” Jack said as Kat created a single pale-gold card out of ash. “Making them out of electrum helps Kat channel her presence easily.”
“I use the ash to write a command, with the thought of the trap in my head,” Kat began as the word “bubble” appeared on the blank side of the card. “Then my presence brings the words to life,” Kat said as the card exploded into dozens of bubbles that floated throughout the room. Jack just grinned to himself as he and Kat watched Abbie look up in awe at the bubbles that surrounded her.
“What happens when you run out of ash?”