Night had fallen in Paris, the autumn breeze whispering to the hills. The glimmering lights of the Eiffel Tower illuminated the ancient castles that outlined the city. One particular chateau, filled with priceless paintings and jewels, sat perched on a hillside, its owners away on vacation. No one was around to notice the shadowy figure that dashed along the walls, searching for a point of entry. Finding none, the intruder improvised by scaling the vine-covered trellis to the second floor and kicking in a stained glass window, hoping that no alarms would go off. Silently, the thief slid inside, thankful for the poor home security, and landed in the master bedroom. There was no light at all, making it impossible to search for hidden valuables, let alone see the famous artworks on the walls. If only he could find a light switch…
Another figure stood by the door, and had just turned on a lamp. The other thief was slender, clothed in all black, and had a black cloth tied around the lower part of her face. Her hair reached her knees, and was as dark as the rest of her outfit. A silver knife was poised in one hand, the other holding a small handgun.
"Don't move" the mysterious female said with a faint French accent, aiming the gun directly at the man's heart. "I was here first, so I suggest you leave."
"You must be new to this, am I right? You probably don't even have any bullets in that thing, do you?" the male thief asked, being no stranger to crime. He smiled as the woman's deep green eyes flared, and he knew that he had weakened her. "You need some fire power if you want to be a real threat" he continued, pulling back his shiny black coat, revealing a row of grenades, fastened to his belt. He smiled as he sensed her fear, and she lowered her weapons, defeated.
"Why are you teaching me this?" she asked, puzzled at the man's kindness.
"I've been around the block a few times, and everyone could use a few new tricks. See, watch this." Before she had time to react, the woman was disarmed and knocked to the floor by the man's brute strength. She glared at him with her big green eyes, sighing loudly.
"You should never let your guard down. I could have just killed you if I wanted to" he stated, a cocky grin appearing on his face.
"Well, your break-in wasn't exactly subtle. You could learn something about reflexes and stealth" she replied, and in the blink of an eye, she leapt off the floor, back flipped, and landed perfectly on the windowsill with the gracefulness of a cat. She lost her footing, and with a small yelp, found herself falling out of the window, beginning a two-story drop. The male thief reacted instantly, his gloved hands shooting out and grabbing her by the wrist just in time. He hauled her up into the house, both of them breathing heavily from the sudden rush of terror.
"How's that for reflexes, princess?" he asked snidely, the female rolling her eyes in response.
"My name's Genevieve, and I'm definitely not a princess. And what, may I ask, is the name of my valiant knight?"
"I'm Doyle, and I'm not even close to being a knight."
Genevieve laughed, a musical laugh, almost like wind chimes, and pulled the black cloth off of her face. She was beautiful, and Doyle couldn't help but stare at her. He blinked as she snapped her fingers in his face, breaking him out of his trance.
"Do you always stare at women like this?" she inquired, laughing to herself as Doyle began to blush. She cut him off before he could answer her.
"I've got a proposition for you. I'm new to thievery, and you seem like you know quite a bit about it. Doing this alone isn't easy… would you consider pulling off heists together?" Genevieve asked.
"So, you wanna be my apprentice?" Doyle wondered, folding his arms and pacing around. She nodded in response, chewing on her bottom lip.
"It would be nice to have someone to learn from, and we could go fifty-fifty with the money." She glanced at him hopefully, the woman bouncing on her heels in anticipation. Doyle pretended to think for a moment, though he had already made up his mind.
"Alright, it's a deal. I guess I can deal with you long enough to actually teach you something." Genevieve beamed at him, the new partners shaking hands.
"Who knows, maybe you'll learn something from me to return the favor. Now, how about we stop chatting and start robbing" she said enthusiastically. Doyle nodded, and the two thieves began rifling through boxes and drawers, turning the house searching for anything valuable. A few minutes later, Genevieve emerged from another bedroom, carrying several fur coats.
"I think it's gross that people think it's fashionable to kill innocent animals and wear their fur" she complained, scowling at the glossy mink coats that she deposited on the bed, next to the pile of jewelry and expensive paintings Doyle had pried off the walls. They packed up their loot in a black suitcase that was in the closet, content with the amount of stolen goods.
"Just throw it down to me, I'll go outside and catch it." Doyle climbed down the trellis and positioned himself on the lawn. Effortlessly, Genevieve hoisted the suitcase up and out of the window, her male counterpart catching it with ease. With the house thoroughly ransacked, she slid down the gutter and joined Doyle in the yard below.
"I think we'll work quite well together" Genevieve said proudly, the two thieves stealing off into the night.