Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters
"Why today of all days," Green cursed the world as he ran up the steps to the university he worked at. What kind of impression would he make to his student if he was late? He was a researcher at the university but he recently took on the job of a professor as well. He was known for his intelligence but that wouldn't help him if his students thought little of him.
Just as he was racing up the steps, a woman came barrelling down them. He could see that she was frantic and when she came closer, he could hear her muttering to herself about something. She kept her face to the ground so she didn't see him running up the steps and crashed into him. He swore loudly, placing one arm around her waist and grabbed the rail with the other to keep them both from falling.
"I'm sorry," She said quickly and tried to escape his arms. Her ocean blue eyes met his for a moment before she quickly looked down and pulled her blond hair in front of her face. He could only guess that it was a nervous habit of her as wrenched her arm from his hand. "I need to go! My grandfather just got admitted to the hospital and I need to see him."
With those parting words, she continued to run down the stairs. He turned to continue as well but something stopped him. Closing his eyes for a moment, he thought of his own grandfather and knew the fear she must've felt. Instead of running to his class, he ran after her. Luckily she hadn't run too far and he was able to catch her quickly.
"Which hospital?" He grabbed her arm again and her ocean blue eyes widened again. He knew his sudden action must've frightened her so amended. "My car is close so I'll drive you. The hospital's all the way across town and you can't run all the way there in those heels. Even if you hail a cab, it'll be faster if I drive you. Let me help you."
She hesitated and seemed to run over the option in her mind before she nodded rather reluctantly. He led her to his car and opened the door for her to enter. Her eyes continued to dart around the car and he couldn't fault her for being cautious since he would do the same. He started his car and noted that she kept one hand on the door, as if preparing to jump at a moment's notice.
"The Center," She told him which hospital to drive to and he quickly made his way into traffic. He heard her mutter something beneath her breath when a red light forced him to stop. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and noted that she kept her back to him as she looked out the window. There was something strange about her that he couldn't place.
She looked to be the same age as him but she didn't seem to be a grad student at the university. She didn't have a school bag and he had never seen her at the university before. It was obvious that she was worried about something and he could only assume that it was the thought of her grandfather. Despite all the questions he had for her, he pitied her situation and resigned to driving her.
"The light's green," She pointed out and he grunted an answer. Her hands tightened into fist and he heard the soft prayer she whispered. He drove faster when he heard that, he wanted her to see the old man if this was his last day on the earth. Green could only imagine the worry he would feel if it was his grandfather in the hospital and projected that onto her.
"We're here!" He barely stopped before she threw open the door and jumped out. He could understand her urgency but cursed that she was so reckless. She could've killed herself. He leaned over to close the door she left open in her dash to the hospital. She stopped at the automatic door to look back at him and their eyes met once again as she called back to him.
"You're a kinder man than I thought you would be. Thank you Green!" She ran into the hospital before she could see his hand stop. He had never told her his name so how did she know it?
"Remind me why I took a job teaching kids?" Green groaned as he returned to his home and he could hear his best friend, Red, laughing on the other end of the phone. He was late to the class and almost half of the student left by the time he returned. At first, he only took the offer to get more grant money for his research but found the thought of teaching interesting. It was a new experience for him at least.
"I thought you would've called me saying you went off on one of them and got yourself fired. You're doing much better than I thought you would." Red laughed and Green didn't know why he was friends with the man at times since their personalities and occupation were so different. They both worked with their strength, Green trained the minds of young students and Red took on a job fighting to protect others.
"Didn't you almost get fired because you were caught trying to kiss that blonde?" Green brought up though he knew that it was a misunderstanding. Red had been trying to help a blond maid but when he leaned too close to her, she became nervous and pushed him into the fountain they were standing in front of. Red laughed at the memory and Green rubbed his temple remembering the blond he met that morning.
"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it and I explained it to Missy so I didn't get fired," Red shrugged off the issue. Very few things made him mad and a mistake wasn't one of them. "Actually I haven't seen her around the estate since then so I'm hoping nothing happened to her. Shit, look at the time! It's almost my shift to guard the lady so I need to go. Good luck with your students."
"I don't know why I bothered to buy you a watch for your birthday if you're going to be late anyways," Green's words were caught between a laugh and a groan. He said a quick goodbye to his friend before sitting at his desk to start his own work.
His brow rose when he opened his laptop and it took a second for it to listen to his command. Beyond that nothing seemed to be out of place and waved away the issue, thinking that his laptop was merely slow. None of his files seemed to be corrupted and that was all that mattered to him. He didn't have anything important on his laptop except his research.
He sighed when he found that he couldn't concentrate on his research and was thinking about the blue eyed woman instead. There was something about her and his gut told him that there was more to her than that one encounter. He was always busy with his work so didn't spend much time thinking about women so why did she enter his mind?
"It's your fault isn't it?" Green sighed and slid a look to a photo of his sister. The family portrait was the only personal thing he kept on his desk and a reminder of why he worked so hard as a scientist. She had died of a brain tumour the previous year while he was still in grad school. Despite the year separating him from the event, it still hurt.
He still remembered how she would tease him and tell him he needed to focus on something other than his research. They didn't part on angry words but there were times he wished he could've done more for her. Opening his desk, he pulled out the heart locket she gave him and repeated her words to himself. "Find a woman to give this to, huh? What's the point if you're not going to be there for the wedding?"
He threw it back into his desk, slightly frustrated. He leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers to his eyes to calm himself. After a moment, he took out the locket and placed it more carefully in a cushioned box. It had been passed down from his for decades but more importantly it was given to him by his sister and he would treat it with care. To his knowledge no one had been able to open the locket.
"Maybe one day sis," Green promised the photo of her and smiled to himself. He could all but hear her nagging him that he would never find a girl if he stayed in his lab. He closed his eyes to refocus himself and turned his mind back to his research. He opened his binder from his bag and found a note but he didn't recognize the paper it was written on. Curious, he read it.
I will steal your heart tonight, the letter read and Green's brow twitched. He didn't know how the note got into his binder but if his colleagues were playing a prank on him, he would have their heads. He didn't have time for their games and he would make sure they wouldn't repeat this. If it was a prank, it wasn't well planned out since a vague threat like the letter wouldn't frighten him.
"Kids these days really have nothing to do these days," Green sighed and threw the letter into his waste basket. Luckily it was still early in the semester so he didn't have to mark anything so he had time to spare. He knew he should budget his time wisely now so when he had more responsibilities with his students, he could effectively do his research.
Why was everything distracting him from his work today? First the blue eyed woman side tracked him then thoughts of his sister took up his mind and lastly the note. He could understand how the last two distractions could pull him away from his work but not the first. He looked over to his clock and committed himself to two more hours of work before he slept.
He worked until past midnight and the only thing that dragged him away from his sleep was Red calling to pester him about his health. The man might've been his best friend but there were times Green wished Red wouldn't worry so much about him. If he could continue with his work, he wouldn't find himself thinking about the woman he met earlier.
He collapsed on his bed despite the fact that he didn't feel the least bit tired. He closed his eyes and forced all thoughts from his mind so he could sleep.
Green had always been a light sleeper so he woke easily when he heard someone open his desk drawer. Someone was in his room. He opened his eyes slightly, not wanting to alert the intruder that he was awake. Someone dressed in black had their back turned to them and Green carefully stood. How did someone enter his home without alerting his security system?
His rage soared when he saw him take out his sister's locket and placed it around his neck. She could steal his money, clothes or electronics but there was hell to be paid if she took the locket. He was a trained fighter and knew he could easily take down the intruder so roughly grabbed his shoulder.
"Give me back my sister's locket!" He ordered but the boy didn't say a word as he used Green's momentum to throw him over his shoulder. Green swore as he did his best to regain his balance. The man was slender but strong and seemed to know how to fight as well. Green pushed away all those facts, knowing that he had to take back the locket.
He had barely regained his balance before the intruder kicked his gut. He swore but didn't let that stop him. When he would've kicked him again, Green grabbed his leg to throw him off balance. The burglar landed on his hands and turned his body to kick Green's temple. Green's grip loosened enough for him to free himself and put enough distance between them.
Green couldn't tell what technique he was using so he couldn't predict the intruder's moves. It didn't help that he hadn't practised martial arts in a long time so he was a little rusty. Green made sure to stand between him and the window to keep him from escaping. He went into a fighting stance the same time the intruder kicked his chair towards him.
He caught it easily but realized that it was a distraction when the intruder rushed past him. Green pushed the chair aside and grabbed at him but was only able to pull off his hood. His eyes widened when a cascade of brown hair fell over his hand. A woman?
He was taken back further when she laughed and gifted him with a bitter grin. She kissed his cheek before kneeing him sharply. When he bent over, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt to throw him aside and sent him crashing onto the ground. Swearing to himself, he tried to regain his breath to chase after her but she was already out the window. Forcing himself to his feet, he went after her.
Blue made sure that no one was following her before she stopped at the museum. She held the locket in her palm and wondered about it. Whenever she was ordered to steal something, it would often be more valuable than a simple locket. She would just have to ask Platina when they meet up again, she reasoned with herself.
The woman had employed Blue years ago, as well as three other women, to steal back heirlooms that were stolen from her family. The locket wasn't the complicated designs the Berlitz favoured but her suspicion didn't rise until she studied the locket. She tried to open it but found that she couldn't and wondered if the scientist had broken it.
Knowing she couldn't waste time outside the museum and risk being seen, she took a key from her pocket and entered the building. She and the other women Platina hired worked at the museum so they decided that they would make the place their meeting place.
"Did someone order a rare aqua necklace?" Blue asked cheerfully as she walked down the stairs to the basement, swinging the locket between her fingertips. She had to laugh when Yellow all but have a heart attack over Blue's treatment of the locket. Yellow was a lover of art and couldn't stand the thought of it being mistreated, let alone stolen and sold.
"That was fast," Yellow commented as she took the locket from Blue and began studying it under a magnify glass. She was an expert in the arts and was charged with verifying that the artifact was authentic. Because of that she didn't go out to steal and Yellow couldn't be disappointed by that fact.
"It couldn't be that difficult," Lyra mused as she pushed herself away from her computer. She was a programmer and helped the group through her hacking ability. Blue knew that the woman was intelligent but her naïve nature usually took the better of her. "He had a simple security system and his house didn't have any twist or turns to worry about."
"That's what confused me," Blue admitted and sat next to Yellow. She couldn't read the thoughts running through Yellow's mind as she made notes in her sketchpad and compared it to the photo Platina had given her. When she was concentrating on art, there was almost nothing that could pull her away. Becoming bored with the silence, Blue turned to Lyra.
"That Green is really something too," Blue tilted her head to the side as Lyra pulled up his personal file for them to look over. Since most of Platina's heirlooms were stolen and sold illegally it was hard for them to locate them but Lyra always managed to find a way. "Did you know that he actually gave me a ride to the hospital? I didn't think he would do that so it took me back."
"Not all murderers and thieves come with a set guideline," Lyra quoted sadly and Blue could hear the rare change in her voice. She placed a sisterly hand on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly. Lyra forced herself to smile and said, "You two might find this interesting though. Guess who called him right before you stole from him? I'll give you a hint and say that he used to be a boxer."
Yellow's hands became clumsy and the locket slipped between her fingers. She apologized as she tried to focus on the locket again. She touched her cheek and knew that her face must've been red at the thought of the man. Blue had teased her that she was going to steal from the man's best friend and would bring him up as many times as she could.
"I can hardly believe that he would be friends with Green if he knew he participated in illegal auctions." Yellow tried to defend him and Blue gave her a knowing smile. She knew that she was only digging herself a deeper hole so turned back to the locket. The four were close since they've known each other before Platina hired them to steal back her heirlooms.
An entire wall was decorated by computers and Lyra was able to keep track of each one. As Blue was going through a list of heirlooms that they had yet to steal back, something caught Lyra's eyes and she choked on her coffee. She patted her chest to calm herself before turning back to Blue, "I thought you said you took care of Green. He's here and he's trying to get into the museum!"
"Is he crazy? He'll be arrested for trespassing," Blue snarled. Even on the computer monitor, she could see how determined he was and rubbed her temple. She thought she knocked him out and made sure that no one was following her when she returned to the museum. How did he know where she was? She took a cloak and pulled the hood over her head. "He wants me so I'll lead him away."
"Too late," Lyra muttered when he forced one of the doors open. Usually an alarm would go off but Lyra disabled it so that Blue and her sister could come and go without worrying about alerting the police. Platina didn't mind since Lyra was better than any security system. "I'll deal with it. Call Crystal and tell her not to come by until I'm finished."
"This is my problem so I'll deal with it." Blue stopped Lyra from activating any of her traps. Taking a gun from the desk, she raced to stop him before reach their base. When she reached the first floor Lyra directed her to where Green was through the earpiece she was wearing. She didn't need it though because she could hear Green muttering to herself.
"For someone so calm, you're surprisingly loud." Green heard her whisper and turned sharply to see her walking towards him. He knew that she was taunting him and worst he could feel himself being manipulated by her barbs. He wasn't one to rush to anger but when pushed, it flared dangerously. And the woman enraged him more than he had been in a long time.
"Give back my sister's locket!" Green demanded. He was breaking several laws himself by being in the museum but when he saw that she didn't alert the police by entering, he thought it was safe for him to do the same. He was determined to take back the locket, the jewel he made a promise to his sister on.
"Are we going to have another fight? I really don't want to fight you, sweetie." Blue said innocently and Green had to force himself not throw a fist at her. From her tone, he knew that she was planning something and he didn't want to recklessly jump into a fight. She pulled something from her pocket and threw it to him.
It was a copy of the locket. Yellow had made it and only an expert like her would be able tell the difference. Blue was supposed to leave it in place of the one she stole from Green but she didn't have time. With a relaxed shrug, she said. "You caught me and I've had enough excitement for one night. A stupid locket isn't worth fighting with you."
"This isn't my locket." He said in a cold tone, raising jade eyes to her. She didn't want her shock to show on her face but couldn't help but let it show. Yellow was a talented artist and to her knowledge Green didn't have the education to spot a fake. "Even if I didn't know that it wasn't my locket, do you seriously think that I would let you get away with theft?"
"That's a shame then," Blue sighed and Green didn't understand until she whispered. "That means you're a liability. I wanted to do this peacefully but you leave me no chance."
"What?" She was so casual in her threat and Green immediately got into a fighting stance. He thought she would attack him so he wasn't prepared when someone attacked him from behind. A powerful kick took his breath from him and someone grabbed his hand, pulling it behind him. He found his arms tied behind him and he swore as he was being treated like a turkey.
"What took you so long Crystal?" Blue laughed merrily. "So what are we going to do with him?"
"It's not the locket," Yellow held out the jewelry for the group to study and they gawked at her. Lyra's sources were never wrong and this was the first they came upon a problem. Crystal, the fourth member of their group, took the locket to study it. "It's similar to the one in the Berlitz family but it's not exact. In fact, I believe that it was the gifted to the Oak family."
"So he didn't steal it to have a complete set," Blue mused. The locket they were trying to steal back was made as a pair, one aqua and the other turquoise. According to Berlitz the two would combine to reveal the location of a treasure. The turquoise locket was given to the Berlitz family and the other was given to the Oaks almost a hundred years ago. Since then, the families had grown apart. They thought Daisy might've bought the turquoise locket to find the treasure.
"But Daisy was the one that bought the locket and it was given to Green in her will." Crystal pointed out the Blue bite her lower lip, thinking of Green. There was something about him that didn't seem right, something that didn't match what she first thought of him. Would a man like him care about the treasure within the locket?
She had only met him that once to give him her calling card but she could still see him so clearly. She had watched him earlier that night and waited for him to fall asleep. His jade eyes were intense as he worked and there was something enchanting about them. He was tall and muscular for someone that seemed to only concentrate on his work.
"The locket in the will must not have been the Berlitz's locket." Crystal sighed and closed her eyes, trying to think of where the locket could be now. She was confident in Lyra's ability so thought of other possibilities of where the locket could be. She was the logical one of the group and intelligent in her own right. Where could it be then? "How did Daisy die?"
Crystal's head came up and Lyra was already typing away on her laptop. She slammed her hand on her desk when the hospital file came up. After she typed in more codes, she told them. "The hospital says her death was caused by a 'brain tumour' but I found traces of someone else work. Someone corrupted that file and it's going to be hell finding who."
"Foul play," Blue said bitterly beneath her breath. Someone wanted to kill Daisy and make it look like she had died from natural causes. At the moment, they could only guess the motive being the locket. "We need to tell Platina about this and then decide what to do next."
Green slammed his shoulder against the door in an attempt to free himself from the closet he was trapped in. He had rubbed his wrist raw, untying the roped binding him. He couldn't hear the women so could only guess that they weren't close to the closet. Luckily there was a signal and he was able to call Red. He felt his irritation rise with every time Red failed to pick up.
"I'm sleepy," Red said when he finally answered and Green stopped himself from cheering. He knew that he couldn't let the women outside know that he was able to free himself.
"Red, I'm trap in the museum by two crazy women!" Green rushed an explanation as he continued to throw his body against the door. "Shit, I never thought I'll be asking you for help but you need get here and free me. They're well verse in fighting so don't underestimate them. They tied me up but I was able to free myself so-"
"It's late Green." Red muttered, still mused with sleep. He loved his job but it could physically drain him at times. "We're not kids anymore so why are you trying to play a joke on me? I thought you would come up with a better lie than saying that someone tied you up and threw you in the basement of the museum. I grew up with you so do you think I would believe you'll let someone do that to you?"
Green groaned when Red repeated his story to him and how outlandish it sounded. He leaned against the door just as it opened and stumbled slightly. Blue took the phone from his hand but what confused that she didn't seem to be surprised that he was calling someone. She merely spoke into the phone. "I'm sorry Green woke you, Red. I'll let you sleep, sweetie. You don't need to worry about this call."
She handed him back his phone. He thought they would have another fight but she merely held the locket out to him. "Come with me if you want to find out what really happened to your sister."
So this is the first chapter to the first book of the new series, Stolen Series, I'm making ^-^ I was honestly going to start with Specialshipping (because I'm in the mood to write them) but I found that it was easier to establish the series with the plot I made for oldrivalshipping. I settled with hinting the next book like crazy.
Trick or Treat! You get this chapter early. But I might not post something next week because I'm busy and already have three things in going to post today (maybe two since I'm still working on the Halloween fanfic)