ElfQuest: Ebony's Weavings
Thief in the Net
An Alternate Universe fic
by: A. Matthews
Chapter One
Eight fingers clicked excitedly over the keyboard as the technopop music continued to play. Windows opened and closed at an alarming rate. But she knew exactly where she was supposed to be. And her barriers wouldn't protect her for long. Finally coming to the end of her session, she stopped, closed down the laptop, and shut the top. So far, so good. No sirens, no cops.
Stowing the laptop in it's briefcase, she went to the window, checking the cars below. Still no sign of the cops. Better and better.
Grabbing the briefcase, she walked silently through the hotel, ending up on the street where she blended with the other people running through life on their way to whatever meeting or job their lives depended on. And the smallest ghost of a smile crossed her lips, floating away on the breeze that brushed through her long, black hair. Then, she was gone from view.
"Did we get her that time?" crackled a voice over the cell phone. Rayek just sighed, handing it to his partner. Three years the woman had eluded them, and each time they got a little closer. Still, he wasn't going tot be the one to tell Savah that they hadn't gotten her yet.
His amber eyes followed the crowds below, but the woman had disappeared as effectively as a puff of smoke. Turning his attention back to his partner, he heard the tail-end of the conversation.
"Of course, Savah. We'll get right on it." As the words were spoken, the third in the trio appeared from the other side of the roof. Once, Rayek had admired Leetah's soft green eyes and long, auburn hair. These days, however, he didn't pay much attention to those features. Instead, he concentrated on her sharp wit and quick mind, which aided their causes on more than one occasion.
"Was Savah angry?" Her desert-husky voice floated across to the other two, and Rayek saw Cutter shake his head.
"No. But she did say that we should do better next time." Cutter grinned over at Rayek, handing him his phone back.
"I see," Leetah said softly. "And when is the next time going to be?" Cutter shrugged, but Rayek shook his head, turning back to stare down at the crowd below.
"Soon, I'd say. Before the week's over, at least." Cutter and his lifemate nodded, and the three left their rooftop perch.
"Better not make any plans tonight, guys," Moonshade called from her desk as the trio entered headquarters. "Savah and Suntoucher want to see you. Yesterday."
Cutter groaned, Leetah sighed, and Rayek just rolled his eyes at the two of them. Leetah, noticing, stuck her tongue out at him in good humor. "Some of us have lives, you know." Cutter shook his head at the bickering, stopping to open the door for the other two.
As Rayek passed the blond, Cutter whispered, "Something tells me our little thief struck again." Rayek nodded.
The office was tasteful, a collection of tans and browns and artwork that put one in mind of a desert. But for all that, it was cool and refreshing. The two lifemates settled themselves in the chairs provided while Rayek stood behind them. His eyes missed nothing, least of all the warning gaze of Savah.
Suntoucher began to speak. "It has been brought to my attention that funds have been diverted from certain government agencies, ours included. And it looks like the work of your little Robin Hood again." As Rayek opened his mouth to object to the nickname for the hundredth time, he caught Savah's eyes again. His mouth closed with a snap, and he sighed.
"Now, if she continues to take from us," Suntoucher continued. "We aren't even going to be able to cover payroll. And that means we'll have to let people go. The three of you will be at the top of my list. Is that clear?"
"Crystal, sir," Leetah's soft voice carried over the awkward silence of the room.
"There are those in the agency who say that the three of you can generally pinpoint where Robin's going to strike next. I want it done. Now!" As Suntoucher left the room, Rayek turned back to Savah.
"What was that all about, Savah?"
"Politics, Rayek. The leaders are getting snappish when it comes to the subject of our little thief. Do you have anything yet?" Three negatives filled the air, and Savah sighed, steepling her fingers. "Rayek, you're the best when it comes to predicting this woman. Have you gotten any ideas yet?"
"No, Savah." Even as he said it, a nagging sense of urgency began to fill him. He needed to get home. But he couldn't understand why. Savah nodded, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. As they left, they passed Ahdri, who walked in carrying a pile of folders.
At their desk, Rayek glanced at his clock. It was seven, well past time for him to go. And the others seemed just as anxious to get home. Newlyweds. Rayek sighed. Grabbing an inch-thick folder off of his desk, he headed for the time clock. If he hurried, he could just make it before PSK Meats closed. Tonight was a consolation dinner, and he wanted a thick, juicy steak.
He thought he was so smart, she thought as she settled down in front of his computer. Little did he know that she'd known about him the very first attempt he'd made to bust her. He and his partners, but it was Blackhair that interested her. "Come to Mama," she whispered as she started up his computer, fiddling with the necessary wires it would take to transfer everything to her specially designed laptop.
Before long, everything was ready. She turned her attention back to the screen and nearly choked. Who in their right mind had a password-protected system in their *home*? But there it was. That evil little screen with its request for a password. She sat down, cracking her knuckles, and began to type.
Cutter? No. Leetah? No. She started with the obvious ones, remembering that people very rarely listen to warnings not to use telephone numbers or addresses. When nothing worked there, she turned to stranger things. Still nothing. At this rate, it would take her forever to figure out his password. Settling herself further into his chair, she'd just typed a new letter when she heard the scratching of a key in the lock.
"High Ones," she whispered, rushing around. She concealed the wires and laptop with a comforter near them, hoping he wouldn't notice the slight change. She shut down the computer without the safeguards, knowing that he would figure out that someone had been on there. And then she hid in the shower of the bathroom, praying that he wouldn't notice the closed shower curtain.
Rayek sighed, dumping the packages and briefcase on the table. Walking over to the fridge to get out everything he needed for tonight's dinner, he contemplated the evening ahead. He needed to do something to get the stress out of his mind. Working wouldn't help. The stress was too tied into Thief. Computer games would just frustrate him more. Drawing might help. It always had in the past. Right after dinner would work.
As the steak cooked on the counter top grill, Rayek went about his regular security measures. One bell-tagged chair under the doorknob. That would help him know if anyone came in or went out.
And then he went back to the kitchen, throwing the potatoes in with the meat for the final cooking phase. He checked on the other vegetables, then grabbed the folder he'd brought home. As the food was transferred to a plate, Rayek began to feel a different urgency.
He rushed the plate to the table and headed down the hallway. As he stepped into the bathroom, he paid no attention to the shower curtain, instead running over the day in his mind. Why hadn't things gone according to plan? But they didn't issue warrants for hunches, and that's all the trio had to go on.
Never mind that the hunch had been right. Never mind that they could have caught her, if they had just had something solid to get her with. But they hadn't.
Finishing, he stood, washing his hands and walking out of the bathroom. Why had he felt eyes on him the whole time? Shaking his head, he went back to dinner. But the food seemed to have no taste to it.
Rayek read the file carefully, going over every nuance of each report, trying to see the pattern to the crimes. Despite the nickname Robin Hood, she didn't give the money away. At least, not that he'd seen.
But she wasn't using it, either. There seemed to be no paper trail to the money after it disappeared. The only trail he'd found for her in the past two years was the one in his head, telling him she'd be somewhere only hours before she got there.
That was as disconcerting to him as everything else put together. And he was having that feeling now. But it wasn't pulling him out of the apartment the way it usually did.
In the past, he might have attributed it to something more than what it was. But not these days. He knew where he stood now, and what he needed in his life, and a criminal was not something he needed or wanted.
Finishing dinner, he threw the plate into the sink, planning to deal with it later. And he went to the small balcony, staring out at the stars, his sketchpad in hand. Wide, elven eyes darkened in. A slender throat and high cheek bones. A small mouth, lush even without the size. Straight nose. Long, black curls.
For a long moment, he wondered if the woman in his dreams and Thief were the same person. But he shoved the thought back into the recesses of his mind. He was too tired for this.
A quick change of clothes and nightly routine and he settled down in the bed. Falling into a deep and dream-filled sleep, he never heard the near-silent footsteps down his hall to his computer. She sat back down, turning the computer on as she went over everything in the apartment. What could the password be?
His bookshelves first. But they showed nothing more than a collection that had everything from Criminology 101 to Thieves World. The folder on the kitchen table had "Thief-929" printed on it. Opening that and thumbing through it brought back some fun memories, but soon enough she set that aside. One table held a pewter chess set. On one side, the king was the Sheriff of Nottingham. On the other side, it was Robin Hood. There was a theme here, she could feel it.
Artwork included a new artist out, Kureel, who took photos of street-rat crime and charged hundreds of dollars for it. With titles such as "Rat's Revenge," and "Robin's Back," they made her sick. But that would change as soon as someone showed the jerk for the scumbag he was.
Maybe the theme was Robin Hood, she thought desperately, and started typing in every character's name she could think of. When that didn't work, she tried places, titles. When even they came up negative, she got desperate, typing in occupations. Robin's occupation was what finally gave her access. Looking around the room in renewed interest, she started to notice that practically everything had something to do with thievery. What was really going on here?
It was hours later before she'd finished downloading his computer's contents, and she was getting nervous. But she had checked moments before and he was sleeping contentedly, unlike her. She could shut down the computer, fix everything, and get out of there before he ever awakened, if she just hurried. As Windows closed out, however, she heard a voice from just behind her.
"Did you find everything you were looking for?"
Rayek stared at the woman before him, wishing he didn't have to do this. "I could shoot you now and be completely in the right," he said softly, waving the gun he held at the couch and the woman gracefully took the seat. "Now, I suggest you and I have a little chat."
She nodded, silent. Rayek took a long moment to admire the cure of her jaw, the way her eyes darkened with frustration. "What did you take, Thief?" She tossed her head in disdain, and Rayek simply laughed. "Did you take certain files, or just dump everything? Were you planning to sort it all out later?"