Alvarie's shadow walked in front of her, creating gray and black tones with the gravel it shifted upon. Sharp short clicks accompanied its silent movement, as the spray paint cans in her bag clinked themselves together. She drew a long breath stopping at blank brick wall just far enough from the city that she wouldn't get caught. Crouching down, Alvarie dropped her bag causing one sharp click to ring out. She put her hands over the top of it silencing the can's ever present song. Once she was sure of their silence, she used her trained eye to pick out a bright blue in the dim, unhelpful light caused by a faraway street lamp. Giving the can a good shake, Alvarie opened the cap, pressed down on the nozzle, and began to paint short sharp bursts onto the brick. Soon, a figure began to take shape. Blending the blue with her trusty black, Alvarie created the shape of a man wearing a sweeping blue coat. Standing up, she studied the blank spot where she had neglected to put his head. There, Alvarie painted a large graphic question mark. She stood back, inspecting her work fondly before packing up her things and slinging her bag back over her shoulder. "Hey!" she heard a voice of authority shout in the distance. She knew it was time to run, almost like clockwork.
Several buildings scaled later and more than enough cramps in her side, Alvarie skidded to a stop in front an unassuming gray building. She caught her breath and climbed the stairs stopping at the top to pull a silver key from her back pocket. The door squeaked open with a few shudders revealing more sets of unwelcoming stairs. Mustering her last bits of oxygen, Alvarie climbed the two flights to a second door. Pulling out another silver key, she turned the lock and opened the door.
As soon as she had shut it behind her, Alvarie was greeted by rather loud music not welcome to the early hours of the morning. Turning to lock the door, she threw her bag on a nearby coffee table and tossed her keys into a dish that rested there. As she crossed the entryway and walked into the living space Alvarie took careful note of all the peeling wallpaper and mysterious stains that she would have to fix once she had the money, if ever. Tearing her wandering eyes from the walls was the sight of three guys and a girl lounging on the threadbare futon and rug that lay in front of her. Her roommates all happened to be graffiti artists and they all also happened to be loud which, worked to her advantage since it meant that no one would notice if she slipped away into her room while they were arguing over who was going to the shops or something.
Directly in front of Alvarie was Todd who sat on the edge of the rug in a meditative stance with his eyes closed. Behind him was Valerie who, had her back against the edge of the futon and was filing her nails to the god awful rhythm of whatever junk music they had decided to blast that night. Both Todd and Valerie dressed liked they had taken a pair of scissors and cut up every article of clothing they owned. Both sported very long dreadlocks. On the couch itself, sat Raz accompanied by Alvarie's half-brother Alger who, at that moment, looked like he'd just been run over by a truck.
"Did you do it?" Valerie said, glancing up to acknowledge Alvarie's arrival.
"Yep." Alvarie answered strolling towards her to sit between Raz and Alger on the futon. Valerie let out a puff of air, showing the slightest hint of amusement. "It was easy," Alvarie continued, "And it felt good... really good."
"By morning I bet we'll have drawn 'em out." Raz chimed in gleefully with the exuberance of a puppy being taken for its first stroll. Alvarie turned to her left and raised her eyebrows at him.
"Why are you so happy?" Alvarie questioned, shifting in her seat to face him. "I thought you liked the guy; even helped him once."
"So?" Raz replied.
"So, you should be angry because we all mean to turn him in." Alvarie explained.
"I was, 'cept he turned in five more of our guys this week just for getting paid to paint up a few walls by some criminal." Alvarie stiffened at this, wondering who had been turned in for taking another anonymous tip.
"Who was it?" She asked.
"Alger's gang, he only just made it out." Alvarie turned to glance at her brother then, gasping in horror at what she saw. Alger's right eye was puffy and purple to the point where he couldn't open it. Several black bruises covered his exposed arms and his clothes were in an equal state of disarray.
"Alger?" She asked.
"He's not gonna respond." Valerie said, not looking up from her infinite nail filing. Alvarie heaved a great sigh and sunk back into the couch.
"Well then," She started, "I guess I have no choice but to go over there and give that 'great detective' a piece of my mind." Alvarie had started to stand by then and was already walking towards the door when Raz grabbed her wrist.
"Come on, Alv." he said with a pleading look in his eyes. She replied by shaking off his hand and continuing to the door.
"And don't call me Alv." She yelled behind her as the door slammed shut.
Lilly held her phone out, looking at it as she walked, paying little attention to what was in front of her.
"You're gonna run into something if you keep this up, Lil." Rain gave her metaphorical sister a semi curious glance. "What are you even doing?"
She was barely aware of herself as she answered, "It's this new app, Pokémon Go. You walk around and collect Pokémon. I have to be paying attention to this so that I don't miss any."
Rain laughed. "Oh sorry; I forgot you were nine!"
"Well excuuuuuuse me!" Lilly smirked at the girl, and then looked back at her phone. She stopped suddenly and let out an excited squeal. "Dude, dude, dude! IT'S A ZAPDOS! COME ON WE GOTTA CATCH IT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS!" She took Rain's hand and sprinted around the corner. She checked the location on her phone. "Damn, it's in private property…" She looked up and down the street. It was early enough that no one was up yet unless they were crazy, and the crazy ones wouldn't care too much.
The girl gripped Lilly's hand. "Don't you dare!"
"But it's gonna go away soon! I'll be right back, watch my back."
"It's not even real!" Rain let out an aggravated sigh and watched as her role model climbed over a fence and fell clumsily down on the other side. Lilly rolled a few times and jumped up, racing over to an empty location and stood there for a good minute or so before letting out another excited squeal. She must have caught it.
Lilly danced her way back to the fence and climbed over it again, then jumped down, landing perfectly. "I got a Zapdos, I got a Zapdos!" She sang, skipping around Rain.
Rain dragged her hand down her face and sighed. "Why do I look up to you?"
"Good question! You should think about that." Lilly pat the girl's head and skipped down the street, Rain far enough behind to not be associated with the grown adult catching virtual creatures on her mobile device.
Not long later they arrived at 221B Baker Street. Lilly knocked on the door, her phone still out. Mrs. Hudson opened the door. "Hello Lilly, hello Rain! Come on in."
Lilly grunted a hello and walked upstairs, almost tripping on several steps.
Rain sighed, and shook her head. "Sorry, Lilly is being extremely nerdy today. Please forgive her!"
Mrs. Hudson laughed a little. "Oh dear, I don't mind! Sherlock gets that way all the time, let me tell you."
She smiled politely and walked in, giving the lady a gracious bow. "Thank you very much!" Rain ran youthfully up the stairs.
"What a polite girl…"
Lilly had already spread herself out on the couch, looking at her phone with a concentrated face. Sherlock was sitting on his chair, attempting to figure out what the girl was being so serious about, seemingly getting nowhere despite his best attempts. John sat across from Sherlock, updating his blog about life with the peculiar detective. Rain sighed, hating the silence. "Hello to you too, everyone!"
John looked up suddenly, "Oh, hello Rain! I didn't know you were coming!"
Rain put on a derpy face and sat on the floor in front of Lilly. "She made me come."
"I see. What time did you two get up to be down here at this hour?" John asked, checking the time on his phone. It was 6:30 A.M.
The girl thought for a moment. "I think around… what, 3:30?" She looked to Lilly.
"Hm." Lilly grunted what seemed to be an agreement.
"Really? How were you up that early?" John exclaimed. Rain only shrugged.
Sherlock pulled out his phone. "It looks like we'll be joined by one more this morning." He rested his chin on his fingertips in thought.
Lilly put down her phone for the first time this morning. "Who's coming?"
John sighed, looking to Sherlock. "The last thing this flat needs is another person in it."
"No, this is different. She's not coming to catch up over tea…"
Lilly sat up. "Fight, fight, fight, fight," she chants, her smile growing.
Sherlock gave an unamused glare. "I doubt it will get physical."
She frowned. "Aw, are you sure? It would be nice to get a bit of anger out…"
"Almost certain."
"But there's still a chance?"
"There's always a chance."
The two stared each other down until Lilly bursted into laughter. "I'm too tired for all this!" She flopped back down on the couch.
There was a knock at the door downstairs and Sherlock looked out the window. "Speak of the devil; she's here."
