Felinis: Why yes, I am aware I have 5 other fics to work on, but this important to me goddammit. Also the best part in all of this is knowing the word Lupin and Lowell mean the same thing. Haha... I don't know why that makes happy but it does
There was something about stealing jewels in particular that sent a particular thrill down his spine when he pulled them out from behind the glass and held them in his hand. Perhaps it was the uniqueness of each piece that carried its own unrivaled shimmering beauty? Or maybe the tactile sensation as they entered his gloved hands. Could it by chance be that the job tended to get on the outlandish side depending on how rare the piece thus giving him a sporting challenge? Maybe it was the simple sparkle and gaudiness of it all?
Either way, Yuri Lowell the Third found at the end of the day he always enjoyed a good jewel heist. Especially if it meant he got to rob from a rich pompous fellow who clearly thought if they threw enough money into their security system they could keep him out. The bigger the asshole the more fun it was to watch the frustration on everyone's face when Yuri made off with the prize.
On his finger, he twirled a gold bracelet covered in small pearls and laid with a ruby the size of his thumb in the center. It was by far one of the gaudiest things he'd seen in ages. "Oh, you are going on my wrist." He mused as he slid it on and calmly perused more wares while next to him the loud sound of various pieces being stuffed into a bag next to him turned his head.
"Yuri, hurry up before the security comes." The young pre-pubescent boy dressed in purposely inconspicuous clothes hissed as he gathered his loot. Yuri hummed and picked up what was obviously a faked diamond ring and pretended to expect it carefully as he glanced around the room. No, this wasn't the real treasure and he was aware. After all, security had been disturbingly lax and aside from the bracelet nothing likely was real outside of a few bits meant to distract and grab his attention.
This was indeed a trap and Yuri was aware of it and had been aware of it the moment they broke in. But, avoiding this delay was a bigger hassle then it was worth, so he waited for the enemy to finally jump from the shadows. Besides, Yuri grinned tossing and catching the diamond in his hand, "Now Karol, the most important part in all of this is what?"
"Uh…?"
"An audience, kid." His arm twisted into a backswing as the false gemstone struck hard against the policeman standing creeping around the corner creating a small gasp of pain.
"Shit." Someone shouted as the lights flashed on creating the briefest discomfort, the room revealing a good twenty-or-so armed policemen circling around them.
Karol dropped the bag in his hand crouching a little in fear. "Crap, what do we do?"
Yuri slowly reached for the gun at his side when he heard a trigger cock in his direction. "Hold it right there Lowell." A middle-aged man bellowed as he approached. Ah, right on schedule. Here was Interpol inspector Leblanc to try and catch and throw him in jail just as always.
"Leblanc, happy to see you as always. How's the wife and kids?"
"Save the jokes! You can stall all you want but nobody is going to come rescue you this time." Yuri raised a brow and did his best not to laugh. Please, if this was the setup they went with they were going to be just fine. "Keep your eye on the kid too. Until they're in jail don't even think of dropping your guard even an ounce."
Yuri kept his hands raised as he drifted his eyes lazily around the room waiting for the opening. He expected more considering the target and now he was a little bummed. What's a poor crook to do? As the police came forward Yuri finally decided enough was enough and clicked his tongue over a tiny guard over the roof of his mouth releasing a small capsule in his mouth.
3
The Leblanc whipped out his handcuffs
2
The gun was still cautiously aimed at his face as Yuri playfully held his hands forward
1
He bit into the capsule and immediately spat in Leblanc's face watching him recoil as the smoke spilled out filling the room. Yuri grabbed at Karol's hand telling him to leave the crap. Judy would have already gotten most of the real treats by now anyway so no point sticking around waiting to get caught. They ran down the hallways past startled guards and avoiding the bullets that were flying by.
With a quick leap through the window, they jumped from the second story window and landed unsteadily on a small ledge below. A nod passed between them as Karol slid down a few feet before jumping followed shortly by himself. "Raven we're out. Did Judith get to the car already?" Karol radioed in on his walkie-talkie
"Oh yes. I have some present for when you get back." A sweet feminine voice called over and Yuri smiled. Playing bait wasn't usually his thing, but for Judith he was willing. "We're bringing the car 'round."
"Excellent. See ya then." Yuri grinned as they ran towards the open road ducking around a corner once or twice to till they spotted a navy convertible with a red hood parked at the side. The doors opened as the car started slowly taking off in their direction. The hood pulled down as a woman with long indigo hair tied in a tight bun stretched out a hand.
"Come on in boys!" Yuri yanked on her arm pulling himself in as Karol struggled to reach over the side with his short legs before being pulled inside the car. "Thanks for playing decoy."
Yuri huffed a little as he climbed into the passenger seat next to a gruff fellow smoking a cigarette at the wheel. "For a pretty gal like yourself Judy." Yuri looked at the open carton next to Raven on the dashboard. "Ooh, don't mind if I have one of these?"
Raven passed over the box as Yuri set on pulling the hood back up for once they got on the road. "Yeah sure."
Karol groaned in his seat as the blare of sirens from behind followed nearby. "They're gaining on us."
"I'll pull into a place ta hide," Raven said as he turned the corner and sped under a bridge before shifting left onto the lane that would take them out of the district and get them out of Leblanc's range.
"So Judy what you got for me tonight? It better be nice." Yuri said half-joking as he took a drag from his cigarette.
Judy smirked as she pulled up a small box into her lap. "Most of what they had was just standard, but I found some trinkets that might interest you." Yuri let out a mock 'oh' because obviously he knew going in what he was after and he had made it very clear to Judy that if she stiffed him on this there'd be hell to pay. "How about one of the famously missing Fabergé eggs?"
She tossed to him in a purposely reckless manner and only due to years of reflexes caught the delicate piece of art and he stared at the beautiful craftsmanship and fine colors that held up over the years. Inside a miniature bust sits as the surprise. "Oh Judy, you shouldn't have!"
"Well in that case-"
"And by that I mean, I'm very much keeping this. The Alexander III Commemorative egg! How could anyone not expect me to steal this beauty?" Yuri whistled a Fabergé egg and a new bracelet- nice! When he'd learned there was a real McCoy hidden in that rich asshat's mansion then he knew he had no choice but to steal it for himself. Even if that meant pretending he was after something as simple as a large diamond necklace.
"Hey what about me? What do I get?" Karol exclaimed as Judy dug through the box.
A light banter ensued as Judy bartered back and forth with apprentice over who got what. Karol inspecting a fair amount of the items and claiming that he wanted a few particular pieces for their higher quality gemstone while she cited aesthetic. The two settling on each picking a piece from the pile over the hoard equally till nothing remained but a Cheshire grin on Karol's face. They finally pulled into one of the various locations they'd set up as hideouts for after they finished the heist and escorted themselves joyfully into the room.
It was a good haul. An easy job. Yuri sat on the bed and lit up another smoke tapping the ash away every few seconds onto the floor. It had been boring. "That was too easy."
"Well, ya did play bait and that doesn't mean you do much most times," Raven noted as he set down dinner for everyone.
He sat up crouched on his knees in frustration. "No, I mean it was too easy! Leblanc didn't even put up a decent fight tonight."
Karol took a large bite of his dinner and chewed a moment. "Isn't it a good thing that was easy? It means we win!"
"I mean, it's nice to get a lazy win every once in a while but lately all we get is lazy wins!" Yuri exclaimed dropping the cigarette on the floor leaving Judy to crush it under her heel. "Where's the challenge? The excitement? The fear of death and smug asshole I get to beat into the ground?"
"So what you're saying is, you're bored." Judy snorted as she took a sip from a recently poured glass of wine.
It sounded petty and dumb in that context, but by god yes! Yuri was bored out of his mind by these last few thefts in how easy they were. Even when he gave himself a handicap he got away far too easy for his own comfort. He's a master thief but the last few cases he pulled were simple enough that Karol could probably handle them on his own no problem. Yuri has lots of reasons for being a renowned thief but one that always stood out was the thrill of the chase. Walking the razor's edge where one wrong move would get him killed and knowing the end of the line was five steps behind him.
Leblanc used to surprise him but these days he seems off and no longer able to keep up with him. Maybe he needed to find a real challenge? Something no one would touch if they had any sense to them.
Something fun.
Bored… Flynn Scifo, rookie Interpol inspector was bored. The problem came down to despite being an amateur on the force he was quickly soaring up the chain of recognition for his fast work in solving his work due to his quick wit. It couldn't be helped if he was simply brilliant and that was the case.
Murder, robbery, espionage, missing person
Flynn could solve it all at a swift enough pace once he was on the job and that was the problem. Which felt wrong because it shouldn't be the case. Flynn was a man of the people and a man of justice who did his job to help people. Not because it was fun or because he felt like it. No, that defeated the point in a sense of justice if one did good on a whim.
He couldn't lie and say there wasn't anything fun in his job either in the buildup. There was a certain joy in lying in wait for an enemy to blunder and end up in handcuffs. A buzz in knowing the world was a better place at the end of his exploits!
But, and here's the rub… lately, nothing challenged him and it left him feeling disturbingly sour. Flynn was a professional for Pete's sake! He should have more grit then to be brought down in his performances by something as simple as boredom.
He sighed leaning back in his desk chair his hands filling out the last of the paperwork leftover from his previous case involving serial killer in Cambodia. "What in the world is wrong with me?"
"Something the matter Rookie?" A voice pulled Flynn from his musing startling him straight as he saw inspector Leblanc staring down at him.
Flynn straightened immediately and coughed nervously. "I- sir! What can I help you with?"
"Oh, nothing really. You just seemed out of it for a change." Leblanc pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. "What's the matter?"
"Um, I feel embarrassed to say…" Flynn muttered but Leblanc gestured for him to spit it out. "Lately nothing has challenged me. It's all been rather easy and I'm worried it's warping my sense of morality and the like."
Leblanc snorted and crossed his arms a wide grin spreading on his face. "Ah, the six-month slump."
"Pardon?"
"It's a term we use when talking about work complacency. Basically, everyone hits a slump, usually around the six-month mark, at work and just finds boredom is bringing them down." Leblanc said casually.
Well, at least this was normal and not a sign that Flynn was losing his morals. "How do I fix it?"
"You need a change of pace. Something to mix things up a little." Leblanc stroked at his chin before lighting up with some sort of idea. "I know! You can join me on the Lowell the Third chase."
But, that was a renowned job in Interpol. Everyone at worked talked of the importance and notoriety in being one of the people assigned to hunt down the renowned criminal whose family had been escaping their clutches for generations and robbing the world blind. Yuri Lowell the Third was one of the worst of the worst. He was also impossible to catch. The only man who ever made any headline on that front was inspector Leblanc.
"I couldn't possibly-"
"Nonsense!" Leblanc cheered slapping him on the back. "Trust me, chasing down Lowell will get a spark back in you so don't say no."
Flynn struggled to voice his gratitude as Leblanc walked away saying simple words like 'see you on the force' or 'happy to have you'. Either way, Flynn was left with slight shock and a giddy glee. Imagine if Flynn could succeed in catching Yuri Lowell… He'd be a hero and more importantly, so many people would be made safe once the guy was behind bars. The more he thought the more an obnoxious grin took over his face at the idea of how hard it would be to catch the elusive thief.
"Wait," he called, "Do we have any current leads on where he'll strike next?"
Leblanc paused and his brain ground over the question a good few minutes. "Hmm, can't really say. It's usually better to wait for him to make the first move rather than run around chasing after him. Don't worry about it too much. Yuri Lowell always shows up when something shiny catches his eye."
Flynn tapped idly on the desk as Leblanc left with his index finger. But, why wait? Surely there was a way to find the movements of this notorious criminal just like any other that nobody had caught onto. He pulled up Yuri's files and started scrolling looking for any connection he could grasp.
That was the thing about Yuri Lowell the Third though, he had a pattern of what he liked to steal but when was random As he leafed through he noted that there was a more particular fondness for antiquities rather than money… More importantly, if the last few notes were anything to go by then he was just as bored as Flynn.
Walking into traps on purpose like that was simply asking to be caught but he was. Which meant, a smirk took Flynn's lips, he had a lead.
He needed to look for something dangerous. Something off-road.
Something fun.
Across the world in a small country in a large mansion a kidnapping was in progress of the heiress to the grand Heurassein estate. Screams as the young woman kicked and struggled against her captors as they dragged her away and covering her mouth in a cloth doused in chloroform.
The mansion untouched aside from a small note "I will own that which the Heurasseins stole from myself"