Been Caught Stealing

December 7

I lowered my gaze. The guard was watching me and I knew it. Maintaining a blasé attitude was key in this situation or he might actually confront me… Then I'd have to kick his butt, people would crowd, and the whole thing would go downhill from there.

Why, dear Lord, why did I get myself into this?

I hated commissions. They never paid as well as they should have, they were never worth the recovery time, and the customers were usually hideous. Nevertheless, money is money. When making money comes down to prostitution or thievery… I know which I would pick.

Damn, damnit, no! Go back to your chair, you stupid mall cop! Please, don't make this more difficult. I averted my eyes as the blue-boy started to waddle in my direction. He was the general part-time cop type; sort of heavy, with his belt riding low under his protruding stomach. His hair was only visible on the sides of his head due to his generic 'Security' cap, but I suspected he was partially bald. Or balding, but whatever. Despite this, I could see that he had a nice face—he looked like the type who used to smile a lot but had gone through something depressing as hell and had lost that basic human function. On any other day, I probably would have asked him about his life or something, but at the moment my cheeks were hot with guilt.

"Hey, you, kid!" he called at me, just as I turned my back. I paused. Do I run? Blow the whole thing? Fight? Talk my way out? I don't wanna hurt this sucker. Thoughts flying, body still, I had just decided to stay when the cop put a hand on my shoulder. I jumped intentionally and spun to look at him, blinking my green eyes rapidly.

"Oh!" I gasped. "You startled me!"

"I'm sorry!" he quickly replied, his gray, aged eyes locking onto mine. I looked at his hand which was still resting on my shoulder. He pulled it away, looking uncomfortable. "You just looked sort of distressed, and I thought I'd check to make sure you were okay. Are you alright?"

"Oh, yes," I replied, flashing a brilliant and sad smile, "I'm just a little bit out of it today."

"Alright. It's just—you were wandering through the jewelry section and I wondered…"

"Well, you see," I started, quickly spotting a scar on the man's neck, a chip in the glass of his watch, which had stopped, and a simple gold cross swinging around his neck, and came up with lie, "I'm having some trouble. My, um, mother is going to die in a few days. The doctor told me that I should just… just do everything to keep her… happy. And… she's always liked jewels, so," I started to sniff, but didn't overdramatize it, "I figured… a necklace or… or something…"

The mall cop's jaw dropped and I could see his eyes getting a little watery. I knew it wasn't totally because of my stunning performance.

"Sir? Did… did your wife die?" I asked him gently. See, his hands were dirty, his watch had stopped at 10:43 p.m. and cracked, and the crucifix around his neck had a tiny engraving on the back. Furthermore, the scar on his neck looked like the slash of a seatbelt when pulled extremely tight. I had gotten one similar to that a few years ago but mine had completely healed.

"How did you know that?" he questioned, suddenly grabbing my shoulder again. I looked up at him, a bit curious now.

Distraction! Distraction! Way to go!

"Was it in a car crash?" I prodded gently.

"Y-yes," he replied, frowning at me as his eyes filled with tears from painful memories. "H-how…?"

"Was that her cross?"

"I g-gave it to her on our wedding day." The tears had overflowed now and were sliding down his cheeks.

"I just wanted to buy something for my mother. I can't decide what it should be, though." I frowned, successfully changing the topic enough, and dropped my eyes to the ground. "She deserves to feel beautiful when she dies. Even though we all see how gorgeous she is, she doesn't. I'm sure your wife was beautiful." I nodded meaningfully at him and he just started bawling.

"H-have a good day. Give my regards to your mother." He dashed off, back towards the men's bathroom.

Yeesh. Hate to make a grown man cry, especially on duty, but it did the trick.

Sighing and wiping crocodile tears from my eyes, I slipped back into the center of the brightly lit jewelry section. I yawned, stretched, and as I did so I surveyed my surroundings. There was almost no one in the section except a young guy in a dark suit, but he was facing the other direction. The clerk had run off to help a customer, and had left my target on a "hidden" part of the counter. I already knew where the cameras were and I had timed them to know when they spun to face away from the counter. I had about a ten second window of not being filmed as I stole a very valuable piece of jewelry. Taking a deep breath, I wandered over to the counter and looked down through the glass, just your average customer.

Now! I leaned over the counter, swiping my hand across the hidden part. 10…9…8…7… I grabbed the necklace, quickly checked to see that it was the one I wanted. 6…5…4… It was terrible, but there was nowhere else for it to go. I tossed the diamond and ruby necklace down the front of my shirt. God, it's cold. I saw the price tag as it passed me. 3…2…1…Camera.

I stared down into the glass case again as if I was considering another piece of jewelry. Then I stood up straight, and walked towards the back door, zipping up my stolen jacket. I started to walk faster just as the clerk spotted me, ditched his customer, and called, "Sweetheart, that isn't an exit!"

Puffing out my cheeks and putting a hand over my mouth, I turned to face him. "I know!" I spat, " I just." Heave. "Didn't think." Heave. "I could make it." Heave. "To a bathroom!"

"Oh, jeez! Not on the carpet!" the guy yelped, throwing open the door for me. I dashed out and he watched me drop to my knees in the dirt, my back to him, clutching my stomach. I continued the fake heaves and then spat a few times on the ground, then stood up and kicked some snow over where I "threw up."

"God, I hate cafeteria food. This always happens to me," I complained, wiping my mouth and looking at the guy. "I think I'm gonna go home now, sleep, and maybe eat some veggies. Thanks for getting the door for me!"

"Uh, yeah! Sure," said the clerk, yanking the door closed behind him, disgusted.

I did it again. Successfully! Winning!

My name is Ivy. I'm not going to tell you my last name but I'll tell you that I'm a total kleptomaniac and probably the best teenage con-woman in the state. Or at least, I'd like to think so. I've been robbing and tricking innocent people since I was seven and regretting doing so since I was fifteen. Now I'm seventeen, and barely survive off of the money I get from stealing. I've got no home and no real future and therefore, nothing to lose. If I get caught, at least they serve food in juvy. But I'm competitive and a total adrenaline junkie so, until I get caught, I might as well live the way I want to.

Suddenly, I started laughing. How did they all fall for that? The poor cop! The retarded clerk! I felt brilliant and I was going to get paid for all that basic lying! The necklace itself would cost $560 if my employer had actually paid, but instead, I would get about a fifth of that, if I were lucky. But $112 isn't that small! That would buy me food for a whole week!

Silently, I started to dance in the snow, kicking up chunks and rubbing my stomach—I was always hungry. But just as quickly, I stopped, hearing the deep, bell-like laughter of a man. I looked up to see the guy from the jewelry section striding towards me.

"Having fun?" he asked. Harmless businessman, don't spaz. He's only curious about your retard dance.

I smirked, acting like a complete cheese. "Totally. I love dancing in the snow. Don't you? It's so satisfying." He continued in my direction. I quickly surveyed him. He had on a fancy black suit, probably silk, and black boots. His hair was warm brown and of medium length but combed back fairly neatly. His skin was a bit tan and I noticed a scar across his left eye. As he tilted his head I spotted a silver cross earring on the top of his left ear.

He started laughing again and the sound was like a rough Beethoven symphony. "No, I meant the little sting you pulled back there. Fun, huh?"

My heart stopped. "Wha—what are you talking about?" I asked him, tilting my head innocently despite the panic in my heart.

"You know what I'm talking about. I saw you snag that expensive little piece of jewelry." He grinned at me, clapping softly in a sort of mocking way.

I laughed in his face. Calm… calm… "Ha, as if! I would never do anything like that."

"Oh yeah?" he questioned, walking right up to me. With absolutely no warning he spun me around, pinning my arms behind me with one of his, and slid his other over my shoulder and down my shirt. I gasped, froze, and then screamed. "What do you call this?" he joked, pulling out the necklace and then releasing me. I spun away from him, terrified.

No! I need that! I need the money! I have to get it back! And by the way, creeper!

The man was dangling the $560 necklace in my face, taunting me, and staring at my chest the whole time. The top button of my shirt had popped from his roughness and it now revealed the top of my black bra. Uber creeper. I snarled and pulled the shirt closed before growling, "Give. It. Back."

He laughed. "What're you gonna do to me if I don't, Pet?" The man spun my necklace around his finger, staring at it and completely ignoring me. 'Bout damn time. With no warning except a small snarl, I lunged forward and tackled the creep into the snow. As he started to fall, I pushed up and dug my knees into his sides, grabbing the collar of his shirt and using him as a buffer in our descent. He slammed into the ground and the necklace slipped out of his hand, landing in the snow a few feet above his head. I started to launch off and over him, towards the necklace, but then he shouted, "Whoa, there!" He snatched at my thighs and yanked me down, throwing me into the snow beside him. Without hesitation, he rolled onto me, his hair dripping a little and no longer combed perfectly. "Aren't you the little linebacker?" he joked, sitting up on my hips. I growled, looking over my head at the necklace. Three feet away.

See, when I was younger and still thought I had a chance at growing up to be mostly normal, I had attended a karate school. From that school I had learned a sufficient amount of self-defense, but I mainly obtained the ability to think quickly. Anyway, we had worked a little on grappling and I was generally good at it. You should try it some time—it's actually kind of fun.

With no warning, I lifted one of my knees and locked my ankle around the man's. Then I popped my hips up with all the strength I had, catching him off guard. He flew forward, throwing his arms out to prevent himself from crushing me. I reached up and around one of his arms, yanked hard around his elbow, and rolled to the side. He fell off easily, surprised at my actions, and I punched him hard in the face.

Ouch. I rolled away in the other direction and then sprang up to my feet, putting my hands up in fists. My punching hand was throbbing.

"Yeesh, Love. Why would you do that?" the man asked, sitting up and rubbing his… completely undamaged nose. What? That punch should have shattered his face! He looked up at me and smirked. Maybe I miscalculated… I frowned, suddenly filled with doubt. The man stood up so quickly and lunged so swiftly that I didn't even notice him until I felt the solid pain in my abdomen. I looked down to see his arm recoiling from the punch, and I doubled over, groaning. "You actually think you can best me?" he asked, stretching. There was something intimidating and bestial about the way he moved.

Damn, he's fast. Who is this guy? I gulped, standing up straight and dropping my arms from my stomach. I'm faster.

Lighting fast, I darted towards him, jumped into the air, and placed a solid sidekick into his neck. Spinning off of him I landed on my feet, crouching. He stumbled backwards, one step. I continued my attack and leapt forward, throwing a palm heel into his collarbone (which should have shattered under that pressure), a hook heel kick into his lower back, an uppercut to his chin, a spinning back kick into his ribs, and finally a hammer fist to the groin. What now, jerk? I jumped back, raising my fists again and stared at him. All he did was wince. One wince. And then he laughed.

"Tough girl, huh? I'll admit, that last one stung."

Damnit! He should be broken. Well, there's only one more option now. I had really planned against this. I hated revealing anything personal to people who might spill the beans to the public. And this was one of the most intimate details about me.

Not to mention, it was cold.

Sighing, I yanked off my shirt to reveal an ill-fitting black tank top, tied the shirt around my waist, and just when the man looked at me I snapped out my wings. He just stared at me, his eyes wide, and then smirked.

This guy is unshakable! I have wings, damnit! Fear me! I glowered at him, willing him to burst into flames.

Instead, he stripped off the wet jacket of his suit, threw it over his arm, and then two humongous wings erupted from his back. Each one was a few feet less than my full wingspan, and mine are fifteen feet total—seven and a half feet each. His span was easily twenty feet, probably a little more. And his wings were dark brown—chocolate colored almost. Mine were creamy with speckles and splotches, very similar to those of a red-tailed hawk. His were just flat out terrifying.

"Who are you?" I growled at him, trying to maintain a look of defiance. However, I had been filled with fear and doubt as soon as I saw his wings. Based on his blasé expression, he knew it too.

"Ari. Nice tat, by the way. Really fits your name." He winked at me. I looked down at my right shoulder, which sported a light tattoo of a creeping piece of ivy. I had gotten it when I was young and hardly remembered the experience. Then I realized—he knew my name.

I glared at him. "How do you know me?"

"Baby, I know everyone." He grinned and folded his wings. "Especially my targets." Targets?

"Geez, you are a stalker." I muttered. He laughed. "Well, sorry to break it to you, Ari, but I have to get moving. You know when you make a promise you're supposed to keep it? I gotta deliver." Swiftly, I snatched the necklace out of the snow.

"Oh, so you didn't steal that for yourself?" he asked, looking just a little confused.

"Pfft, no. I was commissioned to steal this."

He frowned a little, almost disapproving. "Why'd you do it?"

I shrugged, becoming steadily more creeped out. Why was he asking? Why did he care? "Need the money. This'll feed me for a week." I dangled the necklace in front of him, and then dropped it back down my shirt reluctantly.

He watched it go down and then gave me a once over, his smirk returning. "Money, huh? Ever consider prostitution?"

I shot him the bird and then ran straight at him. He braced himself, waiting to be tackled again, and even put up his hands to catch me, but at the last second I jumped into the air and started flapping. He watched me go and I saw him shake his head, throw his jacket on the ground, and take off after me.

Damn! Why? Just give up!

My back ached. I didn't fly very often—I usually preferred to pretend to be normal and take the bus—so when I did I always got crampy for a little while. Nevertheless, I was a decent flier. By the way, damn. If you haven't flown with your own wings (and I'm going to assume most of you haven't), you haven't flown. To feel the wind caress you like this, to breath pure air above the majority of pollution, to look down at the world… it's like heaven.

Whoosh!

Okay, this guy was seriously disrupting my heaven. I looked up to see Ari soaring directly above me, as if waiting for me to give up. Like that'll happen. I'm stubborn as hell. I looked forward, ignoring him. If you ignore things, they're supposed to go away. However, I shrieked as he dropped down on me from above, feet first, almost knocking me out of the sky.

"What the hell— What are you doing?" I screamed up at him.

He smirked, flipping under me suddenly and striking me in the exact same spot as before. All of the air puffed out of my chest. That would definitely bruise. "What do you think, sweetheart?" he joked, and did something new to me entirely. He punched my wing.

I screamed. Pain like nothing else. No one had ever touched my wings before, beside myself, of course. I didn't know that I wanted people to, mostly because that would mean revealing my freakiness. But also, it just seemed so intimate to me. I hadn't ever really had anyone that close to me.

Furthermore, having never met someone else who could fly, I had never been in an aerial fight. I had no idea what to do—you could say I was "flying blind," but the pun would be painful. Trying to think of something, I lost focus on Ari and screamed as he swooped down again, grabbed the tip of my other wing, and yanked it hard. Something crunched. I cried out in pain, my voice shooting up an octave. Reacting in fear, I leaned to the right, hard, and streaked across the sky towards the lake.

By the way, that would be Lake Michigan. I happened to live in Chicago.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Ari following me closely. I gulped, getting ready to try something risky—I had to ditch him. I took a deep breath, and then swerved left, soaring directly towards downtown Chicago. Just before crashing into the windows of a large corporate building, I jerked to the side and ducked behind the building, then circled another one. Then I shot down one of the main streets and veered right, between more buildings.

My wings would have been sobbing if they had had eyes. Tired and damaged somehow, they could barely flap anymore. I have to land. Screw Ari. Spotting a little fire escape balcony off of an alleyway apartment, I swooped down and landed, folding my wings quickly. I was gasping and even whimpering a little as I yanked my shirt back on. What did he do to the tip? It hurt like sin. I winced, rolling my shoulders, and got ready to climb down the twenty-foot ladder. Just as I put my foot on the first step something hit the back of my head, hard as hell, and I fell. Falling backwards towards the ground, unable to open my wings, I blacked out.