This idea wouldn't leave my mind after the discussion in the Steal of Fortune episode about having a normal life. Hope you guys enjoy it!
"Flynn!"
Flynn popped his head out from behind the floor length mirror. Three distinctive sets of footsteps were hurriedly moving his way. Jenkins snorted quietly from his workspace at the top of the table.
"FLYNN!"
Jenkins hummed under his breath, "It's never good when they shout like that…"
Flynn's face reddened as he considered ditching the three pesky librarians, "Stay or go…stay or go?"
The footsteps were getting closer. Flynn shook the thoughts from his head and moved to pose beside the mirror, his right arm resting high on the frame. Finally, the three librarians appeared in the doorway. Jake rushed forward first.
"Flynn, we need you to talk to Baird."
"No, we don't need Baird to okay this," Cassandra called from behind both men, "We need Flynn's permission."
Ezekiel scoffed, "I told you we didn't need permission!" He crossed his arms and mumbled under his breath, "We could have just snuck out…"
Flynn straightened up, "What are you asking me here, because it sounded like you wanted to ask a question and then didn't ask a question, so I have to ask, your question was…?"
Jake closed his eyes and raised his clenched fists, his frustration starting to boil. Cassandra sidestepped him to stand before Flynn, "We were wondering if it was okay to have one last 'normal' night before we…you know…give it all up for the library?"
She was nervously playing with a thread on her blue lace vest, waiting anxiously on the librarian considering their proposal.
Flynn hummed and rubbed at the slight stubble on his chin, "And what did Baird say when you asked her?"
Cassandra spluttered, "Well, she was still feeling a little dejected…"
Jake tried to hide his smirk.
She continued, "And she said that her opinion didn't count…" she trailed off as a knowing look spread across Flynn's face.
He coughed to help hide the pink tinge of embarrassment that had risen up his neck onto his cheeks, "Yes, uh…you should all probably take the day to…ahem..." He glanced over to Jenkins who was busying himself in several books to appear uninterested in their conversation. Lowering his voice he continued, "So, yeah, you guys should probably leave here as soon as possible if you don't want to witness me trying to work things out with Baird."
This was all the librarians needed. By the end of Flynn's sentence, all three of them had made for the door.
Flynn sighed as he turned back to face the mirror. Cassandra's head popped back round the door, "Thanks Flynn!"
He waved her off before straightening his pocket square in the mirror. He breathed in deeply, "Here we go…EVE?!"
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Jake pulled at his shirt collar as he moved through the doors in the annex and exited out of the back room of a southern bar. He breathed in the air surrounding him. Just like home.
His plan was to throw back a few home brews and then if a fight was staring him in the face, there was no reason why he couldn't join in. He had a librarian free card tonight and he was certainly going to put it to good use.
Settling on a bar stool he signalled the bar tender.
"Whatcha havin' tonight bud?"
Jake ordered and then spun around in his stool to face the car crash karaoke taking place that night. Feeling a tap on his shoulder he turned to face a blonde woman who had crossed her arms under her chest to accentuate her bosom. Jake grinned.
"Hey babe, buy a girl a drink?"
He laughed at her forwardness and then signalled the bartender again.
"I haven't seen you around here before."
"I'm just passing through."
"I'm Cora." She stuck her hand out towards him which he took, "Jake."
"So Jake, what brings you to Beaumont?" She continued to press her body against the bar. She had steadily closed the small gap between herself and Jacob.
"Nuthin' much," He could feel a tint of his old southern accent returning, "Just on a tour of drinkin' joints."
She smiled, "I bet your girlfriend doesn't like you hangin' about places like this."
He looked down at the perfectly manicured hand that was slowly snaking up his thigh. He cursed the fact that he would only get one shot at having a normal night before fully committing to the library.
"I uh, don't have a girlfriend."
She hummed her approval at his statement before suggestively taking a swig from her beer bottle.
The cliché of the situation was beginning to dawn on him as she scooted forward on her seat and placed her hands on his shoulders. Just as she leaned in to whisper something, he assumed would be quite graphic, into his ear a loud crash interrupted her. He twirled round quickly to face the source of the noise. Several large men in cowboy hats and boots had become very aggravated over by several pool tables. Jake stood to see the cause of the men's aggression. His eyes landed on a smaller, younger looking boy who was shuffling backwards. His back hit one of the tables as the cowboys closed in. Jake turned to face the blonde who had sat back on her stool and was awaiting his attention again.
"Sorry darlin', but this is my cue."
He quickly jumped over the railing separating the pool tables from the rest of the bar. He picked up a pool cue and caught the four men in his sights.
"HEY! Why don't you leave the guy alone, eh?"
One of the men turned around and laughed at him. He poked his buddy on the shoulder, "Get a load of this guy Bill." All four men glanced round and laughed at Jake who was stood holding the pool cue as a weapon.
He smirked as it was clear that the men had underestimated him. He had upped his training with Baird ever since Apep's defeat. If it had been a movie, he was positive that the upbeat rock music would be swelling as the fight was about to begin.
During Jake's disruption, the younger man had managed to escape a beating and appeared to have left the bar. Jake targeted the biggest looking guy and swung the pool cue through the air. It connected with his jaw and he staggered back into one of the other guys knocking them both to the floor. Here we go!
The back doors opened and Jake walked through them, a look of disappointment on his face. His shirt was slightly ripped at the pocket and he had a bruise forming on his jawline. His night of normality had been a bit of a let-down. He used to love getting down and dirty in a good ol' bar fight. But, something was missing. Four strong guys should have been a challenge for him as an individual, but it wasn't. He had battled ninjas, Hokolonote, the devil and a whole bunch of demons. What fun was a few normal dudes in a bar?
He walked into the archives and down the small hallway that led to the gym. He could hear the smacking of fists against a punching bag. There was no way Flynn or Jenkins were down here…
Flynn must have managed to have had his conversation with Baird. However, if she was down here alone beating the hell out of some padding, he didn't imagine that it had gone all too well…
"Hey Baird."
The blonde looked up and puffed a small amount of hair out of her eyes.
"Want to train together?"
She moved over to the wall and untied a set of boxing gloves and some pads, "Let's see you moves cowboy."
He smiled as he caught the gloves she threw. Now this is what he was looking for. Maybe this normal wasn't so bad after all.
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Ezekiel pushed through the back doors and entered the annex. He threw himself down onto the chair at Baird's desk and crossed his arms across his chest. He exhaled loudly into the silence of the annex.
Jenkins looked up from his workspace, "I see you had an enjoyable time of 'normality', Mr. Jones."
Ezekiel reached into his jacket pocket and took out a sizable sapphire. He huffed loudly once more before regarding Jenkins, "You would think, one of the most precious stones was held under some fierce security systems."
Jenkins stared at him without expression, he could sense that this conversation was going to be very one-sided.
"Nope!"
He sat the gemstone down on the desk, "I mean, come on! It's just sitting there in a glass case." He stood from the chair and walked over to the long work table. Hoisting himself up he continued, "The security was lame, the alarm system was easily rigged, the glass on the case wasn't even that thick, and don't even get me started on the cheap fake that they put in the stupid display case."
Jenkins had started working on his toaster again. No point in listening if he wasn't involved in the conversation in the first place.
Ezekiel narrowed his eyes, staring at the sapphire sitting perfectly on Baird's desk. Laughing at him.
"What's the point in the heist if it's easy? Who hides a sapphire in a safe with an eye and fingerprint scanner? My damn prints have been on the system for 6 years!"
The heist just wasn't fun anymore. No time constraints. No voices shouting at him to hurry up or be careful. No pushy guardian bossing him around. It wasn't fun if there wasn't anything else going on. He had missed his fellow librarians stood by his side annoying him while he worked.
He paused in his thoughts. Maybe he preferred to work with his friends instead of on his lonesome. That was new. He hadn't ever wanted a partner before. What had changed?
The sound of footsteps interrupted his train of thought. A sweaty Jacob appeared from the archives holding a pair of boxing gloves.
"Hey, I didn't think I'd see you tonight. I take it your night was as fun as mine?"
Ezekiel realised he had been scowling. Softening his face he laughed at Jake, "My night was great. Took, like, two minutes to rescue that poor sapphire from a horrible museum safe."
Lying seemed like the best way to get through their exchange. He had figured out that he would rather be cheating at monopoly against Jacob, rather than easily stealing something that didn't really matter to him.
"My 'normal' night paled in comparison to some training in the gym here."
Ezekiel scoffed, "Ugh, a night in the gym, I can think of nothing worse!" He hopped off of the work table and moved to the stair case, "How about a game of monopoly? I promise I won't steal any of your properties this time…"
Jake dropped his gloves onto the table, "Sure, why not?"
Unfortunately, he couldn't see Ezekiel's fingers crossed behind his back.
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Cassandra adjusted the strap of her dress. It was a bit more revealing that her usual dresses; the tight velvet LBD had been stuck deep into the darkest part of her closet. She had bought it with the intention of never wearing it. The woman in the store had been looking down on her as though she could never wear something so…so dangerous. She had wiped that look off the woman's face when she pulled out her purse at the counter to pay for it. She glanced down at her strappy high heeled shoes again before teetering through the back door.
New York. She wasn't sure whether she was glad to be back. The last time she had been in the city had been for her brain surgery. She was determined to make her newest memory of New York a happier one.
She had never been a part of the Manhattan bar scene. Her lack of friends had had an impact on her confidence on flying solo. So she had just decided not to bother. However, after her surgery she could feel her confidence slowly coming back. Her chosen outfit hadn't hindered that either.
Entering the bar, she was immediately overwhelmed with the amount of people in the room and the loud thumping music. Spotting a seat at the bar, she breathed out nervously and walked over. Several heads turned as she moved across the room. Her dress was clearly having the effect it was supposed to. She was feeling damn dangerous now.
She propped up on the stool and ordered a cocktail. The bar was long and angled away from the rest of the room, although the mirrors along the wall made it easy for her to see all of the occupants in between the bottles of spirits. Her drink arrived and she handed a $20 bill to the bartender giving him a subtle wink, "Keep the change."
Yes. The dress was definitely working.
Glancing into the mirror she noticed a raven haired woman staring at her from the midst of her friends. They were all laughing around her, but she was too busy staring at Cassandra. She could feel the blush rising up from her neck onto her face. Glancing away, she missed the woman beckoning the waitress and passing her a note.
Cassandra studied her drink, toying with the olives on the stick. A small tap to the shoulder drew her attention away from her martini to the waitress stood holding out a napkin. She pointed over her shoulder at the raven haired beauty, "It's from her…"
Puzzled, Cassandra took the napkin and whispered her thanks. She opened it up to reveal a name and a short message. Violet. Hi cutie. She had dotted her i with a love heart. Damn, this dress was good.
Turning around in her stool, she noticed that the stunning woman had vacated her seat and was walking towards her. Suddenly, she couldn't see anything anymore. Everything was black. A tall gentleman had stepped in front of Cassandra and had placed his arm against the bar, trapping her in. She smiled politely and tried to peek around him. From the small gap under his arm, she noticed Violet returning to her seat. Huffing, she glanced up at the rude man blocking her chances.
He leant down to shout in her ear, "Hey pretty thing. The name's Chad."
She could smell the beer on his breath. He lifted his hands to drag a calloused finger down her arm. She flinched away as he said, "I've never seen anything as gorgeous as you in this place before. I bet your name is as beautiful as you are."
Cassandra pursed her lips together. She thought her night had been going in a different direction. Meet someone cute, have a little dance, leave the bar a little tipsy. Now she knew it wouldn't be like that at all. She could tell this guy wasn't going to take no for an answer straight away. She studied his face while he waited for her reply. He was cleanly shaven, wearing a business suit. His tie clip looked as though it cost the same as her rent. He looked like he was perhaps in his late 30's. She could tell from his dilated pupils that he had definitely had more than alcohol in his system.
"I'm Cassandra, and I was actually in the middle of something."
He leered over her, grin stretching across his face, "I knew it, it definitely matches your stunning…" His eyes moved down her body and stayed put on her chest, "appearance." She wished she wasn't so dangerous in her fashion choices now.
She straightened up and placed her hand on his chest to push him away from her slightly, "Sorry, but I really have to go."
Completely ignoring her he grabbed at her hand and squeezed it, "Let's dance Cassie."
That stung. She kept that nickname for her friends and her friends only. She usually didn't like it, but it felt natural coming from Jake and Zeke.
Chad began to pull her out of her chair, "Let's go, we can get to know each other a bit better on the dance floor." He glanced over at the crowded mass of bodies, "It's a bit tight up there, so we'll have to dance real close."
Cassandra stayed rooted to her seat.
"Come on baby, let's go!" He jerked her arm so roughly she cried out a little.
Pulling her free hand back, she delivered a stinging slap to the man's cheek.
He reeled back, outraged that he had been told no and then shown something other than affection from a woman. He let go of her wrist and lifted his hand in fist to strike her. Just as he swung his hand down towards Cassandra's face, a black shape appeared in front of her moving upwards towards Chad's head. The waitress who had delivered the note earlier, had used her black metal tray to deliver a striking blow to his head. He staggered backwards clutching a bloody nose.
"You bitch!"
He immediately went barrelling towards the women before two security guards grabbed him roughly and dragged him away from the scene. He was screaming and shouting, drawing disgusted looks from the bar goers he passed.
The waitress turned her attention to Cassandra, "Are you okay?"
She rubbed at the bruising appearing on her wrist, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks so much. I didn't realise he was going to get so handsy." She stood up from the stool and smoothed down her dress.
"Make sure you get home safe." The waitress took a napkin from the bar and quickly wrote down a phone number, "Here you go," she handed Cassandra the note. "This is a cab company that I absolutely swear by!"
She smiled as Cassandra took it and put her clutch bag under her arm, "Thank you."
Cassandra left the bar and walked around the corner to the alleyway that she had arrived in. She pushed open the doorway to the annex and walked through.
She was immediately greeted with yelling and laughing. She sighed happily as she saw Jacob and Ezekiel playing monopoly. She moved over to the table and took a seat. Jake was red faced and she could practically see the steam coming from his ears.
"Cassie, he's cheatin' again!"
Ezekiel feigned innocence, "I don't know what he's talking about, how do you cheat at monopoly?" He winked at her when Jake lifted his arms into the air shaking them and growled at the ceiling.
She smiled knowingly, "I have to agree with Zeke here, how do you cheat at monopoly?"
Jake turned his glare to her, "Please don't side with him. Please, I need ya Cassie."
His glare softened as he remembered where she had been, "How was your night? Did New York show you what you were missing?"
Cassandra shook her head and wrapped her arms around Ezekiel's shoulders, "Nah," she paused for a moment to consider her next words and then continued, "Maybe a normal life outside of the library is overrated."
The boys both reflected on their own 'normal' experiences. She was definitely right.
"I think I prefer normal librarian life with you too instead."
"Agreed."
"Yep," Ezekiel moved his playing pieces over a few steps, "Now, did you manage to get out of jail yet, Jakey?"
"DAMNNIT!"