A quick what's what: I own nothing, the general idea is a variation of the movie Entrapment. Reviews are greatly appreciated.
x-X-x
The skyscraper stood high above the city, a glowing figure in the night's sky. Those who lived in the city barely paid the building notice, while those visiting simply regarded it as interesting before continuing on with their evening. It would have taken someone looking very closely to notice the slender figure clad in black spandex propelling down the side of the structure. A large contraption on the roof tethered the figure securely, ensuring that they didn't fall too far. The control box ensured that they stopped at just the right window. Now the screws had to be dealt with, the small devices attached to pull the glass out far enough for the dangling body to slip in. With a quick glance of their watch, a button was pushed to pull the cord just a fair bit higher, allowing them to disappear as the guard made his round past the office. Everything was timed to perfection; the guard was gone before another button was pushed, slowly pulling the glass free of its frame.
Next to be dealt with was the alarm system, a homemade app and Bluetooth took care of that quite quickly enough. With the ease of a dancer the body slid into the room undetected. On one desk sat an arrangement of roses, this was moved to a small table in front of the window, allowing for the wind to shift the blooms gently. There would be no doubting how the thief came in and left the room, at least for a keen eye to spot. The wall safe was child's play, opened within a few brief seconds. There before the masked thief sat the rare Sherlock Holmes manuscript, valued for a pretty price by an anonymous collector willing to pay a fortune.
The thief took the work from the safe, touching the cover almost reverently before pulling a large pre-labeled envelope from inside the bag slung over her shoulder. The mail shoot just outside of the large office was almost too convenient. With the loot dropped 30 floors below, the figure pulled another object out of their bag leaving it where the manuscript had once sat. Then hooked back into the harness, out the window, alarm reset, glass back in place, and the slow ascent to the heaven of the roof.
James Hook would be furious when morning came and he arrived at his office to find Sherlock missing and a child's copy of Peter Pan in its place.
Everything went off without a hitch. If only the man in the building across the street hadn't gone unnoticed by the cunning thief.
x-X-x
"A copy of Peter Pan?" Isabelle French, investigator for Hopper Insurance, laughed as she looked up from her computer.
"Hardly a laughing matter, Belle." Her boss, Archie Hopper admonished, trying to stifle his amused reaction as well. "It is our responsibility to find out what happened. What do you make of it?"
Belle bit her lip for a moment, twirling her hair into a bun and sticking an antique, two-pronged pin into place. Her dark curls did have a habit of getting in the way while she was working, distracting her while typing or when she was out meeting with clients. Her business attire was much more comfortable than others in the office. While most went for scandalous or power, Belle found herself rather firmly in the middle. She opted for a mix of the two, combining what she could find on sale and vintage pieces from the thrift shops. Today she wore a short black skirt, probably left over from the sixties, matched with a blue cardigan that formed to her perfectly.
"He came in through the window." She stated simply.
"He?"
"We both know who is responsible for this."
"Enlighten me."
"Gold."
"Not this about Rumford Gold again."
"I'm telling you it's him." Belle insisted unflinchingly.
"And I'm telling you that this obsession with the man is getting terribly out of control."
"Just look at the photos from the office this morning. He came in through the window, like always."
"How can you be so certain?"
"The roses, they've been moved and blown to the side by the breeze of—"
"An open window?" Archie murmured in surprise, looking closer at the image.
"And then there's this. Ruby, will you pull up that footage please." Belle asked, standing and moving to the cubicle next to hers. "This is from an auction for the manuscript a few months ago. See anyone familiar?"
"No." Archie answered simply.
"Right, look closer." Belle took the mouse and zoomed in on one man in particular, tucked away in the back row. His hair had since become flecked with grey, though it didn't detract from his appeal. Truth be told most nights Belle couldn't help but let her mind wonder to the master thief, trying to figure out what his next target might be.
"Gold."
"Precisely. He's supposed to be in London now, supposedly looking to move the merchandise or deliver it to the buyer."
"I highly doubt a man who took two bullets to his leg and relies quite heavily on cane has been slipping in and out of windows."
"It's him. He's found a way around his problem." The brunette argued. "Or he has trained someone to do his bidding."
"We should send someone to check up on him."
"There's a flight leaving JFK in two hours."
"I don't recall assigning you, Belle."
"Who else are you going to send? I've been following Gold for a year now. No one knows his methods better than I do. It would be pointless to send anyone else."
"Fine. Go, keep an eye on him, don't get shot."
"Splendid advice, Archie. I high intend to take it to heart." Belle smiled, pulling her purse from beneath her desk before turning off her computer and collecting the rest of her things. She was almost out the door when:
"Belle." The red headed man called. "Be careful."
"What else would I be?" She gave him a wink then hurried out of the office.
x-X-x
It was surprisingly easy to track Gold down when Belle arrived in London. Despite being a bit jetlagged she dropped her things at the hotel then took the rental car to the address of his town house. She waited, watching the blue front door closely. The chauffeured car soon arrived, and it was then that Belle caught her first real glimpse of the man. He was short in comparison to most men, but was still taller than she. His frame was slender, but she could imagine he was rather firm. As Archie had pointed out, the man did rely heavily on his gold handled cane, limping the short distance from the front door to the car. After a few moments, she shifted the car into gear and followed the black Bentley into traffic.
She followed them for nearly an hour before the car finally pulled to a stop outside of a small museum. It seemed that hours had passed while he was inside. Belle had gone through her ice coffee and an apple before he finally reemerged. Although his return outside was accompanied by an echoing of alarms going off. While those around him hurried out of the building, he simply walked calmly as though he were taking a leisurely stroll through the park.
A stake out always left Belle rather hungry, which was why she had absolutely no hesitation pulling a slice of pizza from the box as she walked back to her room. It was a rather fruitless day in the scheme of things, but she had seen the man, presumably in action and that was a start. Right now all she cared for was a hot bath, the rest of her pizza, and climbing into bed with a book. Of course the universe had very different plans for her. Pushing the door open she glanced around and instantly realized that something was terribly off.
Her suitcase was missing from the rack next to the closet, which had been cleared out, so had the drawers of the dresser. Everything but her book was gone.
"Damn it." She sighed, tossing the pizza box down on the bed and looking around, trying to decide what to do. It was too late to call the front desk, not that they would care. Hopper wasn't exactly offering a lot in the way of expenses. She would have to wear the same clothes in the morning and find a store that was somewhat reasonably priced. The rest of the evening passed quietly, bath and dinner carrying on as planned, before Belle shed all of her clothes and climbed into bed. Her gun was stashed beneath her pillow, as always, while the book she had been so keen to read rested on her chest as she slept.
It wasn't clear what had woken her up but when her eyes slowly opened she was instantly aware that someone else was in the room. Belle slowly reached for the revolver only to find it missing. With a gasp she pushed the pillow aside before sitting up, the book and sheets both falling away to reveal her bare chest.
"Rule number one," came Gold's thick Scottish voice from the chair in the corner of the room, "never carry a gun. You may be tempted to use it."