Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT (and there is a little bit of Burn Notice)
Alright, so just so there is no confusion, here is some vocab that I'll end up using throughout the story that some people don't know.
Con Artist: A person who intentionally misleads another person, usually for personal financial gain.
Grifter: Someone who swindles you through deception or fraud; and a grifter is a strategic gambler. Such strategy is used that it is almost not considered gambling at all. (Basically it's a con artist who tricks people into handing over their valuables through acting.)
A Mark: A mark is the person that the grifter is scamming. (A few of you thought this was someone's name, it's not. You'll see her refer to people as "marks" often in this story.
Leo: Stands for Law Enforcement Officer. Basically it's a standard police officer.
BPOV
The smell of freshly ground coffee beans overwhelmed me as I stepped inside the coffee shop.
I looked around, taking in my surroundings, something that had become a subconscious habit.
Satisfied that there were no immediate threats in the coffee shop, I proceeded to the counter.
It looked like your average coffee shop, mostly made up of regulars who came to sip coffee while they typed ferociously on their laptops, working on a hopeful bestseller.
Most would find these people ridiculous, spending money every day on coffee and typing in here when they could easily do the same thing at home for cheaper; but I'm not most people. I understood why they did it though, it wasn't about the coffee, it was about the people.
Coffee shops and cafés are the easiest place to people watch and nobody gives you a second look.
I scanned my eyes over each of their faces, landing on one girl.
She must have been in her early twenties, probably attending the university nearby, trying to write a paper of some sort.
Next, my eyes landed on a man in his mid-forties, and after glancing at his laptop, I concluded that he seemed to be dealing with writers block.
If only he knew that one of the world's most notorious criminals was three feet away buying coffee. It would be a best seller for sure.
I stepped up to the counter with a new smile on my face.
"What can I get you?" The guy behind the counter asked with an over-friendly smile.
"Medium caramel macchiato, please." I told him.
He nodded while punching in the numbers to the cash register. "Are you new around here? I haven't seen you before." He said while starting on my drink.
"No, I'm not new." I said. Short and discreet was pretty much my way of life. He was right though, grifters and con artists never stay in one place too long, otherwise people start to recognize you and then all hell breaks loose. Which was too bad, this coffee shop had character.
"So, do you live around here?" He asked, his attempt at subtlety failing horribly.
"How much did you say my coffee was?" I asked, trying to stop any hope he might have in its tracks.
"$3.25" He said, obviously a little stung.
I dropped the correct amount of money onto the counter and sat down at one of the tables while I waited for my coffee to finish being made.
I automatically sat with my back to the wall so that my view was kept to the front. I hated surprises.
I sat further back in the chair and looked around.
Through perception, I was able to notice many things that normal people didn't.
For instance, the girl sitting in the corner was allergic to her new cat, by the amount of scratches on her hands and the tissues she had stuffed in her pocket as she read her book.
I shifted my gaze to the man reading a newspaper a few tables away, recently divorced by the imprinted mark on his ring finger where a ring used to be.
The door of the coffee shop opened and my eyes automatically snapped to it.
A man in his late twenties walked in with bronze colored hair and striking green eyes.
He was wearing a brown coat over a nice suit. I watched him critically as his eyes scanned the room in a similar way that mine had.
'Wait a second….'
As soon as he started walking I knew he was a cop.
Most people would think I was crazy for assuming so quickly, but believe me when you live your life like I do; you begin to recognize certain aspects that all government agents hold.
His stride was even and calculated, showing that he was definitely coordinated. His left hand would swing as he walked and brush the side of his coat around the waist level. Most likely a habit he had created for himself to make sure that his weapon was constantly on him.
Oh yeah, this guy was definitely a cop.
'Well, this should be interesting.'
I watched in mild curiosity as he walked up to the counter.
The guy working behind the counter's eyes lit up when he saw him, "Hey Ed, do you want your usual?"
'Obviously he's a regular.'
I continued to watch him, but shrunk further back into the corner so that I wouldn't be noticed.
He just ordered a regular coffee so he got it quickly. The worker behind the counter put my finished drink on the counter and I got up.
As I was walking over to the counter to get it, the cop turned around with his own unexpectantly.
Good reflexes are the only thing that kept hot coffee from covering me as I sidestepped just in time to avoid contact with him.
"Oh, sorry about that." He chuckled, sending me a warm smile looking into my eyes.
My heart thudded deeply in my chest.
I didn't like being this close to someone who could arrest me if he had probable cause.
I looked into his emerald eyes a moment longer than necessary before mumbling something unintelligent, swiping my own coffee off the counter and slipping away.
He wasn't just a cop; I had noticed the badge on his belt. He was an FBI agent.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV
I watched confused as she practically ran out of the coffee shop, her brown hair flowing behind her.
"Hey Mike, do you know who that was?" I asked the employee behind the counter while still looking out the door.
"Nope, but I sure would like to." He said, looking at me.
"So, she's not a regular?" I asked. Most of the people who came here were regulars; it was rare for people to come here randomly, opting for a starbucks across the street instead.
"Nope, and she made sure to stress the point." He said, by the tone in his voice I had a feeling that wasn't all she stressed towards him.
I chuckled a little to myself; any girl who could rattle Mike and resist his "charm" was alright with me.
"Think she'll come back?" I asked with an amused smile.
"Hopefully, I didn't even get to give her my number." He told me.
"Well, I guess we'll both just have to wait and see." I told him over my shoulder as I left the shop.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV (later that day)
I stood on the sidewalk and stared up at the skyscrapers above me, my breath swirling into the chilly air.
It was now or never.
I flipped open my cell phone and dialed the number.
It picked up right away.
"911, what's your emergency?" The operator said.
I took a deep breath before starting, "Hi- yes. I'm at 1344 Columbus Drive, a-and I think there's a b-bomb." I said, adding a stutter to make it convincing.
"Okay, stay calm. The police are on their way." The operator replied in the regulated calm voice.
"Please hurry!" I said snapping my phone shut.
With my plan set in motion, I tossed the phone into the garbage can next to me and started walking towards my actual destination 1345 Columbus Drive; the building next door.
The easiest way to clear a building: alert the police of a false bomb in the building next door. Once they and the bomb squad arrive, the first thing they do is clear the area within a five-hundred meter radius of people.
I pushed open the glass door and strode inside the building.
I flashed my fake ID badge that I had replicated after swiping one of the employee's the day before.
I walked into the stairwell without any obstruction, all the while keeping a cool expression on my face.
I walked into the hallway of the second floor, and after making sure that it was clear, I slipped into one of the supply closets off the hallway.
My timing could not have been more perfect, as soon as I closed the door the building alarms began going off.
I could hear sirens going off outside. By now I'm sure the police were closing off the area and were evacuating buildings within the measured radius.
Now it was time to wait.
I kept absolutely silent as I heard dozens of pairs of footsteps rush past my door, no doubt employees heading for the stairwell.
After a few minutes, I stopped hearing footsteps outside.
I pulled out the extra cell phone that I packed and checked it.
I smiled when it came up with a blank screen.
The bomb squad had arrived.
Which meant it was time for me to get moving.
I put my ear to the door to make sure that there was in fact no one outside, before opening it and slipping out.
Bomb squads were trained with specific guidelines when dealing with a bomb threat.
First, they had to make sure that everyone was safe and clear of the supposed blast area. And by the looks of it, they did a good job.
Second, they had to stop anyone from executing the bomb remotely.
For this, they usually bring in a wireless jammer. When turned on, it blocks any wireless frequencies for about three hundred yards. Not only does this stop a person from using a wireless device to detonate the bomb, it blocks anything wireless, including cell phones, wireless internet…and wireless security cameras.
I strolled down the deserted hallway and got into the elevator.
I looked at the security camera inside, the little light on it that usually would have lit up red, was now a dead black.
I pressed the button for the forty-sixth floor and was soon on my way.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV
I was sitting in the lounge area at the office when a few agents I recognized started running by.
This piqued my interest.
I got up and grabbed one of them as they were running by.
"What's happening?" I asked.
"There's a bomb threat at 1344 Columbus Drive, the local leos decided to call us in just in case it turns out to be a hostage situation.
I nodded and let him go.
'Wait a second…'
"What did you say that address was?" I called after him.
He turned around and started jogging backwards. "1344 Columbus Drive." He called back before turning back around and running out of sight.
'It can't be…'
I ran down the hallway and burst into my office.
I opened my drawers and started searching for it, rushing in my attempt to access my notes faster.
When I finally found what I was looking for: My list of possible locations that the Scarlet Thief might strike, I started scanning it with my eyes as quick as I could.
I skipped over it in my haste and had to double back with my eyes.
Interestingly, one of my locations was 1345 Columbus drive, the building next door to the bomb threat.
I set the paper down.
'What are the chances of a bomb threat in the building exactly next door to a location where the Scarlet Thief was likely to strike?'
I started sprinting out of my office when I realized that the chances were close to none.
I had sprinted to my car and floored it a majority of the way. And before long I was parking my car and lifting the police caution tape over my head.
Multiple police officers approached me immediately, gesturing with both their words and their hands that I was not to be in this area.
I quickly flashed them by badge, but they were still reluctant to let me go further.
"Listen, I need to talk to the other FBI agents, I have critical information they need to hear.
They still didn't seem to like it, but they led me to the area that the FBI had set up.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV
I had just broken the code on the vaults dial when I cracked the door open.
Then, with a practiced hand that was covered in an elbow length polyester glove, I reached inside and sprayed hairspray over the exact spot where I knew the heat-sensor was.
The polyester was one of the materials that could mask heat that your body gives off. The hairspray that I sprayed over the infrared sensor worked as a shield to block any heat waves from reaching the sensor. Which meant I was in the clear.
I opened the vault door the remainder of the way and stepped inside.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV
"You need to stop what you're doing, we have a problem." I said as I approached the other federal agents
"Damn right we have a problem, but there is no way we're going to just get up and leave." Said one of the agents I recognized as Agent Ryans.
"No, you don't understand-" I started but was cut off.
"No, you don't understand! We have a serious bomb threat here and you need to leave the premises." He said, pointing back the way I came.
"There is no bomb!" I yelled angrily, pushing my way back towards him.
My outburst caught the attention of another agent who stepped in, "What do you mean there's no bomb?"
"I mean, this is all fake! There is no bomb! But there is a serious crime going on. See that building right there?" I said, pointing to the skyscraper next door, "Inside that building is vault that holds the largest blue diamond in the city."
I had the attention of the rest of the agents now.
"I have been tracking the Scarlet Thief long enough to know how she works. Think about it; the entire building is clear and empty, no security anywhere, it's the perfect plan to be able to get inside without being noticed." I told them, piecing it all together in my head as I went along.
"I don't know Edward; that seems a little farfetched." One of them said, but I didn't hear them, I was on a roll.
"And then, when the bomb squad arrives, they block all wireless signals…all the security cameras." I continued, though I was mainly talking to myself. The plan was brilliant. While everyone is focused on the building in front of them, the one next door is getting robbed. It was so perfect I almost wanted to laugh at the insanity.
"We need to turn off the cell phone jammer." I told them, no doubt in my mind that it was the Scarlet Thief.
"There is no way in hell that I'm going to do that based on some insane theory of yours." I threw my arms up in frustration, "We have a real threat here."
She was going to get away again.
I was running a hand over my face in frustration when inspiration struck.
"Can we access the security system for the building next door from here?" I asked them quickly.
I seemed to catch the one in front of the computer off guard, "We would need to get the head of security for the building over here to access it, but I don't see why not."
"Okay, let's do that. Quickly. I can prove that there is a robbery occurring here." I told him, sending one of the police officers off in search of the man in charge of building security.
"What are you getting at Edward?" One of them asked.
"That system keeps track of every security device in that building. Most of which are wireless, but not all. I guarantee that there is going to be some sort of movement in that building, even though everyone is supposedly out." I said, taking control of the situation.
A few long minutes later, the same police officer returned with a man in tow who I assumed was the building security manager.
He was a middle-aged man with a strong build, and I had no doubt he took his job seriously.
"Can you please access the buildings security main frame? We need to see what's happening." I told him, gesturing to the computer.
"I can only access the building next door, not the one with the bomb threat, but sure." He said, obviously confused. He looked between me and Agent Ryans, who relented and let him have access to the computer.
I stood behind his shoulder as he accessed the main frame, the clock was ticking.
After far too many seconds, he had the page up and running.
"May I?" I asked, gesturing to the seat, which he promptly got out of.
I started sifting through all the information.
'Come on, come on. There has to be something!'
"There!" I shouted, pointing to the screen.
"What?" Agent Ryans asked, looking over my shoulder.
"Elevator number two is moving down from the forty-sixth floor at a rapid pace. And…it's headed for the first floor." I told him, I pulled out my notes which I brought along, "See, on the forty-sixth floor is where the vault is located." I told him, pointing to my notes.
I noticed him swallow hard.
"We can only see what's happening from this site, and unless you turn off the wireless jammer we can't actually do anything. And until you say that there is no bomb, the police aren't going to go anywhere near the building to apprehend her when she comes down, and we don't have time to track down all the exits that she could take." I told him, watching as the elevator dropped further and further in the diagram on the screen that modeled the actual one.
I could tell that he was fighting with his decision. If there was an actual bomb threat, then turning off the wireless jammer could allow someone to detonate the bomb. But if there wasn't one…then a thief was going to get away.
His gaze was snapping back and forth between the computer screen and the building in front of us.
A man in a bomb squad suit approached us and said, "We've swept the building and it's come up clean, we haven't found any explosive of any kind."
"Good enough for me." Said Agent Ryans, he turned to one of his partners. "Shut off the wireless jammer! And you" He continued, turning to the building security manager who was still standing there, "Stop that elevator now!"
There was a flurry of movement, I watched as the security manager of the building started typing furiously into the keyboard as soon as the wireless was turned back on.
I watched with satisfaction as the elevator on the diagram came to a standstill in-between the twelfth and eleventh floor.
I breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Alright, we're following my lead now!" I yelled to the surrounding FBI agents and police officers.
Agent Ryans didn't look happy, but he had no choice but to relent. I had the knowledge and the upper hand here, not him.
"There is no bomb threat!" I yelled over the crowd of law enforcement officers, "But we do have a serious situation on our hands. We need to apprehend a criminal that is inside that building." I yelled, pointing to the other building.
With that said, I led them, including the FBI agents and the security manager, into the lobby of the other building. He was able to bring the lap top now that it no longer had to be connected and could work wirelessly.
"Alright, so what's our plan?" Agent Ryans asked, following me inside.
"Well, currently we have the Scarlet Thief hanging inside a metal box roughly around the twelfth floor. We can control the elevator however we want to, all we have to do is bring it down here and surround the thief, and there'll be no where for them to go." I told him.
I turned to the security manager, "Can you turn on the security camera inside the elevator?" He nodded and typed something into the computer again.
I looked over his shoulder as an image came up on the screen.
You could just make out the edge of some article of clothing in the corner of the screen. She was standing directly underneath the camera, keeping her identity hidden. Her effort was futile; I would be able to see her face to face momentarily.
We were still setting up the police officers in front of the elevator; it would be a few minutes before we would bring the elevator down.
I was still watching the screen when a phone rang somewhere.
"Agent Cullen, it's for you." I looked up at one of the FBI agents who was holding a phone from the front desk.
"From who?" I asked, bewildered.
The security manager cleared his throat and pointed at the screen which had a new light flashing, "It's coming from inside the elevator."
I suspiciously took the phone from his hand,
"Hello?"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV (Several minutes earlier)
With everything in my bag I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button with the number one on it.
As soon as the doors closed, I opened my bag and pulled out what I needed.
I pulled my shirt off over my head and stepped out of the pants I had been wearing. I then proceeded to change into the legitimate police uniform that I had gotten for situations just like this.
There were going to be so many police officers outside, seeing another one would be nothing unusual.
I was watching the numbers above the door count down as I tied my hair up into a ponytail and slipped into the correct shoes.
I re-zipped my bag and put it back on my back.
I watched as each number lit up as the elevator dropped past each floor.
'15…14…13…12..-'
The elevator stopped, I stumbled a bit.
'Uh-oh'
I regained my balance and looked around, as if the answer to why the elevator stopped moving was written on the walls. This was not good.
I knew that I didn't stop it, and I knew that no one inside the building could have stopped it because there was no one inside the building. Which only left…
"Shit!" Not only was the wireless back on, but someone knew that I was in here.
My eyes widened and my gaze snapped to the security camera above.
The light was still black, meaning that they hadn't turned it back on yet, but I was sure that they would soon.
I flattened myself to the wall directly underneath it.
The camera was stationed in the corner where the buttons and emergency phone were, I had a hard time trying to keep as much of my body as possible underneath it.
'How could they possibly know?'
My plan was perfect; I could detect no flaws in it. Only someone who really knew me would be able to anticipate-…
'The new FBI agent'
I wanted to slap my hand to my forehead, but it might have exposed me.
After a few moments, a new set of mind overcame me.
Moving carefully so that I could still stay out of the camera's range, I opened up the emergency phone compartment and picked it up.
The note on the inside gave multiple numbers; I pushed the one for the front desk.
It rang twice before someone picked up, I didn't even let them talk, "Put the main Agent on the phone."
There was some rustling and a few murmurs, but eventually I got what I wanted.
"Hello?" came a male voice.
"I must say, I am impressed." I said, pressing myself further to the wall, knowing that he was probably watching the video feed by now.
There was a pause.
"And why is that?" He replied.
"You are the only agent who has ever gotten this close to catching me; I thought I just had to congratulate you." I smiled.
"Don't you mean I'm the first agent who's ever caught you? I'm sure that you are aware by now that you are hanging in a metal box twelve floors up, which I have the controls for." He said.
I paused, and looked around the elevator as if considering what he said.
"True, true. But you are forgetting one thing." I said.
He paused again.
"What's that?" He asked.
The elevator restarted and I felt it start moving.
"That I'm the Scarlet Thief." I said before using the phone to hit the video camera, effectively breaking it.
I had about twenty seconds before the elevator reached the bottom floor. I would have to act fast.
I stepped onto the handlebar that covered the sides of the elevator and propelled myself up.
The ceilings of elevators were generally pretty weak, they weren't worried about people falling up, so they were generally made of thin plywood, or as this one happened to be plastic.
The ceiling was made of thin squares that were held up by strips of metal running across them. It took a few tries, but I was able to break one of the squares with the heel of my hand, opening a square large enough for me to climb through.
I pushed the square out and used my arms to lift myself through.
I was standing on top of the elevator as it continued dropping. The wind being pushed up through the elevator shaft was whipping my hair out of its ponytail as I started rummaging through my bag.
'Where is it? Where is it!?!'
"Oh, thank god!" I pulled out the small round container made of aluminum foil.
I learned long ago that you never know when you'll need to make a quick escape.
So, I started making my own flash grenades. By grinding together aluminum foil and other items from the pharmacy, and then wrapping it in more foil, I was able to take an escape with me wherever I went.
I pulled out the lighter I had in my bag and started trying to light the string fuse that was attached to the grenade.
'Come on!' The wind preventing me from lighting it.
The elevator began slowing down when the string caught fire.
I immediately dropped it into the elevator through the hole I had created. I quickly grabbed the square I had forced out of the top of the elevator and put it back in place.
As soon as the flame on the string reached the mixture inside of the foil, it would let out an extremely bright flash, blinding anyone looking directly at it for at least a few minutes.
The elevator came to a stop.
'Here we go.' I thought with a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV
The elevator was almost to the first floor.
It seemed like all the police officers and agents were holding their breath, nearly as tense as I was.
The elevator dinged as it reached the lobby.
We all raised our weapons.
The elevator doors crept open, my heart beat loudly in my chest.
I should have known that it would never be so easy.
We all stepped closer when we saw no one inside.
By the time I noticed it, it was too late.
The next thing I knew, I bright flash illuminated the room, and I couldn't see a thing.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV
The sound of multiple outcries was my cue.
I lifted up the square again and jumped in, dropping down into the middle of the elevator.
I stepped out of the elevator doors and was impressed by what I saw.
At least thirty or so police officers were all rubbing their eyes and crying out in discomfort.
There were curses flying everywhere as I ran through them. Even though they couldn't see, I didn't want to stick around until they could.
Before I stepped out the door, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the diamond.
The light reflected off of it brightly.
'The Scarlet Thief Strikes Again.' I thought as I put it back in my pocket and walked out the door.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Hey, so there is the action I promised. I thought this chapter was fun to write; hopefully it was just as fun to read. I'm going to try and throw just as much, if not more action into each chapter. I've got some cool ideas. So I'm curious, what do you guys think is going to happen in this story? Those reviews are always fun to read. So click the green button right there! :P