A/N: Hey, guys, I hope it hasn't been too long. Thanks for all your favs, reviews, and alerts; it means so much to me and inspires me to write more. You guys definitely made my day with the sudden "boom" of everything! Enjoy!
Oh and sorry for forgetting this in the last chapter but here it is.
Disclaimer: I do not own Heist Society or the Gallagher Girls! They belong to Ally Carter!
Kat's POV
Darkness swirled around her as Kat slid through the vent tunnels easily. She had done this so many times that she could have accomplished the task with her eyes closed. It didn't really matter, though, because it was already pitch black.
Carefully, Kat removed the vent and let herself dangle from the opening before landing gracefully onto the floor. Two lefts, a staircase, and winding around decorations Kat thought. It was always the same – the security, the structure, and the mind behind it. Easily, she could smuggle the prince's crown out the door of a top secure museum or con her way out of jail. Not that she could ever be there in the first place.
Once she had found her way, she grabbed a bobby pin out of her hair and picked the lock in a matter of seconds. She was a thief, a con artist. She had the skills and the technique to manipulate people and confuse them. Yet, she somehow failed to steal a Monet from this retched place not so long ago. She failed the ability to read the owner or even learn his first name. W. W. Hale the Fifth was good. That fact would always be true and would always bother her, never easing her mind. The door swung open, and her jaw hung in shock.
People were making out in the bed, at least, that's what it sounded like. The darkness prevented Kat from seeing what the people were wearing or not wearing, but hands and legs were desperately grabbing anything they could find. The movement suddenly stopped and the two people started to sit up.
"Well, if it isn't my own snitch of a daughter," Kat heard her father's voice say. One of the figures shook their heads. "Handing me to the police, what was that brat thinking?" he said to the person next to him.
"She was trying to protect you from me, can you believe that?" Arturo Taccone's voice rumbled. Then, they started to cackle like evil witches. At that precise moment, Kat decided to scream.
"Kat," someone murmured. "Kat. Kat. KAT! KAT! Hello, Kat, wake up!"
Kat immediately shot up from the pillow, causing her face to collide with Simon's nose.
"Ow!" he cried, reaching to clutch his throbbing nose. Kat glanced around. She was on Hale's couch.
"It was a dream, a nightmare," she panted. "Just a dream," she repeated calmly.
"Yes, Kat, I'm great. Fantastic, really, I'm so glad you care about me so much," Simon snorted sarcastically, while rubbing his nose.
"Yeah," Kat replied, dazed.
"Good job, Simon," Hamish said as he grinned, "you finally have awaken sleeping beauty." Then, he shared a glance with his mischievous older brother, Angus. "Good thing too, because we, ahem, might have had to use certain methods." Angus smirked while Hamish winked at her.
"If that was meant to be even a little dirty, I'll – " Before she could continue, Kat was cut off.
Hamish waved the girl off dismissively. "We know, we know, Kat. You'll sic your macho dad on us."
Kat frowned. "That's not what I was going to say. Besides, I am perfectly capable of – "
"Anyways, back on topic." Hamish gestured for Simon and Kat to lean in to the conversation.
"So last night, you know, when Hale getting his game on with all those girls?" Hamish took the moment to stare at Kat, as if he meant to say this directly to her. Kat glared at him, but he simply laughed and scratched his strawberry blonde head. "Angus and I were bored, so we decided it would be funny to accidently place some stink bombs in certain places to ruin Hale's lucky night." Kat inwardly groaned.
Simon rolled his eyes. "I can imagine that went well," he retorted.
Angus turned to glare at him. "What are you talking about? It definitely went well. In fact, it turned out fantastic!"
"Did it?" Kat inquired. She scanned the two Bagshaw brothers.
Hamish spoke up again. "Look that's not the point! After we set up the bombs, we tried to set them off, right? Well, the bombs didn't go off. Someone had disabled them."
"So? Hale probably knew you were up to your stupid antics and disabled them." Kat nodded, sure of her answer.
Hamish's eyes darkened. "No, we were watching Hale through a live feed the whole time! There wouldn't have been enough time to disable all of the bombs and dance with all those girls! We set up ten freaking bombs all over the place for Pete's sake."
"Hmmm," Simon wondered out loud. "How long did it take for them to disable the bombs?
Hamish and Angus hesitated for a second. "Probably around fifteen point seven seconds."
Kat's eyes widened as Simon nodded, letting in the information. "No amateur could have done the job," she said. "It was a professional. They knew exactly what they were doing."
"Hold on, I'm not done yet," Hamish interrupted everyone's train of thought. "Angus and I wanted to check our last bomb, since none of the other ones were working, and we went to go do it. When we found it, it was disabled and out of the corner of my eye I saw someone walking away."
"So you followed them." Kat concluded.
Angus and Hamish suddenly glanced down shamefully. "Yeah, we messed that up too. See, we sort of shouted and tried to chase down the culprit. Then, he just disappeared! Well, he disappeared out an open window. We ran to see out the window, but there was nothing in sight. It was really… Awesome!" Hamish exclaimed. "The way the guy just totally crushed our plan then jumping out a window like a ninja is so James Bond."
"What? James Bond was a spy, not a ninja, moron. If they're good, it just makes it harder to exploit them." Simon paused to to process his thoughts. "Wait didn't Gabrielle go to that hotel last night too?" Simon's already visible frown continued to deepen.
Angus' eyes glinted and his face plastered a grin. "Don't worry, we set up a live feed for her too."
"Yes, Simon, she did go there last night. I sent her there specifically to make sure there wasn't any suspicious activity going on. If I knew Bonnie and Clyde were going to stalk him like a bunch of creepy pedophiles, I wouldn't have made her do it," Kat sighed, exasperated.
Angus wiggled his eyebrows. "You sure mommy wasn't afraid of daddy cheating on her?" Kat threw a pillow at him.
"Wait, where are those two, anyway?" Kat asked, finally realizing they weren't around.
"I think Gabrielle said something about going to the mall. I'm pretty sure Hale went there too. The reason, who knows?" Simon shrugged. He stood up and stretched. "I think that's all the weirdness I can take from you guys right now. If you need me, you better be dying or already dead because I can't be bothered when I do my stuff in my room."
Hamish snickered. "You do your stuff? Okay, have fun in your room, you weird, little boy."
"What kind of stuff do you even have?" Angus raised an eyebrow incredulously.
"Way to be mature. No wonder you guys had to resort to stalking Hale," Simon snapped at them.
Before listening to the rest of their argument, Kat also stood up. "I'm gonna go too. You guys know what to do if anything happens." The boys simply stared at her retreating back as it dashed out the door.
Kat muttered to herself as she rounded the corners of the streets of Paris. Finally, she spotted the shopping center up ahead. Relieved, Kat started to walk significantly faster, her focus on the goal.
"Hey, watch it, lady!" the voice disrupted her trance and felt her foot catch a crack in the sidewalk before flailing her arms then preparing for painful impact. However, arms caught her and set her up straight.
"Désolé!" was her quick reply. She then frowned. The guy had spoken in English, not French. "Sorry," she muttered.
The guy nodded. "It's all right. I've never seen a girl so impatient to go shopping in Paris." He smirked under his designer sunglasses. "Well, maybe I have."
Kat speedily examined the boy. He was about her age. He stood a good height above her and presented broad shoulders. His messy, dark hair fell a little over his shades. "Yeah, I know what you mean." She smiled in agreement.
He nodded at her. "Just be careful."
Kat wasn't sure if it was paranoia pulling her leg when she thought that sounded way too cryptic. She simply shook it off. "Thanks, I guess." Afterwards, she continued to sprint off towards the direction of the building.
Once she entered the building, she casually strolled past many stores, discreetly searching for Hale or Gabrielle.
"There you are!" Kat was about to shout, but then saw Gabrielle disappear into one of the dressing rooms. Kat carefully winded around the display cases and mannequins.
Gabrielle burst out and glanced at Kat. "Guess you found me. How do I look?" Gabrielle queried as she twirled in a crimson tube dress. Subsequently, she did several poses, flashing a perfect grin.
"Okay, I guess."
"Whatever." Gabrielle sauntered over to a matching, vibrant red tote bag. She smiled slyly at the accessory and reached over to grab it. Simultaneously, another girl chose to grab for it. Gabrielle's eyes flashed dangerously as she glared at the opposing person.
Like Gabrielle, the girl was stunningly beautiful, Kat noted. The girl had glossy black hair that let her crystal blue eyes shine. The girl had looked really familiar to Kat. Maybe she was a model on some random fashion magazine.
The other girl snorted through her pierced nose. "Hands off," she said evenly.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes in response. "Bite me, biatch."
"Macey…" a girl behind "Macey" spoke. She wasn't as breathtakingly beautiful as Macey, but she was still pretty with her caramel hair and color changing eyes. "You can get any other purse, why does it have to be this one?"
"Well, I want this one, Cammie. Besides, it's for you, not for me. You really need a new purse. Plus, I don't mind taking something from this wannabe," Macey quipped smoothly.
Kat sighed as Gabrielle clutched the purse tighter. "Please, I would drop dead before I touched anything you owned."
"Oh yeah? Then why are you wearing my mother's perfume?"
"Because –" Gabrielle started to retort, but was cut off.
"Hey, Kitty Kat!" Hale greeted her a little too excitedly. He nodded to the others. "I see you've found Gabrielle." His eyes widened when he saw the other two girls. He flashed them a charming grin. "Hello there, Macey and Cammie."
To Kat's surprise, Macey gave him a frustrated look while Cammie stared at him, confused and not knowing what to do. Kat then suddenly wondered how Hale knew the other two. Probably some Gallagher girls Kat decided.
Gabrielle flashed a gag worthy flirtatious smile at the boy. "Hey, smexy." Kat rolled her eyes at her cousin when she started to stroke Hale's arm. Gabrielle glanced at Kat, practically flipping her off with her eyes. Hale easily flashed a grin in return to the two.
"So," Hale chided as he clapped his hands together, "you girls up for some dessert? Crêpes are on me!"
A/N: As always, please review!
