A/N: yeah I know, I've kinda been a little (a lot) awol for a looong while, and it's mostly due to lack of inspiration. For a long time, I really enjoyed writing short stories, and that love has dissipated and a new love of poetry has emerged, which is good and bad. Good because I used to suck at poetry and I hated writing it so now I've got this new love/inspiration. Bad, because I have zero motivation or inspiration for short stories. Which means the heist themed story I was writing as a long, awesome piece featuring lots of Jack/Kim action and lots of humor (with tons of heisting, obviously) has fallen by the wayside. I've tried sitting down to write more of it, but I just can't bring myself to write more than a couple paragraphs at a time.

But, there are a couple sections (2, actually) that can stand alone as entertaining tidbits for you guys. I've realized this heist story is never going to happen on my end, so I figure I should at least try and give you what I can. So, here's a Milton-centric blurb that I find entertaining, and I hope y'all do too.


Milton always hated jobs like this- ones were he had to rely on people and not his tech. You can't control people like you can control cameras and security systems. Well, he did stumble upon a chemical that, when ingested, made the- ahem- victim extremely receptive to suggestion. But he only figured it out when Jerry accidentally mixed volatile chemical compounds he thought were Kool-Aid powder, water, and sugar. Apparently he also thought the warning labels were just warning him of "delicious flavor." After that little situation, Milton found himself with something quite similar to a mind control device. It only lasted five hours and the subject responded to anyone's commands or suggestions (he and the rest of the gang coached Jerry through putting on makeup and doing a fashion show for them), so it was too risky to use on a mark, especially when anyone within hearing distance of the subject could influence them. And besides, mind control was super illegal, or at least he was pretty sure it would be if people thought it was possible.

Either way, with his inability to control the emotions or thoughts of their marks, he sat back and let the rest of the team influence whomever they needed to, watching helplessly from his control center.

"Milton, is the Bird in the Nest?" Jack hissed through the rather impressive earpiece the tech wiz concocted.

"The Bird is in the Nest." Milton replied, letting Jack know the coast was clear so he and Kim could break into the coordinator's office. Now that Milton thought about it, sitting in his own nest of wires and computer screens, he may not be able to control everyone (legally), but he was a big reason their jobs succeeded in the first place. Kim and Rudy might be able to convince a mark to do anything, Jack might be the best thief in the world, Eddie might make things go boom with a delicacy only seen in pastry chefs and Jerry might be able to take a ten year old girl and pass her off as a seventy year old man, but they would be as blind as bats without him.


The next piece should be up soon, but don't forget to let me know what you think!

thanks and best wishes

x em