Chapter 8
Daaaaark, Daisuke whined, Do we really have to do this?
Dark finished relieving the unconscious guard of his uniform shirt and jacket. He slipped them on. Of course. It's a disguise. Surely you didn't expect me to waltz into the gallery wearing my normal clothes.
You usually do, Daisuke said sourly.
Dark grinned as he plopped the guard's cap on his head, carefully covering the spiky purple hair. Well, tonight's different. He dragged the unconscious guard further into the bushes and straightened up. All right, here we go!
He emerged from the side of the building and casually wandered up the front steps to the gallery entrance.
A large man in a brown overcoat stopped him. "Why aren't you at your post?" he barked.
Dark saluted. "On my way, sir!" He trotted past the man and headed into the building as if he knew were he was going.
Was that Saehara's dad? They look kinda alike, Daisuke mused.
Dark rolled his eyes as he turned a corner. Who cares? We're looking for a jeweled scepter, and we need to focus. Nothing can distract us from our goal.
A curvy policewoman in uniform was hunkered down in a corner further down the hall, guarding the stairwell.
Well, almost nothing, Dark grinned as he veered off to approach her.
"Who are you? Where's your position?" she asked, standing up. The movement made her uniform pull tight in interesting places.
Lecher! Daisuke scolded.
Dark's grin widened. "I'm your backup."
The woman rolled her eyes—brown, not ice-blue, Dark noticed gratefully—and patted a fairly large automatic. "This is all the backup I need."
Dark smiled at her. "I'm sure," he commented softly. Against her will, the woman began to melt. He stepped closer to her. "So, I don't think I've met you before," he said with a winning smile. He tipped her chin up with a finger. "What's a cute little thing like you doing on the police force?"
The woman looked into the deep, dark eyes and swallowed hard. "You know, I could probably take you up on sexual harassment charges," she said hoarsely.
Dark stepped closer. "Am I harassing you?"
"Almost," the woman breathed.
He delicately brushed her hair away from her face. "Should I leave, then?"
Indecision danced in her eyes for a moment, then she deliberately stepped back, taking a deep breath as she did so. "You should go to your post."
Dark nodded cheerfully. "If you say so." He turned to go, and looked back over his shoulder. "You were definitely the highlight of my evening, though, Suzuki-san."
She waved shyly and turned back to the stairwell.
Dark sauntered back down the hall, humming cheerfully.
What was that all about? Daisuke said disapprovingly. Do you have to flirt with every pretty girl you see?
Dark shrugged. Life's short, Daisuke. You should try it sometime. However, I did have more of a motive than just making time with Suzuki-san.
How did you know her name, anyway? the redhead asked.
I am the great phantom thief Dark. I know all and see all.
Daisuke made a rude noise.
It was on her nametag, genius. Dark pulled a walkie-talkie out of his pocket and flicked it on. A babble of voices came over it, and Daisuke could recognize Hiwatari-kun's voice among them, giving orders.
Where did you get that?
Dark grinned, very pleased with himself. I pick-pocketed it from Suzuki-san when I touched her hair.
Daisuke sighed deeply. Why?
The grin on Dark's face was positively evil. Cause it's part of the plan.
XXXXX
Satoshi sighed as he kept an eye on the skies for a sign of Dark's appearance. The thief should be here any minute, but the commander had a suspicion that Dark wouldn't make his usual flashy entrance today.
The voices over his walkie-talkie crackled as the officers finished getting into place. The plan was simple: to let the thief in and simply block every exit. The gallery had recently been updated with windows made from an unbreakable clear plastic polymer. Satoshi almost hoped Dark would try to crash through one. He'd bounce right off, and the thief's subsequent concussion should make him fairly easy to catch.
There were only a few doors, and Satoshi had ordered the officers to bar them as soon as the thief was spotted inside. Dark could try to go through the ventilation system, but all of the vents had been welded on. He'd have very little chance of getting through without magic.
Satoshi was allowing himself a vague sense of hope for this plan. If the officers performed their duties, Dark should have a harder than usual time getting out of this one.
And then the radio went crazy.
"Dark's been spotted in the Impressionist section!" one officer reported.
"That's impossible," another said incredulously. "He just ran by the Modern wing; I'm right behind him!"
"No! He's in the sculpture gallery."
"The Egyptian exhibit. I'm in pursuit!"
Satoshi's hand tightened on the radio. With the thief's familiar, he could manage to be in two places at once, but four?
"It's a trick! Stay at your positions!" He began to run, passing the surprised guard at the front door.
"Officers, report in," he snapped.
"Inoue here."
"Kurosawa here."
The officers obediently rattled off their names and where they were currently running to. Satoshi's brow furrowed as he continued to run up the stairs to the exhibit where the scepter was located. Where was Suzuki?
"Lieutenant Suzuki?" he tried. "Report."
"Sir," a crisp voice responded. Satoshi frowned. He could clearly hear the buzz of an emergency exit sign in the background. Suzuki's post was nowhere near an exit.
"Do you have anything to report?" he asked again.
"Just a question sir," came the answer. "Is your refrigerator running?"
Satoshi's mouth tightened. He slowed down and came around the corner quietly. Looking carefully, he could see Dark tucked away in a nearby nook, lighted by the dull red light of an emergency exit sign. The thief had a police-issue walkie-talkie in one hand, was twirling the scepter between the fingers of his other hand, and was snickering.
The commander crept up behind the thief and tapped him on the shoulder. "No."
Dark whirled, eyes wide and surprised for one very satisfying moment. Satoshi plucked the scepter from unresisting fingers and glared down at the thief. "That joke is older than you," he informed Dark wryly, "And that's saying something."
Dark shrugged, composure restored. He started to stand.
"No," Satoshi ordered. "Don't move. How did you get the lieutenant's radio?"
"You're too young to understand." Dark grinned suggestively.
Satoshi started to reach for his handcuffs, but froze as he saw Dark twitch. For a moment, they both stared, waiting for the other to move first.
Dark shot to his feet, and Satoshi instantly moved forward, handcuffs materializing in his hand. However, his target was no longer there, as Dark had dropped back to the ground and kicked Satoshi's legs out from under him. Satoshi turned his fall into a lunge, and managed to get one of the cuffs around Dark's wrist before he hit the ground hard on his right shoulder, still clutching the scepter.
The thief, back on his feet, kicked at the artwork, but Satoshi pulled it closer even as he jumped back to his feet.
The two squared off, wary and circling.
"Your move," the thief smirked.
And then Satoshi felt a thud from behind as the demon-rabbit bounced into his hand, knocking the scepter out of his grasp. Dark lunged for the falling scepter, pushing the commander into a wall as he snatched it out of midair, and bolting down the hall to the emergency exit, his familiar close behind.
Satoshi got back to his feet, rubbing his shoulder as he glared balefully down the hall at the fleeing thief. He had too much of a head start to catch, but Satoshi could still see the empty part of the handcuff dangling behind him as he ran. He picked up the discarded radio.
"Dark's heading toward the north exit," he said coldly. "Is anyone still at their post to catch him?"
A chorus of confused babbles was his answer, and Satoshi closed his eyes. He turned off the radio with a sharp flick of his wrist and stalked downstairs as Dark made yet another clean getaway.
Perhaps a new strategy should be implemented in the future.
This would require some thought.
