****
Original Sin
- Part Eleven
Disclaimer: See Part 1
Rating: PG
--
"Whatcha doin' Kennedi?"
Keni jumped and shrieked. It'd been silent as a tomb in this particular room since the curator had sealed it off. "J.. Jake?!" She put her hand over her heart and tried to catch her breath. It took all she had in her to not reach out and smack him. "Please, for the love of God, don't do that again!"
"You didn't answer my question. What were you doing?" Jake frowned a bit. He'd seen her cross over the barricades and reach into the cases. The holes that had been cut were the right size for her fist.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting a feel for your thief. It's a woman, that much we know. But what we don't know so far is what she looks like, correct?"
Jake nodded, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. She reminded him a lot of Alex's attitude and Monica's mind. Scary...
"OK. Hey... is that a tarp over the skylight?"
"Yup. The locals tarped it over so no snow or rain would come in."
"Can I get up there? It might help me put it together to see how she bypassed the security system."
"Eh, I don't know. Not sure if Frank wants you up there. Whatever evidence is up there might be destroyed if you go poking around."
Keni shot him a look. "I'm not a clod, Agent Shaw." With that, she took a light running start and shot up into the air. Her hands clasped around the rappelling rope and she shimmied up the swinging rope like nobody's business.
Jake gawked. Damn where did Frank find this woman?! But something wasn't right. Rappelling rope was sold by weight, meaning that it was weight tolerant. A certain grade had a certain weight limit. Whoever the thief was had to be in Kennedi's weight range and height range.
"HEY!"
"What?" he shouted up. Keni was at the skylight already and had her head poking out into the tarp
"Have you seen this?" She waved something metallic with wires coming off of it. As she looked down below, she could see Jake squinting. If she were going to destroy the evidence, then now would be the time to do it. But, she paused, if she destroyed it... then that wouldn't allow her to 'process' the information and lead them on a chase. Better not... She put it back and braced herself for the slide down.
Jake grimaced as she shot down the rope with a soft 'zwip' sound. In a matter of seconds she was hanging above his head and shifting her position. He watched with morbid fascination as she turned upside down and hung from the rope by her ankles with no support at all. He dropped his jaw when she let go all together and simply hung there mere feet over his head.
"Close your mouth please. You're breath smells like onions." Keni winked. She knew that she'd given Jake a crucial piece of information by shimmying up the rope like she did. "Rappelling rope, glorious stuff. It's weight graded, so whoever did it is in my weight range. What I was trying to show you up on the skylight was a circuit bypass. She drilled four holes, inserted conductor bolts and rerouted the electricity through a meter so as not to disturb the alarm system when she cut the glass. The size of the hole means that she is about my size as well, around I mean. Most curious..."
"OK - she's your weight and size. What about height? How do we know she's not short and solid boned?"
Keni laughed and swung her arms. In a moment or two, she had enough momentum built to where she could grasp the rope, release the lock on her ankles and flip down. She landed with her trademark catlike grace in a crouched position. Slowly she rose up and turned towards Jake.
Jake couldn't believe he'd seen her do that. The woman was more acrobat than anything else. "Whoa."
"I'll take that as a compliment. We now know she's not short and solid because most thieves are built like me. They keep their weight as minimal as possible so as not to tip any weight sensors and for ease in climbing ropes." Her right hand lifted in Vannah White style towards the still swinging rappel rope. "Thieves are also very vain in general. They won't let themselves get out of physical fitness and being overweight is a no-no. I'm hungry. You get to buy me lunch."
With that, she dusted her hands off and walked past Jake who stared after her open mouthed again.
****
Original Sin
- Part Eleven
Disclaimer: See Part 1
Rating: PG
--
"Whatcha doin' Kennedi?"
Keni jumped and shrieked. It'd been silent as a tomb in this particular room since the curator had sealed it off. "J.. Jake?!" She put her hand over her heart and tried to catch her breath. It took all she had in her to not reach out and smack him. "Please, for the love of God, don't do that again!"
"You didn't answer my question. What were you doing?" Jake frowned a bit. He'd seen her cross over the barricades and reach into the cases. The holes that had been cut were the right size for her fist.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting a feel for your thief. It's a woman, that much we know. But what we don't know so far is what she looks like, correct?"
Jake nodded, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. She reminded him a lot of Alex's attitude and Monica's mind. Scary...
"OK. Hey... is that a tarp over the skylight?"
"Yup. The locals tarped it over so no snow or rain would come in."
"Can I get up there? It might help me put it together to see how she bypassed the security system."
"Eh, I don't know. Not sure if Frank wants you up there. Whatever evidence is up there might be destroyed if you go poking around."
Keni shot him a look. "I'm not a clod, Agent Shaw." With that, she took a light running start and shot up into the air. Her hands clasped around the rappelling rope and she shimmied up the swinging rope like nobody's business.
Jake gawked. Damn where did Frank find this woman?! But something wasn't right. Rappelling rope was sold by weight, meaning that it was weight tolerant. A certain grade had a certain weight limit. Whoever the thief was had to be in Kennedi's weight range and height range.
"HEY!"
"What?" he shouted up. Keni was at the skylight already and had her head poking out into the tarp
"Have you seen this?" She waved something metallic with wires coming off of it. As she looked down below, she could see Jake squinting. If she were going to destroy the evidence, then now would be the time to do it. But, she paused, if she destroyed it... then that wouldn't allow her to 'process' the information and lead them on a chase. Better not... She put it back and braced herself for the slide down.
Jake grimaced as she shot down the rope with a soft 'zwip' sound. In a matter of seconds she was hanging above his head and shifting her position. He watched with morbid fascination as she turned upside down and hung from the rope by her ankles with no support at all. He dropped his jaw when she let go all together and simply hung there mere feet over his head.
"Close your mouth please. You're breath smells like onions." Keni winked. She knew that she'd given Jake a crucial piece of information by shimmying up the rope like she did. "Rappelling rope, glorious stuff. It's weight graded, so whoever did it is in my weight range. What I was trying to show you up on the skylight was a circuit bypass. She drilled four holes, inserted conductor bolts and rerouted the electricity through a meter so as not to disturb the alarm system when she cut the glass. The size of the hole means that she is about my size as well, around I mean. Most curious..."
"OK - she's your weight and size. What about height? How do we know she's not short and solid boned?"
Keni laughed and swung her arms. In a moment or two, she had enough momentum built to where she could grasp the rope, release the lock on her ankles and flip down. She landed with her trademark catlike grace in a crouched position. Slowly she rose up and turned towards Jake.
Jake couldn't believe he'd seen her do that. The woman was more acrobat than anything else. "Whoa."
"I'll take that as a compliment. We now know she's not short and solid because most thieves are built like me. They keep their weight as minimal as possible so as not to tip any weight sensors and for ease in climbing ropes." Her right hand lifted in Vannah White style towards the still swinging rappel rope. "Thieves are also very vain in general. They won't let themselves get out of physical fitness and being overweight is a no-no. I'm hungry. You get to buy me lunch."
With that, she dusted her hands off and walked past Jake who stared after her open mouthed again.
****