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Sheila drove the black Mercedes convertible into the mall parking lot. Even for this early on a Sunday morning, the parking lot was full. We cruised for a bit until we found a place. As I waited for Sheila to raise the roof panel, I wondered, "Christmas isn't for another two months or so. This place looks like the day after Thanksgiving!"
"Na. It's much more crowded then." Sheila said as we walked toward the mall. She glanced at me and added, "You really don't shop much, do you?"
"No, I just never got into it. I could never see buying a whole new wardrobe because some character in Paris or Milan decides to raise or lower hemlines an inch." I said.
"But what about all those poor, starving supermodels? Then they'd have to get real jobs!"
I laughed with Sheila, and said, "By the way, I got hold of Bats. We'll meet him tonight on the roof of your office building."
She stopped and turned to look at me. "How … " She shook her head. "I don't want to know. That's fine. What should I wear?"
"Well, I'm wearing my costume. I'd suggest some jeans and a tight-fitting top. Dark colors." I said.
We stopped and waited for traffic to pass. "That sounds good. As long as you don't dress me like Harley. That would go over well in a criminal law firm." She stopped, then said, "On the other hand, Two-face dresses well enough for work. Must be a habit from when he practiced. Of course, he might try to defend himself."
I held the door for Sheila. "Could he? Defend himself, I mean."
"Probably. There's tactics you use differently for defense, though, and he was a prosecutor. A hell of a prosecutor, too. Too bad I never got to face off against him." She sounded kind of wistful.
"Why not?" I looked at a mall map.
"Boy, you really don't shop much, do you? I've got this mall memorized, girl!" Sheila said with a chuckle. "Harvey was going after the Mob and handling Capital cases before he was injured. I was just getting started, working the Misdemeanor side. It's too bad. I would have liked to match wits with him." She looked at her watch, and asked, "Want to work this together or separate?"
"Separate. When shall we meet, and where?" I replied.
"Food court, near the Chinese place if possible, in say, four hours?"
I checked my watch, and replied, "Works for me. See you!"
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I set my three shopping bags down and looked around for Sheila. Not seeing her, I got a cup of hot tea and claimed a table, taking my coat off and throwing it on an empty chair. I dug down into a bag and extracted a mystery novel to kill the remaining time. I sighed, and sipped the tea. It wasn't a very good novel; I had a good theory on it by the third chapter. I heard Sheila's heels, and looked up.
"You're reading a mystery? That's a surprise." She said as she tossed her coat over mine.
"It's not a very good one." I replied as I handed it to her. "I'll bet that Congressman Smythe is the blackmailer and his teenage daughter is the killer."
"Damn. The review had it as a top-notch puzzle to solve. Mind if I take a crack at it?"
I waved at her, and asked, "Hungry? I could use another cup of tea."
"Coffee?" I nodded, and she put her booted feet up in another chair and leaned back with the novel.
"Hey. You're coffee's getting cold." I said.
Sheila looked up and blinked. "Sorry. I'm a sucker for mystery novels and crossword puzzles. I'm only on page twenty-three. How did you figure it out so quickly? Did you look in the back?" I looked insulted, and she waved a hand. "Sorry, sorry."
"Well, the clues are all there, and the motives are obvious." I said in a 'duh' voice.
"You sure you're not channeling Bats?" Sheila asked with a grin as she put the receipt in as a bookmark and handed it back to me. I pushed it back, and said, "Merry Early Christmas. Read it, and see if I'm right."
"What do you win if you're right?"
"A favor to be named later?" I said with a grin. "You got somewhere else to go? We're going to be up late tonight, so I'd like to get back and get a nap. Then I'll show you how to commit felony burglary on your own office."
Sheila put the book in one of her bags, and said, "I've got everything I need. Do you think black jeans and a top will work tonight?" She took a slurp of her coffee, then picked up her coat and tossed me mine.
"Should be fine." I shrugged into my coat and finished my tea, tossing the empty cup in a bin.
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I skritched my claws on Sheila's door, and said, "Meow." I heard a distracted "Come in." and entered to find Sheila still in her bra and panties, reading the damn novel. I flicked Selina's whip, cracking it next to her ear, and she jumped.
"You never did take a nap, did you?" I hissed. She shook her head, and I said with a sigh, "Ok. It's your first time; I'll forgive you. Get changed. Black panties and a sport bra, black jeans, and a black turtleneck. No jewelry. Black boots. Hair goes in a bun. Five minutes." I shifted my leather satchel against my side and rechecked my equipment. :: Damn, I wish I had a utility belt. ::
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I drove the motorcycle, Sheila pressed hard against my back. We stopped at a light, and I pressed the microphone switch. "Am I right yet?"
"About what? Oh, the novel? I'm on page two hundred and something, and I still think it's the chambermaid and the gardener."
"Nope. Five bucks says I'm right." I revved the engine, ignoring the car full of teenage boys next to us.
"You're on… n… n… n!" Sheila said as the light changed, and I peeled out, losing the teenagers and almost losing Sheila.
I pulled into an alleyway, and killed the engine. Sheila got off and staggered around a bit, then did some stretching to loosen up. I put the helmets on the bike, then armed the bike's alarms and said, "Come on."
"Why did we stop here? We're a good six blocks from my office."
"Eight, actually. You don't park in the lot of the building you're burglarizing. Come on." I took a few steps, then jumped and pulled down the ladder for the fire escape. I held it, then said, "Unless you'd prefer climbing up the drainpipe?"
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"You want me to JUMP across? Are you insane?" Sheila whispered.
"Why not? It's only ten feet or so. It's not far." I said.
"If you're Supergirl. I'm not. And it's fifteen stories DOWN."
I gave her a dirty look and snorted, "Supergirl. Some people get the job done without an extra gene or a fancy ring, or being from another planet. Look, I thought you wanted to see how I did things. This is how. I'll go first, and I'll catch you, okay? Running jump. Just like boot camp."
"I was young and stupid in boot camp. Okay, if you promise to catch me."
I made the sign over my left breast. "Cross my heart. Watch me. Just a plain and simple jump."
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"Need anything out of your office?" I asked, doing a handstand on the edge of the roof.
"My heart medicine." Sheila panted. "I thought I was in good shape."
"You are, for a office worker. You're … adequate for what I do for a living." I backflipped over to stand next to her, and walked on the edge of the roof over to another side. I glanced over, then silently walked over to where Sheila sat on an air conditioning vent. I put my finger to my lips, and motioned to her to follow me. We walked over to where Ivy and Harley were stringing up the gang members from light poles, using Ivy's vines to suspend them over the street. My eyes glittered behind my mask, and I moved away. Sheila watched for a minute longer, then joined me.
"They look … different somehow. Smaller. I don't know."
"Well, Ivy did say that she was going to take some un-necessary bits of flesh and blood. Who knows what she did?" I heard their vans engine start, and it pulled away, leaving the scene quiet again. Sheila went to take another look, and turned around, running into the Bat.
"Ms. Hawking." The gravelly voice said. "Taking up burglary as a second income?"
"No, I, um … " She staggered back, and he caught her.
"Oh, Bats, grow a sense of humor. She's with me." I purred.
"Catwoman. Have you been walking the straight and narrow?" He rasped.
"Bats, you're going to bust me for a parking ticket?" I chuckled.
"Since you're admitting to it." With a quick motion, he had my hands bound behind me, and my ankles shackled. I struggled to sit up, and he growled, "No leniency for any violations of your bond. You're going to Blackgate this time."
Sheila gaped. "You've got to be kidding. She's been with me the whole day. She hasn't broken one single law."
His mouth twitched, and I chuckled. "Sheila, you've just seen what passes with Bats for a joke. I admit, it's not much of one, but it's all you're going to get." I addressed Bats. "To make it up to me, you can give us a tour of your famous cave. Otherwise, I'm going to scream sexual assault by the big, bad, Bat."
"No, you won't." With a quick motion, he stuffed a gag in my mouth. He looked at Sheila. "I don't trust her. We've fought too many times." He paused, thinking, then said, "I'll give you a tour. We'll leave Catwoman here. I'll secure her to the ladder so she won't escape."
"No. Both of us, or neither of us. Sel … Catwoman can be trusted." I muffled my agreement. Bats thought about it then told Sheila "Stay here." He hoisted me over his shoulder, and with a muffled scream from me, stepped off the roof.
### Chapter 20: Of Burglary and Bats
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