Dario really hated this. Jobs were usually nasty and unpleasant, I mean, he was aware of this when he signed up for the entire bandit package, but he really felt like a complete piece of slime doing this particular job. He stroked his bearded chin in dismay, the fire lit streetlights casting his body in flickering shadows. Why couldn't Romero have done it? He liked this kind of thing, and Dario inattentively wondered if Ravendor had selected for this job for the simple reason that he did hate things like this.
Humphrey's Peak was quiet in the early cloudy night, it's citizens long having gone home for dinner and sleep. The streets were vacant and empty, the bandit standing under a light and feeling very sorry for himself. He counted on his fingers the number of houses he had passed, working out his location in his head. Dario had never been here before, and he didn't want to get lost, because if he did accomplish his mission, he had to get away as fast as possible.
Alright… it's the house with the blue roof… blue roof, remember…
He peeked at the tops of the houses, darkness making it difficult to discern any colours at all. One roof was darker than the others, and by severe squinting, he saw it was a vivid blue colour. Dario smiled happily and snuck over to the building, tipping his cowboy hat forward to hide his face.
Just break in quietly, swipe the kid and leave without sayin' a word…
He pressed himself up against the wall and edged along at a snail's pace, an utterly pointless manoeuvre because nobody was there to spot him anyway. He found himself at a window, the curtains drawn and closed. No light shone within, so Dario made the assumption that the family inside had gone to bed already.
As a test, the bandit tapped the glass of the window and ducked out of the way, trying to see if anyone would notice. Nothing happened. He breathed a sigh of relief and felt all the tension inside him evaporate.
"Hello."
Dario almost had a heart attack. He jumped about a metre into the air, yelping in alarm. The pavement broke his fall, and he landed there, rubbing his lower back painfully. "W-Who goes there?" He stuttered, glancing around in the darkness.
A little blonde girl stepped into the streetlight, smiling angelically. She had a colourful book under one small arm, hair tied up with blue ribbons. With the innocence of a child, she showed absolutely no fear to the bandit sitting in the street, but then again, Dario wasn't really that frightening to begin with. "I go here," She said, playing to the structure of Dario's demand, "Mister, are you lost?"
Yes! Lady Luck was with him tonight! This must be the little girl he had been looking for, practically throwing herself into his custody! But, he had to act nice and non-threatening, put on a farce until he could get a good chance to grab her. He set up what he hoped was a sincere grin, muttering; "Nope. I'm just… um… going for a walk. What's your name, little girl?"
"Kaitlyn," She replied openly, beaming. "Spelled with a K, not a C." Kaitlyn skipped over to the front porch, illuminated by a streetlight. She sat down and put the book in her lap, opening it to a dog-eared page.
"Oh, you must be a smart little girl, Kaitlyn." Said Dario, stretching the false smile. "What are you doing out here so late?"
She frowned in a cute manner, pouting. "Mama makes me go to bed too early, so's I sneak out here after she's asleep to read my books. See?" She held up her copy of 'Wind in the Willows', a picture of a toad in a bright red car printed across the cover.
Yeah, this is definitely the kid…
Now, all he had to do was find an opportune time to strike. Ravendor would be pleased at this, having accomplished his mission so early. Yet, Dario still had a bad turning feeling in his stomach, what little morals that remained inside him causing ample irritation. Dario edged away from the spotlights, putting his hands behind his back as he took two objects out of his pocket, a handkerchief and a small vial of fluid. He dripped a few drops of the liquid on the hanky, stuffing the items back into his pockets.
Kaitlyn sneezed, the cold outside getting under her skin. She wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve, sniffing. Dario saw his chance. He stepped over to the girl and offered her his hanky inoffensively, mentally kicking himself for what he had to do.
She took the piece of cloth, holding it near her face, but drew it away, looking at it strangely. "It smells funny…" She announced to the bandit standing too close for comfort. It reminded her of the stuff her father used to clean his ARM.
"That's because it's chloroform!" Replied Dario, smacking a hand to her face and pressing the cloth to her mouth. Kaitlyn's eyes widened in panic, but she could not cry out for any kind of help. Dario held her down as the chemicals began to take effect in the little girl's system, her body going slack. He let a few moments pass, making sure that she was indeed knocked out. Kaitlyn eyes closed as she lost her grip on reality, her precious book falling to the pavement from limp fingers.
"Hey, ya actually done somethin' right!" Exclaimed Romero, emerging from the shadows. Romero was the only one in their group who didn't use ARMs, he preferred the path of the ninja better. Because of this, Romero could move practically undetected from place to place. His personality mirrored his behaviour, sneaky and underhanded spinelessness.
Dario hooked his arm around the little girl, blonde strands of hair dangling to the ground. He lifted her effortlessly, she was very light. "Right, this is the lowest thing we ever done." He said, shaking his head.
"Eh, it's just a brat." Retorted Romero, scratching his scarred eye. "C'mon, the Boss is waitin' for us." He turned on his heel, shoving his hands in his pockets and strutted away like he owned the entire town, a smirk of personal gratification on his lips. Dario reluctantly followed him, kicking Kaitlyn's book to the side, pages going askew as it rested under a tree, opening to a page with Kaitlyn's name written neatly in the corner.
"'Might be a brat, but it's just a kid…" He muttered, disgruntled.
Ravendor demurely waited at a lamppost, watching his cigarette draw trails of grey smoke in the air. His bright green eyes fixed on the two lackeys approaching, smiling elegantly. It seemed that they weren't as useless as he had previously expected.
"Ah, excellent, fellows." He brushed back his long dark ponytail, shining in the artificial light. "Now that the child is in our custody, we may leave."
"But, uh…" Stammered Dario, intimidated by the intense presence of his boss, "Do we really hafta do this? Ain't there no other way?"
Surprising Dario greatly, Ravendor did not seem perturbed by his questioning of their plan. The bearded bandit thought that he must have a fuse a mile long, very different to Janus by a long shot. "Dear Dario," He purred, "Can you think of a better technique to attract these outlaws?"
"Well, I-"
Ravendor cut him off. "The Winslett family is the most defenceless of all the family ties this criminal entourage bears. I am merely thinking logically." He idly removed a sealed envelope from the folds of his clothing, sealed with wax and addressed to the Winslett household in a calligraphic text. He passed it to Romero who looked like he didn't know what to do with it. "Leave this on their doorstep." Ravendor instructed, "It is time we took our leave."
Romero nodded and melted into the shadows, the gentle sound of footfalls upon grass sounding. Dario rearranged Kaitlyn to a position that would be more comfortable for both of them, the girl's legs no longer sweeping the ground.
"We should lay low, I guess." Said Dario, shifting his weight from foot to foot glumly.
"Naturally." Answered Ravendor genially, tapping ash onto the ground. "I have selected an ideal location for our use. Do not fret, my friend, you will be much wealthier before long."
Romero reappeared, without the envelope. "'Kay, I'm done. Let's go."
The leader smirked, thinking dark thoughts. "We should expect a retaliation in the next few days. I severely doubt they will accept the inevitable quietly." He chuckled, dropping his cigarette and crushing it underfoot.
The team of bandits briskly left the town with one of it's citizens in their custody. When the sun would break over the horizon, Kaitlyn's absence would soon be noted, and then who knew what would happen?
They would just have to wait and see.