Anthony tugged the rope tighter, wincing at the rough material rubbing his arm raw. Peering out over the highest part of the bell tower, he checked to see if there were any guards around the area at the moment.
"Must've dozed off..." He had memorized their patterns, could document all of their shift changes, and even named them all based on their looks and attitudes.
With no one in sight, he took one last frightful look behind him, as if almost convincing himself that this was a bad idea.
But are those not always the best ideas?
Like a thief in the night, Anthony leaped out and rappelled down the beautifully detailed walls of the cathedral. He held his breath, it seemed, the entire time, as if that would make him invisible for anyone who would have happened to look up.
To his dismay, the rope was about twenty feet too short to make a safe [and more importantly, quiet] landing.
"Shit..." He looked around and swung his body over to the side of the building. He untied himself little by little, as he crept down like a cat, then finally...
To say it felt odd to be outside on a paved road would not be that accurate. He felt like he was committing a crime...or the one who committed that heinous crime ten years ago would immediately seal his doom as punishment for breaking the one rule made to him by Thanos.
Anthony felt so guilty. How could he betray the man who saved his life? The man who gave him a home...the man who always had his best interest and never not once judged him for the way he looked...
A small crash was heard a few blocks away, and it made him jump. He ran into the shadows, trying to take it all in.
It all looked so different down here...so much bigger!
On he went through the alleys, the backroads, the shortcuts he had mentally mapped out after years of silent observation.
Just imagine being here during the day!
Footsteps were quickly approaching, and Anthony quickly climbed up onto a rooftop, wondering what could be going on this late at night when Paris slept.
"Goose!" A frantic whisper hissed through the night.
He saw a cat run by, and a woman trying to catch up.
"Goose! No!" She watched as the cat jumped onto a food stand, sniffing around for a late night snack. She took a second to catch her breath and laughed quietly. "What? The food I provide for you is not good enough?" The cat licked his lips to make his point, and she leaned against the wall and let the cat be. "That's your only one, and then we have to get back."
Anthony watched them do nothing for a while, and his curiosity got the best of them, so he followed them from up above, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. He wanted to see where and how these gypsies lived.
He envied them so much, as they could come and go as they please.
"You know there's a curfew in this town, gypsy..."
Anthony's stomach flipped as he was helpless to what was about to happen.
The woman turned around and met the eyes of Minister Thanos.
"I was unaware, your honor..." She smirked. "Besides, I was trying to catch the real culprit of this night..." She motioned behind her, but looked to find no cat. "Obviously, he learned his lesson...it won't happen again..."
She pivoted to walk away.
"I wasn't finished speaking..." Thanos closed in on her a little, but she held her ground. "This is my town, these people are under my protection, and I will take care of any threat that comes their way..."
She hummed. "I see, well, you are doing a fine job with this city."
"Are you mocking me, gypsy?"
"I have a name, you know..."
"A name is earned by honest work and good intentions, something I'm not sure your kind have ever heard of before..."
"How dare you..." She stepped forward into his personal space, chin defiantly high. "You don't know a thing about me...you don't deserve to..." She spat at his feet, and walked away.
"How dare you defy me!" He wiped the spit off his face and laughed. "Mark my words, gypsy, you will pay for this insolence..." He threatened.
Anthony was frozen in fear, watching as Thanos went off into the darkness.