I own nothing and no one

This week we have some previews

for future installments of PoaT

Hope you enjoy

PoaT: Psyche's Day Off

Officer Thomson paused, his pen half way in the air as he stared at the sight in disbelief. Then, he cleared his throat. "Um, Inspector."

"Yeah," Nakamori answered, not looking up from the coffee pot. It was times like this he envied that stupid thief. He didn't have to fill out reports on his heists after the fact.

"Don't look now, but isn't that Rei's cat?"

Ginzo's head whipped around. Dark eyes focusing on the small gray creature. It was. Carefully setting down his cup, the inspector signaled his men. They couldn't exactly arrest an animal. Still, it would be nice to force the kaitou to come to them for once, instead of the other way around.

From all indications, Psyche was totally unaware of their stealthy approach. Daintily cleaning one paw as she sat on the edge of the Inspector's desk.

"One," Nakamori mouthed holding up a single finger. "Two," the taskforce got a little closer. "Three!" En masse, the group lunged. It was a familiar tactic, dog-pile on the bandit. Or in this case, the bandit's pet. It worked just as well too.

Regal as any queen, Psyche trotted down the man-made hill. Deliberately stepping on exposed faces as she went. Ignoring the protests from the men as they struggled to untangle themselves. Serves them right for thinking she was some simple animal.

Effortlessly the familiar sprang up to the open window. Pausing to look back over her shoulder. A cheshire grin spreading over her features, at least that is what the taskforce would claim after the fact. Chaos, confusion, her work here was done.

PoaT: Brothers in Arms

"Click." For such a small thing, the sound of the gun being cocked was ominously loud. Matters were not helped along by the ugly expression of the man wielding the weapon.

Kaito wasn't overly worried for himself. Not only was he wearing the best body armor money couldn't buy, but he could be clear from the line of fire in a split second. A judiciously applied smokescreen would give him significantly more time then that. The police officers standing behind him however, had no such assurances. The phantom thief did not move.

"What are you going to do now boy?" Snake taunted. It was obvious the assassin had never read Peter's Evil Overlord List. Otherwise he would have known better. "All out of tricks?"

"Don't be ridiculous," the white-clad figure waved off his nemesis' pseudo-concern. "I always have a plan." Several of them to be honest. "In this case, my plan is to scream like a little girl."

For a single moment, both sides held similar expressions. What the hell? Had the thief finally lost it?

Then Rei opened his mouth. "Yuki!"

PoaT: Thirty Minutes

There was a brief silence, during which the shrunken detective's mind quickly put the pieces together. "Shit," he swore. It wasn't exactly Shinichi's habit to curse, but the current situation seemed to warrant it. "So that's what happened to the Kaitou Kid."

"He is not lying on a beach in Bora Bora," Rei said silkily, voice slightly bitter. "That's for sure."

The other opened his mouth. Working up the nerve to apologize for his previous words. However, the thief didn't give him the chance.

"And those bastards didn't stop there either," the thief murmured. His bright blue eyes fixed on a distant point only he could see. Visions of blood and flames dancing behind the mask he showed the world. "His partner, his wife. I'm the only one left."

Then the moment was over and Rei grinned, his usual equilibrium restored. "Of course," he admitted freely buffing his fingernails on the fabric of his jacket before holding them out to admire. "They tried to kill me too." He paused briefly. "But that is neither here nor there."

Random Omake

Inspector Ginzo Nakamori glowered at the second bane of his existence. Paperwork. In all honesty, there were times when he seriously considered whether or not they had begun to breed. Sighing, the man pulled the pile towards him. There was no help for it, and the sooner he started the sooner he would be finished.

Until that is his secretary dumped a new bunch on his desk. Something that never seemed to take as long as the officer thought it should. Ginzo sighed again, reaching for the first paper on the stack.

Let's see, there was a response from his boss about a request for some of the departments more advanced surveillance equipment. Thankfully a favorable one. An inter-office memo about the annual Christmas party. One letter of complaint from the owner of a certain gemstone which was immediately dumped in the trash. The Inspector didn't understand why the guy was so upset. He had gotten the diamond back, hadn't he?

Then there was the consultation from a professional magician the taskforce sometimes employed to unravel Rei's latest escapades and another from a jeweler. Confirming that yes, the ruby the kaitou had turned his nose up at had indeed been a forgery. Not to mention the ballistics report that had been forwarded from Forensics. Nakamori didn't especially care for people taking potshots at his thief. That one was placed in his lap for further contemplation.

Hold on, Ginzo's brow furrowed as he pulled the next paper free. What was this? It looked like a standard Request of Leave form. But why hadn't the officer just spoken to him about it? A more thorough examination showed why. It was from Rei. Each box neatly and accurately filled out, explaining that the thief would be out of town (if not the country) for the next month and a half. Under reasons the words familial responsibilities had been printed.

Nakamori felt his brow twitch. Hands convulsively tightening around the sheet before he forced himself to let go. It wouldn't do to destroy evidence. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to set it carefully to one side. Only to swear viciously when he saw what was beneath it. A travel brochure, along with two plane tickets to Paris, France.