Slipping on a black, long-sleeved shirt, Casey studied himself in a mirror. First word that came to mind:
NINJA!
He snickered at himself. All black attire? Check. Black, non-squeaky shoes? Check. Lock pick? Check. Mask? Check. Gloves? Check. Hermione's locket? Check. Casey glanced up at his hair, the only thing anyone could ever recognize him by. Maybe a hat....a ski cap? Nah. He glanced at his bedroom door. Walking over to it, he opened it enough so he could easily see down the hall to the stairs and then over to his mother's closed door where sounds of his not-so-quiet slumber were emitted. He closed his own door and for a moment, slumped against it.
This is wrong.
Three words. Eleven letters. One meaning: you are going against everything you know, were taught, and currently believe in. To that, he had two reactions.
Casey's rational side: STOP! Stop it RIGHT NOW! Stop this madness while you're ahead!
Casey's rebellious side: Woo-hoo! Go out there and actually have FUN! Break some rules! And maybe some hearts whlie you're at it, eh?
Casey pushed himself off the door and headed for the window. He pushed it up as slowly and as quietly as he could. No sounds was made except the small swish of his movements. A good sign. He slid the window open the rest of the way. Poking his head out, he could feel the cool breeze ever-so-slightly gracing against his skin. He took a deep breath and continued out of his room.
"Left arm, left leg," he murmered to himself, "swing right left over...right left, right arm..." Casey's pulse quickened. Bracing himself, he managed to keep his grip with his left hand steady on the edge of the window sill and then reached up with his right arm to slowly close it. Then he fumbled around in his pocket for the key that locked his window, placed it in the keyhole and turned it. It locked with a small click and Casey let out the breath he had been holding.
Then he slowly made his decent down the trellis, trying to be as light as possible so he wouldn't rip the ivy vines his mother liked to show off. Finally, when he was a good jumping distance from the ground, he dropped, metting the grass on all fours like a cat. Then he stood, lightly brushed himself off and ducked into the shadows.
Now he was running. Out of the corner of his eye, he was houses, fancy cars and large, green hedges, only slightly paying attention to those things. It was roughly 11:00 and completely dark. It was pitch black outside and the only light came from the faint glow of the stars. However, even they were covered by a cover of gray clouds. Casey had run along way. Hermione's home was a good half-dozen blocks away from his, even though it was only a ten minute drive by limo...five on Sundays because of light traffic and only after the local curch service was over.
Finally, he had reached his destination. 24 Pickett Way, home of James, Romilda, and Hermione Ranchoff. He walked up to the gate. It couldn't be open. That'd be way to easy. He tried it anyway and it swung open like an unlocked door. He glared at the barrier and then walked right in. Making his way around the various rose bushes, statues and mini fountain, he approached the house, which looked even bigger at night. He looked around for a ladder of some sort. He walked around to the back of the house, hoping for better luck there. His gaze darted around a bit before it settled on a small extention of the large mansion. Casey tiptoed to a window and peered inside. Plants and flowers greeted him. They were in pots, vases and hanging from the ceiling. He stepped away from the green house. Directly four above it, he noticed, was a series of four windows, maybe five or six feet apart from each other. And what luck! Right below the windows was a plank of wood that was being held up by pillars!
Bingo.
He studied the green house. Taking an estimate, it was probably ten feet high or so. He went to one of the windows. He noticed it was also unlocked like the front gate. He carefully manuvered his way inside. He looked around and saw a ladder that led up to a door that was evidently on the roof. Was it just him, or did the house want Casey to do this? He shrugged to himself and began his accent up the ladder. When he reached the top, he noticed the door that led up to the roof was locked. Not surprising. He reached for his set of lock picks and easily popped open the door. He hoisted himself up and out of the green house and onto the roof. He managed to climb onto the plank that was below the windows and crawled along it. He looked inside the first one. Ne couldn't see anything. He pressed his ear to the window.
He heard a woman giggle and then groan in pleasure.
"Oh yes," she said.
"Keep going baby," a man replied.
Casey quickly drew back. Then he suddered, rather disturbed, and crawled along the plank, trying to push the thought of Hermione's parents making love out of his mind. He then came to the next window and prayed that he wouldn't find anything else...well, disturbing.
The sight of a desk, computer and office chair greeted him, along with book shelves and a large globe. Disappointed and somewhat relieved, he crawled to the next one only to find some exercise machines and one of those yoga balls. Finally crawling to the last window, he fond was he was looking for.
A sleeping Hermione was curled up in bed. Next to her bed, was a night stand with a book, water glass and an alarm clock. He checked the window. It was already open, presumably to let in some of the spring air. Opening it further, he slid easily inside her room. He slinked around in the shadows a bit, searching for the best spot to return the locket. Desk? Nope. Dresser? Uh how 'bout not? The...mirror thing? A...vanity, right? Get to know female furniture damnit! Maybe. The night stand was too obvious, he decided.
Vanity it is then! he thought, lightly making his way towards it and carefully placed it next to a bottle of purfume. Very quietly, he went back to the window and exited the way he came, only pausing when Hermione shifted in her sleep. Returning the window to its original position (a half inch above the sill) and made his decent back to the safety of the soft grass that awaited him on the ground.
Landing once again like a cat, he disappeared into the shadows once more and came out on the other side of the Ranchoff gate. Feeling extremely satisfied, he rushed back home. Scrambling back up to his own window, he unlocked it, quickly undressed, shoved his "ninja" outfit under his bed and burrowed under his covers.
His heart was still pounding wildly and the adrenaline was still pulsing madly through his body.
What a rush! was his final thought before his eyes slowly closed, blurring out the digital, red numbers on his alarm clock.
It was almost one a.m.
A/n: Thus ends Casey/Red-X's first unofficial "break in!" Wow that was fun to write....and it wasn't all dialogue either! YAY!
Hm...I AM aware that what Casey does 70% of the time is going against a standard moral code, but then again, he is basically Red-X, or at least, my version of him. And if anything, Red-X knows that what he's doing is against the law, but he does it anyway, no? But then again, he's Red-X.
Can't argue there!
Sorry for the long-ish wait. School's a bitch some times...actually, biology's a bitch, but that's besides the point. Cough.
Next chapter: Casey wants more of that rush. That rush is going to start turning into a drug for him. And he'll do anything to get that feeling again...another plan starts forming in his head...and he'll fallow through with it...even if it means hacking and breaking into one of the most respected places he knows: Titans' Tower.
