Walking into the mall, Hay-lin felt all eyes weigh down upon them with mistrust and detest, almost as if they knew their intentions.
No hats and hoodies were allowed inside the store which made ducking CCTV quite a challenge. With that knowledge, Will wore a hoodie on her first visit inside the store to scope out and artfully dodge the cameras. Until she was scolded by the assistant there, that is.
As stated before, everything had to run like clockwork and everyone had to know their roles.
With James Bond style synchronized watches, Will would enter the store first and, a minute behind, Hay-lin would follow.
Already weaving her way to friendly terms with the assistant behind the counter, Will and the assistant were in casual conversation when Hay-lin walked in, avoiding the cameras, and skulked towards the back of the store.
"May I see this one again?" Will asked, politely.
The necklace they were after was called the Rosepelt. It was a gorgeous pattern of blue and silver crystals placed in an Egyptian-style pattern, though the piece looked far from an antique model. It was modern, classy and breath-taking all at the same time.
…Yet Principal Knickerbocker was to wear it…
Hay-lin began enquiring about their ring collection and, being the only assistant around, the woman foolishly left Will with the Rosepelt in her hands while going to Hay-lin's aid.
Out of the corner of her eye, Will saw the guard call to someone outside the store and trudge after them. Ten seconds later, Will bolted.
Alarms started screaming. The assistant started shouting and screeching every obscenity and everything seemed to go at double speed.
Before she even realized it, Hay-lin began dashing after Will, the slightly large guard being outrun with ease.
The first leg of running went without a hitch. Adrenaline aiding stamina and speed tenfold, they cleared the first set of stairs in double time.
Now, they had to dart off the stairwell and cut through the first floor of Macey's down the stairs and on to the ground floor. The sound of their own crashing footsteps and the pummelling beating of their hearts drowned out the noise of any approaching guards.
Taranee's position was the least risky. She was the lookout. Her job was to blend in on the first floor and watch out for any authority-type threats.
As Hay-lin and Will were running through the women's clothing department, they got the dreaded telepathic message, "Guys, there might be a problem…"
None of them had to pry further, for they found out themselves only a few moments later.
Out of Macey's, Hay-lin and Will sprinted for their pre-determined exit but stopped abruptly a little way back from the door. Four uniformed officers were hovering by the exit, one on his radio. The call ended and two re-entered the mall.
The two girls panicked inside but went straight to their back-up exit, the underground parking lot.
Every time they cased the joint, no cops. The one day they need an all clear it's like there's a doughnut giveaway in town.
They expected at least a little window of buffer time before Law and Order: Hartford showed up. This was not good at all.
From across the way, Taranee saw their redirection, followed soon after by a set of lawmen, and freaked out. Like an uncomposed idiot, she sprinted off… in the same direction as the pursuit. However, she never made it far for the first corner she rounded she ran headlong into a tall, bulky officer.
"You're going somewhere in an awful hurry, ma'am," …was the taunting version of the Miranda Rights.
Taranee screamed in his face and, survival instincts kicking in, sprinted in the other direction.
"Guys…" she telepathically panted, "I'm running…"
Will peered over her shoulder to where the two policemen were in close pursuit, then to her left where three more were coming. The deal was sealed when their final escape path through the video store in the distance was being guarded by two uniformed officers.
Cornered, Will knew they were finished. That sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach was already making her feeling sick, churning with regret. It happened every time she got arrested before.
She couldn't help the situation now; the only thing she could control was the fact she refused to get arrested by force.
Slowing to a halt, Will let her bag drop from her shoulders to the ground. She sank to her knees and, with an empty gaze, put her hands behind her head.
Noticing this and the enclosing policemen, Hay-lin screeched, "What are you doing?!"
"It's over Hay-lin," Will sighed, looked to the ground in front of her. "Accept that."
Hay-lin jittered in place, darting in a very small radius across the floor in front of her. Her hands were shaking. Closer and closer the officers came, sneering victoriously.
Seconds before they were in actual grabbing distance, Hay-lin gave a low, frustrated whine and fell to her knees, wincing as they bruised themselves on the cold marble floor.
She turned to Will, but Will wasn't looking back. She wasn't looking at anything in particular. Hay-lin clenched her fists and mimicked Will's position, suddenly feeling self-conscious above all things about how ridiculous the pair looked right now.
Officers cuffed them both and dragged them to their feet, leading them away. Hay-lin couldn't see Will's face but she assumed it was plastered with the same dread and fear as her own, and even if she didn't show it, it would be present inwardly.
In truth, Will's expression bore no emotion. She just walked silently in thought. There was nothing she could do now.
"Relax," Will tried in vain to calm everyone down. "We're not in California and we'll be tried as minors. These strikes won't be carried forward to adulthood."
Irma mumbled, "Yeah, thank goodness for the Democrats of Connecticut."
"But we'll get a record!" Taranee whimpered, shaking with dread. "We won't get into college, we'll be expelled from school, never get a job and-"
Will turned Taranee to face her and held tightly onto her shoulders, trying to stop her shaking. "Tara, Tara listen to me. You're going to be fine, okay?"
Taranee gulped. "O-Okay..."
"Look officer, there's something you gotta know," Will began, fidgeting about in her chair.
"The shoplifting thing was purely on me and Irma. These guys had nothing to do with it."
Hay-lin's eyes bugged out but Will telepathically butted in before she could object. "Keep quiet. I can keep you guys out of this. You don't need to go down for this or get a record. Trust me."
Irma caught Will's game, adding, "I was supposed to distract the guard while Will was supposed to take the necklace."
Will nodded. "We were going to trade it in for cash. We told these two we were looking for a gift for my Mom and nothing more."
"In an expensive jewellery shop?" the officer enquired, suspiciously.
Will shrugged. "Why not?"
The officer stared shiftily at the supposed innocent party. "You corroborate all this?"
Hesitantly, the pair nodded.
Slyly, the officer countered, "Then why did you run?"
Hay-lin responded in an emotionless tone, "I heard the alarms. I saw my friend run. I saw the police and panicked."
Taranee said, "I was across the mall when I saw the cops and ran to see what the deal was. I wasn't thinking straight and just kept running."
Will enquired, "Why were their so many cops anyway? I didn't bet on their being the entire force then when I was scoping out the store."
"A young man tried to hold up Louis V Diamonds not fifteen minutes before you pulled your stunt," the officer informed.
Irma grumbled, "Figures…"
"Anyway," Will continued, "We're guilty. Can you just get on with the chargy-thing already?"
After staring the four down for another few moments, the officer silently left the room.
Hay-lin was the first to speak, "You guys, I-"
Will shushed her, so Hay-lin continued telepathically, "That was great for you to do that for us. Really. Thank you."
Will smiled sadly and said, "No sense in all of us going down, right?"
The officer walked back in, armed with an ominous clipboard and a newly acquired malicious smile. "Miss Vandom, Miss Lair, you never told me you were on probation."
Will's heart sank.
"A criminal record for the both of you and probation. Well, a third degree theft felony is still a felony. That's a probation violation."
Will and Irma exchanged a glance, gulping.
He turned his attention to the other two. "Miss Lin, Miss Cook, you're going to be charged with a ban from South Hartford mall and a formal police warning, understood?"
Hay-lin and Taranee exchanged a glance, then silently nodded.
"Miss Vandom, Miss Lair," the officer continued, "Due to your previous police records, you're offered a choice between a $1000 fine each or thirty five days in the county juvenile correctional facility."
"What?!" Irma exclaimed, shooting up from her chair.
Hay-lin and Taranee's faces fell into a hopeless blank expression as Will said, "There is no way we can come up with that sort of money."
The guard explained, "If you choose the fine, you'll have seven days to pay, otherwise the court will also charge your parents or guardians with the possibility of incarceration."
Will and Irma held each other's gaze, praying for someone to jump in with an actual 'get out of jail free card'. Sadly, no-one did, and after agonizing moments of baited breath, Will begrudgingly declared, "We'll take the thirty five days then..."
The officer started to move to take the pair away, but Hay-lin darted between them and exclaimed, "Stop!" she began to panic. "You can't take them away!"
"Move aside, Miss Lin," the officer ordered, firmly.
Hay-lin didn't budge.
"Move aside Hay-lin," Will's voice was hollow and low. "Otherwise it'll be obstruction of justice."
Hay-lin stared the guard down coldly for a few more moments before relenting and letting him past.
"N-No, wait," she halted him again. "What they said was a lie," she declared. "I'm the reason we shoplifted. It's a long story, but I'm the one to blame here. They said that stuff just to protect me. I'm not letting them go to jail for something I did."
"No that's wrong also," it was Taranee's turn to pipe up.
Leaning backwards, Will hissed, "What are you doing?!"
"Hey, we're Guardians," Taranee stated, coolly, "We fly together, we die together."
To the officer, she boldly declared, "The shoplifting was my idea. If you wanna blame anyone, blame me."
The officer sighed, rubbed the bridge of his nose and placed the clipboard underneath his arm. "I'm going to assume this touching claim of guilt is actually admittance that you are all responsible here?"
None of the girls said anything.
"Well alright then," the officer examined his clipboard once more. "Miss Vandom, Miss Lair, the charges still stand. Miss Cook, Miss Lin, now you are also charged with shoplifting, evading arrest and lying to a police officer."
Hay-lin gulped, feeling their time add up.
"Due to this being your first offence, you'll get off a little lighter than your friends. However, it is store policy to prosecute shoplifters. You can either be charged with a $400 fine each or fourteen days in the county juvenile correctional facility?"
Hay-lin instantly answered, "We'll take the fourteen days."
Taranee, though hesitant, concurred.