Okay so here's chapter 3! I know I'm just flying these things out it's pretty intense and I'm really into it. I wish Garrett was real because I have a real life crush on him. I'm going to go sulk now.
Chapter 3: The First 'Job'
Alia wrung her hands nervously as she looked at her window. Night was approaching fast and soon Garrett would tap on her window and the first night of the rest of her life was going to begin. She decided that she couldn't wait anymore and climbed onto the roof herself. The wind whipped her hair away from her face as she looked around for a good place to wait without being seen. The chimney about four rooms down cast a decent shadow, even with the remaining light from the sunset. She walked over there quietly and sat down, keeping her face towards the direction she thought he would be coming from. It was an absolutely random guess but that's really all she had at the time.
As the sun gave up its last rays she saw Garrett moving swiftly through the rooftops, getting closer by the second. She watched him in wonder, his movements were fluid like water and she hoped that one day she would be that graceful. She quietly observed him as he crouched down by her window and tapped it softly. She stifled a giggle as she wondered what he would be thinking when she didn't answer. He tapped again, this time a little harder. He was getting annoyed. Pursing her lips, she gave a short whistle like a songbird. She saw him turn in her direction and even though the distance prevented her from seeing his features in detail, she could almost tell by his posture that he was scowling at her. As usual.
He stood up straight and walked over to her, the wind whipped his cloak around him. "At least you have the sense enough not to sit in the open."
She beamed at the praise and jumped up. "So what are we doing first?" Her heart would have burst out of her chest if her ribs weren't there to stop it. She watched his eyes roll from beneath his hood.
"We have to get you fitted first. You can't run around in civilian clothes. That's part of the reason why you're so loud. You don't have the right equipment. We need to see Basso." He started to walk away and she stayed close behind him. As they reached the end of the building he turned his head over his shoulder. "Do you think you can keep up?"
She smirked. "Watch me."
There was no way in hell she could keep up with him, but she thought she was doing pretty good for her first try. He had jumped down off the roof and she tried to follow his pattern but he was too fast for her. She tried to stay hidden as best as possible, but she knew one or two people had to have seen her running through alleys and climbing up the side of buildings. She tailed him all the way to an old tavern in the south quarter. Garett had stopped on a large, flat rooftop across the street, it had ample hiding places from the chimneys and power pylons that littered it. She came up behind his crouched form and fell to her knees behind him, breathing heavily but trying her best to stay quiet. He cast a sideways glance at her and from under his cowl he could tell he was smirking at her.
"Watch me." He said with a scoff, mocking her.
She straightened up, knowing her face was red from exerting herself. "Well what was I going to say? 'No let's get a rickshaw and take in the sights on the way?'" She said between breaths. She saw him roll his eyes at her and turn his attention to the building.
"Basso is in there."
She crept up closer to the edge by him to get a closer look. "Okay?" She looked at him confused. Was she supposed to go in by herself or..?
"We're going to scare him." He said simply.
She stared at him with her eyes wide. "We're going to scare your friend? That knows we're coming?" She was confused and the way Garrett was looking at her made her feel stupid. She could feel her face getting hot from embarrassment.
"Yes, he knows we're coming. That's the point. I want you to sneak in there with him looking for you. And I want you to spook him. If you can do that then maybe you're not hopeless." He threw that last part in with a criticizing glance.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You just said I was ill-equipped. I think you're setting me up to fail, Master Thief." His gaze told her that he didn't really care, so her only choice was to do what he asked. And she needed to succeed or Alia felt that he truly would drop her as his student, and she was determined not to fail on her first night. She stood up and scanned the building across the street. There was more than one way to get in there. There were plenty of windows, and she thought she saw a skylight tucked away in a dip in the ceiling. But she didn't even know where in the building Basso was, hell she didn't even know what he looked like. Garrett rose and purposely shoved her shoulder with his as he passed her. "I'll leave you to it." He said darkly without looking at her.
She paced angrily for a few moments as he disappeared into the darkness of The City. She had to do this, not to prove any skill, oh no, now it was personal. She just wanted to rub it in his face when she pulled it off. He was underestimating her again and it pissed her off. So now with something to prove she thought of a plan quickly.
"It just might work…" She said to herself as she stepped of the rooftop and let herself slip into the street. She tried to dress for thieving, her boots laced up almost to her knees, tight pants to lessen the sound, and her tank top was only covered by her coat. But she was just inconspicuous enough to blend in with the crowds as she entered the Crippled Burrick tavern with a small group of guards just getting off the clock and wanting a drink to wind down into the night. The tavern wasn't packed, but it wasn't empty. She scanned the room to look for someone that looked like they might associate with someone like Garrett. But she had to laugh at herself when she realized that Garrett didn't seem to be the type to associate with anyone. Her eyes fell on a door that led to the back, most likely a stock cellar. A classic place to run an operation. Hiding in plain sight.
It was easy enough to get to the door and slip in without being seen. She tip toed down the stairs, she was going painfully slow but that was the only way she could remain silent. She tried to copy the way she saw her master moving in the streets: fluid, like water. As she got closer to the end of the stairs she could hear voices and she crouched down and leaned in to try to make out what they were saying.
"Where is she?" A man said over the sound of a bird squawking. "I swear if you don't pipe down I'm going to make a new hat out of you!"
"I told her she had to find her own way in." That was Garrett. She leaned in just a little bit closer, the door at the bottom of the stairs was getting so close, it was her last obstacle to overcome before he just might take her seriously. Sure she could have slipped in a window or through the roof or any other conventional way a thief would normally get in someplace. But her task was to surprise this Basso, and she knew Garrett didn't use doors. So if Basso was expecting them, the last place he would expect someone to enter would be the door. It was bold, but it was worth a shot.
Her initial plan was to sneakily open the door and wait for someone to notice her. But the little voice in her head knew that Garrett would see her almost instantly and give her position up. So she straightened up and took a slow, deep breath. Acting entirely on impulse she reared her leg back, aimed just next to the knob, and kicked the door in as hard as she could.
"Basso!" She yelled as she stuck her head in the doorway and held her hand out to stop the door from hitting her, as she kicked a little too hard and it hit the wall and almost swung shut itself again. She saw a round man with a cool top hat jump about three feet in the air with an agility she wouldn't expect from a man built like himself. He turned, the blood had drained from his face for a split second as he took in her strange appearance. Even Garrett, who was facing the door, stiffened at her arrival, like he was poised at any minute to vanish.
"What in the bloody hells!" Basso said, clutching his chest and catching his breath before a smile spread across his face. She decided in herself that his mustache was cool, too. "So you must be the little lass?" His voice was still a little shaky.
She was absolutely beaming as she swung the door shut and strode across the room with her head held high. She did it! If she wasn't trying to play everything off as just peachy she would have squealed. But now wasn't the time for that. She had to be professional. "Alia." She said, holding out her hand. Basso shook her hand then kissed her knuckles.
"Garrett failed to mention that I would have such a beauty in my sights." She looked to Garrett, who rolled his eyes. "I can't say I would have cleaned up but, uh, you know." He said laughing.
"Hey, it's the thought that counts." She said smoothly. Yes! Everything was going so good! She turned to look at Garrett, waiting for her praise.
But it didn't come. Instead he took a step closer to her and cuffed her lightly in the head. "I said spook him, not give him a heart attack, idiot." He said with a sneer.
But she didn't really register that he had hit her. She was staring at his face. This was the first time she had ever seen him with his mask down. With a little bit of light hitting his face she saw that his eyes were a deep chocolate brown made even darker by thick eyebrows; and dark circles under his eyes that were either from lack of sleep or purposely put there to help with seeing in harsh lighting. His forehead had the faint lines of a crease at the top, probably from scowling all the time. He had a long slender nose that hooked slightly at the end and looked like it had broken a time or two, and oddly pretty lips for a man. He had scars, old and new, that she had to imagine were all over him, not just his face. And he had short stubble, like a 5 o'clock shadow that graced his upper lip and strong jaw.
He wasn't conventionally good looking but something about the way all his features mingled together on his face was insanely attractive to her.
Garrett held her gaze for a moment before she could tell that she was making him uncomfortable. So she turned her attention back to Basso, who was shifting his gaze between the two of them nervously.
"I've, uh, never seen his face until now…" She said, trying to save her dignity.
"Sure thing, kid." Basso said with a strange smile. "Now let's get you measured."
The night went on relatively smoothly. With Basso measuring her arms and legs while he chatted with her about how things usually worked around there. Basso was well connected. He would get information about jobs, contact his thieves, and then split his commission. Apparently Garrett was the only one that didn't get told what to do. If he felt like working, he did. If he didn't, he simply wouldn't come around. Alia concluded that he was a very interesting character, indeed.
Basso would measure a limb, then write the numbers down on an old piece of parchment. When it came time to take her inseam, waist and chest he coughed nervously. "Pick your arms up." He mumbled. Alia grinned and cast a sideways glance at Garrett, who watched quietly as he leaned against the make shift desk, his arms crossed against his chest. "Hey Garrett did Basso feel you up too? Is that why you get to do what you want? You gave him a happy ending didn't you?"
Garrett said nothing, just looked at her dangerously.
Alia looked back to Basso, who was sliding his tape around her waist. "Does he have a permanent stick rammed right up his ass?"
He laughed at her heartily. "He's just Garrett." He then stood up, wrote some more numbers down and rubbed his hands together. "Alright, I should have this ready for you in about a week." He said.
Garrett stood up. "Alright then. Let's go."
Alia turned and waved. "Bye, Basso!"
Basso laughed "Next time I'll do without the heart attack, alright?"
She simply smiled and turned to follow Garrett like a puppy up and out one of the low windows that led to the alley behind the tavern.
The next night she was surprised to hear a soft tap on her window. She was just getting ready to head out and waitress at one of the local taverns to make some extra coin while she waited to start her real job.
"It's open, Garrett." She said just loud enough for him to hear her. She didn't turn to watch him slip through the window, she continued the process of throwing her hair up into a messy bun. "What brings you here?" She asked, looking at his scowling face through the mirror on her vanity.
"You giving up already?" He asked, looking around her room.
She spun to face him, half of her hair falling out of her bun. "What? No! Why would you think that?" She asked just a little bit too panicked.
His eyes narrowed as he pulled his cowl down. "You look like you're going somewhere." His pretty lips purred the words out as his eyes accused her. She had to stop thinking about his lips. It was getting distracting.
"I was going to go work until Basso had my gear ready…" She realized she must look like a nut case with half of her hair down and ripped the rest of the bun down from her head, suddenly conscience of what he must think of her. "But if that was the case you wouldn't be here." She said, untying the apron from around her waist and tossing it on her bed. "So what are we doing tonight, boss?"
A small smirk lifted the corners of his mouth. "You have a week to get in shape."
She nodded but he didn't continue. "Okay. And?" She said, trying to pry more answers out of him.
He turned and headed for the window. "That's it. Get to it. I'll be back when Basso is ready for you."
And with that he was gone.
She walked across the room and closed the window. "I guess it can't be helped." She said to herself as she changed out of her uniform and into some old clothes. She threw her hair up into a successful bun and began to do pushups on the floor.
Okay so please don't hate me, I know this is somewhat a filler chapter, but I wanted to write for Alia more and really let you as the reader get into her head and see that she is sort of goofy and impulsive, but in a good way. The next chapter will be much more crime oriented and Garrett and Alia are going to get more time together.