"Let's make this quick, give me the combo to the vault and I'll leave you to...thaw." The bank's manager squirmed, body shaking dangerously in reaction to the extreme cold. Len had frozen the base of his shoes to the floor, careful not to catch any of the man's legs in the blast.
The older man didn't speak, instead letting his teeth chatter obnoxiously. Len rolled his eyes and gave the ice a quick kick, earning a small whimper from the gentlemen.
"Or I could make you into a human Popsicle. Your choice." Len raised the cold gun almost lazily, certain that his captives resolve would vanish soon.
"Oka-ay, j-just don't-t ki-ill me-e!" The man chattered out, hugging his arms together protectively. Len raised his brows expectantly before the man let the sweet, sweet combo fall from his lips.
"Stick around, might need you later." Len smirked before lowering the gun and heading for the vault. He spun the dial expertly, and nodded in satisfaction when the dial slid to a stop. He tugged the round handle to the left, and pulled the vault door back, revealing the small, musty room. Len stepped inside, taking a large crowbar from his tool bag. He froze the lock on the inner vault and began wailing upon its now weakened frame. With a groan the smaller vault popped open, revealing strap upon strap of cold, hard cash.
Mick was waiting for him in a nondescript sedan, eagerly staring out the window as Len ran over to throw their winnings into the back. He threw himself into the passengers seat and had barely gotten himself upright before Mick threw the car into drive. Together the rogues screeched out of the parking lot and into the night.
Mick let out a whoop of excitement, a wild grin plastered onto his face.
"How much?" He said jovially, barely paying attention to the road as the sped through the streets. Len didn't answer him, too absorbed in scowling out the window. Mick's smile faltered as he realized that his partner was not celebrating.
"Shit, I hope whatever's biting you in the ass doesn't affect our work! I ain't got patience for a job gone wrong because my partner can't keep his head straight." Mick growled morosely at him, eyes narrowed with irritation.
Len glanced toward his partner before slowly nodding his head.
"Sorry, Mick. Now let's get back to the bar and celebrate."
But Len did little celebrating, instead opting to disappear upstairs as soon as he believed it wouldn't be noticed. Mick caught a glimpse of him striding down the hall before the door closed behind him. He scowled into his drink before draining the glass. A slender figure slid onto the bar next to him just as he went to signal for a refill. A quick glance confirmed it to be Lisa.
"What do you want this time?" Mick growled out, leaning back to fish one of his lighters from a pocket. He flicked it open, letting the flame lick away his stress as it danced before his eye.
"Aww, don't be like that. Maybe I just wanted the company." Lisa leaned on the bar, sneaking a hand over to pluck a cherry from its tray.
"Huh, I doubt it." He said, a bit softer than before, somewhat mesmerized by the little yellow flicker in front of him. He could see Lisa stiffen a bit from his periphery.
"You're no fun." She popped the cherry into her mouth and chewed. "Fine, I want to know what's going on with my brother. And since you two spend an unhealthy amount of time together I figured you would be the best to ask."
"Well, you were wrong. I got no fucking idea." Mick flicked the cap back over his lighter, extinguishing the little chemical reaction he had created. He pushed away from the bar, eager to drink in peace but Lisa merely followed his lead.
He narrowed his brows at her as she looked at him expectantly.
"Persistent, aren't yah?" Lisa gave him a wry smile but didn't reply. Mick let out an exasperated sigh before taking a swig of his fresh beer.
"Remember a couple months back, that job at the museum?" Lisa nodded, "Well, we took a hostage. Pretty one." Mick paused to take another healthy swig of his lager before continuing; "Didn't last long, she escaped during a fence gone wrong. Froze a guy too. Stole our van and your brothers cold gun."
"Len must have not liked that." Lisa half laughed, amused that her tough older brother had been robbed by his own hostage.
"You're damn right. Fuckin furious. Took him weeks to get the gun back." Mick shook his head in disapproval.
"Weeks? What took so long?" Lisa's brows narrowed in confusion.
"I ain't got a goddamn clue. Kept trying to convince him to storm the girls apartment. He flat out refused, every time." Mick tossed his empty bottle behind the bar and pulled out another.
"So, what did he do? He's got the gun back now."
Mick let a little smile cross his face as he opened his fresh bottle of beer.
"We went to a fucking dance."
"What?!" Lisa's brows shot up, her exclamation causing Mark to miss his pool shot behind her. A stream of curse words left his mouth as he turned to glare at Lisa before trying to salvage what was left of the game.
"Yeah, I wore a tux and everything. Guess it was some kind of benefit for the museum." Mick said, "I dunno, but our old hostage was there. Len disappeared to talk to her and an hour later he rolls up in a stolen car, cold gun in hand. Smug fucking grin on his face."
"So you think something happened?" Lisa's shock was slowly disappearing, replaced by a quirked brow.
"Oh, I know something happened. Snart hasn't been the same since. And then she shows up here a couple weeks later. They disappear again. You can't tell me they're not fucking by now."
Lisa wrinkled her face at Mick in disgust, slapping his shoulder scoldingly. "You think this whole thing is about a girl?"
Mick sat heavily in the stuffed chair behind him, raising his eyes to glare at Lisa.
"I told yah all I know. Now get off my fucking back." Mick grumbled, closing his eyes and leaning back. Lisa huffed at him before getting up to leave, ruining yet another pool shot as she brushed past Mark and flipping him the bird as he cursed at her back.
"That's it, last one." The older man said around the drill bit in his mouth, carefully stepping down from the ladder and inspecting the small camera mounted near the driveway. "The camera system will keep up to 500 hours of footage, just make sure nothing chews the wires and you'll be set."
Evelyn sucked her teeth and nodded, glancing at the small device above.
"Does it have back up batteries?" The handyman quirked a brow at her, "you know, just in case the power goes out or something?" Evelyn added quickly.
"Uh, no, you'd probably need a generator or external emergency power source. I gotta say, you live in a pretty quiet neighborhood." He gestured toward the small street lined with older craftsman style homes. "If this system doesn't make you feel safe then I'm not sure what will. I think you're gonna be just fine." The man patted her shoulder reassuringly, sporting a kind smile.
Evelyn gave him a tight lipped smile despite the creeping suspicion that he thought she was an over-concerned woman. If only he knew that she was actively trying to keep a master thief/ex-kidnapper out of her house.
"Well, let's run the test and then I'll be outta your hair." Evelyn followed him inside and diligently listened as he ran her through the basics behind the state of the art safety system now set up around the house.
"Run your password for me so I can make sure it works before you get an unpleasant surprise from the police later." Evelyn laughed before typing in the code on the keypad next to the door. A small green light flashed confirming her entry.
"All done! Here's my business card, let me know if you have any questions. Congrats on the setup." He gave her the card and waved as he strode out the door. Evelyn closed it behind him, tossing the card onto the table.
She flopped on the love seat and stared at the ceiling, feeling the anxiety wash over her once again. Sleep had been difficult for the last few days, ever since the night he was there. She had to go out a buy all new sheets and blankets to keep her mind from thinking about him; from wondering if the musk that sometimes lingered upon her pillow case was his. Pathetic, she knew, but alas it bore a few hours of sleep.
The rumble of a motorcycle shifted Evelyn from her fitful nap. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and glanced out the small window near her door. Night had fallen while she had slept and judging by the street lights it must have been near late evening. The cycle's engine idled outside, the small pops of the combustion bringing Evelyn to life. She grabbed the new remote for her security system and turned on the monitor, curious to see who was outside.
The camera feed took a moment to acquire but soon Evelyn found herself looking at what appeared to be a woman, sitting atop a sport bike just beyond her driveway. The helmeted head was looking toward Evelyn's house but the woman did not appear to be making any move to get off the bike. Evelyn watched diligently as the woman quirked her head to the side before shaking it a little and turning the bike back into the road, taking off with a sharp whir of the engine.
"Huh." Evelyn uttered, keeping herself planted in front of the monitor for a few minutes until she was relatively sure the woman was not about to return. She tossed the remote back onto the table and headed into the kitchen preparing a late dinner before she fought for another night of sleep.
"Lenny!" Lisa called up the stairs before popping through the door of Mick and her brother's shared flat.
"Lisa." Len called unenthusiastically back. He surveyed her for a moment as if to make sure she was in one piece before turning back to his project. It was a familiar look, one that he had been giving his little sister since before either could remember.
"Hey, what do you have there?" Lisa plopped into the chair beside him, shimming out of her leather motorcycle jacket. Len glanced up at her, showing a bit of brotherly annoyance.
"A blueprint." He said bluntly before using his pencil to mark possible vulnerabilities on the structure. Lisa lifted her brows.
"Ever so cryptic." She wiggled her fingers at him mockingly before rolling her eyes and smiling. "But it's fine, you don't have to tell me. That's not why I'm here." She planted her elbows on the table, leaning her chin onto her interlaced fingers as she peered at her brother.
"Well, why are you here then?" Len leaned back in his chair, a line appearing between his brows. It was pointless trying to work when Lisa wanted to talk. And the look she was giving him didn't mean anything good.
"What? I can't visit sometimes?" Lisa pouted for a few seconds before catching Len's glare. She shook her head and rolled her eyes once again. "Jeez, you're just like Mick, no fun. Anyway I'm here to talk about your new lady friend."
"What?" The crease between Len's brows intensified, spurring Lisa to grin at him like a cat toying with a mouse before it became food.
"Nothing stays a secret for long, Len. When were you going to tell me about her? At the wedding?" Lisa's grin widened as she watched her brother struggle not to squirm across from her.
"Who told you that?" Len growled out. "Mick? He doesn't know a damned thing."
He stood from the table and grabbed a beer from the fridge, itching to put some distance between him and the conversation his sister insisted on having.
"I don't think you give him enough credit, Lenny." Lisa said, tracing a finger over the fine lines of the blueprint below her. "He's your righthand man, you don't think he knows what's going on with his partner?"
Len leaned again the counter and considered his sister over the his beer.
"There's nothing to talk about. Just an old loose end that needed to be tied up."
"I didn't know you were into that, but hey, good for you!" Lisa quipped from the table, smirking delightedly at her brother. He let out an exasperated sigh and pursed his lips. "So, it's true then?"
"What? That we took a hostage? Yes, that's true." Len struggled to avoid his sisters knowing gaze.
"Mick told me that you went to a dance and disappeared with her." Lisa said quickly, breaking down her brother's dismissals. "You know, it's been a while since high school but I still remember what happens when a couple disappears from the dance floor. You warned me pretty explicitly." Lisa raised her brows questioningly at her brother who appeared to be incredibly uncomfortable.
"It was a gala. Not a dance." Len took a generous sip of his beer before continuing. "I was there for a reason. We went back to her house and-"
"Oh, please spare me the details!" Lisa interrupted loudly, squishing her face at him in disgust.
"-And I retrieved my weapon." Len growled at his sister, struggling to ignore the memories of Evelyn in just the state Lisa had implied. "Stop being ridiculous."
"So you're telling me she didn't show up here a few weeks later. Here." Lisa emphasized, even pointing her finger towards the floor, no doubt indicating the bar beneath them.
Len didn't answer, choosing to take a sip of his beer instead. The bitterness of the IPA was not the only reason for sour taste in his mouth.
"Knew it." Lisa said quietly, quite satisfied with herself. "You know, I stopped by to check out her place earlier."
"You did what?" Len drawled dangerously, snapped his gaze back to his sister, setting the beer down on the counter behind him.
"What? You used to do it to my boyfriends all the time!" Lisa said defensively before continuing. "She doesn't seem like your type. I always thought you were all in for the badass chicks. Not ones that live in the cozy little suburbs."
"Don't underestimate her. She stole my cold gun and took out an armed goon, only to get away with our van afterward. I'm not even sure you could get away with that, dear sister." He drawled, relishing in the glare his sister fixed him with after his jab.
"Everyone gets lucky sometimes." Lisa waved her hand dismissively. "So, what's the deal?"
"There's no deal, Lisa. She has made that pretty damn clear." Len knew he had said too much when Lisa jumped to her feet, a look of surprise upon her face.
"She rejected you?! Holy shit, Lenny." Lisa made her way around the table to come to her brothers side. She had tucked her motorcycle jacket under her arm. "I need to have some words with this woman."
Len shook his head and peered at his sister with half lidded eyes, exhausted by his sisters prying.
"Apparently thieves aren't the most attractive mates." Len finished his beer and tossed it into the bin before striding purposefully toward the door, dragging his sister along with him. "Can you really blame her?"
Lisa opened her mouth to argue but Len shot her a look so icy that Lisa thought better of it.
"Don't go to Evelyn's place again. Don't contact her, don't stalk her, don't go anywhere near her. Do you understand?" Lisa pouted up at Len but nodded in agreement.
"Alright, alright. I'll just Facebook stalk her a bit more." A cheeky half smile hung from Lisa's lips.
Len considered her for a moment, seemingly stuck between telling her off or saving his breath. He choose the latter before opening the door and motioning for her to leave.
"Bye, Lenny. Sorry about your girlfriend. Don't be a stranger if you need advice." She winked at him before walking down the stairs and out of the hall. Len slammed the door behind her, shaking his head.
A/N: Thanks for your patience! I hope you enjoyed. Please forgive any grammatical/spelling errors. I can only find time to write at late at night. Drop me a review, let me know what you're thinking.