Glare (Tempus)

Four hours ago...

She didn't trust the guy.

And, really, that was saying something. Tempus wasn't the type of person that just handed out her trust all willy nilly, but she often gave people the benefit of the doubt even if it was plain as goddamn day that whomever she was speaking too was probably someone who didn't deserve a goddamn thing much less the benefit of anything, doubt or otherwise. And despite how she grew up and what she'd been taught at the Cat's Paw Thieves Guild, Tempus was pretty easy going when it came to the people she met. Even if said people were dangerous drug lords or slave merchants or some other such positions of ill taste.

This person was neither of those things and if he was Tempus would eat her highly polished combat boots. Both of them. But he was still so proper that the dark skinned woman had a hard time pinning down just what about him was so fucking creepy. Beyond meeting up with dangerous criminals of the distasteful underworld she'd also met up with some of the overt creeps of today's society and still felt more comfortable around them. She'd once done a job for a skeevy shut-in who had gained his fortune in a way that only a thief could respect; that is, he stole it, though his playground was the internet. He was greasy and gross and the porn he had strewn all over the house he lived in was so questionable that even Tempus had raised an eyebrow at some of the material she saw, and her collection was vast. But she was a collector, much like Dean Winchester. This guy was a pervert. And all he'd wanted was a one-of-a-kind dildo that was a template for ninety percent of the ones you saw on the market now-a-days.

That guy? Yeah, he was Prince Goddamn Charming compared to the guy that was standing in front of Tempus right now.

On the other end of the spectrum Tempus had also dealt with politicians and others of 'high ranking respect' that usually wanted codes, plans or other such things stolen from competitors. They were only slightly worse than drug dealers and slave merchants because they just loved to hear themselves talk. Monologue, even, about how they were wronged or just how brilliant this revenge was going to be because they were in the right, their opponents in the wrong, and Justice was going to prevail one way or another and WOW every time Tempus met one of those fuckers she was bored to fucking tears. But they paid well and the chances of her getting dicked over was almost nil. These people needed good thieves on retainer, usually, and Tempus was pretty damn good at her job.

The guy standing in front of her? Well...maybe he bothered Tempus so much because she just couldn't quite place him. In her experience her clients fell into one of those two categories; skeevy pervert or power hungry person looking to extract revenge or something. This guy was prim, yes. Proper, sure. Spoke in a manner that was well educated and an certain upbringing. He looked down his nose as if was someone who was used to getting what he wanted though he never rose his voice. He didn't monologue and was straight forward in his request. At the same time, something told Tempus that he was someone who was just not right in the head...

“I'm sorry...you want the chicks ring and...what?”

A light cough. Least the prick had the decency to blush a little under Tempus' incredulous look. “Ah, a pair of her panties. Used, if you will. Fresh, if possible. I have a bag I can provide that locks and preserves the scent and...”

“That's fine,” Tempus slashed the air in front of her with a hand to cut the guy off. “Just...okay. Fine. The ring, describe it to me.”

“I can do better,” he responded, taking the necessary steps to put him in front of her. He held out a picture with the item mentioned on it. “I do realize the requests may be unusual, but it is the ring that is the object of importance. The, uh...other request is my own. My employer only wishes the ring, you see. So, if possible to keep the additional request between ourselves...”

He tailed off and Tempus took a moment from looking at the picture to eye the man again. He was a student, of that much she was sure. What she wasn't sure of what school he was actually from. She'd heard of various clubs in schools that were centered around various 'idols', male and female, and it seemed as if they only existed to worships these idols from afar. She wasn't exactly sure what these clubs did and, really, she didn't want to know but she could imagine if they made requests like these.

“And you have the layout of the place, right?” Tempus asked, as she took the picture and put it in the manilla folder she was carrying. She didn't even get an affirmation, only a rolled up paper with what she could only assume was the plans for the place she was going to break into. “Alrighty. Security codes, all that in there?”

“Yes.”

He never said more than needed to be said and wanted clarification on the 'panties' part of the job. No ranting, no perverted smile followed by maniacal laughter. Many in the real world would think that such things never actually happened in real life, that people conducted business in office buildings and not shady car lots and alleyways. They'd be surprised. Tempus didn't even think of asking who she was stealing from. She just wanted to get the hell out of there and away from this guy who was making her skin shiver.

“Vivi Perish. Got it. I'll contact you when it's done. Oh, and if I fail,” Tempus paused a moment to lock her mismatched eyes with the man own deep, almost purple orbs. “We never met.”

---

Now.

There were certain stages to setting up a job.

It's what many didn't realize when they watched a lot of movies about heists and such. You didn't just make a plan, usually in a montage, and then go for it. A lot of what you had to do was trial and error. Sure, you did case a joint but you had other people do that for you and, usually, you had to pay them money not only for the job but to keep their mouths shut too. You had to find out how to get any passwords, codes or any type of security access beforehand because if you didn't...well, it was Game Over, son. You had to bribe anyone that needed bribing because, yeah, there were certain jobs that just had no alternative. But everyone had a price. There were countless variables that one had to go through to plan a successful job, and Tempus had no qualms going over every single one of them a thousand times to get it right if she needed to.

Not for this one.

Everything was there for her. She normally liked to test things out beforehand and casing this particular place wasn't all the hard. The code she was given had been tested out a few nights before when she'd disabled the house system remotely. She's spent a week mapping the schedule of the person she was suppose to be stealing from. A student, she'd found out, one that went to the 552 like she did. Cute, too, from what she'd seen. Tight body, an ass you could bounce a quarter off of and legs that went on for days. She didn't look like much, strength wise, but Tempus knew that strength came in all different packages.

And so...the game was on.

Though kinda boring, really. She didn't quite much think on it as she disabled the house security system remotely, knowing she had all the time in the world to go in and get what she needed. She made sure to have all her equipment with her and made her way to the house, keeping her ears open for any noises that would seem out of the ordinary. The place was huge and the diagrams she'd seen did it no justice. How could a girl like this Vivi Perish afford such a place? Tempus mentally shook herself and shrugged. It didn't really matter, in the end.

She went up, silent as a the cat she was often compared to (in laziness), to the second floor and stopped a moment, hearing the shower going. The dark skinned woman nodded before she continued on, testing the floor with a toe before she would put full pressure on it. The bedroom was massive as well and, again, Tempus had to wonder just how in the world someone could afford a bed like that, or a television that huge. Again, a shake of her head made the thoughts fly from her mind as she focused. A quick scan and search of the room revealed none of the objects that she was looking for. Even the hamper where she assumed the dirty clothes would be was empty. Tempus quirked her lips now, thinking before they locked on the door that was separating her from the student known as Vivi perish.

Well...that was a possibility.

The Cat Thief strode to the door, pressing her ears against it to see if she could har anything. Only a light hum, which she assumed was the purple haired girl in the shower. The dark skinned woman steeled herself and lightly twisted the door handle before she opened it just slightly, testing the hinges to see if the squeaked. It didn't, and Tempus opened the door only a tad bit more to see if she could see inside. It was steamy, of course, but an object on the counter caught her eye. She nodded, then opened the door a bit more to see if she could spot the other object of her job.

The Dirty Panties.

Tempus knew that Vivi had been out on a run and that these particular pair of panties were probably ripe with sweat and whatever else made her client's juices flow. Maybe he would pay extra if she told him what Vivi was doing right before she'd shed the garments? Something told her he's probably pay triple.

The grin that she got was huge. A few more seconds and she's be free with more than half a million in her bank account. Yeah, just another job.

...until a ringing from a cellphone was heard from the room behind her. Tempus froze, her mind now going a thousand miles a minute until every sign pointed to one, inevitable outcome.

---> Yer fucked. <---