The interior was fancy, the party attendants were dressed fancy as they sipped on their cocktails and martinis.
A white haired individual strolled through the party, an earpiece in his ear as he gazed around the room.
"Remember, we're not taking his wallet, just planting the tracker." A male voice said through the earpiece.
"Yeah, I know that. I got it prepped and everything." The white haired man said back, quietly.
"What are you waiting for?" A woman said in glasses, wearing a black dress, she stood away from the white haired male across the room. "Are you checking out the women again?" She added, speaking into her earpiece.
"Despite our views on these stuck-up assholes, I wanna check out the party. A drink wouldn't be so bad either, maybe help you loosen up too, huh?" The white haired male said, smirking, talking into the earpiece.
"I'm going to have to decline that invitation." She replied, gazing across the room, keeping watch.
The white haired male approached a door away from the party, waiting to see if the coast was clear.
He tried to enter, but it was locked.
"Shit!" The white haired male said under his breath.
"What's up?" The male over the earpiece asked.
"It's locked…" the white haired man said.
"Well, no shit" the woman responded.
"Did you think he'd just leave it unlocked?" She added.
"Well, no. But I can't pick it, we're gonna need the key off him" the white haired man said.
"Ugh… let me guess, I'm up?" The woman asked, begrudgingly.
"You know me so well!" The white haired man replied, trying to act nonchalant as he stood by the door.
"Ugh" the woman grunted, rolling her eyes.
"I don't like interacting with the people we take from, I rather not risk them seeing us." She said, walking around the room, looking for their target.
"I'm trying to verify that he has his key on him" the man said through the earpiece. He looked through his computer, having hacked one of the security cameras in the room.
The screen locked onto different electronic devices, displaying their info.
He scanned the pocket of their target, confirming the key card was on him.
"I got some bad news…" the man said through the earpiece, "you're gonna have to seduce him and get that key." He told the woman.
"Shit…" she groaned, walking over to him
She faked a smile, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Heeyy, you must be Jefferson Barkley! I've heard so much about you!" She said, talking to the rich individual.
"Uh, yeah. Who are you though?" He asked, entranced by her figure.
"How about we get some drinks and I'll let you get to know me" she said, walking towards the bar.
The two stood at the counter as the bartender set two glasses down.
"I've heard about all the work you've done, starting from scratch and really making a name for yourself." She said, faking a sexy voice.
"Yeah, it wasn't easy getting to where I'm at now. But you know, it was worth it. Tell me about yourself though." He said, the woman panicking a bit
"O-oh, well, I'm Vivian Acosta" she panicked, faking a name.
"He's gonna know you're lying" the white haired man said through the earpiece.
"Oh really? I thought she was way older?" Jefferson asked, "Yeah, well when you have money for all the cosmetic surgery you want, you tend to look pretty young!" She responded.
"Distract him, his key is in his bottom suit pocket." The man through the earpiece said.
"H-hey, why don't we go dance or something" she asked, faking a trip, spilling her drink on him.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" She said, faking her panic. She reached inside his pocket, taking the card.
"I'm so sorry" she said again, Jefferson grunted, "it's alright, it was just a mistake I'm sure" he said, a slight attitude in his voice.
"You should go get cleaned up" she said, "yeah" he responded, walking away.
She watched him walk away, making sure the coast was clear.
"Alright, let's go and get the hell out of here!" She said through the earpiece, meeting up with the white haired man at the door.
"Took you long enough!" He said, she pulled the key out, scanning it on the keypad.
"Well, you didn't go out there to seduce him, now did you!" She replied with a sarcastic edge.
The door opened, the two walked in, closing the door behind them.
"Make sure you keep an eye on the hallway!" The white haired man said to the voice in the earpiece.
"Just put the card in the wallet and let's go!" The woman said as she opened his desk drawer, looking for the wallet.
The white haired man opened the drawer on the opposite side, finding his wallet. "Here!" He said, handing it to the woman.
She put a tracking card and a note reading "We've been keeping eyes on you, you can't hide, your friends: The Obake Gang."
The white haired man continued to poke around, looking for something.
"What are you doing?" She asked, setting the wallet back in the drawer.
The man ruffled through the drawer as he looked at the documents.
"I'm trying to find a list to make our job of finding targets easier." He said. He found a file of insurance claims, scrolling down the list.
"Harper Summer, aged 78, deceased… family… sister of Aubrey Summer, age 68, aunt of Audrey Summer… Age 25…" the white haired man said, going down the list.
He looked at the woman, both looking a bit sad.
"Girl being denied insurance for what?" The woman asked, before the man could answer, the door slammed open.
"YOU!" Jefferson yelled as he pointed at the two, two police officers with him.
"You tripped the silent alarm again?!" The woman asked
"Guilty as charged I guess! Makes everything more fun though!" The white haired male said.
"Tobi Hazuki, Loretta Watanabe, you two are under arrest for trespassing and possession of classified documents!" A woman said, walking into the room, pointing her gun.
"Ahh, Officer Folina, still working for the man, huh?" Tobi asked, smirking.
"Shut up, Tobi, now get your hands up!" She said. He smiled more.
"Would love to play cops and robbers, but I gotta go." He replied, smiling.
"Riven?" He said into the earpiece.
The window behind the two crashed as a canister landed, smoking the room out.
Tobi and Loretta jumped out the window onto the roof below.
Guns firing, bullets nearly hitting them as they ran along the rooftops.
The sun was coming up behind the city skyline as they continued to run.
"Was that file worth it?" Loretta asked
"How are you able to run in heels?" Tobi asked
"Because you pull this shit so much I had to learn!" Loretta responded in an angry tone.
The two dropped down onto the backstreet, running towards a garage.
"Come on!" Riven said, waiting inside as Loretta and Tobi ran in, Riven hit the button, closing the door right before the officers could notice where they went.
Tobi fell onto the bean bag as he sighed with excitement.
"Never a dull moment!" He said with a smile, Loretta and Riven looked at him with a look of annoyance.
"Is that tracker working?" Loretta asked, Riven typed away on the computer.
"Guessing Jefferson didn't catch on, yeah it should be." Riven replied.
Loretta went to the other room, changing out of her dress.
"There's barely any movement, but the location is still at the mansion. We'll have to assume he's still there. In the meantime, give me those files, Tobi. I'll see if I can run a background check on these customers." Riven said, Tobi handing him the folder.
Riven typed the names into the database as it showed all the customers on the file.
"Harper Summer is the sister of Aubrey Summer, and the aunt of Audrey Summer.
It seems like they were all under insurance through LMC." Riven said, reading the file.
"Why is Aubrey the only one to be on the insurance? This Audrey chick had another year before she was booted" Tobi asked.
"Not sure, but her aunt was removed a bit before her death as well." Riven noticed.
Tobi folded his arms, confused.
He stood there a moment.
"What was she on insurance for? This Audrey girl." Tobi asked.
"Looks like therapy and antidepressants." Riven said, "Rebutake. Helpful antidepressant, but a bitch to cut cold turkey" Riven said.
"Woah, wait, they just cut her off?" Tobi asked, "yeah, didn't honor her last refill, fired her therapist. She disappeared from the database a few days ago." Riven said.
Tobi looked concerned "another healthcare patient dead, and at a young age…" Tobi said, walking away.
"Alright, let's pack up and head back to base." Tobi said, waving his fingers.
The plane woodshed by as the girl walked out of the airport.
"Alright, gotta get the keys and settle in" Audrey said to herself as she pulled her suitcase behind her.
The train arrived in the heart of the city as she got off the platform.
"The train for Main Street has arrived, please watch your step as you depart." The announcement said as she stepped out of the station.
The city was louder than she expected.
She was awestruck by the size of the buildings.
"Okay, it looks like he's heading down Acre Ln" Riven said as Tobi walked down the street.
"What is following him gonna do if we already know where he works?" Tobi asked, walking through the crowded street.
"We know where he works, but we don't know how to get to the main data center. Once we track him, we'll have that info" Riven replied.
"Fair I guess" Tobi responded.
Tobi continued walking, "he's going to the park?" Riven said, confused.
"What is a guy like him doing going to the park?" Tobi asked, confused as well.
Tobi leaned up against a light pole as he watched Audrey scuffle through the wallet.
"I think we might have a mix up…" Tobi said into the earpiece, "What do you mean? Is Jefferson not there?" Riven asked as Tobi continued watching.
"Looks like we're gonna have to start from square one" Tobi said, slightly amused.
"Finally!" Audrey said, pulling out an I.D.
Tobi continued to watch "Well, we indeed do have a mix up. I'll try and talk to her and see if I can get the wallet." Tobi said, before he could take a step, Audrey looked around, glancing at Tobi for a second before standing up and walking away.
"Shit!" Tobi said, following her.
Tobi pushed through the crowd, trying to get to Audrey, but her actions became more aware of him.
"Tobi, we need that wallet!" Riven said, "I know!" Tobi replied.
Audrey continued to walk through the crowd as Tobi tried to keep up, pushing through trying to call out to her.
"H-Hey!" Tobi called, but he was drowned out. Audrey turned to look at him for a second before rushing through the crowd.
"She's going down the alley on Kings Rd" Riven told him.
Tobi turned down into the alley, but it was empty. "She's not here!" Tobi said as she began to run down the alley.
"Hey, wait!" Tobi called.
Tobi ran after her, She climbed up a box, jumping over a fence.
"Why the hell are you chasing me?!" Audrey asked, running up and grabbing a ladder, climbing up to a roof.
"You have something I need!" Tobi called, but she didn't hear him.
Tobi climbed the ladder, but a crate was blocking the way. "Shit" Tobi said, jumping down back into the alley.
"Tobi, she's heading towards base" Riven said through the earpiece.
"You don't think…" Tobi began to ask, "No, there's no way she knows our hideout location by chance." Riven responded, Tobi began to walk out the alley.
Tobi walked down the abandoned dock, heading back towards their base.
"Yeah, she's in one of the abandoned warehouses on block C" Riven told Tobi.
Tobi walked up the leaning beam hanging over Audrey as he stood there, looking down, watching her dig through the wallet.
"Huh?" Audrey said, reading a card. Tobi smiled from amusement as he watched. He crouched down as the beam clanked from settling.
The light shining off his red shades as he smiled charmingly, "Yo!" He said, waving his hand as Audrey looked frightened.
Audrey stood up as she tried running away, Tobi jumped down "Probably need some help" Tobi said into the earpiece as Loretta blocked the doorway.
"Who the hell are you?!" Audrey asked as she stood in a fighting position, Tobi walking up behind her.
"We just need to talk, that's all!" Tobi said as he tried to deescalate the situation. Audrey kicked behind her, kicking Tobi in the stomach.
"Augh, shit…" He said in pain as he fell to the ground.
Audrey took a swing at Loretta as she dodged Audrey's swings.
"You were stalking me, weren't you!" Audrey asked as she kept her fists up.
"Not intentionally" Loretta said as Audrey took another swing, Loretta grabbed Audrey's wrist.
"We just need to talk for a moment" Loretta said as Audrey kicked her leg, knocking her down.
Loretta fell to the floor as she tried to get back up, "Damnit!" Loretta said in pain.
Audrey ran to the roof of a nearby building as she tried to find her way out, Riven walked up behind her as she stopped.
"What do you want?!" Audrey asked as she turned around, her feet on the edge of the roof.
"I wouldn't jump if I were you, it's pretty high up." Riven said, "I'm not afraid of death." Audrey said, staring Riven down.
"Audrey, please. It's okay" Riven said as Audrey looked slightly scared, but confused.
"If you give us a moment to explain, we will let you go." Riven said.
"How do I know you guys are safe?" Audrey asked, "You don't. You'll just have to trust us" Riven responded. Audrey looked at him with a piercing stare.
"Trust isn't something I can really afford anymore" Audrey replied, sliding a bit closer to the edge.
"Neither are antidepressants, huh?" Riven said as Audrey gasped lightly.
"We know what the insurance agency, LMC, did." Riven explained, "We ran into your file by accident, now please." Riven said as Audrey stood there a moment, considering. The wind blew lightly as the sun was setting over the water.
The sun set as the sky was clear, the moon peeking behind the skyline as the noisy city could be heard in the distance. The sound of seagulls over the ocean as the four of them sat on the roof, fairy lights hung over the roof, makeshift furniture sat as they sat around a table.
"In short, we're basically robinhood. We try to take a share from rich assholes and give to communities who need it." Riven said as Audrey sat there.
"When we took the files from Jefferson Barkley, he had information about clients at LMC, and your family was one of them." Loretta said.
"So that's how you knew about me." Audrey said
"We didn't mean to scare you, I kept trying to get your attention, but I guess you couldn't hear me." Tobi said as he leaned back in his seat.
Audrey put the wallet on the table as Riven took it.
"So what now, you guy's gonna like… knock me out to make sure I forget about this?" Audrey asked, "Nah, can already tell you're cool" Tobi said, laying down on the seat.
"What about you? Figured you couldn't get into a new place without your I.D. right?" Riven asked, "Yeah. I'll figure something out though" Audrey replied.
"It's not much, but you could bunk here!" Tobi said with excitement.
"I mean…" Audrey said, trailing off.
"It's probably weird to offer since you don't know us, but our whole thing is to help others." Loretta told her. Audrey considered it a moment.
"I guess till I find my I.D. It's the best I got." Audrey replied.
"Hell yeah!" Tobi said excitedly, "We'll get an area for you sorted out." Riven told her as he stood up, "Oh, here." He said, tossing Audrey a pill bottle.
"Figured you'd want the meds that Insurance denied you." Riven said, smiling.
Audrey smiled back.
Riven and Tobi walked downstairs, going to prepare a place for Audrey.
Loretta and Audrey looked over the skyline, leaning on the brick wall.
"So… Trust isn't something you can afford, huh?" Loretta asked,
Audrey looked down with a look of melancholy.
"Didn't really have good experiences when it came to trust…" Audrey said.
Audrey sighed.
"Friendships didn't really work out for me, the people I thought I could trust just… didn't reciprocate" Audrey said.
"Friendships are like a garden, you know." Loretta responded.
"Meaning?" Audrey asked.
"If you don't put into them, they don't give back." Loretta said. Audrey laughed sarcastically.
"You don't think I put into them?" Audrey asked, "You don't know me, and that's the first thing you assume?" Audrey said, closing her eyes as she shook her head.
Loretta stood there, looking down.
"I did everything I could to be a good friend, and they turned around and ignored me." Audrey replied, standing up straight.
"You can't leave a garden unattended expecting it to flourish." Audrey replied, walking away.
Loretta stood there, looking over the city with a frown.
The room walls were made of old storage containers, the floor was cold concrete with a rug over the center.
Audrey looked at the couch as Tobi handed her a blanket.
"It's not much, but for now it's something." Tobi said, Audrey looked at it hesitantly.
"It's not gonna give me a disease, is it?" She asked, "Nah. We took care of that issue after our last roomie" Tobi smiled playfully.
Audrey sat on the couch as she looked a bit overwhelmed.
"You okay?" Tobi asked, his playful demeanor changing to serious.
"Oh, yeah… Just…" Audrey started to say as she sighed.
"I just left home a few days ago, I got kicked out. I had some rough times, especially with trusting people. Hell, the last person I trusted turned out to be in my head" Audrey said, Tobi tilted his head confused, "Huh?" He uttered under his breath.
"I just wasn't expecting someone to give me a place to stay. And I'm not sure what tomorrow will hold." Audrey said, "I'm out of my element, I wasn't supposed to be here…" She continued, pointing her index and middle finger forming the shape of a gun at her head.
Tobi looked at her as he sighed, smiling lightly.
"We all know about rough life experiences, that's why we do what we do." Tobi said, looking at her, "We'll offer whatever you need however we can till you're on your feet again." Tobi said, Audrey smirking lightly.
"You mean that? But why?" She asked.
"Cause people should be more helpful to one another, and that's what we wanna be." Tobi said, standing up.
"Can't promise you bed and breakfast. But our hospitality is unmatched." Tobi said.
Audrey giggled lightly, sighing as she smiled.
"Thank you. It means a lot… really." She said, Tobi smiled back.
The two looked around awkwardly.
"So what's your story then?" Audrey asked, hugging her legs.
"Well, I met Riven at a young age, we both had our issues with "The Man" and decided we weren't gonna take it and started to do something about it." Tobi said.
"Met Loretta out of highschool, and we ran our group since. Mostly sticking our hands in the cookie jar, nothing major till we were in our late teens." Tobi added.
"Riven? Is that his actual name?" Audrey asked, "No, that's his screen name. He doesn't like us using his real name so we respect that." Tobi responded.
"How come you and Loretta don't use fake names? Wouldn't that be better for a job like this?" Audrey asked.
Tobi leaned back, looking at the ceiling.
"Well, I guess we just never thought about it. Didn't think we'd need fake names apart from fake I.D.s and whatnot." Tobi responded.
Audrey looked at him for a moment.
"So what about you, what's your personal story?" Audrey asked, Tobi looked at her, "Huh?" He grunted.
"Well, if you do something like rob from the rich to give to the poor, something must have happened to want to do that, right?" Audrey asked.
Tobi looked down, thinking about it.
"Maybe… but that's a long story and it's late." Tobi said, standing up.
"I get it, probably wanna wait till we know each other better. Can't say I have that privilege since you all scorched my records" Audrey smirked, Tobi chuckled a bit.
"Well, that's one way to break the ice, huh?" Tobi asked, the two smiled.
The room fell silent for a moment.
"you should get some rest. It's been a long day." Tobi said as he put his hands in his pocket.
"Yeah, too much being chased by stalkers" Audrey teased as she covered up under the blanket.
"You can't hide." Tobi joked.
"Goodnight, Tobi." Audrey said, "Night, Aud's" Tobi replied, walking away.
The moonlight peeking through the window, the odd sound of seagulls muffled through the window as Audrey laid her head down.
"Will this turn into a real connection, or will I just mess it up again?" Audrey thought to herself, she laid there thinking, closing her eyes as the fan on the ceiling spun slowly as the moonlight hit Audrey as she drifted away.