Chapter Two: The quick Brown Fox
Tuesday
2:10am
In a corner of a dark alley way, the faint sounds of muffled conversation can be heard as three women gathered together. The place was damp and cold due to the late night showers, but it hasn't stopped two of them from making themselves comfortable on some discarded crates as they waited patiently. They have after all, more important concerns at the moment...
"It's not like her to be late..."one of the women adjusted her glasses as she paced nervously up and down. " Do you think she got caught Minx?"
"You worry too much Mole..." another crossed her legs seductively as she casually lit up a cigarette, her golden tresses waving playfully in the wind.
The third women groaned as she massaged her neck impatiently. "Well if she ain't gonna turn up soon, I'm leaving! I'm freezing out in this stupid weather!" She dug her hands deep into her baggy pants. "And can you Puh-leaze GET RID of that?! You know I can't stand the smell!" She pulled the cigarette out of Minx's mouth and threw it into a puddle. The butt extinguished with a fizzle.
"HEY! THAT WAS MY LAST ONE!"
" It's not like you can't afford it...yeesshhh.."
"Why you.."
Mole stopped pacing. "Break it up you two, do you always have to argue over the slightest thing? The others will be here any minute..."
*Ahem..* The voice came from the alley way as the dim moonlight cast a long shadow of a small slender figure. She gave an amused grin as she walked up to her female companions.
" Is this a private party, or can anyone join?"
"Ahhh Fox, what took you?" Mole asked. "Ferret and Minx are getting restless.."
"Sorry if I was late darlings ... I was held up." She paused for a moment before continuing. " Almost bumped into Ganimard and whats-his-name. Had to shake them off. "
"Ah.. the French detectives we met last week. My..persistent little devils aren't they? " Minx shifted her eyebrows and grinned mischievously. "I hear the Sargent's pretty cute though..." .
"You always did have a soft spot for dumb animals.." Fox laughed as she looked around. "Is everybody here?"
" Just Kat. But you know her, she's always late." Mole mumbled under her breath.
"Sigh! Some people never change." Minx giggled self-absorbedly.
"Yeah. They just grow old and get all wrinkled." Ferret smirked. Minx glared at her and retorted, "Hrrrmph! I'll have you know that this pretty face got us out of many scrapes in the past before."
"Okay Ferret. Quit teasing Minx. We'll wait for another five minutes then start without Kat."
"Starting without moi? I don't think so ladies.." A fifth woman emerged from the shadows. It was the countess Mayhem. The others seemed unfazed as they acknowledge her presence.
Fox nodded her head and said. "Glad you could make it Kat. Now that everybody's here. let's begin." She took out a small pouch and emptied the glittery contents on to one of the damp crates.
"Magnificent! Simply magnificent!" Mole picked up one diamond and held it against the moonlight. " These diamonds are better than the ones me and Ferret swiped from the other two locations. "
"Sigh...Diamonds are a girl's best friend..." Minx eyes sparkled as she picked up another one to admire.
Mayhem wasn't impressed. " This is chump change. "
"Yeah tell me about it..." Ferret looked annoyed. " Why is it we can't take the rest of the stuff? I can't believe I had to leave the dough behind..."
Fox shook her head smiling. "We will get the money Ferret, and much more. Ladies, the jewel robberies so far were merely demonstrations that our client has requested."
"Yeah? So how much is he intending to pay for our big job again?"
"Five thousand dollars each. Cash." Mayhem answered. "Don't worry about it, what Mr. Karst promises, he delivers."
"We never worked for anyone else before. Can we trust this guy?"
"I can vouch for him personally.." Mayhem cooed , fishing out five invitations from her bag. " Mr Karst has even seen to our arrangements... " She paused as her lips spread into a wide grin. " Being a countess does have its privileges you know..."
"Well then ladies... " Fox spoke again. "It's all set. I'll meet with Mr Karst tomorrow night to discuss the details..."
"You do that Fox. Me and the other gals got more important things to do... like shopping !" Minx giggled as she dragged Mole by her sleeve.
"For once girl, you're making sense." Ferret laughed smugly as she yawned. "Well we've got to be going. I've got my beauty rest to catch up on.. and a date with Chanel's. "
Fox watched as the others turned to leave. Mayhem was the last of them.
"Kat.." she stopped the Countess. Mayhem looked at her with slight irritation, but was careful not to show it.
"Fox Dah-ling. It's a simple job."
"I don't believe in taking unnecessary risks Kat. You realize that besides me, the others have been out of this line for a long time."
"I wouldn't have persuaded Mr. Karst if I wasn't sure we could pull it off. We're like sisters Fox! You trust me don't you?"
Fox didn't answer her. There was something in the Countess' eyes that showed more than she was letting them know, but it will do her no good to confront her now. She nodded her head.
Mayhem let out a satisfied smile as she walked away. "Tomorrow then Fox...and don't worry, It'll be fun! Just like old times!" The sound of her footsteps gradually muted away as the night's silence was back again.
Just like old times eh? The words kept repeating in Fox's mind.
The Vixens, that was what they called themselves back then. And why not? They were beautiful people, even the most uncouth one among them. And despite it being a good number of years, Fox has to admit they still have what it takes to turn a couple of heads. But other than that, everything else seemed to have changed. For one thing, the Vixens never attempted such a big heist before. They have always played it safe, preferring smaller targets, petty thieving. Back then they were poor, and they needed the cash. But now... the others seem to be in on this for the thrill of it, the adrenaline rush of their younger years. That worried Fox. It meant taking unnecessary risks. Fox should know. She was caught once and paid the price. She had been careless, but she still felt betrayed, such that after she was released, she decided to go solo. She might be the first one to leave the Vixens, but in an ironic twist of fate, while the others have moved on, she has not.
Not that she hasn't tried. She was married seven times, but all her marriages never worked out. Her first husband was the only one whom she truly cared for once. For him, she even tried giving up her life of crime.. but that's another story. Now she's back with the Vixens again...talk about going full circle.
And of course, Kat is now a Countess.
Fox had found out quite by accident that Kat was the countess Mayhem when she came to Paris this week, as she believed the others must have as well, since her face was practically on every newspaper in town during this week . Still, they stuck silently stuck to their code. It's information like these that should just be forgotten for the good of everyone. If anyone ever got caught, no one else can be implicated, it was unspoken pact that the group have always agreed upon... Except now, Kat's identity was out in the open. She probably figured it out as much, openly flaunting her status to the Vixens just now. Not that it will matter anyway. After all, who'd believe that someone of Kat's status would be involved in such activities? There will never be enough proof , and she'd probably have enough power to buy her way out. Lucky her.
She paused for a moment, unsure of herself. Mayh... Kat and their new client seemed quite an intimate couple. If there's one thing she has learnt in life, is that love has never done her any good. In the past, Kat was never much of a team player either. And what's to be said of Trust when they don't even know each other's real identity? And that look in her eyes...
Fox frowned. She knew it was against the 'rules' , but perhaps a little extra snooping on the Countess' background with the millionaire is in order...
Fox looked around. Everybody had gone and she was the last one to leave, just like the way it had been before. She walked out of the dark alley way, her shadow once again cast on the floor as the skies began to clear. It's still a good few hours before her next appointment, and she wouldn't want to be late...