Chapter 6. Thieves

At the top floor of the Police Headquarters, two middle-aged men were sitting on opposite sides of a table. A map of the city was laid open in front of them. Six locations were circled on the map, two were close, while the rest were scattered all across the city.

The intercom rang, and one of the men pressed a button.

"Chief, we have a breakthrough." A man's excited voice sounded from the intercom. "Inspector Flake reported a new case in which the perpetrator is most likely the same."

"Speak," the Chief said.

"Yes, Chief. Earlier today, Neil Honda, an entrepreneur, reported that yesterday he was driving near the Eastside Bank when he suddenly lost consciousness and the next thing he remembers is walking up on the side of the road and his car was gone. Inspector Flake scouted the location and found an abandoned taxi. Two sets of fingerprints found on the taxi match with the unknown prints picked up from the bank.

"Inspector Flake also contacted the car company. The taxi is registered in the name of Lyle Frost. His fingerprints weren't found in the bank, so the Inspector suggests that he might have been a getaway driver. Inspector wants to meet you while the report on the taxi driver is being made."

"Send him after Charm," the other man replied, and the line was cut off. His head was clean shaved, and he had a white mustache on his face. Frown lines on his forehead gave off an impression of his character. It was very different from the Chief who had a head full of hair and a clean-shaved and merry face.

"What a capable man," the Chief sighed in admiration. "He certainly won't be happy if your daughter closes the case."

"He withheld information until-"

"This is how a flourishing policeman works. He is decisive, meticulous, admired-"

"An ant will stay an ant no matter how many mountains it climbs."

Charm entered the room in the middle of the sentence. She apologized to the speaker and stood respectfully at the side. Earlier today at breakfast, she received a message to visit the Police Headquarters. Following, she was instructed to read a report on the cases that transpired last night.

The reports kept piling from early morning, and till now a total of six banks had reported theft. This alone was enough to shock the police department. They tried to suppress the news but were unable.

No one knew how these thefts were committed and the speculations burnt like wild fire on the internet. There was little to no evidence. It was as if the money was stolen by invisible men. However, on questioning the staff, one major factor was revealed. All of them remembered losing consciousness.

Media was leaning on the possibility of a chemical attack by a rival nation. Some guessed that the staff was corrupt. But only a handful of people could guess the answer closer to the truth.

"Let's hear your thoughts," the Chief politely said.

"A Chronocaster!" Charm exclaimed.

***

The dimly lit hall was dressed in white and red velvet. Everyone, including the customers, waiters and the manager, was looking towards the commotion at one end of the room. Three people seemed to have taken the main stage. They were having an argument, most could tell, but only a few understood that a police officer was here for an arrest.

When the thug refuted with his greasy words, the young police lady threw a punch. Everyone was busy, thus did not notice the arrival of two men. Their faces weren't visible in the dim hall. One of the newcomers suddenly roared, but not a soul looked in his direction.

It was as if everyone did exactly what he said. They stopped.

Charm's punch was still in the air when the words resounded in the hall. The anger and frustration of the day was about to be cleansed. Her audience had gone blind, the world had frozen but cleansed it did.

Glasses broke, dishes fell as Cash crashed onto the restaraunt table. His mind had slipped to sleep, and he didn't know any pain until his consciousness snapped back. It was too late for him to scream, but the pain brought tears to his eyes.

Lyle also regained consciousness at the next moment. He didn't see the punch land, but looking at Cash, it clearly did. Charm was standing there, huffing. Another person was back to his senses, and he rushed to help Cash get up.

"A runaway Chronocaster." It was Charm who spoke first. She tried to regulate her breathing.

"True-True," Blaine chuckled and walked a few steps forward. "I can't sense much from you." He smiled.

"I can't sense much from you either," Charm pointed her finger towards Blaine and said.

Blaine's smile instantly vanished. Sweat drops emerged on his forehead just as the girl raised her hand. He was at his 100%. Initially, he estimated to be in this state for more than 20 minutes, but that simple move caused it to drop at 5.

"You are under arrest," Charm said as she struggled to show the police badge to Blaine. But suddenly blood gushed out of her nose.

The badge slipped from her hand, and she coughed. In the next few seconds, she was on her knees. Her vision got blurry, and it felt as if her body was drowning in a heaviness. Just at this moment, a kick from behind knocked her out.

"Fuck you, son of a bitch." Cash turned to Lyle and punched his stomach. "Snitching me is like digging your own grave."

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Blaine smiled after wiping the sweat off his forehead. "We almost got… what do you call it?"

"Screwed," it was Sayeno who spoke. "You say it like we almost got fucked, Mr. Blaine."

"True-true, we almost got that." Blaine laughed. "Now shall we kill this little lady?" he paused for a moment, then added. "And this taxi driver."

"That would be the last mistake you will ever make," Lyle seriously looked at Cash. Then he turned towards Charm and checked if she was alive. "Killing this girl, I mean. I don't know what you did to her but you should stop." He tried to lift the girl's head.

"Are you still on drugs, Lyle?" Blaine's eyes were cold and suddenly Lyle froze.

"Yo yo, Mr Blaine. Lyle is not the type. If he is serious, then listening to him will help us," Cash said worriedly. Combined with how he was hiding the left part of his face with a handkerchief made him look pathetic.

Lyle was back to his senses again. He didn't remember what happened just now, but looking at the girl in arms made it clear. After adjusting her head so she could breathe easily, he said.

"She has a family."

"Fuck!" Sayeno exclaimed. "You mean they can do this shit too?"

"I don't know but Blaine?" Lyle looked at Blaine.

"Police are after us anyway," Cash said. "It's better if they only look us for the money, vengeance is-"

"Let's go," Blaine turned and walked away, Sayeno followed. Cash also went away after giving Lyle one last look.

***

A week went by and the thieves were still at large. The news was still on fire on some TV channels, but others had moved on (or were paid to move on). It was a fine day with the sun lighting up the entire sky.

Two people climbed up the stairs of an apartment complex. One of them was dressed in a pink tracksuit with white stripes. She was taller than the girl by her side. The little one was wearing a jacket, her slim hands gave away the fact that this piece was bigger than her size.

They stopped in front of an apartment that was no different from the rest. The girl in pink kicked the door open and entered without saying a word. This place was dark and empty. But on entering the last room, they saw a man sleeping in his bed. He had relatively long hair and was wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

The pink girl nodded at her partner and stepped closer to the bed. Her beautiful hands touched the forehead of the unconscious man. She closed her eyes and slowly a frown emerged on her face.

"He's dead!"