Honor Amongst Thieves ((Aine))

[CharlotteC]

‹Aine› If her father could see her, he'd have a heart attack. Head to toe in black, hair tied back in a braided bun, with a combat-ready pistol strapped to her thigh. Tucked into one pocket was a mask, and in a satchel, she carried some...interesting things. Including a damn microwave. "Who the **** locks up a ****ing microwave?" she muttered, as she slipped into the shop from the alley, smoothing
‹Aine› golden strands against her scalp. She was nervous - it was, after all, only her second trip to a shop in this new place - but she hid it with a confident grin.

* CharlotteC stood before the shop keeper, after three years in this city and three years of her more criminal habits, she had built up a pretty good repore with not just this keeper, but all the shop keepers that were within the city. It didn't help that her path gave her the sweet ability to talk them down or up in price. That was what she was currently doing when a young girl walked in. Her chocolate
‹CharlotteC› eyes took in the girl for only a moment before she returned back towards the keeper, smiling to him "Can't you give me a bit more? After all, you know I only bring you the good stuff..." She asked with a sweet purr as she leaned against the counter.

* Aine hung back, watching this other woman haggle with the shopkeep. Back home, she'd known the local fences. Half of them had ended up close friends of hers after a while. But here, she was a stranger. A foreigner. She hugged the bag, with its huge contents, closer to herself. To distract the itch to check the other woman's pockets, she scratched behind her own ear, offering the shopkeep a slightly
‹Aine› less confident smile as she wondered how much she'd land for her haul.

* CharlotteC was aware of the way the keeper glanced towards the other woman who had entered and then glanced back to Charlie and nodded. Charlie knew that he was probably planning to screw the girl out of money. "Good, so $3000 for everything?" The keeper nodded "Grand!" Charlie said with a smile and stood upright again.

* Aine knew how it was. New in town got the shaft. Long-term visitors got the good deals. But Aine didn't comment. She held her tongue, even as she smiled. She'd get in good with them eventually. So she slid up towards the counter, waiting patiently to be allowed to array her goods, even as blue eyes scanned the other woman.

* CharlotteC watched as the keeper counted out the money, well aware of the fact that the girl was watching her. When the keeper handed her the money, she smiled and nodded, slipping the money into her pocket, knowing that even the most untrained pick pocket would have seen where the money was. This was a test, lets see how the girl responded, Charlie thought to herself.

* Aine bit her lip as she watched where the other woman put the cash, fingers itching as she approached the counter. Don't do it, don't do it - ****! she thought, even as she clenched and unclenched her fingers behind her before delicately attempting to slip a hand into that money-filled pocket. Somehow, she kept a straight face.

* CharlotteC 's head lowered slightly, disappointed and yet amused at the same time. Her hand snapped like a viper and captured the girl's wrist in a grip that was both tight but gentle. It wouldn't harm the girl but the girl wouldn't be able to pull free easily. "Tsk Tsk..." She said looking towards the girl.

* Aine winced in embarrassment as the woman caught her by the wrist, looking physically pained. "Sorry," she said softly, accent clear, "can't help it. Always had sticky fingers. It's reflex." Blue eyes opened a crack, looking over at her anxiously. She looked, quite literally, like a little girl with her hand caught in a mousetrap cookie jar.

* CharlotteC nodded as she looked to the girl once more "I know the feeling..." She released the girl and made sure that her money was safe before looking to the keeper. He seemed blind to what had just happened, or at least just ignoring it. Charlie then nodded and started out of the store but waited just outside for the girl.

* Aine didn't even bother haggling; she simply talked with the shopkeep for a short while, commenting about the microwave. She didn't mention the buzzing phone in her zippered pocket, or the fact that she was so new here she'd only arrived yesterday. She double-counted the money, slipping it into the pocket opposite that buzzing phone, which she ignored. She knew who it was. Family. She couldn't.

* CharlotteC continued to lean against the wall, checking online to see how some of the stuff she was selling in the auction house was doing... so far, nothing was selling, but then, things usually only sold 24 hours not a full week.

* Aine emerged from the shop, slightly shocked to see that the other woman had stayed. This was rather new for her. "So sorry about what happened in there," she commented, "usually I can control it a bit more than that. Had to, coming across the Atlantic on a plane. Otherwise I would've gotten locked up in Customs for having other people's stuff."

[Aine (DELETED 7786)]

* CharlotteC laughed a bit and nodded "It's fine, though you really do have to be careful in this city. A lot of the people aren't as understanding as I am. I have been in your position though." Charlie said as she pushed away from the wall and glanced at the girl. "This city has dangers even burglars have to be careful for."

* Aine inclined her head gently, smirking some. "Got in a couple scuffles with guards. They really aren't any fun to deal with." Her blue eyes glimmered, taking a half-step towards her. "Got any advice for a newbie in town? Lord knows I could use anything you could give me."

* CharlotteC nodded and then gave a motion with her head to silently request that the girl follow her. "I can give you a few tips"

* Aine smiled slightly, moving to follow the woman. "Sounds good," she commented simply. She knew what step number one would probably be. Lose the rather conspicuous getup.

* CharlotteC smiled and began to lead the girl towards Lancaster's, a place that she knew was good for new people, especially since the back packers was right upstairs. "The first thing you need to do is find someone who can get you the right gadgets for Breaking and Entering." She pulled out a vile that was filled with an odd colored liquid and handed it to the girl "Next time you run into a guard."
‹CharlotteC› Toss that at his feet, the liquid turns to gas and then will knock them out.

* Aine accepted the object, tucking it into her bag. "Nifty trick, for sure. What other gadgets are there?" she asked. She really had no idea about this city's tricks and intricacies. She'd just chosen the first place her thumbtack had pierced on a map of North America.

* CharlotteC smiles "Well there is also smoke bombs, they make good work of giving you cover so you can get out unseen... people believe it's a fire and just run scared. There is also electronic lock picks... those are a bit hard to come by but worth it. Your best friend though..." She pulled out what looked like a thumb drive and held it out for her to see "Will be a false alarm."

* Aine smiled broadly, eyeing the device. She had no idea what it really was, but the words false alarm gave a damn good indicator of what it did. "Where can I get one of those?" she asked, licking her lips almost hungrily. It'd make her life oh-so-much-easier. She knew about electronic lock picks, hadn't invested in one yet.

* CharlotteC smiled more so and then stopped in front of the pub. "I could make you one. In fact, I could make you everything needed for the BnE world as we thieves of Harper Rock like to call it."

* Aine smirked, dipping her chin. "What would it set me back?" she asked bluntly, thumbs hooking into her beltloops. She knew how this worked.

* CharlotteC shrugged, "You're new to this city, I know you won't have much. So we can talk about that once I am able to make everything. A lot of the stuff I need is a bit difficult to come by. So it may take me a while to make it."

* Aine nodded gently. "If you need any help getting some of it, I'll definitely do that. I did pick up this little gem," she commented, pulling something from deep in her satchel. A sensor alarm, of all things. To protect the thief from other thieves.

* CharlotteC smiled as she looked at the girl "That is a way that a lot of the thieves in this city work. 'Honor amongst thieves' is something I actually live by. Plus, I like to help." She said with a shrug and then pulled out her phone and looked at her inventory to see what she would need. "If you come across cellphones or microwaves, those are needed... or... Ooooh... Box of Electronics would help!"

* Aine nodded. "I'll keep a close lookout," she said politely, digging into a pocket and pulling out an index card and a pen. She scrawled down some information, and handed it to her. "If you don't see me around, you can find me there." It listed a motel address and room number. "I didn't catch your name," she added. Her own was scrawled at the bottom. Aine, in curling cursive.

* CharlotteC watched the girl for a moment and then watched her write down the information. She had a photographic memory so she didn't actually need the card. "I didn't actually throw it..." She said with a playful wink "You can call me Charlie." She said and then glanced to the pub they were standing near "My mentor owns this place, so I work upstairs if you ever need to find me."

* Aine nodded quickly. "Good to meet you, Charlie," she said softly, one hand momentarily pressing to her chest. "Look forward to hearing from you again soon. And I will keep an eye out for those things. I'll also come find you when I get a new phone."

* CharlotteC nodded and smiled "Always glad to help and to meet the new people to this city." She said with a bright smile.

* Aine nodded. "See you around, then."

* CharlotteC nodded and then headed into the bar where she planned to take the fadeportal home.