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On one set of monitors, the small Allurist watched Frank Fitzgerald as he went around the mall doing his job for a change. He must have guessed she was watching, he would have to have been a colossal fool not to have. Brushing loose hair back behind her ears, Alex leaned back in the chair so she could watch more than one monitor at a time while letting the small snippets of conversation around the mall play out loud, as the audio recordings ran through the security system’s filters looking for buzz words.

Her attention was divided by also watching for any of signs of activity from the hundreds of cameras the control room’s dozens of monitors were picking up. Some were activated by light, some by motion and many more were just constantly operating. The ones that flickered on and off getting the most of the female vampire’s focus.

Those cameras were ones no one was supposed to activate, they just turned on randomly as the system cycled and checked that everything was operating as it should be. So long as each image didn't last more than for a microsecond, nothing SHOULD be amiss.

Out of the corner of one of Alex’s eyes, she noticed Zodiac gathering up her bags, and watched as the Mystic stepped closer Orin’s pool. A small black shadow was following close behind. Ginny was here too? Or was it another cat? There certainly seemed to be more than a few running around town. Penny kept most of them out of the mall besides Ginny though.

Alex looked around for Penny Valentine and not seeing her cat, concluded that the feline had made a beeline for Zodiac after catching the Mystic’s scent. Alexandrea hoped Zoey wasn't getting ready to leave yet, she had planned to go say hello as soon as someone else Odin would trust had showed up to cover the control room. Marta would be about ready for bed, so Alex didn't know if she should expect anyone else besides Odin himself, or not. Or how long that could be.

And that was just fine with the not always so gentle blonde. Alexandrea was not just ready, willing and able to hold down the fort… she was eager to do so. The feistier side of the usually kindhearted Allurist showed her fangs at the idea of a justified opportunity to show just how badass she could be. She was extremely protective of the people and places that mattered to her.

And as if on cue, Odin waltzed in at just that moment. And if anyone objective were to notice; they might find it odd how Penny Valentine always managed to be absent when the owner of the mall was around. The rest of the time the young cat seemed almost glued to Alex. Alex herself of course had never noticed, being even more besotted with Odin then she was with her beloved cat.

The blonde’s face lit up like shooting star as soon as she saw him and Alexandrea softly whispered; “I’m glad you’re glad”. Which was an huge understatement of just how happy she was to hear about his confidence in her. The soft brush of Odin’s lips across the skin of Alex’s temple also was a pleasant but very welcome surprise. She greeted his rare show of affection with a soft and truly loving smile, but somehow managed to resist the urge to embrace him with a real kiss back.

Business first, sexual harassment of her landlord later.

If Odin was expecting the usual chatter that the blonde could be known for, he would have been disappointed. Alexandrea was concise and professional when it came to business. Before Odin’s tight *** could hit the seat of the chair next to her’s, she was already bringing the Killer up to speed while tapping various screens at different points here and there to enlarge different images or details.

The 8th Dimension Mall had all the latest in security technology and Alex had already uploaded any files that Odin would want to see. She finished up quickly, after she had opened the human resources department’s call in log, concluding her report on certain someone’s job performance and cementing her case against one Mr. Frank Fitzgerald. Her hazel eyes flashed brightly as she finished by pointing out the man’s lying in an attempt to deny any responsibility for his actions.

“I think Oscar should be compensated for his trouble too, and so I marked him for a double shift during the time period where Jimmy was a no-show and the poor kid was flying solo. Speaking of, we still don’t know what that guy’s story is, so I’ll look into Mr. Jimmy Jones after I've walked both floors.”

“Also that temp help should be here by 11 and I gave instructions for them to come to your office directly. But then to wait outside in the hall until they were called in by name. I also made sure that the agency sent me the personnel files of the people they’re sending and forwarded them to your account to review. You’ll see I have highlighted some things I believe warrant your attention. And that pretty much concludes all I can tell you about this evenings fun and games.”

The petite blonde stood up and stretched out her arms and shoulders before leaning on the back of Odin’s chair, then reaching over his shoulder as she tapped on the sensitive screen of one of the monitors in front of him to enlarge the image of Zodiac and companion below.

“As far as the current status of our beloved mall, traffic is pretty light tonight.” Alex chuckled slightly as she continued; “You can’t miss that infamous Gypsy, the one and only Zoey. And whomever the other female is with her, she looks does familiar to me as well but I can’t get a clear shot of her face.” In the background the unmistakable image of a cat seemed to be stalking the more colourfully dressed of the two females.

She tried a few other camera angles for a couple moments and then shrugged her shoulders, blonde hair falling into her face as the strands that had been tucked behind her ears slid free. “Other than a few random shoppers here and there... the rest of the mall is practically empty, excepting for the people who work here. Ah, also there’s some nom nom’s for Orin in the fridge. After the mess the last time, I figured I better let you decide what and when he can eat.”

“And now that you’re back on the bridge, Captain, I’ll let you take command.” Alexandrea straightened up with a playful grin that lasted only a minute before the Allurist was all business again.

“I intended to go make Frank’s rounds behind him and see for myself how the rest of security is performing. And after I have hunted Mr. Fitzgerald down, should I send him up to see you? Or let him sweat it out awhile until you come find him yourself?”

Paintballs? She supposed it would work. Normally she'd be concerned if the paint would make the animal sick but if the overall plan was to dismember the creature into parts then no worries there. She walked the circumference of the tank slowly to judge how big of an area would be needed to process the thing properly when she spied a hint of movement behind her. She kept walking calmly for a few moments before spinning around and catching sight of her stalker. She grinned and dropped to her hands and knees as the small cat approached. "Hey you." she recognized one of Ginny's brood. "Guess that means your cat momma is here somewhere." She picked up the smaller cat and fussed over it. It made sense. Alex's shop was in here, so of course so would Alex be. She sat on the floor and continued to play with Penny for a few moments before getting up and gathering her things.

Alex was here, and Alex had a love freak over the owner of the mall proper, if she remembered right. Yes, she had done the cards for her on that subject once. This was a twist she had not considered. Any plotting to remove the beast would not involve Alexandrea. First thing she'd imagine the woman doing was run straight to Odin. She did not know the man that personally but she imagined he would be hella pissed if his investment suddenly stolen and if he knew who did it would be crashing through her front door in heartbeats.

There had to be a different way to do this with out being obvious. "Think, think, think, girl. You need a scam angle in case the whole deal is discovered." A cover story that would be hard to shake or break if needed. She shooed Penny away from one of her bags. The cat had discovered ribbons inside as was promptly starting to shred them. She'd need to think a bit more that much was certain.

As she began to trek her way to Mort's restaurant, a sign caught her eye.

DAILY EVENTS

It was something most places did to attract customers. She knew this scam well enough. Put a free show in and drag the kids to the mall and do some shopping while you were there. Bee-po the Clown was going to be here for the kids one morning and some product demonstrations the day after. Easy money.

"Put on a free show," she thought. Anyone that knew her when she was alive would know the look she was giving the sign. An idea had blossomed in the back of her mind suddenly. Could she pull this off? It was wild, insane, and just crazy enough to actually work if she planned it right. She walked back to the shark tank and pulled an empty vial from her purse. She always carried them to collect specimens in for potential uses. She popped it open and in a swift, smooth motion that would be a blur on camera, she dunked it into the water and collected a sample of it. It was capped and back in her purse in the blink of an eye. Yes, she had the place picked out already.

"C'mon, short stuff," she encouraged the cat as she changed her course again and headed to the Information booth. She needed an information pack on mall events.