LOG: Dead End

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

Who: Abigail (Original), any and all
What: Fleeing from a variety of small crimes.
Where: Market District, Street Markets Day Two
When: 5/20, Morning and Afternoon
Warnings: None?

There are times where no matter how hard she tries, things just don't go her way. She'd thought the open air markets had been a good place a few days ago. She'd lifted money from some people, had food with others, and so despite her normal reservations, she opted to repeat the trip.

First rule of thieving: don't hit the same place twice in a short period of time.

Abby should have remembered that. Today she hasn't. Today is one epic failure after another, and if not for the fact that she needs to eat tonight, she'd probably give up, throw in the towel, and slink back to her safe spot.

Instead she's rushing through the crowd, trying not to get caught by the man searching for her, much less relinquish her pathetic take for the day.

Comments

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

Roxy is just looking through games. After a talk with Oquirrh, she was kind of missing them. It seemed like a few places had old, used games, which was always a good starting place. Still, in the name of price comparison, she was looking around for any other locations.

She was moving away from a stall just in time to made a head on collision with a girl, her hand reaching out to try and catch her before she might fall. "Wow, hey! Slow down there, where's the fire?"

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

"Someone's after me," Abby says quickly, looking back at the large body still moving through the crowd.

She shakes Roxy's hand off of her, the girl will be no help at all.

"Don't tell him you saw me."

With that she tries to run again.

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

The first thing Roxy noticed was how thin the arm she was holding was. How very familiar it was. She glanced back, and maybe she's jumping to conclusions, but so far she's been right when she jumped.

She made the decision and bolted only a second after, keeping pace, and she reached out for her arm again, but only to get her attention. "Got a better way to ditch 'im, c'mon," she said.

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

The other person is closer to her size, which Abby is more at ease with. But her clothes, her helmet, they're new, and her accent is so very strange.

But there's an offer for escape, and she's fast, so Abby is just gonna go with it.

"Works for me," she chuckles, keeping up.

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

Roxy runs, keeping a loose grip on Abby's arm so they don't get separated. She's looking to the buildings, moving away from the crowded center. It should be...THERE. That's the building she's looking for. She tugs Abby towards it and right into a narrow alley. She glances back. The man is still trying to get through the last of the crowd.

Plenty of time.

"One sec," she said, finally letting go as she sprints down to the fire escape. Then runs right at the wall, before kicking off the side to the other wall, then back again, snatching the bottom of the ladder, weight and momentum pulling it down to the ground.

Abby may have found a ninja.

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

"One, WOW," Abby laughs, shaking her head for a moment.

Then she takes a moment to cross her arms over her chest. "Two? I can't fucking do that genius girl."

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

"Two secs," she said and swung back and forward again, kicking the bottom of the first flight to force the ladder the rest of the way down. She let go, flipping around to land on her feet on the ground as the ladder came in easy reach.

She bowed and made a motion to the ladder. "Hurry six flights and then stop, and be very quiet," she added. Generally people didn't look UP for tiny things, and it was high enough to not be in easy sight range

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

"You're fucking amazing," Abby laughs, running past Roxy and up the ladder, up and up and up until she's as high as she's been told, and then she goes very still, very quiet.

This girl is SO COOL.

Meanwhile, just as she starts to settle down, the person after her comes into the alley.

"You see a girl around here?"

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

As soon as Abby is up the ladder, Roxy pushes up to set it back in position. No reason to make it noticeable. Then she pulled out her phone, opening up her thread to Omega. Might as well have an act AND send Omega his daily cat pic. She started slowly moving down the alley to seem like she's distracted with what she's doing.

"Huh?" She said, looking up at the man. She looked around the alley. "No? Well, I guess I'm a girl?" She shrugged at him.

[oquirrh_at_the_wheel]

Oquirrh hasn't visited Gulch's open-air markets before, but there's a first time for everything. Time to make some contacts and get information. She parks her jeep at the edge of the crowd and surveys the shops. Where to start?

Instead, she spies a young girl fleeing through the crowd. Narrowing her eyes, she finds the man pursuing her. Kid could probably use a hand. She starts into the crowd toward him.

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

Crowds are both a blessing and a curse. When stealing they help hide her, let her sneak and help her disappear. When fleeing someone it helps hide her too. But it's harder to move through, and Abby only barely bursts through the edge of the crowd. And in the process she trips and falls to her knees.

She winces as she pushes herself up, her hands a bit bloody from absorbing the fall, her pant leg of her newly grabbed pants torn. Fuck!

When she sees Oquirrh, she rushes to her. She needs an ally.

"Ma'am? Ma'am, this scary guy is chasing me. I need help. Help, please."

[oquirrh_at_the_wheel]

Poor kid. Oquirrh doesn't know if she's a good kid or a street thief, but does it really matter? A big burly guy chasing down a kid is never a good sign. Memory makes her blood run cold.

"Want a ride, or do you need me to hit him?" Oquirrh asks, scanning the crowd.

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

This little woman isn't big enough to hurt him with a hit. That's just stupid.

"You're kidding, right? He's huge and scary," Abby protests.

He's getting closer, and it's scary. If he gets her, he might break something, her arm or her legs or... No, this isn't good.

[oquirrh_at_the_wheel]

He's coming. He isn't marked hostile on her tracker, but he's moving fast enough that she can single him out.

"It's okay. Go get in the jeep. I'll take care of him."

It's him all right. He isn't shouting at the girl, which sends all sorts of warning signals to Oquirrh. She grits her teeth, shifts her weight, and hopes she remembers her training.

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

Abby hesitates for half a moment and then runs to jump into the back of the jeep, hiding behind a seat. Before this she had managed to avoid people she's pissed off. But she's seen what people do to thieves out here. Getting caught is like a death warrant sometimes.

So she hides and prays.

And the man approaches Oquirrh, finally moving past the worst of the crowd and glaring at Oquirrh.

"Where is the girl?"

[oquirrh_at_the_wheel]

Oquirrh almost folds her arms. No, stop, she'll probably need her hands in a minute. She puts her hands on her hips instead. "What do you want with her?"

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

God is she really that dense? Abby tries not to whimper at the thought of what's going to happen. She should try and sneak out.

"Ain't your business," the man answers. "Little bitch owes."

[depthlesslock]

York's last two trips to various markets were particularly interesting, so perhaps a third will score again. In any case, York finds himself wandering around the stalls for the third time in less than a week, wishing the clouds were high enough to justify taking his helmet off to eat one of the pastries he's brought.

A commotion up ahead makes him frown and stand on tiptoes to try and see what's going on. There's two people pushing through the crowds some meters apart, the one ahead considerably smaller than the one behind. Maybe it's because they're in a similar place to where they met that he recognises the battered helmet of the girl in front. Abigail, the little street thief. Looks like one of her heists didn't go so well.

He moves forward, hoping to intersect her before she can vanish or the guy chasing her can catch her.

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

This is stupid. It wasn't even anything! She took a pastry and dammit her timing had been perfect. Always was perfect. Second time today. Maybe she should have left when she lifted that watch. Stupid. Just stupid!

There, in the crowd, she sees someone familiar. Someone she has a number of. Dammit. Might as well try. She darts toward the tan and white helmet.

[depthlesslock]

She's seen him. Either that or she's suddenly making a beeline in his direction for some random reason, but he's willing to bet the former. He stops as she gets near him and folds his arms, the bag of pastries dangling from his wrist.

'There you are! I told you not to run off, where the hell have you been?'

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

Oh bless him. Bless this beautiful asshole because he's giving her a cover. Hero status temporarily awarded for sure.

"I'm sorry," she protests. "I wanted to go see the pastries again."

She sees the bag, thank god it's from the same stand. "See if I could watch him make them or something. I wanted to know how it was done."

She could actually kiss this guy. Stupid asshole that he is who took his money back from her but hey, help is help.

And there is the other man, finally running up to them and Abby yelps in shock as the man grabs her arm.

[depthlesslock]

York sighs and shakes his head. 'We spent twenty minutes there already! Didn't you see enough?' He unfolds his arms and rubs the back of his neck. 'I've been worried sick, Annie, don't do that again.' Fake name, just in case.

The man catches up and snatches Abigail by the arm. York steps up, grabbing the guy's wrist and extracting his fingers from her. 'The fuck do you think you're doing?' he snaps.

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

Annie. Annie. She is Annie. Wants to react to Annie. Yeah.

"She stole a pastry," the man snarls.

"I did not," she protests. "My brother bought it for me."

[depthlesslock]

York laughs in disbelief. 'Stole? Are you kidding? I think you're seeing things, man, Annie wouldn't steal a cookie from the jar on the shelf.'

He puts himself between the two of them, keeping Abigal in his peripheral.

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

"She didn't buy it from me and touch it, bet it's still fresh," the man demands.

"It's a pastry," she whines. "Look, he got lots of them. And I liked cherry so he got one just for me."