Partner in Crime
(song info at the end, read the snippet first :)
Empty shadows and dim streetlights.
A locked door and a pair of headlights.
Henchman slid down further in the passenger seat of the dark sedan parked strategically across the street from her quarry as the pale lights pulled around the corner and the silence of the empty street was shattered.
--already late, got to hurry. He might have already left and if I blow this job--
Crooked tires and a slamming door.
--do I have all the supplies? Yes, you checked twice you numskull, the code, the code, don’t drop anything--
The figure fumbled over their bags until a single finger snaked out towards the shining metal buttons that stood out against the weathered side of the of the old brick mansion that took up half the block.
--there we go, 64729, yes now the handle, no!--
A thick folder smacked against the ground, and the crouched awkwardly with their laden arms to reclaim it, turning enough that the streetlight gleamed off the smooth cheeks of the fresh-faced hero.
When the door finally slammed shut behind them, Henchman dropped her focus, and the chaotic thoughts faded into the quiet buzzing of a trapped fly.
Four weeks of nightly surveillance, and she finally had the last code they needed.
Her pen scratched across the inside of her wrist. 64729.
As the minutes turned to hours, she let her eyes close and her mind wander. He wouldn’t want to wait, not with the XX approaching, Everything else was already in place. Tomorrow, the wait would be over.
The sky was two shades lighter when the door finally opened again.
The figure reimerged, hands empty, and darted to their car, head ducked and eyes scanning the shadows.
The red tail lights were still visible when Henchman blinked, and he was beside her, the driver's door already clicking shut.
His thoughts hummed, flying by like a bullet train, smooth and blurred like they always were. “You got it?” It was more a statement than a question, and Henchman pressed her lips together to keep from beaming at the unspoken praise.
“I got it,” she confirmed, twisting her arm to show him the numbers on her wrist.
This thoughts zoomed, as fast as he was, until the train slowed into a single track of a toy train running circles under a tree as he caught her hand and slowly kissed the inside of her wrist.
Genius, brilliant talent, indispensable.
Henchman was glad for the shadows that kept the heat in her cheeks hidden.
When his mind raced, it was like a override channel, white noise she could focus on to tune out the chaos of the crowds around her.
But she loved even more the rich texture of his mind when he slowed down and his thoughts turned to appreciation. His praises never failed to make her melt.
She barely stopped herself from responding with “No you are.” It would have been too corny, and unnecessary. Villain was a genius, and he knew it.
His thoughts picked up again, flying by but at a pace she could follow. A silver keypad, a brick hallway, a gleaming brass safe. His forehead brushed her as his thoughts slowed to a stop as the safe swung open and revealed their treasure.
She looked into his dark scheming eyes, so close to hers.
Villain smiled the wicked smile she loved so much, and, in her mind, he leaned forward an inch until their lips finally met.
He sat back into his seat, already running through the plan again.
Hurry, hurry we’re going to be late!
Two cappuccinos, one americano, one diet americano, three blacks, two chai-- no three? Was it two? Mia, Thomas, Mindy? Did she have one?? Who am I missing--
Four blocks down and take a left--
I should have picked the black shoes, I can already feel the blisters forming.
Can I just quit and sell books online? I don’t want to people today…
Get out of the way you moron it looks like rain twelve dozen is not enough cute dog there she is I want oh sorry they’re calling again now please sweaters work open mine stopmyturnclosebootslatepeopleparkwalkinggo--
Large hands dropped on her shoulders, and the flood of voices disappeared as the purring hum of thoughts wrapped around her.
Villain slid one hand down her shaking arms to grasp her hand.
At the second time, she looked up at him.
“You can do this. Twenty minutes and we will be back at base.”
Base. Headquarters. Safety. Home.
The sanctuary Villain had made for her where no other minds could drown out her own.
Henchman turned back to the street crowded with light and people. So different from its quiet shadows of the night.
She pulled her eyes back to Villain. “Six minutes of focus, and then it will be over.” His hand on her shoulder tightened. “Six minutes, just like we practiced.”
She forced a swallow and a nod.
His mind ran through the plan once more, and she did her best to follow as the voices pressed against her.
When Villain was satisfied she wasn’t going to fall apart, he released her and stepped back.
“We’ll just walk down the street like a happy couple and slip inside.”
The nod came easier this time. It was an image she often pictured.
The hand that was still wrapped around hers shifted until their fingers were intertwined, and her heart stuttered as he pulled her out of the alley and into the stream of pedestrians.
The warmth of it occupied her mind until Villain pulled her to an abrupt halt and before she’d registered they’d stopped, the door was open and they were slipping into the narrow brick hallway.
Henchman lost track of the turns as Villain pulled her through the labyrinth of hallways.
Using the humming of his thoughts as a buffer as she used her powers to avoid guards and patrons as he dragged her through the repurposed mansion.
Three minutes and fourth two seconds since they left the safety of the alley, they came to a stop in front of a wide mahogany door.
Villain picked the lock in the blink of an eye. His hand on the handle, he turned back to her.
No minds were present behind that door.
The safe was covered by the painting behind the desk. A cheap imitation of a Monet that was worth less than the gaudy frame that held it.
Henchman dropped into the leather desk chair with a sigh of relief as Villain went to work at the safe.
The whirring of the safe handle was the only sound as Henchman shuffled through the desk drawers, pocketing a golden hilted letter opener and a ruby crusted pennant ring.
Leaning back in the chair, she enjoyed the pillowing cushion of silence that eased the pounding headache that was building behind her eyes.
Through the window she heard a dog barking and the distant echo of a siren.
Henchman sat up with a jolt as the final tumbler dropped into place and the door to the safe creaked open.
A cloud of mist exploded from the safe; her warning too little, too late.
Henchman doubled over as the tear gas burned her eyes. The door they’d closed behind them slammed open, and the flood of mind-voices returned like a tidal wave.
A room that blocked out the thoughts of others. Oh how foolish she’d been. Villain had created for her just such a space.
The voices crested with the throbbing in her head that had returned tenfold.
The loudest of the voices was filled with derision.
“Did you really think we were such fools?”
She ignored the judgment in the hero’s question and looked up at her partner in crime. His eyes were creased with regret.
It was as if he was the one reading her mind this time.
His thoughts were a jumbled mess. A ten lane freeway rather than a bullet train.
Analyzing all the possibilities.
But Henchman already knew the answer.
She lifted her hand to his on her shoulder.
The song for this prompt was Partner in Crime by Madilyn Mai
