Agent X

xx| 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢-𝙾𝚗𝚎 |xx

"What?" I panted.

"What street are you heading to? I'll cut him off."

"Fifth and fourth," I yelled as I glanced up at the sign at the traffic intersection I was passing.

"Great, over and out."

The man zigzagged around a group of tourists strolling down the street at a snail's pace. Just as I approached, they stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to take a picture. My eyes narrowed as I gaged a space just large enough for me to fit through. I tore past them, missing them by mere inches.

The blue shirt disappeared around a corner. I sped up, nearly running face first into a lamp post. In the knick of time, I side-stepped the obstacle and kept going. The thief clearly knew his way around the city.

I was catching up. I could see the gap closing. And when my eyes glanced up at the street sign in front, I noticed that we were coming to fourth street. A quick glance around and I found Ty running up on the other end of the road. We were closing in.

But right before Ty caught him, the thief's body was whisked up and over a stone wall. I immediately grasped the top of the wall and propelled myself to the other side.

He ran through an alleyway, thrusting circular, rusted trash cans in front of me. I leapt over each one. The pounding impact stabbed the bones in my feet. My heart felt like it would explode in my chest. I could feel the blood pulsing in the veins in my head and neck in a rapid but steady rhythm with each jump.

The thief banked to the left in his getaway. My calves burned, but I forced myself onward. Faster, Xara, faster! The thief was slowing. I could see his chest heaving. He was getting tired, too. I pushed through the burning of my lungs, forcing my legs to run faster. The space between us was narrowing.

In the distance, I heard the faint sound of a motor roaring. My eyes fell on my watch to see a message from Ty.

Finn got a motorcycle and picked me up. We're following your location now. Will be there soon.

The others were close. All I needed to do was stop this thief from running away, and then Ty and Finn would be around to handle him. With a burst of energy, I dove forward. I sailed headfirst into the thief's back. We crashed to the ground, pinning the thief down. I quickly whipped a set of chains from my belt and wrapped them around his feet.

He can't go anywhere if his feet are tied.

Finn and Ty roared around the corner on a motorcycle. Ty jumped off the back and raced over to assist.

I nearly collapsed to the ground, both with exhaustion and relief. I inhaled deep, ragged breaths, to try to stabilize myself. My throat was dry and screamed for water. I barely heard Ty talking to me over the pounding of blood in my ears.

"Are you alright?" Ty asked me.

"No," the thief moaned before I could respond. Ty glared at him.

"I wasn't talking to you." He made eye contact with me. I nodded my head.

"Yeah," I panted. "Yeah I'm good." I could feel my heart rate going down, my strength returning.

"Lady, I think you sprained my arm," the man said. "Why would you do that?"

"Why were you running?" Finn interrogated.

"I was getting my daily exercise," he replied indignantly.

Ty snorted. "Oh sure. You get your daily exercise by running through the street while cars are zooming down the road and jumping over fences."

And by shoving trash cans down in an alley, I added silently.