Bewitched

Draft #1 - The Heist

   Allison listened to the sounds of the city as she watched the people below being engulfed by the crowds of more people, by the smoke of cars and food stands, by the undeniable sight of ordinary existence. They would go home, or to work, or to school, day after day, for probably the rest of their lives, with so few changes and so little variety that the biggest threat would be dying of boredom. Such a dull life, she thought in envy as she reached for her backpack:     

This heist, as her raven would call it, was a simple one in essence: get inside, steal from the vault and replace the items, get out unnoticed. Nothing she couldn't usually handle. She sighed one last time and finally got up from her seat on the rooftop. One more time she had to distance herself further from the boring, ordinary life she so much longed for. One more glance back to the street and off she went, making sure to press the switch for her earphone.     

"A bit late, love." her raven's words rang soundly through her ears. She rolled her eyes annoyed, but couldn't help smirking. "Are you in position at least? Can't start without you~." He chuckled, but his tone betrayed his worry.     

"Of course. But you'll have to do better than hacking one camera if you want me to get out in one piece." She replied, knowing full well that he's already got the whole building covered.The Hall had those all around the country: imposing museums of what they called "witchcraft", huge buildings that occupy large central areas of important cities. They claimed it was for gratitude, a symbol of thankfulness for the witches that died protecting the country and of respect for the ones still in service. In reality, they were nothing more than a glorified vault, trashcans to keep all the things considered too "dangerous" to be let out in the open.     

The construction had four major entry points, composed of the front doors, two emergency exits, and a back door. None of those was an option, the doors were heavily guarded and watched even by the street cameras, as were all the ground floor's windows. If they were to sneak inside, the floor above was the only possible way.      

Despite being a skilled thief and despite all her training, Allison was not good at teleportation spells. If she had her way, she'd prefer to take her chances with the armed guards while Isaac makes sure the alarms stay off and communication cut. Of course, she would never have it her way. The girl took a long breath, holding it in for a moment to calm her heart beats. The lower her pulse, the easier it is to slow down the time. Her abilities only allowed her to look like she was teleporting, but that was good enough for Isaac to fool the cameras. She was there and the next moment she wasn't.     

The first phase of the plan was completed easily enough: she was inside. Before taking any pride in her achievement, she had to remind herself that this was a public building, in the middle of the day, with free access for the public. No recording of her coming in was just an extra step to ensure her safety. You can't accuse someone who wasn't there, after all.     

Not to waste any more time, the girl started walking through the long corridor that was connecting the main rooms to the bathrooms, staff area and a couple of offices on the first floor. She walked casually through the large columns, the hood of her sweater enough to disguise her face. "There's nothing suspicious about a girl going to the toilet", she muttered to herself, reaching to turn on her microphone.     

"Which room?" she whispered as she was approaching the end of the hallway: just as her Raven described, the last two doors were the offices. One of them would have the vault they were looking for.     

"The one on the right should be it," Isaac answered, clearly focused on whatever he had to do to keep undetected as he was hacking through the security system. She was so glad he was amazing at multitasking.     

"I'll call you when I'm outside," she replied quickly, her fingers already touching the off switch.     "Be careful." He stated, his voice filled with worry. She was a bit taken aback by his sudden tone shift, but she gave a nod in response - as if he could see it. "I'll wait for your call." He continued after a pause, almost like he could see her.Without any other reply, the girl turned off her earphone and focused back on her work.                       

Stepping inside the office, she made sure to close the door behind. The room looked as plain as she expected: a couple of desks, the middle one holding a computer and a tiny printer. She headed straight to the black safe placed behind the bigger desk, her fingers hovering just above the lock, making it move slowly.      

"3-7-9-8-6-3-6..." she muttered, smiling to herself as she watched the safe door unlock with a click. She put on her gloves and took out a little box from inside, placing a tiny bag of candies instead - their signature. Looking around the room one more time, the girl closed the safe door and placed the box inside her backpack.      

Her eyes widened a little as she heard the door opening fast, but before she could react she was face to face with a shocked man, looking barely older than herself. She watched him take out a gun from his holder, debating how to deal with him.     

"Raise your hands!" the man frowned, probably trying to intimidate her. He had to know that bullets would be useless against a Witch, didn't he?     

Allison studied his face for a couple of seconds: he was terrified to shoot. His blue eyes tired from his shift, dancing between her hands and face, bracing himself for whatever she planned to do. His red hair was a curly mess, barely held together in a ponytail, which only made room for her to clearly see his freckled face. 'Cute', was the first word that came to her mind, then shortly followed by 'sorry' as she raised her right hand, making a fist and throwing him back in the wall before he even got a chance to shoot. The girl walked casually to his face, now grasping for air, and waved her fingers in front of him.     

"Who are you?" her eyes glowing green as she asked the question.     

"Adam Wallace." he coughed, shocked by his own words coming out. "I'm a security guard," he muttered before he could stop himself.     

"That's all?" she raised an eyebrow and pat herself on the back for not panicking. "Thank you for your honesty." As she was walking back to the main hallway, she turned around and threw him inside the room, closing the door and placing a charm, so that no one would hear his knocks and from outside. Isaac wouldn't like it if he figured she left a witness, but he doesn't need to know everything. Making her way out of the building, she turned her earphone back online, ready to be picked up.      

"Got it?" right on time, Isaac spoke as soon as she took her fingers off the device.     

"Naturally," she smirked proudly, sneaking through an alleyway and finally joining the crowd on the main street. "My ride?"     

"Just a few blocks ahead, then go towards the red bricked building. The guy has a bike, so just follow the smell of oil, leather and mommy issues." he teased.     

"Oh, I didn't know you were the one coming! Finally getting off your chair for some field work?" Allison mocked, chuckling as he let out a frustrated groan. "Oops, sorry."      

"I swear at some point I'll rat you out to the Hall." he scoffed.     

"Then who will do all your dirty work, huh?"     

"Guess I have to find another moody Witch, but maybe with less baggage."      

"Oh, but then you'd miss me." As she was turning towards the building she spotted a guy leaning on his black motorcycle, sporting a black helmet, leather jacket, and combat boots. All the more stereotypical, she thought.     

"Found your guy," she muttered, practically running across the street. "I'll see you home". After all this time, her heart still races after a job. As she got closer, the man lifted his chin slightly, which she took as a greeting. Without words, the girl got on the bike and off they went. Less than three years ago the thought of riding a motorcycle with a complete stranger would've terrified Allison, but since Isaac, nothing seems to move her.