The image of her gold bracelet appeared in my mind. I whipped around just in time to see a man dressed in khakis and a blue shirt racing down the street.
"Dari, get the details. Ty, come with me. Finn...try to get a car," I commanded. I raced down the sidewalk, adrenaline building in my veins. There wasn't a moment to pause to think. I just had to catch the thief.
I didn't check to see if Ty had followed me. I could hear his feet pounding behind me. I just had to hope that Finn and Dari were doing as they were told. Quit being an idiot. Of course they're doing as you told them. The bigger concern is whether Finn is going to be able to find someone willing to lend a car. The odds were against it, but if he was able to get one, it would be a tremendous asset.
In the hazy distance, I saw the blue shirt disappear around a corner up ahead. I accelerated my pace, making a sharp turn to the right. A herd of tourists stood right in front of me. My eyes fell on a narrow opening right in the center of the group.
"Excuse me!" I yelled. They all screamed, but I ran right through them.
The man in the khakis was now running across the street. Cars were racing down four lanes of traffic, but if I timed it right, I could make it. I waited for a single car to pass, then bolted diagonally across the street. A car zoomed in front of me, another behind, missing by mere inches. Horns blared, but I had already made it to the other side. I forced my legs to keep pumping, to keep moving in the direction of the thief. He had darted around another corner, and I followed suit, catching sight of his blue shirt in front of me.
I could no longer feel Ty at my side. He must have gotten lost or something. Now wasn't the time to worry about him. I kept my eye on the man in the blue shirt.
He kept running, right towards a wooden fence. At the last moment, he leapt into the air and scaled the fence. I propelled myself faster, going full speed towards the fence. I kept my eye on the top of the fence. Three, two, one... I sprang up, my hand grasping the rail of the fence. My arms projected me over. I went free falling to the ground. I bent my knees just as my feet made impact with concrete, landing in a squat.
I jumped to my feet and sprinted forward, through a vacant parking lot. I spotted the thief a little ways away, climbing from a dumpster of trash onto a brick wall, and subsequently landing on the opposite side. I grabbed the edge of the trashcan, my arms and adrenaline vaulting me over the wall. I suddenly saw a small tree growing on the other side, right in my path. I flew into the branches. They gave way instantly from the force.
"AH!" I screamed. I fell to the ground, landing hard on my backside. My lungs screamed for air, for I pushed myself up and ran through a small field to the neighboring street. I saw the thief dashing across the empty lanes. I raced after him. Thank you, cars, for not driving on this road at the moment.
He kept running down the street, bumping into civilians and earning a number of curse words being yelled at him. I kept on his tail. A florist was selling flowers from a small cart. The thief ran past just as she was handing a bouquet to a customer, making the bundle drop to the ground. I sidestepped the flowers.
"Sorry!" I called out. Hopefully they heard me.
The thief's head turned around, his brown eyes focusing in on me. Yes, I am still following you. Yes, you will be returning that bracelet to its rightful owner.
For a moment, his feet faltered, and he nearly tumbled to the ground. But he regained his balance with expert precision.
My watch began vibrating. A quick glimpse of the caller id told me that it was Ty. At least they had the sense to call me instead of sending a text. I wasn't talented enough to read and run at the same time. I accepted the call.
"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.
"Empty your pockets," I commanded. At first the thief didn't move, so I added, "Or Ty will empty them for you."
Seeing that the battle was lost, the man pulled out a wallet, a phone, and keys from the left side.
"Other side," I declared.
He reached his hand in his right pocket and slowly removed it. Clutched between his fingers was a gold bracelet, the diamonds on the side of it glittering in the sunlight. He looked down at the band for a moment, then threw it onto the ground, like a little kid having a temper-tantrum. I snatched it up and placed it safely in a compartment on my belt.
Finn whisked all of the thief's other belongings into a plastic bag while Ty handcuffed his hands and tied his feet more securely.
"We need to turn him over to the police," Finn said.
"I'll call 911," Ty said.
Finn and I stared at him, unamused. Ty grinned sheepishly.
"Not funny," I stated.
"It isn't 911," the thief said, extremely irritated. Even the thief was annoyed at his joke.
"I know, I know," Ty said sheepishly. "I just couldn't resist."
Ty dialed the correct police number. Finn pulled out his gun and stuck it in his pocket so that it was pointed at the thief, but went unnoticed by passing pedestrians. While we waited, I called Mr. La Foie and asked him to wait for us in the town square.
After about ten minutes, a police car pulled up on the side of the road. Two officers hopped out of the car—one bald, the other with a handlebar moustache.
"What is the trouble?" the policeman asked.
"He tried to steal this bracelet," I said. I pulled the jewelry from my belt. The officers' eyes went wide.
"Who does it belong to?"
"It belongs to the Russian diplomat Nadya Checklovia," I said.
"That must be worth a lot of money, then. It's a lucky thing you caught him," the bald officer said. "Imagine if they had gotten away."
"These street thieves are quite skilled in their getaway," the officer with the moustache added. "How did you ever manage to keep up?"
I shrugged. "Lots and lots of long distance training."
One of the officers reached over to take the bracelet. "I'll take this off your hands. Tell us who the diplomat is, and we shall return it to its rightful owner."
I quickly tucked the bracelet back in my belt. "I'm a personal friend of Miss Checklovia. In fact, I was with her when it was stolen. We were a part of the same sightseeing group in the town square. I'm returning there now, so I will return it to her."
I wanted to personally make sure that the bracelet made it back to her.
"I think you had better hand that bracelet over to the police, Miss," the officer with the moustache said.
"If you wish, you may accompany us back to our group to see that it makes it back into her hands safely," I said.
The policemen glanced at each other. Reluctantly, they nodded.
"Alright," the bald man agreed. "Would you like us to drive you over?"
"Yes," I said. "Though Finn will ride his motorcycle back." I grabbed Ty's sleeve before he could insist on riding with Finn.
"Certainly. Pile in."
The police took the thief into custody, and we all got into the car. Ty rode shotgun, I sat on the far left side, and the thief rode on the right, and the officer with the moustache sat in the middle. That way, if there were any problems, there was space in between me, an 'innocent civilian,' and the criminal.
It was a short ride back to the town square. Three police cars were parked in front of the area, and a huge crowd had gathered. I craned my neck to try to find one of the diplomats, but I couldn't distinguish between the sea of indistinct faces. I hopped out of the car as soon as the car came to a halt, Ty on my heels, and pushed my way through the crowd. I found Miss Checklovia weeping in the middle of the town square, her face buried in her hands. Her escort had his arms around her shoulders and was holding a fresh bouquet of flowers.
"It's worth more than five thousand dollars," she whimpered quietly.
"It's okay, my dear," her escort soothed. "They will get it back."
"But he...he was running so fast." She erupted into a fresh bout of sobs.
"It's okay, Miss Checklovia," I called out.
Miss Checklovia lifted her face and glanced around the town square. Her eyes lit up when they fell on me. When I reached her, I pulled the bracelet from my bag. The metal and gems gleamed in the noon sun.
"Y-you got it back!" she exclaimed. Tears of joy streamed down her face. I held out the bracelet to her. She tenderly received the bracelet from my hand, eyes wide in awe. She started to chuckle. "You got it back!"
"Yes, we did," I said.
Miss Checklovia leapt from her seat and threw her arms around me. "Oh my! Thank you." She noticed Ty standing a little ways off and hugged him too, planting a kiss on his cheek.
Finn strolled up to us in the town square at that moment. "Man, I missed all the action."
Miss Checklovia smiled and planted a kiss on Finn's cheek.
"My heroes!" she declared. The crowd cheered.
Okay this is getting a little weird... I wasn't used to having so much attention on me. I felt heat rising in my cheeks.
"How did you ever manage to catch that crook?" Mr. La Foie asked excitedly.
"A little outsmarting and a whole lot of running," I said.
"You must be exhausted," Miss Checklovia said.
"I'm okay now. The police took the thief into custody."
"I hope he gets a hard sentence for this," Miss Checklovia said bitterly.
----------------------------------------
"I'm sure he will, Nadya," her escort soothed.
I felt a hand tap me on the shoulder. I turned around to see the bald police officer.
"I'm going to need someone to make out a police report. Could one of you fill me in on the details?"
"Sure, we would be happy to sign an official report," I said. "Please wait one moment."
I turned to Miss Checklovia. "What happened?"
"Well, I was standing here," she began, positioning herself in the center of the market so that she was facing the Grand Palace, "When I saw this man approaching me in the corner of my eye. I didn't think much of it at first. But then he brushed past me. That's when I felt fingers slip around my wrist and take my bracelet. I turned around and saw the man pushing his way through the crowd. I saw him slip the bracelet into his pocket. And that's when I screamed."
"Thank you," I said. "We will file the report."
"No, thank you!" Miss Checklovia exclaimed. "You got my bracelet back!"
"All in a line of duty," I stated. She smiled, then turned back to the growing swarm of reporters who wanted to interview her.
I leaned over to Ty. "When I say we will fill out the report, I actually mean you."
Ty glared at me. "What? You can't just send me away. I—"
"Someone has to fill out that report," I said. "I need to stay here and check on the suspects."
"Fine," Ty whined. "But you owe me one."
"No, I don't," I said. "You got to have the fun of playing dress up a few days ago, remember?"
Ty huffed, but didn't say anything more. I nudged him in the direction of the police car, and he slowly lumbered towards them.
I turned back to the suspects. We need to find eight people. Mrs. Checklovia and her escort were the easiest to find since they were the center of attention. I spotted Mrs. Jebet, Miss Monpelie, and Mr. La Foie standing nearby, their faces full of concern. Dari and Finn were standing by Peter Kohler and John Whincliff, eating belgian fries. That's seven...but where's Miss Omni? The Thai representative was nowhere to be found. I felt my pulse begin to race.
Has she been kidnapped? Or harmed? A hundred terrible scenarios played through my mind all at once. If anything happens, it will be our fault—my fault. It's our job to protect the representatives from any harm. I pushed my way through the crowd, searching for Miss Omni's face.
At last, I found her at the very edge of the marketplace. She was the only person in sight, staring up at the ancient architecture. I hurried towards her.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"Of course," she said. "What happened?"
Her face rested in a pleasant smile. I found it curious that she was so calm considering all that had happened.
"You don't know?" I questioned.
"No," she admitted. "I was going to go and find out, but...the crowds were so big. I'm not a fan of crowded spaces." She seemed to shrink, her cheeks growing pink.
"Miss Checklovia's bracelet was stolen," I told her.
Miss Omni's jaw dropped. "Oh no! Did you get it back?"
She assumes that I went and got it back. Why?
"Yes," I said. "Now we'd better be heading back now. We don't want to be separated from the group."
"Okay." Miss Omni took one last look at the architecture before following me into the crowd.
In the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a small ally very close to where Miss Omni had been standing. WAOIC could have easily slipped the real Miss Omni away while we were distracted and replaced her with one of their agents. Perhaps the whole robbery was really a ploy to switch agents on us.
I glanced behind me. Miss Omni looked like she did before—same clothes, make-up, and facial features. But looks could be deceiving.