28
(Season
3, Episode 6)
The
Thief
She was able to get two dreamless,
unrestful hours of sleep. She awoke
confused, then became frustrated as she saw Lana Simon watching her from the
foot of the bed.
“What the fuck?!” Sidney responded,
angrily.
“I’ve always wondered if you slept
in the nude.” Lana purred out the words.
She was tall for a woman; almost six
feet with short, boy-cut, black hair. She
was lean and thin.
She also had a thing for people who
were of her same sex. This didn’t bother
Sidney, normally. Lana was not normal.
"Get the fuck out of
my room." Sidney ordered. She was angry and sleep deprived and did not
much care if she needed Lana or not.
Lana ignored the order and
sat down on the foot of Sidney's bed. "Oh, I’m sorry I didn't mean to scare
you. I knocked but you didn't answer so
I tried the door and it was open."
"It was not open."
Sidney said, aggravated.
Lana's grin widened then
she shrugged. "Okay you got me. I let myself in."
"Now you can let
yourself out of my room." Sidney said sternly.
Lana put up her hands up in
surrender. "Okay, okay. I’ll meet
you downstairs."
She stood and swaggered
out. Sidney dropped her head back to the
pillow, almost falling back to sleep. She
forced herself out of bed and pulled on some pants. After the night in a skirt, she welcomed the
secure feeling that they brought. She
then went to the bathroom and freshened up before heading downstairs to meet
with Lana.
Lana was pouring herself
and Sidney a cup of coffee from Sidney's coffeemaker. Sidney had only been upstairs for five minutes
so there was no way the coffee brewed in that amount of time, which gave Sidney
the eerie feeling that Lana had been skulking around in her apartment for who
knows how long.
"Coffee?" Lana
asked, seeing the realization on Sidney's face and deciding to rub it in.
"Sure." Sidney
said, cautiously eyeing Lana.
Lana poured the cups and
then sat at the kitchen table putting one cup in front of Sid. "So, you have a job for me?"
Sid nodded. "Indeed."
Lana looked at her questioningly.
"So, I’m inclined to ask where your
favorite boy toy is. I thought you
two were joined at the hip."
The mention of Tobias stung
Sidney a little. Lana's snide tone
didn't do much to help matters. "He
was shot."
Lana seemed genuinely
shocked. "No shit?"
Sidney shook her head. "He's in the hospital in critical care,
but this job is not going to wait so we have to move on it."
Lana put her hand on top of
Sidney's. "I'm sorry Sid. I know
how much-"
Sidney snatched her hand
away and frowned at Lana. "Nice
try."
Lana's sultry smile
returned. "Can’t blame a girl for trying.
I'm still a bit confused. Even with him laid up, I would think I would
be the last one you would come to. After
the last time, anyway."
Lana was referring to a job
they had tried to pull a couple of years back. It was after Tobias had done his vanishing act
and Sidney had need of a rogue’s touch. She had gotten Lana's name through the normal
channels and with the exception of the constant attempts to get Sidney into the
sack, she seemed good.
That had changed on the
night of the job when Lana decided to be a solo artist and made off with the
take from the job, leaving Sidney high and dry and almost getting her killed. From that point on, Lana always worked alone.
"To be quite
honest," Sidney said. "You are
the only person for this job."
Lana looked at her,
curiously. "What's the job?"
"It's a bank, night
time job." Sidney answered.
Lana shook her head. "You want to sneak into a bank after
hours? I'm not a miracle worker."
"We case the place
tomorrow and do the job that night." Sidney pushed forward, taking a drink of
coffee.
Lana looked angry. "Okay, now I know you are crazy. Maybe after a month of prep, but eight hours?
You are nuts."
"Tobias could do it."
Sidney said, jabbing at Lana's pride.
Lana frowned at the shot. "Well, Tobias has always been a little
stupid with women. I am not."
"What if I said I had
the bank codes for the vault?" Sidney said, ignoring the return fire, not
wanting this to turn into name calling.
Lana looked suspicious
again. "Seriously?"
Sidney nodded. "All I need you to do is bypass the security.
Do we have a deal?"
"Alright, we can case
the place. Anything smells funky and I’m
out." Lana said, shaking Sidney's
hand.
"Wouldn't expect
anything less." Sidney answered.
Lana's grin widened. "Want to go upstairs and seal the
deal?"
Sidney frowned and pulled
her hand free. "Not a chance. Tomorrow morning, be here at six and I’ll run
through the plan."
Lana shook her head. "Your loss, sweetheart. Too bad, too. I could really show you something."
Lana finished her coffee
and left out the back door. No doubt the
one she had ‘let herself in’ through.
Sidney couldn’t stand Lana.
She was a snake in the grass wrapped up
and decorated as sexual candy. It did
not matter. Sidney needed her to pull
this off, plain and simple.
Sidney finished her coffee
and grabbed a light coat to protect her from the crisp September air. She had things to do today and as much as she
would like to hit the hay, she had to recruit a slew of extras before tomorrow
morning and she only knew one place to do it.
She grabbed her keys and
headed out the front door stopping dead in her tracks as she opened it. Standing
in the doorway, a second from knocking, was Detective Eugene Sellers.
“Oh, well I guess this means
you are home, then.” Eugene said, trying
to ease the tension.
He failed. “It’s not what it looks like.”
As soon as the phrase left
Sidney’s mouth she hated herself. Had
she really just said that? The lack of
sleep and stress must be getting to her.
Sellers took it in stride
and made a wry grin. “What does it look
like?”
Sid regained her composure.
“A woman running to the store to buy
milk.”
Eugene considered this. “Oh… well if it’s not that, then what is it?”
“A woman with questionable
morals trying to get out of her house before having to talk to a cop.” Sidney
shot back with a smile.
Sellers laughed at that,
though his suspicion was far from gone. “Would
you like to come in? I have fresh
coffee?”
Sellers shrugged. “How could I refuse? As long as I’m not keeping you from anything.”
His question was meant to
be rhetorical as he brushed past Sidney into the home as he said it.
Sidney took a deep breath. Eugene sellers was, after all, part of the
plan. Sidney had not expected to deal
with him so soon, but it was always better sooner than later.
“You have a lovely home,”
Eugene began. “How do you pay for it on
a part time waitress’ salary?”
Sidney frowned at him. “Tips.”
She then walked into the
kitchen and poured his coffee. “How do
you take your coffee?”
“Black is fine, thanks. “Sellers answered before continuing his
not-so-subtle interrogation. “You must
get good tips.”
Sidney did not answer. Instead she finished pouring the cup and put
it on the table. “Let’s save time. You think I’m dirty - that my actions have
something to do with Tobias getting attacked. Why wouldn’t you, after Linda’s temper tantrum?”
He shrugged and sipped at his
coffee. “Is this the part where you
confess and tell me what’s going on?”
“That would be your best
questioning ever, wouldn’t it?” Sidney mocked.
“Oh yeah.”
“No, that’s not what I’m willing
to give you.” Sidney said, continuing. “I can give you Fenton Sanoma, and a Local
thief named Lana James.”
Eugene eyed her curiously, trying
to decide what to do. What he did next
would decide the fate of the job itself.
END EPISODE 28
END EPISODE 28