Page 5 of Never Enough

“That’s why you’re going first, kitty cat.” He smacked her on the ass.

After planting his feet shoulder-width apart and making sure his center of gravity would keep him from pitching over the edge, he grasped her wrists like a trapeze artist. She reacted with a soft squeak as he lowered her down around the corner of the building, his muscles bulging and burning as he moved her. “Grab it and go, kitty cat!”

With a huff of indignation, the woman let herself down the pipe in a controlled slide. When she reached the bottom, he swung himself down to hang off the edge. The metal of the pipe was thin, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t going to hold. He took a quick look around at his options, decided there weren’t any, and then let himself begin to slide down the pipe.

Sure enough, it began to groan at his weight and collapse underneath him. He was barely twelve feet down when he had to let go and aim for the wrought iron shop sign on the corner of the building to keep him from falling the remaining twenty-plus feet and breaking his legs. Luckily, his hands managed to catch the bar of the sign. While his shoulders definitely felt the yank of his weight’s sudden stop, at least now he was only about ten feet from the ground instead of twenty. Still iffy but not nearly as bad.

He heard metal grind and squeaky wheels. Glancing below, he saw his little cat burglar wheeling a dumpster to below his feet. “Come on, blondie, let’s go!” she whisper-shouted.

“Well, I’ll be an elephant’s uncle.” He dropped down to the dumpster, a huge clanging when his feet hit the lid. Quickly, he hopped down to the ground. Grabbing her by the hand, they took off down the alley.

3

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

Nemo

Several twists and turns later, they turned the corner into a back alley behind the houses. Nemo hauled the pixie into a darkened doorway to consider their options. “Midas?”

“Congratulations. You’re about to be boxed in.Idioot!” Nemo didn’t take offense. The more stressed Midas got, the more likely he was to slip into their native Afrikaans. Nemo also understood that it was equally possible that Midas was calling himself an “idioot” for allowing Nemo to get into this position in the first place.

Nemo looked down at the woman he had corralled into the corner of the doorway. “We’re in a bind, kitty cat.”

She looked at the nameplate on the door behind her, then back at him. “I can’t get to mine. Do you have lockpicks?”

He scowled at her. “Does a duck quack? Right pocket.”

He felt her sigh and pause before sliding her hand into hispocket. When her hand met with a hard object, he grinned. He just couldn’t help himself.

“Yourright, sweetheart, not mine. That particular key you’re holding opens up very different doors.”

Midas moaned. “Oh my god, bro. You didn’t.”

“You’re a dick,” she told him.

“You did.” Midas groaned.

“Dick or not, and I’m guessing that your pun was unintended, it doesn’t change the fact that the picks are still in the other pocket. How the hell are you such a good cat burglar when you don’t know your left from your right?”

She reached into his other front pocket and snagged the picks, then dropped to her knees to attack the lock on the door.

“If I’d known that’s all I needed to do to get you on your knees?—”

“You’re such a cunt,” she hissed. “I wouldn’t be in this position if your dumb ass hadn’t shown up tonight.”

“Nemo, she’s right,” Midas confirmed. “You’re being a cunt.”

“Go ahead. Report me to human resources, both of you. See what happens.”

A faint click sounded, followed by a quiet creak, and his little thief was through the doorway. Following her, he silently shut the door and locked it behind them. The room was pitch black, so to give his eyes time to adjust, he plastered himself along the wall next to the door. She was in the same position on the other side. Neither said a word—just listened to the foot traffic outside the door.

The gendarmes were coming from both ends of the alley now, methodically looking behind every trash can and dumpster, checking every doorway, and testing every door to see if it was locked. The handle of the door next to Nemo turned twice, but because it was locked, the officers continued down thealley. When they met up with their counterparts in the middle, they stopped to discuss their next move.

“They think we’re back up on the rooftops,” she whispered, translating their rapid French.

A radio squawked, and the officers received what sounded like orders if the volume and irritated tone were anything to go by.

“They know there’s been a break-in. The diamonds are gone.” She looked at him. “Except for the Jupiter Diamond.”

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