Chapter 13 - Rooftops

Atzi, Cory, and Fence headed their way to the rich district to prepare, with Cory leading the front.

“Stop staring at her ass,” Fence whispered.

“Huh? I wasn’t! I’m totally focused on the job,” Atzi lied. She leaned over and whispered back, “...Was I drooling? Is it super obvious?”

“Oh, she definitely knows you’re into her. How could she not? You should be careful though, she’ll probably use you and throw you away.”

“She wouldn’t do that. Would she?”

Fence shrugged. “She’s good at the game, it’s hard to tell what she’s thinking. But if she isn’t kissing you already, why is she waiting?”

Atzi didn’t reply as she thought up a good reason. She’s just a little mad about last time still, and waiting for me to prove myself again. That’s it. Forgiveness takes time!

They continued, making their way past the spiked fence. As Cory and Atzi climbed over, Fence simply slipped between the bars.

Show-off.

Once in the district, they made their way further in towards where the bank head would be passing by. Scoping out the area, Fence and Atzi found a good alley to hide in, while Cory hid on the opposite side of the street. They waited until night fell.

-

The head of the Branek Bank passed by. She wore fanciful clothes that stood out even more against her red skin - if their skin is hot, how come their clothes don’t burn off? - and was adorned in enough golden jewelry the sheer weight of it had to be uncomfortable; multiple bracelets on every limb, several necklaces, and a massive pair of inscribed earrings that looked like they might weigh a pound each. If only I could take one…

The bodyguard next to her wore obsidian armor that looked far darker and more intricate than the regular bank guards’. She didn’t wear a helmet, appearing almost human, but the red eyes and black sclera told Atzi she was at least part Braneki.

“What's our approach to distract the guard?” asked Fence. “She looks pretty strong.”

"Simple. I'm gonna piss her off and run away."

"She's a trained guard. How are you gonna piss her off so bad she runs away from her post?"

"Look at that armor! She's walking around in a fortune, and she keeps it shiny. I'm gonna spit poison at her and ruin the coating."

"...I forget how vicious you are sometimes,” Fence said. ”But good plan. I'll wait nearby with a sling in case I need to get her to chase after me after she's chasing you."

Atzi got closer to enact her plan. She slinked, staying out of sight of the guard, utilizing shadows and cover. Once she was a few feet away, she spat poison far as she could.

Take that!

It landed deftly on her armor. The guard spun around, unsheathing a steel broadsword.

“Go back to Cthy! This is the Empire!” Atzi yelled, trying to piss her off further. I’m clearly an idiot who needs taught a lesson.

The guard drew in a breath, and Atzi half-expected her to shout some insult back. Instead, the woman let out a wordless scream of fury that echoed off the walls, doubtlessly alerting half the neighborhood and every nearby city guard that something was going on.

Ah shit.

The guard sprinted directly for her. Atzi turned tail and ran, looking behind herself to see that the guard was still chasing her. See if you can catch me, I’m way faster than someone wearing bulky armor like that!

The guard apparently also knew she couldn't, as she dug a gauntleted hand into a street. She ripped out a chunk of limestone. Then, she sent it hurtling at Atzi.

Atzi barely made it around the corner of a building. The limestone shattered against it. Rubble peppered her scales. She spun around, sticking out her tongue and spraying poison in a taunt.

She saw Cory sneak up behind the bank head and grab an earring, slipping it off - Damn, she’s good. Then the bank head spun around and snatched Cory by the wrist.

A flare of heat, and Cory screamed in pain as her wrist burned.

Cory!

The guard turned around, intent to defend her charge.

I gotta keep the guard away!

Atzi picked up a piece of rubble and pinged the back of the guard’s head. “Nice aim, dumbass!”

The guard ignored her. Without another choice, Atzi took out her dagger and rushed forward. If this doesn’t get your attention…

The guard nearly took Atzi’s head off with a swipe of her sword, Atzi barely ducking under it in time.

Cory dropped the earring and slipped out of the bank manager’s grasp, leaving behind a slough of burnt flesh. “Run!”

Just as Atzi fled, a group of city guards convened on the location. She took a sharp turn into another alley, a street, another alley, weaving through them as she saw more guards. Heart thumping, she grinned. Even if you weren’t poisoned, you’d be no match for me!

She made her way out, making sure nobody was following her as she traveled back to Fence’s stall. There she waited until Cory and Fence arrived.

“Good job. Tough work. But we did it,” Fence said.

“You didn’t even do anything,” Atzi replied.

Fence shrugged. “Just get the blood to V.” They headed back into their shack.

Cory nodded to Atzi, and they walked away together.

“A-are you okay?” Atzi asked, pointing to Cory’s wrist. It looked terrible. Atzi preferred not to look at it too long.

“It’s worth it, for this job.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Right.” Atzi clicked her claws together. “For the job.”

She said nothing more. She felt like she didn’t need to. This is just like old times. Sure, it didn’t go perfectly, but…

Atzi was lost when she first moved to the city, all those years ago. After a few small thefts on her own, she met Cory. They clicked instantly, pulling off job after job together, and then Cory introduced her to everyone else. It was the height of Atzi’s life, when she truly felt alive and on top of it all. She thought they would make a great couple. She had wanted to ask her out after the bank job, to retire together to a shared life of luxury. And then…

And then everything had gone wrong. But it was getting better now. It was her second chance.

“The district is probably crawling with guards now. We’ll need to be careful making it to V’s,” Cory remarked.

Atzi grinned. “I’m always careful.”

-

"It's them!" came a shout. Atzi hadn't even noticed the guard. She'd been too busy gawking at Cory to check both sides of the street.

“Eep!”

Atzi scarpered. The guards were more coordinated this time, cutting off her routes of escape. Trapped, she looked for exits.

The roofs!

The problem was there was no easy way onto any roof - unless she went through a house first.

Atzi dove through a closed window.

The glass shattered around her, several shards embedding themselves under her scales and cutting her anyway. Cory jumped in right after her.

Atzi repeated “Ow,” over and over as she ran towards the back of of the large home where there were a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. An old woman in a bathrobe stood at the top of the stairs. She screamed. “Fredrick!”

Atzi rushed upwards. A man with a bronze spear ran out from a side room, and thrust the gleaming spearhead down towards Atzi.

Atzi dodged onto the stair railing. A second thrust, and she leapt from the railing to the second floor hall. As she ran down the hall, she heard a snapping noise and a scream, turning around to see Cory following. Behind her was Fredrick with a broken spear, the spearhead embedded in his foot.

Atzi had no time to swoon as she quickly opened the second story window, climbing out of it and onto the slippery roof, using her claws to scrabble up despite it. When Cory stuck her head out a moment later, Atzi reached out a claw and helped her up by her good arm, putting them both on the roof together.

Atzi smiled. Cory smiled back. This really is perfect.

Cory let go first. Atzi repressed a whine.

“Don’t suppose you’d know any spells that’d help with roof hopping?” Atzi asked, measuring the distance to the closest one as doable but very risky.

“Not without ruining the plan,” Cory replied.

“Then we’re jumping!”

If either of them fell, it wouldn’t just hurt. They’d be captured and locked away forever.

They jumped.

Atzi made it onto the next roof over. Cory did too, then slipped. Atzi grabbed her, stopping her from falling. Getting to touch her twice in one night-

“Keep going!” Cory pushed her away.

They made it to the next roof, then another, and another, the guards getting thinner as they did. They continued to hop roofs, eventually losing the guards.

The two stopped to rest in an alley between two fancy looking shops Atzi couldn’t pronounce the names of.

“Ah, I haven't had a chase like that in ages,” Cory said once they were safe. “...And we get to do it again shortly.”

“Yeah…” Atzi didn’t care they almost got caught, almost died, would have to do it again but harder. Being with Cory had a way of making her feel anything was possible.

She plucked some glass shards out of herself. “Urgh, though that window really hurt.”

“Here, let me help you,” Cory said. She plucked out several pieces of glass from under Atzi’s scales. “Sadly, I don’t know any magic to close the wounds.”

“N-no worries, this is enough…”

“Atzi, you’re drooling.”

“Eh?!” Atzi wiped her mouth hurriedly. “It’s… it’s just my heritage, you know that.”

Cory smirked, plucking out the last shard.

“Ouch!”

“Take a second to rest. Then we’ll head to V’s.”

Atzi nodded.

“As soon as I do the distraction - you’ll know - you need to grab the book from V. They’re smart, but they’re not the best fighter, so it should be easy. Then we escape.”

Atzi curled her tail. “And we lose them in the crowds, run for the rope, then...”

“Then we’re free,” Cory said.

Atzi nodded again. She’s obviously into me.

Cory continued, “There will be magic alarms on all the entrances, so we need a good excuse as to why you’re with me, as opposed to having you hide away.”

Atzi rubbed one of her injured scales. “Um… best not to let V know you forgave me and like me again, so maybe... I’ve got it! I could say I saw some extra details about the book, from when I broke into the guard house.”

“Right, so you can wait around while I talk with V for your turn. Then when you hear the distraction going off, rush up.”

This is a great plan. Nothing can go wrong. “Got it.”

-

After the pat down and Atzi’s dagger taken once more - it’s not like I really need it with my claws - the two entered V’s mansion. Another guard pointed them to the left, into the living room.

Aelia was sitting on a couch.

Strange. Maybe related to her job?

Aelia glanced between Atzi and Cory, slowly. “Did you two finish your job as well?”

“That’s right,” Cory replied.

“Quite a commotion,” Aelia remarked.

Atzi stepped forward. “Well, you try getting someone that important’s blood without them knowing.”

A door opened. Atzi glanced up to it, watching as V stepped out of a fancy bathroom into the living room. They ignored all three of them, stepping over to a guard who whispered in their ear. Then they turned and nodded to Aelia. “You were here first. Do you have something to report?”

“I’ve finished my portion of the job,” Aelia said. She pulled out a piece of paper from her white and gold robes, then stood up. V held up a hand to stop her, nodding over a guard. The guard took the paper, turned it over a few times, and then handed it to V.

“Good. Dismissed.”

Aelia frowned, but left.

“I have something to discuss,” Cory said. “Atzi, tell them what you learned.”

“E-eh” Atzi juggled over the information in her mind, trying to figure out how to angle her words. “Uh… so we were chatting about various things and Cory mentioned a book and I, um, well the guard captain had a lot of information on it written down, a bunch that I never saw on the posters. I’d just… forgot to bring it up.”

V stood there, staring at them for a few seconds. “And what is the importance of this?”

Atzi glanced at Cory.

“Well, you took out the book before...and one was definitely stolen. But how do I know they're the same? Some details don't add up from what Atzi remembers, compared to what you showed me before,” Cory said. “I won't do this job unless I know it's the real deal.”

V turned around and headed upstairs without a word.

“Do we follow?” Atzi asked. But when she tried to, a guard held up a steel-clad arm to stop her.

“Wait until you are told to go up.”

Cory sat down in a chair. But I wanted to sit next to her… Atzi settled on sitting on the couch, alone.

They waited.

Atzi tapped her clawed foot impatiently, glancing around the room. Besides the bookshelves, there was also a liquor cabinet. Another open doorway also led to a third room, which looked to be some sort of storage room, packed with barrels. The fireplace of the room wasn’t lit, but she wished it was. She wanted to hold Cory next to it, then lean over and…

She gulped, knowing just how much it would ruin the plan if she messed up V’s place.

Thirty minutes later, a guard called over to Cory, “V will see you now.”

Cory headed up.

We can do it.

Atzi waited longer, twisting her claws. The place had too many guards - at least six, by her count. Getting past all them and upstairs… she’d need to be quick. Perfect. Cory was counting on her.

A loud hissing noise sounded, and Cory screamed something Atzi couldn’t make out.

That must be it!

The guards reacted to the noise. Atzi took the opportunity to rush past them and up the stairs. She heard the front door open, but ignored it. At the top of the stairs she ducked under an alert guard’s sword, and rushed to V’s office.

The door was locked.