It was one innocent phone call that started it all for Rouge. Her cell rang as she was lounging about in her apartment, and she answered it with a bored expression. "Yes?"
"Hey. Got a lead for you" came a familiar voice from the other line. It was a contact of hers, a pawn shop owner that she occasionally got some good info from. "I think this might be a big one."
"Keep talking" Rouge said as she stood up, her interest immediately piqued. It had been a little while since she'd gone on a good heist, and there had been no word of anything world-threatening happening either, so this was welcome news.
The voice on the other end chuckled before he continued, as if he could see the expression on her face. "This guy came into my shop today and asked me some pretty weird questions. At first he was just talking about precious stones... but then he asked me how much he could get for something like a Chaos Emerald."
Her eyes widening, Rouge felt her body tense up. She tried not to get her hopes up too much, after all this was more than likely nothing. If it WAS true though, then this could be huge. "Did he have it with him or anything?"
"No, and not long after he left the shop. He probably realized he said too much." Rouge groaned in frustration, but the man quickly spoke again. "I didn't get his name or anything either, but I did happen to get his licence plate number as he was leaving the parking lot. I'll send you the picture when we're done talking. He was a guy in his late twenties or so, brown hair. Pretty average looking."
"Excellent, thank you." Nodding to herself, Rouge smiled. That would be plenty enough information to work off of. "And if this lead turns out to be genuine I'll make sure you get your cut."
"That's why I like working with you, I don't even have to ask. Good luck." With that the call shut off, and she began making preparations.
-
It was right around sunset as Rouge finally located the house she was searching for, and she smiled to herself as she strode confidently up to the door. There was even the car in the driveway with the same licence plate she had been given earlier. Thankfully due to a few people owing her some favors she had easily retrieved the info for her potential target, a man in his late twenties named Alex. She grinned to herself, feeling almost sorry for the guy. This would be all too easy. Before knocking she checked herself over one last time, smoothing out a couple of wrinkles on her suit, adjusting her fake glasses and making sure she was showing plenty of cleavage. Satisfied with the state of her disguise Rouge reached up and knocked on the door, adjusting the briefcase in her free hand.
There was nearly a minute's pause before she heard footsteps, and then a moment later the door opened as Alex looked down at her. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a loose hooded sweatshirt, his feet bare. "Oh. Good evening. Can I help you?" It was the same face as the one she'd seen on the driver's licence, though he did admittedly look better in person even if he did have unkempt brown hair.
"Yes, you can in fact." Reaching into her breast pocket Rouge withdrew a card and handed it over to a curious Alex. "My name is Barbara, I'm from a group called the Tyrell Corporation. I won't mince words with you, we believe that you are in possession of a Chaos Emerald. We were hoping that maybe we could offer you something for it." It was true that she was taking a large risk here. Normally she would just break in and steal the thing while he was at work or something, but frankly she didn't know if it was true he even had the thing in the first place. Better to confirm that it existed now, and if this didn't work she could try Plan B later.
Alex's eyes widened a bit but to his credit he didn't react much besides that. "Where'd you hear something nuts like that?" he asked casually as he pocketed the card.
"Our organization does have a substantial information network" Rouge answered cooly. She had to stop herself from smirking, his reaction had given it all away. Lifting the briefcase and looking around briefly Rouge flipped the tabs and opened it, showing Alex the neatly arranged money inside. This time she had to stop herself from bursting out into laughter as he openly gawked. "And if the rumor is true I'm authorized to make a deal for a substantial sum." Closing the briefcase with a snap, Rouge allowed herself a small satisfied smile. The money was counterfeit, of course, but judging by his reaction he had no idea whatsoever. She would only have to keep up this charade only a little bit longer and then she'd have her prize, she could feel it.
For a minute Alex looked hesitant. He scratched his head as he thought, and there was a brief moment where Rouge was unsure if she'd succeeded. "Well..." he said slowly, glancing surreptitiously at her breasts, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to hear you out." Stepping aside, Alex held the door open wide for her.
"Thank you." Rouge's smile didn't drop off her face as she was led to the living room, Alex sitting on an armchair while she sat on the couch. Thankfully her feminine charms worked just as well on humans.
"I suppose I should introduce myself, sorry about that" Alex said slightly awkwardly as he gave her a smile. "I'm Alex. Though I suppose your company probably knew that already. Would you like a drink or anything?"
Shaking her head, Rouge laid the briefcase out on the coffee table in front of her. Though she spoke calmly, she couldn't help but feel giddy about the goal in front of her. "I'll be fine. I'd like to get this done quickly if at all possible. So. Are the rumors true? Do you have a Chaos Emerald?" Alex paused for another long moment before simply nodding. "Is it here? May I see it?"
Alex nodded again. "...Sure. Just a minute." Standing up, he left the room without looking back. Rouge felt strangely apprehensive, there was something slightly suspicious in the tone of his reply. However she considered that it was probably just nerves as Alex came back into the room, sitting back down in his chair. He held up a cloth bag, and Rouge could see the noticeable lump of the item within. "Right here."
"Can you take it out of the bag for me?" Rouge tried her hardest not to sound impatient as her eyes stayed glued onto the sack.
