Chapter 6: Kindred Spirit
It was two o'clock at the auction gallery, and a slim girl with wispy white hair was sneaking through the halls. She wore dark skinny-jeans and a light top, with a leather jacket slung over her shoulders. Black boots laced up at her ankles; such footwear might have meant for loud steps, but they were all she had, and the girl was careful to keep quiet.
She had timed the movements of the front-desk employee well, moving into position as soon as her chance came. Presently, the man behind the desk was deep in conversation with a guest, paying little attention to the hallways. She had snuck in all but unnoticed. The auction gallery had cameras and security, of course, but she knew those measures were fallible enough. She knew how to spot certain corners and nooks where cameras' lines of sight would be blocked. And here in the gallery halls, packed tight with countless antiques and wares, there would be plenty such spots.
This wouldn't be the first time that she'd stolen. Even before she'd gone on the run, the white-haired girl had often been compelled to take things that caught her eye. She had learned a lot by experience, and she'd developed strategies that worked most every time.
But today was the most daring escapade by far. Today she was going to steal from a high-end auction gallery during one of its biggest events of the season. And she needed this to go well. While she didn't yet know what she would be stealing, she hoped whatever she found here would be worth the risk. It was for her own benefit; now that she was running from home, she needed cash, and her idea was to pawn whatever she managed to obtain. With luck, she would end up with money that she could use to get herself far away and never look back.
As she slipped further into the showroom, she felt herself getting nervous. People were already gathering on the main floor nearby, in anticipation of bidding on the next round of items. There were a few guards patrolling the rooms, too. If they caught her sneaking around where she wasn't supposed to be -- or worse, making off with something -- then things could get sticky very quickly. It was one thing to be caught pocketing a candy bar in a convenience store; another entirely to be found thieving from an auction hall's collection.
But despite the potential consequences, she pressed onward, determined not to let anything stop her. She looked around a corner at a row of display cabinets; the first was filled with jewelry boxes and trinkets. Brooches, necklaces, rings and bracelets were all carefully arranged within their respective cases. An embossed tag hanging from each indicated what the piece belonged to: "Lot #13"; "Lot #14"; "Lot #15"... and so on. The key takeaway was that everything here was part of today's estate sale.
The girl approached with purposeful steps. She checked to make sure the coast was clear before opening the cabinet with deft hands.
Nothing caught her eye as being particularly valuable. Mostly, the case contained a bunch of junk jewelry, and so she didn't think twice about taking anything out of it -- at least at first. Then she saw one bracelet that looked different from the others: one made of small, carefully carved wooden beads.
She held it up in her hand and examined it closely. It looked like something that could have been on display at a museum; an artifact from a culture long past. And when she touched it... there was a feel. A certain magic about it.
It seemed like it should mean something. What exactly, she couldn't tell, but she got an uncanny sense that all would come clear if she trusted what she felt. On the surface, it didn't look like it held any particular significance or value. But that feeling. That energy. It spoke to her somehow. As though it were trying to convey a message through its mere existence; through a sense of wonder it evoked with only one glance. "I am the answer," it seemed to say.
She slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. Okay, she thought to herself. This would do for now. Maybe she could pocket a few other items before she left, but for now...
"Hey! You!"
She froze, whirling around in surprise as a voice burst from nearby, catching her completely off guard. She found two men in black glaring at her, both looking ready to pounce on her in a flash. Shit, she thought. Security.
Both men were scowling; one had a dark mustache and thick beard, while the other's hair was blond and cropped short. They didn't look to be armed, but they were big men, and both had a threatening air about them. The girl swallowed hard as they advanced on her. She felt trapped. One wrong move, and it'd be over. Her heist, her escape to freedom... all of it.
"The hell are you doing?" the mustachioed man snapped. His dark eyes locked onto the wooden bracelet on the girl's wrist. "Thought you could just take that? You got any idea what that's worth?"
"No. I was just --"
The blond-haired man gritted his teeth as he stamped forward. He lashed out and grabbed forcefully at her arm.
Then, as a pulse of the same odd energy coursed through her body, the girl felt suddenly that she knew what to do. Instinct seemed to guide her as she yanked her arm away and dodged his grasp -- and then, before either of them could react, she kicked out at the blond man's leg and sent him tumbling back into a nearby stack of boxes.
The bearded man tensed in shock. "Hey!" he barked angrily, lunging at the girl -- but she had already taken off running before he could reach her.
Her boots clattered loudly on the polished wood floor as she raced down the hallway toward the back exit. She could hear shouts as the two men, maybe more, hurried in pursuit behind her -- but she dared not look back. As she reached the exit, she pushed it open and slipped outside. Then she took off sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her down the narrow alleyway.
She could feel sweat on her brow as she ran, panting heavily. But though she felt afraid, she understood somehow that she was not in danger -- or, at least, none that she couldn't escape. The assurance came from the same source that had urged her to take the bracelet in the first place. It told her without words that all would work out; that she didn't need a plan. She could trust her instinct. So she did just that. The feeling helped propel her onward with increasing confidence.
An idea came to mind as if beamed in directly: the mall. The mall was close. There, she could slip into the crowd, hiding among the throngs of shoppers until her pursuers lost track of her. When a more worried part of her thought forward to police and security footage, the magic brushed it aside with equal certainty. These things would not be a factor, it assured her. Not if she focused on getting to the mall. Her next step, whatever it was, would be revealed there.
And so she ran.
Later, when the guards at the auction gallery looked through the security tapes, they found that all the footage captured over the last two hours had been wiped by an automatic update of the computer system. "It happens," one guard noted with a shrug, much to the chagrin of the two who had pursued and lost the white-haired girl. "Bad luck."
***
Ben woke up slowly, opening his eyes as it all came back to him. Their night out. Their return to Eleni's estate. The group sex that had followed. And, of course, Yuki.
He found her still sleeping beside him, her naked body curled up against his right. The feel of her warm, supple skin pressed against him was comforting, and the sight of her smiling peacefully in her sleep was just beautiful. She was breathing softly, lost in happy dreams as she recharged from a long, fun night.
