17 - Casing//Lea

"The First Clagh"

"A stone that is said to bring "transformation" to it's master's life. It's powers are activated when it is in close proximity with it's pair stone 'The Second Clagh'.

Both were part of a collection owned by a collector who wishes to remain anonymous, but the Second Claugh was stolen earlier this year by a mysterious pair of phantom thieves.

Today, it will be part of the Paradox Local Artist's Market Pop-Up Exhibit on loan from the owner."

Lea thought that stealing a gem would be easy, especially with their enhanced abilities. Instead, she'd been told to wait in a nearby café after the excitement of jumping over building after building the whole way here.

Heist Phantoms, as Nora and Paxton insisted they call themselves, could jump twenty feet high and cross about fifty feet in a single bound without breaking a sweat. They moved so fast that they didn't catch anybody's attention.

As she flew through the air, Lea was sure they were just going to barge in to the museum, take the 'First Clagh' as it was called in the program, and be on their merry way.

But they'd undone their transformation as soon as they arrived in the metropolitan area where the Pop Up Exhibit was being held and Lea had been given 'stake-out' duty. Her job was to write down the description of every police officer or security guard she saw and the direction they approached from.

She had to admit, doing something so obviously suspicious in broad daylight certainly ramped up her guilt, but she had a wish that she needed to come true. There was no way she was backing out now.

About an hour after they'd arrived, Paxton had relieved her of her duties and told her to go home for a while.

"You have somebody who cares about you," he said. "We don't want him to worry."

"Don't you have a family?" she asked. His eyes glossed over with a film of tears, but he took a big swallow and answered her.

"I do, but they haven't noticed I'm gone yet," he said. "But you've got it better. You're even doing this for your dad. I could never imagine doing that."

"We'll call you when it's time to start the operation. I'll take over stake-out duty."

"Thanks," she said, handing him the inconspicuous notepad filled with incriminating information and getting up to leave.

"Wait," he said quietly, pushing his glasses up. His demeanor was even more serious than normal.

"How did you get your outfit to be two different colors?" he asked. Though Lea sighed in relief, she could still feel his serious gaze on her; he was intent on finding out.

"I was taking in this intense red color, but I thought it'd go nicely with something else," she explained. "My father would never forgive me for running around in monochrome."

"Interesting," Paxton said, tearing a leaf out of the notepad and writing down what she said. "I'll have to check the translations for this."

"What about you guys?" Lea asked, sitting down again.

"I didn't really have anything in mind, I just thought it would be cool to be... cool," Paxton said, embarrassed. "Like EDM DJs; they're really cool."

Lea wasn't sure if she was more shocked or confused by Paxton's taste in music.

"Is that why you wear a giant hoodie?" she asked.

"He can't actually wear it," Nora said, sliding in beside her. "It's just for decoration."

"Magic is a fickle beast," he said dryly, waving her off. "Now, young Lea, be off!"

"What he said," Nora said, making a face. "You do look tired."

"Go," Nora said, more softly than Lea could have ever imagined her saying. "We'll take care of things here."