Chasing Shadows (Kat&Mirani)
 

Mint rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. The jeweled scarab in front of him practically gleamed off the paper despite the dim lighting. Gleamed like a smile or the look he could imagine in some fat cat human's eye when they figured out it was stolen. It was enough to make his heart beat a little faster in excitement. Hidden from the beams of the full moon, the young man hid in a bush outside of the museum. Dressed all in black, only his thin whitish colored tail stood out in the blackness. Just a token of his supposed inferiority. He tapped a pale finger to the com in his slightly furry ear.

"Recon, have you disabled the cameras?" he whispered to his trusted tech support, calling him by the only name he knew.

"Aye," was the quick response. A tiny smile drifted across Mint's face as he put the paper inside his vest. He pulled up slightly from his crouch. And now was the time to make those fat cat's eyes' gleam with insult just like he planned.

"I'm moving in." And then Mint was up in the tree, climbing like the monkey he was, ready to go steal a pretty scarab.

The ringing of his phone woke Damon from his sleep. He rolled over in bed, scrabbling for the small device. With a small grunt of anooyance he lifted the phone to his ear, pressing the "accept" button as he did so.

"Aeron," he barked into the receiver. The dispatcher's voice came quick and almost mechanical, well trained. There had been a break in and theft. he growled in annoyance. Couldn't this have waited a little longer? No doubt it was one of those beaurocratic types. They had influence and now that something of theirs was gone they wanted it back now. They were no better than big children. When they lost something it was like you'd taken away their favourite toy, no matter if it was something large or small. He climbed out of bed, not casting a glance to teh one that had been sharing it. They'd be gone by the time he returned anyway. He grabbed a towel and his clothes for the day and took a quick shower.

He shook his head, dislodging water droplets from his copper coloured hair as he began to dress, his shower taking him less than five minutes. He pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a midnight blue shirt. Over that he threw a leather jacket. He was a plain clothes detective and so didn't have to worry about teh uniform like the lower ranks did. That was one thing he definitely enjoyed about teh rank. The paperwork on the other hand.....He didn't bother getting anything to eat. He was in a motel anyway so he doubted there was anything remotely edible around here. He was just glad he'd had the foresight to bring a spare pair of clothes just in case.

In and out in record time. That was Mint's primary thought as he ducked though a hole in a brick wall not far from the museum. He couldn't believe how easy that was. As far as he knew, they didn't even notice the scarab had been stolen. He pulled the small thing from his pocket and tossed it back and forth between his hands as he walked. Eventually, an old maroon SUV pulled up to the curb in front of him. The door slid open and he jumped in with animal grace, closing it as the car drove off again.

He could just see the orange ears tipped in black that belonged to Recon over the back of the seat. Mint hunkered down into his own seat in the back, strapping himself in. "Well wasn't that fun. I swear they're getting stupider with their security--"

"Not exactly," Recon said, cutting him off. Mint didn't even have time to ask what his fellow thief meant before he continued. "You tripped some sort of silent alarm. They already know the scarab was stolen."

A litany of curses escaped the half-monkey's mouth as he hid the offending scarab in his shoe and held on tight before ordering Recon to speed the fuck up and get some distance between them and the crime scene. Hopefully no one noticed the vehicle tearing through the streets in the middle of the night on the way to their thieve hangout across town.

"Detective Aeron?" a small voice questioned. Damon turned to see a small cat woman dressed in a secretary uniform staring up at him. She really was tiny, the tips of her ears barely matching his shoulders in height. He inclined his head and she motioned for him to follow her. "My employer is expecting you. Please, follow me." Her tone was subdued and respectful and he followed her. It was common for her type to be in these sorts of positions. She was there to look pretty and with her slightly exotic markings, possibly ocelot or some other type of wild cat, she was definitely an eye catcher. She also seemed quite docile, another good quality in her kind that seemed to be lacking more and more recently. He pushed this to the back of his mind as he entered the room of the curator of the museum.

"They took it!" the man exclaimed immediately, whirling on the detective. "They just waltzed in here and took it! How could they! It's an outrage, a scandal! If word gets out that it's been taken..."

"Doctor Stadford," Damon interupted forcefully. "Exactly what has been taken?"

"You don't know?" the man asked incredulously. "Only the most valuable thing in my entire collection! The scarab! THe scarab made out of a thousand jewells crafted into one delicate piece! It cost a fortune to have it in this museum and those...those...thieves just waltzed in here and..."

"I got that," Damon interupted again before the man could go off on another rant. "Is there a security feed?"

"Of course there is!" the other snapped. "But someone cut the power and we haven't got anything."

Damon sighed before asking to be led to teh scene of the theft. He'd maybe have more luck there. Talking to the curator clearly wasn't going to get him anywhere and just by talking to the annoying man he was beginning to get a headache.

The normally thirty minute drive across town only took fifteen with Recon's sporadic driving. Mint was instantly glad when the he drove under covered garage outside the abandoned building. He was also glad he didn't eat anything before or it would have been staining the floor of that van right now. Together, the two thieves slipped into the seemingly boarded up house and up to the third floor where they made there home. It was a nice place and one no one would think to look considering the stairs had caved in. The average human wouldn't be able to climb up the elaborate maze of rubble or find the hand holds on the wall that were built to be used by the sort of 'inferior' animal with a tail good for balancing.

Once upstairs, Mint grabbed a pair of binoculars from a table and aimed it at the museum that could just barely be seen. "I think the cops are already there..." he muttered, eyes squinting. "We can't sell the scarab quickly like we planned. They'll catch us for sure if we do. Slow and steady...that's the way to go." He sighed and put the binoculars down, was about to relax as much as he ever did these days. He kicked off his shoes, the scarab still in one of them and curled up under the window, ears tuned for the sound of sirens as Recon ate chips on the couch, seeming unperturbed.

The curator of the museum did not dane to guide Damon to the scene of the crime himself, instead sending the pretty cat assistant to show him the way. He did not talk to her and she did not talk to him as they walked so all in all it was a pleasant experience as far as Damon was concerned. Once they reached the area where the scarab had been housed his suspecions were confirmed. This had been done by a professional, someone that was used to doing jobs like this and knew how to do it well. If it hadn't been for the silent alarm he was sure that the missing artifact wouldn't be noticed until the morning. Whoever had comitted this crime had skill and wasn't afraid to show it off.

He ordered the lights dimmed and pulled out a small device from his pocket. normally the CSUs would do this but he preferred to do some of the work himself to get ahead. Besides it would be a while before they arrived so it wouldn't hurt to do some explorations himself. He turned the thing on and the black light came to life. It was perfect for picking up any fingerprints although he doubted he would find any. The thief was clearly well informed enough to know not to do something like this with bare hands. That done he began to examine everything minutely, looking for a piece of fabric or a hair that he could give to the CSU team for analysis.

At some point, Mint must have fallen asleep. He twitched awake just as the sun peeked over the horizon, letting golden rays tint the normally ugly city into something more beautiful. Or maybe he was the only one that thought the city was ugly. A quick glance over the room told him he was alone. It seemed his partner in crime had run off again, not that Mint really minded. Stretching, he wandered around the room, finding more appropriate clothes to wear for the day. He settled on a button up shirt that could honestly belong to either a women or man. He was so slight himself, though thankfully tall, that he often found more masculine clothing didn't fit him well. A pair of form hugging black pants and a black wig over his white hair and the look was complete. He put the scarab in the compartment built into the couch so he could reclaim his shoes and then he was swinging down to the first floor of the building.

The car was missing. Mint wasn't particularly surprised as he walked to the bus stop a block away. The average thief wouldn't return to the scene of the crime, but that wasn't exactly what he was doing. Rather, he had gotten a job waiting tables at the cafe across the street from the museum and he spent most of his time on the job observing the museum. Rather than quitting his job the night before the crime, he would stick around for another week in order to avoid suspicion. It was half the reason he dressed in disguise too. Just in case.

Finally the SCU team showed up and not a minute too soon. The curator had joined Damon at the crime scene and would not shut the hell up! If he had to listen to teh man describe exactly hwo much he had had to pay for the damn scarab he was going to strangle the man with his own tie and that was just the most mild way he had thought of to silence the man. He had to admit he felt a little bad for his secratary for having to deal with him so much but that thought was quickly discarded. She was being paid for it and it was none of his business what she did.

He glanced at the time and sighed when he saw that it was just past dawn. Fantastic. He'd been here for hours, far longer than he'd hoped he'd be and it was largely due to the curator not knowing when to stop interupting so he could get on with his work. He'd given the hair to the CSUs so he was hoping they'd run it through the basic recognition software and have an answer within the next ew days. For now...his stomach growled and he decided taht he needed something to eat since he'd skipped grabbing something earlier. He thought he spied a cafe just accross the street from the museum so it would be perfect. And if he should slip away out of sight where the curator couldn't find him for a bit...well who was he hurting really? Certainly not his ear drums and that was all the answer he needed. He informed one of the uniformed officers that he'd be back in about half an hour at the most before exiting the museum, dodging the curator as he did so, and striding confidently accross the street to the cafe.

Mint checked in with his boss, then jumped right into his job. He plastered a smile to his face, thinking of the scarab rather than his job. Because he sure as hell didn't like being snapped at for an extra cup of water, no ice, and pink straw for the pompous guy's little daughter. It was entirely too early in the morning for dealing with these sorts. Even so, he had to do it.

When a grumpy looking man wandered in and sat down at a table by himself, Mint let out a sigh and composed himself before striding over. "Hello sir. Anything I can get you?" he asked. His eyes naturally darted over the guy, taking in details. He didn't immediately appear to be the pompous sort, but that might be because he looked like he'd been up far earlier than he planned. The coppery hair was interesting too, not the hair color he saw every day, especially in non-animal people.

As Damon sat himself down a server immediately appeared. He glanced up at the other but not seeing anything immediately interesting about them. He glanced at the menu quickly before turning back to the server.

"I'll have the special with a large mug of coffee, black with four sugars." He definitely needed the coffee. For one it always helped to calm his nerves and for teh other it would help keep him awake. He was almost finished up in the museum itself and soon he would be heading back to teh precinct to begin the usual tracking down of suspects and running up possible witnesses. He was just glad that he wasn't a uniformed officer anymore. They alawys got the worst jobs. Being a detective was difficult at times but at least he didn't have grunt work to worry about anymore.

He reached up and rubbed a hand over his face unconsciously, a habbit he'd picked up when he was younger to try and keep himself awake. His eyes, normally a light silver, shining with allertness, were a dull grey with lack of sleep and he was quite sure he was beginning to show bags under his eyes. Not that he was all that concerned abot his appearance at the moment but he hated to look like he wasn't taking care of himself. It didn't inspire confidence in the people he was talking to if he didn't look completely professional.

Mint gave the man a quick nod. "Yes sir. I'll have your coffee out in a minute," he said, stumbling a bit over the word 'sir'. No matter how often he had to say it for this job, he never got used to the formality. He slipped away quickly and true to his word, was back carrying the coffee mug on a little saucer in almost exactly a minute. He set it down in front of the guy, told him his food would be out soon, then slipped away quietly.

He was jut about to disappear back into the kitchen for a little rest when his sensitive ears caught the words 'museum' and 'stolen'. Mint glanced around, noticed that the conversation seemed to be coming from a table not far from the one he'd just served. Curious and in need of information, he ambled over as casually as possible to eavesdrop.

"Would you like another tea?" he asked one of the men just as one of the men started telling the two other men sitting across from him the news of a very expensive unknown thing having been stolen from the museum across the street. A museum that should have been almost impossible to break into. Mint let a little smirk play across his face as he went to go get another tea for the man at his nod.

Damon nodded his head as his coffee was placed down in front of him but didn't aknowledge the server in any other way besides. He was destracted by the talk near by. So the news had already leaked. Fantastic. It would be in the papers in the next few days and then all they'd get was tips coming in left right and centre. It would be a pain sorting out the false or unimportant from the actual evidence but at least he didn't have to answer the phone so that was a weight off his shoulders. He noticed the same server at their table and took the time to acutally look at him more closely. He was slim, almost unhealthily so for a male, and the tight trousers he wore fit his form perfecty, almost like they'd been painted on in places. His eyes moved up and down the form another time and he had to admit taht, once he paid attention, the other wasn't half bad to look at.

He took a small sip of his coffee, tasting the sweetness of the sugar as the hot liquid burned the back of his throat. Good. It was just the way he liked it. He took a larger mouthful and leaned back in his chair before taking out a small note book and beginning to write, his hand flying accross the page as he scribbed. He was perfectly capable of reading his own writing but many found it difficult. This was good. It made it harder for people to spy on what he was writing in public. So far no one here had twigged that he was a detective and he'd like to keep it that way but it probably wouldn't last. He was one of the more well known detectives in the city so it probably wouldn't take long before some idiot came up to him, asking if they had a lead yet. The thing had only been missing a few hours and the civilians expected them to have the perp's details just like that, like one of those crime dramas. It was ridiculous.

Mint took his time eavesdropping on conversations around the room as he served people. He hadn't really learned much. It was more of a rumor that something had been stolen at this point. Apparently it was very well under wraps exactly what. He could take that as a good sign. But things were still getting hot with even the public already knowing about the theft. On autopilot, he grabbed the special that the tired guy ordered and set it on the table. This time, he didn't immediately whisk away.

"Would you like more coffee?" Mint asked, noting the now empty cup. His eyes raked over him again. Mint had to wonder. Almost everyone here at this time of day were wearing business suits or weren't sitting alone. This one tired guy broke the pattern and he was never one to trust broken patterns.

Damon barely registered the food being placed on the table, working on his notes, but he did pause when the server mentioned more coffee. He looked up and considdered for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. He'd definitely need it. He'd already been up for...he glanced at his watch...six and a half hours aproximately and it wasn't even mid day yet.

"Make it extra strong," he instructed. He took the time to actually look a little closer at the waitor now taht he was more awake, the coffee having given him an extra boost. There didn't appear to be anything too remarkable about this individual that he could see but appearances, as always, were deceiving and he had learned to take no one at face value. In his line of work taht could get you injured or worse, killed. There were too many vilitile individuals in the world, too many people that knew how to hide what they truly thought and felt, too many people skilled enough to hide their true intentons until it was too late. This server seemed innocent enough but no one was above suspecion in his line of work.

((Can his ears and tail be seen or are there any markings on his face/ Just since you hadn't mentioned them for a while and I'm not sure if Damon can see them or not))

(I'd say his tail and ears are showing since at least a tail is hard to hide)

Mint picked up the coffee mug, but paused for a second, thinking. He might be pushing too much and his twisting tail bellied his tension, but he decided to throw a tiny bit of caution to the wind. He had a gut feeling about this guy and he couldn't be cautious one hundred percent of the time.

"Have you heard about the robbery everyone is talking about?" the monkey asked. Just an innocent question. Idle conversation really. He did his best not to sound like he was actually fishing. He plastered a sweet smile on his face, hoping it was enough to obscure his intentions.

((Thank you!))

Damon looked at the other, his head moving quickly so that his eyes could lock with the other's. It seemed an innocent enough question and he had been hearing a lot about the recent robbery while he was in here. It seemed that there wasn't a single person taht wasn't talking about it in some shape or form. Was the other just curious?

"I'm afraid that I can't comment on anything as I am involved with teh investigation," he replied after a moment's thought. That was the safest option. He had made sure to keep his voice rather low so taht the other patrons would not hear what he said. There was always the chance that there was a reporter near by and then he would be hounded by the press for information that he simply did not have. He hated them at times. THey were worse than carrion birds, circling while a creature waited to die before feasting on the corps.

Mint's heart slammed in his chest and his mind whirled in its usual way, trying to figure out the best option in a critical moment. He was completely calm on the outside though, only his eyes widening slightly. He hoped this man didn't see anything in his eyes with the worrying way they had locked eyes. Finally, Mint dragged his eyes away and turned his attention to the coffee cup he still held.

"Oh I see," was his simple, lighthearted response. "No suspects then? I wish you luck with the investigation." It was a rhetorical question more than anything else. Obviously if there was a suspect, the--he could only assume detective--would not be exhausted in a cafe. He knew he wasn't going to get a verbal answer with anything of use, but maybe he would be able to read something on the other man's face.

Damon noticed that the other's eyes widened slightly in response but he was used to such a reaction. He didn't exactly look like a typical detective. Most of the people that worked in his precinct were dull, stuffy older cops with little to no tollerance for conversation. Damon shared in that trait but not to the same degree. It seemed like the others he worked with were always in a bad mood and they always underestimated him because of his age. Some of them were downright hostile but he had learned to deal with it over the years.

"Not as of yet but it is still very early in the investigation," he replied mildly. It would take a while to prosess all the evicence although Damon was pretty sure that there wasn't going to be much more to find. He doubted anyone would listen to him about that but he suposed it was best to be as thorough as possible even when his instincts were screaming at him taht there wasn't anything else to be done, that the thief, whoever they had been, had done a good job and hadn't left anything behind but that single white hair he'd bagged earlier. He wasn't even sure that had come from the thief. So many people passed through the museum on a daily basis. He would just need to wait and see. He tilted his head slightly, staring at the inquisitive server. "You certainly seem interested in the case though?"

Mint was mildly surprised when he did get an answer from the detective. The guy wasn't totally blowing him off like most people would. Not that he was against being surprised, at least at this moment. He hid the tiny smile that was trying to come out as he bobbed his head in a tiny nod. No suspect and one tiny win for him. But the moment of happiness didn't last long as the hair on the back of his neck started to prickly, always a good indicator that he needed to back off. He looked into the detective's eyes, but didn't see anything there that said he thought Mint was acting overly suspicious. He was pretty sure that if he continued to ask questions though, that would be all over.

"I'm terribly sorry for my curious nature," Mint apologized. "I can't help that as a server, I hear so many conversations and end up wanting the whole story." Not entirely a lie. He did want the whole story. "Ehem, I'm going to go get you another coffee right away, sir!" he exclaimed before spinning on his heel and retreating back to the kitchen. It took all his mental effort to keep from hurrying away.

Damon nodded his head at the server before turning his attention back to his notebook. He didn't really have anything else to add to what he'd already written but he was finished with the conversation but didn't want to be overtly rude and tell the other to hurry away like some of the other humans around him wold have. He would not deny that he did act superior because of the class system that was in place but he would not go out of his way like some did to treat the others in such a cruel and derogitary way. It was disgusting the way some humans treated the others, the ones with animal features, like they were as intellegent as the animals they shared their heritage with. He knew for a fact that some of them were smarter than the humans although given some of teh idiots he had to work with taht wasn't exactly saying mch.

He sighed deeply, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples roughly. It wasn't even twelve hours into the investigation and already he was getting a headache.

Mint came back with the new coffee, setting it down quietly. The detective had his eyes on a notebook and though Mint tried to glance at it, he couldn't read the writing. Why did some people have such atrocious writing? Even he who had not gone to a proper school could write better than that. Obviously the conversation was over though. As to be expected.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" he asked as respectfully as possible. He'd let his curiosity get away with him, but he was totally composed now and back in his disguise.

((Hey I'm really sorry for taking so long to update. Things have just been...let's just say that Real Life was being a bitch and my stress levels were somewhere up in the red zone Things are getting better now though thankfully but I am really sorry I didn't warn you or tell you that I wouldn't reply for a while))

"No thank you," Damon replied almost absently, deep in thought and hardly registering the server. "That will be all. I'll signal when I'm ready for the bill." He reached up and rubbed at his eyes, irritated seemingly without a cause. His head was beginning to pound again, a sure sign that he needed to sleep but he couldn't allow it, not yet anyway. It was too early in the investigation to allow himself the luxury of sleep now.

Demon closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, hoping that that would have an effect on his headache if only slightly. Deep breathing and relaxing the muscles usually aided in taking away some of the pain but he had a feeling this headache wouldn't entirely go away until the case was finished. Just great. That was all he needed.

(It's alright. I understand these things. glad to have you back)

Mint went back to his normal work. If his mind was perhaps on the museum next door rather than the people he was waiting on, he didn't show it on his face. It didn't take long for the detective man to wave him over for the bill. The monkey decided that it was a very good thing that he was the man's server because now he could get his name. Well, if his signature was one of the more legible ones that was. He never did understand why people felt the need to sign things in such a way that the scrawl didn't even resemble letters.

Setting down the bill in front of the detective, Mint took a respective step back while he wanted for it to be signed. "Have a good day, sir," he said, trying not to appear too interested in the signature he was awaiting.