She still wasn't sure who he was. Her rescuer had barely said a word, and yet had saved her from armed and extremely dangerous people, people who one did not wish to be enemies with.
The Mancinis were no shoddy rabble-
No, indeed. Those damn Italians always work around the system- and were actually the largest criminal organization in North America at the time. They were not people a petty thief should annoy. And yet, that was exactly what she had done.
***72 Hours Previous***
Gold is no mere metal; it has a spirit of its own. There was certainly no other reason she would be ten feet or so above the most dangerous man in America.
And that is what I am living in, dammit. We may be in California, but I didn't come from New York to leave my history behind. It's all I have left. Navigating the stone roof was no small feet, as it had rained the previous day and clouds still threatened from above with their deadly torrent. This villa, as she called it, was no more than a stony old outcrop on the wave of new design flooding the boom-town. However, it still had anger in its bones. That's the only thing that could explain the terrible luck she had been having.
the Mancini mansion
She checked off three bruises, four cuts and a scraped knee. Certainly not the quietest outing she'd ever had. Then again, she had never had to get through anything more than a skeleton lock before. Although an old hand at jumping roofs in the busy city, she had never been quite THIS high before. But these qualms were disregarded as she spread prone to peek into the window below. It was certainly what she expected, in respect to the opulence. She did not expect, however, for there to be a dog laying on the floor.
How in the hell..? There was no way she was getting out unnoticed. But an opportunity was an opportunity, and this sort would never come again. The head honcho of the place, the great Mancini himself, was leaving for a dinner party. It was easier to "shoot a fly with a slingshot," as Tommy put it, than to get that man out of the house. With his travel, most of the house muscle left also, leaving the perfect opportunity to break in.
She reached down for the frame of the window; thankfully, it was unlocked, as Tommy promised it would be. It took all her courage to flip into the room, but the lush carpet softened and, more importantly, quieted her bound.
"Hush doggy, there now!"
The devil better not move, I'd rather not be food tonight. She crept past a mahogany desk towards a promising armoire. Although unlocked, she had a feeling about it. A sure enough, as she opened the latch she was presented with what could only be called crown jewels. Coins, rings, and chains of gold and silver were arrayed in piles-by-design, supporting a massive family crest wrought of gold, inlaid with silver, and studded with precious gems. The poor taste of the design- two fish, for godssakes- was completely overwhelmed by the sheer awe the work inspired. Flipping off her pack, she slipped the heavy masterpiece into her bag. It would almost be a shame to see it stripped and melted later on. As she prepared to leave, Valentine grabbed a thin gold necklace with a fattened ruby at its vertex.
Slipping back out the window, not bothering to close it, Claire Valentine felt exhilaration, rather than nerves, for the first time that night. Everything had appeared to go according to plan, and certainly her skills were proven here tonight.
Indeed, as she slipped away into the darkness, it was by pure chance that a pair of piercing grey eyes noticed her.
***Present***
Hearing thumps approaching from the stairway broke Valentine's reverie.
Took him long enough. He rescued me, and shouldn't want an emaciated body to deal with! Claire hadn't eaten in over a day, and her stomach was already beginning to rumble.
An empty stomach is still better than a decomposing one, I suppose.
***The night previous***
Tied to the chair, Valentine thought she was going to die.
What a way to go. Alone in a hellhole, without a loved one for miles.
"Screw you, Mancini!" The man only laughed.
"Don't worry, your time is near. I'm simply taking too much pleasure out of watching you squirm."
They certainly were a twisted bunch. A good thing he deserved what was coming. One minute, he was sneering at her. The next, he was gaping, wide eyed, as that most unsavory liquid poured from his stomach around the blade which punctured it. In total shock, Valentine sucked in air to breathe, but a shadow leapt forward to cover her mouth, and so all she produced was a pitiful muffled squeak. She felt a hand move to her back, and the next minute she was free.
"Do not talk. We must move." The longest series of words she would hear him put together. Wisely, all she did was nod. He led her to the window, indicating that she should jump. Looking down, she noticed a pile of hay outside the window.
Thank God for lazy assistants and hungry horses, I suppose. Exhaling, she leaned forward until she felt herself whistling through the air. A mere second later, she was abruptly stopped by an unyielding floor, only broken by scratchy food. A moment later the shadow leaped down after her, and turned out to be a rather tall man with a square jaw and not ugly features.
I could do worse.
He led her to a cab nearby, which they took to the nicest place she had ever been to, discounting her exploits a few days previous. The Ritz-Carlton was brand new, and no expense had been spared. She had little time to enjoy it, however, as she soon passed out from exhaustion on the bed of the room they entered, using an elaborate key Shadow pulled from the depths of his cloth. She had questions to be answered, but they would have to wait for the morning.
***
OOC: Please ignore the fact that there is a skyscraper in the background. It was otherwise the perfect photo