Pay attention next time!

Late morning sun was beaming down upon the crowded rows of the beach town's farmers market, voices and laughter mingling with the fresh scents of ripe berries and oven warm pastries. The weekend crowd was abundant in the late summer as it included the tourists and vacationers, here to enjoy the waves and relaxation of the small community. The vendors would smile and sell their wares to these out of towners, always with a note of gratitude that masked the slight distaste for those who were not locals. Quincy faced none of this antipathy as she flitted among the stalls with her flowered dress ruffling slightly in the warm breeze. She stopped and picked the best smelling fruits and tastiest looking vegetables to add to her already overflowing reusable bags, all the while humming to herself a cheerful song. Occasionally she would stop and chat with a familiar face, inquire over the health of so and so's relatives, ask about the future plans of one's children; she was well known and well liked among those who made their permanent home in the town limits.

The open market and radiant sun made for a delightful break from the routine of walking the halls of the medical clinic she worked at and the prospect of a full day free from obligations was enticing. She had left Charlie at home, knowing the quiet of the house would allow him get more work done. When she had left he was sitting on the porch, computer in his lap and typing away as he worked on his new book. A quick kiss on the cheek and a wave goodbye was all she got out of him, though it did not bother her in the slightest. When her husband got into the right mood he was barely away of his surroundings, instead focused on the world inside his mind. It always brought a smile to Quincy's lips when he was bent over the computer, face scrunched in concentration. She would have to remember to bring him home something sweet: a banana muffin or a cinnamon roll from the bakery he liked best. She was always finding small ways to remind him he was never far from her mind.

Quincy took a sip of the drink in her hand, savoring the sweet milky taste of the iced fat-free vanilla soy latte. Sure, the caffeine wasn’t the healthiest option, but she had developed quite a reliance on it during her late nights as a resident in the ER. Since then she had cut down drastically, but it was still a substance that perked her up in the morning and a treat that she could enjoy on her days off. Besides, a little bit of indulgence wouldn't do too much damage, and Quincy believed she deserved it every now and again. She worked hard at her job, and her social life was always full of dinner dates and fund raisers; the time she managed to spend alone doing her errands was hers to enjoy in any way she wished.

The morning was just wearing on into afternoon as she finished the last of her shopping and began to walk along the platforms near the beach, arms full of shopping bags and her hand gently holding her drink. Her cinnamon brown eyes closed briefly as she sighed happily, content and care free.

The California salted sea breeze washed over Sally. The dew of the ocean waves felt good on her bare skin. The only thing she detest was the dry heat. Even in mid afternoon sun, it was well above 90 degrees. Humidity and the sporadic summer rainstorms, she could deal with. The constant dry dessert heat that seemed to boil her blood, she could not stand. But there she was, sitting on a pier at San Francisco bay, baking till she was well done. She would have been indoor with the air conditioning cranked up on high or even in a two piece bathing suit, drinking margaritas in the sand, instead of being fully clothed, in her usual leather jacket, blue jeans,  white shirt, stocking potential marks.

She even thought of stripping down in her bra and lace panties, which where also black, but that attracted the wrong type of mark. Men were easy. A coy smile, a hair flip and there attention was diverted long enough for Sally to make the slip. Women were much harder. There wallets were usually in purses or in hand bags. The contents usually needed to be spilled out of the bag in order to make the slip, seeing how it would be impossible to get the wallet on the first try because purses were portable chaos in bag. The other down side was that you could only do that trick once, maybe twice unnoticed. More times and you are asking for trouble.

She had sticky fingers, and wallets just happen to find there way into her belongings. She did not need the money, seeing as how she wore a diamond encrusted bracelet around her wrist easily worth a half a mil that she acquired last night; that and a phone number, but Sally was getting off track. For one reason she liked to pick pockets was because it was one of her favorite past times, besides lock picking and safe cracking among other things, but it also kept her skills sharp, when she wasn't doing anything.

She got bored easily. There were two brainiacs and a creepy ghost guy in the house. It was not the crowd she was used to hanging with. Well, to be honest, no one fit the definition of her crowd to begin with, not even Levi, but they were Neptune level far, that she still refused to warm up to them, especially Ember. They just rubbed her the wrong way. The less time she spent with them the better. Instead, she found herself out around town often. She saw the Golden Gate Bridge, museums, galleries and other fantastic places, even visiting the sketchy part of town, all for on purpose: to acquire wealth. It wasn't just the money she was after. It was the history behind the object that intrigued her even more. Levi never understood that. He was always the person who would always tell her to pawn it and than use the money, instead of keeping the Van Gogh, or wear the hundred year old jewelry. The only thing Levi and Sally could agree upon was the thrill and adrenaline rush they got when they were breaking in and steal a big score.

There...

As she watch potential marks go by, one stood out from all the rest. A women with short blonde hair, with above the knees, floral print dress that flapped in the wind. With a latte in one hand and shopping bags in the other, she was juggling to much to even notice her wallet was still in hand. It was easy prey and she would have felt bad for doing it, but it was her duty as a civil servant to teach safety and cation to the common wealth.

Sally did not need to accidentally crash into the woman, spilling all her bags and the latte down her dress. Only a slight nudge would do on her right side. Sally did just that, a bump as she walked passed. "Excuse me," she gave a smile as she pardon herself. She kept up ruse and distraction ploy as she comment on the women's dress. "Beautiful dress. Is that a Valentino design?"

Quincy's eyes were on the waves to her distant left when she felt a nudge on her right side, causing her to work extra hard to keep a hold on all of the things held precariously in her hands. The sidewalk was rather busy with the passing of so many tourists out for the weekend, and she took the person bumping into her in stride, knowing it was hard to avoid everyone in such a crowded area.

“No harm done, dear,” she said as her warm brown eyes drifted over to look at the woman who had spoken. She was short and thin, a petite frame that Quincy could easily tell even through all of her clothes was well muscled and used to being active. Quincy saw many bodies every day as a doctor so she knew how to spot someone who took care of themselves, and the woman here happened to be one of them. Why she was covering it up with so many warm clothes on such a beautiful day Quincy could not fathom. It was hardly the season for a black jacket. The girl would have looked lovely in something more fitting to the weather, something perhaps a little lighter in color.

The woman's voice reached Quincy in her reverie of judgment, and she immediately beamed down at her. Her spare hand reached down and smoothed the fabric of her dress, running over the beautiful patterns on it. “Thank you! It is a Valentino. You have a good eye.” Perhaps Quincy had been too rash to judge the woman on her choice of attire. If she could name the designer of the dress Quincy was wearing she must be quite knowledge in the fashion scene.

The dress had been a gift from Charlie after his second book jumped into the best selling lists, though the nearly thousand dollar price tag still left her feeling a little too spoiled. Charlie wasn't very careful with the money he made, and Quincy was glad that she was able to talk him into saving it wisely most of the time. She did love his surprise gifts from time to time, though. It was nice to come home from a long day of work to a beautifully wrapped box on the dining room table, a vase of flowers sitting near by.

Believing in the power of returning compliments when gifted with one herself, Quincy smiled at the woman next to her, taking in her healthy, if rather pale, complexion. “You have such lovely hair! Sometimes I wish my hair would grow so long,” she laughed airily, the sweet sound mingling with the chatter around them.

Her mark seemed so bubbly, so infectious with her bright smile, even putting the summer sun to shame. It was easier than Sally thought to swindle her from her daddy's inheritance money or hubbies hard earn cash, seeing how the dress alone was roughly around 900 U.S. dollars. With the earrings, bleach blonde hair, nails freshly done, purse and Prada shoes to match, she was a walking build board for gold digging housewives. It disgust Sally. She was all to happy to take her money off hands.

Instead of showing her Sally's true feelings, she showered the women with pleasantries. She smiled back at her, tousling her hair and letting the strands get caught in the wind. "Oh. You are too kind. Well, I will let you continue what you were doing. Sorry for bumping into you. It was nice meeting you." One second she was standing in front of the woman, the next second she was gone, lost into the sea of people crowding the board walk.

Sally marched to the beat of her own drum. She had a triumphant smirk on her face as she walked done the peer to the designated meeting place.

Quincy continued to listen to the woman as she smiled and excused herself, walking on past where they had stopped. “Have a lovely day, dear. Don't over heat!” She called out the last warning into the crowd, already losing sight of the woman’s back as she melded into the throng of people. It would be so easy to become dehydrated and suffer from over heating in a heavy jacket like that, and Quincy couldn't help but worry for the sweet stranger. She didn't want to see her in the waiting room of the clinic, nor did she want to be called into work on such a nice day.

With no further thought on the matter, Quincy continued on her way. It wasn't until she stopped at the local bakery, Charlie's favorite, did she notice her wallet had gone missing. She shuffled through her loaded purse, the bags of fresh vegetables and fruits, yet it was no where to be found. Lily, the owner of the bakery, told a flustered Quincy that the pastry was on the house thanks to a recent diagnosis she had made on her daughter, and urged her to retrace her steps. Quincy did just that but to no avail; her wallet, the cash and credit cards inside, were gone for good. While it was a frustrating situation, she knew it was not the end of the world, but was slightly worried over the prescription pad she had stuffed into it, and her I.d stating just who she was and where she lived.

When she finally returned home, it was with the hope that some kind citizen would return her belongings to her, as it was what she would do in that situation, after-all.

Levi was in a foul mood.

He stalked through the boardwalk filled with people, glowering in the heat of the day. This was not where he wanted to be at this moment. In fact, it was not where he wanted to be any time in the near future, but here he was regardless. What he wanted was to to fuck Brandon at least one more time before he left his house, had intended to, until the buzzing of his phone had woken him in the middle of the night. Sally's text demanding his presence in only a few hours time could not wait, and thus here Levi was: annoyed, sexually frustrated, and tired.

The short hop of a plane ride from Vegas to San Francisco had left Levi antsy. He never did well on flights, even short ones. Being confined to a seat and barred from moving around too much was torture to his constantly active body. He growled responses to the polite stewardesses, was rude to those sitting next to him, and had no patience for the long lines that seemed to be everywhere in airports. He could not manage even a cat nap, so when he emerged into the bright sun of the ocean side city it was on very little sleep and a low tolerance for any disruptions.

Levi's sharp eyes were scanning the crowd for Sally, taking notice at the same time all the careless shoppers that loitered around, all unaware there were predators sliding among them. The opportunity for petty theft was massive, and it was no doubt the reason Sally had taken root here. The thought made him smile a bit, applauding his sisters intentions and remembering the years as teenagers when they would frequent places such as this in New York just for the fun of seeing who could steal the most wallets.

He spotted Sally's familiar form on the pier, turned away from him and staring out into the ocean. She was dressed similar to him; dark jeans and dark top, though with the addition of a jacket. Levi knew right away the purpose of such an article of clothing, and it had nothing to do with the weather. With a sly turn of his lips, Levi slowed his pace as he silently walked up behind his sister. His next movements were quicker than the eye, precise and gentle. He placed his hand on Sally's shoulder, turning her to face him and glaring down at her in order to focus her attention on his face. At the same time his other hand, unnoticed and deft, slipped into her jacket and pulled from it the first item he encountered.

“Losing your touch, little sis. You need to pay better attention.” His voice was right by Sally's ear as he waved the wallet in front of her, his hands only holding it loosely, knowing she would grab for it. He didn't care if she took it back, it wasn't an interest to him. The real point of taking it was to show her that she wasn't as invincible as she thought, that she clearly couldn't take care of everything herself just yet.

“Now fucking explain why I have a melted apartment and am not currently getting my dick sucked by the person that nearly got KILLED last night.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way of the crowd, focusing all his over bearing irritation on her.

She seemed pleased with herself as she scooted along the boardwalk, watching pedestrians, tourist and shoppers a like stroll by. She stopped at the edge of the pier, watching the nameless faces go about their business. Looking at their faces, she wondered how many of them were like her. Was the fruit vendor, selling fresh pineapples, a mutant? Were those skater kids thieves, liars and cheaters or were they just normal kids? The mother pushing the stroller, was she a ticking time bomb like herself, ready to explode any minute? She was sick of feeling this way, sick of watching happy, normal people living fruitful lives while she herself felt disconnected, as if part of herself never left the Astral Planes.

She turn her back on them to face the ocean. It was a cloudless day, something you rarely saw back in New York. She looked out into the ocean as far as she could see. She watched the sky and sea collide with each other forming one entity, join together but always remaining separate. Sail boats and yachts skimmed the open oceans, while the seagulls flooded the sky. The time she spent alone, she wished for nothing more than to be with other people. Now that she was back, she wished to be alone. This was the dark thoughts that enter her mind, listening to her inner voice.

Lost in thought, Sally did not realize someone was approaching behind her. Only when the hand was place on her shoulder did she react. Her hand swiftly pulled out a switch blade as she twirled around, holding the knife up to Levi's throat. He did not seem too perturbed by her reaction, she had done it many times before when they were both younger. They were both use to each other paranoia quarks.

Instinctively, after withdrawing the knife away from the man's jugular, she went to her inner jacket pocket were she kept her wallet, but it was missing. Levi had it in hand, tossing it up into the air, before catching it when it came back down again. "I think you have something of mine," she said, not showing any form of pleasantries to her brother. She was still pissed at him for many reasons, One, getting himself and her thrown in prison for one, Two, ruining her chance of getting a Monet from a museum heist, and lastly, irritating her to no end with the increasing amount of texts and phone calls. She saw through his phony B.S. the moment they departed. Even though she was ticked off and showed only indifference, she was glad, he was okay.

In midair, Sally plucked the wallet from him. For the first time since she got it, she unclasped the wallet to find identification, cash, what looked like roughly around 72 dollars, and credit cards, all nicely lined up. What intrigued Sally the most was the prescription pad and a photo identification of Quincy Hayes, M.D. license. Sally could not believe someone as intelligent as a doctor could be so ditsy like the woman she just met. She took the cash and put it in her pocket and was about to throw the wallet in the ocean, credit cards, license and all to Levi's dismay, but she stop herself and place it back into her pocket with the cash.

"What were you saying?" She asked, not really listening to her brother blubber on. She turn her back to the ocean, to Levi and started walking away. Only to stop to see a beggar, who was dirty and tattered up, return an article of clothing a women dropped. His act of kindness, prompted her to return the kindness in kind. The 72 dollars she had earned, she took out of her pocket and gave it to the man. All of it. Every last penny was his. Unlike Levi, she could care less about trivial items like a wallet or chump change, she had acquire new taste and a new set of skills. That didn't stop Levi from saying a smart aleck comment, prompting Sally to elbow him in the chest. She did not care if he had healing factor that made him invincible, she would still kick his ass.