Laurence Zelkovii

The house might be in an ideal location and provide a scenic, tranquil view for Ryan, but it also lent great opportunity for Cassidy and Lanny. With his house out of sight from either of his neighbors, the two didn't have to worry about being spotted.

Parking brazenly in front of the garage, Lanny hopped out and rummaged through some of the bags he'd gathered for the ill-fated snake hunting venture. Handing a few to Cassidy, he approached the house and peered in through the front window, "This guy sure is a neat freak... I'll bet the Wallocks drive him up the walls if he's staying over at that joint every night." Lanny commented under his breath, before turning more focus on Cassidy, "What'dya think; break a window, or try to pick the locks?"

Cassidy*Others

Tucking the offered bags halfway into her belt, so that they were neatly folded and easily accessible to her, but left her hands free, Cassidy padded quietly after Lanny. She knew well enough that Ryan was gone for the night, but she saw no sense in taking unnecessary risks, especially if that Akatsuki that the young officer had adopted were in the house. So she answered him with a sly smile. "You forget that Johann started in the gang as a petty thief - one who never got caught. He taught me everything he knows." She said only that, before she shuffled several little iron items from her pocket and began to insert them into the lock, eyes closed and feeling her way through the tumblers.

Lanny Zelkovii

Where he was use to just smashing through windows, rushing in and taking whatever he fancied, he had to appreciate Cassidy's method. The lock held stubbornly at first, but with enough persistence it finally gave way with a nearly silent click. "Nice" The man whispered, slowly pushing the door open and turning his eyes in a quick, calculating sweep of the entry way and living room/kitchen split. A second later he was stepping inside and ghosting across the ground, looking first and foremost for any signs of trouble, though the home seemed entirely quiet. "I'm not sure where he keeps to reptiles, but... ah-ha! Bingo." The wine rack called his name, bringing Lanny to pull out one sack and begin to load what would later be their improvised bombs.

Cassidy

Tucking her picks back into her pocket, Cassidy light-footed it into the house, her every sense pricked for any occupants. But when no one responded to their entry, she allowed herself to turn her attention partially to the reason why they'd come, though her awareness of her surroundings never faltered. As might have been expected from a long-experienced thief, Cassidy turned her back to Lanny and his bottle-loading task, a dagger in one hand as she guarded him while he grabbed the wine bottles. Her eyes flicked guardedly around the room, but her words were light as she murmured, "Such a shame Sohmers isn't here to watch - like to see that goody-two-shoes' face when he comes home to this."

Laurence Zelkovii

He laughed in a muffled sort of way, not wanting too make too much noise as he agreed with Cassidy's sentiments, "You've got that right! He's got some nerve to keep up with his work against us. It's a shame the mayor has him off limits to us, or he'd get what's coming to him for all the damned arrests has made on me." The latter part was muttered with a contemptuous snort, before the young man set one loaded back down and began to sneak around to other parts of the house. From one room to the next, everything was immaculate and tidy, and after only a short venture, it became clear the reptiles weren't on the first floor.

Descending the carpeted flight of stairs leading down to the basement, Lanny needn't even flick on a light; half of the room was glowing with the light of timed heat-lamps and artificial lighting, each one set up to the needs of the reptile it shone on. "Haha, here we are!"

Cassidy

Cassidy grumbled quietly too, understanding why the mayor had not allowed them to take out Officer Sohmers, but still not liking it. He was a pain in the patella sometimes, like when he'd come to investigate that fight she'd been involved in at Ben's. She'd had to draw on some serious reserves to make herself that hysterical, in order to fool him. But she put that out of her mind as she soft-footed downstairs with Lanny, always keeping her eyes and ears peeled to detect anyone that might be in the home. "Pay-dirt," she murmured to the young man, seeing the glow of heat lamps. "Oh yeah - these babies should do nicely."

Laurence Zelkovii

Lanny was looking over one cage to the next, trying to figure out which ones might be best to collect. Their task was made easier thanks to the officer's OCD tendencies; each cage was neatly labeled with both the common and scientific names to the occupants within, including a mini chart that detailed when they'd been fed last, and and notes of importance.

"Wow, could he have made it any easier for us?" The only downside to it was that Lanny wasn't entirely informed on venom or which snakes were most likely to strike out of retaliation, and which were more passive. "Huh, now about getting them out... ah, here we go." In the tidy room, it didn't take long for him to come across a tool bin, in which he took out a grabber that could be used to securely pick up the reptiles from a distance, "Know anything about the most venomous ones? Or should we just nab them all?"

Cassidy

She smiled to his comment, getting a small amount of amusement out of how simple the poor officer had made it for them to rob him blind. "And just imagine when all of this is over, and he gets a call to the Akatsuki house about chaos there - and finds all of his reptilian buddies there! That's going to be priceless. I'd almost pay to see that." When he had the grabber in hand, she began pointing. "This one, and those two over there are definitely venomous - those two on that wall are not. Otherwise - search me."

As she was busying herself opening bags so that it would be simple for Lanny to drop the snakes inside, she was watching him carefully. Finally, at one point when his back was turned, she turned her eyes down so that she appeared to be examining the bag in her hands, though really she was watching from the corners of her eyes for any reaction out of him, when she said, "So - what did Johann threaten you with"

Lanny Zelkovii

"Oh, and what I'd give to see that." Just the thought of the cop finding all of his well-kept, high-price pets running amok in enemy territory had him grinning fiendishly. This little shenanigan was certainly killing two birds with one stone. Taking the grabber, he was taking up this snake and that and dropping them into the bags, slowly but surely whittling down the number of reptiles that Ryan would be coming home to tomorrow. What caught him off guard, however, were Cassidy's follow-up words to him. "Huh? Ah, it was mostly just guy talk." There was some truth to that, well... in the fact that they were both guys that were talking. Lanny cleared his throat and put on a slightly too concentrated face when he worked to pick up the latest serpent, "Making sure we stay safe and all. You know how the elders are - don't trust us younglings."

Cassidy

"So that's why he was eyeing you like you'd be fillet o' fish in ten seconds if you weren't co-head?" She asked him softly, her tone neutral but her lack of eye contact saying that she didn't believe him. She was quiet for a long second, holding out bags for him to plop the reptiles into, all in silence. It was several minutes before she continued, "Don't try to pass that shuffle off on me, Lanny. I know better - and even if I didn't, I know how to read him. He taught me every trick he knows - there isn't much he can put by me." She didn't again directly ask him about the topic, but the sense was there. She wouldn't push him into it... and really and truly, she didn't come too close in her suppositions as to what topic they'd covered. But she could tell that they'd been having quite the discussion about something - and it was a personal thing, having nothing to do with the gang.

Lanny Zelkovii

The young man managed a half laugh and a nod to her first question, "Pretty much." Despite the words themselves, he knew perfectly well by the tone and lack of eye contact that his stretch of the truth hadn't been enough for Cassidy. By the time she got back to the topic, he'd looked a little distracted as he stared at a random lizard in one of the tanks, as if the critter would help him somehow get out of the conversation. But at long last, he looked to Cass and pressed on, "The thing of it was, he, well- he's protective of you. And, like any good guardian, he... wanted to make sure you were alright. That nobody was going to treat you wrong." He didn't outright say it, but the 'nobody' was him.

Cassidy

"So that's it," she said, a little extra bit of something in her voice, though it was hard to tell if it was anger, tolerance, amusement... or a little bit of sorrow. She was quiet for a long while, keeping her gaze on her fingers as she opened the last bag as though it were made of glass, and there was silence except for the annoyed hisses of the reptiles around her that were not happy about having their lives disturbed. After a bit of time had passed in that quiet tension, she murmured calmly, "It doesn't surprise me. He used to do that with the guineas that tried to get a little too familiar - you noticed at the time how a couple of them up and left suddenly. David and Paul, if I remember their names right. Johann can be - very persuasive. But I've never known him to step outside his rank before... not even to keep me from discipline when I came back after my long break."

That final sentence, all at once, reveal that she knew that he'd stepped outside his rank with Lanny - gotten more rude than he should have, made it a definitely personal issue about her protection, and also brushed just lightly on the topic of her only straying from the gang. She'd been raised in the CrypticSilvers, among Lanny, James, Carl, and the rest of them like they were a family of oddly-pasted-together siblings... when she'd left, during all of that chaos with - well. She'd turned back to the gang, the familiarity of it. And of course there had been consequences for her unannounced year-long absence, which Johann had made no move to shield her from, though with his influence in the gang, he could have. Even then when he'd known that she was hurting, but she wouldn't tell him why - even then he hadn't stepped in. And Cassidy was glad now that he hadn't. The discipline had been a good thing to take her mind off of more painful matters.

Lanny Zelkovii

Silence fell on Lanny too, as he dropped the last of the snakes into the bag and idly cast aside the grabber. There were plenty of things running through his mind right now, from the more minor items of 'Should I ransack the house for more goods?' to the more prominent and consuming questions like 'Should I dare bring up the disappearance and question her again?' He couldn't stop his brother from handing down the punishments to Cass, and although he had a girlfriend at the time, he had spent more time with Cassidy to help her not only trudge through her punishments, but to keep her mind off of her sudden vacation. He didn't know what had happened, and to this day had never figured it out. But one thing was clear - what happened, it wasn't a good thing.

"David" Choosing a safer side-topic, Lanny sneered the name in obvious disgust, "James and I were actually glad that he left - I couldn't stand the kid." The young man was now studying a leopard gecko, trying to decide whether the velvety-soft reptile might have teeth or not, and whether it was worthwhile reaching down to touch the critter, "I guess Johann weeded out all the bad guys, and now all that's left are the awesome ones. Like me, huh?" Lanny flashed a cheesy grin to Cass when he said this, quickly trying to turn the discussion away from any detail about just what had been said between him and Johann.

Cassidy

She might have been distracted by the end of the topic the young man chose, except for the fact that she barely heard him. Her brain was whizzing, gathering together what details she had and beginning to draw a sort of conclusion. And what the conclusion she was coming up with - well, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Finally, she began slowly, "But he wouldn't have stepped out of his authority for that sort of thing, Lanny. He chased them off, sure - but out of sheer intimidation. That's not what he did this afternoon, was it? It got personal." She was quiet for a long while as she decided whether or not to go on, and then murmured, "He only gets personal with people he sees as a definite threat - for some reason, he thinks that you are a threat to me."

Lanny Zelkovii

Lanny focused even more on the gecko, finally deciding he'd risk lowering his hand in the cage; after all, whether they had razor sharp teeth or none at all, he was pretty sure he'd rather be distracted by the little reptile than the issue that Cassidy was pushing. "I don't know what he's thinking." The man tried with a shrug, while poking at the top of the lizard's head, and finding the skin to be something between velvet and soft leather. "For as long as we've known each other, he ought to know that I'd never hurt you." Physically speaking, everyone knew that about Lanny, and James for that matter. They could kill others in cold blood, beat the daylights out of their enemies... but they would not hit women.

Lanny put more attention on the velveteen gecko, running a finger curiously across the fat, bumpy tail, and half wishing he could get the placid critter to bite him and offer a genuine excuse to change the topic. He knew perfectly well that Johann had not been worried about him physically abusing Cassidy, but to admit that he had feelings for her was a step that he awkwardly shied away from right now.

Cassidy

She could see him getting uncomfortable with the topic - and she knew that with most men, there was a point where awkwardness formed into anger. As everyone in the gang knew, he would never lay a hand on her in anger - but it wasn't his temper that she feared. She didn't want to hurt him, which she would do if she kept on this topic and forced that embarrassment any further. His intent focus on the gecko spoke that well enough. So at long last, rather than pressing more, she conceded, "I don't know - he gets funny about things sometimes. He doesn't usually get to drinking so early, anyway - it was probably the whiskey talking." Of course, as much as it was a fact that Lanny wouldn't hurt a woman, it was a fact that no matter how drunk Johann got, his tongue never slipped. What he said didn't always come out the way he wanted it, but never in all the years that the young people had known him had Johann ever slipped up and spilled any information that he didn't want someone to have. But it was a good excuse to draw the topic away from the awkwardness, and she then changed the subject. "So are we going to get these reptiles back, or what? And did you put any mind to where to store them til we get the whole thing set up?"

Lanny Zelkovii

The moment the threat of the conversation was over, Lanny returned his blue-eyed gaze back at Cassidy and nodded, "Probably." Just as Cass knew it, so did Lanny that the man wasn't known to let anything slip on his tongue, no matter how much alcohol he had in him. But that was the card to drop the subject, so he readily took it and moved on in a renewed voice, "We'd probably best get going, before any of the neighbors decides to jog by or something." In a brash act, the young man wrapped his hand around the soft-bodied lizard and hoisted him out of the catch. The creature's tiny, short little legs pedaled helplessly against the air for several moments while the chunky tail wiggled back and forth. "He's kinda cute, don't you think? I've always wanted a pet." Grinning all anew, Lanny shifted his grip on the gecko a little, so that all for of the clawed paws were resting in his hand, thus ending the lizard's frantic search for solid ground to cling too.

Not putting much more thought into it, Lanny took up a few of the snake bags in his other hand, "Sherly'll throw a fit if we take them to my place. So... well, we could always give them to Brian until we have things organized." Lanny shifted the bags a little, preparing to leave, ",B>Need any cash or anything while we're here? I know Sohmers is strapped for money - the foolish gambler - but you know he's gotta keep money around here for that sister of his."

Cassidy

Watching as his more casual demeanor returned, Cassidy smiled, her eyes traveling to the lizard he picked up. Moving over closer to him, she lifted a finger and ran it gently over the little reptile, proving unafraid of the creatures that so terrified her guardian. "He is that," she murmured softly, admiring the spotted pattern on his back.

But when he wanted to know if she wanted money, she shook her head. "No, I'm well put up, for a while. Had some luck recently. Unless you want to grab some for James so he can get Sheryl something nice. Although he'd probably ask where that came from, and that might blow the whole deal." She knew for a fact that Jame's girlfriend didn't like her, saw her as a rival for her boyfriend's affections, even when both she and the man knew that neither one were interested in that sort of relationship. They were casual friends, and battle comrades - no more. But for the same reason as almost everyone else, Jame's fiance had never been able to see that her interest was not in the elder Zelkovii, but the younger. Perhaps, if ever she or Lanny got around to actually making a move to become a couple, Sheryl would stop feeling so territorial. Of course, the young woman had been upset lately, since Raimi had been taken from her... that was all one big mess. That had been the reason it had occurred to her that James might want to get her something nice - to make her feel a little better. Sheryl might not like Cassidy, but the red-head really had nothing against the other girl. And because one day she would be Lanny's sister in law, Cass tried to be friendly.

Lanny Zelkovii

"That's true..." Lanny hesitated, thinking about the potential to get some free cash, and the downside of having to explain its origins to his brother. James was going to be wild enough when he found out what they did; but... "Technically, I'm kind of in charge right now. So really, this shouldn't be a big deal." He knew his older brother was going to raise hell anyway, but Lanny was driven to a bit of brashness right now, "I've got an idea - follow me."

Leaving the basement and heading back up the stairs, Lanny set the snakes down for a moment as he rummaged through this room and that, until he came across a small jewelry box that must belong to Natalie, "Perfect. Sheryl's birthday is coming up in two weeks; she ought to like this." The tension between the women was noticed by Lanny as well, but not nearly on the scale that Cass and Sheryl felt it. To Lanny, he didn't see it as a big deal, and didn't understand why Sheryl was often times less than nice to Cassidy; what better way to remedy that than to have Cass give her a gift?

Cassidy

Part of the reason that she and Sheryl didn't get on was likely because Cass didn't really know how to talk to her. Most women could have sat down together, even if they didn't really like each other, and had a sensible conversation, during which Cassidy could have explained to Sheryl that she was not interested in James as anything other than a friend, and that she would never try to come between them. But Cassidy wasn't your average woman - she could talk to men all day, and express herself in ways that easily and diplomatically got her point across. But with another woman... that was almost impossible.

So when Lanny proposed a way to try and make a little peace, Cassidy smiled and took the little box from him, flipping it open. She let out a low whistle. "His sister's got expensive tastes, doesn't she? Not bad for the income of a police officer stretched over two people." She closed the little box, and rummaged it away into a pocket, murmuring, "I'm sure she'll like it - she's more of a girly girl than I am. She's got a taste for jewelry. Me, I can't stand the stuff. All that cold stuff against my skin."

Lanny Zelkovii

The snakes were hefted up again as Lanny prepared to leave, "I really wasn't much for jewelry either." Being the sort of guy that he was, he couldn't help but throw in a joke of his own, before coming back to a more sincere note, "No, but really. I think I understand that." The young man was making his way for the door now, and the Bronco parked outside, "Scott likes his earrings, but wow... you should have seen the time he got one caught on a branch and ripped the thing right out. You'd have thought somebody shot him in the head for as much blood as there was." Lanny shook his head and let out a low whistle, having made up his mind that day he'd never get any piercings.

Cassidy

She had to smile at that, but not entirely for the joke he'd made. She was thinking back on a certain memory - slowly, her smile altered into a low chuckle, then a giggle. She was attempting to suppress them, with no success whatsoever. She actually had to stop for a moment and lean against the wall, shoulders shaking, to keep from breaking into outright, raucous laughter. It was a long moment before she collected herself somewhat and found her voice, at which point she explained, ""Pr- haha - promise not to tell? You know how Johann disapproves of Scott's earrings? Says they're - hehe - too noticeable? Well, Johann was an old-school goth - and when he was a young creature, he broke up with a girlfriend, and she ripped his earring out for him." That in itself wasn't so funny, but the sheer irony of the situation struck her odd sense of humor, and for a moment or two, she was helpless as she fought to keep her laughter from growing loud enough to attract attention from any people outside the home, her shoulders still shaking as she kept the noise from ringing out.

Lanny Zelkovii

Watching the transformation on her face triggered a grin on Lanny, that flourished into a toothy side-smirk when she delved into the story and dished out a bit of Johann's past, "You've got to be kidding me." A healthy round of laughter worked its way out of the young man as he tossed the snake bags in the back of the vehicle and slipped into the driver's seat. Leaning over, he opened the passenger side door and started the old Bronco, "Johann a goth... that is something I'd pay to see!" The laughter mingled into his words as he shook his head in dismay.

After stretching the seatbelt over and snapping it into place, Lanny briefly looked at the squirming lizard in his hand, then to Cassidy, "Say... you wouldn't mind holding this guy, would you? I think we've got a rubbermaid or something to stick him in once we get back."

Cassidy

Even after recovering from her sudden amusement, the smile stayed in place on the pale face that turned frequently to his. Ordinarily a very solemn, business-like sort of person, she didn't like to admit it - but she just found it easier to be happy when she was talking to Lanny. She felt like she hadn't laughed so much in a long time, and suddenly was forced to remember when the laughter had stopped. That made the smile soften some, losing a little of its brilliance, but she refused to let memories fight it off completely. So it remained as she climbed up into the truck and buckled in, reaching her hand to take the gecko from him. "Sure, Lan," she answered, cradling the reptile gently in both hands. Looking down at it, the smile grew again. "He is cute."