Thief

“I steal everything tangible,” he says, unashamed. “If I can hold it in my hands, I can steal it.”1

Mercy stares at the window of their shared booth. The street is busy outside the small café, teeming with shoppers and bustlers. She’d requested a mercenary, and she ended up with a klepto? Perhaps she should have been more specific in her inquiries. After all, one could not expect shady side of town to understand subtlety. Still, Mercy is nothing if not persistent.2

She clears her throat, lowering her eyes to the cup in front of her. Mercy twists her mouth to the side as she contemplates the steaming dark liquid. She didn’t even like coffee, normally.3

“What…is the biggest thing you’ve ever stolen?” her voice was quiet and curious. The person sitting across from her is hardly old enough to be labeled as a man. His adam’s apple is prominent and he has yet to grow into his nose. She feels very old.4

“Well…the biggest I’ve stolen was a truck,” he muses aloud, patting the tips of his fingers along the table’s edge. “But that’s not to say it was the hardest. Probably…the most difficult thing to steal was sex.” Mercy raises an eyebrow slightly.5

Rapists can’t have much higher morals than murderers, she thinks.6

“So…you could steal a life?” She decides to be bold and meets his stare. He looks unimpressed.7

“Can you hold a life in your hands?” his question is rhetorical and condescending.8

“Can you hold sex?” she returns the bite.9

He smiles slightly.10

“I can hold a prostitute. Stealing sex from a prostitute is just like stealing candy from a store. Stealing a life from a body is like stealing electricity from a television. It’s a bit different.” He speaks smoothly and slightly out of breath. She wonders if he practiced that speech about hookers a lot to himself, and is rushing to get it out.11

“I fail to see the difference.” She can’t believe what she has to justify.12

“Hn. If you want me to steal something, get back to me.” He shifts towards the outlet of the small booth.13

“You can hold blood in your hand,” she ventures as a last ditch attempt. He made no move to leave any money. If she’s going to pay for two coffees she’s going to get her damn money’s worth. Her time already died a slow death from this little meeting.14

To her surprise, he pauses, and inclines his head toward her. He is quiet for a millisecond, before he settles back into the seat.15

He leans forward on his elbows, looking highly amused.16

“You want me to steal someone’s blood?” He asks her, and she pushes her hair out of her face.17

God, it’ll work, she thinks in a panic. It’ll work.18

“All of it. Steal his blood, steal his heart, steal his kidneys- and sell them, I don’t care. Just…” she gestures with her hand, and his mouth tilts up.19

“You shouldn’t be doing it if you can’t say it,” he says archly, and she narrows her eyes at him.20

“I’m not the one who will be doing it, clearly. So, can you steal his blood, or not?”21

He keeps his eyes leveled on her chest for a moment.22

“Sure.”