Jewel Thief

As the rats in Odala sneaked about, the exterminators began a large-scale hunt for them. This time, the City Lord and the resident noble families were determined to clean them up. Aayla joined the patrol teams along with Daren, Chris and Jacki, though Halcyon Guards always accompanied them.

The sprawling city seemed so much larger on foot. The green and yellow zones still bustled with activity, though a bit subdued. These zones centered around the blue zones protected by the government. Most of the rich and powerful lived in blue and green areas, while normal people lived everywhere else.

The orange zones teemed with activity of all kinds. Every alley was one of those sketchy alleys that gave off bad vibes. Thieves and other unsavory individuals caused trouble everywhere. From pickpockets and scams to muggings and murders, civilians were forced to be wary at all times, even in their own homes.

As for the red zones, Aayla only saw them from afar. The patrols she was on never went into those places. However, she could see the burnt husks of buildings and ragged homeless people huddled underneath tiny awnings. They were desolate ghost towns. People stayed in their homes as much as possible.

Basically, the team just walked around the city handling minor cases. The serious work was handled when they weren't around. Real life wasn't a spy thriller or detective story. Just as Daren's enthusiasm for patrolling began to fade, the situation changed.

Each day got more and more busy as the minor cases piled up. After a week passed, the team was given permission to patrol on their own. The police were so overwhelmed that they would deputize anyone who had an ounce of sanity and empathy.

The team stepped out of the commander's tent with happy steps. The team leader of the Halcyon Guards had a slight frown on his haggard face.

"Look, don't do anything crazy. If you see something, report back. Breaking up petty squabbles isn't a problem, but stay away from the serious cases. You're not official police officers. Only go into the orange zones if necessary, but never go into the red zones. Chris, I'm counting on you to protect the young master."

"Don't worry about us, sir. We'll stay within the yellow zones at most."

"Good. I want to see you all back here in a couple of hours. Remember, don't do anything stupid!"

The team leader walked off as officers began to surround him with more work. Daren led the group out of the blue zone.

"Where should we go first? Oh, and Chris I do NOT want to stay in the green zone all day. I want to actually do something useful."

Chris sighed. "Fine. The yellow zone starts about three blocks south. We can go there. I've heard that more vandals have been troubling the area recently. Crime has started to seep into other areas despite the patrols."

Jacki sharply elbowed Chris. He always went easy on Daren. Stallesso gave his permission to let Daren come on this trip, but he definitely didn't want Daren to go any farther. Chris should keep him in the green areas so that he doesn't earn too much credit.

Before she could interject, Daren had already walked away. The team caught up and followed him around the city. Crime had obviously picked up in the yellow zones. Even the green zones weren't very green any more. Soon the blue zones would be only oases of peace.

Just when they rounded a corner, a thief exited a jewelry store with smashed windows. The thief gleefully chuckled and blatantly looked through his loot as he strolled away. Aayla could see the jewels glittering in the light. Between his loud murmurings and shady appearance, the theft was obvious.

"STOP THIEF!"

Daren rushed after the stupid thief, who didn't notice until Daren was very close to him. With a loud gasp, the thief ran away. Aayla sprinted after Daren. The thief made several twists and turns through alleys and side streets as the team followed from behind.

Still, he constantly stopped to catch his breath and dropped his loot everywhere. He was a good a runner as he was a thief. His shrieks of surprise and fear made his exaggerated running seem comical. Still, the thief deftly avoided capture like a slippery eel.

Jacki was the first to get shaken off. She was much slower than the rest and couldn't use magic to keep up. Aayla and Chris kept pace with Daren. Just as she began to get frustrated with how long this chase was taking, the thief made a sharp turn around a corner.

Aayla decided to finish this quickly and accelerated. She passed Daren in an instant. When she turned the corner the thief's back was barely in view. Aayla stopped where she was. Something felt wrong about all of this.

She was thrown to the ground as something collided with her back. Daren didn't pay attention and slammed right into her. Chris quickly caught up with them and helped them up.

"Are you two alright?"

Daren jumped back onto his feet and brushed off the dirt on his pants.

"Quick! Which way did that thief go? We need to catch him!"

"Hold your horses there," Aayla grabbed Daren's arm before he could run off. "This alley seems a bit eerie. In fact, something seems a bit off about this entire chase. The robbery was a bit too blatant now that I think about it."

Chris looked around and frowned. Jacki was no where to be seen. Rough looking men with scantily clad women stood further down the alley. The cries of merchants echoed from the other side. Only orange zones continued as if the streets next to them weren't collapsing.

"Let him go for now, young master. Let's just report this when we go back. We need to find Jacki and check on the store to record the loses."

With one last glance, Daren begrudgingly followed behind. The thief silently watched them from a side road down the alley. With a frown on his face, he disappeared into the crowd.

The team slowly followed their tracks back to the store. Unfortunately, many of the gems and pieces of jewelry had disappeared after they last saw them. The store owner wouldn't be getting them back. Jacki soon caught up with them, making the team whole again.

Eventually, they retraced their steps back to the jewelry store. A small crowd had gathered around it as officers investigated the scene. Chris approached them and handed back the jewelry they found while telling them about the thief.

Chris talked with them for several minutes before returning.

"The store owner isn't in. Apparently, they were having some issues securing goods to sell. The store must have gotten a new shipment, which no one but the thief apparently knew about. With no customers and the store owner away, a perfect opportunity must have presented itself."

Aayla frowned. That explanation seemed highly suspicious.

"Does the store know what was missing? Could it have been an inside job?"

"No. There's nothing in the store records and the shipment manifest is incomplete. The owner didn't even have the time to register the new shipment, according to the officers. An inside job is my best guess, too."

"The robber must have taken it," Daren shrugged. "Seems that he's a bit smart after all. If they don't know what exactly was stolen, it will be hard to track it down."

"That's convenient for the thief. Very convenient."

The rest of the patrol continued as normal. Chris teased her for being so paranoid about the jewelry store incident. After a couple more chases, Aayla's suspicions were verified. Something was wrong. Someone seemed to want them to travel out of the yellow zone.

One could argue that the culprits fled towards areas with more chaos that could help them escape. However, with the Forolan heir in their team, no one wanted to take any chances. Chris forced the unconvinced Daren back into the green zone, where they finished the patrol.

"Let's at least finish our patrol in the yellow zone! Come on, Chris. We've gotten some good cases under our belts today. Just let me get a couple more then we can stick to the green zone during our next patrol."

"No. Absolutely not. Miss Glowery might not be as para – *cough* as overly cautious as I thought. For your wellbeing, we need to handle this safely. If nothing is wrong, then we can always patrol the yellow zone another time. Preferably with guards."

"You were going to say that I'm paranoid, weren't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

As the team entered the green zone, a malevolent gaze struck Aayla's back. She quickly turned around with her shield up. The road behind them was peaceful. Only a few people walked along the streets. Aayla put her shield back down. She could have sworn that someone was watching her.

"Is something wrong Aayla?"

"No. I think that it was just my imagination playing tricks on me."

The patrol ended with all four team members safely accounted for in the blue zone. The rats had also confirmed that a delicious cheese was in the city. Tomorrow would be a busy day for everyone.