Merry Christmas... To Me

[connorspaulding]

Connor eyed the house warily.

It was a dark night, moonless, and a thick layer of clouds had blown in from the north to obscure the dim light of the stars. That same wind had kept up fairly steady, filling the night air with a soft, constant whoosh that would cloak any other sounds, like those of a man creeping quietly along over the well-tended grass. All in all, it was a perfect night, and Connor knew that--with this being the night after Christmas--he'd be sure to find all sorts of goodies inside that mansion.

Rich people always got the best stuff for Christmas, after all.

Smiling to himself, the professional thief continued on, letting the anticipation of the job to come keep his senses sharp. Moments later, Connor found himself pressed right up against the western wall of the main house, and though he still felt the keen excitement he always did right before a job, he also felt a strange bit of unease as well. This had just been too easy... What kind of people lived here, anyway? He hadn't even come across any basic security measures: no alarms, no guards, no attack dogs, nothing. Rich people always had some sort of safeguard between their wealth and the outside world...

Connor shook his head. You just couldn't figure some people...

Looking around, he spotted a low window and crept toward it, giving it a thorough once over. Again, nothing. What the hell kind of mansion was this, anyway? Furrowing his brow, Connor reached out and flicked the window glass, ready to bolt at any sound of alarm. Nothing. Okay. Biting his lip a bit, the man slowly began to raise the window up, again ready to take off if it came to that. Nothing. Of course. Chuckling, Connor slid the window the rest of the way up and, grabbing hold of the ledge, he pulled himself up and in.

Once his feet hit the floor, Connor dropped into a crouch. He'd known places like this to have pressure sensitive panels on the floors beneath windows, and if he had to dive back out and run for his life, he wanted to be ready. But, just like everywhere else on this strange estate, there was no sign of alarm. Man... This was just too weird. What'd these people rely on to protect their stuff, anyway?

And, as he took a preliminary look around, Connor had to admit that they had some very, very nice stuff...

Alright, time to get down to business. Connor knew that he'd find some great items here, particularly right after Christmas, but at the same time he knew he had to mind his own personal standards: never take anything that looked like it had significant personal value to anyone, never take anything that appeared to be some sort of family heirloom, never take anything that was obviously for children. Connor wasn't in this to hurt anyone, not really... Just to snag a few items of value that people this rich really didn't need. And, as usual, he wasn't armed: no gun, no blade, nothing.

If he was caught in the act, he'd turn and run. If he couldn't run and the police managed to nab him...? Well, he'd do his time, or at least as much of his time as he had to before he busted out. It'd happened before, he was sure it would happen again.

Standing up, Connor began, to walk lightly around the house, perusing various things and mentally calculating their value. All the while, the thief made sure he knew at all times where his exit was. He'd go back out through the same window, and trace his own steps back off of the estate. After all, he knew that the path he'd taken to get here was alarm-free, though he doubted that he'd managed to find the one safe path to the house...

Anyway, back to work...

((Alright, this is open to pretty much anyone who would be at the James' place the day after Christmas))

[Alexis Reese James]

It was the night after Christmas and not a creature was stirring... Or at least, there shouldn't have been.

With the echos of laughter still lingering in the air, the guests remaining in the house had been put peacefully to bed. All the little children nestled contentedly in their pajamas content in the knowledge that their Christmas wishes had come true for one year and the older crowd ..

Well, sometimes it was best not to paint to clear of a picture on that.


Unfortunately, the lady of the house found herself strangely unable to sleep and had slipped out of bed in order to search for her newly returned from the dead husband. He'd mentioned some business to see to earlier in the evening and she supposed he'd waited for her to fall asleep before going about his normal nightly routine. There were still times when the reality of his presence seemed like something out of an unreal dream and the fact that he was a vampire was still something they were working to overcome. It hadn't been an easy reunion, to say the least.

Shaking her head at that thought, Lexi pulled on a long silk robe and then padded out of their huge suite of rooms. Moving with soft, quiet steps, she descended the stairs and was about to turn towards the kitchen with a fissure of broken power swept through her and she immediately frowned. One of the wards on the house had popped and that could only mean that Talon was again sneaking out or someone was sneaking in.

Really... Did the teen truly think her that inexperienced with the antics of kids?If he only knew the antics she and Karlie had gotten up at the same age!!

Smiling a bit to herself, the beautiful blond turned back towards the study where the ward had broken. On the chance that it was something more dangerous with the stupidity to break into HER house, she summoned a bit of power and then peeked carefully around the door.

What she saw though was a relatively normal human man helping himself to her families things.

Tsk, Tsk.. This certainly would never do... However, it had been so long since she'd had a bit of fun.... Maybe she could teach him a lesson without sending for cops to wake up the whole household.

After all, it would be a pity to disturb them all when it was nothing more than a pesky burglar, right? RIGHT!

At that thought, an impish grin spread over her lips and she wiggled her fingers tips a bit so that the thief learned a whole new meaning to the idea of "sticky fingers". As she watched him reach for one of the precious new "treasures" she leaned on the door frame silently and waited to see what his reaction would be to his new "magnetic" personality.

[connorspaulding]

Well, that was weird...

Connor stared dumbfounded at the small statuette that he'd just picked up, an abstract representation of some famous deity or other. It seemed old, and it seemed real, and Connor was pretty sure he could get a pretty penny for it from one of his usual buyers. That wasn't why he was staring at it, though, not really. There was definitely something going on here...

Furrowing his brow, the would-be thief shook his hand, trying to set the statue down, or even drop it on the floor at this point, he didn't care which. Nothing. The damn thing was stuck, it was like he just couldn't let go of it. Shit, really? Growling under his breath, he shook harder, and still nothing happened.

Okay, relax. Deep breaths. Calm down and take a closer look at the thing. Maybe it was snagged on something, or maybe there was some sort of adhesive on it that he hadn't noticed before.

Taking a moment, Connor studied the statuette closely, turning it this way and that, which was awkward since it was stuck to his hand all the while. There didn't seem to be anything caught anywhere, and he didn't see anything that could be making it stick either. And he was quickly losing his patience too, feeling panic creeping in.

Frowning, he took hold of the statue with his free hand, thinking that he might be able to pull it away from his other one. The moment he did this, though, he realized that he'd made one helluva mistake. Now his other hand was just as inexplicably stuck. He cursed under his breath, shaking his arms wildly, thinking in the back of his mind about how ridiculous he must look. Hell, if he were someone else watching this, he'd probably be laughing his ass off, that was for sure.

Connor stopped suddenly, a realization coming to him. He spun around, looking all about the room for any signs of cameras or anything like that. Leave it to him to find the one mansion in America that was rigged up with cameras, probably taping him for that damned show... What was it called again? "Caught in the Act" or "World's Dumbest Criminals" or something? Instead of cameras, though, Connor caught sight of a particularly attractive, blonde woman standing in the doorway, watching him with a slight smirk upon her perfect lips.

Aw hell...

Putting on his most charming smile, Connor said, "Uh, hey there. There's... there's not really a lot I can say in defense of myself right now, huh?"

[Alexis Reese James]

Leaning on the door frame, Lexi pulled her robe tighter around herself and struggled to hold on to her laughter as the man before her got a perplexed expression on his face as first one hand and then the other got stuck to one of her husbands precious antiques.

Personally, she thought the thing was ugly and couldn't have cared less if the thief had managed to make off with it but.. That wasn't really the point was it? To bad, really, she thought to herself giving a little moue of distaste at the object. The poor fool would actually have been doing her a favor if it wasn't for the fact that she really truly couldn't let him get away with what he was attempting.

Mores the pity.

Taking a deep breath, the slender blond looked back to the man just as his gaze shot around the room and then landed upon herself. His expression of "Oh SHIT" followed by a dose of "Well, Hell" resignation made her push away from the wall and stroll a few steps into the room.

Since his fingers were still glued to the ugly little piece of work, she scanned him with her powers for weapons and found none upon his person. What kind of thief was he that he had attempted a robbery without some sort of protection? Or did he have some sort of magical protection? Another quick scan thought told her otherwise and a perplexed frown settled on her delicate features. Surely he hadn't come unarmed..... But the proof was in the pudding, as Betsy would say. There was no weapon to be found and the poor guy looked almost as if he were about to have a heart attack. His stare had taken on the deer in the headlights look and he obviously wasn't a threat so she decided to take pity on him.

Dropping the spell, the beauty crossed her arms over her chest and raised a cool brow at her "guest". Her look was pointed and questioning as she stared at him before her musical voice rang out with humor in ever note.

"I'd say that its pretty obvious but... I could let you try I suppose.... My true question is this however... Why on earth would you be silly enough to sneak around a house without some sort of protection? Don't get me wrong.. Its not that I'm not relieve you aren't armed but .. Aren't you a strange sort of burglar without some sort of weapon in case you were caught? I'm afraid I'm not real familiar with the habit of thieves but... it does seem a bit.... odd?"

Tilting her head, Lexi reached to tuck a lock of long blond hair behind one ear as she waited for his response. Her blue eyes danced with curiosity and they could very well have been discussing something mundane like the reason her opponent had made a move in a game of chess as to a real life burglary attempt.

"Oh.. and if you could put that back, I'd greatly appreciate it. As much as I'd like to have that certain piece whisked off... I'm afraid Tristian might miss it. Besides... I've been saving it to destroy myself sometime when I've need to break something.... Can't be smashing the pretty pieces, right? RIGHT!"

[connorspaulding]

Connor raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Put it back? Yeah, sure, he'd get right on that... Snorting, he tried once again to set the statuette back down and, much to his surprise, he was apparently able to do so now. God, that was strange... Ignoring the hot woman for a second, Connor got his face as close to the relic as he dared, circling it and studying it, scowling when he could find no reason why he'd been so stuck to it just moments earlier.

"God, I must really be losin' it," he muttered to himself, standing up straight and running a hand over his bald scalp as he returned his attention to the blonde. "Alright now, what were ya sayin' about protection?" He shook his head, leaning casually against the edge of a table as he spoke.

"You think carrying a blade or packing heat is any sort of real protection?" He shook his head. "Nah, I find the people that carry weapons for 'protection' tend to use 'em frivolously more often than not. It's easy to shoot someone first, and claim you were protectin' yourself later. No point. I mean, hell, I'm a thief, not a murderer, ya know? Besides, if I get caught, I'll just do my time and get the hell out. Or, get the hell out before doin' all my time. Just depends on my luck, really," he finished with a wink.

Sighing dramatically, Connor put his wrists together and held his arms out to her.

"May as well get this over with, lady," he said with a smile. "The sooner the cops get here and get me locked up, the sooner I can start plotting my escape, after all." He chuckled, not feeling particularly upset about getting caught. Rather, he was still pretty curious about whatever it was that'd made him stick to that damned statue. Hell, he was still a little bit tempted to come back and try to steal it again, just so he could really give it a good once over some time...

"Anyway," he went on, grinning, "sorry about all this. I just figured, with a house like this and all, that you'd have a thing or two to spare for a poor, starving thief like me..."

[Alexis Reese James]

Well, that was certainly an interesting response!

Definitely not one she'd ever heard before and she'd handled a few attempted robberies in her time between the club and home. OK, so maybe most of those break in had nothing to do with "robberies" but that really wasnt the point, right?

Right.

This man though.. This man seemed a bit different. He was definitely just a human. There was no air of sulfur about him and she didnt get the vibe of a were or a vampire. No, his aura was completely that of a human without any hint of something she'd normally want to kill more than talk to.

"Who said cops were going to be arriving any time soon?" she asked, arching a slender brow inquisitively, deciding to play him a bit. "We normally just bury the bodies outside in the woods and have done with it.. Save all the hassle of the red tape and all... That kind of stuff can be so... Messy."

Keeping her expression carefully neutral, Lexi eyed the poor man's feet and they instantly became like cement blocks to the floor so he couldn't take off in a mad panicked flight. After all, she really didn't intend to HARM the poor fellow.. OK, maybe just a little bit of a fright but as long as he didn't have a heart attack, it was all good, right? No physical harm but a blind panicked flight through the house trying to get away from her or at her was going to attracted unwanted attention.

That just wouldn't do.. It wouldn't do at all so she took precautions.

When she was satisfied that he wasn't going to be moving anywhere very quickly, the beautiful blond moved to the wall and flipped on the light. As the bright beams illuminated the room, she got her first good look at the intruder and her smile was easy as she meet his gaze.

"And as far as being a poor, helpless thief?? This isn't Knottingham and you aren't Robin Hood, sir... Your thinking of the wrong story..... I think you could classify this as more... You aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto!"

[connorspaulding]

So... she wasn't gonna call the cops?

Well, that both relieved and worried Connor. He didn't really think this lady was the type to try and kill him and stash the body, but you never really could tell with people. Still, if cops weren't going to be involved, then maybe he'd be able to get out of here and be on his way after all.

"Well, this has been fun and all, lady, but if you don't mind, I think I'll just be on my way." He flashed her his most charming grin, and as he went to step away, he found his feet inexorably stuck to floor. A groan escaped him and he closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Again? Really? Hey, lady, what the hell's goin' on around here anyway?"

Grunting, he reached down and used his hands to try and pull his feet free.

Nothing.

Furrowing his brow in frustration, he figured he'd just take his boots off and get the hell outta here barefoot.

Nothing, again.

"Christ Almighty," he cursed softly. "Look, I dunno what's goin' on here, and honestly I'm pretty sure I don't want to, but if this is some kinda joke, that's great. Hahaha, we're all laughing. Very funny. But I got stuff to do, ya know? So, how about I just leave you with your stuff--" he set his half-filled loot bag on the floor in front of him "--and I'll be on my way. And I'll never come pokin' around here again. You have my word. I mean it."

His frustration was finally starting to get the better of him, and he was quickly losing his cool. There was something about this woman that made him feel uneasy, and nervous, and hell, maybe even a little scared. It was something in her eyes, something that showed no fear at all at finding a guy like him snooping around her house in the middle of the night, something that was very dangerous, and very powerful.

Connor thought of himself as a pretty good judge of people, and yeah, this lady was definitely dangerous.

"Hey, wait a minute," he blurted, raising his eyebrows. "You're not really gonna kill me and bury in the backyard, are ya?"

[tristianjames]

There was nothing quite like being on one's own late at night. When the world was dark and the only things awake were the stars above one's head, there was a sense of forced self reliance that any man had to appreciate. A guy had to rely on their wits; on their two hands, the eyes in their faces and the brains in their heads.

...Well, that and the quarter-million dollar GPS system installed in the private jet that he was flying. It was the 21st century, after all.

Leaning back in his seat, Tristian made himself comfortable for the six hour flight from his home in New Orleans to New York, where he was supposed to meet his old secretary from London. Being that Tristian James had legally died six years earlier, he couldn't exactly remain in control of James Industries. Most of the company's control had gone to his wife and her various legal advisors. Tristian himself had quaratined himself in London, taking on the alias 'Nicholas Beaumont.' With the help of another vampire, he had managed to open up a branch of the mother company in Europe, and ran it as covertly as possible.

Which he now had to do from the States. The meeting with his underling was only supposed to take a few hours, but instead had taken up most of the night. Reclining back in the soft leather seat of his jet, the vampire couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about the welcome he was liable to get when returning home. He'd promised Lexi that he'd only be a few hours and would be back before she woke, but at this point, he had feeling that he'd be facing quite a few floating plates in front of his face.

After having decieved her with his death for years, he could expect nothing less. Truthfully, he was surprised every day that she didn't leave him, or treat him as dubiously as their son, Bastian.
And, every day since his family had learned of their loved one's deception, he'd fallen more deeply in love with his wife.

It was with a single rose tucked into his pocket and small box of Lexi's favorite chocolates in the other, that Tristian returned home. Opening the front door, he entered the house as quietly as possible, in the off chance that his wife was still asleep. He was a bit tense, tempted to use his briefcase has a sheild of some kind, but he consoled himself with the knowledge that his vampire nature wouldn't allow him to die by plate...as far as he knew. He was expecting an irritated Lexi standing at the foot of the stairs, tapping one slippered foot. He expected glaring, suspicion, maybe even a healthy dose of- or so he hoped- 'husband-sickness' which would have his wife diving into his arms...

But, of course, he recieved none of the above. Instead, Tristian was greeted by the sight of his wife using her supernatural talents to apprehend a strange man. And, given the healthy amount of dark amusement in Lexi's face, she was having a good time.

...Was it wrong to start thinking 'better him than me?' It probably was, but he couldn't help himself.

Pausing in the doorway a few feet behind Lexi, Tristian couldn't help but raise a brow at the two. He'd come in just in time to hear the stranger's wide eyed question, and a smile perked his lips.

"Oh, she definitely wouldn't bury you in the backyard, Sir," He drawled, leaning against the door frame. "With her talents, she could probably just incinerate you and be done with it. That might stain the rugs, but...I hear the new dry cleaning service around here specializes in hard-to-clean stains."

Eyes flickered to his wife as the vampire waited for her to turn around. "Lexi? Care to explain what's going on?"

[/blockquote]

[Alexis Reese James]

Ok, so maybe Lexi was having a bit to much fun tormenting the poor guy. With all the upheaval of the last few days though, the slender woman had been in need of some way to relieve the tension thrumming through her veins and she'd seemed to find the perfect target in the would be burglar. Between Ryder Winchesters long dead fiance showing up, her own daughters disappearance and the general confusion that had lingered in the air... Well, Lexi felt quiet proud of herself for not letting lose before now.

Hence her gleeful torment of the unsuspecting sod.

Oh, she wouldn't REALLY hurt him, of course, but she definitely wasn't going to let him get off Scott free either. He needed a lesson in the dangers of his chosen career. Dangers that had NOTHING to do with the law and everything to do with more swift consequences.

Keeping her interested gaze on the man, Lexi didn't hear the front door or the soft fall of footsteps behind her as she pretended to contemplate the mans words. His face had started to take on a worried look that she found vastly amusing and she was content for the moment to let him wonder what his own foolhardiness had gotten him into.

That is... Right up until the sound of her husbands voice rang out through the quiet and she jumped a mile high. Spinning around to look at him a bit guiltly, Lexi felt a blush creep up her face as she tried to figure out how to explain when.. Honestly, there was no way to explain it. He'd caught her red handedly engaging in a prank that she'd often gotten on to their daughter about.

"Oh....Um... Tristian.. Your back early.. Was your business successful?" she chirped out brightly, trying to mask her sudden unease. "Oh... and you mean our.. guest? I'm afraid we haven't gotten around to introductions. He invited himself in for a little tour of our home and we hadn't made it past the basics."

Turning to glance back at the robber, the beautiful blond eyed him ruefully before sighing.,

"And no... I'm not planning on killing you.... However, I would suggest a new avenue of employment? The next time you enter a house like ours, you might not be so lucky." she said sternly, loosening the hold on the power she had grounding him enough he could move just a bit. "OH.. and this is my husband, Tristian James... You should probably be thankful it was me who stumbled across you instead of him... He tends to take his families safety to extremely high levels...."

[connorspaulding]

"Oh hell..."

Connor couldn't help himself. He sort of just blurted it out when he saw the man come seemingly out of nowhere. Well, this was perfect. Great, really. He was probably really in for it now. And what was it the guy'd said about his wife's "talents"? Something about "incineration"? Yeah, "oh hell" seemed pretty fitting.

"Jesus, what've I got myself into this time?" he grumbled to himself, trying once again to move and finding that at least he had a bit more mobility then last time. He still didn't know exactly what was going on, but honesty, it scared the hell out of him. "Ya know," he said, trying to sound as unafraid as possible, "I was thinking... This was wrong, what I did. So, ya know, you better call the cops. Yeah, I deserve to be put away for a long time, that's for sure... Should probably give 'em a call. I even know the number. Just dial '9-1-1' and that'll do it."

He almost laughed when the woman, Lexi, made some comment about him finding a new profession. Yeah, right. Because it was so easy for a man nearly fifty years old to just up and start a whole new career. It might not be glamorous, but thieving was what he did, what he was good at. And it was exciting, something that never left him feeling bored or unchallenged. He'd had his fair share of close calls and terrifying moments, but this was honestly the worst... Part of him thought about taking her words to heart.

Nah, he silently decided. I'll just choose my marks a little more carefully from now on.

"Listen, lady," he said, still squirming and eyeing Tristian. "You got somethin' in mind for a new job for me, I'm all ears. But this is what I do, alright? It's all I've ever done. So, how 'bout you let me outta whatever the hell you've got me in here, call the cops, send me on my way, and we can all just forget about this, alright? Sound good? Here, you can even use my phone."