Chameleon's Corruption

3

                Desperate for money and hesitant about returning to their old ways of getting it, the Powalski brothers waited with bated breath for a call from Zack assigning them to another job. When they were first starting out the correspondence was frequent; he'd reach out once every few days when something new came up that he needed help with and the work, while dirty, was consistent. But as this stint of silence stretched from a couple days into over a week without so much as a peep, the fact that he was upset with them was pretty obvious. No work meant no pay and merciless as ever, the deadline for this month's rent was right around the corner. Without any cash in the reserves they knew that outside of divine intervention, they wouldn't be able to make it unless they did something soon. Missing just one month in a place like this could mean your eviction and after working so hard to get this roof over their heads, neither of them had any intentions of being out on the pavement any longer. So, knowing they had to produce something tangible as soon as possible, the two siblings reluctantly returned to doing what they did best.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Leon asked his brother. His blue eyes reflected the neon yellow light from the sign of the electronics retailer they were standing in front of. Leon himself had no problems with committing thievery, his concerns were mostly regarding the other factor in this equation.

"I mean, three days and four hundred dollars in the hole... Unless you can think of a better idea this is going to be our best bet." Lars replied.

"Mostly I just – I don't want you to get in trouble again in case something happens. If you'd rather wait outside I can do this myself." While he was reasonably confident in his own abilities, he did his best to politely offer his brother a way out. "I'm sure I'd be able to lift something good."

"Oh don't be like that, it'll be more reliable if we work together. C'mon, there's no reason to be worried. We used to do this kind of stuff all of the time, remember?"

"Oh I remember, it's just-..."

"Well then what're we standing around for? I just want to get this over with so we can go back to the Vixen. It's freezing and miserable out here and I'm no more excited about this than you are." Unfortunate for both of them, rain was pouring down from the sky this evening and beating down on the pair, collecting on the pavement in large puddles. Lars's ability to knuckle down and get work done even in the face of adversity was always a trait that Leon found to be alluring. While he wanted to disagree, assert again that it'd be a better idea if he go in alone, it was clear that the elder had made up his mind. Any further conjecture would just be wasted breath.

"Mm. So we're doing this like we used to then, correct? You distract the lackey they put up front and I'll nab the goods."

"No, no. I'm feeling good tonight so I wanted to switch it up, we can do it just like we used to way back when. Remember when you'd act like a lost child without their mommy and I'd do some sleight of hand while nobody was looking?" Leon wasn't expecting that response. Ever since it became clear that he was better at staying off the radar they'd been doing it the same way since. Changing the formula in these circumstances just sounded like a bad idea. "It'll be fun."

"I... Don't know about that Lars. Maybe we should-"

"What? Don't trust me anymore huh?" He asserted. It was clear that tonight was about something more than just money to him. "You think I can do it, don't you?"

"Oh it's not that at all, of course you're capable I'm just... You know how I worry."

"There's no reason to worry like that, it just gets in the way. All you gotta do is go in, talk to the guy or whatever and I'll pass by when he's not paying attention. I'll grab something worth our time, walk out and whistle for you to follow. It'll be five minutes tops and then we're good for the rest of the month." He moved up behind his sibling and held him by the shoulders, giving them a firm, attentive rub. "I can't do this stuff alone you know. We're a good team."