The Forger

Dallas kept looking down at their phone every five seconds. He just wanted to know Ace and Rhiannon were alright and that they were staying that way. Maybe they didn’t outright say how much the other two meant to them, but Dallas liked to believe everyone knew.They were keeping calm, but only just barely, though the carefully etched grifter’s mask did much to hide it. Should anything happen to either Ace or Rhiannon though, all bets were off. Dallas had spent so many years without connections that up until the day Ace was taken, he had forgotten exactly what it felt like to truly worry about someone.

Their head turned toward Kimberly who was clearly more worried than they were. Dallas placed a warm smile on his face that would read pleasantness from afar and ran a careful, gentle hand down Kimberly’s back. “The first thing you need to do is relax or you’ll get us marked before we can even make it there,” he advised giving her a pointed eyebrow. Not everyone was a grifter, but they all needed to be for tonight at least. “We’ll go. Take a look around,” he said, though really he wasn’t sure what exactly to be looking for since. He read people better than places anyway. “But let’s walk, casually, and try not to garner any unneeded attention. And while we;re looking around, you’ll be my date for the night. Be honored for the opportunity.” Dallas looked down at them a far more genuine and playful smile on his lips as he slid his arm around their waist.

They were one crew member down. Kitty was not going to let them lose another one. They must have been out of sorts for Dallas to have noticed. At Dallas' instructions, Kimberly furrowed their brow, exhaling with a small huff. "I'm perfectly relaxed," they lied. "Or at the very least, I can pretend to be." That was what their lives were; pretending. Kimberly might not have been a grifter like Dallas was, but they had done a little bit of everything. No forgeries were required tonight. Grifting was the name of the game. If you could call it that. Kimberly certainly wasn't playing, and given that one of their crew was currently bleeding out, it didn't seem like the others were playing either.

Kimberly forced themselves into composure, summoning a tipsy looseness to them, a casual air that would go unnoticed among all the other guests in the room. "The bomb has to be in here somewhere. This is where it would take out the most people. We have to find it." And fast, they knew, but it wasn't something that needed to be said. They wrapped their arm around Dallas, their bodies close to one another. "You're always a good date, but if anyone asks about Kitty, you're just standing in." They managed a small smile, however difficult. "Like a gentleman."

Kimberly started to walk the room, looking for something while trying not to be obvious about what they were doing. A bomb big enough to blow up the majority of the guests would have to be a decent size, too big to fit into a purse, probably. Under one of the tables, perhaps? Kimberly started picking up the table cloths and glancing beneath one by one. "Damnit Dallas, my phone has got to be around here somewhere..." they whined, just in case anyone happened to ask what they were doing.  

“I don’t know what it is, that’s the problem,” she clarified. They were moving fast towards the door and Kim’s explanation did make sense. If it was desired for them to get the key, it wouldn’t have been so hard, and the repercussions wouldn’t have been so great. But then, a number of things could be behind that door, and the fact that they were going to open it without any idea of what it was bothered her. It bothered her even more that that was really their only option at the moment.

They were right, of course. Sebastian had saved them, considering the fact that if it had hit either one of them, Kitty doubted they would be on their way to open the door at that moment. She followed them into the kitchen, gripping the key tightly as though she expected it to fly out of her finger tips if she let up on it at all. It took her a second, but with a deep breath, she slid the key into the lock and turned it, waiting for the worst. When the worst didn’t come, she pushed the door open.

It was a hallway, and nothing much else. It wasn’t particularly exciting, except for the security guard standing at the other end. Now, Kitty knew that the both of them were strong, but the sheer size of him told her that they weren’t going to be able to make it happen. At least, not on their own. That room was exactly what they needed to get into, but getting into it was going to be a problem. “Don’t suppose you’re going to be able to take out someone who’s six three and looks like they weigh close to two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle, do you?” she asked Kim, opening the door just enough so that they could see inside but not enough to draw any attention of the guard who looked visibly bored but still alert.

Kitty's anxiety was giving Kimberly anxiety. They were usually so cool, so calm, so confident. Kimberly usually kept it together no matter what was going on around them. There was just one little chink in that armor, and it was apparently the fact one of their people, one of those kids that so endearingly nicknamed themselves 'Kim's angels' was bleeding out on the floor.

The hallway was one of those passageways that old, rich people's properties tended to have. Access for the servants to come and go about their duties, to slip around the house without disturbing anyone, to take shortcuts. The passage might have led outside. They might have been able to escape, except for the blockhead at the other end. For a moment, Kimberly thought they would have been able to take him down based on sheer anger alone. They were filled with fury and desperation. They could use weapons, they could brawl, but they weren't a hitter. Deep down, Kimberly knew that was what they needed, even if part of them wanted to step out of the shadows, stop hiding and beat the man in the head.

Kitty was gripping the keys in her free hand when she felt them grab her arm. She could see that they were shaken by what had just transpired and truth be told, she was as well. It hadn’t been anyone from her own crew, but that didn’t really seem to matter, because it could have been any one of them and poor Maisie didn’t deserve that. None of them did, no matter how much she moaned and complained about having to work with the other crews. 

Nodding her agreement, Kitty followed them as they sped away. “We don’t even know what’s behind that door,” she commented lowly, constantly glancing over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t being closely watched as they sped away to that ever locked door that they had been trying to open since they had found it. Now they had what was most likely the key, but Kitty was even more nervous to open it. What if opening the door set the bomb off? What if there was nothing about the bomb in there and they couldn’t stop it from going off. 

“It’s not your fault. We all thought that this job was going to be quick. Maybe not easy, but this is insane. We just need to get this over with,” she said, tucking her fear and anxiety away for the time being. Later, she could pull out Brooke, or Eliza, and then she could worry about it, but for now she had to be Kitty, as she pulled open the kitchen door and clutched the key in her hand.

"You think it's a trap?" Kimberly needed to focus. They couldn't let the image of Maisie's blood spilling onto the carpet distract them. The mission had stopped being about the Bride. Now it was about saving Maisie. Disarm the bomb, then they could call the ambulance. For now, the crew would protect her and stop the bleeding as best they could. But they were on a time limit now. "No," Kimberly said, shaking their head as they made a bee-line for the kitchens. "If the kitchen door was going to set off the bomb, they wouldn't have tried to stop us from getting to it.

That only made sense, didn't it? It followed that whatever was behind the door would lead to the undoing of their plans, or else their retrival of the key wouldn't have triggered the attack. "If not for Sebastian, that bullet would have been for us." Kimberly considered that, teeth gritted. "I owe him a beer, or ten." Maisie's wound wasn't fatal on its own. That was all they could keep saying to themselves.

there were a lot of things Kim could do well —- besides forging, naturally. as gifted as they were with various mediums of art, there was always the other intangible skills they had :: poise. a calm demeanor. a clear head. a way of drawing the team together to work for a common cause. every blade was welded in heat; for all the sharp steel their crew could be, perhaps Kim was the fire that formed it all together. and another skill they possessed, which Mickey simultaneously admired and envied?  the ability to multitask… to be fair, he was pretty focused given the gravity of this job, but Kim made holding a conversation while keeping an eye on their immediate surroundings look effortless.

just another thing to learn——–  but he had plenty of years ahead of him. hopefully, he’d be able to catch a look at Kitty grifting, too.

“ ‘ey, Shakespeare and Jay-Z go well together. I once listened to someone who mashed up Beethoven’s Fifth and Mims’ This Is Why I’m Hot, that beat was awesome. “  and while Kim’s grin was careful, Mickey’s was bold and even daring, as he pressed forward with a question he’d left unspoken throughout this whole debacle :: “ speakin’ of money… we’re gettin’ paid for all this, right?  or is this just some kinda… charity case for Monroe? “

while matters of payment could be tabled for now, their immediate situation couldn’t. Mickey’s eyes followed Kim’s, and his grin softened just a titch when his gaze came to rest on Katya.

“ her boss looks like she could eat one of those Russian circus bears for breakfast… and to an extent, so does Katya—-  but, she’s talented, flawless, and she’s my date. hell, I think I’m the one that’s gonna need to hold her back when we finally get to the end of this… oh, and along those lines. we’re gonna go check out the kitchen soon, once there’s enough activity on the floor for us to slip in without too much attention. “

"Shakespeare and Jay-Z," Kimberly repeated, shaking their head. There was wine on the table, but Kimberly needed to stay sober. A small sip here and there, but always accompanied by water in between, grap juice and cranberry juice playing the part of alcohol in their cup. Just another way to blend in. Who else in the room was playing the same game? "Next they'll be making a Shakespeare Hip Hop Musical to go along with the Hamilton one." They flashed a grin in Mickey's direction, amusement flooding their features. "This Is Why I'm Hot. Must be your anthem. Or maybe mine."

The question about money was more difficult for Kimberly to answer. As loathe as they were to admit it, it wasn't something they'd been told. "Ask James," they responded with a huff. "Preferably as repetitively and annoyingly as possible. Maybe that way he'll learn to delegate a little more." They raised their eyebrows, passing off their words as a gentle joke. "Don't worry. Mommy and Daddy aren't fighting. He just didn't clue me in on that little piece of information, and I didn't think about it until you just asked." Kim scoffed, putting down the empty glass of juice. "Curses. I'm becoming kind-hearted."

They were happy to let the topic of conversation shift to the Bobroskovas. "Sabina?" Kimberly shrugged, their lips curving into a smirk at the vision that had popped into her head. "I'd let her eat me for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Not something Mickey needed to know, but sometimes Kimberly reveled in telling him these things, just as he revelled in his own boasts and flirtations. "Ah, of course you chose the kitchens."

Kimberly let out a low snicker, gaze still not breaking from their surroundings, picking out Kitty and her mission, watching it unfold and watching as the mark gave in to her manipulations and Kitty gave the signal from across the room that the job was done. "That's my girl," Kimberly said, more to themselves than to Mickey. Plucking a shrimp from his plate and washing it down with a gulp of wine, Kimberly lightly clapped a hand on Mickey's shoulder. "Looks as if things are picking up. I knew she wasn't a complete waste of time." They lifted their cell phone and waved it at him. "Keep in touch. I want all updates as soon as you get them." A wink in Mickey's direction, a flick of their hair to push it behind their ear, and a controlled swing of their arm as they picked up their purse, and Kimberly was on their way back to their date.

“ mostly, “ Mickey reaffirmed with a ( faux! ) serious nod of his head. to be honest, he didn’t have that many nicknames for Kim :: variations of the word boss or captain or something of the like. but at the end of the day, they were still someone that Mickey would take orders from with just as little hesitation as he’d obey James —- and that was something. shooting a bright little grin her way, Mickey bit down into what was probably his fourth miniature sandwich in the past ten minutes… but then he was chortling when Kim made their comments about the would-be killer.

waving a hand around in a dismissive fashion —- which was difficult to take seriously, given that it was holding a half-eaten slice of watercress sandwich —- Mickey scoffed. “ the world is a stage, isn’t that how that Shakespeare saying goes?  but you’re right, this is quite the production. I almost feel like we’re on some sort of reality TV show… hosts and actors popping out at the end, hidden film crew recording our dazed looks as the secret is revealed. “  upon hearing their suspicion that it might be the ex-boyfriend, Mickey couldn’t help but grin again—-  and chomp down on the remaining bits of that sandwich.  “ always with the men, eh?  you’d think we’d have better things to do than be driven crazy by women. “  he gave Kim a nonchalant shrug, which rapidly morphed into a solemn nod when she mentioned James and the divorce.  “ of course I would. he’s far less aesthetically pleasing than you are. my boss has gotta have the same sharp cheekbones I do, ya know? “

when the talk transitioned from pleasure to business Mickey was able to keep up without a stutter-step—-  the food and beverages had helped; what he wanted now was a proper tea. “ no… but I suspect that someone here will require my translating services, if Katya hasn’t gotten to them already. the Bobrovskova crew—-”  Mickey shook his head, half-disgruntled, half-admiring.  “ now there’s a fine and dandy group of folk—-  Santos aside. of course, it certainly helps that Sabina’s practically an icon in the fashion industry, eh?  that damn crew is certainly the most stylish of us all —-  but I s’ppose someone’s gotta look good while the rest of us do the dirty work. “

"Mostly," Kimberly repeated, shaking their head, conversing with Mickey while simultaneously keeping an eye on the rest of the wedding party, the crews, and the other guests. Kimberly was pretty fond of their observational eye, but in this moment, they wondered if it was failing them. Whoever this was they were either good at hiding or they weren't in the room, because everyone just looked embarrassingly normal. "Well, I trust you to keep the rude ones to yourself, or share with me for my amusement. Whichever." Kimberly shrugged.

"You quote Shakespeare?" They arched an eyebrow, glancing at Mickey and his half-full mouth. He was a mess of contradictions, their boy. "I thought it was just Jay-Z." Their lips curved into a careful grin. "I'm partial to Rihanna. Bitch Better Have My Money. It should be my life motto." Alright, so they weren't quite that bad, but it was amusing to pretend. "I'll be sure to tell James you don't think much of his cheekbones."

Their eyes settled on the Best Man whose answers had been so illuminating, narrowing their eyes in thought. "Oh, I don't know. Some men have plenty of things to spend their time on. The stock market, golf, pretending racism doesn't exist..." Kimberly punctuated their words with a snicker, humorless, and an eye roll. "But let's not put the cart before the horse. It doesn't happen often, but I might be wrong.” Kitty watched the Russians from across the room, admiring their ease and elegance. “Hmm, accurate, but less about how they look. More about what intel they’ve managed to gather so far?"

Having to text information back and forth was the most infuriating thing about the mission to her. Having comms made everything easier, but talking to herself in the middle of a wedding would look crazy and she knew that but still. Kitty glanced around for their next target and slipped her phone back into her purse as they approached. 

“Alright then, let’s get this show on the road, love,” she said, letting her grin slip back into place as she and Kimberly walked casually in the direction of Taj. If he had any useful information for them, she was sure she would sing his praises, but she wasn’t too sure yet. They just needed to know about the honeymoon. “The sooner we can get out of here the better, I’m not liking all the information I’m getting from Katya.”

As they approached, Taj seemed to notice them and gave a smile that was charming enough, holding out his hand to the both of them upon realizing that they were in fact making their way over to talk to him specifically. 

You didn't join one of their crews if you weren't capable, but still, Kimberly found some of them more capable (and more tolerable) than others. Before the wedding, Kitty had been at the low end of the scale. She had been someone Kimberly would have rolled their eyes at and perhaps made a disparaging comment to before continuing on with their day. Certainly, they could have acted as if they were in love, but it would have been less convincing.

"I trust you'll be telling me this information soon enough, yes?" Kimberly had plenty of updates from their team, their crew, but it would be nice to see where their sources overlapped and where they didn't. With this many grifters in one room, extracting information and pick--pocketing their way through the wedding party, it was no surprise if certain things got lose.

"There you are," Kimberly beamed, approaching Taj as if they knew him and shaking his hand before greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. "Kimberly," they introduced themselves. "I'm a friend of the bride. This is my girlfriend Katherine. We were just chatting to Patrick about the honeymoon that's coming up. It sounds like it's going to be pretty special. Darling, where did they say they were going again?" Kimberly said, glancing toward Kitty with a tipsy chuckle. "I swear, a couple of glasses of wine and I have the short-term memory of a goldfish."

KIM’S ANGELS; a playlist.

                                     ––[ Friends are people who know you really well– and like you anyway. ]

new americana halsey // i’ll make a man out of you mulan // let it rock kevin rudolf feat. lil wayne // juice kris wu // what you want ll cool j // we are broken paramore // timber kesha feat. pitbull // 24k magic bruno mars // wicked ones dorothy // rose-colored boy paramore // causing a commotion teammate // team lorde // sugar, we’re going down fall out boy // this is gospel panic! at the disco // young and menace fall out boy // pump it black eyed peas // the edge of glory lady gaga // here’s to us halestorm

Kitty grinned openly, laughing at Kim’s joke, as well placed as it was. The look on Patrick’s face was almost enough to make her eyes widen, but she had been at this for too long and pushing the limits was sometimes the only for you to get the answers you needed. He wasn’t running away yet, and that’s all that mattered at the moment. 

Resting her forehead sweetly on their shoulder, Kitty pretended to almost ignore the other man for a moment, lifting their joined hands to her lips. “True love is right. It’s why I love weddings so much. They’re the perfect moment to remember all the adventures you’ve shared. And the ones yet to come.” As though remembering where she was, Kitty turned back to him, eyes wide and smile even wider.

“That completely reminds me. What have they said about their honeymoon? I heard from someone that they were keeping a little tight-lipped, but I bet it’s just for show. Have you heard anything? Is it very exciting?” She let her voice drip with wistful romanticism, watching as he thought for a moment.

“I’m not entirely sure,” he admitted, “but I do know Taj was talking about it earlier. You should ask him.” Kitty squeezed Kim’s hand, less out of a show of affection and more as a reminder for them to keep that in mind. The definitely would have to ask him it seemed.

Nodding as though she knew exactly who he was talking about as if they were old high school associates, Kitty smirked. “Absolutely. Have to get some ideas for ourselves, you know?” she teased, lifting her glass to hide coquettishly behind the rim.

They had made a good choice in partner. Sure, it might have been a choice made out of pettiness originally, but it was paying off. Kitty was doing an excellent job acting smitten. Not too over the top, not too theatrical, but genuine and charming. The forehead against Kim's shoulder was a nice touch, and Kim inter-twined their fingers with Kitty's as they continued to poke and pry at the best man - without him realising what they were doing, of course.

"We'll be sure to pick Taj's brain for potential honeymoon destinations." The union between an ex-con and an FBI agent wasn't something Kimberly would have been keen to pursue themselves. They couldn't imagine shacking up with anyone who held a badge for a living. Unless they were dirty. Now that was a possibility Kim was going to keep in mind... "Yes," Kimberly grinned as Kitty spoke about their some-day wedding. "Well, now that it's all legal in the UK. I mean, it has been for a few years now, but I know so many people who rushed into these things. We're waiting for the right time."

The right time. In Kimberly's experience, there was rarely ever a completely 'right' time for anything. There was the best time, the worst time, and plenty of variations in between, but timing was rarely perfect. "Speaking of which, have they been together a while? They have such different backgrounds, it must be difficult to make it work. Do you think they're a good match?"

His jaw clenched a bit, and he sighed. Kimberly's eyes were trained on his every move. “He loves her. So if he’s willing to throw protocol and his moral code out the window to marry her, then they better be a good match… though… before he proposed…" Now things were really getting interesting. Kimberly shot Kitty a look.

"Before he proposed... what?"

Perhaps it wasn’t entirely the same as being an actress on a stage, but Kitty felt like she was slipping into a role all the same as she tangled her fingers with theirs, letting a comfortable amount of relaxation settle in on her shoulders. Her lips pulled into a smile that aired on the right side of tipsy for a wedding and walked along easily behind her date for the night. The best man was easily in view and seemed to look up as soon as Kim’s voice reached his ear, a good sign. Maybe he wasn’t quite drunk enough to loosen his lips considerably, but she had ways of doing the same thing without alcohol. 

Her smile tightened at being called Katherine, and she wondered if Kim even knew that that was her real name. Nevertheless, she relaxed again and leaned into their side, batting her eyelashes with a sweet smile like the doting girlfriend she was playing the part of, no matter how flirtatious that character was.

“That’s one way to put it,” she said with a grin at Kim calling them a “modern couple”. She kept her eyes on Patrick Russel, keeping them soft and slightly searching even though it was less about his looks and more about any sign in his face that he might be holding back anything he answered to.

“Well to be honest… he’s not just my best friend, he’s my partner. And to see him cross the line with a CI when that’s against protocol and rules… Look all I know is that this girl has to be something to get him to turn his back on his morals like that.“ 

Kitty let her eyebrows lift slightly and smirked. “Well, she certainly looks like something,” she teased, giggling a bit before relaxing. “It sounds like a lot of drama, their relationship. You know, I have the biggest family drama. Don’t even like them,” she joked. “Is there anyone they didn’t want at the wedding?”

Kimberly watched the tight movement of Patrick's lips with fascination as he answered Kitty's question.

“…Um, I’m not too sure. I mean, she comes from a criminal background and we uphold the law. There’s bound to be some people one of them wanted and one of them felt strangely about… but I don’t think a bride and groom would… invite someone they don’t want to the wedding? Especially one as crazy as this? Seems kinda stupid."

Of all the things that Kimberly didn't like about Kitty (and most of them involved the way James looked at her like she was a tray of freshly baked cupcakes), her ability to act was not one of them. She was a skilled grifter, one who became so wholly her character that it was almost unsettling. Her words, her pretty smile, they all seemed to be doing an excellent job at making Patrick give his answers, even if not all of them were particularly damning... Yet.

"Well, I can think of plenty of grooms who wouldn't want their step-mother to be at the wedding, but she almost always manages to come anyway, doesn't she? Drama, hmmm... drama is exactly right," Kim said with a chuckle, taking another sip of wine. It was alcohol free, but he wasn't to know that. "But that's just regular drama." Kim said with a wave of their hand. "This is... well, something else. Do you know if they have any real enemies?"

He gave them both a strange look, crossing his arms, and for a moment Kim wondered if they had screwed it up. Maybe the tipsy gossip hadn't been the right approach. Their worry was squickly sated though. He answered, seeming to think they were just a pair of dumb blondes rather than anything insidious. “Real enemies? A fed just married a con. They probably have real enemies everywhere. There’s nothing ‘regular drama’ about any of this.”

"I'll drink to that," Kimberly answered with a tiny snicker and an eye roll. "The course of true love, it rarely runs smooth. That's why we're so lucky, right babe?" They smiled, lightly squeezing Kitty's hand, looking at her, besotted.