Thief

Parker growled in frustration. She stood in the art gallery surrounded by priceless works of art that she could lift in her sleep, and she found herself unable to take them. Not due to any security measures or an inability to move them.

No, her frustration stemmed from the tiny little Nathan that had now taken up residence in her head. She could hear his voice telling her she was now one of the good guys, and her larcenous nature grudgingly took the back seat. However, that was not going to stop her from imagining how she would do it.

Only once in the months since the team split did Parker give in to her thieving ways. An exhibition of the Hope Diamond had been too much to resist. She spent weeks planning the take. She had everything planned to the second.

The heist went off without a hitch. Parker returned to the safe house where she had been staying as she made her plans. She pulled the gem out of her bag and placed it in a safe under the flooring. Pleased with herself, she got a bowl of Fruit Loops and sat listening to the police scanner.

That night was when things started going south. Parker couldn't sit still. Well, relatively speaking. Something just would not sit right. For a day she ignored it. Another day passed, and she started getting jumpy. Day three, and she couldn't take it any more.

If Nate were there, he would have told her to figure out what was causing her unease. So, she took his advice. She had been fine until she took the diamond.

Oh, yeah. That might be it.

She had been a good guy for long enough to make stealing for fun not as fun as it had been.

With a resigned sigh, she opened the safe and pulled the diamond out. Pocketing the stone, she trudged out to her car and drove back to the gallery where it had been on display. She easily slipped in and returned the gem to its case.

That had been last week. She left the art gallery, in a glum mood as usual. When she opened her apartment door, she found a flyer for a musical on the floor. She smiled when she saw the note. She had missed Sophie. Even though her acting stunk like a dead fish, it would be good to see her again.

Grin firmly in place, Parker grabbed her bag and locked up the apartment, leaving it until she would need it again. She booked a flight to Boston, looking forward to another awful performance.