The man stole through the window with his crowbar and sack still in hand. His black clothing had helped him blend into the night, but he stuck out starkly against the hues of the cheerful apartment he had entered. Now inside, he crept skillfully on silent padded feet towards the priceless tech that he had come for.

Cody Parnell had been at this for practically forever; at twenty-three, he was an old pro at burglarizing. He knew how to pick his spots, and he was sure that this one was an awesome choice. He was going to make an outrageous profit off of all of these gadgets, and an eccentric single woman who did nothing but sit in front of computers all day and made big bucks doing it was always an easy - and profitable - target, in his experience.

But then, Parnell hadn't figure in the fact that this apartment resident was Penelope Garcia, either. Five minutes after entering the apartment, though, he was really wishing that the thought had come to mind, because whoever this crazy lady was, she could really swing a frying pan.

He had barely been in her apartment sixty seconds - he'd just reached out to touch the first piece of his night's prizes - when the lights had flipped on all at once, temporarily blinding him. As he turned around to see who had discovered him, a sharp pain exploded between his shoulder blades and Cody screamed as he fell to his knees. One more burst of pain - this one across the back of his head - and Cody's world faded to an all consuming black.

When he woke up a few minutes later, he found himself hog-tied with tie-died scarves and staring into the angry face of a shaken but determined blonde technical analyst who was still clutching her frying pan.

She glared straight at him, and something in her eyes made Cody afraid of her. She looked like somebody's mother after that child had just been shoved around on the playground.

"Do not," she ordered, total death in her eyes and tone of voice. "touch my babies."

This is a challenge that I was given via a writing improvement book that I'm going through. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Reviews would make my day!:)