Carrick rolled his eyes when he mentioned the state instead of the Island nation Ameythst came from. ”Girlfriend.” he corrected. He was dating a Princess. Carrick was doing well for himself and liked to point that out on occasion as a brag. Mainly because half the time he didn’t even believe it.

”Sounds like a square deal as long as ya share some of the profits with yours truly. Or if yer just trying to screw the fence over. If that’s the case I’ll give ya his name fer free. Beats me having to go see him again. Beasty wants some words with him still.” Carrick said feeling his beast side get riled up the more they talked about the particular fence.

Avoiding the stain on the map Carrick tried to offer it back up to Zek and followed suit as they walked down the hallway of a famous dangerous rapper. One that clearly Zek didn’t understand. ”Well, yeah but ya can’t believe everything ya hear in his music. He ‘fought a tiger cause he called him a li-ar.” he said stretching the last word so it rhymed just like the lyrics said, ”Tigers can’t talk, everyone knows that and they like salt.”

”Snitches get stitches.” Carrick quipped back as he popped in the room behind Zek. They could have just shot for the other hallway but Carrick didn’t want to argue with the guy who clearly could read the map better than him. The door quietly shut behind him and Carrick’s vision shifted over to his night vision. He spotted a bed and.... his face got beat red.

”Wrong room.” Carrick whispered in a panic quietly trying to keep Zek from moving to the bed where three naked woman were sleeping.

Zek didn’t even bother commenting on his cohort’s ridiculous defense of MacKellan’s raps. Honestly, the music was bad enough that Zek probably would’ve stolen his stuff anyways just on principle. The danish was just icing on the pastry. He settled for giving a very elaborate eye roll.

And then Catbird was in the room with him with a weird promise for people who talked. “That’s so weird,” he whispered. “Why waste stitches? Like, I’d rather punch them in the mouth or something and make them bleed.” Honestly, what were they teaching people over at that school Carter lived at? Who handed out free stitches to people? Especially as a reward for betraying trusts? Zek shook his head at the state of the current educational system.

Zek frowned. He couldn’t hear the footsteps approaching them just yet, but he could quite clearly heard Cane’s warning. “Um, no it’s not?” he said in confusion. Besides, how would Birdcat know? Unless he could read the map in the dark. Even then it couldn’t be the wrong room because it was out of the hallway, so it was the perfect room. Any room would do.

So his curiosity got the better of him. He held up a hand and a scarlet sphere burst into existence, casting its night-vision-preserving light weakly around the room and glinting off the naked women. Catbird’s face looked especially red for some reason. Five seconds later the ball winked out. Zek shrugged in the darkness. “Looks fine to me,” he said in yet another whisper. “I mean, granted the women could be sleeping on their backs in order to get better breathing, but you know, that’s their problem.”

Zek was nonchalant about the whole thing. That’s probably because he hadn’t noticed the dog on the other side of the bed. This time he made a golden light so he could see better.

The light of red blinked into existence and his vision blurred from the brightness for a moment while his pupils dilated slightly. His eyes came to back on the women who were asleep naked on the bed. His eyes might have stared a little longer till he heard the familiar, ‘Mate!’ in the back of his mind followed quickly with the a ‘Fight!’ confused his eyes adjusted again to the this time the bright light of Zek’s ball. He didn’t get a chance to warn him as the three women started to stir on the bed followed by some heavy breathing on the other side.

‘Fight!’ Carrick grabbed Zek’s shirt and pulled him close then wrapped his hand over his partner in crimes mouth knowing he wasn’t going to appreciate the gesture just yet. Carrick knew a dog stirring when he heard one. Walking the mansion halls at night and the amount of canine companions taught him they are curious when they hear a noise.

Carrick pointed to the edge of the bed where the dog ears could be seen in the light. Not sure if Zek could see them he whispered. ”Dog.” then pointed with the map in hand to the bed.

“Who are you?” one of the girls asked sleepily as she stretched. ” A dream, yer granny say’s hello and she misses you. Told her I’d come check on ya.” he said opening his wings going for an angel angle as he slowly backed up to the door trying to guide Zek out still covering his mouth waiting for the girlish shrill that would no doubt be heard when Zek came face to face with the dog.

Carrick’s eyes might have glanced over at the women once more before using his mapped hand to reach for the handle. Zek could handle an armed guard. Just not a dog.

Suddenly Zek was wrapped up in a surprise hug and a handy mouth gag. The light wobbled in his hand but his fingers closed on it in a clawed grasp before it could fall. “Mhmrfg, frghhg mmrryth wymmmrhgg?” he asked in surprise. If this was how Featherbutt was going to behave every time he saw a trio of naked ladies, Zek was going to start demanding the birdcat buy him dinner first! Zek wasn’t that kind of guy!

But then a one word explanation oriented Zek. “Mrf,” he said, ceasing to lick the dude’s hand in an instinctive effort to make him remove it from his mouth. He also ceased spinning his body and neck in different directions to squirm away from Custer’s affections. A heist was not the time for that, no matter how irresistible Zek knew himself to be. Especially when there was a dog on the loose.

The preoccupation with licking was the only reason Zek wasn’t screaming. That and because something in Cooper’s pockets was poking him. And then the light winked out as the time limit expired and Zek was being pulled backwards and back into the hall.

Just in time to come face to face with two more guards.

“Ack!” he said as he immediately raised his hands and shoved two balls at the men’s faces, vanishing them entirely, except for their clothes and guns, which all fell to the floor. Fortunately the guns fell on the clothes and there was no loud clattering or accidental shootings.

And now he had three naked guys in his pockets. He turned to stare at Birdcat. That was not how things were supposed to go. “That was not how things were supposed to go,” he informed the guy. “I’m out of balls now, so the next guys are on you.” The Zek scratched behind a cat ear, whirled, his cat tail swiping out behind him and possibly hitting anyone standing there, and jauntily strolled off in the direction they were heading in earlier.

Zek struggled and proceeded to lick his hands. Carrick grossed out didn’t' yell or shout or remove his hand from his friends mouth. He did his best to ignore it till they were out of the room and staring down two guards. Not one but two. It was too late to avoid being seen now and now that there was no reason to be quite Carrick looked back to Zek. ”Why did you keep licking me hand?” he asked quickly as the two guards disappeared.

”You’d ruin the whole thing if ya saw the dog.” Carrick grumbled rummaging through the clothes finding the wallets and pulling out some wads of money and pocketing it. One had a nice lighter and the other a flask. Carrick took a whiff and pocketed that as well. His tail flicked behind him as he grabbed the two sunglasses and pocketed those next.

”Right, well maybe ya got some ammo now fer any more dogs, naked guys.... not the guns.” the shifter said kicking the clothes into the room they were just in. Making sure the dog wasn’t near first before shutting it behind him. ”I can handle a few guards I’m sure.” he said mentally tapping the voice in the back of his head. Before muttering ”Fight.” Carrick’s hair started to stand on end and his hands started to shift slightly stretching and contracting. Carrick did his best not to swipe at Zek. Zek wasn’t an enemy.

”Well, come on.” he said his voice sounding an octave lower. His stance lowered as he snuck through the hallways. ”Just got to find some.... there they are.” he pointed.

“Force of habit,” Zek said with a shrug and without an ounce of apology. “Would you have preferred I bite you instead?” Given a choice, Zek would prefer the licking. Like, neither were great options, but the goal was to get hands removed from his mouth, not firmly attach them.

But it was over now. As his pal scavenged the guards’ clothes, Zek took the opportunity to manifest his duffle bag and pull out his morningstar mace before returning the duffle to its pocket dimension.

“I’m sure you’ll be excellent at handling some guards,” Zek said, possibly quite condescendingly. If so, the guy would actually be proving his worth on the heist. So far Zek had done basically all the work. And he had the mace just in case Cristo failed at dealing with guards. Or if they met another dog. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d had to clean a bunch of blood and icky bits off the mace.

“Alright then. You can have all the other naked guys we find,” Zek agreed. He figured that was Catbird’s specialty - after all, the featherhead was constantly running around starkers himself.

Then Birdcat’s voice dropped. Zek blinked. Huh. Dude seemed a bit old for that to now be happening. But he shook his head. Who knew when catbirds finally matured? Zek figured it probably wouldn’t cause any problems, although now that he thought about it, Charles could probably go for a shave. Wait, did you shave feathers? Or just pluck them? Could you use tweezers? Or like a cream?

Zek had a weird friend.

Zek let Carbird take the lead and stayed just out of reach of the dude’s tail (he’d hate hearing what would happen if he accidentally stepped on it) so as she strolled through the place like he owned it, he finally stopped when Kittybird growled something. Resting his mace on his shoulder like a ballbat, Zek just poked the guy. “What are we looking at?” he whispered equally quiet. He couldn’t see from his vantage point. “Whatever it is, it’s your time to shine!” And then he stepped back. You know, just in case Crouton got riddled with bullets or something.

”Prefer if ya didn’t do anything when I cover yer mouth. First time I’ve ever done it.” he said wiping his hand on pant leg then eyeing the mace from the duffle bag. Carrick tried not to smirk at it wondering how hard those twig like arms could swing the thing. Then again gravity would probably help him quite a bit on it. Carrick made a mental note to suggest his dance instructor should do something similar.

Carrick spotted the opening to the stairwell first and looked over spotting two guards talking below neither had a hand on their side arms and they both seemed relaxed. Carrick waited a second before grinning and hopping over the ledge landing on one of the guards his fists made contact with the top of the guys head while he landed causing the first guard to collapse.

The second one was so shocked at what happened was busy trying to fumble with his side arm. Carrick got to him and gave him an uppercut getting his wings involved till the guy doubled over holding his gut. Carrick then proceeded to hit him till he was out cold. It wasn’t the most effective way to knock someone out but he seemed to be enjoying the violence a bit too much. ”Ya got a gag or something for em maybe some zipties?” Carrick asked rummaging through the pockets pulling out the guns, wallets, cigarettes sunglasses, phones and communication devices.

”Can’t believe these guys get paid ta be here.” he said shaking his head and taking all the stuff that was worth taking. His backpack was slowly gaining weight from all the free sunglasses and watches he slowly had been collecting. Now all they needed to do was find another set of stairs going down.

Zek waited a few moments after Calisto vanished over the ledge. When he didn’t immediately hear guns a-blazing, but rather a number of muffled whumps and thuds, he figured his pal had it all well in hand. He approached the ledge himself and peered down. Yup. Two guys were taken down and being looted.

Zek strolled easily down the steps, a look of surprised respect on his face. “Nice,” he said in a casual bro way as he surveyed the damage. Those guys were definitely going to be bruised after this. And possibly fired, but Zek didn’t really care.

“Yeah, I gotchu,” he said as he crouched down by the guys. He pulled out a set of handcuffs with moldy pink fur around the cuffs and latched them on one of the guys wrists as he pulled them behind the guy’s back. Then he pulled out another set of handcuffs, this one covered in red spots that definitely weren’t spaghetti sauce, and after entangling the second dude’s arms with the first one’s, he handcuffed him as well, so the handcuffs would also form kind of a knot keeping them from separating.

Then Zek extracted some lengths of leather cords from his sleeves and tied them around the guys’ mouths, forcing them open and unable to really do much of anything. The cords weren’t super long, so Zek really had to pull them tight to get them to tie.

“Okay, Kemosabe, we still got about two or three floors left to go.”

”What ya think I wouldn’t be able ta handle ‘em?” the shifter asked giving him a toothy grin revealing his canines were pointier than normal. ”Ya seem me scrap before in the bars right?” he asked smirking at the handcuffs the pink ones. The one that was splotchy raised more questions but he didn’t think it was a good place to ask and knowing Zek he probably wasn’t going to offer any useful information and the less Carrick knew the better. Made it easier to lie if he had to testify.

”Seems ya know a way around a gag.” Carrick said joking before looking around, ”Two or three floors? How big is this place!?!?” Carrick said knowing firsthand by getting a birds eye view. It didn’t reveal the levels though. He just assumed it was three to four floors. The shifter walked to the nearest room he hoped was a closet and opened it.

”No sense leaving ‘em out in the open like this.” he sighed and grabbed the shoulder of one of the guys and proceeded to drag both of them to the closet then quietly shut the door behind him. ”Now.... what way...” he said looking around more trying not to get distracted by all the shiny wall décor and light fixtures.

”So ya think his music career paid fer all of this or is it his ‘alleged activities’ that covers the bills?” he asked curiously then got his answer. Carrick opened another door and found group of guys standing around a table with mound of a white substance on it. The men standing around the table stopped what they were doing and stared at Carrick.

Carrick responded with slowly shutting the door. ”Too bad Juni issn’t here.” he looked to Zek and started to run.

Zek nodded as he finished up his work. “Yeah, I’ve seen you in scraps before. That’s why this surprised me!” he said. “You been taking secret lessons or something? They’re really paying off.” He squinted up at his friend. “Also, you have something in your teeth.”

“Of course I know my way around a way,” he smirked. “And you call yourself a magician!” Really, what magician worth their craft didn’t know the value of silencing others? Or maybe Casto had just followed a different school of magic than he had. He shrugged. To each their own, even if the other’s person was far inferior.

And then was that a trick question? “Uh, big enough to have about three floors and still a basement?” Zek said confused. “Wait, do basements count as floors?? They didn’t in hospitals and such, right? That’s why the elevators had B, G, and then started using numbers. Right? He didn’t know though, he wasn’t a hospitalologist or an elevatorologist.

His work done, he allowed Birdcat to dispose of the bodies guards as he himself stared fixedly at his reflection in a decorative sconce. “I’m betting it’s the other stuff,” he said as he turned side to side and adjusted his cats ears. He could barely see Creed in the reflection and then he could see him running off. Zek swiveled his head around just in time to see three men in aprons and chef hats and brandishing butcher knives and rolling pins burst out of the room, flour covering their arms and faces.

They looked at him. He looked at them. They started running at him. Zek threw a ball at them and a naked man suddenly tripped all three of them. Zek then started running after Featherbutt. “That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time!” he shot back as he pumped to catch up with Catbrain. “Also, when we’re done, we might need to come back and see what they’ve got going on in that kitchen!”

The shifter was already down the hall when he saw another flash of light and the commotion of a bunch of people tripping. Carrick swung open a door and thankfully found another set of stairs this one was less showy than the one they came down a few seconds ago. ”If that was the kitchen sure!” Carrick said having his doubts.

Practically jumping down the flight he opened his wings slightly and landed at the bottom of them and swung open the door. ”Maybe their making danishes?” he smirked running into what looked like a dark room for photographers. The hanging photos and dim red lights were his giveaway. His eyes adjusted quickly so he didn’t bother to turn on a switch. They’d probably ruin the photos too.

”Was it Raspberry?” he asked trying to catch his breath looking around for another door which he found a few seconds after he tripped over power cord. He ignored what it was plugged into. They were here for money, gold and jewels. Not whatever was in the dark room. Carrick chuckled and pushed himself up and dusted himself off and then opened the door. His jaw dropped from what he was seeing. ”What the ****.”

The birdhead had a head start on Zek and cheated by jumping down steps without hurting himself because he just so happened to have giant wings. Zek sniffed in annoyance threw himself onto the slick railing of the practical stairs and slid on his butt down it until he hit the landing, in which case he hopped off and repeated the process of the other half of the stairs.

“If they’re making danishes, this whole place will burn for what they did to me!” he vowed, his eyes flashing. If MacKellan could have his own danishes made but still took the last one from the bakery Zek was at? He deserved everything that was coming to him. “Luckily I love fireworks.”

And then there was a dark room. For a moment. Zek lit up a golden ball and cast it’s light around. Huh. a bunch of ugly blotchy squares hanging on clotheslines. Weird way to do laundry. Were those tiny blankets for tiny people? Oh well. Anyways, Zek found his pal quickly (because Zek was smart enough to use a light and therefore didn’t trip over a power cord) and made a new light when the first blinked out. Then he, too, looked in the next room.

“Huh.”

Front and center in that room was a massive, floor to ceiling painting in gold framework, suspended between two frames of glass, as if it were hovering in mid-air. It was a larger than life baroque-style portrait of Old Man MacKellan. In the nude.

Zek started snickering. “Heheheh,” he giggled. “Guess his rapper name should’ve been Li’l MacKellen,” he chortled. He lowered his morningstar so he wouldn’t accidentally drop it on his foot or something. He brushed by Birdcat and pointed at the wall behind the painting. “That looks like a door to a vault,” he pointed with his mace. “I’d let you try to crack it, but I think we’re running out of time so I’m just going to do this the easy way.”

Stalking past the painting (oh look, there was a painting on the backside! Of MacKellan and his...backside!) Zek flicked a ball at the vault door and it flashed away. “Alright, let’s go!”

”Who doesn’t?” Carrick asked almost chuckling at his response. ”Believe that would be irony?” his eyes adjusting to the series of lights that went out when he tripped on it and when Zek flashed one into existence.

”I mean, yer having it painted of yerself at least ask to add an inch... or three.” he said trying not to laugh, ”Maybe that’s why he always seems so angry yet has a giant mansion this size.... ohmygod he’s over compensating.” Carrick chuckled sad the music would never sound the same way again.

Carrick took a few steps forward while Zek ran to the vault doors. ”I must have this art.” he said taking his phone out and took a photo then took another photo this time with him in it. He didn’t send it out, he couldn’t do that to Ol’ Mackellan. Not after he got the Irishman through some tough times.

”Never meet yer heroes.” he said shaking his head still trying to catch his breath from the laughter. ”I can’t do vaults that big anyways. Great now we,” he started to laugh again and thumbed to the portiat, ”Got something in common.” laughing at his innuendo.

The vault door vanished and his eyes started to water. ”Boyo.... did we just die?” the amount of shinies in the room... his eyes darted from one gold brick to a stack of money to some jewelry to the gold grills that someone put in their teeth. Carrick reached for a crown and placed it atop his head deciding Zek could keep the grills. ”Think I pull it off.” he said spotting himself in a mirror framed out in what looked like gold.

“Yeah.... think you should pull it off....” they were distracted. Carrick didn’t' notice them until he heard some guns cocking.

Zek snickered. “This isn’t death. Death has more food,” he explained to Cristy, waving his arms around the room. “This is just the Happiest Place On Earth!” Obviously! And now they were where they were supposed to be so having achieved the first phase of the plan, Zek got to work on the second phase.

“Make way,” he declared as Kramer put on a crown. Zek lobbed a red ball into the middle of the room and suddenly there was a dumpster there. Then Zek began a process of tossing his remaining dimensional nexus point at various stacks and piles of expensive things and then throwing the corresponding red ball into the dumpster, neatly and efficiently working his way through the fault. And he definitely swiped the collection of grills - L was gonna be soooo jealous now! He absently slid a pair into his mouth as suddenly the party got interrupted.

Oh. Right. Their cover had been blown awhile back. Guess seeing a giant little naked guy’s self-indulgent art would make a guy forget about such things due to the giggle fits it incited.

And clearly these guys didn’t know fashion.

Zek swiveled his head around to check Catbird out even as he kept throwing his ball. “Nah, I disagree. That thing is way too gaudy. What are you, a two-bit gangster or something?”

Then he swiveled his head to address the four burly guys in suits and guns and the short old guy who clearly had a complex. His eyes locked in on the man and Zek just smiled. “Oh hi there! Don’t mind us. We’re just passing through!” Zek managed to show off all of his teeth with that smile. And he still kept throwing his ball and filling up his dumpster. He pulled out another scarlet ball just in case though. A car falling at terminal velocity horizontally at a group of people could be both a great defense AND and offense! See? Multi-tasking!

The shifter would’ve like to see himself in a crown a bit more trying to visualize what it could look like if... nah, they just started to date and he didn’t want to have any expectations like that. His girlfriend already made it clear she’d only be able to marry some one of royal lineage. Even with the crown Carrick still felt he was only pretending. Shame too. Crown’s he felt he could pull off.

”No way to speak to yer king.” he quipped when they both were staring down the armed guards. It was then he spotted the shine from Zek’s mouth. He put the ‘grills’ in his mouth and he wondered if they had ever been worn... then washed. ”Ewww.” he shook his head. Zek might need to get checked for diseases now. The way Mackellen rapped about it in his earlier works. Clearly Zek wasn’t afraid. The man did have enough money apparently to pay for any kind of cure.

”Eh..... Zeky, bout time we....” a car appeared and all the gunman dropped to the side trying to avoid the vehicle. Two got clipped by it and were down. The other two were down from diving out of the way. ”Never mind.” Carrick said tossing the crown into the dumpster. ”Dibs!” he tossed a gold chain in their next. ”Dibs.” then decided to go play distraction while his partner in crime ‘allegedly’ played clean up.

”Hello!” he said quickly kicking the nearest guy in the face disorienting him with his own blood adding to his confusion. Carrick grabbed the shot gun he was wielding and slid it back into the room of quickly disappearing treasures. He opened his wings and went for the other guard that wasn’t currently struggling to free themselves from under the car.

”Gotta ask, working for ‘em. Worth it? I bet it is.” he pounced the guy and sat on him till Zek gave him an ‘all clear’ or more guards came. Carrick wasn’t sure what was first.