Kittie stepped out on the stoop of her apartment building and lit a cigarette. She knew it was a filthy habit, but didn't really care. A pigeon cooed at her from the sidewalk and she flicked the burning match she'd used in the bird's direction. Unphased the pigeon kept pecking at the cement and on occasion, puffing itself up against the stiff breeze that blew leaves and other debris down the street. Eventually Kittie lost interest in the bird and lit another cigarette. She sighed as she blew smoke out her nose. It was a warm afternoon and it was too early to go to the club. Plus, she hadn't heard anything from Star in ages, and wasn't keen on going out on her own with no one to watch her back.  Ever since she'd killed a man in California she'd been on high alert.  So far, months after the incident, nothing had happened, but vigilance never hurt.

Just as she flicked the butt of her cancer stick at the pigeon she heard a familiar voice on the wind. Surprised, her head snapped up. Was it her imagination? No, there, coming down the sidewalk was her best friend and partner in crime, Starshine. She grinned and waved with more enthusiasm than she felt capable of. Once the short blonde bounced up the steps Kittie grabbed her in a hug, then pulled back and pursed her lips.

"Where the HELL have you been?

Ever since Kittie had moved in, Star had been able to clean out her apartment and move all of her tea making supplies to a small shop close to Edie's bakery. Every few days she would go and go shopping for the necessary herbs and flowers, drying them by hanging them from the ceiling. Her shop smelled intoxicating but it took up a lot of her time to collect, cry, crush, and bag all of the mixtures for her customers and there were more than a few days where she came home later than she expected. Today was one of those days as a batch of rosemary infused oil had broken and the oil had spilled all over her shop. She reeked to high heaven of the fragrant oil and it had ruined a very good pair of leather pumps. As she pulled up to the apartment in the new car she had just purchased, she could see Kittie smoking like a chimney outside looking like a sour pickle.

She had to park several spaces away as it seemed like someone had invited half of Philly to their apartment for a party and there was almost no parking anywhere. Once she had gotten out, she hailed Katherine, waving at her as she made her way up the sidewalk towards her friend. She held her shoes in her hand, irritated that she had to throw them out as they were soaked in oil. Kittie's sharp words took her by surprise however and she stopped short, her cheerful expression turning shocked. 

"Well, if you must know, I was at the shop cleaning up a terrible mess. I smell like an herb garden and I'd like to get cleaned up if you don't mind. My shoes are ruined and I need to find another pair." Her reply was curt, her lips drawn up in an irritated quirk as she heaved the pumps into the garbage skip by the brick wall before turning back to her friend. 

"I'm not irritated at you, just put off by your tone I suppose. I'm sorry, guess I'm feeling a wee bit sensitive today." She smiled wanly, staring up at the window that was theirs in the flat they shared. "Least you smoked outside, you're going to sound like you gargled gravel when you get older you know, it's a terrible habit. Can I bum one from you before we go inside? I need to wash up before we head out and then yes, I'd be delighted to go out on the town with you. It's been a while since we've been able to cause some trouble."

She reached out for the proffered cigarette and lit it with the lighter Kittie held out to her, taking a long drag on the cigarette. She stood there for a moment more, puffing away until there wasn't much left but a stub which she ground out on the bricks before heading through the doors and up the stairs. The lift was broken again as usual so five flights up in her slick stockings was a bit of trouble but she managed at last. Once inside, she was quick to hose down, washing as much of the rosemary and oil from her skin as she could. Soon after she was dressed and in a pair of slightly less fashionable but still functional heels. Descending the stairs, she made her way once more outside and directed Kittie to her car, flinging the keys at her friend. "You get to drive today, lead the way doll!"

Kittie ignored Star's warning and smoked another cigarette while Star sucked on hers. Once they had both ground out the stubs they made their way up five flights of narrow, rickety stairs and into their apartment.  

"Star, while you wash up, I'm going to re-do my hair and makeup if you don't mind." 

Hearing no descent she grabbed her ornate brass hairbrush and began brushing out her tight chestnut curls into softer waves.  She also wiped off her daytime makeup and daubed cream onto her skin, rubbing it in and then wiping her face clean.  Starting over she brushed silky powder onto her cheeks and went through the motions until her skin was glowing, a gentle blush just barely touching her cheekbones.  She then unscrewed a pot of eyeliner and moistened a pencil thin brush, holding her mouth at a particular angle in order to keep from blinking.  Once her eyes were lined she went through the same motions to put on mascara.  Finally she grabbed a brass tube that was shaped like a bullet and pulled the top off revealing a bright, blood red creme lipstick beneath.  She smoothed that on her lips right about the time Star came out of her room in new shoes. She smiled at her friend and the two of them made their way downstairs.  Star showed her to the car then tossed her the keys. 

"You get to drive today, lead the way doll!"

Kittie grinned as she got behind the wheel of the car and as soon as Star was in and buckled she revved the engine and headed to a small diner where they could get a bite to eat before they went out on the town. 

Star was meticulous in her routine, pulling the pins out of her hair to brush out the rolled waves that had been squashed by her pinned on hat. After a moment of pulling her hair up and down, she finally decided on redoing her finger waves, pinning the curls in place while she too took off her makeup and redid it. She was going for a Jean Harlow look and swept a soft blue-gray across her eyelids, framing them with eyeliner and mascara. She carefully penciled in her eyebrows and carefully touched up her beauty mark on her chin before applying a deep rouge to her lips. 

After checking makeup one last time, she made her way to her closet, pulling out a soft dress that was perfect for a night out and pulled it on, careful not to snag the clips in her hair. A few more adjustments here and there and one final brush out and she was ready to go. As she locked up the apartment and headed down to the car, she practically bounced with excitement. 

"Where are we headed to first Kittie?"

Her excitement continued to the car where she slid into the passenger seat, smoothing her hands down her dress as Kittie hopped behind the wheel, turning the engine over with a low rumble. Kittie put the car in gear and revved the engine, speeding down the road towards a small diner that Star had never been to before. Her stomach rumbled and her thoughts turned to dinner as they pulled in and got out of the car. 

"Wonder if the food is as good as Edie's?" She mused aloud, pulling open the door for her best friend. 

"As good as of not better Star, I swear, when discovered this little place I felt like I was eating for the first time.  It's Italian, so be prepared for a treat!" 

Kittie practically bounced out of the car and circled around to Star's side, popping the door open before her best friend could get out.  "Allow me miss." She smiled, a twinkle in her eye and offered her arm.  "Shall we?"

The Rose Cafe was a small, tidy place, with round tables covered in red tablecloths and set with flickering candles.  A young woman ushered Kittie and Star to a table near the center of the cafe and handed them both a menu that was hand written.  Kittie held up her hand.  "Can we get two glasses of red wine to start please?" 

The Rose cafe held a certain amount of charm that was difficult to describe. The scent of roses hung heavily in the air as they not only decorated each table, but trellises of climbing roses decorated the entrance as well as the patio of the cafe. The inside of the cafe was dim but well lit with the glow of candles in bottles set at each table. As the red wine came out, Star looked around her surroundings before gently swirling her glass around. 

"This is divine Kittie, I never knew a place like his could exist! I've been spending so much time working with Edie that I keep forgetting there are more restaurants than home cooking!"

She picked up the menu and glanced through it, trying to decide what she wanted. It was a tough choice but ultimately she decided to order the ravioli. She picked at a slice of the bread on the table, finally pointing it at Kittie. 

"So what kind of mischief are we getting into tonight? It can't just be getting an early dinner, you've got something up your sleeve I can tell. What do you have planned for tonight?"

Kittie sipped her wine and took a slice of bread, buttering it lavishly, then taking a bite, letting the simple flavours mingle with the complexity of the wine.  After Star ordered she smiled and looked up at the waitress.  "I'll have the chicken parmigiana please. And a cup of coffee."  At Star's raised eyebrow she grinned.  "I want to stay loose," She swirled her wine, "and awake." 

"As for tonight, we're going to go to an art gallery opening first, then I thought the club later?  My sister Deirdre is in town and I promised I'd try to catch her act." 

Star glanced between the butter and the small dish of olive oil, finally settling on the oil as she spooned it carefully over her thick crusty slice of bread. She chewed slowly, thinking of what trouble they could get into. 

"So this art gallery, are we leaving with any souvenirs? I mean, we are in the business of fencing some pretty expensive things." 

Her cheeky grin widened as she swirled her wine glass in a lackadaisical fashion, watching as the legs slowly dribbled back into the glass. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the waiter was bringing their plates to them and straightened up in her seat, placing her glass back on the table to make room for their food. After a brief exchange of pleasantries with the waiter, she and Kittie dug into their meal, savoring each bite in relative silence for the first minute or so. 

After a few bites and another generous sip of wine, Star tipped her head as she placed her fork on the edge of her plate. 

"Have you heard from your brother yet? I know it's been a while now." 

"No, I've not heard much from Dec.  Deirdre forwarded me a letter she got, it looks like he's up in Canada, but no one can say for sure.  I have to admit, there's only a few of Bill's men left, and most of them took themselves out with infighting over the business.  But enough of that talk."  She lowered her voice.  "You're right about leaving with a souvenir tonight.  Rumour has it that there is a gussied up lockbox that is a part of one of the exhibitions.  We're going to be taking whatever's IN the lockbox."  She grinned at the look on Star's face. 

"No, no crowbars involved.  Just this." She held up a glistening silver key on a slim chain.  "I found the key by happenstance in an old pawn shop.  The box it belonged to was donated to the curator of the art gallery upon the owner's death.  I figure possession is nine tenths of the law, and if we can smuggle out whatever is in the box unnoticed, well, we might have ourselves quite a treat! 

Star bit her thumb as she listened to Kittie, thinking of her best friends siblings who she was just as close to as Katherine. It bothered her that Declan was still on the run after everything he'd been through. She shook her head and returned to the present as Kittie mentioned the souvenir they would be leaving with, a sly smile playing at the corner of her mouth as she straightened up in her seat. 

Her eyes widened in surprise and excitement at the sight of the small silver key. It was delicate and pretty in its own right and she had to resist reaching across the table for a closer look. Kittie knew of her collection of odd keys that she picked up in shops and this one was almost too hard to resist so she sat on her hands as Kittie told her about the heist. 

She was vibrating with excitement as she chewed slowly, trying not to give it away just how exciting Kittie's plan was. When she was sure she could speak without shouting, she leaned forward, careful not to plant herself in her plate as she whispered to her dearest friend. 

"What do you think is in the box? And how are we going to find it?" 

"Well, we have one of two options, the box might be part of one of the actual exhibits, and if it is, our job is going to be a bit harder.  I'll probably use you and your charms as a distraction, and I'll go in for the box.  Or, and this is more ideal, the box is still sitting in the curators office or back in the part of the gallery they put unused items.  I scoped out the gallery a few days ago.  Yes, I was in disguise. The OTHER thing I'm worried about is that I got the key from a pawn shop, whose owner told me about the box, or at least that the box never came in with the key.  I was told about the box from the gallery owner's daughter, who said her father got it at an estate sale, but that the key and several precious items of jewelry had been stolen off of the dead woman, God rest her soul, and that she was sure the box contained more jewelry or art, but that her father REFUSED to try and force the box open.  Apparently he has an expert locksmith coming in after the exhibit."  Kittie took the last sip of her wine and dabbed her mouth.  

"When we get there let's feel out the room, I already have a car tucked away in the alley near the gallery, just in case.  We can take a taxi there and suss out the location of the box, from there we break into single woman teams but stay close.  If the box is on display I'll go forward while you stay back, create a diversion just outside the room the box is in.  I'll get the box open and put the items in my purse. Box stays where it is.  Plan two, the box is in the office.  I have a key.  I might have gone on a date the other night with the night watchman and my fingers are faster than his.  I used the old wax impression trick.  Anyhow, if that's the case then you lookout while I sneak in and snatch whatever's in the box.  We sneak out the side door and take my car.  Plan three is we set the gallery on fire and while everyone is running we grab the box and smuggle it out the side door in my jacket."  Star coughed and raised an eyebrow but Kittie's face was set.  "I'm not kidding.  I NEED that box." 

Star listened intently her lip twitching with amusement at Kittie's first option which included using her as bait. Ah, she wasn't that opposed to the idea and she could be pretty charming when she wanted to be. The pair had done the bait and swoop on several occasions before and while she had all the skills for doing the job, she also enjoyed flirting just to see how distracted she could actually get her target. The last guard had actually left his post for a pretty steamy makeout session, giving Kittie plenty of time to clear everything out.

As the meal wound down and Kittie paid the bill, Star pulled out her golden compact and flipped it open, using the tiny mirror to check and freshen her makeup. Once her lips were put back on, she snapped the compact shut and pushed it deep into her purse. Nodding, she and Kittie got up from the table and left the restaurant, heading for the car. Star slid into the driver seat and turned the key, turning her head to look at Kittie. She nodded and Kittie gave her a thumbs up as Star pulled away from the curb and back onto the busy boulevard. 

The drive was nice, Kittie giving directions every so often through the busy streets until, at last, they made their way to the gallery and Star parked the car, turning off the engine. "Ready to go?" She asked, folding the keys in her hands quickly before shoving them in her purse. 

Kittie nodded at Star and smiled. Hopefully, this was going to go quickly. Once inside Kittie and Star wandered around leisurely, taking in the art, sipping the offered champagne, and trying to blend in.  It wasn't hard, most of the other women there were trying to stand out and other than a new appreciative nods in their direction, attention seemed to be focused on the art or the others.  Kittie swore under her breath when she got to the last room of the gallery and realised the box wasn't on display.  Although that seemingly made things easier on her and Star, it meant the two of them had to creep around like burglars and she wasn't in the mood.  No matter, she had come to do a job and she was damned well going to do it.  With a dip of her head to Star she slowly exited the last room and walked down the dimly lit hallway. Star followed her a few minutes later and they met up at the office.  

"You're lookout." Kittie whispered.  "I already scoped out the situation, there's nobody in there." 

The museum was full of men and women who were chatting idly about the artwork or family plans for the rest of the weekend and Star was glad for the general buzz around the room. The noise made it easier to be overlooked and ignored, especially if you were dressed to the nines and pretended to be very interested in some random piece of artwork that looked like something Rubix had once brought in. 

Kittie had made her way to the back and after making sure it wasn't too conspicuous, she followed her friend towards the remaining gallery rooms. When she couldn't find Kittie there, she slipped furtively down the hallway towards the office and there met up with Katherine. Her friend was ready to go and designated Star to be the lookout. While she stood in the hallway, her hand gently clutching the handheld pistol in her handbag, she could hear Kittie inside rustling around. A thump, a gasp, and then a satisfied "yes!" sounded out from behind the door before Kittie pushed the door open and shoved a heavy box into Star's hands. 

"Here, take this," Kittie said, looking down the hallway to her left. "You can get out the side door and make it out front without too much trouble. I'm going out the bac..." She paused, eyes widening as she heard a crash and several shrieks coming from the main gallery. Looking back at Star she shoved her friend down the hall. 

"GO! Get outta here, I'll be okay! Meet me at the overpass!"

Star didn't think twice and bolted down the hallway, skidding around the corner towards a small emergency exit door that she threw herself through full force as she heard gunshots fire behind her. She hurtled through the small dirt lot next to the gallery and vaulted over the four-foot fence, landing inches away from her car. Once in, she turned the engine and pulled away, squealing her tires as she drove as fast and as far away from the gallery as possible. She ducked and dodged down streets, weaving in and out of traffic for several minutes until she was sure that she wasn't being followed. She couldn't say the same for Kittie but she hoped her friend had made it out safely. After a few more minutes, she finally managed to make her way slowly to their meetup destination under the overpass. To her relief, Kittie was there but to her dismay, so was somebody else.