Fire And Desire

THE TARGET

Gianna reminded herself of the plan as she walked the distance to the supermarket that had a large sign reading ‘Maris’.

She had been doing this for the longest time—swiftly, masterfully, having been trained in the craft due to years of learning experience. And with their new target in sight, it was not supposed to be a big deal, that’s if she and her conspirator were right.

When they had mapped out the plan, the girl’s face wasn’t in the periphery of their vision—they didn’t care about how pretty the posh girl was.

All that attracted them was the girl’s sparkly dress and the glittering bag in her hand that dazzled in the sun, and as if that wasn’t any indication of the perfect target, she was alone. Their target was alone in the parking lot of the supermarket building.

Gia repeated the plan again in her mind. ‘Walk up to the target, beg for money, snatch the bag when she’s least suspecting it, and run.’

It was that simple, besides, she was an expert at thievery, having been on the streets for a while. Hence, today’s operation was tagged ‘easy peasy.’ She took a deep breath after crossing the empty street, nearing the spot where the target was standing.

If Gianna was being honest, operations like these frightened her, maybe she was no expert thief and was bluffing. Perhaps she was just doing this to feed her family, and stealing could possibly be the only thing she could do to survive.

But she hated it, hated seeing the faces of the people she robbed after they realized their prized possession was gone. She hated the fact that she was the one who caused them that pain, but most of all, Gia hated that she couldn’t stop stealing. Because this was her only way of surviving and feeding her family.

When she saw the target who was about her age staring at her approaching form, Gianna switched from her hardened facade into that of a pleading expression, like a young girl in need of help. What she saw from the target was unusual, where the others' facial expressions turned into pity, and actively searched for the little change they could spare the homeless girl.

Today's target was blatantly glaring at her like she could see through her mask.

And this made Gia rethink her decision just for a second.

She hesitated, her mind wondering if she and her conspirator had underestimated their target. Yet again, this was a posh girl, definitely a spoiled brat, she must have never lifted a finger in her life, so what’s there to be scared about.

This was what her conspirator would say if he was in her shoes, but he wasn’t, this was Gia’s only heist for the day, and she had to see it through, for herself and her family.

“Please, can you spare some money?” She said in her beggar tone, the one that worked wonders on her targets.

The girl’s piercing blue eyes never wavered, her voice firm and curious when she asked “You need some help?” Her brows arched, a smug smile appearing on her lips, and there’s the confident stance she had, all of which alerted Gia’s mind to abort the mission.

But this was her only heist today, the only way she could get through with returning something home.

She stole a glance at where her conspirator should be, but the kid was hidden too well behind the garbage bin, and Gia doubted he was even watching the exchange.

Ugh! This was not going to end well, she knew it yet replied. “Y-yes” stammering as her beggar tone faltered.

For a minute, a painstakingly quiet moment, her reply hung in the air as the target stared at her with narrowed eyes like she was calculating something. Never in her experience on the street had Gianna seen a target, much less one her age, stare that long after she had asked them for money.

It was either the mean ones shooed her away, after which she would have swiped away their wallets, or the compassionate ones responded immediately with a bill or two.

But an eye squint, from a ten-year-old girl? Never seen it.

Gianna was about to commit the most reckless mistake she had ever made, but she didn’t care. She concluded, to hell with the stealthiness of a thief, or the rationality screaming at her that she shouldn’t do this. But when has a hungry person ever been rational?

She went for the glittering bag in the target’s hold and dragged it from her loose hold. Gia didn’t bother to see the look on the girl’s face, the girl who had made her feel vulnerable just for a bit.

Her little legs carried her in a race at a pace that was faster than lightning, but she had only made it half of the vast supermarket lot when another body slammed into hers, knocking her to the ground in a hard thump, her limbs howling from the harsh impact with the cobblestone floor.

As if that were not enough, the person who had knocked her down came on top of her hurting body, pinning Gia to the ground. “You’re not as slick as you think you are,” her target—now her attacker, whispered into her ear.

This was no surprise, even now, while she’s clipped under her heavy frame which shouldn’t match her size.

Gianna knew from the moment the girl glared at her, there had to be something wrong with her brain.

Although this was the first time of actually getting caught, Gianna knew what to do, she thrashed her body, shaking herself so the one on top of her would lose hold. But the girl was like a rock, a very stubborn, unyielding rock.

“Get off me” she screamed, feeling the girl’s weight press her further into the ground, the cobblestone hurting her joints. “Give me my bag, you b***h!” The target spat at her.

Gianna looked to her side, and found her hand still clutching the item like her life depended. Truly, her life depended on this glittering bag that could fetch a couple of cash that’ll last a month at most, and she wouldn’t give up her meal ticket that easily.

This was the perfect time for her conspirator to come to her aid, but she hadn’t seen any sign of the pretty boy hiding behind the garbage bin.

She tried to gather all her strength to remove the pile of bricks on her when two huge men in black suits appeared in the parking lot.

Her senses hoped they were just passersby, but when she saw them approaching where she was sprawled on the ground, Gia knew the end was near.

“Miss Hult…” they were saying before she rudely interjected.

“Mathis, Luca. Restrain her” Gia’s attacker—now captor, dished out orders to the two men quadruple her size as she rose from her body which was beginning to act as a sofa.

And now, staring slowly from ground level up to the girl Gianna had assumed an easy target, she knew the end was inevitable.

Per the Miss Hult’s instruction, the men seized her, holding her like she was a hardened criminal and dragged her along to a cafe opposite the supermarket named ‘Moris.’