Picking and Pondering

Her ears were tense with apprehension. Twitching ever so slightly in different directions as if trying to pinpoint Mercy’s location. As if Mercy was likely to be in the area to begin with? It wasn’t fully conscious on Jackal’s part, though - after all, she was was putting most of her attention into picking the lock. It was the whole reason she felt she had to be alert in the first place. To make sure Mercy didn’t catch her breaking into their office!

The cold floor against her bare skin only added to the prickling of the hair on the back of her neck. Tense with cold and wariness.

I shouldn’t be so worried, I know what I’m doing, she reasoned. Almost scolded. After all, she’d spent plenty of time earlier practicing her lockpicking for this moment. It wasn’t even really like she was out of practice per se, she just wanted to stay on top of the skill for when it was critical in the way it was right now.

Though they strained and listened intently, the only sound in her ears at the moment was the fidgeting of the pick and clicking of the lock’s inner mechanisms. Ideal, but suffocating. With every pulse of silence, every metallic tap of the pick, Jackal’s lower lid twitched. The focus and wariness that the stakes of the situation instilled in her made her face more tense than she thought it could ever get.

The first lever clicked into place. Her lower lid twitched again, but her tail loosened slightly with the relief of progress.

It hadn’t been that long since she started, in all reality. The matter of seconds crashed on her as the second lever clicked its approval. That keyed up over a simple breaking and entering? She rolled her eyes at herself.

Still, with the glint of metals and the hope for answers, she thought again of Misty. Lost little Misty, their answers were in Jackal’s hands. The third lever quickly popped into position and she nearly jumped in surprise. Halfway there, she assured herself.

... halfway? Leave it to Mercy to have an office lock that was a little more advanced than most internal doors needed to be. Whatever. The last two wouldn’t take her long - oh. There went the fourth.

You think you can keep me out?, she mused internally as rolling pride swelled in her chest. It was the anticipation of being done, she supposed. Once the door was open, it’d be rummaging and a quick getaway.

Still, there’d better be answers in that office to make this all worth it. Organizing a heist like this, doing a week of boring bird research, and the current agony of being hyper alert? For nothing? She’d probably snap.

... and she couldn’t go home to Misty empty handed. Couldn’t bear to disappoint them. Maybe she’d be able to bribe Mercy or something. She’d heard enough rumors about them, she had a few ideas on what might do it.

As if in response, the fifth lever clicked at her, adamant to have attention returned to the task at hand. She stood with a start. Surprised, but pleased with herself, and relieved to have this step over and done with. She retrieved her tools and stashed them in her pockets.

Jackal rubbed her face. It didn’t do much to relieve the tension she’d managed to build in such a short span of time, but... well, it was something. Whatever, there were more important things at hand.

With her face still stern, she took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the room of answers and questions alike.