Office Break-In

“No! Absolutely not! I refuse to even entertain the notion!”

“Oh come on, Fatima! Can you stop being such a goody-two-shoes for once in your life?!”

“Jackal, have you lost your mind!? I am not helping you break into Mercy’s office! Are you crazy?! I could get in trouble!”

“You won’t get in trouble if they don’t even know you helped. It’s not like I’d rat you out.”

“No! I refuse! Even if Mercy doesn’t know it’s me, what about the other priests and nuns who live there? What if one of them sees me?” 

“Nobody’s going to see you! I’m planning on breaking in when everyone is, you know, fast asleep?!”

“The answer is still no.” Fatima says, crossing her arms and looking away.

Jackal sighs and curses under her breath as she rubs her temple.

“Alright, fine! If you won’t help me break in then can you at least talk to Oleander for me? Or maybe tell me where Mercy would even hide a feather in their office? Hell, you could even volunteer as the lookout instead.”

Fatima sighed, “Why can’t you ask someone else to talk to Oleander for you? What even am I supposed to say that wouldn’t make me sound suspicious as all hell?”

“One, because you know him better, kind of. You’re a nun for crying out loud! You’re around him 24/7 aren’t you? And don’t you think it would be even more suspicious if a total stranger went up to him and was like, “Hey Oleander, you should take Mercy out somewhere.”? And two, just tell him what I just said, but in a better, more casual, not as straightforward way.”

“Jackal…”

“Come on, Fatima please?! You won’t even have to participate in the heist. I’ll be perfectly fine on my own. And if you don’t want to be the lookout then, you could ask someone else to do it instead. I know how worried you get when it comes to your friends. Please Fatima? I’m practically begging for your help right now!”

“First of all, you don’t beg. And second, do you really have to do it this way? Why can’t you just wait until Mercy gives the feather back? Maybe they’re just, I don’t know… having someone study it?”

“Because I really, really, want to help Misty with their memory and I really believe that that feather has something to do with it. 

It created another Imp type for Murmur’s sake. And also, didn’t you see how Mercy reacted? Wasn’t their expression strange to you? 

It’s been a damn week, Fatima. A week and still nothing. Not a single word or notice or anything and they keep avoiding me. Something isn’t right and I don’t like this secretive bullshit they’re pulling over a damn feather from some kind of “real” bird.”

Fatima stared at Jackal for a while before sighing heavily and rubbing her temple.

“Alright, fine. I’ll help you. But only with getting Oleander to distract Mercy. You’re by yourself when it comes to breaking into their office.”

“Haha! Thanks Fatima, you’re the best.” Jackal said, giving the girl a bear hug and kissing her cheek.

“Please, I’m not that great. Besides, I want to help Misty too. I’ll go talk to him then call you later with the results. Just, don’t do anything reckless before then, alright?” 

Later that night, as Misty and Jackal were relaxing at the apartment, Jackal’s cell phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Jackal, it’s me. I managed to get Oleander to take Mercy out on a really fancy date for a few hours so, you have a lot of time. They just left so you better get your butt over here immediately.”

“Yeah? Are the others asleep? I’m not going to get caught by some nun or priest wandering around cleaning the church, am I?”

“No. Everyone’s turned in for the night I assure you. If they aren’t, the only noise you’ll probably hear is either nothing or very loud moans. Depending on where you are anyway. But that’s usually only heard in the housing building.”

“Thanks Fatima, you’re a lifesaver. Remind me to thank you later.”

“Nonsense. You don’t need to thank me all the time. Just, be careful, ok? The church can get pretty dark at night so make sure you bring a light source with you. I also suggest going through the backdoor. I left it unlocked for you. Oh! By the way, the feather might be inside of the drawer at Mercy’s desk so I would suggest looking there.”

“The drawer at Mercy’s desk. Got it. Thanks Fatima, I appreciate it. See you tomorrow.” Jackal says, hanging up her phone.

Now, all I have to do is wait for Misty to fall asleep then I’ll be good to go. 

As soon as Misty fell asleep, Jackal made her way out of the apartment and towards the chapel, hands in her pocket as she fiddled around with the lockpick kit; taking in her surroundings and staying alert to make sure she wasn’t being followed.

When she reached the back of the building, “Is that… a Bearly plushie?” Jackal asked, tilting her head as she made her way over to the Bearly, eating dango.

“Yes. His name’s Frank and he’s going to be our lookout.” Fatima says, making her way over to Jackal, who chuckles.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to come. Change your mind?”

Fatima sighs softly and nods, “I wasn’t going to at first but I got worried. Now come along, we don’t have all night. Frank, you stay here and guard the door for us, okay?”
Frank squeaked and nodded, standing in front of the door.

“Make sure you don’t run off but if you see or hear anyone quickly come find us.” Fatima instructed.

A large smile spread across Jackal’s face, a soft chuckle escaping her. 

“Well, guess you’re my accomplice now.” She says, wrapping her arm around Fatima’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t get us into trouble.” Jackal says, making her way inside.

Once they reached the office, Jackal took another quick look around, before handing Fatima her lighter.

“Here, hold this up to the door knob for me. I need to check what type of lock they have on this door.”

Fatima nodded and held the lighter up to the door.

“Are you sure you can see? This lighter doesn’t look like it emits enough light to me.”

“Yeah, I can see. I thought about bringing a candle but I changed my mind. Now, let me see what I can do.”

Jackal dug into her pocket and took out her lockpicking kit and grabbed the tools she needed.

Placing her ear to the door, she stuck the tools into the lock, one at the top and one at the bottom, wiggling them a few times, before moving the bottom one from side to side.

“Hells this lock is being difficult.”

“What do you mean?” Fatima asked, tilting her head curiously.
“It’s just taking a bit longer than locks usually take. At least, from my experience and expertise.”

“Does that mean you can’t open it?”

“No, just… give me a bit more time and…” Jackal continued to fiddle with the lockpicks, until she heard a click.

“Got it!” She stood up and opened the door, a large smile on her face as she stepped inside, looking around as Fatima continued to stand watch.