Sneaking down into the subway station, Nova had high hopes for her client. Living on the streets was no easy feat. She constantly had to move around, walking aimlessly for days, trying to find a peaceful place to settle down, yet she found nowhere without the sounds of honking echoing around the city. An aspect of living in New York City is that, with all the people constantly bustling on the streets, it is a prime target for theft.

After Zara stole a precious artifact, word got around about a young girl who knew how to orchestrate the perfect robbery. People would pay her to steal from the road, bringing back whatever precious artifact they desired. That day was no different. She got a note. She got a date and a place. Now all she needed to do was to show up.

The subway station was still crowded with people, even at 1:00 in the morning. Zara separated from the crowd and scanned around. She got a description of a man in a yellow hat and purple hair. When she spotted her client, she carefully strolled over, catching almost no one’s attention, except a panicking man who bumped her shoulder and shot her a mumbled ‘sorry’. When passing by her client, she pulled an envelope hidden in his coat sleeve, just as he described. Zara made a sharp turn and was out of the station before some people realized she was in.

Zara headed straight to the park, her comfort zone, where she had been running to since she was seven. She wasn’t always homeless. She had a mom and a dad, and even a big brother named Henry. Life was good. She had toys, and a bed, and mostly someone to take care of her. It all changed when her brother suddenly went missing. Her parents became paranoid and wouldn’t let Zara out of the house. Then, one morning, she woke up to find herself on the street. Couldn’t survive unless she pick-pocketed a couple of people. She kept doing it since.

After tearing open the letter and reading it, Zara was in shock. All she needed to do was break into a building, take the key that was located in the envelope, open a locker inside, and bring back the contents inside the locker. And for that, she would be getting paid more than any of her other heists, even more than the time she was hired to break into a museum.

That night, she headed straight to the building, lockpick in hand. She knew the place she was sent to. A big company. A rich one. She knew that whatever precious artifact she was stealing had to be worth something.

She peeked in through the window, only starting to work the lock when the security guard turned the corner. 7 seconds. That’s how long it took her to pick the lock. Once she entered the building, she briskly turned into the first room. A storage room, she suspected. She needed anything that could guide her around the building. Then, she spotted it. The fire escape map. The room she needed to find was room 132. She was in room 102. Once she memorized the path, she snuck directly past the security guard and was able to safely secure the door behind her. Once she had located the locker, she opened it up, revealing a small box the size of her palm. She tucked it into her pocket and jumped out the window, quickly returning to the subway station. She met the man in the same spot as before and exchanged items. Her money and the box.

After that day, she never did learn what was inside.