How drab…how useless…. how pathetic. 

Marlowe ran over the listings that had been handed to her this morning by one of her many henchmen and ran her fingers through her full blonde locks before glancing over to the mirror….. She had only recently turned 34 yet men and women alike mistook her for less.

A yawn escaped her lips and she got to her feet, walking through her double doors and threw the file of names at the first man she saw. 

“You give me nothing but rubbish!… do you know that!?”, she grumbled at them - their eyes giving her the satisfaction that at least they understood that despite her gentle appearance, she was not to be stressed. 

Angry and tired of doing practically everything herself, she took to the streets, dressed in better attire than her usual business suit. A simplistic and elegant light grey tunic, a large hat to keep her skin from burning or tanning and her beautiful legs displayed in her medium high heels as she walked through the streets of Morocco. 

She did this when she got tired of her existence in the family business as sometimes it became dire and dull and she would much rather taste some fresh air and watch with her own eyes the world around her. Katherine was very much fascinated by the things around her and wished to surround herself in thick culture and history… and it was while she was roaming an antique shop when she noticed the dark haired Caucasian join her there. 

Katherine lowered the front of her hat, moving her body language to make it look that she was showing interest in a range of china plating while keeping a sly glance on the man as he moved over to an interesting looking artefact inside a glass cabinet. The owner was aside the store, speaking to an interested client about a piece of furniture… which left an idiotic amount of leverage for an easy going thief… 

It was almost obviously going to happen then, when she heard the shallow clinking sound of a lock opening - leading to another glance to the side. The man stood out from the crowd, he was caucasian…much like herself and despite the amount of tourists… there were no others near by this set of shops… again other than herself… 

Katherine Marlowe would never come to understand why she did what she did next. Why she had tapped her heel at the very moment the owner was making his way back at the excitement of a possible sale. Why…by doing so, she caught the attention of the thief in the store and notified him in enough time to close the glass door discreetly and move away to look around at other bits and pieces.

And what she would never understand most was…. when she moved over towards him so that the suspicious face given to the ‘single, shady looking male’ disappeared at the fact there was now an elegant, well-off looking woman standing near by enough to make it seem like they were acquainted.

“See anything you like?”, she asked, but made no attempt at eye contact. 

thatdappervillain:

It wasn’t that Talbot wanted to be the one to present the cup to Marlowe—he was after the glory or any of that—but rather he wanted the cup to just be visible, to be in plain sight so that Marlowe could walk in and see the spoils of a job well done without having to ask.  

As Marlowe walked in, Talbot couldn’t resist casting a quick glance to Flynn to see his reaction, having to fight a smile.  Was he nervous?  It was hidden pretty well, but there was something there.  And then the man opened his mouth and caused Talbot to groan inwardly.  He might be good at his job, but there was just no polishing him up…

“Here’s the cup,” Talbot said, carefully handing the artifact to Marlowe.  ”There was one minor setback, but it was taken care of.  Other than that, everything went according to plan.”

It always made him happy to complete a job like this, to bring Marlowe what she wanted.  There was no other feeling like a job well done.

The fool in front of her with the ever-hiding grin barely made her move a single feature on her well formed face. A nerve may have been struck somewhere, but it wasn’t the existence of the man in front of her….it was more the resemblance to something….rather…someone that irked her subconscious interest, but that aside she watched as Talbot approached her. 

His stride - confidence; his head was tilted upwards - pride; his face was set into relaxed smile - contentment; his appearance without a little of a scratch except a slight shuffle to the right in his tie - almost an entirely perfect job…all realised before he even got within reaching distance. 

Katherine drew out her hand towards him, already knowing that the item would be placed there and pulled it towards her, admiring it quickly before putting it on the table in front of her, “excellent, though I would expect no less from you”….her eyes lingered on the man in front of her - on exterior glances, they looked no more than a business man and his superior, a knowledge of their history obscured; perfectly hidden in the dark….just the way they both liked it. 

A glance over to the blonde across the room and she tilted her brows. 

“At least you managed to get him into a suit”, she said sternly, she had not much else to say but as she glanced over at the young man she finally figured it out - he reminded her of a little brat…. 

“By chance….do you know a Nathan Drake?”

thatdappervillain:

Rarely after heists like this did Talbot feel relieved.  Normally he was never anxious in the first place; he had this down to an art, and there was no reason to get worried or nervous.  However, the little kink in the chain of events had upset the man to a degree.  Talbot absolutely hated when his careful planning didn’t pan out, and though they had handled the situation, it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

By the time they reached the warehouse, though, Talbot had recovered.  It was time to introduce the new recruit to Marlowe, and that definitely bolstered his confidence.  That, and the surprise on Flynn’s face.  It was always so amusing to watch others’ reactions to the little hidden underground tunnel.  It was almost as though Talbot could read their thoughts…

We’re not just some little crime ring.  Oh, no…

When the car stopped, Talbot climbed out without so much as a glance back at Flynn, expecting him to just follow.  The other man’s footsteps echoed behind him, and that said enough. 

The first time Talbot had seen this place, he had reacted in a similar fashion.  It had just…blown his mind.  It was amazing.  The architecture alone was gorgeous, but that hadn’t been what first crossed his mind.  No, the fact that he was in this underground lair, that the Organization was that powerful…it had made him honestly happy.

Before long, they reached a set of heavy doors and Talbot pushed them open, walking through to a library.  It was then that he finally turned to Flynn, ignoring the man’s comment as he held out one hand.

“Give me the cup.  Marlowe will be here shortly.  I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”

It was soon time, Katherine thought to herself as she lay in the heated waters of her bathtub. It was a simple bathroom, absolute white across the walls and a glistening black graced the floor tiles. The bath was made of glass and perfectly formed to fit the shape of her slim physique. Such a simple bathroom.

But soon it was time to pull herself from this relaxed sanctity… so she slunk out of the bathtub, and into a black bathrobe. Leaving the water in the glass sculpture she exited the huge bathroom and nodded at a simple maid. She would go clean the bathroom. Then she walked into her dressing room and another maid was standing in wait for her, dress already picked out. A simple nod and she let the maid take her gown away, before beginning to dress her, another maid attending to her soaked golden locks. 

“Is the car ready?”, she asked in a bored yet stern tone of voice. She didn’t need to even ask the question - it had to be ready, if not then there would be a falling out with the entire selection of help. Once she gained the affirmative from the workers she nodded and was led through the simply yet elegantly furnished house, stilled in black and white. Outside there was an expanse of garden that went to as far as the eye could see, but what did she care of it? It was only there to help set her in stone as her public face, for those around her she was an eloquent lady… hosting parties, simple social gatherings… with friends in high places…yet that wasn’t where her mind was. 

No, her mind was already on the simple cup that she had researched - by which is meant researched in detail with her overview. Once in the back of her transport she relaxed, not having to speak a word as the driver already knew where she would be going at all times. Soon the golden cup of Jamshid would be in her hands and she can see it for what it truly is. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had heard that they had returned. Good. She had to commend them for being back earlier than scheduled. A pair of well dressed - the only way that they should be dressed - men walked her through from the car and towards the library while one of her men passed her a file. A gentle passing of her finger and she slipped out the first page: A scruffy looking man with a hideous scar on his upper lip, oh bother…another child with a neglectful and somewhat abusive father, how cliché.

She tapped the paper back in and let her men open the doors in front of her, taking her through and standing behind her as she stepped forward, a glance to Talbot, her trusted right hand….. and then to the scruffy thief that’s entire life story was in her hands. At least he was dressed well - but she could tell that it was due to the efforts of her magician card. 

“You’re early. Good”, she said simply. “well?”

It was a quaint thing… this simple artefact; at face value it would hold no importance – no deeper meaning, however Katherine had always known to delve deeper, to dig until every little detail was extruded so any potential can be pulled from it.

She just loathed it when all that tender uprooting of potential is wasted before it could truly blossom to its fullest. On the most part, she was very successful, having gained so much in her life… and taking potential from the streets, nurturing it until it had proven worth the effort… unfortunately there had also came shortcomings. A lover who had the potential to fill all the holes in a woman like her… Oh, how vulgar. She had realised how, even knowing the man for a little while had let him rub off some of his quirks on her… She decided to stop thinking any more of it and turned her attention to the documents on the desk.

Gently, she pulled on her spectacles and let her still perfectly blonde locks fall and frame her aged, but surprisingly flawless features…. The artefact would be easy to miss, but with the right man having been sent in to collect it for her she had no reason to doubt the retrieval of her signal to the bounty.

It was unfortunate for her that the very brat that had caused her so much strife…brought her blood to boil…stole from her what should be hers….. And god forbid; brought upon jealousy, would be around to bring along more difficulties.