Well, shit.
Cursing his luck, Cassian ducked under the outstretched arms of a lunging guard and burst out into the crowded street. Angered shouts and frantic whistles sounded as what he felt was the whole damn police department spilled out into the street after him.
He weaved agilely through the street, trying to lose his pursuers in the crowd of early-morning shoppers. With a squad of uniforms right behind him, Cassian dove behind a cart of fresh fruits, and toppled the cart into the street. Spooked, a team of horses veered into the traffic, toppling the carriage. Without stopping to see if his distraction had worked, Cassian dashed into the alleyway and quickly scaled the uneven bricking to the rooftops.
When he reached the roof, he rolled onto his back, listening intently for any sound he had been spotted. Hearing only the shouts of those trying to calm the panicked horses and upset fruit vendors, he rolled to his feet. Crouching low to stay out of sight from the street, he quickly ran away from the marketplace. When the sounds of the marketplace had faded, he found an empty alleyway and dropped down into it.
Landing with hardly a sound, Cassian took a second to brush the dirt from his clothes and hands. He adjusted the collar of his white shirt, making sure it lay flush over his brown vest. He pulled a black tie from his pocket and expertly tied it around his neck, tucking the end beneath his shirt and buttoning his brown frock coat over it all. He then combed his fingers through his dark brown curls before calmly walking out of the alleyway and merging onto the street.
He flagged down a passing coach and gave the driver his address and a few copper pieces for the fare. Settling into the hard seat as the driver merged into traffic, Cassian pulled the hard-earned prize from his pocket - a sparkling red ruby the size of his thumb mounted on an intricate silver plate attached to a chain. He'd gone through a lot of trouble to track the ruby down - following it from city to city, from auction house to auction house - until he'd finally caught up to it. Now that he held it in his hands, he was slightly disappointed. He'd expected it to be bigger, more glamorous for the amount of trouble it had caused him. He'd seen fakes more intricate and detailed than this. After a moment of inspection, Cassian returned the stone necklace to his coat pocket. A few seconds later, the coach came to a stop and he exited the cabin.
As Cassian stepped onto the curb, a friendly voice called out to him, "You're back early, Mr. Darian!" A well dressed man in a tightly pressed three-piece suit and neatly styled graying hair, winked as he walked down the steps from the house next door and said, "Or should I say late?"
With a grimace and small chuckle, Cassian replied, "Early, I'm afraid. I forgot the manuscript I was supposed to turn in to the boss today, and so got turned away before I'd even set foot through the door!"
"We've all done that once or twice now, haven't we, son?" The man laughed as he walked up to Cassian and patted his shoulder. "You're a bright kid," he said, "If the fools over there ever stop appreciating you, you'll always be welcome over at the Raven!"
"Thank you, Mr. Thomas," Cassian replied with a smile, "I might be taking you up on that offer if I can't get back to the office before the boss finishes his coffee."
Glancing at the wristwatch on his arm, the man gave a start, saying, "Good heavens! I might be booking for a job too, if I don't get to work soon!" With a hurried farewell, the man turned his back and rushed to the street, frantically waving down a passing coach.
Left alone again, Cassian walked around to the side of his building, through the thin alley that separated his from Mr. Thomas's. As he approached the unassuming side door he pulled out a small silver key from another pocket.
"You two seem to get along well, Cassian," came a voice from the shadows. Cassian almost dropped the key from fright.
Clenching the key tightly, he spun around and called out, "Who's there?"
A tall and lithe man with salt and pepper hair and rough stubble around the mouth stepped out from the shadows of the alley, stopping at the bottom of the steps. He was wearing a navy blue uniform, tailored to fit him perfectly, with Inspector Cadoret sewn in bold, black lettering above his breast pocket. "I do believe we've met, though. Have you forgotten me already?"
Well, shit, thought Cassian for at least the second time that morning. Recovering quickly, he smiled at the well-known police inspector and said, "Inspector, last time I saw you was fifty miles north as I made off with thirty-two crowns of some pretty nice blue jewelry. Forgive me if I wasn't expecting to meet again so soon."
The inspector grimaced, saying, "I got quite the earful about that."
"I can return some of them to you," Cassian offered, "Any chance that can influence you to forget about this little meeting?"
Shaking his head, the inspector said, "The only way I'm leaving is with both the Scarlet Necklace and you in my custody."
"I guess that's that, then," Cassian said with a shrug. He stepped forward, pulling the ruby necklace out from his pocket and holding it out to the Inspector. The man raised one eyebrow, but said nothing as Cassian lowered the necklace into his palm and let go of the chain.
As soon as the chain dropped from his fingers, Cassian swung his arm over and vaulted over the railing and into the alley. Cassian ducked as he landed and felt the wind rush over his head as he narrowly missed the inspector's fist.
He sprinted down the alley, scanning the area for anything he could use to put some distance between himself and the inspector. He could hear the man seconds behind him as he neared the end of the alley. Just before the alley dead-ended into a brick wall, he noticed a wooden door leading into Mr. Thomas's building, almost invisible in the early morning shadows between the buildings.
Without hesitation, he rammed his shoulder into the door, which opened with a splintering crack. The sun blinded him as soon as he stepped through the door, but he could hear the inspector right behind him so he continued his mad sprint.
Three strides in, his eyes adjusted to the light, but it was already too late. His momentum carried him straight off the edge of a cliff toward the glittering blue water below.
Well, shit, he thought once again before he crashed into the water and the world went black.