Animalia's prison cells seldom got a lot of use. Most of the time, they were used as drunk tanks for people who need somewhere to cool off until they sober up. The most serious criminals who were jailed here were Heather after her initial rampage in Lyre and Mary Piper after her kidnapping of Jeremy. Though despite the lack of serious use, the cells were kept in immaculate condition. Which was about the one positive thing the newest prisoner could say about her current living conditions.
The thief currently known as 'Missy' was not in a good mood at all. It wasn't helped by the throbbing in the leg that was currently wearing a cast. Of course, her name wasn't actually 'Missy', but she was about to give her real name and hasten the death of her reputation. She had considered herself one of the best professional thieves in the business and she had the successes to prove it. True, she might not have robbed any museums, banks, or jewelry stores, but those kinds of high-profile jobs drew a lot of unwanted attention. Not to mention they were hard to pull off for someone who worked solo like her.
But 'Missy' had a lot of luck in domestic burglary. Maybe it seemed like small pickings, but it was more than enough to get by. People seldom realized that the security systems they install in their houses made them more vulnerable to burglars such as her. She had the gadgets to disable security systems and electronic locks as well as lockpicks for the more physical kind of locks. And the houses she targeted usually had plenty of cash or valuable objects that can be sold to a fence for a good price. 'Missy' made quite a comfortable living through her dishonest work.
And this theft was supposed to be the pinnacle of her career. A pendent previously own by a Russian czarina would have been worth a fortune. The news had been pretty clear on that part. And even if it was only a replica, the topazes and diamonds were real enough and it was previously owned by Russian nobility, if not the royal family itself. And its recent history would make it very valuable to certain unscrupulous collectors. Besides, the pendent was owned by a show dog who only wanted to wear it to look pretty. It was almost like throwing pearls before swines and it would have been a crying shame to let something so valuable be wasted on a talking dog.
The money 'Missy' would have made off that pendent would have been enough to live very comfortably for several years, if not retire in luxury. It had seemed too easy. Looking back, 'Missy' could see that was where it started to go wrong. Overconfidence had cost many criminals their freedom and now it had given her the most humiliating to her career.
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Breaking into Habitat Homes had been easy. Animalia was such a crimeless city that they didn't invest that heavily into security. The thief had carefully chosen a time when Anastasia would not be at home. Borzois weren't traditionally guard dogs, but any dog would react to an intruder. It was only a matter of looking for where the pendent was stashed and then leaving. This was the easiest and most profitable job of her career. It was almost too good to be true.
In retrospect, the thief should have brought some night vision goggles or at least should have been more careful where she stepped. The next thing she knew, her right foot was was sliding out from under her. Despite herself, she gave out an involuntary yelp of surprise as she lost her balance and landed hard on her right leg. That elicited a louder shout of pain. It definitely felt like she had twisted her ankle. Then before she could get all the way up, some crazy Asian guy tackled her to the ground and pinned her down hard. That, of course, made her leg hurt worse. Before long, the other people in the apartment building were up and Nightwatch had been alerted.
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At this current time, 'Missy' wasn't sure what was worse: the insult or the injury. After a successful career of burglary, being foiled by an errant skateboard was just so humiliating. On the other hand, a broken leg was no comfort and if there was a lasting limp, that could cripple her career. Not that she was going to continue it anyways. While the FBI hasn't uncovered her real name yet, they've found out enough of her past thefts to keep her in jail far longer than it would take for her leg to heal. And it'll probably be even longer when they've discovered the full list of her crimes.
And while her criminal career was permanently ended, 'Missy' had two options. The first was that she'd served out the full sentence for her crimes, which could stretch into well past a decade if not two. The second was that she would be in jail for a few months, but after which, she would be recruited into the Rhino Guard's Stealth Division. Of course, that would mean she would have to give up her humanity. On the other hand, it would make sure she didn't have a limp.
'Missy' had been toying with the idea of conversion. Of course, she would want to be a species with good night vision. A black cat popped first into her mind. No, better yet, a melanistic jaguar. However, that would mean that she would have to stop crimes instead of causing them. That wasn't going to be as easy a change as one would think. But she would have plenty of time to think it over and make a decision. They won't convert her until spring came, which means spending at least 5 months in a cell with a cast on her leg for who knows how long. So 'Missy' wasn't in a particularly good mood about anything.