The Butter Thief, Chapter Two

“You’re supposed to be dead.”

            “I’m not happy, Liam,” she said.
            “You’re funeral was poorly attended,” Liam said, facing the same direction as her, looking out at the sun setting on the edge of the Pacific ocean. 
            “I wasn’t expecting anything else.”
            “Charlotte,” Liam began, but the young woman cut him off.
            “Charlotte Wilson is dead,” she said without emotion. “Don’t forget that.”
            “Who are you, then?”
            “For now, I will be Jenny Hark. She’s only wanted in France and Armenia.”
            “False identities get confusing,” Liam groaned. 
            Jenny turned on him and said sharply, “Don’t you dare complain about false identities! I had to kill someone today because your plan was full of holes!”
            “And I’m sorry about that,” he said, “but you still got away! And what does it matter? It’s not like he’s your first.”
            “I’m not an assassin, Liam! I am a thief. I only ever use a gun if it’s in the plan, and only if I  approve it.”
            “You’re right,” he sighed.
            “Of course I am. And that, Liam, is why I am going to have to leave you.”
            “Char-Jenny!” Liam exclaimed. “I’m your partner! You can’t just leave me!”
            “Of course I can,” she said, bending down to grab two backpacks. “Here’s your half of the money.”

“So that’s it?” Liam asked. “We just go our separate ways?”

“Yes. I can’t risk being a part of your lopsided plans anymore, or your inane excuses,” Jenny told him. “Don’t ever let me see you again.” She tossed him one of the backpacks, then walked off.

*

Two weeks had passed since Jenny had departed ways with Liam. In the short span of time, Jenny had traveled across the country to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and had begun research on a new heist. Of course, she still had to find a partner to help as the job was a bit more complex, but that would not be a problem for her. She knew a guy who knew a guy who would be perfect for the job and who could really use the money she could offer him. If things went according to plan, she would be on a plane to Belize in another week.

*

Liam sighed to himself. He had always done things haphazardly. Even though his plans were not always terribly good ones, he had gotten away with every singe one, until that night, at least. Perhaps Jenny had been smart in leaving him, although at the time he believed that it had been because she had to kill a man, albeit a very corrupt one who was heavily involved with slavery. No, she had left him because the man’s murder was not in her plans, and if things could go askew like that, she had realized that she might one day get caught, just like he had.

“Please, Liam,” the policeman said calmly. “Any help you can give us about your past partner would greatly help your case.”

“Even if I felt like cooperating,” Liam laughed, “I’d be in danger. My... partner has a lot of power.”

The officer frowned. “I can’t promise anything, but it might be possible for you to enter Witness Protection.”

Liam smirked. The day he met Jenny, she had threatened to hunt him down if he ever talked to authorities about her hobbies. About a week later, when they were a bit closer, they were relating past stories. She had told him about a past villain she had faced who tried to testify against a past partner of hers. He was well protected by Witness Protection. On the car ride to the courthouse, he had mysteriously disappeared, only to turn up a couple months later, refusing to go onto the stand.

“I’d rather not,” Liam answered. “Not only do I know that she would find and slaughter me, but I have too much respect for her. Here’s what I can tell you: in a very small ring of the more elite thieves, she is known as the Butter Thief.”