It was a normal day inside the headquarters of the metropolitan police station. Chief Commissioner Granger had the curtains shut, hiding away from the deadly sunlight outside, shuffling through his papers. There was a lot of work to do, as always, and he wasn‘t exactly pleased about lazing around. His silence was disturbed by a knock at the door; without much further do the redhaired male beckoned his guest to come in. However, what he did not expect, was the up and coming future of the police department to put a letter down in front of his nose.

"I quit."

"...what?"

Percy stood awkwardly inside Grangers office, trying to adapt his eyes to the dim lights in the room that had the blinds shut completely. He couldn‘t quite imagine the life as a vampire, without being able to withstand a single sunray, and he was glad he wouldn‘t be able to experience that.

It was sheer luck he felt comfortable in Granger‘s near… he had grown up with him at his side, after all, and this vampire had been like an uncle to him his entire life, even now when he had come to apply to his police station in hopes of rising higher than his own father had come. Forest green eyes stared determined into his boss‘ dumbfounded face- he did not just do that, did he? Granger flashed a quick look through the letter of resignation to make sure his ears hadn‘t betrayed him and yet, he seemed to have heard right.

What in god‘s name?

"Well not completely," the lad finally added, shuffling his feet, "I want to go on an undercover mission."
Granger perked up, a bit of relief flooding his veins. So Percy was going to come back at some point, right? He knew this boy since quite a while, just up and quitting his dream job wasn‘t like him at all. In all honesty, the Commissioner was glad to know this lad had a plan, and even though he was quite young, he reminded himself how Percy‘s father had been at the same age- full of a burning passion for justice.

"...I see."

After a long and tiring discussion, Percy left the office, taking along a copy of his letter of resignation. He knew that he would need it sooner or later, at least for what he was about to do. It was time.

Quietly, Percy got to work, emptying his locker in the changing rooms. He was alone with his thoughts, and it gave him a good chance to think about his further steps. Now that he had put his letter of resignation in, there was nowhere for him to go, and since Granger had to make it official for his enemies to be fooled, there was no way he was going to receive any benefits from his job as a policeman… and no financial aid. With a mere nineteen years, that would prove to become difficult to the man.

Percy was busy moving his things into his car as he felt the gentle slap of an all too familiar hand on his shoulder.
"Hey Percy! See you tomorrow?"
He looked up to meet the eyes of one of his best friends and colleagues, Sam West. A troublemaker and a year younger than him, but that guy had a fire inside him not even he himself could ever hope to control. Percy felt actually bad that he could not reciprocate that same genuine smile of his, after all, he wasn‘t going to see him again so soon.

"Actually, no."
"Wait what?! What do you mean? You got an emergency or something?“ The smile fell and was promptly replaced by a soft frown. Now Percy felt even more awful but his face kept a perfect pokerface.
"I resigned. I'll move away and we won't see each other for some time. Don't try to convince me otherwise, Sam." Sam stared at his friend with an indescribable expression, unable to move or say a word. Percy, just up and quitting? Something wasn‘t right there.

"Oi oi, why so sudden? You can‘t just drop that bombshell on me and expect me to just be fine with it.“
"Because I had no choice. I‘m done packing, and I‘m going to leave now. There are some things to organize and- sorry I didn‘t tell you earlier. I didn‘t exactly want to sour the mood."
Percy opened his car door to swing himself onto the seat, yet a firm hand on his shoulder held him back. Why did Sammy have to make this so much more difficult than it already was? Percy froze, shaking his hand off in a gentle but firm way.

„Now wait a second, how exactly do you think I‘ll have to explain that to John? Nico? Michael, Nicolas? You know they‘ll miss you, you could at least say goodbye, That‘s a dick move and you know that.“
Percy shook his head, gulping his guilt down and trying to ignore it as best as he could, slipping easily into his car and past Sam. He didn‘t answer him, not that he would have even known what to say to his best friend. But it was better this way. There was a ton of more important things now. He had to understand at some point… right?

As soon as Percy had moved his things back into his flat, he sat down on the couch for a moment, enjoying a cold beer. He needed that, and he still had a bit of time. He knew his target was usually active around dusk, thus he still had a few hours to spare. He used that to look up the latest sightings of this woman and made himself once again familiar with what he was actually dealing…

Nora Hanson, CEO of Hanson Technologies.

Percy took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. She unsettled him in more than one way. In a world where vampires and humans coexisted in more or less peace, it was odd nobody had gotten to know her race. Was she a vampire? A human? This critical detail was something he had never found out, nor did his father. God, his father.
Percy took another sip of his beer, trying not to become angry again. That bastard had spent more of his life hunting that Hanson family than with his own family. He was going to finish what his father never could, he was the one going to catch that Hanson woman and destroy her empire. Percy had already met her, a couple of times. An annoying woman, if he had to be honest. She took a disgusting pride in terrorizing the police stations across the metropolis, especially the one he had worked in until today. Her favorite target for her shenanigans was his father. While he did enjoy getting on his father‘s nerves, Percy knew exactly that he was taking that anger home as well.
Damn he was glad to live by himself.

Percy snapped out of his thoughts and focused back onto the news ahead of him. He had to find this woman soon or all would be lost. He was even happy enough if he would find one of her lower workers, a few had already made names for themselves. While not less dangerous than Nora Hanson herself, he knew as well his efforts would reach her ears nontheless- whoever was running into him. She was pretty young for someone with her empire but Percy knew the Hanson family was always rich on success… so was her brother. Matthew Hanson, if he remembered that right. Yet he resided in Mexico City, far enough away from his country that he had no say in what Mexico did with their hassle of a Hanson.
Slavery, human and weapon trafficking, mass murder, drug dealings… Name an offense and that Hanson had probably done it at some point. Percy knew, if they still had the option to execute criminals, that Hanson was probably the first one on the electric chair. And yet, they had to deal with trying to lock her away, at the same time trying to protect their inmates from the outside gang that tried to free them. Percy shuddered, still remembering that fateful day they had caught one of their higher ranked individuals, only to have Hanson‘s right hand march personally into their jail to free them.

A glance at the clock told him it was time. With a resume in hand, a proper application and all his important documents, Percy nodded to himself inside the mirror. He knew where he had to search this time, and he knew what to do about it.
Determined as ever, the ex policeman left his flat into the cool streets of the city, searching for his doom.

As much as it surprised him, as fast his brain went blank. There she was, sitting there like nothing had ever bothered her. Sometimes he found it baffling how less Nora Hanson seemed to care about showing herself in public like this, almost vulnerable, and yet Percy knew himself that it proved once more how invincible she actually was. Raven black hair tied into a ponytail with a golden stick holding it up, blue eyes as bright as the sky, and pale skin to expose her lack of sun contact. Undoubedly, this was the woman he had been looking for… Percy couldn‘t believe his luck and yet, his body wouldn‘t quite move. He was left staring at her, slackjawed, unable to act now that he had finally reached his goal.
Before he was able to react, she had already gotten up from her seat, flashed a quick glance around, before speedwalking towards what was most likely car. His brain first went back into action when he watched the slender figure disappear into a black, expensive looking car. Percy wanted to facepalm, what had possessed him not to act upon finding her? The male jogged after his target, just in time opening the side passenger door as the engine roared up.

„Nora Hanson, I want a deal!“

Percy felt something cold against his forhead, only to realize it was the barrel of a gun. The male tensed, mouth zipping shut immediately, as his actions just became known to him. He had nearly ripped the cardoor of one of the most dangerous criminals around out of its hinges to yell at her. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, with Hanson still looking ahead onto the road. The engine was purring silently along, the only peaceful noise that disturbed the tension.
„So...“ her voice murmured, clear as a bell and cold as ice, „...you‘ve seen my car… decided it‘s a perfectly reasonable idea to just open the door… while I was about to drive away… and dare ask me for a deal?“
Percy favored to remain silent, not moving with the most likely fully loaded gun against his head. For a moment, he regretted every and any life choice that had come to lead him onto this path, and yet he wondered why he was still alive. Finally, she glanced to the side, into his eyes.
"…Not exactly the type of move I‘d have expected you to make, Parker. What the hell do you want of me?"
Percy paused for a second. She was interested. She was actually interested. He had to try his best and hide that smile that was threatening to come over his face- he had her attention, that was all that counted, and for a second he even forgot the gun that could blow out his life light with a single press of the trigger.
"...yes, Ma‘am." Percy had a hard time preventing his hands from trembling, so he just used them to keep the car door open for his time being. "I… I‘ve quit my job. I‘m sick of it, sick of my father. I‘ve come to realize that I won‘t be able to make it far in his near with him constantly pushing me down again. I want to work for you."

Percy silenced, staring now in the admittedly surprised face of his enemy. Was she buying it? He hadn‘t exactly lied in being sick of his father. For a moment, Hanson just stared at him, unmoving, almost as if to evaluate his words and find a proper response. Finally, her lips parted.
"Work for me, huh? You? The top policeman of the new generation? Why should I believe you that? I'm not as stupid as I look."
She let out a soft laugh and shook her head, unlocking her gun. Percy‘s colour drained from his face; he fumbled to pull out a sheet of paper.
"W-wait, wait, there is no need for anything rash- I‘ve brought you a copy of my resignation."
The woman in front of him raised an eyebrow, slowly stretching out her hand towards him. He knew what she wanted, and handed her the copy without hesitation. She flew over it, before stopping at a single spot, concentrating on that for a second.
"...stamp-approved by Granger… huh… maybe you aren‘t as full of bullshit as I imagined. Well, tell me. How come you suddenly decide that your lifelong dream of becoming a policeman suddenly poofs into thin air?"
Percy did good in keeping his composure, yet slowly but surely the gun was making him more nervous than he thought it would. Calm down. Not the first time he had one to his head.
"I mean… Why not just switch stations?"
The man took a deep breath and tried to force his body to relax. It barely worked, and yet he felt less of a wreck as before.
"I became a policeman to make my father proud. Turns out he'll never be. And the job does not make me happy. It pays, but yours can too."

Nora Hanson remained silent for a bit. She flashed another glance back at his letter of resignation, then back at him. It was obvious what she was thinking about, and Percy found it just as reasonable. Why on earth would she trust him? And yet, he was confident in his skills, and she knew what he was capable of. It was an offer too sweet to deny, especially because there was no better way in kicking the police once again… by stealing their best of the upcoming officers.
"I'm not going to lie, I'm more than suspicious about this. I don't believe you that, Parker. All the hard work and you're just throwing it away? That doesn't fit you at all."
Percy‘s heart sank. Was it all for nothing? But he couldn‘t give up that easily. Goddammit, then he would just be jobless for a while. She had to take him in, he wouldn‘t budge on that.
"Only a fool would continue if the hard work doesn't get him where he wants to be."
He fell silent once more, begging that it would convince her. Maybe she needed something from his as well? A proof of loyalty, obviously! Percy had an idea come to his mind.
"I want to work for you. Simple work. I can give you information I have. I like the thought of doing heists myself... But I would like to keep my identity covered until I am talented enough to smash it into the face of my father."

Percy could see the wheels turning inside her head once more. Yet when he saw her thin lips curl up into a dark, menacing and challenging smirk, he felt the nervousity overcome him once again.
"Of course you'd have no problem with a little... test... as to say... right?"
The male swallowed down the lump inside his throat. Whatever she wanted, he was going to do it for the chance to infiltrate her. It was worth the end, right? His actions would become justified once this all had ended. He just had to keept telling himself that and all was going to be well… right?
"Of course, I expected at least one. You have no reason to trust me after all."
Hanson finally lowered the revolver, quietly resting it on her lap. Percy knew, even if he tried it, he wouldn‘t have been fast enough to grab it from her and arrest her on the spot… not that he had the authority for that anyway anymore. She gestured him to sit, and Percy hesitantly let himself down on the passenger seat next to her, keeping his hands in his lap.
"Look outside and tell me what you see."
Before Percy could open his mouth, not quite sure what was there that could be so interesting, Hanson already answered for him in a sickly sweet voice that sent shivers down his spine.
"So many civilians... so many purses... so many credit cards and so many notes... Bring me a hundred credit cards, of women. A hundred purses, a hundred credit cards, a hundred personal IDs... if you manage to rob 100 women of their entire purses, with the cash inside, I'll take you up on your request."
Percy turned slightly paler, how could she expect that of him? And why exactly women? While lost in thought, Hanson spoke up once more.
"But be warned. Leon is going to find work for you. Everyone will push you around, you‘ll be the lowest of the lowest... Are you still going to try? Now's your last chance to back out, Parker. I'll even pretend this never happened."
Percy frowned. Above all that, he had Leon in his near? He hoped to see as less of that man as possible, and yet it seemed the exact opposite would happen. There had been some terrible rumors about this man… he was Hanson‘s right hand, a man as cold as ice and emotionless to the boot. As far as he was concerned, the word mercy did not exist in that man‘s mind. A monster on two legs would be a fitting description.
He tried to play it cool, but Percy could feel his composure fading bit by bit. This was going to turn out quite difficult… more than he had anticipated and yet, he was ready. There was no other way.
"Everyone starts low. I'm an ex-policeman. Only starting on the bottom will help me get accepted."

For a moment, silence fell once again over these two, before the woman next to him focused back onto her steering wheel, holding out a business card to him with only a single number written on it. Percy took it without hesitation, trying to memorize the number before putting it into his pocket.
„You have a week to pass the test. Call this number within a week, and you‘re in. Fail to do so and I‘ll never mention this little idea of yours again… Believe me, Parker, when I say you‘re not criminal material. Go back to your little spiel of cops and robbers, and leave the underground to professionals.“
She let out an amused chuckle, blue eyes glancing over to him again.
„I wouldn‘t judge you to bail last minute. I‘m giving you this chance to back out, Parker… be clear your life is going to take a not exactly pleasant turn if you decide to do this.“
„I‘m clear about this. Wish me luck.“
Percy got out of the car, taking a deep breath before quietly leaving the scene. He could feel her smirk behind him.

"...I wish you talent, Parker."

The car howled out behind him, startling him as she drove off. Percy turned around, eying the car with a face akin to disgust. He was going to prove her his loyality, even if it costed him a bit of his morals on this one.

Wednesday, 6 days after the fateful meeting between two sides, Percy stared intently at the business card before him, then at his backpack. He quietly typed in the number- he had been busy these days, and while it hadn‘t been easy, he had finally managed it, and he was ready to impress. Yet much to his surprise, while the line got picked up, there was no one answering. Dead silence for a few seconds, before the call ended again. A little anxious, Percy stared down at the phone in his hand. Had that been a trick? Was that just a joke? Percy flashed a glance at his backpack, feeling sick all of a sudden. All those people who lost their valuables, for nothing?
His phone ringing startled him back into reality, and he picked up without bothering to look at the caller ID.
„You‘ve called, Percy? Hopefully to tell me about good results.“
The voice was eerily familiar, and Percy could pinpoint it almost immediately. Hanson. He was relieved, to say the least. So her offer had been the truth.
"Of course. I don‘t like to report failures."
He opened his backpack, victoriously reading out a few names off of ID cards he had stolen.
"...where can we meet?"
His grin from ear to ear was so bright Percy was worried it would be audible through the phone. The answer came right away, and much to Percy‘s joy Hanson sounded pleased. "Whereever you please~ This is your victory, pick a spot and I'll come."
Percy flashed a glance around the nightclouded streets. Where exactly even was he? His eyes landed on a small corner store that still seemed operated. Probably by a vampire, society had advertised most night jobs exclusively for vampires.
"Mrs M's in 32th street. I'll get a snack there now and wait in front of it."
There was no need for an answer, and Percy knew that when she hung up. She had understood him, and she was coming. Still high on the adrenaline from his adventure, Percy stepped inside to get himself a sandwich. He needed a break, and some food.

Percy was just finishing his sandwich in front of the store when he saw a car roll silently up towards him. Blue eyes fixating his, he saw his future boss step quietly out of the car. He couldn‘t help but wonder, she was quite awake for this time of the night… nearly 2am.
"So, what have you done so far?"
Without much talk, Percy took off his backpack and rested it down on the pavewalk, backing a step away afterwards. He knew she didn‘t trust him and wouldn‘t so soon, so he did all his best to appear as non-threatening as possible.
"Take a look yourself. I‘ve counted them five times to make sure it's enough... Exactly 100."
Percy could barely contain the smugness in his voice as he watched her inch closer, picking up the bag, always keeping an eye on Percy. Hanson only flew over it to count roughly since she obviously didn‘t want to take her full attention away from the male in front of her.
"Not gonna lie, I'm impressed, Percy.“ She raised herself, tossing the backpack back into his hamds. "How did you approach this task?"

Percy turned away, looking uncomfortable with the question. There was no way he‘d let her know what he did to get all of them.
"I‘d… prefer not to disclose that."
"Fine, have it your way."
Hanson paused, flashing a glance around to pry for nosy ears around, then raised her eyebrows at him.
"Now that that's settled, how about we start to discuss your pay rate... and where do you want to go, in my realm?“
"First I want to gain trust. Without that I'll probably get killed along the way. I have somewhat of a plan, I would like to do heists myself and give you the profit. But, like everyone else, I don't know where you have your businesses, so I decided to first of all make myself a picture before the final choice."
Percy‘s voice died on him when he saw the expression Nora Hanson made. What? She let out a snicker, finally seeming to be able to catch herself. Trying to hold back laughter. How insulting.
"...y-you're aiming for... did you say... heists?! Boy, do you have a single idea how much planning, cooperation and perfection goes into a heist? For someone who can't even bring himself to threaten a woman with a knife you're aiming quite high."
Still smiling amused, she rested her chin on her fist, closing her eyes for a moment to think.
"Your colleagues' trust won't be your issue. My trust will be your issue. It'll need a while until I'm actually believing you're really on my side, especially as a former policeman... I'm sure you understand. But Leon will show you the ropes."
Hanson tilted her head, eyes reopening as she made her choice. Percy hoped to have this choice be in his favor…

"For your trial period, I'd like you to start as my right hand Leon's assistant. Don't take this lightly, he's a strict and harsh person, and he'll want any work delivered perfect. No matter if it's a coffee for him, a report of recent departments, or a financial overview of a base. Perfection is what he expects of you, and he'll drill it into you. In exchange for your work, we will allow you to use our establishments to train your skills. I can't send you out like this on your own heist yet, it'd be like sending you on a suicide mission. Accompany our best men on their heists, and help them. You'll get a feeling for this sooner or later, the more you work with the others."
A nod was all Percy managed to do. That was the worst possible outcome he could have imagined. Working side by side with Leon? And yet, he knew it was a chance to gain insight to a lot of secret affairs Hanson technologies was behind.
"Anything else?" He almost didn‘t dare to ask.
"Oh yes. Pack a bag, you'll move into one of my bases in two days. I like to have you where I can keep a close eye on you... and what you're doing. Your current flat costs will be taken over by me, and you can keep it as emergency... so there would be no reason for you to say no, right~?"
Percy froze, a little uncomfortable with that, and yet he couldn‘t say no to it. Gosh, he was going to be fully trapped in this nest, was he? And yet, if he was going to say no, it would all be for nothing. Heavy hearted, Percy nodded in return.
"Understood. Although… I‘d like to keep the cash. You can get the credit cards."
The ravenette raised an eyebrow and flashed a glance towards the bag, then chuckled. What a demand of some kid. He had guts, she had to admit that. This was going to become fairly interesting.
"Why not. It's your reward."
The woman turned around, already on her way back to her car, obviously done with their exchange. Percy felt a certain relief wash over him he hadn‘t felt in a while. And in fact, he could not believe what he had just done. Straightening his back, he saluted almost instinctively and turned as well, taking off into the opposite direction. There was no chance he had to watch his back anymore from that woman. While she did not trust him, he was an official worker now, and officially belonged to Hanson Technologies. The adrenaline he had felt the entire time was dying down and yet, Percy couldn‘t have been more awake. As long as he behaved and played along just fine, he was going to endure his time there.

It couldn‘t have gone any better.