"We're not some random bunch," Henry said, tone steady, eyes fixed on her. "We need that back. Otherwise someone with a loud mouth ends up very unlucky."
Bela paused at that, the smile on her face shifting slightly as she considered it. Then it came back, sharper, more amused.
"Oh," she said lightly, like something had just clicked. "You mean that little thing I picked up?"
Her gaze flicked briefly toward Sam before returning to Henry. "Your friend didn't make it difficult," she added. "He was far too busy staring at my back while I was taking it out of his pocket."
Sam let out a quiet sigh.
Henry didn't react much, just gave a small nod. "Yeah," he said. "He tends to get… lost when women are involved." He shifted his grip slightly but didn't lower the gun. "We'll deal with that later."
Bela took a small step closer, still holding her weapon but clearly not treating this like a real threat anymore. "Later?" she echoed, tone turning playful. "Should we make it a proper meeting then? Dinner, maybe? Candlelight?"
Henry blinked once, the shift in direction catching him off guard for a moment before he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Right," he said. "Is this still about the rabbit's foot, or are you trying to turn this into something else?"
Bela's smile widened just enough to show she was enjoying this. "Depends," she said. "Are you always this serious, or do you ever relax?"
Henry let out a quiet breath, the edge of a smile finally showing, though his gun didn't lower.
"Yeah," he said, tone a little lighter now, playing along just enough. "I can relax. I can even smile… maybe react a little."
His eyes stayed on hers.
"But that depends," he added, tilting his head slightly, "on whether you give the rabbit's foot back."
Bela didn't miss a beat.
"No," she said simply. "That little piece is worth five million dollars. If you've got that kind of money, you can have it back."
Henry's smile faded just a fraction. "Five million?" he repeated, unimpressed.
Bela shrugged lightly, like it was obvious. "Rarity," she said. "Demand. And the fact that it actually works makes it even more valuable."
Henry studied her for a second, then shook his head slightly. "Yeah," he said. "We're not paying for that."
Bela's eyes sharpened just a little, but she didn't lose that calm composure. "Then I suppose," she said, "we're at a bit of a problem."
Then suddenly, a blur of motion came from the side of the room—
The cat launched off the sofa and hit Henry square in the face, claws out, catching him completely off guard.
"Ah—shit—get this thing off—" Henry staggered back, instinctively trying to grab it, but the animal twisted fast, claws raking across his cheek and near his eye. His grip slipped, and the gun dropped from his hand, hitting the floor with a dull thud.
He swung his hand toward it—
The cat moved at the last second.
His punch connected with his own face instead.
The impact threw him off balance, and he stumbled straight into Sam.
Sam caught him halfway, but the cat wasn't done. It leapt again, claws scraping across Henry's face as it pushed off, landing clean and already moving away before Sam could grab it.
"Damn it—" Sam snapped, trying to regain footing while keeping an eye on Bela.
Across the room, Bela didn't rush.
She moved calmly, already heading for the drawer.
"Good work, Lena," she said with a small, satisfied smile.
She opened it, pulling out the rabbit's foot carefully. Instead of touching it directly, she used a pair of tongs, lifting it with before placing it into her bag.
Sam straightened, eyes snapping back to Bela, but she was already stepping toward the door.
"Pleasure doing business," she said lightly.
And then she was gone.
"She played us fools," Sam said, grabbing the cat and pulling it off Henry's face before throwing it aside. "This is why I like dogs."
The cat bolted the second it hit the floor, disappearing out of sight.
Sam turned back—
And froze.
Henry's face didn't look right.
Blood was running down from his left eye, more than just surface scratches. The claw had gone deep enough to matter.
"…can you see?" Sam asked, stepping closer, his voice dropping.
Henry blinked, trying to focus. One eye locked onto Sam, clear enough. The other stayed half-closed, unfocused, blood still trailing down his cheek.
"This stings like hell," Henry said through his teeth. "That damn cat… I'll make juice out of it. Where is it?"
He looked around, scanning the room, but there was nothing left.
No cat.
No Bela.
Just the open door and the quiet she left behind.
Sam exhaled slowly, already shifting his attention back to Henry. "Forget the cat," he said. "We've got a bigger problem."
Henry wiped at the blood again, irritation clear despite the pain. "Yeah," he muttered. "I noticed."
Out on the road, Bela slid into her car, and allowed herself a small, satisfied smile as she started the engine, like the whole thing had gone exactly as planned.
Inside, everything was calm.
Outside, something moved.
Fast enough that it barely registered as anything more than a blur, a streak of blue cutting across the side of the building, not falling but running along it, ignoring gravity entirely as it closed the distance in a straight, controlled line.
Bela didn't see it.
Not until it hit.
"You're not going anywhere," Henry's voice cut through—
and the impact followed immediately.
The front of the car crumpled inward with a violent crash, metal folding as the hood buckled under the force. The windshield fractured in an instant, cracks spreading across it like a web as the entire vehicle jolted.
The engine died before it could even turn over.
Glass burst outward from the side windows, shards scattering as the frame shuddered from the hit.
Bela threw her arms up instinctively, turning her face away, eyes shut tight as debris struck around her.
The world went still after that.
She lowered her arms slowly, blinking as dust and glass settled.
And then she saw him.
Henry was right there.
Leaning into the crushed front, one hand braced against the bent metal, his face barely a breath away from hers. Blood still traced down from one eye, but the other—
was glowing.
"Caught you, Cat."
*****
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