Thief's Gambit

[Leon Regaros]

They had left the shop and began making their way down towards his office.  Tightening his grip on the strap of the messenger bag, he hastened his steps once they were clear of view from the shop.  Without glancing down to the bag, he spoke to Rias.  "Did you get it?" he said, as they turned down into an alleyway a few blocks down.  Taking a moment to breath in case they caught wind too soon.


"Yeah, I got it," she said as she popped up, holding the notebook in her tiny hands. "So why did you want this?" she asked curiously as she looked up at him, ears twitching slightly as she grinned up at him. 


He looked down at her as he leaned against the wall, giving a small sigh.  "I want to test his resolve.  Kid's shouldn't be involved in this sort of thing, but if he's determined to see it through, I'd like to see it with my own eyes." he said as he pushed himself off the wall and made his way back to his office.  "He has my card anyhow." 

Eventually, he made it up to his office and took a seat on the couch.  Grabbing the remote, he turned on the tv and relaxed for a bit as he sat his phone down on the coffee table in front of him.  Letting out a deep sigh, he knew that all he had to do now was wait.


Rias dove out of the bag and ran off to her room, a bright light came from within the room as she emerged from it, standing on two legs in her Renamon form.  Letting out a deep sigh as she picked up her red scarf and began wrapping it around her neck as she was walking through the room.  "I think he'll be more than a bit upset at you," she said as she walked over to the  sofa chair and plopped herself down on it, opening the pizza box on the table and taking a slice to eat.  She quietly began eating her slice as she relaxed and looked at the tv.


"I know, but I've got some faith in the kid.  I think he might have some potential if someone can give him the right push," he said as he picked up the half empty water bottle and took a swig from it.

[Zachary Scryer]

Leon Regaros

After a bit of a rest, Zachary had gotten new cards in his hands now, and went to open his bag and put them in his card binder. He opened it up and began to dig through it...

...

... but nothing was there. He couldn't find it. His movements became more hasty as he looked to clear some clothing and papers he had in it. It was not there, no matter where he looked. "No..." Zachary said simply and checked again and again. His worry was so clear, that Panthermon lifted his head to see his tamer's concern. "No...no...no. No.no.No!"

"What's wrong?" Panthermon asked, still sitting down calmly on the ground.

Zachary dropped his bag and stood up. "My cards! My digimon cards! They're gone!" he exclaimed.

Panthermon looked up, his eyes wide but still seated. Next to his now upset partner, Panthermon was relatively calm. "Zachary, try to calm down. Yes, thats bad but maybe you just misplaced them. Perhaps you left the binder back at the card store. " the jungle cat digimon suggested.

Taking a deep breath, Zachary calmed down and nodded. "Okay. I'll go check right now. Drat... how could I be so careless," he swore and ran off back to the card shop.

Still as cool as they come, Panthermon rose to his feet and in a shimmer of his black fur, vanished from sight.

---

Zachary had ran down the sidewalk and across the streets till he was back at the card shop. He had ran up the steps and through the door and came panting as he stopped at the register. The cashier looked at him, almost perplexed. When Zachary asked if anyone had found the card binder he kept, he sadly said no. He said he would of known if he left it cause he had a clear view of it behind the counter, and he saw no binder left since when Zachary was sitting there.

A worried sigh escaped Zachary as he slowly walked down the steps. Reaching the street, he quickly went to the nearest allyway. Finding one on the same block, he ducked into it and went in deep enough so no one from the street could see. After he past by a nearby trashcan there-- the same black blur appeared and reappeared Panthermon, sitting there waiting for him as if they had agreed where to meet.

"It's not there, Panthermon!" Zachary said, genuinely upset to have lost his modify cards.

Panthermon however remained the voice of control as he swished his tail quickly and looked up to his tamer. "I'm sorry Zachary. I know its bad since we use the, but cards are cards. You can get new ones..." the cat said, remaining rather neutral in his expression.

Zachary narrowed his gaze at the panther, his hands on his hips. "Sure, most of them I can replace, but that isn't the problem. One of them can't be. I had put most of my cards in there--INCLUDING your Digiegg card for Bagheeramon!" he said firmly with a raised tone.

Panthermon's calm look gave rise to a more wider eyed look, realizing that was indeed bad news. The Digiegg of Friendship had taken card form for a means of Zachary carrying it around with him. Without that card, he couldn't become his more faster, versatile lightning form. "That... is bad..." Panthermon actually growled, turning his head away in disappointment.

Zachary raised a hand and covered his forehead and eyes, trying to get his senses about him.

[Leon Regaros]

Pulling out the card binder from his back, he began looking over the cards.  He ran the scenario over again his head several times over as he calculated almost every effect by looking over the cards.  He had no intention on using them, nor did he want to keep them.  He didn't remove a single card from it's neatly placed sheet as he read over the words on each card.  He wasn't sure how he felt about having to rely on cards to give that extra boost in a fight.  "I wonder how good they are without these cards.  Rias, aren't you curious?" he asked aloud, giving her an idea of what he was starting to plot.


Looking across over to him, she gave a rather dejected sigh as she shook her head.  "You want to test them?" she asked as she leaned back into her seat, crossing her right leg over her left thigh.  She wasn't crazy about the idea of fighting them, but she was sure Leon had his reasons.  She just didn't understand what he wanted to accomplish.  "Just what is it that your after this time?" she asked in a slightly annoyed tone.


He was a bit taken back by her sudden tone of attitude.  Regaining himself, he could only grin.  "I want to see what drives him.  For what he'll fight for.  If he fights for the wrong reason, I feel like I need to know.  And if he should pose a problem to us in the future, it might be better to have a gauge on just how strong they are," he explained as he picked up the remote and began flipping through a few channels.

[Zachary Scryer]

Leon Regaros
Back in the allyway, Panthermon and Zachary still conversed. "Okay, Zachary, just back track for a minute. When did you have your cards last." the panther asked, keeping calm in the situation far better over Zachary-- not that he could blame him. Zachary was proud of his card collection and it made sense he would be upset about them being lost.

Zachary began to pace back and forth as he thought. "O-okay, I know I had them when I left the house. I know I had them in the card shop when--" Zachary stopped mid step as he had a wide expression on his face. He flashed back to the memory of meeting that stranger in the card shop that sat down across from him-- and his digimon partner hidden in his duffle bag! It was the last time he saw it and remembered that he left his bag next to his chair-- easy prey for the digimon to take it!

Zachary's shock expression turned to anger as he gripped his hands into fists and they trembled. "Why that sneaky, lying son of a ...!" Zachary growled as he realized he been had! "The guy from the card shop! He must of taken them! I can't believe I was so stupid to let this happen! I tried to help that guy and that is what he does!"

Panthermon pieced it together easily as well and growled as well under his breath. However, then the cat looked up at Zachary. "Zachary, calm down... I may know a way for us to find them," Panthermon said. The news immediately caused Zachary to stop fuming and listen to his partner. "Remember when we first detected the digi-mental of friendship via the digivice, how it locked on to it through its radar?"

"Yeah?" Zachary replied.

The panther's eyes narrowed to him in knowing. "Then there is no reason why it shouldn't work here. If that man and his digimon have the digi-egg of friendship with them, the digivice can detect it, and lead us right to them." the cat said.

Zachary smiled, and realized his cat was right. "I don't believe it. You're right!"


(OOC:Leon will have access to all of Zachary's cards except the following: 
Power Plug in, Recharge, and Snowagumon's Frozen Wind. So feel free to use them in the clash)

[Leon Regaros]

Closing the notebook, he sat it down in front of the table before him.  Letting out a deep sigh as he rubbed his forehead, trying to ease a minor ache.  He made himself comfortable and laid down across the couch.  "I'm going to take a nap.  Keep an eye on things, okay?" he said as he gave a small yawn and fixed the couch pillow beneath his head and shut his eyes.


She looked over at him, giving him a nod as she acknowledged that she was going to be left in charge for a bit.  She knew her job now was to make sure they didn't have any uninvited guests.  If there was someone who they didn't want, she knew full well how to deal with intruders.  For now, she turned her attention back to the television and continued to watch the program.

[Zachary Scryer]

Leon Regaros

Taking out his digivice, Zachary tried to get it to detect the digimental that was his-- of course the device rarely did what he wanted. Despite the buttons, it almost at times seemed automatic. It was impossible to actually make it do what it wanted. He had no clue how to operate the stupid thing. Panthermon looked at Zachary with wry patience, but patience none the less as he hoped to make the device work. "Come on already! Show me where the stupid thief is!" he said, shaking it in his hand. Still nothing happened.

A sigh escaped Panthermon as he looked up to Zachary. "Maybe you should say 'please?'" The cat said in dry humor, causing Zachary to stop and look in his direction. "Zachary, trying to force it won't work. Think about it. How do you use the digivice to digivolve, to look up enemy digimon data, even use the cards?" the cat asked, his tone now more informative.

Zachary thought for a moment, but there was too much about the digivice he didn't know. "I don't know, Panthermon. It just does it. It's like it just knows and when I trigger it, its automatic." Zachary said.

"Exactly," Panthermon said, showing a bit more enthusiasm. "It stands to reason the digivice responds naturally to your needs. Its intuitive. So don't try so hard. Just simply tell yourself you wish to find it. Try to keep calm, and let it happen naturally."

Panthermon's words were wise from what Zachary heard. As the chatter of the street nearby continued, he leaned against the stone wall of the building and held the digivice close to his chest. "Okay... please. Please, show me where my digi-egg is. Show me where the digi egg of friendship is..."

There was a pause as Zachary simply told himself the same thing over and over in his mind. Till...

BRWUUM!

The digivice whirled to life and the holographic circle appeared-- followed by the blinking of the arrow icon, aiming north of them-- uptown.

"It worked!" Zachary said with renewed joy, his face lightening up with hope.

Panthermon let out a growl of content. "Okay, let's follow it. It should take us right to the culprit," he said.

With that, Zachary left the safety of the ally and headed to follow the direction the digivice pointed to. Left behind, Panthermon soon literally faded from view and vanished. Now invisible, he attempted to follow Zachary from a distance and meet him at their destination.

---

THe walk took no more than 20 minutes uptown till he was in front of a rather high end apartment building. The digivice had led him right there. Though Panthermon was not next to them, the magic link they had between them allowed them to talk from afar. "Its here somewhere, I think," Zachary said.

Watching from the next building over, Panthermon had a good view of Zachary from afar and the building across the street. The cat could easily jump across buildings with ease. He was close enough to communicate and observe Zachary, but far enough to not be noticed by the other New Yorkers. "And I sense a digimon's presence as well. I think we found them."

"Wait a second," Zachary said to himself as he reached into his pocket and took out something. It was the business card the man had given him-- with the same address they were at now on it. "That cheeky bastard! This is that guy's home. He gave me his home address card after he stole from me?! " he argued, despite getting some strange looks from people seeing him technically talking to himself.

Panthermon's claws scratched at the stone, actually leaving some grooves in it. "Grrr... want me to scratch him up a bit when we find him?" Panthermon asked, looking at the building.

Zachary calmed down a bit and got closer to the building. "Let's focus on getting in first. Panthermon, try to find a way in from above and I'll find a way in from the front as usual. Let me know if you get into trouble." Zachary said as he approached the lobby of the building.

[Leon Regaros]

Rias looked aware as she sensed the presence of another Digimon nearby.  Giving a smug grin, she spoke up enough to alert her partner.  "It would seem they took the bait.  It certainly took them long enough," she said, sounding slightly bored with the idea.  "Do you really want to test him?  Is it worth it?" she asked as she tilted her head curiously at him.


Opening his eyes, he threw himself up into a sitting position and stretched.  "And I was having such a nice nap," he joked sarcastically as he picked up the card notebook and took it under arm.  Making his way to the door, he placed his hand on the door knob and carefully listened to the hallway for any sign that he had already made his way up.  Not hearing anything, he opened the door and made his way to the elevator and pressed the call button. "I need to be certain that he won't get in our way.  And if he's using this for the wrong reasons, I'm not sure I could even allow that.  I have to be certain.  The idea of power can corrupt someone.  Especially one as young as him.  Come on," he finally gave Rias an answer, although seeming rather cryptic about it.  Reaching behind him, he made sure his knife was attached to his belt.  He never knew if he would need use of it, but he'd rather it on him to be safe.


Giving a defeated sigh, she followed after him and made sure to shut the door behind her.  "So orders are to test them, I take it?" she said in a smug tone as she stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder.  "You'll want me to go easy.  You're too soft," she complained, looking over at him with a furrowed brow, causing her to narrow her eyes.

[Zachary Scryer]

Leon Regaros

Zachary approached the apartment lobby, though glass doors divided him from the inside and an intercom. While Panthermon was trying to enter from the outside, Zachary knew he had to try and draw attention AWAY from the cat's attempts to enter. He was not certain if the Renamon would sense his presence or not. Still, he needed to get inside regardless. Reaching into his pocket, he got out the thief's card. It had his address, apartment number as well.

Raching for the intercom, he found the button to call that room. He hesitated for a moment, but then gripped his digivice for courage. He reached up and soon buzzed the intercom to call him.

He waited patiently for an answer, wondering what he would say... then as he would eventually might hear someone ask who it was. He paused then reached for the button to speak into it."Um, Candygram!" Zachary replied, simply trying to use the less suspicious means to get up.

Classic line, and who would turn down a candygram?

Meanwhile, Panthermon scaled up the building with his swift motion and landed on the catwalk of one of the floors. He cautiously moved through it till he soon saw it-- a slightly open window leading into the building. The window opened to the open hallways for the apartment like Zachary's building. Peeking inside, no one was there so the Panther hopped into it. Still cloaked now in his invisibility shroud, he continued to search the halls, hoping to find his tamer's enemy.

If Panthermon could, he would simply steal the cards back without conflict. Problem solved.

[Leon Regaros]

They stood side by side in the elevator as they rode it down to the main lobby.  He kept the card book under his arm, tightening his grip on it as he glared at the doors, waiting for them to open.  "I need to know his answer.." he muttered to himself, reaching behind himself with his free hand to firmly grasp the handle of his knife.  With a quick movement of his finger, he unsnapped the strap that was locking it into the sheath.  Narrowing his eyes, he took a deep breath as he waited patiently for the doors to open.  The elevator making a ding with every floor they passed.


She looked over at Leon, unsure of his intent.  "And if his answer is less than favorable?" she inquired, watching as the elevator began to ding down the numbers, slowly one by one.  She brought her right arm across her body and reaching under it, began pulling at her shoulder with her left hand.  Giving it a small stretch before switching sides and pulling at the shoulder again.  She gave a small grunt as she stretched, getting ready for what may come.


"Then I guess we end his adventure a bit earlier than intended somehow.  I'm not fond of the idea, but only if I must," he said as he waited for the elevator doors to open.  With one final ding, the doors began to open slowly.  Taking this opportunity, he began scanning the area of the lobby as the doors opened slowly.  Taking a few steps into the open lobby, his partner followed after him shortly after.  He caught sight of Zach and gave him a smug grin.  "It's show time," he said to himself under his breath.  He wanted to see what his first move was going to be.

[Zachary Scryer]

Leon Regaros

Zachary had buzzed the intercom but there was no answer-- and no answer from Panthermon either with their telepathic link. Zachary couldn't understand what was happening... but he didn't have to wait long cause as he turned away from the panel, he saw them. 

The stupid thief and his fox partner, now evolved into a full rookie form. 

Zachary glared at them, his expression no longer comical or amused. They were separated by the glass, and Zachary was sorely temped to smash it. 


Panthermon, if you can hear me... I found them, he replied in his thoughts, informing the cat in the building he now saw his enemies.

"Having a good evening?" Zachary said, glaring at the two and his arms crossed in aggravation. But then he went straight to the point and rose his voice. "Give. Me. My cards back!" Zachary said firmly, his voice loud enough to be heard from the other side of the glass window.