[AU] paris, home of the arts | éponine

[Carmelita Fox]

Carmelita jerked her wrists, the clinking of handcuffs greeting her ears. Repressing a sigh, the fox's head fell back against the steel of the van they were currently transporting her in. She wasn't all too familiar with this world yet, but she already wasn't fond of it. The so-called "Underworld" of society was about as crude as it had been in her world. At least, until she'd broken out onto the streets. Just the thought of that sick Inspector she'd been under the boot of twisted her gut; when she'd been through, he'd taken quite a lot of damage.

This world certainly needed a lot of work. She'd attempted to meet contacts and start on the path to rebuild her career from her own world. However, when she'd entered a conference with potential clientele, the idiota hadn't accounted for a bug. The resulting ambush had taken them by surprise. Carm had given it her all, but she hadn't thought that anyone could be so stupid. Her mistake. Well, this world should be thankfully she was here, now. It would take work, but she'd rebuild her equipment, her contacts, and her reputation. And she already knew where to start.

Then her eyes fell once again on the singular guard, her mind already at work. He was young, possibly early twenties. His posture hinted that he was new to the job. It was hard to miss to glances he would shoot her; sometimes nervous, often curious. That was to be expected. Carmelita doubted they'd had much experience in arresting a fox; especially one such as her. On edge due to her skill at the building, but curious enough. This couldn't be any easier.

With a bit more struggling, she'd grabbed enough of his attention that he wouldn't take his eyes off of her. With a soft curse, she broke her skin just enough to matte the fur of her tail with blood. Making sure her guardsman had a clear view of her injury, she began to fidget uncomfortably. When he'd come over to investigate, she moved quickly. Carm headbutted the poor boy and he crumpled on the spot. Maneuvering her body carefully with the van, the Inspector-turned-Agent managed to get her cuffed hands before her.

She bent down and withdrew a pick concealed within the heel of her boot. Her gaze swept back down to the officer on the floor of the vehicle as the fox began picking the lock of her cuffs. "Apologies, chico." The metal detainers clattered to the floor and, with her hands free, Carmelita walked towards the backdoors. They weren't locked. Amateurs. Opening the double-doors, the bounty hunter jumped up and grabbed onto the van's top. With a backflip, she was on the vehicle's roof. She correctly predicted that her detainment unit would have an escort; and there was no doubt the rear car was already made aware of her escape. Thankfully, Carmelita knew where they were keeping her requisitioned equipment.

Racing along the roof of the van, the fox waited until she'd reached the drop to the driver's seat before leaping high into the air. A moment later, she landed bodily onto the car in front of her former prison. Carm opened the backseat passenger door before the driver had a chance to lock it. "Hola, señores!" The fox swung herself expertly into the car, hooked her bag around her shoulder, sheathed her shock pistol at her waist where it belonged, and returned to the top of the car.

At this point, the officers had received plenty of time to recover and then proceeded to open fire upon her. Her luck holding out, Carmelita turned to the oncoming bridge the car was moments from passing under. With another powerful push of her legs, Agent Fox bounded up from the car and landed gracefully onto the jogger's lane of the bridge. She moved quickly through the backstreets of Paris's outskirts, careful to keep out of sight of police and security cameras of any kind. Eventually, she found her way back to her temporary apartment and slipped in through the window.

Well, it certainly was a good thing she hadn't unpacked, as well as the fact she had a solitary suitcase. Placing it upon her bed, Carm unlatched it and withdrew one of her disguises. A fox of Carmelita's nature could be a lot more adaptable than people realized. The rift that'd brought her here had been unexpected, but she was completely capable of finding resources. Black gloves, leggings, and thigh-high boots to cover her fur; a red hat with a large brim to hide her ears. Completing the look was a gorgeous, red overcoat long enough to hide her tail. Slipping on a pair of dark shades and grabbing her suitcase, Agent Carmelita Fox left the apartment complex.

She would need to find a new place of residence, however temporary, but first her mark. Her... former contact had spoken of an auction in La Villette that was exhibiting quite an array of fine items that would be up for bid on the morrow. From what her contact had spoken of, the auction especially tickled her fancy. And getting to La Villette didn't prove much difficulty; when dealing with someone of her expertise, the authority would never be quick to release information to the public.

The auction house, itself, had minimal security, especially considering this was merely a prior exhibition; most of the items were kept within cases with only a single guard to protect any individual piece. Carmelita was content with leaving her suitcase and pistol outside and agreed to proceed through the metal detector. However, beyond the entryway was quite a sight. There was certainly a miasma of objects to choose from. Though ,there was a very particular item that caught the fox's eye. A necklace that a fairly wealthy family had put up for bid; pearls connected by a wreath of 24-karat gold with a diamond pendant hanging from its nape.

Content with her mark, Carmelita turned to leave. Without warning, a body just came into the peripheral of her vision. She maneuvered as best she could to avoid the person, however she still collided softly with them. "Lo siento, señorita." She continued out the door, but the fur of her tail was on end as she attempted to keep both her balance and her dignity.