Propped Up (Invite)

Once more he lost his battle. From between the thick folds of curtain Mumbo peered. Nothing in the lamp-lit street below moved. Like the last time. And the time before that. He needed to stop looking.

The upper floor of the residential building went dark again. Mumbo stepped away from the window, facing a full length mirror. He adjusted his cuffs a fraction. Presentation was everything. And it was almost showtime. The billowing drapes gave him an illusion he was backstage. Waiting to initiate one of his many gigs. Excitement had gotten the best of him then too. He just had to look. Try to catch a glimpse of anticipation from the audience. A sign that they shared his giddiness.

But he was far from prepared for this performance.

For starters his outfit was all wrong. A dress shirt, creased trousers, and snooker jacket was all he could put together at such short notice. They were not huge in presence enough to belie his frail frame. It was not the vision of the robust and veteran crook he wanted to convey.

The second thing he could not help but go without. For it was the entire reason for this meeting. He was lacking a wand. His wand. The realisation of all his dreams and aspirations. True magic. They'd confiscated it again upon locking him away. Or rather stolen. Like the Puritans who used to pilfer the props of William Shakespeare out of petty spite for his theatre trade.

It was high time he got it back. But that was more easily said than done. Every time he gotten out of jail he'd found the artefact to be under stricter security measures. And while he was a career thief, he had to face facts that, without the wand, he wasn't a very successful one. Last time he'd needed The Brotherhood of Evil to recover it for him. This time he needed to look further afield.

And so he was sat in a 'for sale' property waiting. Through his fencing contacts he'd managed to get in contact without another criminal performer. A heist man like himself. Promises of a lucrative job were extended. It had to be at least worth a listen. Mumbo languished in his hideout anticipating the visit.

The sooner he gave these lesser acts their day, the sooner he could return to staging his own comeback. But until he had stage beneath his feet he needed to be obsequious. There were some who would begrudge him a return. Jealousy was to theatre as was to robbery.

Again he put his eye to a seam in the curtains.

Red X would appear from one of the rooms behind Mumbo, displaying the peerless infiltration skills that were required to have stolen the Xenothium suit in the first place.

"Mumbo. You're looking worse for wear," Red X said with a bit of a chuckle, raising a brow. "I'm surprised that you called me here. I was under the impression that you didn't think about anyone but yourself. So if you've got a job for me..."

Red X had walked further into the room behind Mumbo, leaning onto the wall as an arm would be raised. A picture was projected electronically in front of Mumbo from the wrist, and would show Mumbo a picture of himself using his magic wand.

"...I'm guessing it's to get your essential Hogwarts piece?"
Fasilli was here

The surprise caught Layfield off guard and left him eclipsed in a moment of self-awareness. He was very alone and very frail. "Red X!" Mumbo beat his chest from what felt like heart-burn. He shouldn't have too many bad shocks at his age.

He reached on the bedside table for a beaker of water and had a sip while the sleuth went on. Hiding oneself was child's play, he told himself. The kid should get back to him when he could veil something truly impressive. Like a bridge.

"Close. We're looking for the three of hearts." The old presdigitator made the very card appear inside his translucent cup. A grin that could launch one-thousand matinees transfigured his face. It fell just as quick, "No? Alright, I'll let you have that one. Yes. I'm looking to put together a heist for a familiar piece of iconography. Maybe a little rinse and repeat. But the public will expect to see it. What else can I do?" Did they expect Superman to go without his shield? Or the Brain to go without his mullet?

Red X couldn't help to have a bit of a laugh at Mumbo's expense when he was so surprised at the thief's appearance. He quickly got a glass of water and began to calm down. Red X crossed arms and waited for Mumbo's reply.

Mumbo said that they were actually looking for a card, which earned a raised brow from Red X, but then Mumbo confirmed that they were going to try and get his wand, wherever it was. The fact that he had materialized the card he was talking about within the glass of water he was drinking from was nothing short of impressive. Red X made a note to ask him how he did it later, though it was expected that he would answer with the classic, 'A magician never reveals his secrets.'

"Of course Mumbo," the thief chimed in with Robin's voice, watching him. "But I'm gonna need details. Where is the thing? Titan's Tower? And how much are you going to compensate me? You can't expect I'm doing this for free."

"Oh you'll be compensated handsomely. I've an eye for the very finest of stones. And I've built up quite an eyeful over the years. Even when the Titans collar you, you learn to hide the choicest of pieces between your knuckles." He held up a veiny hand, twitching his knuckles to the fore, "Before my true calling I used to do a little stonecutting by trade, you see. Even the drab pieces can be reshaped and brightened with a touch of rot. Rot? Rottenstone? Stonecutter joke. Nevermind. I must be sitting on a hundred thou. I don't count. Cheapens the art."

"I keep it all in here." Mumbo moved over to a corner of the room he'd dumped his duffel bag and other belongings. He kept a side-eye on Red X, anticipating a thief's calculation of an easy score. He came back up holding a battered and broken top hat, "Behold Aladdin's Cave." And Mumbo beheld his audience, looking straight through the stovepipe-hole in the top of the headwear, "It's got a lock even you couldn't pick. I can't get into my magic dimension without the wand. And there the gems will stay, until I'm back in business. You got that?"

Perhaps Mumbo really was a magician. Before becoming a magician thief, maybe? Red X supposed that probably had something to do with it. Mumbo weaved a small tale for X in words, talking about how he used to be a stonecutter and had a stash, which he estimated to be about a hundred large. Red X stroked a chin through the mask. Very tempting. But something was fishy about it. There had to be a catch.

And then Mumbo revealed it to him, as he showed Red X his gathered belongings and looked at him through his famous top hat. Red X scoffed lightly. So that was it. During the entire time Red X hadn't budged or made any attempt to threaten Mumbo. And as he called it Aladdin's Cave, it shortly clicked. "Makes sense to me, Mumbo. I actually respect you. As long as you're not going to cross me, I'm not going to cross you. But that being said..." Red X stepped a little closer. "That just turns the shadiness of it onto you. How do I know you're going to give me the jewels when I give you your wand back?"

"Eh heh. I have every intention of honouring the agreement. Magic code. Thieves code. All upheld with equal integrity." He said, resisting the urge to cross his fingers. It wasn't that he planned to sucker a fellow larcenist as they did an honest day's dishonesty. But when a hoodwinking opportunity presented itself, he wouldn't be the star he was to pass it up.

"And besides. The job is too plumb to pass up. As you suspected, the Titans took my wand into their personal custody. But what you might not know are the developments at the Tower behind the scenes. Something that creates an ideal circumstance of chaos and uncertainty that leaves doors, that should be sealed, ajar." Mumbo rubbed his hands together, meaning to elaborate on the situation as his polite inquiries with local information brokers had unveiled.

Red X seemed about as sure of Mumbo's integrity towards honoring their agreement as Mumbo himself was. Then again, Red X was- presumably- a man behind a mask, so who could really know what the thief was thinking?

But then, Mumbo revealed that it was indeed the Titans who confiscated the item, and that it would be in their Tower. Red X's brow furrowed in thought. Mumbo mentioned that the Tower had some recent developments, and that their presence there, while intimidating in its own respects, would also mean that Titans Tower was wide open. Ripe for the picking. Sure, there would be countermeasures in place left behind the Titans, certainly. But Mumbo was right.

This was too good to pass up.

"Yeah. I heard about the DOMA occupation. But I'm all ears for what you've heard too. I'm shaking with excitement."

Mumbo deflated some as X spoke, "So you've heard. But yes. It presents a unique opportunity. You know how these government types work - even if I haven't heard of any 'DOMA' before. A proper place for every toy and bauble. They have more red tape than I have hankies up my sleeve. So what do you think they're going to do when they discover any contraband items the Titans have stored? Any high-tech coop mobile, or another of the dwarf's amusing little novelties? They'll move them to a place of their choosing. A prop chest of their own." Now Layfield smiled huge, "Delivery is a thief's best friend. It presents you with any number of opportunities for entry or interception. Why, the US postal service is the greatest magician of all in that regard. It can make anything disappear."

Red X listened to Mumbo as he elaborated on the DOMA occupation of Titans Tower. Of course, they were in the same field of work; thievery. Crime. And as such, they had similar views on law enforcement and the government as a whole. If Red X was hearing Mumbo correctly, then he was implying that there was more to this job than just a wand and some jewels.

"Well, I'm sold," Red X said, beginning to pace as the thoughts were summarized in the thief's head. "So what you're saying is that if I take this job, I get to fuck with DOMA, the Titans Tower, gain access to a potential treasure trove of contraband- and I'm getting paid?" Even if Mumbo did end up backing out of their agreement, the profits made on any stolen items should easily make up for it.

"I'm in."

"Wonderful! Splendiferous!" Mumbo's palm was forthcoming, pumping X's wrist vigorously. There was some part of Layfield that was aware of his addiction. That he was a slave to the virtues of the wand. A sucker for power and the fawning attentions it provided. But it was easier to admit that than to do something about it. Fame in and of itself was an elixir once imbibed became a compulsion. What was the wand if not an allegory to that?

"I'll leave the details to you. I can let you know if they move it in the meantime. Otherwise - I have a show to write."

Red X couldn't help but chuckle lightly as Mumbo shook hands with the thief so eagerly. Nevertheless, Red X returned the gesture with a smile. Though that part couldn't really be seen. It was nice seeing such enthusiasm come from the talented thief. Mumbo said that he would tell Red X if they moved the wand while Red X was setting the heist up. The thief would nod to him.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mumbo. I'll have it back to you sooner than you can say, Mumbo Jumbo." And with that, Red X would flicker away, disappearing from the house that Mumbo agreed to meet in.

[TO BE CONTINUED]