Tempered By Deceit

[Honey_B]

If you were to catch her at home, the place she considered her haven, you would find the girl next door. Straight brown hair, brown eyes, average height – just a shade over 5 foot, 6 inches. She would be pretty of course, but her looks wouldn’t stand out. Temperance wouldn’t have it, not when she was at home anyway.

Temperance?

Yeah, that’s her name. Hung on her by a mother infatuated by the Tarot. If you were knew her well enough, she would insist you call her Tempe. Much more likely though, you would never have seen her haven. Never know her real name.

Tempe Kincaid is a thief. She switches identities like most women change shoes. From an heiress in the Argentine to a struggling actress looking for her next big break on the streets of LA, she becomes whatever it takes to seduce her way to her next big score. Over the years, she’s mastered six languages, read her way through enough books to award herself a master’s degree, and has a pilot’s license.

She may not be a role model for the young women of America, but Tempe loves her life. She’s her own boss, sets her own hours, and she sees the world. It isn’t like her to lose any sleep over petty issues like morality. She doesn’t have time for such nonsense and it can be noted that Tempe always leaves her marks with a night to remember, well worth whatever she stole.


OOC: If you would like to participate in this thread, dangle something pretty in front of Tempe. She has a preference for jewels, but she will steal anything of value: artwork, coins, securities, even the occasional industrial secret. She’ll seduce men or women to get what she wants, but once she has it, it’s onto the next heist.

Also, I will need one writer who is willing to take up the reoccurring role of Tempe’s fence. He or she is a person who knows Tempe better than anyone, maybe even herself.

PM me if you are interested in participating.

And so we begin…

 

[LongshanksSierra]

Simon, the 'fence'

The sun was setting back beyond the skyline, and he watched the daily occurrence with bemused detachment as he took a slow drink from his glass of whiskey. Temperance was back in town, and had requested a brief meeting before she began her affairs.

"Simon" enjoyed three things most about his life; the travel, the money, and the company of Temperance Kincaid. She might have preferred to be called 'Tempe', but Simon had always found 'Temperance' to be much more poetic.

His business card read "Antiquities Dealer," but that only told so much. It did mean that many of his crates would pass through customs unopened and un-inspected. Provided the customs officials were sufficiently tipped for their troubles.

Simon kept his clothes clean, and vaguely stylish but not fussily so. He wanted people to be impressed with his appearance, then forget him as soon as he was gone from their sight. Temperance, however, did not have that luxury. People remembered her. If that made Simon's dealings with her a little more dangerous, so be it. It kept life interesting.

And now she was in town again. Simon could recall exactly when they had started their professional dealings. A little trinket Tempe had acquired and which Simon had gotten a tidy sum for. His cut alone was enough to make sure the next time she had returned, it was as the honored guest instead of a favor to a friend. Now Simon's door was always open to her, for business or not. One had such few friends in this business.

He smiled again, and took another slow drink of whiskey.

 

[Honey_B]

Tempe

The cab rolled up alongside the extremely nondescript building. The door opened and Tempe emerged. She looked very much the way she did the day she was supposed to graduate from high school – her shiny chestnut hair cut in a shoulder-length bob, her eyes brown today, her figure lithe. She had dressed simply today - black clamdiggers that hugged her long legs, a black cashmere sweater set, and ballet flats. Nondescript as always when she wasn't on a job.

She winked at the driver as she bent down and gave him a rather large tip. Whether it was the wink or the tip, the stone-faced cabbie gave her a very large smile, revealing a broken tooth.

"Shokran jazeelan," he said.

“Al’afw," Tempe replied and this time it was she who smiled at the cab driver’s shocked look. "I'm studying Arabic at the university."

With a flip of her hair, she walked to the building’s entrance. A panel of buzzer’s awaited her. She pressed the one she wanted and waited, adjusting the increasingly heavy leather satchel on her shoulder. The door made an audible click as the lock released. She entered the building and taking the stairs two at a time she was quickly at her destination. Tempe knocked on Simon's door and waited.

 

[LongshanksSierra]

The knock on the door was punctual. Simon smiled briefly, "Come in." Her figure graced it's way into the office, lithe and easy. Her dress was flattering but unremarkable.

"Temperance," Simon smiled wider as she entered, "It's been too long. I was glad to get your message." He indicated for her to take a seat on the leather couch. "Something to drink?" he asked, offering a glass of whiskey to her. "It's one of my favorite blends, but if you'd like something else..." he waved vaguely at the bar on the far wall.

"Unless you'd rather get straight to business?" Simon eased himself into a chair opposite the girl. Temperance was reserved and professional, welcome traits in this line of work. He hadn't actually seen her in action however and was vaguely curious as to how she appeared while 'on the job.'

 

[Honey_B]

Tempe

Temperance.

Simon always used her full name. Tempe had given up long ago trying to get him to call her Tempe. Now it was just one of the things that made her relationship with Simon special.

She sighed with pleasure as she sank into the soft leather and she felt herself relax. It felt good to be here, almost like she had come home after a hard day's work. That's how she always felt when she visited Simon, no matter where that might be. Being with Simon felt like coming home - or the closest thing Tempe had to it.

Tempe looked up and saw that Simon was looking at her expectantly. She realized he had asked her a question, which she still hadn't answered.

“Whiskey’s fine, thanks.”

She took a sip. As the sweet fire of the alcohol spread over her tongue, she sighed again and swallowed.

“Simple pleasures.”

So strange that she really knew nothing about Simon. Of course, he didn’t know much about her either. Such deception was necessary should either of them ever got caught. However, Tempe had an insatiable curiosity and this time it got the better of her.

“Simon, have you ever been in love?”

 

[LongshanksSierra]

"Have I ever been in love?" Simon smiled. "Constantly. Love is a compelling emotion but hardly ever practical, and practical is better for business. So I rarely give in to it." The question had been unexpected, and Simon enjoyed watching Temperance's mind at work. Sometimes she moved in such strange circles.

She seemed slightly more relaxed than her last visit, and a little more indulgent of her curiosity. Simon's own curiosity was getting the better of him as well. "Why do you ask? Are you in love?"

He doubted Temperance was willing to let anyone get close to her, even if she was romantically attracted to them. It would interfere with business. But then again the girl had surprised him before. After all, he had expected this conversation to revolve around the thief's latest scheme but here they were discussing romantic attachments.

It was quite refreshing.

 

[Original_Cyn2]

sorry

 

[Honey_B]

Tempe

“No, I’ve never been in love,” Tempe said and laughed, managing to keep all but a trace of regret from her eyes. “Nor, do I ever plan to be.”

Tempe paused to open the bag that sat at her feet. Still looking down, she continued, “And you are absolutely right, Simon. Love is one of the most impractical emotions someone in my line of work could ever have.”

Tempe found what she was looking for, a printout of a photograph she had found on the internet.

“On the other hand, someone else’s love can pay off very nicely.”

She passed over the printout to Simon.

http://www.jewelry.com/images/labate_gown.jpg

"It’s the most expensive wedding dress ever made. The thing is encrusted with over 4,000 diamonds and I’m going to steal it.”

 

[LongshanksSierra]

Simon looked over the photo with an appraising eye. "I'm sure you'll look lovely in it," he commented sardonically as he his mind spun into action. There were the usual concerns over whether a job was going to be successful or not, but he dismissed those out of hand. Those were Tempe's concerns after all.

"Well, an item as unique as this may be difficult to sell. While it'd be a shame to destroy it, I'm sure I'll be able to find someone who just wants the diamonds." He handed the image back to Temperance. "Sentimental reasons aside, the owners of this will no doubt want to keep their eyes on this. The details aren't my concern, but do you have a timetable I could give to potential buyers for expected delivery?"

A job like this might prove a challenging for Temperance's skills, but Simon was going to assume success on her part. It would take some time at arranging a good sell anyway.