brick without any paint or wallpaper and looked relatively new. A door was built in at the end of the hallway, and two other doors headed right and left on their respective walls. That meant only a single exit, so he had to be careful not to get cut off, and there were three entrances, perhaps with people still in here, so moving stealthily would be important. No furnishings or anything in this room, he would have to look elsewhere.
He blinked, and wondered why he had thought that. Perhaps it was all the teaching that Mari had gave him about burglary, or as she called it 'liberating objects from people who were too stupid to know they were getting robbed at home'. He hadn't thought much of the name, but it he had tried to listen. There didn't seem to be anything to steal, erm, 'liberate' here, apart from the rather mouldy looking grey carpet that lined the brickwork floor. Not even a vase on a shelf or a painting on the wall.
Then the smell from earlier reached his nose and he reminded himself why he was here. Thief, girl, necklace, right.
The whole place stank of the scent, and it was mixed with others as well. He closed his eyes again, trying to see the most recent trail, when he heard something in front of him.
"Ah, I see. Now, what business do you have with us?"
He crouched down instinctively and froze. So he hadn’t been imagining it, at least that was something. He strained to listen, hearing someone breathing heavily. He realised it was him.
"Well? Do you have an answer?" The voice from earlier came again. He was about to open his mouth to speak when someone replied, different from any of the others.
"I don't like to talk. Just hand it over". It was said in a cold, calm voice.
It was met with a strange silence and then a round of mocking laughter, from the room ahead.
He moved closer to the door and pressed up against it. He had no idea what was going on, but he wanted to hear it all.
The laughter died down and was replaced by an deathly quiet.
"If you're all done, I want it handed over. Now." This was still the same voice, but it had a slight edge in it that made him tense.
"I suggest you, reconsider your position, friend", said the original speaker. The sound of moving chairs and the unsheathing of weapons followed.
"Before you happen to find yourself leaving in more pieces than you arrived in." There was silence again. He pressed up almost fully against the door. He vaguely thought that he was reminded of a smell, but it was pushed out of his mind.