“Now, the thief has been hitting this market nearly every day for the last five weeks, and we've been trying to catch him without success. He's been picking pockets, stealing merchandise, and damaging our surveillance equipment! He's inflicting a great deal of damage to both our credibility and our store as a whole! If he isn't stopped, I'll be forced to close my store!” The man appeared to be at his wit's end, he was red faced and sweating with a vaguely panicked look to eyes.
“Well, without knowing who the culprit is, I can't make any guarantees, but I can observe the store over next couple of days and watch for patterns. We will keep in radio contact, and if he begins to take your cameras out again, let me know, and I'll be there to see him for myself and find out who he is.” Hayato waggled his borrowed camera for emphasis. Both the camera and radio were on loan from the store owner. Hayato was to take photos of the culprit in the act of stealing, and at least one that showed the thief's face.
Sitting on a bench across from the store, Hayato watched the store front from the time it opened. As the day wore on, he received no word from the owner, and no outcry was raised over stolen money or jewelry by the customers. It wasn't till the lunch rush that something happened. Hayato had changed positions, grabbing a bite to eat from one of the vendors, when he saw a slim, dark-haired young man casually slip his hand into the pocket of another man's coat and came out with his wallet. His face was mostly concealed by the hood of his coat which he wore openly. He quickly took the wallet's contents and replaced it without the other man being any the wiser. All the while the pickpocket calmly surveyed the crowd, watching to see if anybody noticed. As his eyes got nearer, Hayato looked down and focused on his food, keeping the feet of the young man in his periphery as he casually made his way into the store. Dumping his forgotten food in the trash, Hayato stood slowly and stretched, the motion contented and lazy, and began to make his way into the store, following his target into the store.
Keeping an unobtrusive eye on his quarry, he walked through the store, scanning labels, checking the ripeness of various produce, looking over the meats, all the while watching the thief move around the store, pocketing an item every few minutes and swapping labels on what he openly carried. Hayato took photos when he could, taking shots of his misdeeds, as he was leaving the store, the thief actually managed to lift the ring right off the clerks fingers as he took his change without the clerk being any the wiser. Hayato couldn't help feeling a reluctant admiration for his skill and boldness.
As he followed his prey out of the store, he began to close in, taking pictures with each step. “Hey! You! Guy in the hood!”
The dark-haired youth spun, eyes wide with surprise, saw Hayato advancing on him, saw the camera, and blanched. Immediately spinning back around, he began to sprint away. Hayato collapsed his camera and stowed it in his pocket quickly beginning to follow. Closing in on the thief, he pretended to trip on something and fell, theatrically groaning, seeing this, the thief ran faster, eager to lose him and took the first turn available. Quickly jumping back to his feet, Hayato immediately took to the roof to resume his pursuit of the thief. After a few minutes, the thief began to slow and the tension eased out of his frame. He walked for a few more minutes, taking lots of unnecessary turns, presumably to lose any pursuit, but eventually he entered an apartment building. Hayato photographed him as he entered. Not only had he captured a mountain of evidence to present his client with, as well as a few shots of the culprit, but he'd also followed him to his home. 'Cha-Ching! Money in the bank.' he though chuckling to himself. 'This guy's gonna have a nasty surprise in the morning!'.
[WC: 709]
“Well, without knowing who the culprit is, I can't make any guarantees, but I can observe the store over next couple of days and watch for patterns. We will keep in radio contact, and if he begins to take your cameras out again, let me know, and I'll be there to see him for myself and find out who he is.” Hayato waggled his borrowed camera for emphasis. Both the camera and radio were on loan from the store owner. Hayato was to take photos of the culprit in the act of stealing, and at least one that showed the thief's face.
Sitting on a bench across from the store, Hayato watched the store front from the time it opened. As the day wore on, he received no word from the owner, and no outcry was raised over stolen money or jewelry by the customers. It wasn't till the lunch rush that something happened. Hayato had changed positions, grabbing a bite to eat from one of the vendors, when he saw a slim, dark-haired young man casually slip his hand into the pocket of another man's coat and came out with his wallet. His face was mostly concealed by the hood of his coat which he wore openly. He quickly took the wallet's contents and replaced it without the other man being any the wiser. All the while the pickpocket calmly surveyed the crowd, watching to see if anybody noticed. As his eyes got nearer, Hayato looked down and focused on his food, keeping the feet of the young man in his periphery as he casually made his way into the store. Dumping his forgotten food in the trash, Hayato stood slowly and stretched, the motion contented and lazy, and began to make his way into the store, following his target into the store.
Keeping an unobtrusive eye on his quarry, he walked through the store, scanning labels, checking the ripeness of various produce, looking over the meats, all the while watching the thief move around the store, pocketing an item every few minutes and swapping labels on what he openly carried. Hayato took photos when he could, taking shots of his misdeeds, as he was leaving the store, the thief actually managed to lift the ring right off the clerks fingers as he took his change without the clerk being any the wiser. Hayato couldn't help feeling a reluctant admiration for his skill and boldness.
As he followed his prey out of the store, he began to close in, taking pictures with each step. “Hey! You! Guy in the hood!”
The dark-haired youth spun, eyes wide with surprise, saw Hayato advancing on him, saw the camera, and blanched. Immediately spinning back around, he began to sprint away. Hayato collapsed his camera and stowed it in his pocket quickly beginning to follow. Closing in on the thief, he pretended to trip on something and fell, theatrically groaning, seeing this, the thief ran faster, eager to lose him and took the first turn available. Quickly jumping back to his feet, Hayato immediately took to the roof to resume his pursuit of the thief. After a few minutes, the thief began to slow and the tension eased out of his frame. He walked for a few more minutes, taking lots of unnecessary turns, presumably to lose any pursuit, but eventually he entered an apartment building. Hayato photographed him as he entered. Not only had he captured a mountain of evidence to present his client with, as well as a few shots of the culprit, but he'd also followed him to his home. 'Cha-Ching! Money in the bank.' he though chuckling to himself. 'This guy's gonna have a nasty surprise in the morning!'.
[WC: 709]