It's Simple...(Karameida & SpecialKay)

Balin Hoffsteader surged forward, his teeth clenched down on the belt he placed between his lips. The leather-like fabric coiled around a wound, it was no mere flesh wound one could simply get over. Bullets...hurt like a bitch especially when they went through your arm. His feet moved quick as his body shook with each rushed step. Breaths coming out in short rapid bursts as he paced his speed, peering over his shoulder behind him as he knew he was being followed. The robbery had gone wrong...so incredibly wrong. A psychopathic teller had been in there, armed to the teeth with weapons he didn't even realize had the ability to be hidden. Barely escaping...a feat he never could have imagined doing.

Moments later it was obvious, the teller had chased him, firing wildly at his feet and around him trying to obviously take him down. "Fuck."Bale muttered calmly as he rushed forward, then it hit. The bullet began to penetrate his back. A moment of blackness, and then...

It was a calm afternoon in his apartment, everything was cool, the breeze flowed easily through the open window as he say up in a cold sweat. His shirtless torso encased in the clear beads of water that ran down his skin. His eyes lifted as he stared at the door. "Mothafucking dreams."Bale said calmly, his chest heaved back and forth as his heart paced at an abnormal rate. His hand ran over the side of the bed, his body shifted uneasily...what had gone on the day earlier? He could barely remember anything that happened within the last twenty four hours. Had he gotten drunk? Maybe even drugged? What exactly was going on?

The sheets came off his body as he tossed his legs over the side of the bed. Moving quickly to a standing position, his hands dropping to the coffee table next to his bed. Adorned in solely his undergarments and basketball shorts he moved slowly. A sense of vertigo hitting him quick, stunning him for mere moments before he crept into the hall...there was something off...but what was it?

Taralane sighed and lifted her eyes from the book she was reading to gaze at the well stocked room she was in. Shifting in her chair she crossed one leg over the other and settled back in her chair and began to read her book once more.

My colleagues consider me a calm, collected, thoughtful man. Calm, certainly; but often during the day my head begins to rage, with the dull roar of a crematorium. I talk, I hold conversations, I make decisions, just like everyone else; but standing at a bar with my glass of Cognac, I imagine a man coming in with a shotgun and opening fire; at the movies or the theater, I picture a live grenade rolling under the seats; in a town square on a public holiday I see a car parked with explosives blowing up, the afternoon festivities turned into carnage, blood filling the cracks between the cobblestones, gobbets of flesh splattered on the walls or smashing through the windows to land in the Sunday soup, I hear cries, the groans of people with their limbs torn off like the legs of an insect plucked by a curious little boy, the bewilderment of the survivors, a strange, earsplitting silence, the beginning of a long fear. Calm? Yes, I remain calm, whatever happens, I don't let anything show, I stay quiet, impassive, like the empty windows of burned out cities, like the little old men on park benches with their canes and their medals, like the faces of the drowned just beneath the surface of the water, never to be found. I couldn't break this terrifying calm even if I wanted to. I'm not the sort of man who loses his nerve at the drop of a hat, I know how to behave. But it weighs on me too.

She became engrossed in her book her eyes traveling over the pages at a very rapid rate. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips and her eyes shined with an excitement none could have ever understood. It was one of her favorite books, the well worn pages could have said as much. It was odd enough to own books in this day and age since everything was pretty much technological but, she enjoyed the way the book felt and read it felt....natural. Blinking she looked up, her eyebrows drawing together as her eyes re-focused to the living world. Sighing she placed a marker in the book and set it on the table before leaning back in her chair.

She heard a door open and someone stumble out into the hall, tilting her body slightly to the side she peered down the hall and grinned at the wild and un-tidy look Balin had. "You must have had a damn good hooker in there or one terrible ass nightmare. You've been thrashing about in that damn room for the better part of three hours." she said looking at him. "You look like hell." she stated with a sly grin and a slight raise of her brow. Uncrossing her legs she straightened up and stretched groaning appreciatively as she heard several "pops" trail down her spine.

Placing her hands on her hips she shook her head slightly "who the hell did you hook up with last night." she said. She was thoroughly enjoying herself at the moment. Waving her hand slightly she shook her head once more."You'll probably want something to eat and you don't really look up for leaving the room..." she said trailing off as her eyes trailed over his untidy self. "So I suppose it'll be up to you." she said chewing on the corner of her lower lip.

Balin gripped the wall with his fingers, pushing against it with a bit of force to keep himself up. His hand raised to his head running over his now unruly hair as he adjusted to the hallway. It wasn't any normal night, and this could only happen to him for one of two reasons. Either he was dead...or he had sex with Taralane again. He sighed calmly as he fixed his hair into a much tidier and less unruly version. Stumbling to a normal stance as he looked down the ha at the figure who appeared to be talking to him. "I think it was a little bit of both."QBalin groaned aloud before finally moving down the hall.

"Me a hooker? Please I never charge." Balin teased with a laugh finally regaining his normal attitude. His feet moved quick giving him a moment to catch up to her as lips shifted into an 'o' at the sight of the way she bit her lip. His hands dropped around her waist, pulling her close to his nearly nude figure. "I have no clue who I hooked up with last night...but I'm pretty sure she wrecked my shit again. Then again...I'm pretty sure that was apart of my nightmare."Balin said with a laugh, lowering his head a bit to press his lips against hers, allowing the moment to linger for a couple minutes before finally parting. "Food? Sounds fucking amazing right now." Balin said with a laugh, his fingers wrapped around her rear with a smile as he shoved her gently into the kitchen.

Tapping her ass gently as he smiled. "We can go scout later...we need to relax for a bit before we plan or do anything today."Balin spoke calm as he followed her into the kitchen, he himself wasn't much of a cook, however he only resided inside the kitchen to be close to her. Waiting for her to begin working before coming up behind her, resting his crotch against her rear and his head atop hers as he smiled. "What's the plan chef?"

Taralane couldn't help but laugh at his untidy look since he was usually so impeccably dressed. "So even Mr.Tidy gets unruly sometimes?" she said sarcastically "Well thats nice to know." she said with a little wink. Tilting her head slightly she grinned "Well if it was a bit of both you have a very active imagination." she said with a small roll of her eyes. She watched him tidy himself up as best he could. He took a few steps that turned into stumbles before remembering how they were supposed to work and then the rest was an un-eventful walk. "You're funnier when you're stumbling around dazed from whatever happened in your head." she said with a small laugh.

Raising her brow slightly she looked at him "Of course you don't. Why would you buy something when you can just steal it?" she said amused at her own little joke. Seeing him regain his old former gleam she dropped her hands to her side and contemplated maybe going back to her book but, it seemed her little buddy had other ideas. Taralane blinked in surprise and blushed softly as she came in contact with his body. Balin was a huge flirt and very physical and while she could run around robbing things at gun-point when it came to this sort of thing she was completely flustered. "Well whatever happened Im sure you can clean it up just fine Oh-Neat-One." she said trying to interject some sarcasm into the moment. Blushing a little more she saw his head lower and felt his lips press against hers and linger there. She knew she could easily move and get away but her body felt a paralyzed.

She was still blushing when he lifted his head and ended the kiss, blinking she shook her head and took a step back. She felt herself ushered into the kitchen and she got the odd indication the he thought she was offering to cook for him. She eyed him and shook her head "Well I was expecting time off especially when you came out looking like you'd just run through a dryer." she said with a slight roll of her eyes. She blushed and jumped a little when she felt him slightly push against her rear end. With a slight twitch of her eyebrow she stepped forward and looked at him placing her hands on her hips. "When I mentioned food I didn't intend to actually cook for you. You know I don't do those household chores, I was more referring to ordering something." she said with a smirk. "Besides if I cook I think I'll save it for something...special." she said before walking over to a phone. "So what are you feeling like? " she asked turning her head to look at him.

"After that we can discuss what we'll do and where our next hit will be." she said waiting for his answer.

"Mr Tidy? Is that what people are calling me now? Shame...I'd rather be that Mr Clean guy. Everyone loves that bald headed freak."Balin said a small short as chuckle escaping his lips as he smiled brightly. "My imagination is amazing obviously, after all I have to imagine that you're not some crazy psychopathic woman who wants to kill everything."Balin teased with a big goofy grin. His eyes fell on the figure in front of him laughing at the way he had stumbled and locking him ever so slightly. "Oh so funny? I'm a professional comedian obviously, I'm HIGH-larious." scoffed a grin appearing on his lips as he made his way towards her.

"Really? You sure about that? Some things aren't so easily stolen you know?"Balin spoke in a sarcastic tone, allowing her to pull away from his grasp as he put on a fake pout, a chuckle soon following. "Oh really? You wont cook for me? Thats a shame." Balin teased with a bright smile his hands moved as he made his way over to her. "What are you again? Italian? I'm in the mood for some Italian."Balin teased once more with a laugh, pulling a chair out from under the table and taking a seat. His arms extending quick as he snapped her wrist up and pulled her towards him causing her to sit on his lap as he smiled. "Just order some pizza, easy and quick." Balin whispered into her ear, his warm breath skidding across her flawless skin. His arms wrapped around her waist as he leaned his head against her shoulder and smiled.

"I already have the hit marked. A special military testing facility nearby, I heard thy have a new device they've been testing that's goin for top dollar argue moment. Sounds like something we could find useful."Balin said, his tone very formal, and calm, his voice resounding off the walls as it boomed slightly. A grin on his lips as he felt her familiar body against his own. It may be strange but...he was always a cuddler.

Taralane blinked and shook her head "Mr.Clean? don't be preposterous...I could never work with a bald guy." she said with a grin of her own. Raising her brow she snerked and brushed a few strands of hair from her face "Well you keep imagining Im not. It'll make it so much easier for me to kill you and take everything that way." she teased sticking her tongue out at him. At his obvious pun she just rolled her eyes "and there we have it people the lamest pun of the day brought to you by Balin." she said waving her hand in a mock gesture of grandeur. They had an odd relationship, with the way they acted no one would guess they were actually high class thieves. It sometimes even felt surreal to her at times.

"Well if it can be stolen you'll find away....then again if Im not there you won't be so successful." she said with a mockingly serious face. Rolling her eyes at him again she opened her mouth to make a retort but, instead all she could manage was a small "gah" sound as she was pulled into his lap. A small blush crept into her cheeks once more. "If we keep this up we're going to make those pizza places rich." she said with a little sigh. Dialing in the number she ordered a large cheese pizza some breadsticks and a drink. "Alright you're paying for it." she said as she hung up the phone "It'll be here in about ten to fifteen minutes" she said wiggling in his lap.

At the mention of their next assignment she calmed down and her demeanor changed slightly " A military facility hm?" she said her mind already racing with the possibilities. "Our usual approach won't do then...we'll have to take extra precautions...I assume that wherever you got this information also gave you a way inside?" she questioned raising her brow slightly. Raising her hand she tapped her chin and chewed on her lower lip in her own familiar fashion "well if this works out we'll be getting another nice pay-day...military secrets always sell for really nice sums of cash." she said with a wicked little grin.

Blinking she wriggled out of his grasp as the doorbell rang "Got it." she said and walked/raced to the front door. Opening the door she smiled at the dumbfounded teenage boy "Thank you so much for the speedy service. Im famished." she said licking her lips. grabbing the boxes she winked at the boy before closing it with her foot. Walking back to the living room she set the boxes down and sat down in a near by chair. Opening the box she took out a slice and proceeded to down it in a few bites. "So good...." she said going for another slice. " So tell me more about this operation." she said eying him over her slice of pizza.

"Oh puh-lease! I'm obviously the best thief here!"Balin exclaimed with a laugh as he listened to her order. Something about her voice, the way it resounded...the tone...the lush lips they came from, always got him a bit excited. A smile appeared on his lips as she finished her order, it was good to know she still ordered the usual even after having had so many pizzas. "Good! Maybe we'll get a special discount or something."Balin spoke with a happy tone as he leaned away a the moment she escaped his grasp. It was not something he wanted to happen obviously...he'd rather have her sit in his lap all the time, but he wasn't the type to keep one locked down.

"Yea, I realize the usual doesnt really apply to thus situation. My contact informed me that there's a five minute gap in which no guards are patrolling a specific area and the cameras are diverted elsewhere. It's an electrically charged fence followed by one of those weird energy shields things that you can't see until you pretty much walk into it. I already have the tools packed up."Balin spoke calm once more watching as she made her way to the door. "Well that is a possibility...but you know how we do. We like to prioritize, if its something we like...hell we could just take it."Balin said with a laugh, his eyes raising to the door as he heard the knock.A sigh escaping his lips as he couldn't help but laugh.

"Flirting the the pizza boy, hm? I'm not sure how I feel about that."Balin said with a laugh, regardless of what he said he knew one thing. He was madly in love with Tara...but he never let her completely know it. If he did...she would probably use that against him to tease him more than she already does. Proceeding to make his way over goths couch as she spoke again he quickly snapped the piece of pizza out of her hand smiling as he took a bite and chuckled. "This military facility is known to test more than just weapons, vehicles, transportation, spy equipment and gadgets and what not. Then after doing some recon while you were asleep awhile ago...they have something completely new that we've never seen before."Balin said softly before taking his seat on the couch, extending his left arm around her shoulders as he took a few more bites of the pizza. "Seems we have to go stealthy again. Shame...thats never as fun."

Taralane just shook her head and ignored the obvious bait set by him. She listened to him and considered what he said. "Well your information is usually spot on but, as usual for a job like this I must insist we do our own investigating. Arrive at closing time and watch the shift of guards. I don't fancy getting caught trying to steal from a military installation." she said biting her lower lip. Their line of work was one full of risks, it was entirely possible that they would die with every robbery they make. She usually just took things in stride and was always ready to do a job but, sometimes ones like this made her a bit edgy. She nodded, often times on a job they would steal more than what they had planned on it' was how they had gotten so much farther ahead in the game than other thieves out there and they did not appreciate it. " We may also want to take into account that others may have also heard this information." she said noting all the possible problems before they occur.

She knew Balin was excited about this one, ones like these the big risky ones always incited him. Holding the pizza in her hand she eyed him and smiled slyly "Oh? whats it to you if I take a fancy to a male. I can't have a little fun while you're gallivanting around with these pretty little women?" she said with a little pout. Laughing a little she raised the pizza to take a bite, blinking she watched as her pizza was taken by him and eaten. "Hey!" she shouted not happy that her food was taken. "Oh you are horrid!" she said snatching another pizza from the box and eating it.

Leaning back in the couch she crossed one leg over the other and stared at Balin "So about what time will all this take place?" she asked wondering is she should maybe get a little shut-eye. "Hm...." she murmured. Deciding she wanted a drink she got up to go grab a cup, glancing at balin she smiled....but first she'd have a little fun. Walking over to his chair she placed her hands on the arms of the chair and leaned down. Moving her face closer to his she tilted it slightly and licked the corner of his mouth "Some of my pizza got on your face." she whispered their mouths inches apart. She lingered there a moment before straightening up and heading to the kitchen. "Imma grab a cup you want one too?" she called over her shoulder.