"Shit!" a man called out, causing a small stir in the otherwise tranquil. 

Iris' head snapped in the direction of the noise - which was barely noticeable in the quiet babble of everyday pedestrians - but to someone listening out for disturbances, it was exactly what she'd been waiting for. She cancelled the call before the receiver had picked up and slid her cellphone back into her pocket. She strolled closer, as casually as she could, keeping her hat pulled down low and watched with interest as a second man begun to apologize. 

She recognized his face from the file photo. It had to be James. She smiled - today might be more productive than she'd have originally thought. 

He was a good actor. If she hadn't been suspicious from the outset, she would have entirely bought the sincerity in his tone. The whole scene appeared like something out of movie, where the goofy hero is plagued by accident upon accident and Iris struggled to spot how exactly James was conning the man. She saw a flicker of motion as his hand disappeared behind him but a second later, he was using both hands to assist the bad-tempered cafe-goer. 

He walked off and Iris followed his retreating form with eagle-like vigilance, keeping a measured distance behind the man. She saw him pause at the ATM but before she had caught up with him, he had darted into one of the alleyways. Breaking out into a barely-contained jog, she followed, rounding the corner with all intention of confronting the thief...but he had vanished. She skidded to a halt and ran a hand through her hair as her eyes desperately sought out the man's hiding place but he was nowhere to be seen. She flipped open the lid of a nearby trashcan but that was empty. 

Damned mutant criminals. 

She learnt back against the one of the alley's brick walls and banged her head back, frustrated. She was annoyed at herself. It was hard enough locating a lot of her cases - especially the mutant ones - but to let one slip away was virtually unforgivable. 

"Come out, come out, where ever you are" she muttered, more to herself than the elusive, vanishing McCloud but she got the feeling that her efforts were now in vain. Surely - by now - he was long gone.