[center][h1][color=ed1c24]SCARLET SHADOW
红色阴影[/color][/h1][/center]

It was fair to say that the situation had turned for the worst. Scarlet Shadow was just a short distance from the vent, further still from the platform. She was positioned rather awkwardly, her right hand gripping onto a small vertical pipe, her right foot pressed against it. Her left foot was hanging loosely while with her left hand she gripped hold of a small rung on the side of a larger pipe over her head. She was effectively trapped as she wouldn’t be able to leap or rely on her speed. Throwing anything was also out of the question. 

Aside from the precarious situation the master thief hung in, she was further bothered when she heard the man tossing about Mandarin. Looking over her shoulder she could see writhing tattoos spanning the arms of the group of men who had blasted in from above. [i]Triad?[/i] Scarlet Shadow thought back to when she encountered the thug in the alleyway, the one who had given her the items. Now here amid the heist for the heart more of his ilk it seems had turned up. Not to mention this small group of unknowns who had beaten her to the prize. [i]I knew this reeked from the beginning…[/i]

Scarlet Shadow’s mind raced as she looked to the crossbow bolts on either side of her then back to the lead man whom had called out to her. She eyed the explosive device he dangled in the air, threatening to drop it down below and trigger a massive explosion. [i]It’s a bluff. He wouldn’t incinerate himself and his own men. Still, I’m in no move for speedy extraction.  They might just shoot me in the back, I don’t know...[/i]

Her eyes returned to the other arrivals. Likewise it was fair to say they wouldn’t allow themselves to be absconded by these new arrivals. At least that’s what she thought. They were an X factor in their own, but like her they had broken in and taken the heart, and frankly - bruised as her pride was - Scarlet Shadow was inclined to let them have it. This was long out of control by now and she just wanted to escape. [i]It’s a gamble… but…[/i]

The master thief did nothing, she did not move, nor speak or yell. She simply hung where she was, watching the platform ignoring the rope nearby. She [i]hated[/i] the idea of relying on escape by chance of others, but she had no other option it seemed. And she was not going to go with these men. Hearing the the com piece in her ear, she merely ignored it and maintained her silence.