[ CW ] Write a story that contains the phrase `` I never said she stole my money '' 7 times , each time with the emphasis on a different word .

“ Ah, I never said she stole **my** money. The Vixen Wraith is not one to be messed with, but sometimes you can get her to work with you. ” 
 
 The rough bandit finished his story of a great heist, mostly done by the more notorious criminal who was only known as the Vixen Wraith. The pirates and scoundrels were crowded on a small spacetug, which could hold six comfortably, yet they packed nine in for this raid. 
 
 The man telling the story was Aurelian Fox, a stray the Crimson Cabal picked up at the last port who they thought could be useful as cannon fodder. The Crimson Cabal is a tight-knit pirating group patrolling the Rings and Belt of this side of the system. They often feigned help as a tow service to get close to stranded vessels, mostly tampered with by one of their technicians earlier, when they would burst through the airlock, seize bounty, and get out before proper authorities were called. 
 
 The group needed a stray, even a talkative one like this, as they were doing a raid they wouldn ’ t normally take. A science lab had slipped its geosynchronous orbit and was hurtling into the black unknowns of space. No distress calls, beacons, registration numbers, or anything could be found on the capsule, it was as silent as death gliding through space being tracked by the money that was paying the Crimson Cabal to stop it. 
 
 It was legitimate tow work they were expected to do, but they knew that anything this occult had to have some good information or bounty within its halls. The persons inside quit their banter as they felt the gs shift as the tug went to work. They found the lab. 
 
 *** 
 The space scoundrels hurried through the opening fanning out, weapons raised, into the shallow lit hallway of the lab. The lights flickered ominously as Aurelian de-shielded his face plate to address the squadron commander. The commander did likewise, revealing a slender female face, which was quite unexpected for the body she lugged around. 
 
 Aurelian, dazed, said, “ I never said **she** stole my money, but, damn, you could. ” 
 
 “ Quiet: something ’ s not right… ” her stony exterior flowed into her features, showing the grizzled lines of a war commander. 
 
 “ Lot of tings aren ’ t right with dis ya, ” said a Crimson foot soldier. He inched forward, breaking formation, while Aurelian watched the Commander ’ s lips drip up into a small smile. Thankfully they were all equipped with biohazard recollection suits, as Aurelian was sure the man would have made a mess of himself when the Commander shot a slug from her pistol scoring his visor into a robotic sentinel. The thing had appeared out of a wall, probably one of the newer security drones that ships and stations were thinking of installing. They were worth quite a bit of cash, even in scattered remains. Few persons or corporations had access to that tech. Nine may not be enough men. 
 
 “ Hold position! ” 
 
 The Crimson Cabal snapped to attention, not one moving any more. A quick flash of lights, a signal Aurelian did not catch, and a soldier unfastened a small ionizing mine, which she affixed to a wall opposite where the drone emerged. A wired and coiled hand emerged, grabbing the woman ’ s wrist as she yelped, which was drowned out by the sound of her bones shattering and veins bursting. The last movement of her hand was enough, however, to active the mine ionizing the second drone. Another flash of lights and the soldier was pulled back to the tug by the medic. The Commander seemed to relax a little, realizing that most raiders would have done a blitz action, which two weaponized drones could have easily dispatched. They were *probably* in the clear. 
 
 The seven remaining members made their way, slowly clearing the various rooms and labs of any active hostiles. They cleared the station, but it seemed too condensed for either Aurelian ’ s or the Commander ’ s taste, plus the security was way too high for all of this nothing. 
 
 As the soldiers regrouped in a larger office, packing away the coffee beans they found there, a rare commodity, one finally broke the silence, 
 
 “ Waz a wate. Bean no finan da salvage of dis brig. ” 
 
 The soldiers were getting impatient at the lack of loot, but at least they only had to stop the lab from going off into the great blackness of space to get paid. The Commander was watching the cannon fodder carefully as he was fidgeting with something by the desk. 
 
 “ I never said she stole my **money**, even if she could find it. ” 
 
 The braggart popped a latched and with a click a wall opened. There were more chambers, which was looking promising for the dimensions of the station. The units of the Crimson Cabal snapped to attention at the new threat area and formed up on the Commander. 
 
 There were documents of various research logs and charts of unknown systems. A plethora of wealth. Knowledge was power these days. However, there was another noise at the end of the hall: a faint clickity clack of an older model keyboard behind a sealed door. One of the grunts went up to knock it down, but before he could raise his boot, the grunt ’ s head exploded. 
 
 “ **I** never said she stole my money. ” 
 
 The Crimson Cabal squadron wheeled on the enemy, the stray from the port. Aurelian managed to pop a few more rounds off sporadically, which in a close space like this meant they found flesh. A few of the boots dropped, but not before a rebuttal was given, shredding Aurelian ’ s body apart. Those eagerly awaiting pink mist were greeted with sparks, gears, and wires instead. 
 
 “ I **never** said she stole my money, my software though… ” 
 
 The cyborg grimaced as the Commander ’ s foot caved his face inward. The three grunts remaining looked towards the Commander and the door. She nodded as she used her propulsion unit on her boot flinging the door off its track into the last room. When they stormed in, they found a technician sprawled with the door and a pistol, bent in awkward ways with an open data stream at his station. 
 
 “ Amateur, ” the Commander scoffed, turning on her gravity wells pressing the door into the scrawny tech ’ s chest. The sounds of pops and wheezes gave way to a phrase: 
 
 “ I never **said** she stole my money, hadn ’ t said much either. Hahaha. Cyborgs off the cores aren ’ t as reliable eh? ” 
 
 The Commander hated when people were used, and pounded her vehemence into the tech ’ s broken body. The pool of the tech ’ s remains made a squishing sound as the Commander turned to address her remaining few. 
 
 “ I never said she **stole** my money, eh? Well, we stole theirs. Get the data, salvage the computer, and get anything not bolted down. ” 
 
 *** 
 On the third trip back from the tug to the data room, one of the grunts working on the computer called the Commander over: 
 
 “ Ey zis looks good, yah? ” 
 
 The grunt was pointing excitedly at a map of their current system with reconnaissance of current whereabouts of various wanted criminals, assets, spies, labs, and stations. The Commander saw the Crimson Cabal ’ s logo over one of the stations, giving an idea of the real power of this information. 
 
 “ This is really good, and exactly what our benefactors were probably looking for, ” the Commander beamed, and clicked on a small ethereal fox logo, “ Get multiple saves of this for our own uses, and give a modified version hiding us to our patrons. Valentina Fox, hmm, sorry ‘ bout your brother, hopefully you ’ re smarter than he and have some use to us… ” 
 

