It wasn’t the necklace - it was what was inside that made it worth their while. He’d fought Crow for this one and felt a swell of pride when Magi handed him the file. It was nothing so arcane as a lost key or the secrets of a hidden chamber encased in the ruby. It was a microchip. A microchip with an entire database of information that in the wrong hands could do a lot of bad, in the right hands could do a lot of good, and in either case: would sure catch a pretty penny on the market.
Mr. Paladino’s wife was the one to keep it. She wore it around her neck daily, only taking it off to bathe and sleep. Which was why this was one helluva job. The prep was a month long process, but it was finally paying off. Hiding out in the house through the middle of the night, waiting for just the right moment to slip out and inject the drug into their wine, a syringe needle straight through the cork.
And then, late at night, as they were fast asleep without a chance of waking, he crept up the stairs, avoiding the creaky spots (yes, he’d watched for those) in case of the butler or housekeeper hearing, and tip-toed down the hall with silent padding steps. Into the bedroom. Pale moonlight flooded into the room from the glass doors leading to a balcony. There was a cold draft from one of them left ajar. This time of year? Odd.
He scanned the room, taking one cautious step after another until he reached the dresser with its locked drawer. That was where she allegedly kept it. Picking the lock would be infinitely faster that searching for the key. Double checking that both the Mr. and Mrs. really were asleep, he slipped out his tools and got to work. Adjust. Turn. Adjust. Shift. Push. Pull. Click click click. And the lock turned.
That would never get old.
With a self-satisfied smile, he delicately opened the box, removed the necklace, and slipped it into the designated pouch on his belt. He was just about to put it all away and slip out when something moved in the corner of his eye. A shadow. He glanced over his shoulder and-
“Shit!” he hissed and nearly jumped out of his skin.
There was a girl! Wide awake, dressed in black and with the kind of look and gear that said she was there for pretty much the same reason as him and oh. Oh this was just great.
“Beat you to it, sunshine. Move along,” he whispered, once he’d recovered from the shock. His voice was casual, but he he was alert. There was no saying what she might do.
