Author's Note: Inspired by a Tumblr Post written by user reallygroovyninja. Also known as oops, the plot bunnies ran free again, my bad.
One Last Heist-Prologue
Lexa Woods knew that she shouldn't be thinking these thoughts. It's been months since her last heist and to be perfectly honest it just wasn't that much fun anymore. The rush of adrenaline after she made her daring escape with her prize wasn't there anymore, as if her body itself was tiring of the same old routine. But there was something about this jewel that began to ignite the flame in her heart again.
She gazed at the large red diamond that was perched almost reverently atop its silk display, three inches of bulletproof glass standing between her and the aptly named Flame. Lexa had done her research before walking into the exhibit, and was astonished by what she found. Diamonds as a rule were valuable, but red diamonds were among the rarest in the world, and this one was valued at well over fifty million dollars. Personally Lexa wasn't a fan of such extravagant jewelry, but the Flame's worth couldn't be denied.
Lexa paced around outside the security cordon, taking a quick glance at the defenses surrounding the Flame. No one would notice her, they never did. She had dressed in casual clothes, her jeans streaked with paint stains. Coincidentally, the gallery was located on a college campus, and a large group of art majors from St. John's College were due to visit the jewelry hall.
She shook her head to clear her mind of the intrusive whispers that were telling her to forgo her plans and commit one last heist. Whether or not she wanted to steal the Flame or not was of no importance. Even at first glance the gallery's security looked airtight—she was good but she wasn't that good, and it was obvious that the gallery had heavily upgraded its defenses specifically for the Flame. This would be a team job and one of the first rules that had been drilled in her brain when she was taken under the wing of her mentor was to never, never work with a team. Other people couldn't be trusted, their actions and motives weren't under her control and therefore were liabilities.
Still, a successful operation that lead to the theft of the Flame would net her a tidy profit. And she couldn't deny that the chance to step out of the shadows was tempting, especially after being in hiding for so long. Maybe she would consider it. Besides, it's not like she had much to do these days. Lexa glanced at the bronze placard that had been placed next to the Flame's display case and noticed that it would be at the museum for another month and a half before moving onto the next city.
Theoretically, if Lexa wanted to roll solo the best time to steal the diamond would be while it was in transit from one city to the next, but that plan required far too many moving parts and a large amount of resources that she didn't have. Time was also an issue here. Though her mentor's warnings were ringing her head to not even think about putting together a team, she didn't see any better options. Lexa would have to plan for contingencies for her contingencies, and she would have to triple check the people she hired. But still, the extra effort would more than pay off if they were successful.
A month and a half wasn't a lot of time to plan, outfit and execute a detailed heist, but it would have to do. The next city on the diamond's travel schedule was Washington D.C. and trying to steal something from the Smithsonian was suicide. If she had any chance of stealing the Flame, it would be while it was here in Annapolis.
The beginnings of a plan already were already forming in her mind, and as she examined the hall's layout and camera locations she was also on the lookout for any other…interested parties. The last thing she wanted to do was tangle with another crew and jeopardize her chances of making a safe getaway. Lexa spotted the usual security guards in their grey and white uniforms making their rounds, as well as what appeared to be a few undercover police officers in plainclothes casually walking around the exhibit, pretending to be interested in the collection. She scoffed under her breath, they tried to look inconspicuous but any thief worth their salt would be able to spot the shiny shoes or the almost unnoticeable bulge of a weapon underneath their shirts.
Lexa scanned the rest of the room and counted a total of seven undercover officers and four security guards. Eleven bodies to guard a single diamond seemed a bit much, but then again the Flame was worth fifty million dollars. It wasn't until she spotted an unusually alert gentleman in a dark blue suit that she realized she wasn't the only player.
Spotting people that didn't belong was one of the first things her mentor had taught her. Look for people whose expressions don't match their character, and watch for those who look either too invested or too disinterested. Examine their clothes, police officers and ex-military often wear them a certain way, as though no matter hard they try their training can't be deleted.
The target of her interest was experienced, probably ex-military of some sort judging by his close-cropped hair and ramrod-straight posture. It was a very distinctive posture. She walked around the exhibit until she found herself behind him, noting the earpiece that barely stuck out of his ear as he turned to exchange glances with a similarly sour-looking woman. Great, so there was definitely another group here. It's a good thing she was very, very good at her job.
She bumped into the man with a muttered "Sorry", and calmly nicked the wallet from the front pocket of his pants. Opening the expensive calf leather wallet, she zeroed in on the man's ID card, confirming her suspicions and letting out a string of muffled curse words. The tough-looking man was a part of a well-known group of private investigators known as the Conclave, who had ties to shady mercenary corps. It all would have been irrelevant had this group not answered to her old mentor, Titus.
Titus. The name brought a bitter taste to her mouth as she thought about the man she once considered a father. He taught her everything she knew about being a thief, from properly casing the location to a clean getaway. While he was warm enough to her, he was known for being ruthless and Lexa couldn't bring herself to stoop to the levels he did. She wouldn't kill the people that got in their way, and it was that fundamental division of morals that led to her leaving. Their relationship deteriorated over time and after Lexa had almost gotten herself killed on a job gone wrong it had never recovered. Mentor and mentee drifted apart and now they were staunch rivals.
The fact that Titus—or rather one of Titus' goons—was here at the gallery meant that he was looking at something to steal from here. And Lexa could easily guess his target. She tossed the investigator's wallet in a nearby garbage can after wiping it down to rid it of any prints, but not before snagging the hundred dollars in cash he'd had. Once a thief, always a thief.
To summarize her findings, she had forty-five days to fully plan and execute perhaps her most daring heist yet, and find a group of people that she could stomach working with in order to pull everything off. She had to do this while taking into consideration the fact that her old mentor was likely also going after the Flame, though why he was disregarding his old rules to play in a team perplexed her.
Luckily, Lexa knew a few people. She'd used most of them in one way or another over the last few years, from buying tech to fake documents and the like. Lexa was unsure if they would agree to working with her, especially given her reputation and the danger level of the job, but she would reach out and see who answered.
Her scouting done for the day, Lexa left the Meyers-Mitchell Gallery, slipping seamlessly into a group of art students. Once she was far enough away from any prying eyes, she pulled out her cell phone—untraceable, of course—and dialed a familiar number.
She'd need a typical team composition for this job, a hitter, hacker, grifter and thief. The first three were easy, she already had people in mind for the position. The thief would be a little harder to find for obvious reasons, most preferred to stay in the shadows like her and cared little for the spotlight. Lexa looked back at the gallery with a grim smile.
Fine Titus. You wanna play? Let's play.
The phone on the other end rang twice and was promptly picked up.
"Hey, it's the Commander," a voice drawled. The sound of computer keys clicked on the line. "What do you need?"
"I wish you wouldn't call me the Commander, that name is so pompous I want to strangle the reporter who gave me that moniker. But listen Reyes, that's not why I called. I've got a job for you…"