Disclaimer: Characters not mine. Absolutely not mine.
"Your assignment is a little different today," Jenkins told them carrying a pot of tea and coffee into the door room.
"Different how?" Cassandra asked chirpily, the lack of activity had been driving her, like the rest of them, absolutely mad.
Jenkins placed the pots down, and waited until everyone had refilled their cups. "It is a theft, and I was speaking to Mr Jones," Jenkins said.
The word theft made everyone in the room stand up straighter, and Ezekiel was the only one who remained calm, sipping his new coffee slowly in a way he knew would wind everybody up.
Everyone waited for him to speak, and he tried not to smirk as he catalogued the expressions and possible arguments of the faces around him.
Baird would argue that he shouldn't go alone, that it was dangerous and risky.
Cassandra would agree and add that he might need their help with extraction in both a pure selfish bid to get out of the annex, and a genuine concern for his welfare.
Jones knew that Jake would go into a lecture about the morality of theft, regardless of the fact that that was basically what they did anyway, the historian might prefer to justify it by the danger magic posed…it was the same thing though. They had no right possessing most of what they took, and they never thought about whether the person who had it had a genuine need for it, like with the frost giants and their bloody Chrystal.
No, Ezekiel knew that it was not theft Jake was against, it was the word he chose to use to describe it.
Ezekiel finished his coffee, and couldn't help but wonder if he would have enough time to say a quick hello and goodbye to Jezzy before he left. He looked at Jenkins, "so what am I getting? Lost diamond? Museum urn? Private collectors prized swords?" Ezekiel was already sorting through the different kinds of obstacles and security systems that could arise depending on the artefact itself.
Jenkins shook his head, then sipped his tea as everyone else watched. "Cuff links, belonged to Martin Luther King," Jenkins told him.
Ezekiel nodded, "private collection or public?" he asked. He placed his cup down, and ignored the shock that everyone but he and Jenkins wore at his lack of joking at the matter.
Jenkins cocked his head, and sighed. A sign that Ezekiel could translate all too well, it meant the item in question was personal and probably in use somehow. His boss at MI6 had cocked and sighed in the same way when he had been sent to steal a memory stick belonging to the rival intelligence forces, the problem, it had said owners private documents on their as well as the ones he needed.
Cuff links were tricky, there was a way though…it just meant getting the person away from their jacket. "Who's the current owner?" Ezekiel asked, his voice was serious and all forms of joking had to his teammates continued shock abandoned him.
"Wait, you can't be serious? You're not actually agreeing to this. We don't even know what they do," Jake argued.
Cassandra sighed, and looked apologetic when she moved from her place and came over to face Ezekiel. "We don't know what they do, what if they are dangerous?" she asked. "You shouldn't go alone, it might be dangerous."
Ezekiel was about to start arguing with her when Jenkins raised a hand to silence everyone.
"There is a reason I have chosen Mr Jones, the cuff links themselves have a rather unique power of persuasion, work during the 'I have a dream speech' they are able to impart that level of sophisticated language and gain the undivided attention and rapture of any audience. In good hands, they can cause riots…in bad, well, we might be looking at world war three."
They all stopped to stare at Jenkins, each considering the power and chaos that those tiny pieces of metal could cause.
"And you think Ezekiel should go because…?" Stone questioned, and for the first time even Ezekiel agreed with the unsaid doubt in the unfinished question.
"He has a point," Ezekiel agreed.
Jenkins smiled, and dug into his left pocket before bringing his hand out and sharply throwing something at him, Ezekiel managed to catch it an inch from his nose, and turned the small golden apple over in his hands thinking for a moment.
"Kind of a big experiment," he told Jenkins. He tossed the apple back gently, and noticed the others smirking.
Cassandra laughed lightly, obviously trying to hide it. "It makes more sense, if any of us is immune, it's you." She smiled, trying not to giggle behind her hands.
"How would you even do it?" Jake asked him, the doubt gone and replaced by pure curiosity.
Ezekiel thought for a moment, then whipped t face Jenkins. "Who's the target?" he asked.
Jenkins smiled, "a Mr T, Benaye. His dad struck oil, then died a year later leaving him a multi billionaire at twenty. His mum gone during childbirth complications. He made the announcement after winning them at auction that he planned to wear them in tribute during his father's memorial gala."
Stone huffed, "how does Marti Luther King's cuff links tribute his dead father?" he asked, and everyone nodded in agreement that it made no sense.
Ezekiel smiled wickedly, "makes my job easier if the guys a moron."
The joke gained a chuckle, and he nearly got away with not explaining his intentions until Cassandra opened her too smart mouth, "so how you going to get them?" she asked sweetly.
He smiled, and again turned to Jenkins. "Do I have to forge an invitation to the gala?" he asked with a cocky smile.
Jenkins smiled, and turned to walk towards one of the smaller lesser used tabled, and came back holing a thick expensive envelope embossed with 'To Mr E, Jones.' Ezekiel opened it and flipped through it, standard information like times and dates were there as was a list of banned items, and expected nibbles…and a plus one offer," he turned to Cassandra and smiled as he held an arm out to her.
"My dear, I do believe I require a date to this shindig, care to accompany me?" he asked with overdramatic politeness.
She took his arm and smiled as she suppressed her glee. "Why, I do believe you have yourself a date."
When her initial glee had worn off, and Ezekiel had stopped walking her around the room with dramatic flair in the style of a fancy Victorian couple, they turned to see a very concerned and increasingly annoyed looking Jake.
They stopped, and leant against the edge of the table facing him. Stone crossed his arms, and the silent challenged annoyed both opposed parties. "So what's the plan?" he demanded, his transcendent blue eyes twinkled with glee as he waited for the thief and his accomplice to speak.
Ezekiel paused, and pulled his phone out. A quick google search using some specific key words told him exactly what the plan was.
He smirked, and was glad to see that Jake had gone red from annoyance as he waited on him. "Easy, half way through my lovely date will throw a massive tantrum, and run off dramatically with her skirts trailing and flying behind her crying," he gestured and smiled charmingly at Cassandra, who smiled and curtsied with an adorably proud smile. "I will then go to his date and ask if she would be willing to go check on you, and I seduce him out of those cuff links," Ezekiel finished in a dramatic flourish.
Cassandra jumped happily and hugged him at the plan, Jenkins nodded and even Eve did not seem to have any objections as she smiled proudly at them with a soft smile.
Jake just rose an eyebrow, and chuckled. "Seduce? Mate, you're a terrible liar, and you think you'll be able to charm him enough to just hand you the cuff links in the middle of a ballroom.
Ezekiel blinked, "Lie? I've never lied before ever, and of course not," he said impatiently as he ran a hand through his messy black hair. "I seduce him into a bedroom, and when I've knocked him out with some of that lovely instant sleeping powder, I take the cuff links, meet Cassandra outside, and we scarper."
Cassandra nodded in approval, "it makes sense," she agreed. "Although, it seems unfair to get the guy all excited only to knock him out before the fun can be had," she joked.
Ezekiel wrapped an arm around her as he laughed, "yeah, it's a little cruel. Who knows, if he's nice enough maybe I'll let him have a taste, god knows it's been a while."
Cassandra laughed, "If you do, let me know, maybe I can talk his date out of her knickers." She laughed back, Eve and Jenkins didn't blink, and the two troublemakers in question talked as casually as they did about the weather or the adorable new thing that Jezzy did last time Ezekiel saw her.
It was only Jake who stared at them both like they had grown second heads.
Eventually they both noticed, and turned with matching sheepish expressions as they realised that perhaps Jake hadn't been aware after all.
"Let me guess," he pointed at Cassandra, "Bi?" he guessed. She shook her head with a gentle smile, "Pan."
He turned to Ezekiel, who despite his current confidently arrogant grin was kept from running only by Cassandras small hand lightly holding his wrist, Jake squinted, and pursed his lips as he seemed to think and struggle for an answer. "Bi?" he guessed.
Ezekiel shook his head, "gay."
The two were spared from asking any further questions by Jenkins calmly cutting in with, "Regardless, Mr Jones you have an appointment at my tailors for evening wear. Miss Cillian, take yourself upstairs and select whatever you might like for the gala from the closet, we can then send you over to the same tailors to have it custom fitted if you'd like?" he told them.
Ezekiel instantly groaned at the idea of having to dress up, whereas Cassandra basked in getting to play Cinderella and took off running full force to the third floor closet which was the size of a museum on its own.
Jenkins turned to Eve and Jake, "Miss Baird, can you and Mr Stone please work on appropriate ways to observe and monitor them?" he asked, "remember it must be non- obtrusive and undetectable my detectors."
Then Cassandra came running back in, "how long?" she asked.
Ezekiel smiled, "seven days. That gives you today for dress and tailoring. Four for me teaching you to dance. One for last minute alterations and planning. Then the day off for final plans and pulling the heist off." he explained easily, happy to have a distraction from the heat of Jakes eyes that had yet to leave him since his revelation.
Cassandras face paled, and she stopped. "Dance?" she asked, her voice cold.
He nodded, "it's a gala, I would have thought you would enjoy getting to dance around and have a mini prom." She had revealed to him that she hadn't had a chance to go to her own high school prom during the games, and he froze for a second before realising that she was not going to dwell on the slip.
"You dance?" she asked curiously.
He nodded, "not my first time stealing from the rich. My first few rich people parties and galas I realised that not dancing, or having a date made me stick out like a sore thumb, makes stealing kind of hard when everyone is already suspicious of you."
The explanation placated her, but he could see new worries enter her head.
"What do I wear?" she asked.
He offered his arm to her, "allow me to help. I've been to enough of these shindigs with well-dressed Sheila's to know what will help you steal the show."
She relaxed, and took his arm to allow him to escort her to the costume department of the library.
Whilst he pretended that Jacobs continued staring didn't bother him, if he had turned then he would have seen how betrayed and hurt the historian looked. Neither Ezekiel Jones, or Cassandra Cillian had noticed how hurt and shocked their revelations had been to him, or how disappointed he had been when they had failed to ask him back.