The night air was cold. A full moon hung low in the sky as the night was still young. I sat in my car, waiting to get contacted by my 'partner'. My good friend Elena had recommended me. She said that he was smart and could talk his way out of anything. I hadn't met him yet, not having the time. I've too busy researching for my new adventure. Atlantis was an old city that supposedly sunk underwater. The clues that I have collected, tell me otherwise. Suddenly a tap came from my side. I rolled the window down to see a man with slicked back hair and a cigarette in his mouth. "Are you Kiara?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I grabbed my things and got out of my car. "You must be Samuel." I said holding out my hand. "Yeah, just call me Sam." He said, grabbing my hand. I handed him an ear piece while putting mine in. "We'll need these if we split up." He put his in while shaking his head in agreement. "Elena didn't tell me you were Australian." He said with a smile. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You have a problem with my heritage, punk?" I teased. He chuckled and looked down. "Absolutely not, it's just that...you know what, nevermind." He shyly looked at the building. "So did you bring mask?" I asked stepping closer to him. "Oh, right." He grabbed two mask from the inside of his black coat. One was silver and plain, and the other was red and black. He handed the red one to me and commented. "Elena picked it out." I smiled and looked at the mask. It was certainly beautiful so it doesn't surprise me that it caught Elena's eye. I put the mask on and tied it over my ginger hair. The man mimicked me and tied his also. "Shall we?" I said before walking to the building. He quickly followed and asked me a question. "So what exactly are we looking for again?" I pulled out a picture from my hand purse and handed it to him. "It's a big blue gem. On the inside of it is a paper with coordinates. It's the next clue." He studied the necklace in the photo. "Coordination to what?" He asked handing me back the photo. I looked at him, wondering if I could trust this man. I gave into his curious gaze and told him everything. "Atlantis." He looked at me confused. "Wait. I thought that was a sailors tale." I looked back at the building and stopped walking. "If it was just a fairy tale then hold do you explain the gem?" I rested my hands on my hips, waiting for him to answer. "Touché. But are you absolutely sure this paper is for Atlantis? I mean it could be anything." He said stepping closer to me. I let out a frustrated sigh. He was right. I was exactly sure what lay inside that necklace. I'm already here and I'm not giving up that easily. "Look, if you don't believe me then you can leave. I can easily do this on my own." That was lie but I wasn't going to admit it. He chuckled and shook his. "What are you laughing at asshole?" I said defensively. "Nothing. I just think it's cute how you think you can do this without me. Let's go shorty." He said before walking over to me and offered his muscular arm. I wrapped mine around it and we kept walking to the mansion. "Don't call me short." I said. He just snorted and kept quiet.
Samuel's friend had made us some fake invitations. I do have to admit that this man was coming in handing. It also helped that he was quite the looker. The inside of the ballroom was huge. Golden chandeliers hung from the painted ceiling. Everything was very detailed and the sight was breathtaking. This wasn't the first mansion I've been in, but it was certainly the most beautiful. As I was taking in the sights, I noticed Samuel looking at me. It was odd, he had a smile on his face as I looked at him. "What?" I asked confused. He looked away and chuckled. "You are so clueless, shorty." I tensed up and looked at him with fire in my eyes. "I said to not call me short, ass." Before he could reply, I unhooked from his arm. "What do you want to drink?" I asked him. "Scotch, please." I nodded and headed over to the bar. I observed all the people in the room. Surprisingly, they're weren't that many people here. I wasn't sure what this masquerade was for, maybe a birthday party? I reached the bar and asked for our preferred drinks. While I waiting for them to be made, a man walked up to me. "Hello madam." He said while setting down his own drink. I put on a fake smile, and replied. "Hello, sir." The man was older and slim, a cigar hanging from his mouth. The man stepped closer to me and Sam seemed to notice. He came walking up to us and I grabbed Samuel's arm, trying to show the man that I was not interested. "Wow, she's already over you and you two just met." At the sound of the mans voice, Sam relaxed. "Jesus man, what are you doing here?" He chuckled and embraced the other in a hug. I stood there, confused. "Um, you mind telling me what's going on?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Right, Kiara, this is Victor Sullivan. The one who made the invitations." I looked at the older man as he held out his hand, waiting for me to shake it. "It's nice to finally meet you. Elena has told me a lot about you." I rolled my eyes and let a relaxed chuckle. "Hopefully not to much. I'm Kiara Bookman. Pleasure to meet you." I finally took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "The pleasures all mine, young lady." We talked and drank our liquor before an announcement came from the center stage. The woman holding the microphone spoke in French.
The speech was long and then men beside me looked confused. When she finished I turned to face them. "Did you understand any of that?" Samuel asked. "I did in fact, I caught all of it." I said proudly. All those years of getting taught by my mother in languages came in handy. "So? What did she say?" Asked a confused and eager Sullivan. "She's the wife of the man who owns this estate. She was just wishing him a happy anniversary and crap like that." I said before taking a sip of my whiskey. Not the most feminine drink but it tasted better. "Anything about the necklace?" Sam asked, watching me gulp down my drink. I revised the speech in my head, seeing if she did mention it. "She did say something about a beautiful stone he had bought her. She could be wearing it." My eyes searched the crowd for the blonde woman. "I don't think so, doll. I would've noticed it." Sam said while still looking at me. "True. Hmm..." I thought for awhile. Where could it be? As I was thinking, a man walked out from a door and I saw the necklace. "There." I pointed. The two men looked at the door and then me. "Got a plan?" Sully asked. "As a matter of fact, I do. Victor I need you to distract the man." He nodded and headed his direction. "Samuel, dance with me." He looked at me confused. "Look, I'm flattered that you want to dance but shouldn't we focus on the task?" I punched his arm. "Get over yourself. Now come on." I grabbed his arm and led us to the middle of the ballroom. He took control and we started to dance. "Now what?" He asked, looking down at face. "Get me close to the man. I'll try to get his key card."
"Right." He swung me around in circles and we made our way to the man. Sully was doing his job and talking up a storm with the guy. Samuel put his hand on my lower back and dipped me down right next to the man. I took the opportunity and grabbed the card. We then stopped dancing and we made our way back to a table, Sullivan behind us. "Good job, shorty." Praised Sam. I shot him glare, but he didn't seem notice. "Alright, Victor. I need you stay close to the door and warn us if anyone comes in." I then handed him an ear piece. Sam and I then unlocked the door and we entered. "Check if anyone's here." I ordered Sam. He obliged and took of his mask. I copied him and started to take off my dress. When he came back, I was changed into black pants with a white tank top. As I laced up my boots, Sam watched me closely. "What?" I said, still tying my boots. All he did was shake his head and looked away. I stood up and headed towards the treasures. The gem instantly caught my eye. It was attached to a gold chain and laid on velvet carpet inside a jewelry box. "It's beautiful." I said before grabbing it. It was the size of my hand and a deep bluish, green. Sam walked over to me and basked in its glory. Sully spoke, breaking our consideration. "Guys, some guards are headed your way." He spoke. We looked at each other and looked around for a spot to hide. Sam went over and hide behind a desk. I hid against the wall, waiting for the right moment. One of them turned the corner and I grabbed his tux. I flung around and threw him into the wall. I grabbed his gun and the other guards came after us. I aimed to punch one, but he blocked my fist and grabbed me. With his hands around my neck, the guard lifted me into the air. Sam came up behind him and kicked in his knee. The man was taken aback so I used this chance to kick his abdomen. The man let go of me and I dropped to the ground, regaining my breath. We then continued to fight off several guards before we were clear. I walked over to the window and opened it. "Sully, where are you?" I asked into my ear piece. "I'm in the parking lot waiting for you two."
"Good, get the car ready and we'll meet you down there. Be ready if things get hairy." I looked back at Sam. He was searching the men for more ammo. "Come on, Victors waiting for us." He finished and stood up, meeting me by the window. We ran across the roof tops, making our way down to the parking lot. A moment later, a wave of gunfire erupted from behind us. Sam cried out in pain as a bullet grazed his size. "Come on!" I said, helping him up while shooting the army behind us. I supported his weight as we got down to the ground. Thankfully, Sully drove the car up to us. We hopped in and got away.
We got to our hotel and settled down. I sat next Sam, who was holding his side. "Strip." I said before standing up. He looked at me confused. "I don't think right now is the time t-" Before he could finish, I interrupted him. "Don't flatter yourself. I need to clean your wound before it gets infected." I walked over to my bag and took out the first aid kit. When I turned around, he had his bloody shirt off. He was toned. I eyes him up and down before I noticed three healed bullet wounds. I walked over to him and touched them. He first winced at my cold fingers but he slowly relaxed into them. "How did this happen?" I asked, looking at his face. "A Panamanian jail. Almost died." I raised my eyebrow, wanting him to continue. "It's a long story, I'll tell you later." I looked back down at his bleeding wound. I cleaned it and wrapped it as good as I could. It was late by the time I finish dressing his wound and I found myself leaning my head against his shoulder. He embraced me and dozed off.