Machiavellian Intentions

By anna

All general disclaimers apply

two

--

"Are your 'whims' always this… emotionally expensive?"

--

Neji was feeling uncomfortable, the previous night's conversation replayed constantly in his mind. She had been so beautiful and her body felt so delicious under his when they danced. Only the knowledge of the imminent unveiling kept him from ravishing her completely.

The financier shook his head viciously; he shouldn't be so focused on her body and her pouty red lips. Instead, he should pay more attention to what those red lips revealed.

"I'm going to steal Uchiha Corp.'s diamonds,"

When she said that, he almost laughed. It was like a big joke, but he decided to humor her.

"How are you going to open the vault? Only the CEO has the code,"

Her dainty finger had trailed up his chest; it traced his jaw line and drew him down to her height.

"I'll figure it out,"

She disappeared then, and he was unable to catch up to her. Too many women wore green that night. He was stuck through the presentation ceremony but the minute it was over, Neji raced to the dance floor. It wasn't until when the party waned and the people began to leave did he see her sauntering up to the Uchiha. Holding back a growl, the financier watched as the pretty maid charmed the CEO.

What had happened after they left? What did she mean by "figuring things out"? The obvious assumption dawned and he almost choked at the thought. Sakura was a sensual creature, it was only logical that she used that sensuality to her advantage.

The financier tapped his fingers, it was already eleven o'clock, the woman was due to clean his office an hour ago. Tugging off the restrictive tie around his neck, Neji threw it carelessly on the floor. He averted his attention to his laptop and began typing his personal code in, he needed to have a second look at the security design. Despite his actions, every fiber of his being told him that his work was flawless.

Giving another impatient glance at the clock, his anger mounted when the woman responsible for his insanity was still absent.

She was turning him into an obsessed idiot with an affinity for paranoia.

--

Sakura greeted politely, "Good night Higashi-san,"

"Don't work too hard Haruno-san," the old man smiled back and exited through the elevator.

The night shift had officially ended and Sakura was one of the few people who still remained. She nodded in acknowledgement at some of the security, pushing her cart along the floor. Her lips pursed with anticipation and she became aware of the small movements of the cameras following her every move.

Opposite from the vault was an odd looking door. She'd never been inside and she wondered what its usage was. Gingerly, very aware of the camera focusing in on her, Sakura turned the knob and entered. It was an abandoned janitor's closet, simply big enough for her cart and a small space reserved for a sink. Her smile widened, the building's architecture was making everything too easy for her.

Tomorrow, the Uchiha Corp. was going to be turned upside down.

--

The executives had been running around, their corpulent forms swaggered across the floor. All their faces had sheen of sweat, from the lack of exercise and nervousness. The lesser employees looked confused and the women were already indulging in gossip.

Sakura looked up from her mopping and stood out of her way as a wave of executive stampeded through the floor. Her eyes caught Neji's and they kept their gaze until he passed.

The young financier had no idea what the alarm was about but he had a feeling he was about to find out. Along with the management staff, he made his way to the vault's corridor. Silver eyes widened in shock and anger when he saw the contraption he had so painstakingly designed carelessly pried opened.

"Something terrible has happened," an old advisor spoke up first, behind him stood the Uchiha CEO.

The vault was further opened, showing its interior. A wave of gasp echoed through the hall.

"The- the diamonds," someone said.

True enough, where all the diamonds used to be were nothing more but empty containers and trays.

"It must have taken a team of strong men to be able to successfully move everything,"

A young detective walked up with a lazy swagger, his hands holding a small writing pad.

"We have checked all the surveillance cameras, unfortunately, they gave us nothing," he said, his dark eyes echoed his boredom, "It's like a heist conducted by a phantom,"

"All phantoms have a shadow, and I trust you'll find this one Shikamaru," Sasuke spoke up, his firm voice commanded authority.

The man moved to leave, he stopped momentarily by Neji, "Hyuuga-san, I'd like for you to join me in my office."

--

"I am not a fool Hyuuga-san. I do not hire incompetent men," Sasuke said, his hand swept the unruly bangs out of his eyes, "You are far from being incompetent, so my question is, who is smart enough to pull something like this?"

"My system was flawless," Neji answered from across the table.

The young CEO chuckled mirthlessly, "Now you're a fool for thinking that."

"What do you mean?" it was all very dejà vu.

"A very smart woman told me that nothing is ever without a flaw. You will review it again and find that defect, no matter how minimal. It must exist, and I want you to find it by the end of the week,"

Neji nodded in understanding and stood up. His mind was muddled with an odd emotion.

"I'm going to steal Uchiha Corp.'s diamonds,"

It had to be her, and for some reason, that knowledge gave him a sense of exhilaration. The woman he had been loosing sleep over was clever enough to penetrate something he lost sleep over. She was a challenge, and Neji was going to figure how she did it.

--

Detective Nara stood there in disbelief.

After two days of questioning all of the employees, he still could not come up with a single lead. And now, just as they had disappeared; the vault was filled with glistening white stones again. The vault was filled from floor to ceiling with trays; each tray contained an uncountable amount of diamonds.

Shikamaru walked in the vault and looked around in careful inspection. Everything was neatly back in its place and the small stones shined in their stunning glory. Brown eyes caught an anomaly and he moved to the back of the small encasement.

The "Cherry Blossom" was still missing.

--

"I know it was you, how did you do it?" he asked her, his silver eyes searched hers in hopes of an answer, "I can't for the life of me unravel it,"

"Are you going to arrest me now?"

The financier chuckled and shook his head, "I'll be damned if I help the police do their job,"

He turned and began pacing the spacious office, "You know? I had lunch with one of my old employers, Tsunade, yesterday. The funniest thing, she mentioned you."

Sakura didn't answer and made no move to indicate any response, he continued, "She told me that she was your patron. Despite her few vices of gambling and drinking, Tsunade would never offer patronage to mediocrity,"

"Apparently, you are not mediocre. Sakura Haruno, graduated valedictorian from Konoha University. One of the most respected medical minds and a brilliant researcher…"

He turned around abruptly and trapped her body against the wall with his arms, "Now why would a woman of your intellectual standard do menial blue collar work?"

"I take joy in simple employments?" she offered.

Their little moment was cut short when the door creaked opened tentatively. The young intern's face drained in color when he thought he just walked in on something private. Neji growled in annoyance and snapped his head back to the interruption.

"Hyuuga-san, you are requested in the boardroom,"

The financier nodded and opted to remove his arms from either side of her head. He sighed in slight resignation and left the office.

--

"Why would they take all the diamonds, and then return everything back again after a few days?"

Neji leaned back in his chair his ears tuning out the detective's voice. He wasn't concerned with the 'why', what the Hyuuga wanted to know was 'how' a person could infiltrate the vault twice without leaving so much as a scratch. Mainly, how she did it.

"This is obviously not about the money," Sasuke said.

"What are you talking about teme? The 'Cherry Blossom' by itself is worth millions!" a vivacious blond man challenged.

"Whoever did this is trying to make a point; the 'Cherry Blossom' is so rare it can never be sold without arousing suspicion. If they simply just wanted one, they could have taken any random diamond and still make a fortune. Instead, they chose the one with the most public attention." The Uchiha calmly explained.

His best friend, and also his most trusted advisor, nodded but still showed obvious displeasure at the complications. Naruto Uzumaki wasn't a man with a shrewd political mind but his eagerness and explosive nature had helped his friend through many corporate crisis. His appearance was always unprofessional with his grotesque orange ties and the occasional orange suits. He was also the only personnel in Uchiha Corp. allowed to address the young CEO anything other than "Uchiha-sama" without any public repercussions.

Today, no orange was evident. Naruto actually looked like a mature man; his trademark bizarreness was traded with a simple navy blue suit and a light pink tie.

"Well Sasuke, at least the media doesn't attack us like vultures anymore. All of our investors no longer wanted to break the contracts. The public is no longer alarmed, it's strictly a private matter now," the crisis manager said, earning a few mumbles of agreement in the boardroom.

"Uzumaki-san is right, we should thankful," Shikamaru said, "but trust me Uchiha-sama, I will not rest until your wayward possession is back safely in your vault."

--

Tenten looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She cracked a smile and appeared pleased with herself. She moved to turn off the water faucet, a brown eyebrow lifted in confusion when the water did not drain.

Biting her bottom lip in exasperation, Tenten left the bathroom to find the janitor. The minute she left the room, Tenten sighed in relief when she saw him.

"Lee-san!"

The man wearing a green jumpsuit turned around a cracked a brilliantly white smile.

"Tenten! What can I do for you today?" the man greeted amicably, his hand holding a bucket of water and a mop.

"Something is wrong with the sewer system; the bathroom water won't drain,"

Nodding enthusiastically, the man entered the bathroom with Tenten following closely behind. Rock Lee got on his knees and opened the cabinet below the sink, carefully he began to loosen the rusty metal pipe. The second the piece was removed, a small glittering object fell down.

"What is that?" Tenten pointed.

Lee reached out and when he saw what it was, his round eyes got even wider.

"Tenten… this… this is a diamond,"

"No way!" immediately, she got down on her knees next to him. Her mouth opened in awe at the beautiful stone.

"What was this doing in the pipe?" the brunette whispered.

"I don't know, but I think we need to notify Uchiha-sama," the young janitor answered. At that, Tenten smiled, he was always so honest.

"Ok," she agreed.

--

Tenten and Lee stood in silence. The quietness of the office was eerie and they began to make wistful glances at the glass door. In front of them, the dark haired man sat, his attention solely on the white gem. Much to his employees' relief, he looked up at them and began talking.

"You found this in the pipe?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, Uchiha-sama," Lee nodded obediently.

The CEO appeared to be satisfied with the information and waved his hand in dismissal. Tenten and Lee both let out a sigh of relief and scampered out of the presence of authority. When he was finally left alone, Sasuke pressed a button on the intercom.

"Yes sir, Uchiha-sama?" a female voice asked expectantly.

"Ino, I want you to gather the roster of all the janitors and maids and bring it to my office immediately," Sasuke commanded.

"Right away sir,"

After a few minutes of waiting patiently, a tall blonde walked in his office. She bowed respectfully and dropped a large stack of paper on his desk.

"Thank you Ino,"

Quickly and surely, Sasuke began to flip through the list of employment. His eyes scanned pages after pages as though he knew exactly what he was looking for. But when the name glared back at him in defiance, the CEO was tempted to slam the file shut. Instead, he held his ground and began accessing the situation with businesslike calmness.

Sakura Haruno

His fiancée had a lot of explaining to do.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

anna: Idea of the sewage system was taken from "Flawless"