Heist of the Aztec Necklace

Chapter 4

He was back home. Here he was known as a young man who'd struck it big in the stock market while in college. The luck had been intel from a stolen laptop. Because the laptop had been stolen for information on a floor plan for a future heist and the email he'd happened upon had nothing to do with the job, he'd been allowed to use the insider trading information to his gain. To further disguise his plan, he bought several other random stocks.

He'd gotten a lot. He continued to buy more shares in the company, and then when half of the board of directors were sent to prison for insider trading, he'd been able to walk right in. Laziness was not a trait he'd been born with. During the days when he wasn't lurking about in dark corners, he was an entrepreneur. He'd gone on to acquire several other companies, lend money to start-ups and do seminars for the local community college class about business.

Unlike most of his colleagues in the shadowy profession he had more than just one hell of a solid alibi, he had a life. Majority of his team spent their days in shelters, planning their next heist, hiding their identity from the world. They believed being known was a weakness; he believed it was a protection he couldn't afford to live without.

Currently, he was being swarmed by several college students. He had a stack of resumes already in hand, and still there seemed to be more piling on the table next to the podium. He only smiled and continued his conversation though, the stack meant he was doing something right. He'd been to these as a student and had seen everyone leave once it was over, not bothering to even give the presenter another thought. Instead, he was setting up times for having coffee with the students that had further inquires or needed some networking.

The red dress in a sea of black pant suits caught his eye, as well as everybody else's in the room. They parted before the woman, letting her through to him.

"How is your night going?"

She smiled, "Fair enough."

He set a stack of business cards on top of the table. He was thinking it was about time to leave, "Dinner?"

Her lips shifted upward, almost into the cat like smile he loved. But it was only almost. Here she was a good, law abiding citizen. A bit of a shame. "Yes, that would be nice."

Informing the students about the cards, and to email him if they had the questions, he gave a wave goodbye to the students and extended an arm to Sakura in the same motion. She took it, and they made their way to the parking lot and to his car.

"Any particular restaurant?" he asked when they were settled.

"My boys are out tonight, so... A home cooked meal would be nice." Her tone was low, slightly in suggestion and a wicked smile had come upon her lips. She unbutton the first button of the throw around her shoulders, revealing a gold chain.

He smiled back, "I'm sure we can put together something." And with that he took off into the night.

His house was positioned halfway up the smallest mountain, largest hill, in town. He'd bought the entire hill and had selected it because of its location. Several miles below the spot where his house had been built was a closed mine. A perfect place for an underground base.

He, of course, had some work done to make it more livable and open. That work had been done by people that were on the shady side of the law, so no real paperwork or permits existed that showed what was inside of the mountain. In paper, he'd paid about a thousand dollars to the crew for closing down the mining tunnels, which was the explanation about the blasting being done. Even though the crew was shady, they'd been suggested by Itachi's current boss, which meant they were guaranteed to be good. That being said, he made sure the work was thorough and could withstand an 8.0 earthquake.

The house was two stories and, considering the money people knew he made, was relatively cheap and small. But -

"I always love how homey the place is," Sakura said, taking in a deep breath as she walked in.

She obviously had never been into his lair, or knew that he had one. He might be in love, but that didn't make him stupid. She was still very much a thief, and he had many valuables downstairs. She was also known for stealing from him in particular; case in point, the necklace hanging around her slender neck.

"Yes, its nice to have a home to come home to," and an underground swimming pool and training facility for his shadowy profession downstairs.

She took a deep breath again, "So, what's for dinner?"

He didn't keep fresh food when he went off on expeditions, that being said, his pantry was well stocked with non-perishables and canned foods. To her suggestion, he made spaghetti while she looked on, giving her advice about how to cook it. Why she liked Italian so much, he wasn't sure. But he didn't want to ruin this rare occasion by complaining about food choice. He was happy with whatever she wanted.

They moved to the living room when the food was done, and sat on the couch in front of the fake fireplace. Each had their own plate of spaghetti and a glass of good wine. They sat facing each other, she on her knees due to her dress and him cross-legged.

Conversation was pleasant and more relaxed than usual. There was banter, but more down played. Business wasn't discussed, instead she complained about her teammates idiotic actions and he, his.

Another bottle of wine and he was working on kissing her neck, while his hands pulled the gold piece over her head. Her hands were in his hair and she'd whisper in his ear every time she felt the necklace being moved. It meant starting over from the beginning, and that was how their strange game continued for another hour.

On the third bottle, the necklace was on the floor, along with his tie, button shirt and her throw. While both their mouths were occupied, he was working on untying the back of her dress. It was just as he had pulled the lace free that the front door opened with a bang, causing both of them to jump up, banging heads on the way.

Thinking it the worst case scenario, both quickly grabbed their clothes and began trying to put them on. Itachi barely got past buttoning his fifth button, when a large blue man walked in. Both of them visibly relaxed, it hadn't been her team.

"Hey, you two," he gave a wave in greeting, before sitting on the couch beside Itachi.

Only Kisame could be so oblivious to the mood of the room. The fireplace was going, there were glasses of wine on the table and Itachi's shirt was still unbuttoned. Itachi gave the man beside him a leveled glare. "Hello Kisame, may I ask what you are doing here?" Kisame was supposed to be downstairs, doing whatever he did in his own room. The rule was quite specific, when Itachi had company over, Kisame wasn't even to emerge on the surface.

"I live here?" Kisame titled his head to the side as if not understanding the question. "Anyways, I wanted to know if you wanted to play cards with me." He showed them the new deck in his hand.

Itachi motioned at Sakura, trying hint to Kisame that he should leave.

Instead Kisame took that as an invitation, "Do you want to play too, Sakura?"

Sakura's eyebrows rose slightly. Perhaps in the stupidity of Itachi's teammate.

"We were in the middle of something, Kisame," Itachi sighed, the mood was ruined now, there probably was no going back.

Kisame tilted his head again, this time to the other side before giving a grin and straightening his shoulders. "Alright, how 'bout I make you both a deal. Play cards with me, and I promise I will put in headphones and not listen to you two have sex later tonight." He wasn't oblivious. He was just being an ass.

At the very least Itachi would get the necklace but, judging by the look on Sakura's face, romance was off the table. It was going to be a long night.

"Have you ever played 'Go Fish'?" Kisame asked Sakura.

…A really long night.

Please R & R if you have the time. Have a good weekend!