Julia walked with the well-practiced swagger of a man; she had played this role many times over the years. There had been many times when she had played her own birdie and snuck into the Brooklyn Lodging House. With her hat pulled low and the dark, non-descript clothing of a street rat she had always blended in. She whistled to herself as she wandered down the street, making her way to the very house that her parents would be attending a party at tonight. It made her blood pound even more. Unfortunately with the pounding of her blood came the pounding of her head.

She glanced up at the house now only houses away. She studied it for a moment, though she knew the layout by heart. She always did her research; she knew every nook and cranny of the place, down to the last closet. She felt a strong, but not large, hand clamp down on her arm and drag her into the alleyway between the neighbor's houses.

"It's about time." She heard the owner of the hand say. She shrugged it off and smiled at the girl that stood angrily watching her. She brushed at her artfully worn woolen coat and smiled and her partner Deirdre Winters. She was smaller than Julia was; it had been this trait that had first encouraged Julia to give the girl a chance. It was not the first time they had worked together, though it had been years since they had previously. Julia had left Alex to his devises, deciding to ignore her past and continue with the new life that had been presented to her. As it were, fate would not allow it. Julia had been a thief, and a damn good one at that, to give that up cold was hard for her to do. Despite the wealth that surrounded her, she still craved the adrenaline rush that always accompanied a theft.

It had been only months after Julia and Alex's split when a girl not much older than Julia had tried to pick her pocket. Had it been anyone other than Julia the girl would have gotten away, but having been an incredibly "light fingers" herself she felt the little hand that reached for the bag about her wrist with a knife that was sharpened to cut the ties quickly. It had been daring to try to take the money from a lady, and Julia was impressed. However, it had been sympathy and boredom that had caused Julia to make an alliance with her.

Together they had roamed the streets, picking pockets and stealing from vendors. It had always been a competition between them, each vying for the most daring theft. Julia had taught her to read, bringing out a more quiet and intellectual side of her. When Julia had found out that Deirdre was living in the Brooklyn Lodging House she cut off ties to her, afraid that she would accidentally let it slip that Julia was working with her. Deirdre had not understood her fear, but had let her go, never realizing that Julia was the same Julia that had spent her time at Spot Conlon's side.

Still unable to stay from the life she had been raised in, Julia returned to stealing, eventually working her way as the boys had into the houses of the well to do. Once she realized she had the same talent that Alex had, she started planning to take over his jobs. The first heist she did on her own was brilliant and made the papers, which had brought Deirdre once more to her door.

Julia smiled softly as she remembered that night; what a smart girl Deirdre was.

"Miss Julia, there is a young lady here to see you." the butler had said to Julia, who had pleaded illness to keep from attending the latest debutant ball her parents had gone to. It was lucky for her she had been alone. The way the butler had said lady told Julia the girl in question looked anything but.

"Show her in." Julia said, intrigued by the idea it was not one of the friends her parents had insist she make. The small blonde had followed after the butler, a mutinous look on her face.

"Ya got quiet the place, Jules." She had said, "What, surprised to see your old friend?"

"What do you want, Deirdre?" Julia had asked, dismissing the butler with a wave of her hand and shutting the door behind him, making sure he was not listening just beyond it.

"Well see, I saw there was a heist a few days ago. Looking at it I thought, hmmm that looks like my old pal Jules work. So then I started to do me research, I did some checking around with my old friends from the Brooklyn Lodging House and what a surprise it was to me to find my old friend had been thick as thieves, pardon the pun, with the infamous Spot Conlon. Now he and his Wolves were contracted for this job originally, and while it is such a small job they probably would just let it go, they don't take kindly to their work getting stolen."

"Are you blackmailing me, Deirdre?" Julia hissed. To her surprise, Deirdre had only laughed and held up her hands.

"Nah, I got me own bone to pick with mister high and mighty King of Brooklyn. I want in on it. You and me, working together like old times."

Julia studied Deirdre; things really hadn't changed in the few years since she had seen the girl. Her long hair was a combination of rich gold and silver blonde. It had been pulled back in an untidy mess of a braid. Her skin was tanned by days in the sun; her hands calloused by hard labor. Her light green eyes flashed with the look that all street rats had. It was a look of disillusionment and determination, and the will to fight or die. Julia stood, realizing that Deirdre was smaller than her by a few inches. She was small, slight reminding Julia of a sprite, with her impish gamine face.

Her height and size had originally made up Julia's mind for her. She knew the girl was an excellent thief, but with both of them small it would make it easier for them to steal than the larger men. They could hide in smaller areas, fit through smaller windows, and dart through hallways like butterflies. While Julia knew how to pick a lock, she found Deirdre had a flair for it. She also had a mathematical code that some how helped her figure out the combinations to locks. The girl was a wiz with numbers. Julia, however, knew just the right placement of a drill to get the lock to pop open. Deirdre, in addition, had taught Julia the skill she had never been allowed to learn, and that was the basics of fighting. Julia would never be able to handle a switch with the casual ease that Deirdre did, but she at least had rudimentary skills now.

Once the job came in, Julia would obtain an architects layout of the home. Deirdre would then begin to plan, finding the best escape routes and the best entries. Unlike the men, they usually left the police befuddled as to how they even got into the home, let alone how they had exited. Julia, with her connection through Mrs. Vanderbilt-Belmont, would obtain an invitation and scope out the inside, noting changes and placements of furniture. They made a fine team; it had taken them only a few heists before they began to work like one person, each doing their job and doing it well.

"Are ya gonna sit there all day, Jules?" Deirdre asked, breaking into her thoughts. The small blonde woman stood before her tapping her feet idly on the pavement, her hair a beacon of light color in the night.

"You might want to cover up that hair, De," Julia replied, smirking. Deirdre made a face as she tied the dark colored scarf over her hair, covering it. Julia placed a hand against the side of her head her fingers pressed to her temple, where she could feel the beating of her heart as the blood fought to get through the tightened muscles.

"You don't have another of those headaches, do you?" Deirdre asked, worry coming to her face. "We can put it off a night."

"Can we?" Julia asked, dropping her hand and whirling on Deirdre. "We have fought to be the best De, do you hear me? We have surpassed even the Wolves and their puny games with the police. If we back out of this tonight then we take ten steps down on the ladder of respect we've fought our way up. How many more jobs will we be able to steal from Alex then?"

"Alright, but those headaches can make you slow. We've gotten by before, but we need to be in top shape tonight." Deirdre argued.

"We can't afford for me to be indisposed tonight, we can't afford to loose this job." Julia replied firmly as she peaked around the corner at the fancy dressed men and women who were making their way inside. "You remember where that passage was, right?"

"Do I ever forget?" Deirdre asked. She was still worried about her partner, but at the same time she knew Julia wouldn't back down from this. She had something to prove to Alexander Conlon. Deirdre didn't know what, but she wasn't going to loose this chance. Silently they waited, their bodies in positions that to the casual observer they were young boys stopping to speak to one another before hurrying home from a hard day. No one thought anything of them as they watched the passers by, waiting until most of the party's guest had made their way inside. Then, and only then, did they move quietly making their way to the house and across the lawn with casual ease. Once around the back, Deirdre quickly fumbled for a latch hidden behind the ivy that covered the side of the house. With a swift flick of her wrist a piece of the stonework came away, revealing a steep staircase.

"Good work, De." Julia whispered as they shut the door behind them and felt their way through the inky blackness. She could hear Deirdre fumbling with the latch that would open up on the upstairs floor of the house. It creaked in the silence of the upper hall and Julia winced, hoping there were not servants upstairs that would hear. Both girls winced again as Deirdre shut the door, and both dodged behind pieces of furniture as the door opened and the light flicked on.

"I'm tellin' ya Betty, I heard somethin'."

"Aye, and perhaps it's the ghost of old man Winthrop comin' to haunt us." Betty said in disgust. "Ya always hearin' somethin', Judy. Now come on let's go, Mrs. Winthrop is in a fine mood tonight. Master Winthrop has takin' a likin' to that Dubois girl and she ain't happy about it."

"Alright." Judy sighed. " But I'm tellin' ya..."

"Yeah, yeah." Betty cut her off. Julia sighed in relief as they heard the footsteps down the hall.

"That Dubois girl, hmm?" Deirdre whispered. "Do I hear wedding bells for dearest Julia?"

"Shut it." Julia snapped, as she checked to make sure the coast was clear. Silently they made their way down the hall, Deirdre leading the way, stopping only when she turned sharply and opened the door to a room. Both shuffled in and shut the door, smiling at the moonlight that would make their job easier.

"I think we need to split up, De." Julia said quickly. "We only have a short space of time before we have to get out of here."

"We never split up, Julia, we do it together always remember?" Deirdre argued.

"We've never tried something this daring before either. The painting is down the hall in music room. I'll get the painting, stash it in the passage, and we'll get the statue together. You get the necklace." Julia replied. "We don't have much choice; the party may distract them, but you never know when someone will come up here to check on something. Or one of the children might wake up."

Deirdre nodded reluctantly, knowing Julia was right but not wanting to split up. She watched Julia go, muttering as she turned to the closet and the safe that would be inside. Silently she opened the doors and lit the gas lamp that sat on a table next to the gleaming wooden doors. Slowly she entered the large room that housed the many dresses of the hostess downstairs. Kneeling in front of the safe, she went to work trying to stop the feeling of unease that prickled at the back of her neck.

Swiftly, Julia made her way down the hall and to the room she knew housed the famous Ruben painting. Slipping into the room on soft feet, she made her way to the wall she remembered the painting hanging on. It should have been hanging on the wall above the ornately carved mantle. Moonlight lit this room as well and she slipped between the piano and harp with practiced ease, almost invisible due to her dark clothing. Reaching the fireplace, she found the wall above it was bare. Her heart leapt to her throat.

"Get a hold on yourself, Dubois." She whispered. "It's been moved, that's all. Now where in the hell would they move it?"

"Looking for this?" a deep voice asked from the shadows behind her. Whirling, she came face to face with Alex. Marcus stood only feet away smirking, his fist hitting into his open palm in undisguised glee.

"Perhaps." She said softly, trying to deepen her voice. She edged backing toward the door. Marcus moved quickly, blocking her path.

"We don't like people moving in on our jobs." Marcus smirked, his muscles rippling through his dinner jacket menacingly.

"Do you honestly think I believe you will attack me here with people below downstairs?" she returned, her eyes darting to Alex and back to Marcus. She had to get to Deirdre; there were only two here. That left Jack, Richard, and David still somewhere in the house. She had no doubts that they were setting a trap for her partner.

"Do you think we'd be stupid enough to attack you here?" Alex replied. "We only planned on catching you here, it's later that we'll attack. This was our territory, and do you know what Wolves do when someone enters their territory?"

"They make sure that person doesn't leave it." Marcus finished. Julia looked from one to the other. Alex's face was set in a cold, grim line, and Marcus smiled in anticipation. She reacted quickly before they could initially tell what her plan was. She darted between them, her hat and scarf coming free in Marcus's hands as he grabbed for her. Her hair tumbled around her back, but in the shadows, the men did not see it.

"Give me that." Alex snapped, taking the hat and the scarf from him as they turned to run after her. Julia darted out the door and down the hall, hoping she would reach Deirdre in time; there was a balcony in the room they could hopefully get down without breaking their necks.

In the mean time, Deirdre worked on the lock, sweat beading on her brow as she tried to concentrate. She heard a soft thump behind her and heard the door swing open.

"You got the painting?" she asked without looking up.

"Yeah, we've got the painting." A voice that was not Julia's said, the menace in the tone making her heart leap in fear. "We got the necklace too."

Without turning, she blew out the lamp and whirled, diving through the legs of the two men that blocked her way. She managed to scramble back and turn to find them already facing her. One of them grabbed her before she could run. She could feel the lump of something in his pocket, and she would have bet money that it was the necklace.

"Where's your partner?" the other asked. Her face was in shadow, his illuminated in the moonlight. It was Jack Kelly, his face set in a look of grim determination. "Let's get a good look at our competition."

She struggled as the man that held her turned her toward the moonlight, but he was too strong and she glared at Jack as he looked down at her in surprise. Slowly he pulled the scarf from her head sending her long braid tumbling into her captures face.

"You're a woman?" he said in surprise.

"And you're man." She sneered, bringing her foot up in a solid kick to his most vulnerable spot. Flinging her head back she head butted her captor in the face, grimacing in pain as his teeth cut her scalp. With a muffled cry of pain, he let her go. With practiced ease, she took the necklace from his pocket and ran for the door in one motion. She flung open the door in time to see Julia flying down the hallway, her hair streaming behind her like a comet.

"Come on." She cried, wracking her brain for possible ways out. Alex and Marcus were charging down the hall after her while Richard sprang from the room they had just left, holding a hand to his bleeding nose. "Damn it."

"The servant's stairs." Julia cried frantically, and together they ran to the staircase half hidden between the doors leading to the oldest child's room and the nursery. They nearly plowed down a servant girl as they flew down the steps.

"Stop them." Alex cried. The girl looked at them blankly and Julia flung open the door leading out to the veranda and gardens. He pushed the useless girl out of the way as they bolted out the door following them. He had only time to register the long silvery braid that stood out in the moonlight like a beacon and the dark hair that swirled around the other as they ran into the night. He knew he'd never catch them. Women, who would have though it would be women that were taking their jobs.

Slowly he turned and entered the busy kitchen, Marcus just behind him, Jack sitting on a stool, his face gray. Richard was letting a beautiful maid hold a napkin to his still bleeding nose. David looked to all of them in surprise.

"You let them get away?" he asked in fury and frustration.

"Cheese it, Davey." Alex hissed as the hostess and host entered the kitchen.

"What happened?" Mr. Winthrop queried, looking to Alex for an answer.

"I heard the maid complaining about a noise upstairs and went to investigate." Alex responded smoothly. "I took a few of my friends, just incase it might be those burglars the police have been having such a time catching. We split up and found one thief in your bedroom taking jewelry and the other trying to make off with the painting in the music room. We tried to apprehend them, but they were too swift; they took the necklace and ran."

"Oh, you dear, brave boys." Mrs. Winthrop cried. Alex smiled that little boy smile that often made women want to take him home and fatten him up.

"Call the police." Mr. Winthrop commanded. "What you did tonight, you were heroes."

"Thank you." Alex said simply, turning pink. "I think I'll comb the grounds and see if they're still here somewhere."

Mr. Winthrop was too busy shouting orders and Mrs. Winthrop was too busy trying not to faint as Alex nodded his head for his boys to follow. Quietly they sat on the back veranda, waiting for the police, knowing they wouldn't be able to go home until they gave their statements. The feel of the hat that was still in his hands reminded him of earlier days. Days when he had worn scratchy wool on his head, dirty and gray, old and worn. The soft silk in his hand brought his attention back to what he held. Its brightly colored roses seemed to glow in the light spilling from the kitchen windows.

"No." he breathed. "It can't be. Julia burned it when her mother died."

"What?" David asked. Shaking his head, he moved to the kitchen window and held the scarf up in the light, looking at each corner. He turned it twice before finding what he was looking for. Embroidered among the roses and half hidden were the initials J.A.B.

"What is it, Alex?" Jack asked, knowing the look on Alex's face meant he had found something.

"Our little competition left a calling card Jacky. I think I'll have to pay a visit." Alex replied, his eyes glittering with anger. He knew who it was now, the little sneak that had caused the evening's mess.

"Who is it, Alex?" Richard demanded. The bleeding had stopped, but his nose was already bruising.

"You might remember her actually." Alex said softly. "An old friend; she used to be a Wolf."

"It can't be Julia." Marcus protested. "She left New York years ago."

"Not exactly." Nick answered, stepping out onto the veranda. "Her father is Jean-Claude Dubois, if we are talking about the Julia you were dancing with last night, and I believe we are. Tell me Alex, how would a debutante get mixed up in all of this?"

"The Jean-Claude Dubois?" Marcus squeaked, "As in the mayor? That would make her rich, why would she jeopardize it all?"

"Why do we?" Alex responded, his hold on the scarf tightening. He felt anger and betrayal. She had tried to bring him down, he had no doubts of that. She had played his game and almost beaten him at it.

"She was a Wolf, she would never turn on us." Marcus whispered.

"For having grown up on the streets you can be incredibly naïve, Marcus." David sighed.

"Then why would she do it?" Marcus snapped.

"To get back at me." Alex hissed. "For abandoning her."

"You better deal with this." David warned. "I'd hate to have to take matters into my own hands."

"I'll deal with it." Alex promised.

"And when you talk to her, tell her I'll have words with her little friend." Jack growled.

Alex shook his head as the police entered the veranda. They gave their statements and endured the claps on the back before they were finally free to go home.

"Jack, come with me." Alex hissed, as the rest were making their way to their cars or other forms of transportation.

"What is it, Alex?"

"We'll wait here." Alex told him. "They'll be back. Julia made a contract, and she won't be willing to let it go."

"Is she crazy?" Jack asked. "There are bulls crawling all over the place."

"She'll wait until things have quieted." Alex responded, looking to the house. "Then she'll strike again. They have a painting and a statue still to get and she got a note telling her tonight. She's too proud to let us get the job."

Jack nodded and settled down next to his friend to wait. He hoped Alex was right; he had a bone to pick with Julia's partner. She would regret the fact that she ever picked a fight with Jack "Cowboy" Kelly.

Where did everyone go? Did I frighten you off? I seem to be getting a lot fewer reviews than I previously have. Please let me know you still like it. On with the S.O's then.....

Dreamer: This chapter is for you dear! I loved that line too! It was great talking with you! Hope I helped you out. Let me know if you need more chat time I'll be glad to help. Yes you may have some more!

Serina: (Does new reviewer dance) Yay! All I have to say is Thank you! Glad you like it, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think you may have some difficulty with Julia over the whole Spot issue, and Cameo, Well let's just say I wouldn't want to mess with her.

Erinkathleen: You're back, yay! Check out the new fic and get a dose of TTH. No more withdrawal until I finish the newest story. Send me those poems I'd love to read them.

Nevada: (Does another new reviewer dance) A new reviewer, yeah, a new review yah (oh people are paying attention now oops!) Okay seriously thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying it, let me know if you stop! I don't mind hearing an honest opinion! Thank you again!

Rumor: Yay another long review for me! He's pissed, Oh boy is he pissed. Betrayal never sits well with Spot or so the Muses tell me. I'm glad you liked it. You aren't the only one who loved my leprechaun bit. I loved it! No berating that wasn't the point, just trying to stay humble! Damn everyone guessed it, but then that was what the muses wanted and so she did it! Okay another review please!

This chapter brought to you by Kathryn Mason-Sykes. Thank you doll! What would I do without you editing for me?