Chapter Nine

Jason

I pause outside Hannah's half open door, wondering if I should knock. Slowly pushing the door open, I peak my head in. The sight in front of me is more than slightly surprising. The room looks positively immaculate; there isn't a single thing out-of-place. I kind of want to look around for evidence of communication to the mother ship. That is, if I didn't have a bone crushing fear of the room's occupant, I'd want to snoop. Taking another quick look, I assure myself that the room is empty before heading down the stairs; I pass through the kitchen, into the living room, after the sound of TV. When I step into the ridiculously high-tech room, I stop gaping at the couple on the couch. That's the whole issue, how incredibly coupe-like they are. Her head is one his shoulder and his arm is around her shoulders. Laughter rings out around the room, her genuine, giddy laugh that I never seem to be able to receive. I blink a few times before starting to step out of the room. Unfortunately, I don't take into to account the squeaking floor boards.

Hannah tenses her ponytail whipping around as she looks over her shoulder, a blush burning across her cheek bones. Liam turns much slower, not looking half as scandalized as Hannah does. I swallow, a little anxious. Sure I've been in some sticky situations before, there was this one time when my and my cousin, Nick, were posing as monks in a cathedral…. But this is definitely one of the most awkward situations I've been in. It's not every day you go looking to offer your mark services to a girl and find her with her with a guy who's equal as likely to beat you up as she is. I swallow before awkwardly waving like a dork.

"Hey."

Hannah

"Did you hack Frank's I-phone yet?" Peter asks Owen as he taps away on his laptop. He nods idly and shakes his head at the same time until Liam beams a crumpled up wad of paper off his head. Laughter erupts from the group as he snaps up. He blinks sleepily, despite the fact that it's almost noon.

"Yeah, um…" After tapping a few keys on his keyboard, a chart pops up on the project. The blank white wall fills with windows and windows of info. Emails make their way through the screen before the image finally settles on an agenda. "He has a meeting with his father at ten, and then lunch with someone named Kyle, and then he has a wardrobe appointment before he goes to a PR consultation." He rolls his eyes.

"So pretty much he's out of the house for hours on end." Danny concludes; a grin on his face. "We already know the in and outs of the security systems, so are we hitting it today?" He asks, always one for the smash and grab technique. Stealing a glance at Peter, I catch him shaking his head.

"No, we're going to hit it…." He strolls up to the projector and points at this coming Friday. "Then" Looking more carefully, I read the event he's gesturing towards. Birthday Party. "He will be the busiest billionaire of the night." He reminds us, and I smile a tiny bit, relaxing. "And Hannah's going to keep him that way." I feel the color drain from my face.

The warmth seeps through my cup of coffee in my hand. Biting at my cheeks and the tip of my nose the wind reddens my face. I take an uneasy sip, hoping the warm drink will ease the unrest in my stomach. Danny and Owens' voices are in my ear, giving instructions, and I'm ignoring them for the most part. I tend to ignore them anyways. Jason, of all people is silent, and strangely I'm waiting on edge for his comments. Last night, he was actually pretty helpful, he still managed to insult and hit on me at the same time, but he was helpful. I flick my eyes over to the debonair young man lounging at a tiny bistro. I watch as he turns his collar up against the cold wind. Rolling my shoulders back, as if I'm preparing for a blow, I saunter across the cobblestone street.

"What is this place, a Paris rip-off?" I demand my voice low. I hear Liam laugh under his breath.

"Let it go, Hannah, you'll get there eventually." Liam reminds me, laughing a little.

"What?" Jason demands, clearly not enjoying being out of the loop as I stroll down the sidewalk. He should probably get used to it if he's suddenly going to go mute on me.

"She's never been to Paris, still pretty bitter about it." Owen fills him in. I glare up at the hotel room where Owen has been running surveillance. Through the thin white curtains, I'm pretty sure I spot a shadowy figure flinch.

"Wait a minute, you've been a thief all your life and you've never been to Paris?" Jason demands. I know what he means, Paris is the Taj Mahal for an art thief, all the artwork... (sigh). I can feel my mouth-watering at the thought.

"Uh, huh, the one job we ever did there, she got mono." Danny laughs and I send my "would you like to keep that arm?" glare towards the convenience store he's staking out.

"Is anyone going to answer my question?" I wonder, sipping at my coffee, the bitter taste satisfying the craving.

"No, the main revenue's tourism, so they had this whole cleanliness and old-time charm project a few years ago." Owen responds, and I can hear the faint rattle of his finger on a keyboard. I prance towards the café, almost turning out of my kitten heels; I mutter a curse under my breath and Peter huffs.

"Language," He mutters and I roll my eyes, knowing not to take him seriously since I had to listen to him the last time the Pats lost to the Giants during the Super Bowl.

Finally arriving at the café, I turn into the fenced in patio, and with an inward grimace, my foot catches in the twined metal, sending me pitching forward. My coffee cup lurches forward, spilling all over my front; luckily, it's not too hot at this point. I splutter and slowly unhook my foot, leveraging myself up off the cement. I straighten my clothes, frantically blushing as I hear Liam laughing nonstop in my ear. When I look up the guy is crouching beside me a concerned expression on his face.

Harrison Leonard has been friends with Franks since the two were in school together at Yaxley Prep; they got expelled together, actually. Now, Harrison works for the branch of the company that Franks manages for his father. Harrison has cropped light brown hair, and dull brown eyes. He's not as attractive as Jason, Liam or even Frank's but I highly doubt he's lacking any confidence.

"Are you okay?" He wonders, as I sit up and glance down at my coffee soaked white blouse.

"I'm fine," I assure him, then sigh, "just a little embarrassed." I feel a blush burning on my cheeks. He glances down at my shirt before taking of his sweatshirt and offering it to me. I smile and shrug it on.

"Here," He murmurs helpfully, he's smiling good-naturedly as I pull my hair out of the hood. Breathing I smell the thick Parisian cologne.

"Thank you, it means a lot, but how will I get it back to you?" I wonder, tilting my head and biting my lip.

"Know what? I'm going out-of-town for a few days, so how about, you bring it back to me at a party Friday?" He offers a gleam of an idea in his eyes. I purse my lips pretending to think about it for a moment. After a moment, I smile at him, flutter my eyelashes a little.

"Sure, what's the address?" I ask, handing him my phone. He types in the details, along with his number and smiles pleasantly at me.

"See you then." He grins, getting to his feet and helping me up, still grinning, he starts to walk away. Suddenly, he turns and grins at me, "Oh and make sure to tell the security you're with Harrison Leonard." He suggests, pointing to himself, I laugh and smile with a nod. When he walks off, my com fills with static silence.

"Did she just…" Danny trails off unable to find the words.

"Completely ensnare that guy …" Owen continues then stops, bewildered.

"By wiping out" Jason finishes, and I can hear the proud smirk in his tone. I can't help the giddy grin that spreads across my face as I brush myself off and start to head home.