It was quiet. That nice kind of quiet that said all was well, and there was nothing to differentiate this night from thousands of others. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary at the di LiCossa estate. The guard at the gatehouse was rather bored as he often was this late at night. During the day, there were always people coming and going, and there was always something to be done. Night shifts were more sitting with a cup of hot coffee and reading a magazine; one that he would throw under something if anyone would come remotely close.

Inside, everything was perfectly normal. Cameras kept a silent vigil over the occupants. Italy had never historically been a safe place to live, but they didn't have to worry with technology guarding them while they rested. The gate guard scanned the cameras around the perimeter, but there was nothing to worry him in the slightest. The winter wind blew around them all, rustling the surrounding countryside, but all was quiet and calm that night. The guard never noticed that at camera four at the service gate, the same rabbit had hopped into the bottom right on the screen and then back several times. The bunny returned every six minutes to be exact.

It was rare that Janna was actually this close to the point of a grab, but this was a rare case. She was going to have to be close to get them through security, and they were going to have to haul very quickly to get out of there before police showed up. She had spent a good two days plotting the best route out of there, and she knew some side roads that would make following them rather tricky. Actually, it would be impossible unless a pursuer would also have a 4 X 4 that could just about climb a greased telephone pole. Janna and Cam had gone in together and spent their entire share of the profits from a job that they had done on the vehicle. Liz didn't know quite why they were drooling over it, especially when Janna had that sweet sports car that her parents had given her, but to each their own. Tyler had seen it when he was in Europe earlier that year at one of his car design conventions, and he had lusted over it as well. Liz still preferred her Ferrari.

Janna had the outside security made in a matter of minutes. The cameras were set on a loop so that it would look like they were still playing and recording. She loved how people just had to have their security systems set up so that they could check on their houses from anywhere in the world. It had started in day care centers so that mommy and daddy could check on the little darlings, and then grew from there. It was supposed to be hack-proof, but she used basically the same techniques her dad used when he used to do the Eye's Only hacks. They left the back gate open in case a quick exit was going to be needed and drove into the estate. Luck was with them that night and the wind was blowing the sound of the engine away from the populated area. This wasn't going to be easy, no grab was, but with luck on their side, they would be out of there without anyone knowing they were there.

Janna stopped the SUV and got in the back as Liz and Cam got ready. It took a minute to get all of the equipment ready and make sure that it was all working, and then the twins crept out of the car. This was going to be tricky since once they hit the house perimeter, communication could trigger an alarm. Janna hadn't gotten that completely taken care of. She knew it wouldn't trip the alarm, but it was probably going to be recorded. Their microphones were now voice altering, but it was still a stress point. Of course, she was the one that stressed about everything until the twins got back. It wasn't fair sometimes. They knew how they were doing. She just had to wait for them and hope for the best.

Their faces masked, gloves strapped on, and boots tied, Liz and Cam slid out of the car in utter silence. Janna opened the moon roof for a little fresh air and began the wait. Cam had a camera on him so that she would be able to get him through the necklace's security. It amazed her how they could move so quickly. She had grown up with it, but it sucked sometimes to not have gotten the good genes like some of her other halfling cousins. She had inherited her mother's ability to see in the dark, her tolerance to heat and cold and she rarely slept, but that speed and strength thing just hadn't happened. It wasn't really needed all that much when your two best friends could pick you up and haul you up a sheer wall, but it really sucked to have to sit in the background and do the grunt work while they got to have the adventure. Oh well. They wouldn't be able to do what they were doing without her watching their back. She concentrated on the screens in front of her, watching her
cousins as they darted towards the big house.

The twins stayed just on the edge of the cleared area, keeping the house in view. Liz ducked down low and waited while Cam ran around the perimeter to the north side of the house. She was glad they didn't have to worry about timing things and being a few seconds off and that screwing up the plans. Radio silence never meant that they were out of communication. They had to turn off the camera when they got close to the house to prevent detection, but it was still a comfort to have the other one near.

Janna had control of the outside motion detectors. The inside didn't have any, but the windows would set off an alarm if they were moved. That was all on the internal circuits along with the necklace's security. Janna hadn't figured out a way to hack that, but Cam had found the solution. Since it was the frame of the window that couldn't move, they would simply remove the glass and the center supports for the panes. Liz had teased him mercilessly about having to remove all four panes when she only had to remove the lower two.

(ready when you are)

(moving in now)

The necklace was on the third story of the building. It was too high to jump straight up, but they had their favorite carbon dioxide powered grappling hooks. There was a small ledge that ran around the building, and it was an easy shot. They fired simultaneously, hitting the target easily and scaling the wall. They pulled up the ropes and repacked everything. Getting down wasn't going to require a rope.

The plan had been refined over the last couple of weeks. Liz was going to go down a hall and wait. One second before the alarm at the necklace was to go off, she would trip an alarm down there by opening a window. That should give them the time they needed to finish while Liz ran like hell and got out the window. With a little luck, they would think she edged around the ledge to the back, and go that way. In the meantime, she would have easily leapt to the ground and taken off at full speed as long as Cam was cleared. He had been in all of their practices at least. They would meet back with Janna and take off into the night. Janna had already contacted Southwood and told him when and where to be to pick up the necklace.

Cameron knew his sister was waiting for him to finish, but she wasn't impatient. She was never impatient and tried to rush things. That was a quick way to getting caught, not getting the job done. He undid the panes carefully. The frame would have a tolerance to getting moved to account for wind and birds, but he didn't want to push his luck. The small saw made enough vibrations for him to worry about. It took a bit to get through the wood, but he couldn't risk using a power tool. Too much noise. He was fast enough as is. He glanced at his watch. From the first time he contacted Janna with the radio, they were set on the amount of time they had. Within minutes, the radio signals would be caught, processed as foreign, and then all hell was going to break loose. The panels gave way easily and he was ready to go.

(going in)

Liz took a deep breath as her twin's thought eased into her mind. She flipped the camera on, knowing that he was doing the same. Video feeds wouldn't trip the alarms, and Janna wanted to be able to see what both of them were doing. In utter silence she slipped through the window and moved down the hall like a shadow, getting into position. She broadcasted her location to Cam.

(it's quiet down here, everything good with you)

(so far so good, going to contact janna in just a second)

On the other end of the house, Cameron moved into position carefully. It was quiet, and his enhanced hearing was on full alert for any sounds. The necklace was housed in a room that was designed as a display for it and the family's other special jewels. It was kept on the third floor, where the bedroom suites were, so that only special guests would see it. When they held balls and the like, the wife (or right now, the mother or sister) of the Conte would be wearing it. The room was large, and had multiple cameras in it. As Cameron watched, the red lights on the cameras blinked off, then on again. The entire camera system was together and once Janna had control of the outside one, the inner ones were easy.

The room was beautifully done in marble with columns added for decoration. The floor was a mosaic of a side view of a young woman with her hand outstretched, and the estate behind her. She seemed to be reaching for some far-off land. Inset into the wall was the case where the necklace was. Spotlights were aimed at it so that the diamonds would create prisms within themselves as they were viewed. It was gorgeous, and Cameron felt a twinge of regret that they were going to turn it over to some guy so he could settle up with the Mafia. Oh well. He was going to get paid well for what they were going to do.

In the car, Janna watched them carefully on the split screen as both twins moved into their positions. She loaded up the program required to crack the code to get to the necklace. All of her thoughts were focused on getting through this as fast as possible to get them out of there in record time. They were focused until Liz passed a little something on a display table in the hall she was in. It was a statue of Bast. She had heard the story of how her parents met, but it was an exaggerated one, she was sure. Her mom was wild as a young woman, but there was no way she broke into the penthouse and tried to steal a stupid statue. Mom was a lot of things, but a cat burglar? No way. Eye's Only operatives were all truth, justice, and the American Way. Just like Aunt Jhondie when she used to do stuff for Dad when she was young.

In any case, this statue was far nicer than the one in her parent's home. That one was ugly. There was no way that anyone would want it, and that was why she knew the story had to be just a bit overblown. This one was beautiful though. It looked really, really old, as if it really was from ancient Egypt. With an artist's eye she admired the workmanship of it and the intricate carving. It looked like it was carved from a single piece of ivory with small hieroglyphics carved into the base that the cat goddess was sitting on. They never got greedy and grabbed something they weren't contracted to, but this was just a small statue that was just sitting on a table in a hall, and who was going to miss it considering that a multi-million dollar necklace was going to be missing. Well, she could ask. If Liz thought it was too much of a liability, she would say no. First things first. The necklace was the goal.

They were in position. Cameron was the one that had to initiate the radio contact once he got set up. He double-checked the wiring and the connections. All were set. With a deep breath, he activated the microphone. "Remote one to base in position."

Three stopwatches kicked on simultaneously. Liz quickly unlocked the window next to her. Three minutes and counting before she opened it. Her heart was pounding as Janna and her brother began to go back and forth, relaying the codes to open the necklace's case. They had done this over and over in practice, and Liz knew the exact moments when the pauses were going to come as Janna ran another diagnostic and caught the next number in the sequence. They had to get about four hundred, and then the algorithm could pick up the pattern. Luckily the computer ran through it in a matter of seconds, but a human had to change around the relays, and get them in the right pattern as well to make the glass lower. It might have been easier to break the glass, but it was two inches thick and bulletproofed. This had proven to be the better way. Not easy, but better.

At the two-minute mark, there was a fifteen second pause while the computer ran the algorithm. They were actually slightly ahead of schedule. God, they were good. Janna's voice spoke up, addressing Liz. "Remote two, see the statue to the right on the table? If you're not busy on the way out..."

"Are you nuts?" Liz whispered anxiously. She had never gotten a request like that before from Janna.

"Just this once. It's Bast, like from the story."

Liz almost giggled. She had heard the story as well, and it made sense why Janna would want it. It was a cheap-looking piece of art anyways, and not very big, maybe eight inches tall. No harm at all in throwing it in her side pouch on the way out. She almost laughed again at the thought of Janna giving it to her parents for Christmas or something like that.

"Base, remote two, secondary target acquired."

Liz watched her stopwatch, her mouth dry in anticipation. Fifteen seconds....

(it's lowering!)

The thought was shouted mentally and whispered physically. The Happy Dance would have to wait for later. They had never gotten it this fast before. Adrenaline was a wonderful thing.

"Great," Janna replied. There was a pause and then a shocked gasp. "Oh my God!" she almost screamed. "SQUIRREL!" There was a loud slamming, and Liz knew exactly what it was. Janna was getting the hell out of the car. Oh God, not now. There was a weird feeling in the air. A static, and in an instant, Liz knew what it was. A silent alarm had been tripped.

(cam!)

(i know...feel it too...need another minute to free it)

Still cursing their cousin, Liz wrenched open the window, the alarm's horns suddenly blaring as security lights all over came on, bathing the house in light.