Title: The Thief

A/N: So lets get the ball rolling a little for this plot. I know the previous chapters were moving a little slow, but I promise it'll start making sense in the later chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading! R&R!

-McDiggin'It

...

Chapter Eight:

…

It takes two days, but Morgana finally gets the text from Gwen, notifying her that they've gotten Merlin's fingerprint mold done. She waits for him to leave for his conference before calling Gwen. "Have Lance drop it off in the maintenance room down the hall." she says immediately, not wanting to waste time.

"Of course, but I think there's something you should know about your Merlin."

"What is it?" Morgana asks, ignoring Gwen's reference to Merlin as hers.

"Well, remember how we ran his name and couldn't find much information about him?"

Morgana bites her lip, "Yes."

"Well, that's because his name, doesn't match the name that popped up when we ran his prints in the U.K government registry."

Morgana slowly gets up and begins to pace the living room. "He has a different name?"

"Yes. The first name is still Merlin, and surprisingly, hundreds of people are named Merlin,… but his last name isn't Emrys… in fact, his last name is Dragoon."

"Dragoon?" Morgana asks incredulously. "What kind of surname is that?"

"Right?… so we ran his real name in the police database, and guess what we found?"

"What?" Morgana asks impatiently, yet warily.

There's a pregnant pause before Gwen finally replies. "Nothing. This guys records are squeaky clean. Not a single thing popped up for both of his names. And that's not even the weird and suspicious part."

"Go on." Morgana listens intently.

"According to Lance, the only existing files he could find on Merlin, are dated to exactly 10 years ago, around the same time that he suddenly became the richest man in Great Britain."

Morgana's eyebrows furrow for a few moments as she stares at the glass window. "You're saying he has no other existing records before that?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Ten years ago, your rich boyfriend didn't even exist… and now he's the richest man in all of Great Britain."

Morgana honestly doesn't know what to say about any of this. She of course was a little suspicious of how Merlin earned his fortune, but… now it's just been solidified. But it still doesn't make much sense. "What about his estate in London? That place has been there for ages... how did Merlin suddenly own it?"

"I don't know... it seems there's a lot we don't know about him."

Morgana bites her lip and runs a hand through her hair. This is just great. Some more things for her to dig through! She's going to find out how he rose to such a level of fortune, and why he practically didn't exist ten years ago. And she's going to find out soon.

…

They're laying in bed on top of the covers, naked as the day they were born. Merlin is laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, and Morgana is laying on her belly, with her chin propped up on his hard stomach, her right arm draped over his chest, drawing random patterns on his bicep with her fingers.

"So..." Morgana says in a absentminded tone. "Where are your parents?" This would be the first time she has ever asked about his family.

Merlin shrugs his shoulders, "Dead." His tone is nonchalant as he begins playing with a strand of her hair.

Morgana turns her head, pressing her cheek into his stomach as she stares into his eyes. "I'm sorry... I didn't know."

Merlin is already shaking his head at her, a soft smile forming on his lips. "Don't be... it was a long time ago."

Morgana nods, pausing for a moment before asking softly, "How did they pass away?"

Merlin is silent for a long while before he finally replies, his voice but a whisper. "My father was murdered... and my mother died years later, taken by an ailment." He doesn't explain further and Morgana doesn't pry. To know that your father was murdered... it must be really hard. Of course, he could be lying, but who's to say he isn't? So she says nothing as she pulls her arm back from his chest and gently caresses his jaw.

She turns her head, pressing her lips against his stomach and peppering his skin with soft kisses. It's her way of saying she's sorry about his parents deaths. He smiles at her and runs his hands gently through her hair.

"We should do something." He says softly.

Morgana nods against him but doesn't stop kissing him. "We are doing something." She mutters against his skin.

Merlin chuckles lightly as he takes her chin in his hand and turns her head so she's looking at him. He slips out of bed and presses his lips against hers. "I meant we should get out of the room. Go see the city or something."

At this, Morgana's eyes light up with excitement. She's always wanted to explore Italy, and she didn't think that the richest man in all of Britain would want to go out and explore anything. "I would love that." She murmurs.

An hour and a half later, Morgana and Merlin are walking side by side, hand in hand, while each enjoying a cone of vanilla gelato.

Morgana tries and fails several times to push away the thoughts going through her head. Like how right it feels to be here with him, doing such mundane things. How this feels more like a date than any real date she's ever been on. How her hand fits perfectly in his. How easy it is to lose her true self with him. They talk and laugh, enjoying the breeze as their driver follows closely behind them in a black Rolls-Royce. At the end of the night, Morgana's stomach is full with Italian desserts, and her heart is filled with joy and… something else she can't afford to think about.

As their driver takes them back to the hotel, Morgana stares out the window, trying to sort out her priorities. You are here on a mission… to rob Merlin- whatever-his-lastname-is! Not fall in love with him! She chants that repeatedly to herself for the remainder of the ride back, but it doesn't really work. The moment Merlin takes her hand again, she finds herself right back to square one. And still no real progress on what she's really there to do. Tomorrow morning, when he leaves the room, she'll finally be able to push things into full swing. For now, she turns her brain off and lets Merlin pick her up and carry her to the bedroom in their suite. Tonight, she just wants to enjoy his touch, his kisses, his taste, his body, before she finds out whats in his biometric briefcase.

…

Morgana is pulled from her deep slumber at a loud knock coming from the front door of the suite. She groans, rolling over and squinting her eyes open to find that Merlin isn't beside her. Sitting up, she looks around the room, searching for her clothes. She ends up wearing a bathrobe instead because her clothes look absolutely wrinkled and she just doesn't feel like going through that closet of luxurious dresses and such at the moment. Just as she's about to go into the living room, the door swings open and Merlin steps through, smiling widely at her. "Guess who's here?"

Morgana quirks an eyebrow at him. There's only one person currently in Italy that they mutually know, so she goes with, "Arthur?"

Merlin chuckles, nodding his head. "And he brought a friend."

Okay, she has no idea who that friend could be. "Who?"

Morgana follows him as he gestures for her to do so, moving into the living room. She first sees Arthur, already holding a glass of dark red liquid, and grinning widely at her. "Alessandra!" he greets gleefully, then moves aside and smiles at his 'friend'. "I believe you've already met Odette?"

Morgana finds herself staring at her best friend and 'work' partner, smiling at her. It's subtle, but Morgana could easily spot the apologetic look on Gwen's face, conveying that she had no idea they would be meeting like this. "Oh, of course." Morgana plays it off cool and steps forward to shake Gwen's hand. "We met on the night of the auction in London."

Gwen nods, giving her the best genuinely friendly smile she has. "Yes we did. It was such a great pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well." Morgana returns, and glances over to Merlin, finding the tall, handsome man grinning at her.

Arthur turns and looks at Merlin and shrugs his shoulders in question, "Shall we all have breakfast downstairs?"

Merlin nods and looks at Morgana's bathrobe. "How about you ladies get acquainted while we go downstairs and flag us a private booth? And once you're done getting dressed," he says specifically to Morgana, "… join us downstairs at the in-house cafe`."

"What about your conference?" Morgana asks, trying to sound nonchalant.

Merlin shrugs, "Arthur and I will be attending it later."

Morgana nods, smiling at him as he pulls her close and kisses her cheek. "I'll see you soon." he whispers before turning to Arthur who does the same with Gwen. The two men then leave the room, talking animatedly about each others week so far.

As soon as the door closes, Morgana turns and shoots a pointed stare at Gwen. "What's going on?" she whispers as she pulls Gwen into the bedroom.

Gwen begins giggling for a moment before replying with, "I had no idea we were coming here. In fact, I thought we were just going to stay in his room, but—,"

"Arthur is staying here?" Morgana interrupts.

Gwen nods, "He just checked in at one of the presidential suites this morning after he picked me up from the airport."

"The airport?" Morgana asks confusedly.

"When he called me while I was still in London, he told me that he wanted me to come here and spend the week with him. So I agreed, but told him that I wouldn't be able to make it until this morning, which is of course a lie because I've been here for 3 whole days, trying to help Lance and Tony set up. I took a cab early this morning to the airport so Arthur could pick me up from there."

Morgana narrows her eyes at Gwen. "And why didn't you tell me this before? You gave him your number?"

Gwen shrugs, "I didn't think it would be important." She laughs, then gives Morgana a pointed look. "Besides, it's not like I just up and left with him on the first night I met him." She says jokingly.

Morgana gives her a scathing look and rolls her eyes as she leads the way to the closet to find something to wear. "Okay… I guess the briefcase can wait until later."

Gwen nods in agreement. "Yeah… We have two sexy men waiting for us downstairs. The briefcase will have to wait until later."

…

Morgause paces, cursing under her breath and trying not to smash the large mirror in the corner of her and Morgana's apartment. In the other corner, sat one of her informants, cowering by the couch as he stares at her.

"Those were Lancelot's exact words?" Morgause asks in a dangerous, low tone.

"Yes." The informant, Perry replies in a whisper. "Morgana is sleeping with the-"

"Shut up, Perry!" Morgause snaps furiously. "I heard you the first time!" She turns to a wall, and takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as she tries to compose herself. This, is the first time her sister has done something like this. Usually she wouldn't care what Morgana does as long as she's getting the job done, but it's been nearly a week and there hasn't been a single bloody progress. Nothing at all. It's so unlike Morgana. And to be sleeping with the victim?! What the bloody fuck did I miss?! Morgause glares at the wall as she orders Perry to leave. She has a few phone calls to make.

The first person she calls, is Cenred. "The deal is off." is the first thing she says when he answers.

"What?" Cenred asks bewilderingly. "No, you gave me your word that Morgana will be mine for one night." he argues, his voice bordering on desperation.

"Well that's just too bad, Cenred. Because it seems like Morgana is already someone else's."

There's a pregnant pause, followed by a colorful string of words from Cenred. "What the fuck does that even mean?!" he exclaims in anger.

"Exactly what I said."

"She's sleeping with someone already?"

"As it seems, yes. She's sleeping with our newest target."

There's another pause, and then Cenred is laughing rather humorlessly. "Morgana doesn't sleep with anyone, Morgause. You're lying to me."

Morgause scoffs, rolling her eyes as she glares at her reflection in the mirror. "Oh, I wish I was lying, Cen. I really do. But I'm not, and I don't care if you believe me. The deal is off."

"Why? I don't care who else she's sleeping with, I just want my night with her."

Morgause doesn't resist the urge to swear at Cenred before telling him off. "You know what? I don't bloody give a damn what you want, the deal is off and that's that."

"What if I offer you something else?"

Morgause rolls her eyes, "You have nothing I want."

Cenred chuckles in that way that she really hates, "Oh I think I do."

Morgause finally moves over to the couch and takes a seat on it, draping one of her legs over the other. "I'm listening."

"There's a guy…"

"Cenred, I'm going to stop you right there. I'm not going to meet up with one of your sad excuses for a dealer again—,"

"He's not a dealer!" Cenred protests. "This guy is the real deal. A business man."

"What kind of business?" Morgause asks skeptically.

"He's the head of a secret organization that mostly dabbles in Art consignation."

Morgause makes a face at that, "Art… He sells art?"

Cenred grunts in response. "Not just any art. Masterpieces. Priceless works of art."

"And how does he go about obtaining this art?"

Cenred snorts, "No one knows… But he's able to do all of this without getting caught."

Morgause thinks for a moment, then asks suspiciously, "If it's a secret organization, then how do you know about it?" Morgause questions dubiously.

Cenred's tone when he answers, is that of offense. "Give me some credit, Morgause. I have many contacts around the world that you'd be impressed with."

"Oh I don't know." she mutters sarcastically. "After that stunt you pulled on us a few years back, I've become less and less impressed with your work, and even more doubtful of your contacts." Morgause knows better than to trust Cenred of all people, so she's going to have to do some digging of her own, but he at least sounds genuinely excited. "So why are you telling me about this guy?"

Cenred is almost gushing when he replies, "Because he's looking for people like you."

"People like me?"

"Yes." Cenred replies, and Morgause could almost hear him nodding up and down like the bloody idiot he is. "Professionals at what you do. Clean, careful, cautious, unseen... and get this." He pauses as if for effect. "He's paying big bucks for a job you could do in your sleep."

"What kind of job are we talking about?" Morgause asks skeptically.

"Stealing… he's really good at reading people too, so if you consider this and get serious about it, he'll know and he'll find you."

Interesting. Morgause strokes her chin as she thinks about what Cenred has told her so far. The guy, whoever he is, sounds like someone who really knows what he's doing… and that's the kind of person she's been looking for. A business man who understands the art of stealing, and knows what he's doing. "And what's this guys name?" she asks curiously.

"Nobody knows. All anyone knows is the name he calls himself."

Morgause waits, and irritatedly snaps at the idiot when he doesn't tell her. "Well are you going to tell me what the bloody hell it is?!"

Cenred huffs, "The Hawk of the Plain."

"Seriously?" Morgause asks in bewilderment. "What the bloody hell kind of name is that?" This was getting fishier and fishier by the minute. "It sounds like something out of a comic book!"

"It's a pseudonym! You don't expect him to use his real name, do you?"

Morgause ignores that little quip at her expectations, but growls angrily.

"Look I know you don't trust me," Cenred says quickly in a soft tone, mindful of Morgause's temper. "but this could be the opportunity you've been looking for. I can get you a meeting with this guy, and all you have to do, is persuade Morgana to spend one night with me."

Morgause sighs heavily in annoyance, "Cenred, why are you so obsessed with Morgana? Why don't you just hire a prostitute to do whatever twisted shit is going through your head?"

"Let's just say that the twisted shit going through my head, involves Morgana."

Morgause makes a disgusted face. She loves her sister, and she doesn't really plan on just bargaining her away to Cenred. All she can do is try to talk Morgana into it… she snorts, knowing that that is a very very, (impossible) long shot. but this Hawk of the Plain guy sounds like something she could look into.

Cenred clears his throat loudly, "So do we have a deal?"

Morgause shakes her head. The consignor job sounds too good to be true. Stealing art is practically useless. Stealing a world famous piece of art, will take away the true value of it. No one would buy it, and no one on the black market is rich enough or stupid enough to purchase such a work of art. It's the reason she never gave a second thought on stealing art. But Cenred is right about one thing... If this guy is legit, it's an opportunity she almost can't turn down. "See what you can do about setting up a meeting with your Hawk guy, and I'll think about it." With that, she ends the call and dials her sisters number. There's a lot they need to discuss.

…

A/N: Ok, What the heck is going on here?!… Hmmm, stick around and find out. Nothing is as it seems, isn't it? Well, I hope that's enough to keep you on the edge of your seats until my next update. Up next, Morgana finally opens that briefcase, Morgause makes another deal with Cenred, and maybe some more reveals! Thanks for reading, and please review! I will be posting "Outdrink Me" next! :) Thanks for reading!

-McDiggin'It