#lator

The job is not too complicated though at some point it requires double characters to be played and a faked death over a car accident but in its core it only requires one thing. Make the mark believe she can't afford to lose. And that is nothing but simple when the mark is as opportunistic as their respected oil company tycoon, Miss Agatha Dashner.

Taking a deep breath from the cigarette, Lotor tracks Ezor, the white lilies immediately pulling at his attention. Suddenly her back straightens, eyes focusing at the distance.

"She is early" Ezor says as she moves down the street, a serious expression settling over her face. "Eta 1 minute."

"Almost ready" Acxa informs them, her calm attitude allowing Lotor to relax.

Two puffs from his cigarette and  a black car stops at the curve, the chauffeur getting out and opening the door for a tall woman, her indigo fur coat elegantly placed over her shoulders. Her heels click against the side walk, fingers shinning with rings as she moves towards the gallery, only to collide with Ezor. As he watches Ezor plants a micro camera on one of her blouse buttons, her fingers fleeting across her frame as she lifts her wallet, discreetly pulling the security card from inside.

It is satisfying to watch her move with confidence, an easy smile on her face as she diverts and distracts, the security card being copied with a swift move and the wallet soon finding its place in Dashner’s wallet, as if it was never touched.

“I’m so sorry, Madame.” Ezor says her tone sincere even though Lotor can hear the mischief in it.

He can’t help but smile, satisfaction settling inside as he takes another breath from his cigarette.

Soon Ezor is moving down the street with a cheerful “Have a nice day” thrown over her shoulder, her feet taking her towards Lotor as the mark enters the gallery, soon to be greeted by Acxa, her new cover personality as a gallery personnel iron clad by the meticulous work of Narti.

Ezor makes quick way, standing next to him in a few seconds. “May I have one cigarette, dear Sir?” she asks entirely too pleased with herself, satisfaction shining in her eyes.

“Of course,” Lotor reaches to his case, offering one, while Ezor discreetly hands him the copied security card, hidden from the view by the cigarette case. “Good job,” he murmurs, lighting her cigarette with one hand, as he places the case and the card into his inside pocket.

“My part was easy,” she whispers. “It is on Acxa now.”

Lotor nods and looks over his shoulder where the van is situated.

Ezor takes a deep breath from her cigarette, the flame burning and eating away at the tobacco. Huffing out the smoke, she sends a glance at the van as well. “They’ve been offly quiet.” she comments.

“Indeed...” Lotor murmurs, fingers curling around his cane. It is quite possible that Zethrid took out her ear piece, pouting because she was confided to the van but still...

“Why don’t you check on them?”

“And be sure they haven’t killed each other?”

Lotor smiles at the teasing tone. “That too.”

Ezor stubs out her cigarette and gives him a wink before turning back. “Thank you, Sir!”

Lotor watches as she crosses the street, feet almost skipping and entirely unworried by the situation. It is not as if any of them has seen another person approaching the van which can only mean Zethrid and Narti went of comms for a personal reason.

Turning his attention towards the gallery once again, Lotor reaches into his pocket to light up another cigarette. Through the ear piece he can hear Acxa’s voice, her words carefully working on the mark, slowly goading and prodding.

Suddenly Ezor’s voice cuts in.  “Everything is peachy on our end. They have been making out though, isn’t that against-”

“HEY! WE weren’t making out! We don’t do that on the job!”

A high laugh, various snicker and shuffles with a sudden gleeful scream carry over the line, causing amusement to spread in Lotor’s heart. Though under all that noise, he can also hear the edge in Acxa’s voice, undoubtedly her concentration slipping due to distraction.

“Focus!” he orders, the team in the van soon settling down as Acxa’s voice gets clearer.

And soon satisfaction settles across Lotor’s shoulders. It seems like everything is going according to plan, maybe they can even wrap this up sooner than they have expected.

His phone rings...

Brows rising, Lotor stubs out his cigarette, fingers pulling the phone from his pocket, a blocked number flashing on the screen. Eyes narrowing in suspicion he looks towards the gallery before calling out to Narti.

“Narti, I’m getting a call from a blocked number. Trace it if you can.”

“What? A call?!” Ezor asks surprised. “Who even has that number?!”

Who indeed?...

Without replying, Lotor takes his ear piece out, finger swiping over the screen to take the call.

"Speak."      

"Are you a thief? Because you sure did steal my heart!"

What?... The voice on the other end is light and clear, amusement evident from the tone. Immediately something nags at the back of Lotor's mind, something almost familiar pulling at him...

"Who is this?"

"Awwww now you are just breaking my heart. Did you forget about me so soon, handsome?"

Handsome?...Who-

A sudden realization dawns on Lotor, his breath turning sharp.

"Lance..."

"Hmmm it feels so good to hear my name from those lips. I've never appreciated a man digging up my name without my consent before."

Lotor rolls his eyes, amusement settling around his heart even while his shoulders stay tense. Is Lance even here? Or is he at a beach enjoying the ocean, the sun and a margarita. Now that's an image...

"I dug up a lot more than just your name....Tailor." he teases, attention trying to zero in on the other thief's location by listening to the background noises.

"Ahhhh, he knows my stage name too! Yes...yes..your hacker is quite good, isn't she? She is certainly talented but still...you didn't find enough, did you now? That must be really frustrating for you"

Lotor gives an amused huff.

It was true, even with all her talent and persistence, Narti had only been able to dig up the names, a few known aliases, photographs and some old police reports of Lance and his team. No traceable money trail, no known addresses, no detailed history... "You are right Lance, I need more from you."

A food cart passes beside him, the melody faintly echoing on the other end of the line as well.

So he is here, Lotor thinks, the faintness of the melody clueing him in that Lance can only be watching from somewhere secluded.

"Hmmm I hope you are not saying this to every thief who gets close to you, handsome. I might just get jealous..."

This time Lotor can't help his laugh, gaze rising up to discreetly search the roofs.

The man is ridiculous...

"How did you even get this number?"

"Nah-ah you are not asking the right question. Though you sure look nice in that three piece suit. Blue looks ravishing on you. I especially dig the hat"

Unable to find the other thief, Lotor sneaks a glance at the gallery, still no one in sight, undoubtedly the mark preoccupied with Acxa.

No doubt noticing Lotor's movement and connecting the pieces Lance chuckles. "Don't worry," he says, voice pleasant. "We are not actually after the same thing this time. Though...black diamond..." A whistle cracks through the line. "Classy! And might I say; ambitious. How much is it worth anyway? Five hundred grand?"

Lotor smirks in satisfaction, even as suspicion churns at his stomach...or is it excitement? Can he really trust the other to tell the truth?...

"Six, if you can get the right clientele."

"And I bet you can get it, huh handsome? You can get anything you want."

Anything he wants?...

For a second Lotor's throat closes, the scene of Lance's lean figure diving down a skyscraper flashing before his eyes. No...not everything... he almost says, heart beating at his throat. He can't show it though; he can't let Lance control this. He lets his tone turn flirty, a small smirk spreading over his lips

"Are you offering?"

On the other side of the line Lance chokes, causing Lotor’s smirk to turn dangerous.

"Where are you?" he asks again, ignoring the unintelligible words and excited mumblings tumbling from the line. This time he looks around more carefully, eyes surveying the crowd in order to locate the other, as his feet move towards the gallery.

Lance clears his throat, breaths tight and excitement still present in his tone. "Cold" he says playfully "...so cold"

Discreetly turning to his left, Lotor looks through the crowd, eyes focusing on the busy food stand.

"C'mon, you really think I will be chumping on a hot dog, right now?"

Lotor smiles, his tone turning teasing. "Depends on what you are after..."

"Hmmmm...and what do you think I am after, huh handsome?"

Lotor goes over the options, eyes taking in the office buildings around him, as he positions himself in front of the gallery, different high profile company names jumping out. The central bank at the corner looks promising or maybe the British Embassy down the street... and then there is the Brogue Gallery right behind him.

"You are a fan of excitement but you don't like to fly without a plan"

"Awww you know me so well!"

So maybe this is not about what to steal but rather how to steal it! With his desperation to prove himself and his pompous nature, Lance would be sure to go for a challenge.

Mind going through the options again, Lotor this time focuses on the security systems and the level of expertise the jobs will require, analyzing how much of a challenge they will be.

There is one Sterenko system at Olkari Technologies which is impossible to escape from. Then there is a Yamamoto system right across the street at Zuko Enterprises which is...decent, possibly the most optimal job if you are looking for a challenge but still want a manageable success rate. Though...Zuko Ênterprises is a weapon company; defense contracts, latest offensive war technology, military affiliations and much more.

"I didn’t take weapon companies to be your thing."

"Zuko Enterprises?...” On the other end, Lance laughs. “That was admirable, you were close too but you are right, weapon’s company is not my thing anymore.  Nowadays, I like my scores to be more...shiny."

Shiny? For a few seconds Lotor discards the words, mind immediately focusing on the other options. If not the Zuko Enterprises that leaves-  Wait -! Shiny as in the sun cube of Olkari?! A multimillion dollar, state of the art, clean energy sourced high tech processor?!

You can't be serious, Lotor almost says. You are an idiot, is the second thing that comes to the tip of his tongue but he holds off.

"That would be inadvisable. You can't hope to succeed infiltrating Olkari, especially not against a Sterenko and with a three people team!"

Lance laughs easily but Lotor still hears the edge in his voice. "Oh? Don't you trust me?"

"It's not a question of trust, simply logic"

"Well...” Lance stretches it, something iron clad settling into his voice. “Then watch me!"

The line goes death, an unbelieving smile spreading over Lotor's lips and a huff falling from his mouth.

Crazy...that's what the man is... and possibly an idiot. Though, he thinks, mind once again going back to remember Lance’s dive down the skyscraper, the other man is not devoid of talent by any chance. But to take on a Sterenko?!...It is a crazy and stupid endeavor.

Not that Lotor can dwell on it for long. He has his own target, after all. And if Lance still is alive after his crazy attempt...Lotor can rethink his position.

For now though-

Determined to finish of the job quickly he straightens his tie.

-focus, he needs to focus...

He takes a controlled breath, wind picking up and spreading his long hair. Forcing himself to focus on the next step in the plan, Lotor turns- Only to collide with a warm body, time slowing down and staying almost in suspension as he finds himself looking into blue eyes. Mischief shines in them, distracting and igniting, causing Lotor’s breath to turn sharp and tangled at his throat.

"I'm sorry, Sir" the other mumbles pleasantly, hands fleeting across his body before he moves past, fingers now holding a blue hat.

His hat!

With a smirk over his shoulder and practiced move Lance puts on the hat, eyes twinkling. Next second he raises a hand beside his head, only his pinky and thumb open.

Call me.

With a start Lotor reaches inside his pocket to pull out a phone with a note plastered at the screen.

The other number is useless, it says in a scribble. Use the registered one instead.

A smile spreads over his lips as he peels off the post-it and swipes the phone open. Predictably there is only one number in the contacts, saved under.... Loverboy. Huffing in amusement Lotor raises his head, eyes searching but unable to locate Lance. Before he can do anything else, the phone pings, informing of him that a new message has arrived. Opening the related screen Lotor bites his lip, the image loading to show a slightly blurry selfie, complete with mischievous blue eyes, a wide grin and a tilted hat. Under it, another message pings.

Come and find me, handsome xoxoxo

Desire burns at his spine, a light pleasant feeling tingling at his muscles.

Such an idiot, indeed... He smiles to himself, fingers hovering over the message.

"Mr.Abernathy"

Hearing the voice, Lotor realizes the mark is just behind him. How did he even forget?...

Smoothly putting the phone into his inside pocket, he takes a calming breath, letting the character seep into his mind and body before turning, a cold expression already settled over his features as he surveys the mark and behind her, Acxa.

Now he has work to do but later...