*O*N*E*

Goosebumps pepper my skin as my knees start to shake. Every move must be calculated and stealthy—if they find me, I'm a goner.

My patience starts to run thin as I wait for Harrison and Declan to give me my window. With my back to the door I can hear the residents in the next room.

"Do you even have it?"

"Of course I fucking have it. What kind of fucking ques-"

The doorbell followed by a knock interrupted their sentence and I heard them shuffle around, leaving the room. I wait until I hear the front door open and Harrison's voice start talking before I quietly open the door and slip into the study.

I immediately start looking through drawers, on the bookshelves, on the tables, anywhere I can get my hands on. Finally I come to the large oak desk sitting in the middle of the room. I rummage through the drawers on the right finding nothing but files, and then I turn my attention to the left side of the desk.

The first drawer I try to open is stuck shut with a lock and key that I have no clue as to where it is.

"Shit," I mutter to myself. I pause and make sure I can still hear their muffled voices from the front of the house.

I crouch down so I'm eye level with the keyhole and fish my bobby-pins out of my hair. Motioning the bobby-pins around, I start feeling confident that we're gonna pull this off, but suddenly, I hear the front door slam shut. My heart rate picks up, but I can't stop now, I only have a little more to go.

I start rushing through the process causing me to slip up on a few of the pins. I hear the footsteps start to slowly descend back towards the study and I begin to lose faith. I'm going to get caught.

The lock snaps open and the drawer follows.

"Yes!" I praise myself. And right on top is exactly what I'm looking for. I don't have time to stare in awe at it so I simply grab it and put it in the small bag I brought. I close the drawer and rush behind the door to the study right as the two large men entered once again.

"Fucking kids," one of them said with annoyance dripping from his lips.

"They just needed fucking directions, I don't know why you're being so shitty," the other replied.

I could tell the conversation was elevating but I wasn't sticking around to hear it. Before they turned their bodies in my direction I slowly and silently moved out the door into the hallway and around the corner where they could no longer see me.

Once I was back in the kitchen, I bolted out the back door where I initially entered the home. Looping around the house, I met up with Harrison and Declan at the end of the driveway and we all started running into town—our laughs being the anthem of our victory.

Once we were in town and out of reach of those men, we slowed down to a walk.

"So you got it?" Declan inquired.

"Of course I got it," I say. "I'm a badass."

They both chuckle at that, which earns one of them a playful punch in the arm.

"Ow Jesus," Harrison cries out. I simply laugh in response.

We walk up to the street market checking out all the vendors and the items they're selling today. Some people have meat or assorted produce while others have homemade items like bracelets and blankets.

A little ways down we finally spotted a full head of golden hair that we've come to know as Lucy. Her eyes became hopeful when she saw us and I returned a large smile to answer the question dancing in her eyes.

We walk up to her and let her usher us into her tent to give us more privacy.

"Did you get it? Let me see!"

I took the velvet bag and removed its contents, showing off the sparkling ring. Lined with diamonds and complete with a ruby the size of a large pebble, this ring could easily get you enough money to live comfortable until you die.

Lucy let out a small gasp and I can see her deep brown eyes start to get glossy. She takes it in her hands and examines it, watching. How it glints in the light.

"Oh my god," she mused. She put it back in the bag and embraced us all at once in a crushing group hug.

"This is going to sell for so much," she says eagerly. A Cheshire Cat grin spreads across my face and I swear I see a little drool drip from Harrison's mouth as we think about all that money.

It's how our operation works: Declan, Harrison and I steal the jewels, and Lucy sells them to the Rebels on the black market. Then we split the profit.

"I can't thank you guys enough," she says.

"Our motives aren't entirely selfless," Harrison replies, which earns him another "playful" punch on the arm. He winces.

Lucy just laughs and tucks the bag into the chest she uses to store her merchandise.

"I'll be meeting with them tonight."

I couldn't help the giddy feeling creeping up in my stomach. We've never sold something so valuable before, I can't even begin to imagine how much money we'll be getting.

We all shuffle out of the tent, my eyes stinging a little from the direct sunlight.

"I'll see you guys tonight," Lucy states excitedly. We all say our goodbyes and start walking through the street market once again, just looking for a way to pass the time.

—————————————————————

Declan and I sat against the base of the tree while Harrison thought it would be more fun to sit up in the tree. His careless behavior is the reason I'm the man on the inside and he's the distraction. Declan is the intelligence.

"I'm bored," Harrison complains. "Where is Lucy?"

"Stop complaining you goddamn monkey," Declan shoots back. He despises it when people are impatient and impatience is Harrison's specialty. I chuckle at their quarrel and go back to ripping the grass out of the ground.

"Lucy is taking a while," I say to Declan after a minute of silence.

"It's just past nightfall, she'll be here."

So we simply sat and waited. It was always difficult to tell when she'd show up—the Rebels meet on their own time.

It's hard to say how much time had actually passed, but it felt like an eternity before we saw a halo of blonde hair mulling towards us.

"Lucy!" Harrison exclaimed excitedly while maneuvering down the tree.

She sauntered over to us and started passing out the money.

"What is this?" Declan asks in disappointment. I hate to admit it, but I too was shocked by how little there was.

"They said it isn't as valuable without the whole set," she explains sadly.

"It still should be more than this," Harrison chimes in.

Lucy shook her head. "They wouldn't go any higher, I tried. "

"Well that's it, we've gotta get the rest of the jewelry."

My ears perk up at this. Fuck yeah, another job.

"Are you guys sure you wanna do that?" Lucy asks concerned. "It's dangerous."

I let out a light chuckle. "More dangerous than anything we've done so far?" Her brown eyes go wide as she slowly nods her head.

My expression grows serious as I think of what that nod means. We steal valuable objects from dangerous people all the time. What could be more dangerous?

"We're doing it and we're getting that money," Harrison declares.

"Where are the rest of the jewels?" Declan asks.

Lucy takes a deep breath before she finally answers.

"The castle."