Ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary folk, I am happy to announce that the painting is officially done.

She was expecting a roar of applause or a bouquet of roses to fall from the ceiling when she forged the signature at the bottom right corner of the canvas and cleaned up the edges. But all she got from Sage was a curt nod and the orders that they would be sneaking into the senator's office tonight. Then he was gone.

He couldn't have been a little grateful. Solace wasn't asking for him to fall to his knees and kiss her hypothetical ring to show his appreciation. She wasn't against the idea, though. All she wanted was a thank you and free food.

The painting had taken up almost a week of her life. As much as she wanted to complain about how she hated it and that it took a physical toll on her, she couldn't. Solace couldn't deny how nice it felt to get back into art. But she had no right to dwell on the feeling when she would just tuck everything back into the closet and go back to her artless life.

For the entire day, the apartment was empty with Sage doing lord knows what and Emi at class. This was the perfect moment to take advantage of some alone time. Solace could do anything she pleased. She could walk around in her underwear and have a dance party. She could take up Tejas's offer and smoke a joint. But neither of those things sounded appealing when they were going to break into a senator's office in a few hours.

So many things could go wrong. It wasn't that Sage's plan was bad. It was quite simple and simple was good. There were fewer variables to control. But Solace had watched enough spy movies in her lifetime to know you couldn't plan for every mishap. And that was what worried her. She despised the unknown.

She just hoped Sage had learned enough at his job to keep them both out of jail. That was his responsibility. Solace would get them in and out, but everything in between, it was all on him. The most important aspect of the mission was the painting was completed. Any art connoisseur may suspect it was a fake if they inspected it too carefully, but it was a good thing that Moore knew nothing about the painting. He probably wiped his greasy hands on the canvas.

Solae trusted her art. The lines were perfect, the hues of paint were identical, and the placement of it all was almost flawless.

The day had rushed by quickly, and she found herself walking up the stairs to the office building. The painting was carefully rolled up into a tube in her backpack. She was dressed in all black. Not the I'm-going-to-jump-an-elderly-woman-and-steal-her-wallet black, but I'm-sophisticated-so-I-only-wear-dark-colours black.

There was an hour before the building closed at nine. Solace kept her hood over her head as she passed the doorman. The lobby wasn't very busy with most offices closing in the late evening. Even Moore's office hours were until seven, so there was no concern that he would be lurking around. That man rushed out as soon as the clock strikes as if someone had lit a match under him. A few stragglers were sitting in suits on the leather seats, drinking coffee and talking on the phones. As she walked to the elevators, she passed by a row of secretaries that sat in front to guide newcomers to their respectful floors.

Her heart was beating against her ribs, and sweat trickled down her back as she waited for the elevator. It hadn't even been ten minutes, and Solace was already freaking out. No one had paid her any attention, yet it still felt as if all eyes were on her. She kept glancing over her shoulder, awaiting the security guards to stalk up to her and hit her with a line of questions that would just end with her being arrested.

She inwardly groaned. Where was Sage? He had told her to be at the building at eight, and she was right on time. Actually, she was two minutes early. She wasn't sure what he was up to. The number on the elevators counted down, but her stress levels heightened. Solace was naturally an anxious person, and this wasn't helping whatsoever. I take back what I said. I would make a terrible spy.

"Hey," a voice said from beside her.

Solace jolted and swiveled her head over to see Sage standing beside her with a straight face and a cap covering his hair. She breathed deeply, attempting to get her anxiety under control. "I was just thinking about you."

He cocked a brow. "You were thinking about me?" Sage asked slowly.

"Yeah, as in how I am going to pin all of this on you if we get caught," she said casually, moving her gaze away from him.

Sage scoffed. "No one respects a snitch."

"At least snitches are free."

"Not unless they're dead."

"Are you implying you would have me killed?"

Sage simply smirked in response.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped aside for two women getting off. Solace and Sage entered, pressing the button to the thirteenth floor. Music played through the speakers, and a sign advocating for the erasure of workplace harassment was taped on the wall. The lift was quick to the point her stomach rose and fell. It was an odd feeling.

"What were you doing?" she wondered as she heaved her backpack up her shoulders.

"Taking care of the cameras. They'll be on loop for thirty minutes," Sage replied. She gazed at him with wide eyes. He shrugged. "I learned a few things about hacking."

He said it so nonchalantly. Hacking into surveillance was no easy feat, no matter how effortless it appeared in movies. They just said random things like 'mainframe,' 'encryption,' and her personal favourite, 'we're in.' She had to admit. It was impressive. There was so much power that came with it. Solace could change her grades to all A's, never pay for Netflix for the entirety of her life, wire money into her account, and access celebrity social media accounts for fun. It was safe to say that she would abuse the hell out of that knowledge.

"Do you want to teach me how to do that?" she asked with expectant eyes and a large grin.

Sage chuckled. "I can finally do something that the Solace Laurent can't," he teased.

"Don't get used to it."

The elevator dinged, and they stepped out onto their floor. "I wouldn't trust you with that ability," he remarked.

Solace watched as he shrugged out his own backpack and began to ruffle through it. He wasn't wrong. She did just list all the illegal things she would want to do mere seconds ago. "Like you're any better," she snorted at his attempt to act all high and mighty. As much as they were opposites, they both fed off the same two things: knowledge and power. "I wouldn't be surprised if you hacked into NASA to name a planet after yourself."

"I did no such thing," Sage denied, zipping open a kit of different shaped tools. He knelt on one knee and began to pick the lock. Solace watched in awe as he twisted the lock with a concentrated look. Her gaze was pulled to his lips that he was biting in focus and how his hands delicately moved. He grinned widely when there was an audible click, and she couldn't help but do the same.

Turns out, Sage Reyes has some moves.

He stood up and threw everything into his bag. He was all too impressed with himself when his hands clasped around the knob and the door opened. Sage glanced back over his shoulder before walking in and said, "I named a star after myself."

A small laugh left her. Of course, he did. Sage would never go for a large chunk of rock. No, instead, he would name himself after a celestial and incandescent star because he was a cocky shmuck. And as much as she hated to admit it, a star encompassed the boy that walked beside her. Intense, radiant, and glowing brilliantly even in the dark. No one could take their eyes off him.

Not even Solace Laurent herself.

And apparently, the comparison was spot on when Sage practically sauntered through the dark with ease. He had only been in the office once (that she knew of) and he strolled down the hall as if he knew the layout like the back of his hand. Solace, the one person who shouldn't have a problem with the layout since she was here constantly, was trying her best not to struggle in the dark. She felt out her element when this was exactly her element.

The blinds were drawn on the high-ceiling windows, so there was zero light. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the dark, but it still wasn't enough assurance for her. Solace's hands were out, feeling everything from the walls to the cubicles to a soft material that felt like fleece. No, I think it's cotton.

"That's my arm," Sage said dryly.

She yanked it back to her side. "That's why it felt so bony." But that was a complete utter lie. Solace had seen him shirtless just days ago, and there wasn't anything scrawny about him. He had muscles that looked as if he could bench her.

"Uh-huh, sure," he drawled wryly.

Solace glared at him. At least she thought it was him. It may have been the creepy snowman statue on top of the filing cabinet. Eh, they look the same to me. They had almost made it to the office when her foot caught on a wire that must have been from one of the computers. A small yelp left her, and she prepared herself to meet the cold hard ground until a hand reached out for her hoodie and yanked her back to place. She let out a strangled noise with her winter coat being pulled tightly against her neck.

"Just walk behind me," Sage said gruffly, letting go of her hood that relaxed around her neck.

She fixed the neckline of her coat annoyedly. Hm, she wasn't going to walk behind him. He thought he was so cool and spy-like. Loser.

Thankfully, they made it to Moore's without any further mishaps. Just like before, Sage picked the lock, and they were inside in less than ten seconds. She saw the faint outlines of the bookshelf and the leather chair. It was dark until he pulled out a flashlight from his back that illuminated the space.

"You couldn't have done that before," she remarked with a surly expression.

Sage ignored her, the blood draining from his face. He appeared to be angry as his jaw clenched and his hand curled into a fist. He looked as if he was going to hurl everything out the window mixed with the want to curl up in the break room and scream.

Solace curiously followed his line of vision to place behind Moore's desk. Where the 100 million dollar Servus Autem Fortuna painting hung before was now empty. It was just here a few days ago. Where did it go? A sense of dread filled her. This was their opportunity to finally get Sage out of his commitment. He would have been free.

Sage clearly realized that too when he yelled, "Damn it." He kicked the door shut out of frustration, and it slammed loudly.

She flinched at the sound, her eyes travelling to the closed door. Everly's words rang in her mind. He had me contact the janitorial staff seventeen times to fix his door since it keeps locking from the inside.

"No!" Solace exclaimed, running to the door, and attempting to yank it open. It didn't budge. She desperately pulled at it, but nothing happened. Sage didn't seem to realize with his current tantrum as his chest rose and fell heavily. She seized him by the arm, her words laced with stress and alarm. "The locks on the door are messed up. We're locked in."

Sage didn't appear to have understood as his eyes glazed over, and his breaths came out shallowly. He was trembling under her touch, and he struggled to inhale as if he was drowning. The flashlight that had fallen on the ground cast some light onto his face and she saw the sweat collecting on his forehead as he fell to the floor. Solace bent down, moving one of her hands to his chest to feel his rapid heartbeat. It was as if his heart wanted to break out of his ribs.

This was just like the time at the grocery store.

Sage was having a panic attack while they were trapped in the senator's office after a failed attempt to steal a priceless painting.

Well, shit.

***

Author's Note:

Hi everyone!!

The plan turned sideways real quick lol. I didn't want the heist to be easy. Things are never easy in my books hahaha.

Also, classes start in two weeks, so I'll have to start updating once a week when they start! I still have every intention of writing!

Until next time – m.k.t