They ran. Through the ballroom, past frozen guests whose masks now seemed less like fashion and more like terror. Janice grabbed Ivy’s wrist, and together they slid down a laundry chute into the service tunnels.
Trust, for instance. And a very good grandmother.
“We return it to the woman in the turtleneck,” Janice said, standing. “And then we ask for double. Hazard pay.”
Tonight’s target was a gala at the Meridian Museum. The prize: a cursed jade pendant said to bring misfortune to anyone who possessed it for more than a week. Their client, a mysteriously calm woman in a turtleneck, had paid half upfront.
The museum’s security was a joke. The real obstacle was the other attendees: billionaires in masks, dripping with real diamonds and fake smiles. Ivy worked the room, charming a tech CEO out of his keycard. Janice disabled the west wing’s pressure sensors by spilling champagne “accidentally” on the control panel.
Together, they walked out of the museum’s service exit into the rain, the cursed jade swinging between them—harmless for one more night, because some things are stronger than magic.
© Copyright 243Stars 2017 - 2026
