A Pair of Ace

Alyssa POV

Ding!

I looked up from my phone and walked towards the counter, grabbing my drinks. Stuffing my phone back into my front pocket, I grabbed my badge off my belt. Today, I didn't need it, seeing as the elevator was already open and the cheerful face of Elliot was looking down at me.

“Good Morning,” he smiled.

I handed him one of the cups and nodded in response. The elevator doors closed with a soft whoosh, and we began our ascension.

"Why do you never talk in the morning?" He asked in between sips of coffee.

“Why do you talk every morning?” I retorted back rolling my eyes.

Sneaking a glance, I caught him smirking at me. We had been working together for almost 13 years. At first, he just seemed uptight. But once you got to know him, he was one of the most relaxed people ever. With his warm chestnut skin, he gave amazing hugs, and his sweet, deep, resonating voice was pure heaven to listen to. The two of us had formed an unspoken routine. I would pick up coffee, and Elliot would wait in the elevator. On the ride up, he would try his hardest to make me smile, whether it be with a joke or a story, or a terrible rendition of whatever song happened to be playing in the elevator that day.

When we reached our floor, we were greeted by most of the staff watching the company's TV. Yet another string of robberies had occurred in high-profile areas. They seemed to be happening more frequently, but I couldn't blame the criminals. It was truly shocking how many people left their doors unlocked, or paraded around their valuables to make everyone else seem leagues broker than they already were.

After wasting a bit of time watching TV and joking with coworkers, Elliot and I got to work. Elliot works in the media department, while I work in criminal investigation. Elliot was responsible for ‘accidentally leaking’ certain videos to distract the public from real problems, and I usually do my own thing.

This time, I was actually busy. I had been tasked with investigating a suspect possibly involved in the string of robberies. The weird thing was that robberies took place during events. No alarms were ever set off, and no one had ever reported anyone suspicious looking. I was poring over a few files when I heard Elliot speak up behind me.

“Hey, can you help me out with this?” He leaned over my shoulder, tossing some papers on my desk.

“Why do you smell like nutmeg?” I asked gathering the papers.

“Irrelevant,” he said, waving his hand. “Now, more importantly, how do I catch him?” He pointed to a blurry image from a security camera.

“And he is?”

“I don’t know, but the point is that he’s a thief. The thing is, he only robs people during events.

Taking a closer look at the picture, I recognized something in the background. Picking around through a few files, I found the one I was looking for. The glass box in the background of Elliot’s picture was the same one from an event my suspect had possibly robbed.

“No way.” I gasped under my breath.

We spent hours comparing notes, pictures, and evidence. Everywhere my thief was, Elliott was right there. The only thing left behind was a black and gold King of diamonds card for Elliott's thief and a black and gold Queen of hearts for mine, along with silk arm-length gloves.

After all the hours of comparing notes and evidence, we were exhausted. The only thing we had figured out was that these criminals were incredibly hard to catch.

“Let's look at this way,” Elliott said, drawing a Venn diagram.

“What do they have in common?”

“We can't catch them.” I piped up from lying on the floor.

“Thank you so much for that helpful information.” He said sarcastically. “I think this calls for an undercover operation. Catch them in the act, you know?”

I sat up and leaned against the couch, swiping my phone off the desk, and called Mia, the head of undercover operations. In an hour, we had a plane ticket and two invitations to the Westwood’s casino showcase.

“How do you feel about crashing a party?” I asked.

He smiled, “Sounds like an excellent way to spend my Tuesday.”

Elliot Pov

“You would think being government agents would get us through TSA faster,” Alyssa groaned.

I swiped the key card to our hotel room and held the door open. Alyssa dragged in a suitcase, an overnight bag, and a small bookbag.

“You know we’re only here for like three days, right?” I laughed

“ Do you?” she said, gesturing to my duffel bag.

A few hours later, we headed out. The Westwoods knew how to plan an event. The front lawn was decorated with large fountains, and the side wide covered in red velvet carpet lined with velvet ropes.

Alyssa had taken the theme very seriously. Her black heels were held up by stacked dice that stood out against the glittering red dress that hugged her waist, and her red nails, decorated with a club, spade, heart, and diamond, matched her earrings, except her middle finger, which had a gold Q that matched her necklace.

The inside of the mansion was breathtaking. Crystal chandeliers, stained glass windows, and security? Sure enough, there were about 2 private security guards for every four people. Strange.

“ I think we should take opposite sides; no sense in both of us watching the same people,” Alyssa whispered.

I nodded and watched her disappear into the crowd. Slowly making my way through the room, I took note of the things on display. The crowd favorite seemed to be a tiara and jewelry set. Made from both diamonds and Swarovski crystals, it was practically blinding undether the lights.

I grabbed a champagne flute from a passing waitstaff. Slowly sipping, I scanned the hall looking for any sign of potential thieves. I could see why that hadn't been caught. Rich people all looked the same, well-dressed but still eyeing each other suspiciously. Small groups whispered amongst themselves.

Since the room had only one entrance, I placed myself near the door, so I could see who came in and who came out without seeming suspicious.

I was on my sixth glass of champagne when the lights went out. At first, I thought I had had too many drinks, but everyone else seemed confused as well. When the power came back on, less than a minute later, the fire alarm went off. If this was a distraction for the thieves, it was a good one. With all the chaos, it would be impossible to pick them out from the crowd.

Even if I did know where the thief was, there was no way I could catch them. People were panicking, and if there was one thing about panicking people, it's that they often made stupid decisions. I helped usher people towards the exit while keeping an eye out for Alyssa. I hoped she had gotten out already.

As if on cue, my phone buzzed with a text.

'Made it out meet me back at the hotel'

Reagan POV

I set up my monitors and hooked them up to security cameras. I spotted my client and my other client. I did a double-take and sure enough, both of them were at the same event. First, I cut the power, which would give them both about a minute before the backup generator kicked on. I watched Red break into the case and snatch the tiara, necklace, and earrings. She placed the glass back and stashed the items in her hidden pockets. No sooner than the generator came back on. Now for Black. I checked the camera to make sure he was in position, then set off the fire alarm. As he helped escort the guest out, he slipped off bracelets and watches. Once the room was cleared. There was nothing left but a black and gold Queen of hearts, a long pair of silk white gloves, and a black and gold King of diamonds.

Third Person POV

Alyssa picked up her and Elliott's coffee. As usual, he was already on the elevator waiting for her. She stepped on and handed him his coffee.

“I can’t believe we missed both of them at the same event: he said in between sips of coffee. “You sure you didn’t see anything?” He asked her.

“Alyssa shook her head. “The power outage and fire alarm caught me off, guard.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence unit something caught Elliott's eye.

“New necklace?” he asked, gesturing to her neck.

Alyssa nodded, “ New watch?”

“Something like that,” he smiled

The elevator dinged as it reached their floor, and it clicked for them both. As the doors opened, they stared at each other as a silent understanding, a quiet realization settled over them.