{Thank you to Chloe_Switch for proofreading this story.}
{Thank you to Pixiehoff for helping write and editing this story.}
It was Monday morning and all the Foxes had gathered at the office; now they each had their own armchair. Nige was seated at his desk in front of all of them.
"We now have a definite location for the Earth Wolf. We will be heading to Orlando tomorrow. We have intelligence that tells us a purchase and transfer of the government documents will take place this weekend at a party at the Earth Wolf's residence. A large manor, we are told. Intelligence also tells us his name is Aaron Simpson. All four of you will be going in. Hypatia and Ashlyn: you two, the highest possible profiles; Pippa and Jane: you two are going undercover as cocktail waitresses."
Nige began explaining to Hypatia and Ashlyn their identities for the party.
"Hypatia, Josephine Beckshire, big in the criminal underworld of England. You are an expert in compromising government plans. Ashlyn, you are Anabelle Christmas, quite possibly the greatest art thief that ever lived."
"How do we know that this Josephine and Anabelle won't be there themselves or someone who will recognize we are not them?"
"The real Josephine and Anabelle are currently detained. As for looks, any other thieves at this party will know names, not faces. Although, try to keep conversations to a minimum, don't get in too deep."
Nige pulled out a layout and blueprint of the manor and placed it on his large desk and all the Foxes gathered around.
"Hypatia you and Ashlyn enter here, and Pippa and Jane the help enters here," Nige showed them pointing to the two places on the layout. "Our mission: we locate the Earth Wolf, locate his accomplices if he has any, and the buyer of the documents. Apprehend them all."
"And if there are more than four of them?" Pippa asked.
"Well we don't think there will be," Nige responded.
Pippa rolled her eyes. She was small and knew she probably couldn't handle a full grown man by herself.
"Now, I have a surprise for all of you."
Nige handed each of them a little envelope.
"Inside you will find a small invisible earpiece, a small clip microphone and a necklace with a pendant. All different so not to give ourselves away and all the pendants have a little camera inside them so I can see what you see. We can talk and hear each other at all times. During this mission I want all of us to keep in touch."
"Will there be anybody at the front doors asking who we are? Do we need some invitations, or passes or something?" Ashlyn asked.
"It's invitation only," Nige reassured her. "If you show up, they assume you were invited."
The evening of the party arrived, and the weather was not good. Rain hammered the roof and the windows of the black SUV. Pippa and Jane have already been dropped off at the servants' entrance.
"Curse the rain," Hypatia said, annoyed.
"Relax," Ashlyn told her. "We will be indoors."
"They better have a coat and umbrella check there."
Ashlyn paused at that comment.
'It was somebody's home. Would they have a coat and umbrella check?' She thought to herself while applying her lipstick.
Ashlyn was dressed in a full length black felt dress, silver hoop earrings, black strappy heels, fake diamond bracelet on her right wrist and the camera necklace and mic clipped the inside of the top of her dress. Topped off with a black purse holding handcuffs and a gun.
Hypatia was next to her checking herself out with a compact mirror. Puckering her lips and winking. She was dressed in a shimmering green dress with wide shoulder straps, gold earrings and green heels along with the camera necklace and mic clipped to the inside of the left strap of her dress. She also carried a purse with handcuffs and a gun.
"What are you doing?" Ashlyn asked her, confused.
"Practicing. You have to play the part, act the part, be the part, you are the part."
"Understood Spielberg," Ashlyn replied with a little laugh.
Nige was in a separate SUV monitoring the Foxes.
"All check in," he asked them.
"Check," said Ashlyn.
"Check," said Pippa.
"Check," said Jane.
"Happy as a drunk squirrel," said Hypatia.
Months of planning, watching, getting fake names and well crafted backstories about who they were supposed to be all about to be played out in the thick walls of the Earth Wolf's manor.
"Ready?" asked Hypatia.
"Ready," replied Ashlyn.
They both got out of their SUV wearing their coats and umbrellas and headed towards the mansion.
"Hypatia and Ashlyn mobile," Hypatia said to alert the rest of the team.
Meanwhile, inside the manor Jane and Pippa were changing into their uniforms for the night which consisted of sleeveless white button up top, bow tie, and black leather skirt. Two pairs of handcuffs each tucked into the sides of their panties.
"I feel like a hooker," Pippa told Jane.
"Just for the night suck it up, and do the job," Nige told her now they could all hear each other.
"Nice crib," Hypatia said as they headed up the porch. They rang the doorbell and the butler answered and let them in and then pointed them in a direction where another man was standing ready to take their coats and umbrellas.
Upon entering the residence further they heard numerous people talking and glasses clinking. A small band was in a back corner of the ballroom playing music though only a few couples were dancing. The air smelled of wealth, ambition, corrupt dishonesty, Cuban cigars and cigarettes. Numerous chandeliers hung from the ceiling in the great hall and one large one in the ballroom. Priceless art pieces lined the walls.
Ashlyn adjusted her necklace trying to give as much a view of the guests as she could which Nige was monitoring. Across the bustling main hall she saw and locked eyes with Pippa who with an empty tray was trying to get past the crowd. This comforted Pippa, she was falling hard for Ashlyn and knew Ashlyn would take care of her if she got in trouble. As any of the other Foxes would too.
All the Foxes were now in the belly of the Earth Wolf's den. The lavishly decorated mansion. A gathering of the elite society with criminals, mastermind thieves and black market dealers mixed in. They were not there to sip on fine champagne, they were there to locate the documents, obtain them and get out before the documents disappeared into the dark underworld of crime.
June was already at the party, but had ulterior motives. Her plan was to steal the documents and anonymously return them. She was dressed in a blue dress with spaghetti straps and diamonds around her neck, her generous cleavage distracting the men. June did not like men, but she knew how to distract them.
The thrill and rush she used to get from this life had now faded. Now a constant feeling of guilt plagued her conscience. She was once a key player in Aaron's heists. Her stealth, her crafty mind was essential for his continued success. The years and the remorse she now felt for the lives she impacted had taken its toll on her. Aaron though always wanted more and the heists were becoming more elaborate and dangerous. The alliance she built with him through the years was now gone, washed away by her need for a new honest life and redeeming her past. She scanned the room and saw Aaron conversing with others.
"Asshole," she said quietly to herself.
