Vesper was in a tree, which hadn't happened for at least a couple years. Growing up in Chicago was not exactly conducive to climbing trees, but as a child she managed to find them wherever she could. There was something strangely comfortable about feeling the bark in her hands, even if the tree in question was swaying in the breeze beneath her grip. Currently, she was sitting in an oak across from the Tempani residence. Funny how there were usually more trees around rich folk around cities; trees are free, but the poor still couldn't manage to afford to have them. 

She was perched with her back against the trunk, legs stretching out over a pair of comfortable branches. The leaves, still mostly green and yellow, provided cover for her as she watched the Tempanis through the giant windows behind the brick wall surrounding their property. Windows. Light. Another free thing that only the rich seemed to have. Focus, Sel- Vesper. She was Vesper now.

Mr. and Mrs. Tempani were sitting down to a late dinner in an expansive dining room as the sky turned darker outside. There was at least one servant present. The cook? Five bodyguards patrolled the property, as Vesper carefully charted their movements outside, taking her best guesses on their internal routes and timing them with the watch on her wrist. She went over the details for the mission as she watched the couple eat. A middle aged couple, but on the younger side. He still had dark hair, although he might be dying it. Someone who would spend a fortune on rubies seemed like they'd spring for hair dye. He certainly invested in his trophy wife, Gloria, who looked like she'd been ordered out of a catalog. Tempani was a judge, and Cesare and the DPS had helped him reach his position. Judge Tempani had accumulated debts, but was now ignoring his responsibilities. He certainly spent too much, considering his recent purchase of rubies from Europe. Rubies... those were her target tonight. 

She'd spent all day scouting out the property. Ideally, it would have been easier to get into the house using some sort of pretense. Seduction, impersonation, manipulating circumstance to walk right in the front door... but Cesare was adamant about Tempani not knowing who robbed him, which was relieving, in a way, since it would give her a little more time to polish her confidence skills. If he was going to be an ally of the family, recognizing Vesper as his guest on the night his rubies went missing would be bad for business. So Vittorio Tempani would stay in the dark- and so would she.

After an hour or so, lights started to go out around the house as the sky continued to grow darker. The cook left out of the servant's door. Vesper's back was starting to scream; even comfortable trees aren't meant to be a long term resting place. Still, she couldn't have risked moving and tipping anyone off on her way in. Grabbing her pack from the stick it had been hanging from, she slid down to a longer branch that stretched out over the wall, delicately balancing as she walked over the brick wall of the property.

Stealth was both an art and a science. A creative flair was needed to be truly great, but also a rigorous application of the same basic principles. In some ways, it was like playing chess: know where your enemy's pieces are and where they would be headed, then take your time to think of the correct move without rushing. There was also "always have an escape plan", but that tended to be less applicable in chess. 

And so as the shadow dropped from the tree to the ground in the yard and moved silently toward the nearby push, Vesper's heart did not beat any faster. She knew the route the bodyguards were taking. She knew the next patrol car wouldn't be around for at least another hour. Still, she waited to ensure that nothing unexpected happened. She spent the next 20 minutes painstakingly moving from cover to cover in the yard, until, when she was sure she had enough time between patrols, she reached the servants' door with her lockpicking tools in her hand.

Vesper may have been practicing stealth and silence for her whole life, but her career as a thief was still a recent development. For the first time, she felt her pulse quicken as the tension wrench slipped in her hand. A deep breath steadied her nerves, and soon the familiar click allowed her to quickly enter and shut the door behind her.

Vesper moved like a cat through the darkened hallway, soft shoes padding without a sound. She had no mask on, although there was one in her pack for an emergency. Usually, though, the anonymity wasn't worth how the mask messed with her senses. And so she took her time, pausing intermittently. She didn't expect any servants around, but it was better to be safe than sorry. A few times she froze, listening, but soon continued on her way.

The guards avoided the servant quarters, but picking her way through to the display room in the center took twice as long as she expected. She had to duck into side rooms on three occasions, although only the second one turned out to be necessary. Slowly and steadily, she moved through the building like the darkness itself, following the rhythm of the guards until finally reaching the display room.  The ceilings were high, and the walls were filled with paintings. A dozen large wooden display cases with glass tops dotted the room, filled with tempting items, but the large one in the center loomed over everything. It was designed to display the finest jewels. It was imperial in its stature. It was empty.

Vesper stared at the empty display for too long, her brain grasping and failing to understand, before the sound of a guard approaching caused her to silently curse and duck, crouch-running to the far corner to hide behind a display case. As she waited, thoughts raced through her head. Had someone else already stolen it? Where the hell was it? The footsteps of the guard grew louder as Vesper held her breath, but she lightly exhaled as the footsteps faded away. The guard didn't react, so it must not have been stolen... so where else would they be?

Vesper's instincts were telling her to get the hell out of Dodge, that the job was fucked, and that it was smart to just leave. But could she really walk up to Mr. Torretta and tell him she'd failed? He'd probably understand. But in some ways, that would be worse than him getting pissed. She didn't want understanding; she wanted to impress him. He said he needed a thief...

Her mind made up, Vesper slowly made her way back the way she'd come, using an abundance of caution and taking another half hour before reaching the servants quarters. As she waited in between movements, she thought about the rubies. The Tempanis must have them, but why would a man spend a fortune on rubies and then take them to bed?

Oh. God. Damn it. 

Vesper narrowed her eyes as she slowly started to make her way up the stairs. She also put her mask on, just in case, because she was about to push her luck. She went up the stairs quickly, because stairs were dangerous. Too much creaking- and if anyone came looking, you were fucked. Better to make a little extra noise, but to have a hiding place up top. Fortunately, she didn't seem to attract any attention. The guards seemed like their main focus was the jewelry and art; she hadn't noticed any movement from them on the second floor. Apparently the Tempanis valued their privacy. Most of the rooms upstairs were empty; the master bedroom was obviously the double door at the end of the hall. Still, she checked the side rooms just to be safe. 

Reaching the bedroom door, Vesper removed a small container of oil and greased the hinges. Approaching someone while they were asleep wasn't quite as hard as it seemed, since most people were deeper sleepers than they thought. A creaking door, though, would ruin everything if it woke up Vittorio or Gloria. After oil the hinges well, she risked the handle, sliding inside in a half couch and closing it silently behind her. 

The Tempanis were both asleep, thankfully. They were sprawled out on the large bed, both naked from the waist up at least- and with the rubies strung together around Gloria's neck, with the largest one hanging down between her breasts. With her head on the pillow, there was no way to remove them without using her wire-cutter, which would almost certainly wake them up. Grimacing to herself, Vesper moved to the open closet, oiled the hinges, and slowly closed the door, leaving a small crack for her to watch through. The closet was risky, but it was better than under the bed or inside the bathroom. Gently, she sat down to wait for her chance.

She tried to keep her mind empty as she waited, although thoughts about her father came unbidden to her mind. She also thought about her new career. It was hard not to evaluate your life choices when you were watching hundreds of thousands of dollars on a pair of tits. 

Who knows how long she was waiting? Was it minutes? Hours? Eternity? It was too dark for Vesper to see her watch. Eventually, Gloria rolled over and the necklace stretched as she re-positioned her head. Mrs. Tempani had pulled herself up to a seating position and was in the process of taking the necklace off, just as Vesper was in the process of returning the life to her legs and praising whatever gods there were that oversaw thievery, when both women froze at the sound of Vittorio Tempani's voice.

"Hey. Leave it on."

Shit.

"And get over here."

Fuck.

And that was exactly what happened, as Vesper tried to block out the noises with her ears, cursing whatever gods there were that oversaw thievery, but thankful at least that she hadn't tried to hide under the bed. At one point, when Vesper had unplugged her ears and the sounds of grunting and slapping skins had faded, replaced by Vittorio's snoring, Gloria returned from the bathroom and climbed back into bed- except this time she left the necklace right next to her on the nightstand. 

Vesper waited for another eternity, until both sets of breathing calmed and lengthened, before sliding open the closet door. Her legs were almost asleep, and she stretched them out as she crawled on all fours across the rug. Saying a quick prayer to her father, because at this point fuck the gods of thievery, Vesper reached up to the nightstand and lifted the necklace. The gold chain made a slight tinkling noise, but it was soon in her bag, wrapped up in a cloth to keep it from making noise. 

Silently, Vesper made her way out of the bedroom, down the hall, and down the stairs back to the servant entrance. It was still late enough, or early enough, where she shouldn't have to worry about anyone arriving. Vesper opened the door to the yard, using a small mirror from her bag to check around the corners. Saying another quick prayer, she quickly exited, closed the door behind her, and sought cover in the garden. She could see the wall, but she also had no intention of getting caught now due to impatience. In another 15 minutes, she had climbed the gardening shed and was about to jump over the brick wall when she heard a car approaching. A patrol car? She never knew. She felt naked waiting on that shed, even though it must have been 30 seconds at most. But after the sound of the car has disappeared, she was over the wall, dropping with an unavoidable thud on the sidewalk and, removing the mask and straightening her gait, walking as quickly as possible down a few side streets, where she promptly disappeared.

No one would notice her until hours later, when Cesare_Torretta, arriving at his office in the morning, found her slumped outside his door inside the HQ- with a firm grip on the bag in her hands. She jolted awake when he said her name and looked up at him from the floor, her black clothes wrinkled. 

"Boss... you are not going to believe the night I had..."