The Thief and The Smuggler

4: The Invitation

The Invitation

The days following the successful heist passed in a blur. Alina had proven herself capable, executing the job with precision and speed. She had done two more jobs after that, though they were quite easy, she'd been doing similar jobs back when she was a teenager. 

She'd grown up in the forgotten corners of a sprawling city—an urban labyrinth where the lights of luxury and success never reached. Her family lived in the heart of it, in a dilapidated apartment complex on the wrong side of the tracks. There was no money for fancy schooling, no time for idle dreams. Her mother, a single parent, worked long hours as a waitress at a local dive bar, while her father had long disappeared from their lives, leaving only a vague trail of broken promises.

The streets were both her prison and her school. From a young age, Alina learned to navigate the shadows. She wasn't the kind of child to ask for things. She learned to take what she needed. There was a quiet defiance in her that had been forged in those early years—an understanding that the world wouldn't hand her anything, so she would have to take it.

Alina never intended to become anyone's accomplice—she was too independent for that. But when Gabriel DeMarco reached out to her after her attempted heist at his mansion, the offer was one she couldn't refuse. She wasn't just working for him; she was working for herself. It was a dangerous game, but Alina had always been good at navigating perilous situations.

Now, as she decided to move in a world of high-stakes heists, coveted treasures, and shadowy alliances, where she was just one wrong move away from being exposed; she was slowly realizing that she had been ready for the game of higher stakes long ago. Her training in the streets of the city had prepared her for this anyway. She knew how to disappear, how to slip away into the darkness when it all became too much. Gabriel DeMarco's world of art smuggling and stolen riches was full of opportunity, but it was also full of dangers.

She didn't trust Gabriel, and she never would. But the game had changed, and if she played it right, she could become the most elusive thief the world had ever known.

As for Gabriel, ever the enigma; he seemed pleased—though he remained as aloof and calculating as ever.

Yet, beneath the cool, detached exterior, Alina sensed something more. He didn't just view her as a tool to be used in his grand operation; there was something else in his gaze, something that suggested a deeper level of interest. She hadn't quite figured out what it was, but she wasn't in any rush to uncover it. She had learned long ago to keep her emotions guarded, especially in a world like this one.

Her phone buzzed on the kitchen counter of her modest apartment, the number flashing on the screen without a name. She didn't need to see the caller ID to know who it was.

"Alina," Gabriel's voice came through the line, smooth and commanding as always. "I need to talk to you."

"What's up?" she replied, trying to sound casual even though a twinge of tension crept into her voice.

"I'm sending a car for you. Pack an overnight bag," he said. "I think it's time for us to have a conversation in person. At my place."

Alina raised an eyebrow at the request. He had always been professional, keeping their interactions strictly business. But now, he was asking her to come to his home.

For a moment, doubt flickered in her mind. Was this a test? A new game to play? Or something more?

"Sure," she said after a pause, her voice deliberately neutral. "I'll be ready."

The car arrived promptly, sleek and black, just like the last one. The driver didn't say much as he took her through the winding streets, the city lights reflecting off the windows. Gabriel's mansion loomed ahead, its towering figure casting long shadows under the moonlight. It was the kind of place that could easily make anyone feel small, even someone like Alina who was used to moving in the shadows.