I savored my last bite of pancake, ignoring the awkward silence that had followed my pitch. I licked syrup from my lips as Liz stared at me, focused so intently that it seemed she was trying to read my thoughts. Now wasn’t the time for that, though, so I kept my focus on the food, draining my glass and motioning to the waiter for a refill. No one spoke until he left.

“No offense intended, but this plan seems a little… loose,” Liz finally broke the silence.

“If you think that, you should have heard the original version,” I chuckled.

Tom scowled.

“I know I owe you, Ray,” Liz spoke carefully, “but I’m not interested in going to jail.”

“Look, no one is getting arrested, I promise. I know this may not be the most elaborate plan, but it doesn’t need to be. This is really a very simple job. Overcomplicating it would only make it less likely to succeed. The only risk is people recognizing us, but that isn’t a concern as long as we wear disguises. We have it covered.”

“It’s still too risky. You want my advice?”

“Not especially,” Tom muttered.

Liz ignored him and continued,

“I think you should all scrap this plan and walk away. Get this done through legitimate channels, even if it takes longer,” she tossed some cash down on the table and half rose from her seat. “I can’t help you.”

“And we can’t just walk away. People’s lives depend on this, so we will do what it takes. But the scientists and staff are innocent, and they don’t deserve to be injured or killed over this. And I need your help to make sure that doesn’t happen. Please, Liz,” I finally met her eyes, “I really need you.”

I held my breath. This was the riskiest part. Honestly, she would be a fool to accept this proposition as offered, and I could tell she knew that as well as I did. I was heavily relying on her reading between the lines, here, without any reassurance or guidance from me. I certainly didn’t deserve that level of trust, but I hoped for it just the same. Liz was quiet for a long time, watching me with pursed lips and a drawn brow before she finally sank back into her seat.

“Alright, Ray. But this squares us, you understand? Once this is done, I walk away owing you nothing. And you never call to ask me for a favor again.”

“Of course,” I exhaled. “Thank you, Liz. Really.”

“Yeah. Look, there isn’t much time to prepare. If we are going to do this, then let’s get to work.”

I gulped back the last of my mimosa and returned the empty glass to the table,

“Good idea. We have a suite in the hotel, so let’s head upstairs and we can do some… rehearsing.”

The hotel suite was not luxurious, but it was spacious and tidy. It featured a living room and kitchen in a shared space, and two bedrooms off a small hallway further into the room. It was enough for our needs. We dropped our bags in the living room, and I turned to Luke,

“Alright, you go and pick up the rest of the gear and bring it back here. Tom, you get your presentation up and we’ll walk Liz through it, so she knows what we are ‘selling’. When Luke gets back, we’ll try on our outfits and do a quick rehearsal. Work for everyone?”

There were nods all around. As Tom opened his laptop and began his spiel, I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes. I could feel Liz’s gaze flicking to me, but I still didn’t have anything to offer her. There was no chance that Tom would let the two of us be alone together. It was abundantly clear that Wallace had instructed him to prevent that, at all costs, so trying too hard to engineer a situation where I could speak privately with the succubus would do nothing but raise his suspicions. But I could be patient. Now that Liz was on board, I had time to work things out. I pulled my flask out of my coat an unscrewed the top, taking a few sips as I waited for Tom to finish, idly thinking through some of the logistical challenges we would face, tomorrow.

“…Rayna!”

I jumped in my chair and glanced at Tom and Liz, who were both glaring at me expectantly.

“Oh, sorry, my turn?” I asked. “Zoned out for a second there.”

“Obviously,” Tom frowned.

I ignored him and rose, spreading the blueprints out on the coffee table.

“This is the meeting room where they will host Tom’s presentation. We are his ‘assistants,’ and before the presentation starts, he will send us out to retrieve something from the car. We will use that opportunity to travel deeper into the labs. Your job is to stick close to me. It’s a small facility, so finding our way around shouldn’t be too hard. They keep their stock of the chemical here,” I pointed to a side room. “Your job is simple: talk us past anyone we encounter on the way there, anyone who might try to stop us from wandering around unattended.”

“That sounds suspiciously straightforward,” Liz noted.

“Well, there are a few wrinkles. The storage room is behind a keycard access door, and the room itself is locked with a physical key.”

“And, uh, how are we getting around that?”

“The keycard is easy; leave that part to me. The regular key is a bit trickier. Wallace has had people chatting up the staff and gathering info for a few weeks now. Based on what we know, the principal investigator usually hangs the key in their office when they are not in the lab, so, if we are lucky, we just peak in the door, grab the key, and we are on our way.”

“And if we aren’t lucky?”

“Then she will have the key on her. In which case, she will likely be working in the lab, and we will need to find her, and convince her to give that key to us.”

“That sounds… challenging, Ray. It is one thing to convince someone not to worry about us wandering the halls, most people naturally don’t want to make a fuss to begin with. But how are we supposed to convince a researcher to give up a key to something she would consider extremely precious? She would never willingly give it to us, and I can’t just offer her a smile and change her mind like it’s nothing.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Well then, we had better hope she decides to join us for lunch, eh?” I shrugged.

“That isn’t very reassuring.”

“Relax,” I took another swig from my flask and leaned back into my chair. “This is just going to have to be one of those things we play by ear. Worst case, we can always resort to a little bit of violence. But I would prefer to avoid that if I can. So, I will find us an angle, depending on the circumstances. It’ll work out.”

Liz didn’t look especially convinced,

“I am not the biggest fan of how… casual, some aspects of this plan are, Ray.”

“Sometimes, a bit of improv is exactly what is called for. A detailed, rigid plan will fall apart if anything doesn’t happen exactly the way you expect. Better to be flexible.”

Liz just sighed; I pressed on.

“Anyway, after we retrieve our package, all we need to do is take it out to the car, grab our box of tote bags and pens, and make our way back to the meeting. We finish out the presentation, then head out with no one the wiser.”

“That sounds great, if everything goes to plan,” Liz observed. “But what if anything goes wrong?”

“I’ll handle it. Honestly, they aren’t expecting something like this. Why would they be? Their security is mostly for show, and the people there will likely not resist. Even if something goes wrong with this plan, there still isn’t anyone there trained or equipped to actually stop us from taking what we want. We are doing it this way, with you, to be kind. So that no one gets hurt. Otherwise, this is about as difficult as knocking over a gas station. I am not really that worried.”

I took another sip to emphasize the point.

“Clearly, but I still think that we should…”

“Look,” Tom interrupted, finally losing patience. “No one asked you. If you can’t handle this, or stick to the plan, no one is forcing you to stay.”

“Tom!” I admonished. “We asked her for a favor, don’t be a jackass.”

“Well, she doesn’t have to sit there, questioning everything…”

I was grateful when the sound of the door opening interrupted his rant. We turned to see Luke entering, pushing a cart laden down with garment bags and suitcases. Liz jumped up to help him with the door.

“What is all this?” she asked.

“Costumes,” I smiled. “We don’t want to be recognized, do we? We have business clothes, wigs, makeup and, of course, face masks. It’s fortunate that people rarely think twice about a person wearing them, these days, especially in a medical supply capacity. They are samples of our wears, after all.”

“And, of course, there are the other free samples for tomorrow’s presentation,” Luke added, passing a box of pens to Liz, who helped him unload the cart into the living room.

Tom and I stayed seated, letting them sort it out. He was the boss, after all, and I was… otherwise occupied.

“Go ahead and pick something out,” I gestured at the bags. “There are a few different outfits that should be in your size. We should make sure we have something for tomorrow, then we can rehearse the plan, together. Right, Tom?”

He nodded grudgingly,

“Yeah, alright. Let’s just get this over with.”

Stepping out of the bedroom, I inspected my outfit. It had been a while since I had worn a suit, and it felt a bit strange, but the fit was alright and the dark black, pinstripe blazer and pants looked professional enough. Liz stepped out of the bathroom in a dark skirt and emerald blouse. It was a much less dramatic change in her usual style, but the blond wig was certainly different; of course that was exactly the point. She and gave me a quick once over.

“You clean up pretty well,” she approved.

“Thanks.”

“But it is obvious that you are used to doing your makeup for a nightclub.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the eyeshadow is a little much for a lunchtime business meeting, don’t you think?”

That was fair enough. I hadn’t exactly used a light touch.

“Maybe you could touch it up a bit for me?” I asked.

“Sure, just step in here,” she stood aside and gestured for me to enter the bathroom.

“Thanks, Liz,” I positioned myself in front of the mirror.

Liz turned to shut the door, but a hand halted its progress.

“Leave it open, I need to talk to Ray,” Tom leaned on the doorframe.

“Oh, well, I can wait…” Liz began.

“No, it’s fine. Go ahead, I will just talk to her while you work.”

Liz nodded hesitantly and grabbed a makeup wipe from her bag to remove my eyeshadow.

“What can I do for you, Tom?” I asked, eyes closed.

“Where did you want to order the pizza from, tomorrow?”

Ah, so it was that kind of talk. He didn’t really need to discuss this now; he didn’t even need my input at all. He just wanted to make sure we couldn’t collude. And, in fairness, he was right, that had been my goal. Apparently, it would have to wait.

“Something fancy? I say we just order from the most expensive place in the area.”

“What kind of toppings are you thinking?”

I sighed and turned towards his voice.

“Don’t move,” Liz snapped.

I turned back obediently, feeling the brush sweeping my eyelids.

“I don’t know, Tom. You don’t need me to decide this.”

“Well, maybe Liz has some opinions,” Tom asked, snidely. “She seems to have a thought on everything.”

I felt Liz shrug, then return to working on my eye makeup.

“The usual, I guess? Pepperoni, veggie, maybe a meat lover’s?” she offered.

“Fantastic insight, doctor. I’m glad we have your expertise,” Tom replied, tone dripping sarcasm.

Liz ignored him and put the finishing touches on my makeup.

“Alright, you can open your eyes,” she said.

I slipped on the dark-rimmed glasses I had selected to go with my outfit and inspected the result in the mirror. She was right, it looked much more professional.

“Thanks, Liz.”

“You think you can replicate it tomorrow?”

“Now that I have seen it, sure. And if I can’t, I know who to ask,” I brushed past Tom and returned to the living room.

Luke had emerged and was looking very ill-at-ease, fidgeting with his jacket cuffs as he shifted from foot to foot. None of us, except perhaps Liz, were the office worker type, but he was also the youngest of us by far and clearly had not worn a suit many times before, if at all. The clearest sign of that was his tie, which hung loose and wrinkled around his throat. He had clearly attempted to tie it, before giving up and venturing out for help. That wasn’t my area of expertise, so I turned to ask Tom to give him a hand, but before I could, Liz brushed past me.

“Let me help you with that, Luke.”

She slipped the tie from his neck and began demonstrating the knot to him. Tom snorted,

“She would know how to tie a tie, wouldn’t she?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“We both know she has known plenty of men, hasn’t she?”

“What does that have to do with knowing how to tie a tie? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t understand.”

“Seriously, Tom, I think you’ve been spending too much time with Wallace. You are being really weird about all this. You’ve worked with Liz before, why is this any different?”

“We didn’t exactly have a choice that time, if you remember.”

“We don’t have a choice this time, Tom. This is happening tomorrow, and you are going to fuck up the entire plan if you keep going like this. Frankly, I am shocked she hasn’t left already. Get your shit together.”

“I just don’t trust her,” Tom curled his lip in disgust.

“Fortunately, you don’t have to. I am the one who is going to be relying on her to get me through the building. So, how about you just focus on doing your part, and not screwing up my portion, huh?”

“Yeah, fine. Just, watch yourself, Ray. And don’t get too close to her, remember what our goal is.”

“Trust me, I remember.”

I turned back to see that Luke now had his necktie back in place and Liz had leaned in close to tighten and adjusted it, so it was straight. After a moment, she stepped back to admire her handiwork.

“You look very nice,” she nodded approvingly.

“Thank you,” Luke, tugged at his tie, loosening it slightly. “But just to be clear, I’m not really interested in you in that way, so don’t get any ideas.”

Liz laughed,

“I don’t know what misconceptions you have about us, but I’m just here to do a favor for a friend, nothing more. But since we are working together, there is no reason we can’t get along, is there?”

Luke blushed,

“No, of course not,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I apologize for being presumptuous.”

“Don’t worry about it. You need to get out more, meet more people. We aren’t all as bad as you seem to think.”

I saw Tom open his mouth and quickly cut him off.

“Well, now that we are all in costume, I think it is time for a dress rehearsal, don’t you?”