The Sapphire Shadow

Chapter One: Compulsive

But this one was hers. Paid in full, up front.

She swooped into a wide, lazy curve. The streets were nearly empty this late, plenty of space between the rideshares traveling home on their own accord, full of office serfs still typing away. A short ramp led down into a garage that opened for the chip on the handlebars of her ride. It was rare to find a garage like this—a private garage, with a private elevator leading to a private office that was sufficient as private living space in a pinch.

In such a nondescript building, too. It was perfect.

She left her helmet on the scooter's seat and tried very hard to think of nothing on her short elevator trip. Normally she'd be giddy, running her fingers over her latest catch and sneaking peeks at it now that they were alone together. One last little bit of fun should have been just the thing to calm her nerves. Instead she gripped the necklace tightly in her coat pocket, staring at nothing.

The elevator doors opened. A visitor, approaching from the main elevator, would be greeted with a plain, locked door and a placard next to it reading Functional Fashions. Coming in through her private elevator, however, led into what had been built to be a cubicle farm.

Nadia's one and only employee—and she fought a sly smile whenever she thought of the word, because they were partners in all but name—was sitting at a desk dominated by multiple screens. No reaction, no greeting.

"Good to see you too," Nadia said, walking past her with barely a glance. "Please don't get up. Dinner is ready, I'm sure?"

That got her a dry snort. Neither of them could be trusted to cook. The office had a kitchenette, but it was part of a break room that served as little more than storage. Nadia wove her way through her personal workspace, a chaotic set of tables and mannequins covered in projects at various stages of abandonment.

She stopped at a set of drawers and opened one. Piles of jewelry glittered up at her, mostly necklaces, tangled up with bracelets and rings in a dazzling variety of cuts and colors. Tens of thousands of dollars' worth of gems. Some of it she had even paid for.

She fished the small case out of her purse, letting her fingers caress the black velvet for a moment. The case cracked open easily, unceremoniously dumping the ugly necklace in with the rest. The stolen necklace took its place.

"Did you happen to get the blueprints, Tess?" Nadia called out.

"Any minute now."

A heavy sigh from Nadia. A theatrical roll of the eyes. For no one's benefit but her own, of course. Tess was still absorbed in whatever nonsense she was up to now.

"Tonight," Nadia said, stalking over to the girl who was currently, against all odds, failing her utterly. "It's supposed to be tonight."

No response. Nadia hovered at the back of Tess's chair, her eyes running over the screens piled up on the desk. Six of them, two rows of three, scrolling too quickly to read through news feeds and lines of code and social media posts, a testament to how useless technology could be. Nadia couldn't begin to make sense of it.

She knew it didn't matter, though; Tess was probably only paying attention to the displays built into her eyes.

"I said tonight," Nadia repeated. "As in a few short hours."

"I heard you," Tess said. She wore thick-framed glasses without lenses. Nadia could see the flicker in her pupils where retinal implants painted a picture just for her. The nanoengineered irises were expanding and contracting rapidly, completely shielded from the real world.

Nadia didn't bump Tess's chair or wave a hand in her face. She merely stuck out an index finger and pressed it against the side of her partner's head.