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Chapter Text

She knew she was a killer the first time she saw her. It wasn't in the way she was pointing a SIG Sauer M17 to her chest. It wasn't in the unflinching pressure she had on her gun. It was in the determination in her blue eyes. The will to do good so bright in her pupils that it was destined to end badly.

"Hands up! Stay where you are!" The blonde detective said. Confident. Bossy. That was Lena's favorite type to break.

Lena paused, hands in the air.

"I wonder how many girls you've asked that."

"I-I- What?" The detective stuttered sharply. Lena snorted. Oh, how easy that one was making it for her.

"Don't worry, darling. I won't take long."

With that, she ran the opposite way. Back on plan B. She knew there was a back door to this manor. She always prepared another route, just in case some reckless detective would surprise her. She ran down the stairs, the living room, stopping just a second to notice a Fabergé egg on a well-furnished shelf and putting it in her backpack. Then the kitchens and finally, through the back door directly in the south garden.

Behind her, she heard the beautiful blonde detective following her so she didn't stop. She wasn't that reckless to shoot, was she? No, it couldn't be. Lena knew this type so well. They were against all types of violence if they could help it.

She ran through the garden and entered the forest surrounding the three-story manor. How much that manor must have cost, she wondered. A million? Five hundred thousand? Shaking her head, Lena smirked. Too much to feel bad about what she had stolen.

She attempted a glance above her shoulder once she reached the forest. The detective was halfway to her, running as if the whole thing hadn't tired her off. Lena groaned. Of course, she had to be caught by a sporty one. But she had a way to escape those too. They had muscles but she had a brain.

Smirking, she pulled the grappling iron gun on her hips and fired towards the top of the closest tree, making sure she was well hidden from the detective's view. The grappling took an aim on a branch. She pulled the button on the left of the gun and, without any effort, the rope pulled her up the tree. She walked silently with it on the trunk until she reached the branch and decided to sit on it.

Observing the ground with an eye on her digital watch, she waited only a minute and twenty-eight seconds before the detective passed below her. Lena watched her stop a couple of trees away, searching the forest, before she seemed to realize she had lost her.

A curse, a kick in a pile of dead leaves, and the detective was going back the opposite way. Lena waited another two minutes before jumping down and heading calmly to her second car purposefully waiting for her on the other side of the forest.

Mission accomplished. Let the games begin

Lena 1 – 0 Blonde Detective

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Kara had only passed the threshold of the elevator when her name echoed through the main hall of National City's police department. She buried her head in between her shoulders but it was too late already. Her colleagues shot her amused smiles and content glares. She was in for an earful, and they were all happy about it.

She walked tentatively towards her boss's office on the far end of the floor. It was close to lunch but people were still hurrying around, passing papers and information, giving calls to indicators or planning meetings with other services to plan an intervention. The department was always buzzing with activity. They had schedules but none of them respected them. In fact, if you were a police officer and wanted to be home by 6, you'd be seen as a pussy.

When Kara entered Hank Henshaw's office, her boss was already waiting for her, arms crossed. She sighed and closed the door behind her. As she was about to pull a chair to sit, he tsked.

"Don't. It won't take long."

Henshaw was a tall and massive African American guy, with a severe expression always stuck to the face, accentuated by his dark pupils. He was impressive. And Kara kind of feared him, even if sometimes he could show a bit of favoritism towards her.

"You're out." He simply said.

Kara wanted to protest immediately but she only had the time to expel a pathetic whistling sound.

"You just came back, I know, Danvers." Henshaw continued, his hands on his hips. "And you're already rushing headfirst into trouble."

"She's the thief we've been searching for, for years!"

Henshaw groaned and sat in his leather chair heavily. "No, it's not! And even if it was, you've ruined every possible arrest by going there alone without any permission given from your supervisor!"

His deep, rocky voice boomed against the office's walls. Kara looked at the ceiling, her jaw set. It was not necessary to keep discussing this. Henshaw had his mind already set.

"You'll stay home for another two weeks." He slid a medical recommendation on the wooden desk. "Make sure you see Dr Quinn before leaving." He smiled without real empathy in it. "See you in two weeks, Danvers!"

Kara took the paper forcefully and turned around to exit the office.

"And stop obsessing over those little thefts!" He shouted as she was closing the door.

Her head deep in between her shoulders, Kara walked back to the elevator, fuming. That man was a horrible, influential, jerk. He wasn't taking her seriously.

She entered the elevator under the eyes of her snickering colleagues. When the doors closed, Kara fell back against the steel surface dejectedly. Nobody was taking her seriously anyway. Not anymore. Not since she had almost lost her life on the field, caused two other officers to die on the way, and lost the only witness left to arrest one of the most influential mafioso of the country.

The road home rolled on without Kara noticing. She parked her car in the underground parking lot and took the ride up to her apartment. Silence and emptiness welcomed her. It was all that was left in her life now.

Once, her life had been filled with pride and confidence, and laughter and love. Now, it was just a void. In a shape of her sister, fallen in combat in Afghanistan. In a shape of an adoptive mother, who died from cancer two years ago. In the shape of a politically correct marriage, long consumed by the unaccomplished dreams of one of them.

Kara was alone and tired of thinking about her loneliness. Instead of throwing herself a pity party every night – she had drowned herself into alcohol the first months Alex disappeared already, not a happy sight -, Kara preferred throwing her energy into work. Into finding that thief nobody seemed to be capable of arresting.

On the largest wall of her living room were the multiple articles, notes, clues, witnesses linked to that woman Kara was chasing. A master thief. The Phantom, as Scotland Yard called her. The Blur, for the Americans. El Maligno in Mexico. Nobody knew what the thief looked like, if it was a man or a woman, what age, what ethnicity. But they all wrote about her. And Kara now knew it was a her.

It was the first time she had seen her face. She had the instinct the thief was a female but she hadn't even been sure until now. The jobs were too delicate, the spaces too narrow to be entered by a man. She now knew what she looked like, who they were chasing. Or rather who she was chasing because her boss strangely didn't want to do anything with the case.

On her computer, Kara opened the portrait software she got from black market and worked on the woman's face. She wanted it to reflect reality as much as possible. This woman was searched in a hundred countries. Interpol had emitted a wanted notice but they didn't have a portrait, just a blurred camera picture of the woman in black gear stealing a Matisse painting, which was completely foolish. Asking the entire world to search for a criminal without having their face was like asking for nothing at all. How did they want them to find her? No, Kara had a better idea. They should work in reverse. Try to understand the thief's plan to work out their next target. That was how she had caught her in the Rojas manor, the day before. Well, caught was not exactly what had happened.

Kara replayed the short encounter in her head, a small, unconscious smile gracing her lips. Usually, the Blur had a mask on but this time, Kara saw the emerald, green almond-shaped eyes, the naturally red lips, the jet-black hair in a ponytail and the porcelain skin covered by the black army gear. She had heard her voice too. That crunchy, melodious, know-it-all tone. The over-confident expression. The mischief in her eyes when she flirted with Kara.

No. Kara paused, the thief's numerical face looking back at her. She shook her head to evade those thoughts. Work. It was just work. A job. She had to arrest this woman before she caused more problems. After four years of hunting her down, the police of the entire world had no other clue than a hair found in a museum in Paris after she had stolen a Paul Eluard first edition, or a fingernail lost from the time a guard stopped her outside the Royal Palace in England. That was all. But Kara was one step ahead.

She knew what she looked like and she had planned her target with success. She was in her head now. She could plan the next one without less difficulty.

Kara printed the portrait and pinned it to the center of her notes on the wall. She took a few steps back to look at it. Through squinting eyes, she recalled the last targets in her mind. There had been museums and industries and rich houses but nothing compared to the last thefts.

First, the Luthor manor in Metropolis, two months ago. Only private files disappeared. Second, the Obsidian quarters in Star City, two weeks later. Nothing out of the ordinary according to James Olsen, the manager in charge, but Kara suspected they didn't want to divulge what had happened or what had been stolen. And last, the Rojas manor in National City. Thankfully, Kara was close by to this one and had followed her through. She had seen her take the Fabergé egg, but she was sure it wasn't the purpose of the thief's visit. It had to lead somewhere. With higher purposes than just stealing for selling the goods back on the black market and making money. It must have been a link between all of those events, Kara just needed to find it.

Opening an internet page, Kara started to search Obsidian's website page. Any event that would happen in the following weeks. She scrolled, not finding anything but clicked on the link to their social media page. At the top of the page, a publication had been shared by Obsidian for the LuthorCorp yearly charity gala, claiming Obsidian would join the party. It was planned for a week later at the MoMA in Gotham.

Bingo. Kara smirked to herself as she took notes of the guests and places. She couldn't be sure but she had the instinct her thief would be there. Now she had to find a dress and produce a fake ID to enter the event. Sadly, one of the guests would be uninvited during the week. But it was for a good cause. Kara shook her head to herself. She was going to Gotham, making the choice to focus on the task at hand instead of the danger waiting for her there.

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Lena entered her apartment with a sense of relief. After hours on the road, she was finally home.

"Welcome home, Lena." H.O.P.E.'s voice, Lena's AI companion, echoed through the speakers. "It's 8:38 in the morning. The weather is cloudy outside and we should prepare for rain around midday. You have no missed messages but your mother called."

Rolling her eyes, Lena dropped her keys in the bowl next to the picture framed she was still loving too much to throw away. She'd deal with her mother later. A ball of cream fur hurried towards her in the hall, meowing and rubbing her legs with his head.

"I know, I know. I'm late." She said to the Siamese cat who followed her to the kitchen.

With her full gear and combat boots still on, Lena hurried through the steps of feeding the hungry beast. She stroked his fur as he threw himself at the bowl of meat goo. The idea of adopting a cat hadn't been hers but she was glad Shröd was there with her. He was the only one capable of filling the space Andrea left in her heart.

With her stomach churning with hunger, Lena straightened up and walked to her bedroom. She removed her sweaty gear, placed it in a cover and planned the robotic closet to dry-clean it. Next were the boots, put on a mechanical base to have them ventilated and polished. She walked in her underwear to the bathroom, stretching the stiffness out of her limbs. She hadn't run like that in a long time.

Under the shower, she thought back to the blonde detective chasing her through the manor. It had been a surprise to find her there. If the police knew how to plan her movements, she was screwed. But Lena suspected she shouldn't worry that much. The detective had been alone. No backup, no plan. Just her pretty face and a gun.

And those blue eyes, so determined to arrest her. She had guessed Lena's next move so Lena was sure it wasn't their last encounter. She wasn't worth worrying about but Lena decided she'd have to stay cautious. If one detective could follow her, it meant her plan could be in jeopardy and she couldn't let that happen.

Drying herself up and putting on comfy clothes, Lena stepped into the kitchen, bare feet and hair wet. She scurried through the fridge to find another prepared meal she'd just have to put in the microwave. While it was heating up, she checked her cell phone for text messages. Her mother had left one. Lena snorted, thinking it must have been very important for Lilian to text when usually she would pretend she didn't know how to just to force Lena to call her back and listen to her judgemental tone.

Her mother's text was an invitation, simply sent as a photo. The yearly charity gala. As if Lena could forget it. She had been forced to attend it since she had been adopted by the Luthors at the young age of 4 years old. With a quick answer agreeing to go, Lena shut off her phone and grabbed her dinner from the microwave.

She went to eat it in front of her computer. H.O.P.E. automatically charged up the last datas collected by her gear and Lena paused with her fork in midair as the blonde detective appeared on her screen. She looked tense, her shoulders drawn together, ready to shoot. Or not. Even through the camera's pixelisation, Lena could see the small tremor in her hands. She was gripping at her gun too forcefully to shoot.

"H.O.P.E., who's that woman?" Lena asked aloud, finally taking the fork in her mouth and chewing the piece of lasagna.

"Detective Kara Danvers, 34, born in Arizona and adopted by the Danvers at the age of 13. She works for National City PD and took part in the shooting in the outskirts of Gotham in the Maroni case eight months ago."

Lena squinted at her screen as H.O.P.E. spread several articles about the case. She read them all, one by one, gathering information. Danvers was supposed to protect the only witness Sal Maroni hadn't been able to kill to avoid his judgement. The witness, Helena Bertinelli, heiress of Maroni's rival, was under witness protection, hiding in a stash in Gotham's countryside but reports had Danvers deciding the stash wasn't good enough and they got attacked by Maroni's minions on the way to another stash.

"So, the little detective is in disgrace." Lena whispered to herself.

"Detective Danvers was shot in the right shoulder during the attack, losing part of her capacity of shooting temporarily. Two other officers were killed, Police officer Querl Dox and Lieutenant Nia Nal." H.O.P.E.'s robotic voice replied.

Lena read the confidential reports about the incident. Danvers had been on medical leave for months and had only been reinstated two weeks ago. Another report popped up as she was reading. This one had been written twenty minutes ago. Reading the words, Lena smirked. Danvers' little stunt disobeying orders and following Lena had gotten her another forced medical leave. Now Lena was sure she shouldn't worry about that one. Danvers was neutralizing her chances herself.

Which led her back to step 4 of her plan. The MoMA and who would be there during the gala. She pushed away her half-eaten plate and stood up to lean over the museum's blueprints. If the information she gathered was correct, the encounter would happen in the basement, with guards protecting the people concerned. But Lena smirked. She would be there too, no matter what it cost. And she already knew how.

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Kara didn't need any alarm to wake up that morning. She woke up in a gasp, her sweat coloring the sheets as the last images of a naked brunette with green eyes kissing her evaded her mind. She shook her head and rushed out of the sheets as if it was their fault.

A cold shower and a black coffee later, she was ready to ride to the airport and take a plane to Gotham, two hours in advance.

During the plane ride, she revised her plan. She hadn't really thought about the details. What was she going to do if she crossed the thief's path? Kara was known to be reckless and unpredictable but this time, she couldn't count on anybody to back her up. She was on her own. Suddenly, the idea of hurrying into the devil's den without any plan sounded stupid.

But stuck on a plane to Gotham, it was already too late. Kara was also known to be very good at improvising and it'd have to do for the day. The gala was in six hours. She still had some time to make up a backup plan in case it went badly.

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It was only Kara's second time in Gotham and she already regretted it. The first time hadn't gone as planned and this time didn't look like it would go simply either.

Hidden in a corner, a glass of champagne in hand, the other clutching her purse, she was observing the crowd. She had found her thief, walking around the room elegantly, the hips swaying in that God-forsaken royal blue gown, charming the guests with easy smiles. At first sight, Kara had cursed herself. How stupid she was. She knew that woman was familiar. Of course, she was. She was the youngest heiress of one of the richest families in the country, not to say the world.

Lena Luthor. Her full name had flashed in Kara's mind as she was watching the woman and her mother talk to their guests, cheering glasses of champagne and scotch with senators, CEOs, ambassadors, and so on. The Rojas and the Luthors were close friends. They were part of the same world.

Kara was screwed, she realized. On the pile of her obvious question concerning her safety in this room came other questions. Why would a woman that rich would bother stealing from other rich people? Why take the risk of getting caught and cause a scandal?

Squinting her eyes as she watched Lena escape from the grip of an old man with a fake smile, Kara considered the idea that there were more layers to that woman than she gave her credit for. Her goal, whatever it was, had to be so important that risking her family's integrity was nothing compared to it. More than that, it had to be important enough for her to live a double life in the clandestinity and commit crimes to assure success. But what would that be? It had to be personal, Kara concluded. Lena had it all. Money, fame, a good job, a powerful family. The only reason she'd get into that much trouble would be personal.

Stuck in her thoughts, Kara only realized too late that Lena was walking towards her with a predatory smile. She quickly searched for an escape. Hiding behind a plant wouldn't cut it. It was too late already, Lena was only a couple of feet away. Kara squeezed her glass tighter in both hands and braced herself for the confrontation.

Once in front of her, Lena only chuckled. She stared at her, searched her eyes but Kara could only watch her high heeled shoes as if they were the most interesting things. Don't stare at her boobs, don't stare at her boobs, she chanted in her head. Remnants of her dream were resurfacing, obviously tempted to do the exact contrary of what she wanted.

With a large smirk, Lena put her empty glass on the high table next to them and cleared her throat. Since Kara didn't look up, she grabbed at Kara's full glass and drunk it in one go, the blonde protesting only lightly.

It took Lena's praying eyes and cocked eyebrow for Kara to find her voice back.

"Fancy seeing you here." She said, passing a finger under her powdered nose nervously. The smirk on Lena's face grew intensively.

"Wow! Do you have other stereotypical catch-up phrases like that in your pocket, Detective?" She said, tilting her head on the side. "What are you going to do next? Put your sunglasses on in a dramatic way?"

"I'm not wearing sunglasses." Kara could only reply, confused by the questions.

Lena snorted. "No, you don't." Her eyes roamed all over Kara's frame, an appreciating expression on her face. She licked her lips voluntarily. Kara felt like Lena was able to see through her sparkling golden dress. "You wear other things though and oh my, you clean up nice, Detective." She whistled to mark her point.

Kara crossed her arms over her chest to protect herself as much as she could. She willed her to stop playing Lena's voice murmuring her title over and over again. "I'm not here to flirt with you." She said, more to convince herself than the other woman.

Lena's smirk spread wider. "And why are you here, then? If you don't mind me asking."

Kara's eyes traveled from one green eyes to the other, noticing for the first time how close the other woman was. "To-to arrest you." She stuttered.

Lena chuckled beautifully and took a step closer, her nose almost brushing Kara's. "Something tells me you won't arrest me tonight, Detective." She whispered seductively and Kara swore she'd seen her eyes fall to her lips.

"Oh, why so?"

"Because you're actually the only representative of the police forces and I doubt you have the permission to be here." Lena argued distinctly, leaning back on her heels.

Kara frowned. "If I arrest you, that won't be necessary."

"Ha! And with which proofs you'll keep me in jail then?"

Kara's mouth went fish-like, gasping for a comeback. "I have proofs!" She said a bit too loudly, making some heads turn.

Lena shot the assembly a worry glance before taking Kara by the forearm and guiding her in a secluded hall by the corner of the room. "Even if you have, which I don't believe so," She whispered dryly to Kara's face. "I won't make a move here, if I were you. The room is full of security and they're not the type of security that is legally paid, if you see what I mean."

Kara observed her grave face, the serious look in her eyes. Lena wasn't lying. Kara had noticed some actual armed guys, five for now, but she could guess there were more. She nodded vaguely, her eyes falling to Lena's hand still on her forearm, squeezing. She smirked and, in a spark of bravery, slid a hand around Lena's neck, her fingers gracing the dark curls falling from her bun.

"Thank you for worrying about me. I'll take good note of your recommendation." She said with mischief.

Lena pulled back in haste, as if Kara's touch had hurt her, looking horrified. "I'm not worried about you!" She protested.

Kara crossed her arms over her small strapless purse, rocking on her toes to whisper in Lena's face, "You have me fooled."

Lena looked stunned for a second before a smile spread on her face. She shook her head, accepting defeat for now. Seeing she had no come back, she saluted Kara and walked away, her hips swaying, laughing exaggeratedly.

Kara watched her go with an easy smile before sobering up. She pulled her phone away from her purse and looked at the screen. "Let's see who's the smartest now."

On her phone, the street map was chasing a red dot moving slowly away from a blue one.

Detective Danvers 1 – 1 Anonymous Thief / Lena Luthor

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Chapter Text

The plans Lena was used to plan were always going as she had planned. Perfectly. Without a hitch. And sometimes, okay, she had to use plan B or even plan C but she was never out of plans. She always was three steps ahead, just like Lex had taught her with chess. Enter your enemy's head and think like they do. Easy, simple, basic. A piece of cake.

But not this time.

It wasn't counting on a certain detective. Lena worked solo. She wasn't used to have an accomplice underfoot. Kara Danvers was bold, clumsy and completely out of it when it came to anticipating people's motions. Which led them running in a museum at night with guards on their wake and only a few dark corners to hide in.

"This way!" Kara squeaked out as she took Lena's arm and forcefully guided her in another hallway.

They were breathing like cows, heels clinking on the tiles. So very discreet. Lena would have taken it out on the blonde detective if she wasn't too busy running from her family's minders.

"What is it with you and running?" She said through gritted teeth as they stopped right behind a corner, Kara peering through the dark.

"Sshhh!"

Lena's protest was interrupted by a hand covering her mouth and two wide ocean blue eyes panicking in their sockets. The light bulbs' yellow halo in the hall were giving Kara's face a sick expression. They stared at each other, barely breathing as guards' footsteps echoed in the hall and stopped right before their corner.

"They went this way!" A deep voice grumbled.

"Whatever, we don't even know if it's who we're searching for. It could be a cat, just like the last time." Another, younger, bored voice said.

The first guard didn't acknowledge the remark and started walking closer to the corner. "The boss wants them alive, okay?"

Kara and Lena tensed in sync, their bodies sliding against each other in anticipation, both wanting to protect the other.

"Whatever." The second one repeated. "If we stay here too long, the boss lady will punish us and you know my back still hurt from last time so can we go?"

The other took another step closer to the corner, as if he could smell Kara or Lena's perfume, before huffing and walking away.

"Right, they must have gone this way anyway."

Kara waited for the guard's steps to vanish before putting her hand away from Lena's face. Lena pushed her away for good measure but was already feeling relieved.

"This was close." Kara chuckled, rubbing her neck as if it was another good adventure shared between two friends.

Lena's face whipped up from her dusty suit, her eyes flashing in anger. "Close? We could have been killed!" Kara scrunched up her face as Lena walked into her space. "This was the last time you follow me, understood?" She put a heavy finger on Kara's chest. "I don't need your help and I certainly don't need you to intervene in my plans!"

With her words said, Lena started towards the hall, only for Kara to hold her back by the arm.

"Wait! We can't go back, they're probably circling the whole museum!"

Lena huffed and pulled away in annoyance, the threatening finger making its reappearance. "No kidding! I'm grown enough to know what's good for me! I don't need you!"

"But Lena…"

Lena was about to give the blonde woman another earful when guards' voices erupted in the hall.

"This way!" One shouted.

Lena grunted, shooting Kara a threatening look. "Don't follow me." She warned one last time before putting her cap on and disappearing into the hall's darkness.

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The advantage of being a Luthor in this plan was that she could use her name to enter wherever she wanted incognito, which was incredibly helpful and necessary not to get caught.

The plan, as it had been first established, was easy. Enter the camera room, charm the guy there, slip anesthetizing in his blood, shut down the office cameras and exit.

Lena undressed in a closet, right between the industrial vacuum and the cleaning products, and walked out of it in another handsome gown with long sleeves covering her arms. She walked confidently through the halls, encountering running guards who were obviously still searching for Kara Danvers aka the woman who thought it was a good idea to interrupt Lillian and Lex's deal with Alejandro Rojas by shooting a bullet in the museum's archives room. Lena smirked to herself. She truly hoped the detective was as resourceful as she seemed because, to escape a museum full of Luthor minders, heading first into trouble wouldn't cut it.

With a hand on the camera room door handle, she glanced on each side of the hall. The entire security team was on alert, running everywhere, talking loudly through intercoms and shouting insults at each other. Nobody was paying her any attention though. They didn't know she had been hiding behind covered paintings in the archives room while her mother and brother were threatening the head of the Rojas family to divulge the scandal he'd spent the last year covering up. They didn't know the other, unwelcome person there was a very determined police detective who just happened to be there because of her and just wanted to protect her from Lillian when she'd seemed to approach too close to Lena's hiding point.

Convinced it wouldn't be weird for her to be seen in the CCTV room, she entered the room loudly, making a show for the guard there. She swayed her hips to the main console where he was sitting and smiled charmingly. Inside, she only felt pity for him. He looked young, probably around 20. Naive and innocent. He didn't deserve what Lena's mother would do to him when she'd discover he failed at his job.

"Miss Luthor, I-I was a-about to-to call your bro-brother about the intruder."

Lena nodded slowly to him, her hand reaching his shoulder. "Don't worry, I have you covered." She leaned forward, her lips almost reaching his welcoming ones right when she plunged the syringe in his neck. He startled in surprise and fell back against the chair with a gurgle.

"Now, now, someone's sleepy."

Lena pushed him away from the console and scanned the screen for the main office video footage. She passed the main conference room where some guests were still cheering and chatting to each other. The kitchen was buzzing with work, mute people shouting orders on the screen. Lena noticed her mother and brother walking next to each other in the main hallway to rejoin the party. That was good news. They didn't discover what had happened earlier or why she had been there. She finally found the office in the up corner of the screens. It was dark and empty. It was perfectly as she had planned it.

Lena pulled out her disposable phone from her bag and started the timer. She only had fifteen minutes before the next guard in charge would take its round and discover his colleague unconscious in the room.

Back in the hallway, she heard her mother's voice shout orders, asking people where her daughter could have been. Lena ducked behind a waiter with full hands and walked next to him towards the opposite side of the hallway. The farthest possible from her mother. She winked at the waiter, who smiled back, probably thinking she was just avoiding her mother, and walked fast through the halls leading to the main office. The timer was running and she wasn't supposed to be in this wing of the building. It was only reserved for the museum curator and his assistants.

But the curator, who happened to be a friend, had been killed very recently so Lena had no other option than to do the job herself.

The office door came into view, the hall empty and dark. She rushed through the door and sagged against it as it shut. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes for a second before opening them. The room was still as it used to be. Oak wooden desk and shelves full of books. Statues protected behind tempered glass and high temperature sensors. Paintings kept in large wooden boxes in preparation for their expositions.

Lena took a breath and felt a pang of grief when she recognized her friend's cologne in the air. Giovanni had been a close friend since they were children. The youngest curator the MoMA had seen. Since he had been three years older than Lena, he had always promised to protect her whatever happened to her. He hadn't planned for the roles to be reversed.

Shaking her head, Lena willed her mind to focus on the task. She'd grieve later. She grabbed a thick watch from her bag and put it on her wrist as she slipped closer to the left wall of the office, where she knew the chest was hidden by a Caravaggio copy. H.O.P.E. was already searching for the combination when she put the painting down.

The grey chest was familiar. Lena had seen Giovanni open and close it several times. And she knew he had left something for her inside. It was his last message. Michael is keeping an eye on you.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she pushed the combination through the electronic pad and the chest opened with a swish. Inside, papers, journals, precious first copies of Baudelaire's poems because Giovanni was a fan, and a brown envelope. With a name on it. Tess Mercer.

Lena rolled her eyes, an affectionate but sad smile gracing her lips. Giovanni had always loved enigmas. So much that it had become a game between them. When they knew they were traveling to the same town, the last to arrive had to find the other with only small clues. One of Lena's aliases the time they traveled together in Italy had been Tess Mercer. Lena's favorite place to discover with Giovanni. And others.

Slipping the envelope in her bag, Lena tapped a simple rhythm on her watch - TapTap TapTap Taaap - and the nanoparticles met to shape her suit on her skin. She put the cap on, only her eyes visible, and rushed toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. On the other side of the street, a hotel building lights' were reflecting on the blue carpeted floor of the office.

She pulled out her grappling iron gun and pointed toward the room window she had rented earlier in the week. Winking to focus her sight, she shot straight through the glass window. The grappling slipped a couple of feet down the opposite building but got stuck on the window a story under her room. Lena sighed. Thankfully, she had planned to rent the rooms around hers. It had to do anyway.

Outside the office, guards were already shouting, the breaking glass alerting them. Lena looked at her watch. Two minutes left. It was time to go.

She passed the ending part of the rope in her belt loop and pushed the gun trigger. She landed heavily on the windowsill just when guards erupted in the office. In haste, Lena cut the rope from its base on her belt and watched it fall down the brick wall as a guard tried to grab it on the other side of the road. In one swift motion, she pushed the window open and jumped inside the vacant hotel room. She tumbled in a pile on the carpeted floor, breathing hard, sweat and goosebumps all over her skin. She had never been this happy to escape the MoMA.

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It was early morning when their plane landed in National City's airport. Kara stood up from her seat only when Lena was about to walk out of the plane. She followed her through the gates, through customs and security control and after Lena got her luggage back. She entered a taxi a couple of cars away from Lena and asked the driver to wait until Lena decided to enter one herself. She ordered him to follow the yellow car, just like in the movies, and watched the landscapes change from National City airport to the suburbs of the city where Lena's taxi stopped in front of a tall, luxurious apartment building.

Kara waited for Lena to enter the building before leaving the taxi herself and watching her pass the inside double doors from the opposite sidewalk. Twenty minutes later, she was sure Lena had rejoined her apartment so she crossed the road and looked at the inter-phone. Lena Luthor's name was written next to apartment 618. Sixth floor, eighteenth apartment.

Crossing the road back, Kara counted the stories and wondered if Lena's apartment was at the front of the building. She'd have to enter to be sure. But for that, it needed to be empty.

She waited and waited, sitting at a table inside the small café facing Lena's building. It took hours, but finally, Lena got out around 4 in the afternoon. Kara didn't wait long to jump out of her chair. She couldn't be sure how long Lena would be out. She needed to move quickly.

Inside the building, she saluted the butler at the entrance and explained she was there to visit a friend. He asked multiple questions about that said-friend and even wanted to see Kara's ID. She showed him her police badge reluctantly. He now knew more than he needed to but it seemed to stop his flow of questions.

With a Welcome, Detective and a small, embarrassing wave, Kara was free to take the elevator to the sixth floor. When the doors opened, she came face to face with apartment 601. With a mental map of the building in her head, she realized that the apartments with odd numbers were on the front of the building and the others were looking out onto the central courtyard and the fountain there. Lena's apartment had to be on this side.

She started right and quickly realized it was left. Six doors later, she came face to face with apartment 618.

"Gotcha." Kara whispered under her breath.

Of course, Lena had a digital door lock, that should unlock with a key card and a password. A paranoid thief. Never paranoid enough.

Rolling her eyes, Kara looked along the hall to see if the other doors had the same security and discovered it wasn't the case. In a quick – reckless – decision, she knocked on Lena's neighbor door. Two possibilities ; if the neighbor answered the door, Kara would have to find an explanation, and quickly, and if nobody answered, she could pick the lock and use the balconies to enter Lena's apartment from there.

Before she could count to thirty, a door opened but not the one she was facing.

"Can I help you?"

Kara jolted around, straightening up to appear as professional as possible. She put her badge in the guy's face.

"Hi, I'm here to investigate. The building next to this one encountered some major theft, we wanted to make sure everything's okay here."

She let a smile spread on her lips. The guy, a twenty-something brown-hair geek with a stained shirt and shorts that probably were white but now had turned grey, looked her up and down. His squinted eyes stopped on her face as he rubbed his nose in boredom. Kara wondered how a guy like him could afford an apartment in this building.

"Nothing here." He simply said. Kara waited for more but he just stared at her awkwardly.

"Okay, thanks!" She put her hands in her pockets. "I'll make sure with your neighbors then." She motioned to the other doors.

The guy nodded and closed his door with a small energy. Kara heard a lock turn twice, then a chain lock being pulled in. Lena wasn't the only one paranoid, it seemed.

Turning back to Lena's apartment door, Kara realized the guy must have been looking at her through the peephole this whole time. She sighed and decided to walk out of the view. She couldn't pick the lock in front of this guy. She'd have to find another solution.

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National City didn't have a lot of dangerous neighborhoods, what with the one of the special forces base present in the city and the very efficient Police department, the criminals didn't stay criminal for long.

But some knew how to hide just under the forces' nose, just like Lena. And it was a small world. Some even may say they formed friendships based on their mutual enemy, the police.

That was how Lena had known Winn Schott and his tech stuff. Officially, Win only sold legal software and IT materials and fixed your teenage girl computer so she could use it for school. But to National City's criminal sphere, Winn was a pro hacker, making business on the dark web and alimenting a secluded black market of all things possible.

With all his capacities, Lena hoped he could take in the Fabergé egg she had stolen from the Rojas manor in exchange for a small service.

When Win caught her in his shop, he stopped talking to his client in an instant. Lena heard him tell the woman she should call her operator and watched him as he guided the reluctant woman toward the door. He let the woman protest on the sidewalk, closed the door to her face and turned the sign on the door stated CLOSED.

"What are you doing here?" He asked without even turning around. Lena understood his cold welcome. She had sworn not to put feet in this shop only two months ago.

"I need your help." She stated dryly. "You help me and I'm out of your hair forever."

Winn chuckled, shooting her a pointed glance. "That's what you said the last time, and the time before that."

He sighed and walked past her. She understood it as a way for her to go ahead. She put the egg out of her bag.

"I need you to hack into Estela Corp's system and enter their CEO computer."

Winn's eyes looked like two saucers. He took the egg in his hands nonetheless, whistling.

"It's a real one." He put the egg on the counter carefully and crossed his arms. "I thought you were smart enough to do that crappy job yourself."

Lena rolled her eyes. "I am but I can't leave a trace."

"And you can't use dark web either?" Winn tilted the head on the side, examining Lena's frame. "There's something you're keeping from me."

Lena scoffed, crossing her arms in defense. "Of course, I'm keeping things from you! Who do you take me for?" A smirk crossed Winn's face before he controlled it and forced a poker face to replace it. They'd known each other for a long time, had lived some crazy adventure in a joint coup. Winn knew exactly how she worked.

"Listen, it won't cause you trouble, I promise. I just need the password to enter his office computer." Lena explained.

"I see. It can't be done using the WIFI then."

"No, the bastard knows what he's hiding." Lena let out through gritted teeth. Winn paused. Lena realized she had overreacted. She wasn't known to have any sort of feelings, good or bad, towards her targets. She pinched her lips, watching Winn pull away from the counter and sigh.

"Okay but that," He played with the Fabergé egg. "Is not enough to hack a fish that big. I'll need more."

Lena rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Fine, tell me what I have to steal."

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Kara looked down at her feet, her toes exceeding the windowsill as she slid inch by inch on it to jump on the next balcony. Six stories below, the courtyard was opening wide, hungrily waiting for Kara to slip. She whined as she focused her gaze on the balcony's railing. Lena's balcony.

She had used the fire escape on the corner of the building and then jumped from one balcony to the windowsill next to it to another balcony until reaching Lena's. What she had to do to escape a guy's spying eyes.

Kara hated heights and she hated climbing. But important matters meant using important ways, or something like that. Gathering courage, she unclenched her fingers from the brick they were curling on and slowly reached for the balcony's wrought iron railing.

When her hand met the cold metal, her breath caught in her chest. Now, she had to turn one last time and jump one last time. Willing her feet to slide closer onto the windowsill, she took a deep breath and threw herself at the metal guard. Her right hand slammed next to the other one as her body collided into the railing forcefully, her right foot missing the edge of the balcony. She groaned and pulled on her arms to pass over the railing.

Legs and hands shaking like leaves, the heart pounding in her ears, Kara was finally on Lena's balcony. She took a minute to calm her breath. Just the idea of taking the trip back was making her dizzy. She'd have to find a key card in that apartment. There was no way she was going back on those windowsills only wide enough to support a pigeon.

With a clearer mind and still a shaky breath, Kara focused on the double bay window on the balcony and its lock. It was a model that could be locked from inside but usually, people never locked it up. Why would you be scared that somebody entered your apartment by the balcony when you were on the sixth level?

Kara smirked to herself as she put gloves on and tried to open the door with her hands. The window stayed closed. She tried with more force but the window didn't budge. Pulling away, hands on her hips, Kara laughed out loud in disbelief.

Normal people didn't care about locking bay windows but Lena… Lena was another story.

Kara looked through the window and discovered a minimalist apartment. White walls, white furniture, with few decorations and some plants. But she had the instinct Lena knew where to hide incriminating pieces.

Pulling the Swiss army knife she always had on her belt, Kara decided she couldn't go back without entering that apartment. She needed proof so her boss would believe her. And she hadn't risked her life climbing those balconies to stop there.

She put the knife blade in between the stop blocks of the window looking directly out on the balcony and used force to break it. The plastic tore and gave up easily. She did the same thing for the next four ones on the up part and then the other five on the foot part. Then, she pulled with both hands on the window, ready to have its whole weight on her at any moment.

The window was hard to move but it jumped over some of the frame stops and stayed ajar enough for Kara to slide inside. With a new sense of victory, Kara looked at her watch and realized the whole operation had already taken her half an hour. On her phone, the red dot showed Lena was already on her way back. She'd have to be quick.

Looking around, Kara passed through the clean kitchen and the neat living room quickly. Nothing interesting there, except maybe the very colorful and different pieces of art on the walls. Kara wondered if they were all stolen or legally bought. There was no way to prove it. She found a hall that led from the living room to probable bedrooms.

The first bedroom was all white and didn't seem occupied. The next room was the bathroom with black ceramic tiles and luxurious products. And then, finally, Kara entered an office that seemed to be Lena's safe place.

The office was dark, with thick curtains down, a huge desk with three screens and a glowing blue computer under it. Kara lit up her Mag lite and focused its rays on the back wall.

On it was an entire map made out of red wool threads. Pictures were covering the wall. The Luthor family members, the head of the Rojas family, a few men in black suits who looked like big managers. All taken without their consent. Some important looking documents with Estela Corp's logo on the above were highlighted.

Kara noticed a specific article dated from a year ago. An accident at one of Estela Corp's quarters, one where they filtered water to use in their products. The article stated several deaths but the corporation wasn't at fault, it seemed.

Kara took pictures of the wall to examine it later at home. She then headed toward the desk where piles of files were covering the surface. With the flashlight in her mouth, she opened the first one and again discovered legal documents from Estela Corp, this time stating the conformity of the water used in their products. The tests were all dated before the accident. The second and third files were composed of the same documents, except it was dated some months ago.

Kara took pictures of them too. She checked if the photos weren't blurred and noticed a small picture frame on the photo. Putting her phone down, she picked up the frame and looked at the photo. It was Lena with another woman, smiling at the camera, cheek against cheek. They seemed happy.

Before Kara could assume anything about it, the front door emitted a beep and opened, with a robot's voice echoing in the apartment.

"Welcome home, Lena. It's 6.47 p.m.. The temperature outside is reaching 45 degrees. There was no call during your absence but a breach in the security system due to somebody forcing the bay window."

"I can see that." Lena's dry tone replied to the robot. She was probably referencing the broken bay window and the gust of air coming through the breach.

Kara opened wide eyes. She had no idea Lena had a security system that advanced. In her haste, she put the frame in the wide inside pocket of her vest. She looked around for an escape. The only one was the windows, of course, or the vent system behind the desk.

Kara cursed under her breath and pushed the curtains discreetly away. The floor-to-ceiling windows were directly looking out on the street. No balcony, no windowsill. Kara put the curtains back and rushed to the vent opening. It didn't budge.

Frantically, she decided the only option she had was to go back through the hall and use the bathroom window or the one from the other bedroom.

She peered around the door frame and saw Lena walked from the living room to the kitchen and go back out of the apartment. The front door still open, Kara heard her ask her neighbor if he had seen anything weird, which led him to talk about his encounter with Kara. One point for discretion.

Kara rushed discreetly to the bathroom and opened the window. This one was one that was between two balconies. She quickly pulled herself up on the windowsill. Don't look down, don't look down. She grabbed at the balcony railing and passed over it to hide behind a huge flower jar. She looked at her phone and watched Lena's red dot traveling from one room to the other in her apartment.

As the red dot got away from the blue dot, Kara peered inside through the window. Since it was clear, she rushed on the other side of the balcony and passed over the railing to slide on another windowsill. Next, Lena's neighbor's balcony and then, the fire escape.

When her feet touched the paved sidewalk, Kara finally released the breath caught in her chest. That was close. Closer than her night in the museum.

Hidden in a side street, Kara stopped against a brick wall and looked back at the picture frame. The glass was broken, which had led her to be cut a bit in the ribs. She decided to throw the frame away and keep the picture.

She didn't know who the woman on the picture next to Lena was but, in an apartment devoid of any personal objects, this frame had been placed on the desk with purpose. Kara was sure this woman had something to do with Lena's target. Which seemed to be Estela Corp.

Chapter Text

The city wasn't known for its bars and clubs. There was only one club in the West neighborhood and that was enough for National City's citizens. Lena never liked to go in there. She had spent some incredible nights at the Smile a couple of months ago, in a dysfunctional manner to escape reality. Nights she didn't remember anything about. Thankfully, she quickly found her purpose back.

It was strange to come back though. She recognized some of the faces, people she used to party with. They were all just faces in a crowd now. Not important. Useless. They were only giving money to the club manager and feeding his drug business by consuming them.

With a frown, Lena realized she pitied them. They were all just lost.

As she looked over the dancing crowd, playing with the USB stick in her hand, Lena recognized the woman she had yet to escape. The one she was waiting for. Her past anger toward the woman had totally vanished. She was glad Kara had gotten out of the museum unscathed. And she was impressed that Kara succeeded in entering her apartment and escaping without getting caught. Few could say the same. She didn't know how to feel about that though.

She didn't know what to think about the weird sensation in her belly every time she crossed paths with that stupid detective either. But she wasn't the type to overthink sexual attractions – or any kind of attractions - anyway. Not since she'd lost her. So why bother? They weren't doing anything wrong. Yet. And it wasn't like Lena would care if they were doing something wrong.

Walking purposefully through the crowd toward the manager's office, Lena stopped just at the door to make sure the detective was following her. Through the rainbow lights, the booming music and the blurred atmosphere, she saw Kara Danvers excuse herself to a woman and follow her tracks.

Lena smirked. It was too easy.

She focused back on the task at hand. Winn wanted her to steal compromising video footage of him. There was only one way to do this. Enter, steal, run.

Once inside the office that she knew would be empty – the manager, Mick "the White Nose" Jabbery, was unconscious on a couch in the VIP lounge surrounded by his bodyguards -, Lena sat at the computer and immediately linked the USB stick to it. There was nothing better than using old tech for a simple mission like this one. So simple, in fact, that she wondered why Winn didn't do it himself.

She scrolled through the video footage and found the date Winn had told her to. June 27. Four months ago. There wasn't a lot of footage for that night. She clicked on the file called "Putting this bitch down" and almost laughed at what she found.

Winn's face was all over the file. Pictures of him sucking parts of a man's body nobody wanted to see. Lena didn't dare open the videos. It explained why Winn wanted those documents back. Mick was probably blackmailing him with them.

"Weird job you have."

Lena clicked on the screen to accept the transfer of documents and spun the seat, crossing her legs pointedly. Detective Kara Danvers was leaning on the door frame, her leather jacket and slim black jeans were covering her muscles just right. Lena licked her lips involuntarily and chuckled in disbelief.

"I have a weird job?"

"Yeah, stealing from rich people, collecting porn from a dark computer. I don't know how you can touch this one though, it must be covered with germs." Kara made a disgusted face.

With another chuckle, Lena stood up and walked to her. She leaned against the frame just in front of Kara. She was close enough to smell her musk perfume.

"You do have a weird job too. Usually police officers arrest thief, they don't become one." She slid finders in Kara's belt, touching the gun there pointedly.

Kara gaped at her, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "How do you kno-"

"That you entered my apartment?" Lena leaned to whisper in her ear. "You have a very specific perfume, detective." She made a show of inhaling Kara's neck slowly. "One particularly significant." She decided to go for it and kissed Kara's skin, her tongue drifting up to the hole behind Kara's ear.

Kara's breath got caught in her chest. She grabbed Lena by the head as a gesture to pull her away but instead eased her fingers through the jet-black locks of her ponytail. Lena hummed against her skin, the vibrations hitting Kara squarely where they shouldn't.

"We can't."

It was a plea more than a protest. Kara's strong will was already dissolving into nothing.

"No one has to know." Lena muttered against her lips. The shivers running down her spine were too important to ignore.

"Okay." Kara muttered back. "But we're not doing this here."

Lena pulled away instantly. "Oh, because you have standards." Her arched brow was mocking her. With a grunt, and a bit of a bruised ego, Kara let her head hit the door frame loudly.

"I'm here to arrest you."

"Again." Lena pointed out. She crossed her arms and smiled dangerously at the other woman. With her high heels, they were even in height. "You know, I'm impressed. You entered my apartment, stole a picture and got out without problem. I'm starting to think I'm the one who should arrest you. It sounds like you're obsessed, Detective."

Kara's eyes glinting with mischief as she leaned into Lena's space and brushed her nose with hers, her wide pupils never leaving Lena's.

"I say the obsession is mutual." She whispered flirtatiously. "What do you think?"

The fresh smell of mint hit Lena in the face. Her breath caught in her throat. Contrary to Kara, she didn't have any restraints concerning their relationship. She didn't have ethics and her morals had long been corrupted by the Luthor name. Nothing was stopping her. So, she fell for it. Hard.

Kara's lips met hers hungrily and, quickly, her hands circled her hips and her leg was in between Lena's. Kara's musk perfume and the taste of her cherry lip balm were intoxicating. In her ribcage, Lena didn't know if the bass was from the music outside of the room or from her heart skyrocketing in her chest.

Her mind took a pause the moment the back of her thighs hit the corner of the desk. Kara pulled her up and started kissing her neck and cleavage loudly, without a care in the world for the files falling to the ground. Lena had to admit the wetness between her legs was a direct consequence of being manhandled so easily.

Next to them, the computer announced the end of the download. Lena bit Kara's earlobe and sucked on it, making the blonde groan.

"Usually, I go to dinner first but…" She panted in her ear. "Do you want to go back to my place?"

Kara leaned away, her eyes traveling over Lena's face. Her mascara had run, her lipstick was smudge, her hair completely disheveled. Her eyes were so bright Kara could see honesty clearly in them. No masquerade, no dissimulation. Just pure desire and some curiosity. Lena could have fucked her in that office and run away and Kara would've never seen her again. But she wanted more. There was more between them.

Kara surprisingly understood Lena had some kind of feelings too. They couldn't deny their mutual attraction. The truth of it shocked her so hard that she had to crush it with some dark humor. And a very wrong action (probably, she had still to decide).

She tilted her head and squinted. "Go to your place so that you can kill me in my sleep?"

Lena looked taken aback for a second before a devilish smirk grew on her face. "Who said you'd be allowed to stay the night?"

"Well, I don't know about me but I know where you'll spend the night." With a self-satisfied smile, Kara took a step back and motioned down.

Lena frowned and followed her gaze only to discover she had been handcuffed to the desk. A chuckled of disbelief escaped her mouth. Apart from the fact that she couldn't help but feel aroused by Kara's audacity, she was also very impressed that the blonde succeeded in doing this without her noticing. What an international thief she was. Handcuffed by a simple detective just because she couldn't keep it in her pants. Her mind was replaying Lex's know-it-all face saying she'd always been the weaker one.

"I'm sure the guards outside will be thrilled to know there's somebody stealing from their boss." Kara's victorious smile was contagious. Lena couldn't help her lips to spread too.

"Alright. I guess I'll leave you have some sort of advance." She said, admitting defeat. "But I promise you, the next time we'll be in the same room…" She smiled knowingly, her eyes traveling all over Kara's body. "I'll make you crumble."

Kara cocked an eyebrow. She couldn't contain a shiver. Instead of replying, she pulled the door open and called for a security guard.

When she turned around to show the room to the guy, the office was empty. The lone window was ajar.

Kara realized it was foolish to play that game with that woman. Lena was so better than her at it. And now, she was a step ahead. Again.

And if Kara was a bit honest with herself, she'd admit she had done it on purpose. Because she hadn't lost track of Lena at all. In fact, she knew where she lived.

And if Lena's words were anything, it would be an invitation.

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The next day, Kara used the tracker she had put on Lena to follow her through the city. It was getting old, she was conscious of it but she had no choice. She couldn't use her professional relations since her boss didn't believe her and she wasn't even supposed to work so…

She followed Lena through National City's infamous neighborhood. Kara used to work in that part of the city because the crimes were higher here. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the families living there. Children were usually destined to sell drugs to live or enter other crime circles to make ends meet.

Kara watched from afar as Lena approached a tech shop in the middle of the street. The front didn't look trustworthy but Kara knew not to take first impressions for granted. The shop manager was well known by the police department for trafficking illegal stuff like stolen objects, weapons or top-secret data. No wonder Lena knew him.

When Lena was about to push the shop door open, a black van hurtled down the street at full speed. Kara's guts were on alert. She was only twenty feet away so she started to run and collided with Lena just after the first gunshot. The sub-machine gun bullets ricocheted against the shop window and cars around and the sound echoed in her ears as she was barely aware of the hustle around her. Screams, cries, people shouting.

She couldn't ear anyone, her ears were buzzing.

Lena was looking at her with panic and tears in her eyes before speaking to somebody and pulling away. From where she was laying on the sidewalk, Kara watched her run away with a small bleeding guy stumbling in her arms but her sight got blurred quickly.

She shook her head and forced herself upright. A deep pain shot through her left shoulder, making her gasp as she tried to lean on it. Blood was coloring her pink shirt but Kara didn't linger over it.

She pushed on her other hand and got up with a groan. Down the street, police sirens were warning her of the number of officers arriving on the scene. She couldn't stay here.

She pulled her jacket over her shoulder to hide the blood as much as possible and headed toward the small side street where she had hidden her car.

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Lena contained her sob and closed Winn's eyes. Her old friend was dead because of her. She covered his body with the blanket from her couch and quickly thought about what she could do. She hadn't been able to plan the attack. She wasn't even sure they were aiming for her but how could it be anything else?

She was dealing with scandals nobody wanted to see resurface. And Winn was also dealing with people you shouldn't challenge. It could be both. But Lena couldn't help but feel guilty.

As she was asking H. . to take care of Winn's body until she found a solution, her apartment door burst open. She hurried in the living room only to discover Detective Danvers stumbling inside with a bloody shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lena shrieked. She made a mental note to chastise H.O.P.E. for letting everybody and its mother enter this apartment.

Kara didn't reply. Her eyes focused on Lena for a second and then, she was out.

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Kara got back to consciousness on a couch. She grumbled about something, pushed the hand that was working on her shoulder because it was painful.

"Stop it. I need to stitch you up."

The voice was calm. Focused. Kara's head lolled to the side and was met with Lena's concentrated face, a needle and a thread in her hand. Around them, Lena's office took form, with the curtains open revealing the sunset over the city. She must have been unconscious for some time.

"What happ…"

"Ssshh." Lena patted her cheek twice before going back to work. "I'm almost done."

Kara frowned but focused her gaze on the ceiling. Slowly, the events came back to her mind. The black car, the gunshots. Lena and her friend. Blood everywhere.

She snapped her head to the side and quickly examined Lena to see if she was hurt. She didn't look like it. The absence of the guy in the room was obvious though.

"Your friend…" Kara croaked. Lena's breath caught in her chest. She closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath, and focused back on Kara's stitches when she opened them back.

"He's dead." Lena said simply. "But you're not. The bullet went through. It only hurt flesh, no bone. You're lucky."

She finished the stitches and helped Kara to sit upright on the couch. She started wrapping her shoulder with gauze and strips of cloth. Kara's eyes searched Lena's but the brunette avoided her. Silent tears were streaming down her face. Kara wasn't sure Lena knew about them. She slid a soft hand on her cheek, making her pause. Finally, Lena met her eyes and Kara could only see devastation.

"It's okay." She tried to reassure her but to no avail.

Lena's face crumbled into a sob that escaped her mouth at the last moment. She put a hand on her mouth, ashamed to be this vulnerable over the possible loss of a woman she had just met.

Kara grabbed her wrist and pulled her in her arms, ignoring the pain that shot through her. "I've got you." She squeezed her tight. "It's okay."

"You could've died." Lena's muffled voice was heartbreaking.

"I didn't."

Kara understood what was going on. She wasn't the only one with a traumatic past. Getting shot once again was making so many memories resurface. Memories she wished she could forget. She could see Lena was living the same type of stress. And she had just lost her friend.

For half an hour, only Lena's punctual sniffles filled the room, with the soft hum of Kara's tune as she tried to calm her. She pushed away the thoughts of how contradictory it was to see a sensitive Lena, when she was used to cocky Lena. They weren't playing games anymore. A man had been killed and Kara herself had seen the end of the tunnel closer than she would admit.

Eventually, she drifted in a dreamless sleep, her right hand still rubbing Lena's hair as if it was on a mission of its own.

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A smile spread on Lena's face the moment she heard the bedroom door open and click shut. H.O.P.E. was already informing Lena that Kara was awake.

"It's okay, H.O.P.E., you can go to sleep."

"Noted, Lena."

Kara's confused face appeared around a corner and Lena spun on her stool to welcome her with a smile.

"Coffee? Tea?"

Kara shot a weird look at the microwave clock and shrugged with one shoulder. It was close to 11 p.m.. "I guess coffee can do."

Lena jumped from her stool and started the coffeemaker. For a few minutes, only the sounds of coffee grains being shattered filled the kitchen. Kara stood silently by the kitchen island, her arms crossed as much as possible as her eyes examined the paintings on the walls.

Lena, who usually loved silence, had to break it to calm her nerves. "They haven't been stolen, if you're wondering."

Kara's eyes slid to her. She squinted, gauging if she could trust Lena's words. It seemed like she decided she could since her face softened. Clearing her throat, she put something out of the inside pocket of her jacket.

Lena realized it was the picture she had taken with her the other day. The unframed picture looked like it had been folded. Lena took it delicately in her hands.

"That picture had seen better days." She said pointedly.

Kara rubbed her neck in embarrassment. "I'm sorry." She said earnestly, Lena's face taking a confused expression in her turn. She wasn't used to people truthfully apologizing. "I shouldn't have taken it."

Kara looked remorseful enough that Lena decided to accept her apology.

"Thanks for bringing it back. I guess it can count as an exhibit so it was better for you to keep it."

Kara shook her head as if the mere idea was repulsing. "I couldn't. I know it's important to you." Lena's scrunched up face said she was right. "And I don't even know if I truly can arrest you for what you're doing anyway."

At that, Lena's eyes shot up to meet Kara's confident gaze. They seemed to search for something in each other's eyes until Lena broke the contact.

"Well, I can't say you're not successful at finding me." She motioned generally to her apartment. "It's your second time here. You know who I am and you know what I do."

Kara's smile started to grow. Lena was right, the masks had fallen. She stepped slowly forward as she spoke. "Lena Luthor, heiress of a multi-billion family. Scientific genius living under her brother's shadow." Lena's impartial face morphed into disgust. "International thief. The Phantom. The Blur."

Kara was only mere inches away from Lena's frame, her breath hitting her in the face. For once, Lena's brash personality had vanished and she was now looking at the floor with a blush on her face, listening to Kara listing the lines on her resume.

"The woman nobody seems to be able to catch." Kara said through a breath. Lena tilted her head to meet her eyes. "Do you know how hard it was to find you?"

A soft smile graced Lena's lips at the fascinated tone in Kara's voice. Her heart started to beat hard in her chest as Kara entered her space and put her hands on her hips. An undercurrent of electricity coursed through the meeting skins.

With emotions filling her voice, Kara's resolve crumbled as her shoulders sagged. "Do you know what you're doing to me?" She whispered.

Lena closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. Her stomach was eating on itself. She opened her eyes and stared into those blown blue eyes, mesmerized by the empathy she found in them. They weren't playing cat and mouse anymore. It was serious. There were feelings involved. And Kara's career. And Lena's broken heart.

If Lena had stopped a second to ponder over it, she'd decide it was a direct consequence of their mutual adventure previously during the day. People seemed to get closer when they survived an attack that serious, she rationalized. And Lena did agree to fix Kara's shoulder instead of driving her to a hospital where she probably would have to answer some questions from her boss. She could admit the whole situation, and Winn's death, had made her reconsider her priorities. Sarcasm and flirting were great only when nobody was dying.

In her mind, heart and reason were battling. She had played the alluring, unreachable thief for a long time but she wasn't sure she wanted to keep it up anymore. Their attraction couldn't be denied. Kara was willing to risk her job, didn't seem like she could help it anyway. And Lena… Lena couldn't help but feel captivated by the only detective smart enough to catch her. The only detective who cared enough about her reasons, not to grass her up to the police before knowing them.

Lena swallowed soundly and nodded as to accept her decision. She knew that Kara's will was already crumbling. They were drawn to each other like two magnets. As if somewhere, somebody had written it in the stars. It was unavoidable.

Lena pushed on her toes and let her lips meet Kara's slowly, fondly. She knew she could take more. She just had to push a bit and Kara would be panting her name but something prevented her from taking what she wanted. She couldn't just sleep with Kara without thinking of the consequences. Without consideration for Kara's feelings. They hadn't known each other for long but Lena already felt a connection with her she hadn't felt in a long time. Not since Andy.

She ended the kiss before it could escalate and leaned her forehead on Kara's. The blonde was humming something under her breath, as if the butterflies in her wanted to escape.

"We… I…" Lena stammered uncharacteristically. She opened wide eyes to Kara, asking silently for help.

Kara chuckled, her hands squeezing Lena's hips. "I guess you want to talk?"

Lena nodded, completely flabbergasted by her lack of speech. She cleared her throat, her arms around Kara's neck. She didn't remember when they had moved up there.

"You must have questions." She concealed through a hoarse voice. "I know I do."

Kara kissed the crown of her head, making Lena's stomach react without her knowing if it was good or not, and pulled away slightly. "I do. I want to ask you why a woman as rich as you finds the need to steal from her friends' and family company but I guess I won't have any direct answer."

Lena's heart squeezed tight at the mention of her principal purpose. Kara was right. It was too soon to reveal all her secrets. She smirked at her, escaping her arms to grab at her coffee mug.

"I have to keep some secrets a bit longer." She said cryptically. They were still the detective and the thief, though with benefits.

Kara nodded, because she already knew the answer. She took her mug too, taking a sip before putting it back on the island. "Alright. What about the woman on the picture?"

Lena's heart thumped harder. A lump grew in her throat. With that, she realized she wasn't ready at all to share any information. It must have been clear on her face because Kara's expression fell and she put a hand on Lena's shoulder.

"It's okay. You don't have to." She assured her softly. "You can start with the questions if you prefer."

With a nod, Lena straightened up on her stool and willed her confidence to form a mask on her face.

"Why did you come here? Why not go to the hospital and tell the police where I am?"

Kara's defeated huff could have been enough of an answer. Lena watched her take another sip of coffee and sit on another stool. Kara seemed like she needed to collect her thoughts before meeting her eyes.

"I didn't expect this." She motioned between them. "I didn't expect it would be that easy for me to break the rules and protect a master thief." She chuckled bitterly to herself, eyes on the ceiling before they fell on Lena. "I've been searching for you, studying all of your coups, for years. It came to the point my boss and my colleagues told me to stop because I couldn't catch you. It was impossible for them."

"And here we are." Lena commented. "You could show them how wrong they were."

Kara shrugged. "I have the intuition that what you're doing here," She motioned toward the hall and Lena's office. "Is more important than restoring my reputation."

Lena tilted her head in curiosity. "What makes you think that?" She stood up to put both their mugs in the dishwasher.

"Apart from the fact you just saved my life, which means you do have a heart…" Kara replied with a small knowing smile in her voice. "I'm sure that picture sums it all up." She said carefully. Lena could feel her eyes on her back as her whole body tensed. "I know you're not ready to tell me about her but I can tell what you're doing is personal. It's the only possibility. You wouldn't risk it all if it wasn't worth it."

Lena braced herself against the counter, eyes closed, breath short. She didn't know how Kara was able to tell so much about her without them knowing each other for more than two conversations. But it was unsettling. Not for the first time, Lena realized Kara was truly a good detective. It was a pity her entourage didn't see it.

Licking her lips, she spun on her heels to meet Kara's eyes. "It's late. I'm going to bed. Do you want to stay the night?" Kara's frown showed her hesitation. Whether it was about the question or the unsubtle change of topic, Lena couldn't know. "No hidden proposition there. Just a night of sleep. The streets aren't safe at night and you lost a lot of blood."

Kara stood up from the stool and rounded the island corner, hands in her pockets. "Would you be worried about me, Miss Luthor?"

Lena huffed, letting out a laugh. She ignored the goosebumps on her skin at hearing her name coming out of Kara's mouth. She started toward the bedroom.

"You want to come or not?"

Kara didn't comment on the innuendo, even if she saw through Lena's eyes it was intentional. She secured her bandaged arm with the other and leaned against the wall.

"Right behind you." She motioned with her chin toward the hall.

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In the middle of the night, Kara woke up to an empty bed. She didn't know Lena's habits yet but usually, by 4 a.m., people were sleeping. And Lena wasn't.

Putting the sheets away, Kara walked out of the bedroom and noticed blue lights in the office. Bare foot, the shoulder still stinging, she pushed the door quietly and stepped on the parqueted floor.

Kara had spent her life learning how to read people. The micro expression, the body language. But Lena stayed an enigma. Kara perceived damage, for sure, a strong will to succeed too, but Lena's inner personality stayed barricaded behind tall walls of sarcasm and irony.

Kara had perceived a bit of it though, when Lena was sleeping. She had cuddled against her without complaining and accepted Kara's hugs and kisses, moaned as they made out only to push her away before it could go too far. She had shown vulnerability in some ways but Kara felt she was still guarded.

It tickled her curiosity. The need to stay close, to learn all the little things about Lena Luthor, couldn't be stronger. Lena had this magnetism, that charisma, that even if Kara knew she'd better run away from that woman and never look back, it made it impossible for her. She was in too deep. It was already too late to back down.

Lena was sitting on the desk chair, socked feet, knees to her chest. Absent eyes were watching the computer screen without actually seeing it. She seemed to notice Kara at some point and hurried to stop the video playing.

"Sorry the noise woke you up."

"It didn't. Your absence did."

Lena's bare face whipped away to meet Kara's eyes. The blue light of the screen highlighted her surprise. They weren't used to that sort of deep sharing. It seemed to shock Lena more than any other encounter they had.

Kara showed the screen. "What are you watching?"

Lena cleared her throat, her voice strangled. "Nothing, it's… Nothing."

Kara recognized the lie. She decided not to push for it directly. She wandered in the room with crossed arms and headed toward the wall she had pictures of on her phone. She stopped in front of the article talking about the dam incident in a little village in Argentina called Bahia Blanca next to Estela Corp's quarters. The article stated the incident leading to the drowning of hundreds of citizens. The dam had broken down because of the pressure the company had used to sanitize the water, leading to incredible floods. After some research, Kara knew now who died in those floods that was so important to Lena but she wanted to hear it from her.

"Were you there that day?"

She heard Lena walk to her slowly. She stopped next to her. Shoulder to shoulder now, Kara could smell her natural scent. Vanilla and cedar. A strange thought occurred to her about how Lena's natural perfume was becoming her comfort place.

"I wasn't." Finally came through a broken voice. "My fiancée was."

Kara's head whipped to her. She had no idea Lena was that involved with Andrea Rojas. Nobody knew publicly in fact. She had found absolutely nothing about Andrea's private life. She'd just guessed Lena and Andrea must have been friends. But Lena's presence in the Rojas manor without a mask on made more sense now. She had used her facial imprint to enter the manor without forcing the doors.

"She was there for a business trip. Meeting investors and making a deal for her father's company. She was leading the group visiting the dam when it broke." Lena's eyes never left the wall of articles. "Nobody knew about us. Andrea wanted to secure her financials before announcing it to her father because he would certainly disown her." She cleared her throat, rocking on her toes as her eyes stared at the floor. "I learned from the news. Then I got a call from her assistant saying they'd found her body." Her eyes closed for a second, her face scrunching up as if she was still hearing the words to this day. She probably was. "I flew there but her father, Alfonso Rojas," She stopped to look pointedly at Kara. "Had already incinerated her. He buried the incident because he needed the deal for the company to survive. He put hundreds of deaths on a fake earthquake, and a week later, Estela Corp announced the death of Andrea Rojas, actual vice-CEO, in a car accident the same day they announced their new deal with AlphaBeta Nutriments."

Kara let the silence enveloped them. She knew Lena had done terrible things, drugged guards, attacked some of her colleagues to escape, stole from many people and probably participated in the black market but burying proof and sweeping the deaths of hundreds of innocents under the rug to continue making money was worse. This type of crime was a level up. Kara couldn't help but feel sorry for Lena. Hell, her heart was hurting for the woman next to her and the love she'd lost in a vicious machination. Someone she hadn't been able to say goodbye to. Kara knew too well how it felt. She was still having nightmares about the words she could have said to her sister before she died in another people's war.

Slowly, she slid her fingers through Lena's and intertwined them.

"I'm sorry you've lost her like that."

Lena shrugged. "Being sorry won't make her reappear." She said bitterly. "Andy hated that job. She just deserved better."

Kara's head rocked from one shoulder to the other. "Revenge won't help either."

Lena pulled her hand away, looking at Kara as if she'd just betrayed her. "It's not just for Andrea! They killed children, mothers, entire families! Innocent people that deserved better than to be colonized by a company to use their resources! Do you know what happens there?" She went to her desk and pulled out a file from a pile. "There!" She threw the file at Kara's feet. Pictures of brown lakes covered with deep smog escaped from it. "They poison the natural water with their chemicals so that the citizens' only solution to drink is by buying their over sugary drinks! Do you think that's fair?"

Kara took the photos in her hands. One by one, she observed the same decay concerning the water systems in the villages where Estela Corp was implanted. People were developing heart disease and skin problems due to the important amount of sugar and other chemicals in the products they were consuming. The water wasn't drinkable and very dangerous for human consumption. The reports were clear. Nobody should consume Estela Corp's products or the water surrounding their industries, but, for those populations, it was their only option.

Lena had gathered a three-inch thick file of proof showing how Estela Corp was poisoning the populations close to their industries. It was horrible, nightmarish. But if it was enough to make their market profit fall, it was also illegally gathered information. It weighed nothing in court. Lena needed more.

"You know you can't use this." Kara declared with a neutral tone. "You've found something else to incriminate them."

Lena paused, sizing her up before circling her arms around herself protectively. "I did. Alfonso gave the reins to a new CEO but he left everything on the drives. I'm sure it's only to have an example of how to deal with that kind of incident in case it happens again."

Kara's face scrunched up. Indeed, she didn't see any other reasons why he would keep so many proofs leading to him.

"Great!" She gave the file back to Lena and put her hands on her hips. "I want in."

"What! No way!"

"Lena, you're defending a good cause but you'll need people on the legal side or it won't be taken seriously."

Lena thought about her arguments. It seemed fair. Even if she had access to that CEO's computer, it would still be illegal information. A district attorney wouldn't be able to use it.

"Fine. But we're doing this my way or you're out."

Kara was about to protest but Lena's bossy eyebrows made her shut it. She crossed her arms and almost stomped like a grounded child.

"Okay. I'm listening."

Lena grinned at her victoriously.

Chapter Text

Two weeks later, they were entering a poker tournament in sparkles and high heels as normally as possible. Well, Lena was in high heels. Kara was already inside serving champagne and appetizers to the hand-picked crowd in her black and white waitress attire.

The next target Lena had planned was none other than Oliver Queen, the CEO of Queen Industries and the new face of Estela Corp. He also was Andy's ex public partner but it had nothing to do with their mission, really.

Oliver was also known to be skilled at poker and he liked to give tournaments quite often on his private island. Those tournaments, as exclusive as they were, were known to attract oil magnates, drug lords and other international criminals since the island was in international waters, which meant privacy and impossibility for the police to put foot on it. The money price was a good motivation to attract rich crowds. Lena was sure the last tournament had funded the war in Palestine through the winner, Morgan Edge, and his gun traffic.

It was not necessary to say the mission was risky. But very necessary. Oliver's hard drive had the information they needed to put a stop to Estela Corp's schemes. The only real difficulty was finding the code to the safe protecting the hard drive. Oliver always had it with him. It was his fingerprints. All ten of them.

The mission was not only risky. It was impossible and borderline suicidal. But Lena was ready to risk everything, even her life, and Kara was stupid enough to follow her through.

The afternoon sunlight basking her skin, Lena walked calmly up the alley to the Victorian manor overhanging at the center of the island and showed her fake invitation on her phone to the guard at the entrance. She smiled charmingly at him, leaning closer as if she wanted to look at the names on the list he was looking at on his tablet but really she was showing off her cleavage in a vain attempt to distract him. In her ear, she heard Kara ask for a hundred times if anybody wanted a refreshment.

The guard let her enter. She smirked. "If you ever want a career change…"

On the other side of the line, Kara cursed under her breath as Lena heard the plate of glasses probably crashing to the floor.

"We said to keep it low key." She chastised playfully.

"Shut up." Kara's frustrated whisper came through. "I hate you."

A butler motioned for Lena to enter the ballroom and wait for their host to announce the beginning of the tournament. The ballroom was full of women in chic dresses and men in tuxedos and waiters running in black and white suit and tie. The red velvet curtains and golden ornamentation on the walls contrasted with the ominous looks of the people filling the room.

Lena scanned the crowd to spot Kara scrunched down, shuffling with the broken glass pieces.

"No, you don't." She said while hiding her smile with a glass of champagne. "Just so you know, those black waiter pants look good on you."

Kara's head whipped left and right in search of her. She was about to say something very smart, Lena was sure, until she noticed her and her mouth fell agape.

"What?" Lena squinted, a bit self-conscious.

"No-nothing." Kara stuttered from the other side of the room. She shook her head as if to clear it. "This dress is dangerous."

Lena was thankful that Kara returned to her broken glass and didn't see her blushing. Her mind floated to the day she had bought the grey sleeveless sparkling dress to surprise Andrea at the restaurant, only for their date to be cancelled due to another business emergency.

"Thanks." She exhaled. A hand was squeezing her heart. "Let's focus on our target."

"Queen's about to appear."

Lena didn't answer to avoid looking weird. Instead, she observed the crowd and put faces to the names on the list she had hacked during the week. An emirate and all his clique. A Mexican drug lord. A Chinese smuggler. An English Prince who wasn't fooling anyone.

Lena knew all of them and none of them was important to her.

Who surprised her though, was the woman who was watching her from the left corner of the room. Veronica Sinclair, or Roulette for the people who was involved in illegal fighting clubs, was wearing a red dress that left nothing to the imagination and was at the arm of the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs. The man's simple involvement in the tournament could lead to global war. And Veronica's presence there couldn't be more convenient.

Lena put her glass on a table and prepared herself to confront Veronica directly but Oliver Queen's appearance at the bottom of the stairs stopped her.

"Dear guests, welcome to our semi-annual poker tournament!" Queen said with a deep, joyous voice, extending his arms as the crowd applauded. He took a glass of champagne from a waiter's plate and cheered. "I know you're all eager to start so I'll be brief. To the future winner of this tournament," He paused, scanning the room and stopped on Lena, who smiled to preserve appearances. "And to old friendships. May the luck be with all of you."

Lena swore she saw him smirk before taking a sip and it gave her goosebumps all over her arms.

"Please, enter the different game rooms and make yourself comfortable. The waiters are here to serve whatever you ask for," He winked as people were already passing to the next rooms through the right and left arcades. "The final price is set to 2.5 million American dollars, with a bonus of one million if you put through the last round with half of your tokens. Good luck!"

He finished his glass theatrically and threw it to a waiter who took it in the face. Lena shot a look at Kara who nodded from the left corner of the room.

It was show time.️️

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As Lena had planned, Oliver Queen couldn't help but enter her table, his curiosity taking the better of him. In the room, six bodyguards and four waiters were waiting for orders, with Kara standing behind Quinn and facing Lena quietly.

It was hard to tell if Lena would be able to go through the whole tournament, but Kara could tell she knew how to play. Three hours had passed and already four players were out from Lena's table, leaving Queen, some Mexican cartel chief, and another man who Kara knew was part of the Japan government. The cartel chief was in bad position with only a few tokens left.

The croupier shuffled the deck of cards with skilled hands and handed them out to the players. Lena took a look at her cards and put two pink tokens next to the two red ones already there. Ten thousand dollars next to a thousand. Kara tried to recall the difference between two blue types Queen put on the table after Lena but her mind confused them all.

They had spent two weeks planning their mission, Lena teaching poker to Kara so that she knew if it was good or not. If Lena risked being put aside by Oliver because she was winning too quickly to be normal or not. Lena had explained she knew how to count the cards, since the Luthors were known to have a few casinos in Las Vegas – and Lena was a genius - but had never participated in Oliver's tournaments for obvious reasons. If Oliver suspected she was cheating and jeopardizing the whole tournament, she would be better dead.

"It's Mr D.'s turn to speak." The croupier said with a slight Swiss accent.

All eyes turned on the Mexican drug dealer. For privacy reasons, the players weren't addressed by their full name, with the exception for Queen. Kara thought it was stupid since everybody knew everybody in those circles but whatever.

Mr D. sighed and threw his cards on the table a bit violently, cursing in Spanish. He just lost a thousand dollars without having seen any cards on the table. Kara didn't know a lot about poker, but she at least knew he could have waited a round for free.

The croupier put three cards on the table – a jack of clubs, a seven of heart, and a seven of diamond – and waited for the Japanese guy to speak. He tapped two times on the table. The croupier took his cards with discretion.

It was Lena's turn to speak. Kara knew Lena's plan was to disturb Quinn enough to have his full attention while Kara would use his glass of scotch to gather half of his fingerprints. It didn't surprise her when Lena leaned over her cards to smile at Oliver, showing off her marvelous breasts, as she put five more pink tokens on the table.

Kara couldn't see Oliver's reaction but she saw him rub his left hand on his pants under the table before he took a sip of whisky and tried to untie his blue tie.

"It's getting hot here, isn't it?" He said before snapping his fingers to a waiter. A young man took a step forward silently. "Ask Michael to put the AC on." He left the waiter go before snapping his fingers again. Kara approached. "Bring me two other glasses, one for me and the other for Miss L."

Kara controlled herself not to look at Lena. "Yes, Sir."

Before she exited the room toward the kitchens, she threw a worried glance at Lena, who only blinked purposefully at her in sign of acknowledgement.

Good.

Kara swallowed hard. She had never sweated that much.

She scurried to the kitchens and asked for two glasses of whisky as normally as possible. She didn't know how all this would end but she had to focus on their plan and make it quick.

As the barman poured two glasses, she walked to the sink expertly and faked rinsing Queen's glass as she was supposed to. She threw a look above her shoulder and realized she was alone.

In haste, she removed the plastic cover full of makeup stuck to her ankle and uncovered the little plastic bag there. She shuffled it open and realized it had protective bubbles inside that were inflating when put to air. She smiled maniacally. Lena was a genius.

Kara put the glass in it and tied the two sides in a knot. She then took a full trash bag from a kitchen bin and went back to the barman.

"I'm putting this out before I'll bring the glasses back."

"Hurry up! Mr Queen doesn't like to wait!"

Kara waved him off. Queen would learn to wait. She ran outside at the back of the manor and put the bag in the trash. She hid the small plastic bag with the glass under a bush and decided it was the best place she could find.

Back inside, she washed her hands quickly and walked quickly back to the poker table.

"About time!" Queen said. "Remind me to not ask you anything again."

"Sorry, Sir." Kara said, only fuming inside. She put the glass on his right side in purpose and took her place back behind him.

On the table, the game had developed. There were now four cards on the table – a jack of heart had joined the other one and the two sevens - and Lena and Quinn were the only ones still battling it out.

It was Queen's turn to speak apparently since he had his cards in hands – a seven of clubs and a queen of diamonds. He took his time, taking a sip of his glass with his right hand only to put it back on his left side. Kara cursed inside her head. She hoped the prints would be enough.

Queen put his cards back down and intertwined his fingers in front of his mouth, watching Lena who smirked.

Lena leaned over the table to put her tokens in order in an innocent manner, ignoring Queen's inquiring eyes. She then leaned back against her chair with two white tokens in her hand and made the second pass above the first in a compulsive gesture. The motion was making an annoying noise, one they both knew was irritating Quinn.

Silently, Queen leaned back on his chair and lined up three light blue tokens. The croupier gathered the tokens and turned to Lena.

Lena frowned, looking at her tokens, and Kara's breath caught in her chest. What if she followed and lost everything?

Lena's frown stayed in place until she placed ten tokens on the table. Purple ones. Kara couldn't remember how much it meant but she was sure it was a lot since the crowd was whispering around them.

"Miss L. raised with one million dollars. Mr Queen, are you following?"

Queen looked frustrated. "I am." He said immediately, his voice tense.

Kara could only guess his face was a perfect picture of a man with a bruised ego.

The croupier gathered the tokens then put aside a card from the deck and put the fifth and last card on the table. A nine of spades.

Lena waited a minute, took a sip of her drink and played a bit with her yellow tokens before her fingers went to the purple pile again.

"Miss L. starts at three thousand."

Queen sighed loudly and drank his glass in one go then snapped his finger to the AC guy for another. He played with his tie and rubbed his hands on his pants. Kara could see his nape was glistening. He then crossed his hands back in front of his mouth and looked at Lena intensely.

Lena didn't react at first. She let him stare for a good two full minutes, making the room tense. And then she decided to take the same position. They stared at each other, Queen's sweat pearling on his white shirt.

The waiter brought his glass and put it on the table a bit too forcefully, drops escaping it. Quinn interrupted his stare to curse at the young man.

"Fire me this dumbass!" He spat through his teeth.

"Yes, Mr Queen." The butler in charge of the room said.

The room grew silent as the waiter was escorted out and another came to replace him. Queen looked at his cards then put them back gently, as if they were the most precious thing in the universe. He then leaned back over the table, his sweaty palms drenching the green carpet on it.

"Alright, Miss L., I'm guessing you won't back down that easily so…" Queen leaned back on his chair and smirked with mischief in his eyes. "I'm risking it all." He pushed all his tokens in the center, the piles crashing on each other, the spectators around gasping and whispering.

"Mr Queen is going all in. It's Miss L.'s turn to speak." The croupier said.

All eyes were on Lena, Kara was sure of it. Lena looked pensive, her eyes scanning the cards at the center then drifting to her own cards, still flat on the table. Her head tilted a bit on the right as she looked at Queen with piercing green eyes.

A minute passed. Then another. Kara saw Queen's knee jerking up and down under the table.

Then Lena's face split into a knowing smile.

"You don't look too sure of yourself, Oliver."

The room erupted in exclamation. Nobody until now had referred to Queen by his first name. Probably because nobody knew him as much as Lena.

Queen's knee stopped under the table. He took his glass and cheered towards Lena before finishing it. He then leaned on his elbow.

"Maybe it's just appearances," He said, trying to make Lena question her judgement. "Lena." He added pointedly, making the crowd react.

Lena barked out a laugh. "I know it's not."

Was he bluffing? Was he not? Kara could tell he had a good game. She could only hope Lena's cards were better.

With one small glance at Kara, Lena announced she was following. Through her eyes, she assured Kara she could trust her. And what choice did she have anyway? They were in the lion's den.

The croupier didn't bother gathering the tokens and asked Queen to show his hand since he was the first one to go all in.

Queen took his time, flipping his cards one by one, showing he had a full house.

"Mr Queen has a full house of sevens. Miss L.?"

Lena leaned on the table, her poker face – no pun intended – right in place. She flipped one card, showing an ace of spades. Kara's heart had never beaten so loud. She then flipped the second card. A jack of diamonds.

"Miss L. has a full house of jacks. Miss L. wins the round."

The crowd applauded shyly while Queen stayed in shock on his chair.

"You won." He said to himself.

"I told you I knew." Lena simply said. She stood up from the table, Queen following her from a distance.

"Ladies and gentlemen," The butler said aloud. "We've been playing for four hours straight. It's time to take a break. The game will resume by six p.m.."

The room started to empty as Kara watched Lena leave too, shooting her a last determined look before she passed the arcade. Lena nodded in agreement. Kara turned around and saw the empty space where Queen's glass was seconds before. Lena had it.

Part 1 seemed to be a success. It was time for part 2.

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They met in the third-floor east wing bathroom, Kara joining Lena a bit later than planned.

"Where have you been?" Lena hissed as she locked the door after taking a discreet look at the corridor to make sure nobody had followed Kara.

"I'm sorry! The kitchens are hectic, they're preparing dinner for everybody, I couldn't go back to the bag without them seeing me."

Lena looked her up and down in alarm. "But you have the glass?"

Kara tore her jacket and shirt open, showing the plastic bag stuck to her collar with a grin. "Got it!"

Lena huffed and pulled on the bag forcefully.

"Hey!"

"You're lucky you're cute…"

Lena put the tumbler out of the bag carefully. She placed it on the sink, next to the other one she had collected.

"Okay. Can you go get the kit above the bathroom, please?"

Kara didn't move from where she was slumped against the windowsill so Lena shot her a weird look. "Why don't you do it yourself? I've been working all day, I'm exhausted."

With a cocked eyebrow, Lena put her hands on her hips. "I'm in heels, so you better hurry your lazy ass or you'll never see what's under this dress ever again."

It got the reaction she expected. Kara straightened herself and went to retrieve the analysis kit from the false ceiling.

"You know you're bossy when you're working." She complained lightly as she gave the kit to Lena.

"Thanks." Lena replied pointedly before opening the kit, putting gloves on and starting to work.

Kara couldn't tell if it was for the bossy remark or the kit. She leaned her hip against the sink and watched Lena put a piece of adhesive paper meticulously on one fingerprint. She looked so focused, with her tongue sticking out a bit through her white teeth. She knew what she was doing, that was obvious. Kara wondered how many times she had done this. And then her mind drifting to the multiple thefts she was responsible for, the incredible number of them without any break-in.

"So, do you have like a collection of fingerprints from people all over the world hidden in your apartment?"

Lena's eyes drifted slightly to her in confusion before she went back to her task. "Why? Do you want to be part of it?"

Kara's lips stretched into a usual smile. With only a couple of weeks in each other's company, a bond had formed between them, some sort of mutual knowledge that they were better working together than against each other. A new habit had formed then. Flirting and putting each other out of their comfort zone were their favorite sports. Because they knew the meaning of it all had shifted. It wasn't just about sex or attraction. They had found trust in each other. And even if it went against all her values, Kara could at least admit to herself it was good to be able to trust somebody like that again.

"Alright, I have all of the left hand prints." Lena said as she put the glass back on the sink to take the other one. "Almost done."

Kara smiled at her. "Great. When you're done, maybe we can…" She slid a hand on Lena's hip, slowly right around her back, down to her ass. "See what's under this dress."

Lena's breath caught and she huffed out a laugh. "See, you can't resist me."

"Well, I told you this dress is dangerous." Kara's tone was playful but her smile fell when she saw Lena's frown.

"I bought it for Andy."

Kara's face softened. Her hand slid up Lena's back in a comfort gesture. "She was very lucky." Lena paused to look at her, her eyes showing the hurt and grief mixed with the gratefulness she felt for Kara. "You look gorgeous, Lena."

Lena's eyes fell to the floor as a blush tinted her cheeks in a rare shyness. "Thanks." She whispered.

Their moment was interrupted by Kara's burning phone going off. She checked it, it was the waiter's manager, some Gary something.

"They're already searching for me."

"I'll go quick."

Lena went back to work, Kara watching her closely, analyzing every feature on her face. She had almost forgotten they were in a risky mission.

Five minutes later, Kara had all the prints on her and Lena was arranging her makeup to preserve appearances.

"The right hand prints aren't perfect but it should work."

Kara nodded and headed for the door but stopped before opening it. She turned around. They shared a look through the mirror. Lena breathed out heavily, turning around to face her. One look at her and Kara knew what she had to do.

In two strides, she met her in the middle of the bathroom in a heated kiss. Lena moaned against her, her red lipstick probably completely ruined, but who cared?

The kiss ended as fast as it started. Kara slowed until it was only their lips meeting before they stopped completely, sharing the same breath.

"Be careful, okay?"

Lena huffed out a laugh. "You'll be the one doing the hard job, so you be careful."

Kara chuckled as she pulled away. "Okay. We both be careful."

Lena rolled her eyes and pushed her towards the door. "Go, before they send a search party for you."

Kara went through the door only to pass her head back inside with a playful grin. "Good luck on smashing the golden boy's dreams."

And she closed the door, leaving Lena laugh to herself. This woman was one of a kind.

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As the game resumed, Lena was surprised she couldn't see Oliver anywhere. He had lost everything during the last round but usually, players liked to invest more money in the game, especially someone as arrogant as Oliver, to show they weren't that broke. You know, white male egos and all that.

She then kept an ear on the game, playing normally, without counting the cards, while the other was focused on Kara's movements on the other side of the manor. Kara had to find a way to escape her job and go to Oliver's office to retrieve the drive from his personal safe.

Lena's nerves were high, since she wasn't used to letting another person handle the work she was so used to doing on her own. Kara wasn't as skilled as she was at opening a safe without putting all the alarms on but they had practiced. Their only way to make this work was to entertain Oliver with Lena while Kara was doing the job. They couldn't reverse their roles. Lena just hoped Oliver hadn't suspected a thing and Kara would come out of this unscathed.

On the other side of her earpiece, Kara was finally making her way to the office.

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"Okay. I'm in." Kara said under her breath. "Nobody followed me."

Lena stayed quiet on the other side of the line. Kara would be lying if she'd say it wasn't disturbing not to have any answer but she knew she was on her own now. She gathered the last instincts of the police detective in her and headed for the desk in the middle of the dark room.

The safe was under it. Grey, middle size, German manufacture, with two hand-shape slots, just as they expected. Kara took her tools out of her pocket and crouched down. On the side, she noticed the safe was linked to an alarm system. Three wires went around the desk towards the door where the alarm pad was blinking next to the door. Kara cut the green one.

A long beep erupted, not too loud but Kara scrunched up her nose. Discretion was the key. She waited the appropriate thirty seconds to make sure another alarm hadn't been put off. Outside, the waves were crashing against the island's shores. This place would be a really good one for vacation if it wasn't for the rich ominous poker player owning it. Thinking about it, she could really see Lena in a black bikini and sunglasses sipping on a coconut cocktail on the sand while she was scouring the ground for shells.

Shaking her head, Kara put Lena's gloves out of the protective plastic pouch they had secured them and put them on carefully.

Lena had been meticulous enough to take every fingerprint on the glasses and stuck them on the gloves but there was always a slight percentage of failure. They weren't so sure about the right hand. And what if Quinn had changed the code?

Kara took a deep breath in and slowly placed both her hands on the slots. First, nothing happened. Then a click and a pressure sound erupted from the safe. The door opened with a bit of smoke due to the pressurized gas protecting the safe's interior from deterioration.

Kara exhaled loudly. The most difficult part was done.

"I'm through." She said aloud for Lena.

"Can I have a glass of your most expensive scotch, please?" Lena said through the earpiece and Kara smiled.

"A bit early for cheering to victory, don't you think?"

"With glass." Lena added.

Kara focused back on the safe and opened the door slowly, as if what was inside could jump to her face. Inside, she found files, some bundles of cash from different countries, three passports, one with Quinn's face sporting glasses and a beard, the two others belonged to women who appeared to have Russian origins.

Kara tried not to stop too much on those and focused on the black hard drive on the second shelf. She quickly put the drive in the inside pocket of her jacket and closed the safe. She removed the gloves, pushed them in her pants pockets and hurried out of the office.

As she was closing the door shut carefully, she didn't see the dark figure behind her and realized only to the feel of an electrical baton hitting her back that she had been caught.

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Lena heard Kara crying out on the other side of the line but she couldn't react. Oliver was nowhere to be seen but the room was full of witnesses. She waited for the end of the round, her heart beating fast in her chest, to stand up, announcing she had to powder her nose.

As calmly as possible, she walked out of the room and hurried through a corridor towards the office Kara was supposed to be.

"Kara, where are you? What happened?" She said with a finger on the earpiece but nothing came out.

She passed a corner and stopped in her tracks. In front of the office door, two minders were looking at her while another was walking away with Kara on his shoulder.

Lena whipped around and ran the other way back, cursing those high heels and that tight dress. She was about to press the button on her wrist band to activate the nanoparticles of her suit when a leg hit her own, making her face-plant in the middle of the blue carpeted corridor.

With a grunt, Lena pushed on her hands to see her assailant and was met with Oliver Queen's cocky face. He put one polished shoe on her shoulder and pressed, making her wince.

"Hi, Lena." He leaned on his knee. "Long time no see."

His smirk couldn't be larger when one of his minions put a bag on Lena's head.