Original: "Payback" - Slash
Liam smiled as the lock clicked open, the thrill of success making the tips of his fingers tingle. The safe handle was cool through the latex gloves, the door gliding open slowly beneath the weight of reinforced steel. The rush of cycled air was sweet as he stepped inside.
The safe interior was a line of metal drawers, and if his resources were right, each one of them was filled with precious gems. It was really too bad this was a professional visit rather than an indulgent walk on the somewhat illegal side. Drawer 217 was supposed to have sapphires, a personal favorite of his. Damn. It really sucked to be a professional sometimes.
It took him a few seconds to find drawer 326, and he teased it open to reveal the small black velvet bag inside. He pulled it open with a quick tug, a handful of diamonds glittering beneath his flashlight. Not his personal favorite, but he wasn’t paid to judge.
He’d just pushed the drawer closed when he heard an ominous click behind him. All too familiar with the sound of the hammer being thumbed back on a gun, Liam slowly raised his hands over his head. “Please don’t shoot. It was hell getting this outfit on and I can’t imagine getting it off while injured will make it any easier.”
There was a beat of silence followed by a wry chuckle. “Maybe now you’ll rethink your love of spandex.”
Liam twisted, surprise forgoing caution. “Gerard?”
Gerard slowly lowered his gun, clearly amused. “Really? You’re going to pretend that you didn’t know I was working security for this guy?”
“I swear I had no idea.” Liam chased the solemn tone with a grin. “But I’ll admit if I’d known you worked here that would have sealed the deal for me.”
A dark brow arched. “That desperate to get caught?”
“That good,” Liam countered. “I’ve gotten past you before. Or did you forget what happened in Prague?”
“I remember that you created a very unpleasant situation for me.” Some of the humor faded as Gerard returned his gun to its holster. “Something I have yet to thank you for.”
“Now that would be an odd thing to thank me for.” He had a taser hooked onto his belt. If he could reach it he might be able to take Gerard out. Maybe. Gerard was very good with his gun; and not in the good way that ended with some sweaty fun. More like sweaty with a heavy dose of blood.
“Don’t even think about it.” Gerard stepped closer. His hands were by his sides, but Liam didn’t think for a moment he had any kind of advantage over the other man. “I don’t want to hurt you, Liam.”
“For which I’m eternally grateful.” Liam eased back a step, conscious of the weight of the diamonds on his right hip. “So what happens now? Are you going to arrest me?” That would be a shame, but if he had to get caught, he’d prefer it to be by Gerard. He’d always had a soft spot for blue eyes, and Gerard’s were ice blue, so damn pale they glowed.
“Is that what you think I’m going to do?”
“Isn’t that what usually happens when someone catches a thief? You arrest them?”
Gerard smiled, and just the sight of it made Liam’s heart give a traitorous thump. “We could do that, but seeing as how I went to a lot of trouble to get you here, I’m keeping my options open.”
Liam blinked. “Yeah right. You’re good Gerard, but you’re not that good.” He matched Gerard step for step when he started to advance and only stopped when the wall of the vault pressed up against his back. He snorted before swallowing hard with nerves. “Next you’ll say that you were the one who hired me.”
Gerard bared his teeth in a sharp smile. “It’s like I said Liam. I owe you for Prague.” He pressed close, and Liam barely held back a shudder when Gerard’s weight settled against him. His breath was warm against Liam’s cheek. “You won’t believe the trouble I went through to find your contact number.”
One of the drawer handles dug into Liam’s back, a note of pain in the sweet tension that tightened the muscles of his belly. “If you were waiting for me then what was with the gun?” He should be panicking. He was pinned against a wall by the man that was the living embodiment of a human guard dog. Liam was the only thief to ever slip by Gerard, the one low note in Gerard’s prodigious career. Pinned between him and a wall was probably not the best place to be right now.
“A little payback on my part. At least mine was real.”
“Still a little sore about that, huh?” Liam’s breath caught in his throat when deft fingers smoothed up his back. They played along the line of his ribs, traced the dip between the bones until he shivered. “I’ve never met anyone who would get offended because I pointed a fake gun at them. Sane people would be relieved.”
“It’s demeaning to be held at gun point by a spray painted squirt gun.” Liam’s laugh was cut short by a quick nip to his chin. “Now I find myself at a loss. I had planned to leave you handcuffed inside the safe to be found in the morning.” Gerard chuckled when Liam stiffened and let more of his weight press him against the wall. “But then I wouldn’t be able to look forward to outsmarting you once again.”
“You wish.” The defiance was lost when Gerard nuzzled into the side of his neck, the brush of his lips sucking the air out of Liam’s lungs. It came out as a half whisper and Liam let his head fall back against the wall. “So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to kiss you and then I’m going to let you walk out of here.”
“That doesn’t sound like payback.” Liam blamed his runaway mouth on the firm press of Gerard’s fingers into his hips. He didn’t worry about it for long, not when Gerard’s mouth was devouring his, lips soft and warm. He clutched at Gerard’s shoulders, dug his fingers into the firm muscle. God, could Gerard kiss. Another check on his ever growing list of skills, right under sneaky bastard.
When Gerard stepped back, Liam blinked slowly. It took him a few seconds to recognize the bag that dangled from Gerard’s fingers. “I’ll keep a hold of these for you. Diamonds don’t belong in the sewers.”
Liam frowned. “The sewers? I didn’t use the sewers to get in here.”
“You are if you want to get out. The security system guarding the outside has rebooted by now. The only way out is to take the sewer entrance located at the bottom of this building.” Gerard’s smile was predatory. “Is that payback enough for you?”
Five hours later when Liam stumbled into his apartment exhausted and covered in filth, he began concocting his own payback.
The safe interior was a line of metal drawers, and if his resources were right, each one of them was filled with precious gems. It was really too bad this was a professional visit rather than an indulgent walk on the somewhat illegal side. Drawer 217 was supposed to have sapphires, a personal favorite of his. Damn. It really sucked to be a professional sometimes.
It took him a few seconds to find drawer 326, and he teased it open to reveal the small black velvet bag inside. He pulled it open with a quick tug, a handful of diamonds glittering beneath his flashlight. Not his personal favorite, but he wasn’t paid to judge.
He’d just pushed the drawer closed when he heard an ominous click behind him. All too familiar with the sound of the hammer being thumbed back on a gun, Liam slowly raised his hands over his head. “Please don’t shoot. It was hell getting this outfit on and I can’t imagine getting it off while injured will make it any easier.”
There was a beat of silence followed by a wry chuckle. “Maybe now you’ll rethink your love of spandex.”
Liam twisted, surprise forgoing caution. “Gerard?”
Gerard slowly lowered his gun, clearly amused. “Really? You’re going to pretend that you didn’t know I was working security for this guy?”
“I swear I had no idea.” Liam chased the solemn tone with a grin. “But I’ll admit if I’d known you worked here that would have sealed the deal for me.”
A dark brow arched. “That desperate to get caught?”
“That good,” Liam countered. “I’ve gotten past you before. Or did you forget what happened in Prague?”
“I remember that you created a very unpleasant situation for me.” Some of the humor faded as Gerard returned his gun to its holster. “Something I have yet to thank you for.”
“Now that would be an odd thing to thank me for.” He had a taser hooked onto his belt. If he could reach it he might be able to take Gerard out. Maybe. Gerard was very good with his gun; and not in the good way that ended with some sweaty fun. More like sweaty with a heavy dose of blood.
“Don’t even think about it.” Gerard stepped closer. His hands were by his sides, but Liam didn’t think for a moment he had any kind of advantage over the other man. “I don’t want to hurt you, Liam.”
“For which I’m eternally grateful.” Liam eased back a step, conscious of the weight of the diamonds on his right hip. “So what happens now? Are you going to arrest me?” That would be a shame, but if he had to get caught, he’d prefer it to be by Gerard. He’d always had a soft spot for blue eyes, and Gerard’s were ice blue, so damn pale they glowed.
“Is that what you think I’m going to do?”
“Isn’t that what usually happens when someone catches a thief? You arrest them?”
Gerard smiled, and just the sight of it made Liam’s heart give a traitorous thump. “We could do that, but seeing as how I went to a lot of trouble to get you here, I’m keeping my options open.”
Liam blinked. “Yeah right. You’re good Gerard, but you’re not that good.” He matched Gerard step for step when he started to advance and only stopped when the wall of the vault pressed up against his back. He snorted before swallowing hard with nerves. “Next you’ll say that you were the one who hired me.”
Gerard bared his teeth in a sharp smile. “It’s like I said Liam. I owe you for Prague.” He pressed close, and Liam barely held back a shudder when Gerard’s weight settled against him. His breath was warm against Liam’s cheek. “You won’t believe the trouble I went through to find your contact number.”
One of the drawer handles dug into Liam’s back, a note of pain in the sweet tension that tightened the muscles of his belly. “If you were waiting for me then what was with the gun?” He should be panicking. He was pinned against a wall by the man that was the living embodiment of a human guard dog. Liam was the only thief to ever slip by Gerard, the one low note in Gerard’s prodigious career. Pinned between him and a wall was probably not the best place to be right now.
“A little payback on my part. At least mine was real.”
“Still a little sore about that, huh?” Liam’s breath caught in his throat when deft fingers smoothed up his back. They played along the line of his ribs, traced the dip between the bones until he shivered. “I’ve never met anyone who would get offended because I pointed a fake gun at them. Sane people would be relieved.”
“It’s demeaning to be held at gun point by a spray painted squirt gun.” Liam’s laugh was cut short by a quick nip to his chin. “Now I find myself at a loss. I had planned to leave you handcuffed inside the safe to be found in the morning.” Gerard chuckled when Liam stiffened and let more of his weight press him against the wall. “But then I wouldn’t be able to look forward to outsmarting you once again.”
“You wish.” The defiance was lost when Gerard nuzzled into the side of his neck, the brush of his lips sucking the air out of Liam’s lungs. It came out as a half whisper and Liam let his head fall back against the wall. “So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to kiss you and then I’m going to let you walk out of here.”
“That doesn’t sound like payback.” Liam blamed his runaway mouth on the firm press of Gerard’s fingers into his hips. He didn’t worry about it for long, not when Gerard’s mouth was devouring his, lips soft and warm. He clutched at Gerard’s shoulders, dug his fingers into the firm muscle. God, could Gerard kiss. Another check on his ever growing list of skills, right under sneaky bastard.
When Gerard stepped back, Liam blinked slowly. It took him a few seconds to recognize the bag that dangled from Gerard’s fingers. “I’ll keep a hold of these for you. Diamonds don’t belong in the sewers.”
Liam frowned. “The sewers? I didn’t use the sewers to get in here.”
“You are if you want to get out. The security system guarding the outside has rebooted by now. The only way out is to take the sewer entrance located at the bottom of this building.” Gerard’s smile was predatory. “Is that payback enough for you?”
Five hours later when Liam stumbled into his apartment exhausted and covered in filth, he began concocting his own payback.