Hazel arrived at the hall just as the banquet started. Although she looked so beautiful in her silver gown that it made several heads turn, she thought it better to keep a low profile tonight. She exchanged a few courteous words with a guest before picking a glass of champagne from a waiter's tray.
"I heard The Hexing Dragon will be the final item of tonight's auction." A woman said to her companion beside her.
"I will give it to you as our wedding anniversary present." The man promised lovingly.
"Are you sure? I heard the starting price is five hundred thousand dollars." The woman sounded uncertain.
Hazel scoffed inwardly. 'He will not get a chance to bid. I'm here for it."
She twirled her champagne glass slightly as she heard more people buzz about The Hexing Dragon around her. "A painting worth five hundred thousand dollars? Such a waste of my time."
Her mumble was unexpectedly heard by a few guests around her, who stopped speaking and shot her odd gazes.
She ignored them and walked away. She was used to stealing treasures worth hundreds of millions. What was the boss doing, giving her such a lousy mission this time?
"Hazel, get ready." She heard the order from Chris, her partner, through the little earpiece concealed by her long wavy hair.
"Of course." She muttered.
"The black-haired man walking towards you is one of the organizers. Just in case you need him." Chris chuckled at his own awkward statement.
She smiled and hurried across the hall, bumping into the organizer on her way.
"I'm so sorry." She steadied up and apologized. "Sir, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Are you alright, lady?" He asked politely. When she nodded, he extended a hand. "I'm Mr. Dumont. It's nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Dumont." She shook his hand with a gentle smile.
"Are you on your own tonight? If you don't mind, can I have your first dance later?" He rambled, receiving no response.
"What are you looking at?" He followed her gaze, noticing that she had blanked out.
The lights suddenly went off.
The hall instantly fell into a hush. Hazel felt the organizer before her tense up. Before he could make a move, she hit his neck, making him pass out.
"Someone attacked Mr. Dumont!" She shrieked, creating chaos. By the time the lights were back on, she was out of the building.
-
"That was boring. Damn it." She cursed as she slumped into the passenger seat of Chris' car.
"Tuning the lights off to steal a painting from a banquet. Such a common method, of course it would be boring." Chris drove off as he glanced at her. "Did you get it?"
"I could have done it with my eyes closed." She lamented. "The Hexing Dragon is on its way to Carter."
"Don't you think you made yourself the prime suspect? They will definitely be wary of the guest who disappeared around the time that the painting was stolen." He was surprised that Hazel would make such a rookie mistake. For a member of the Alpha team, wasn't that too careless?
"Who said the painting disappeared when the light went off?" She held her chin in her hand with a chuckle. "It was already gone. The entire banquet was unnecessary since I already had the prize."
"You're not a normal human being." He could swear that he was with her the whole time before she entered the banquet hall. When did she steal it?
She yawned sleepily, and he had to believe that the task was indeed as boring as she described it.
"At least you had me around. Didn't that make it a tiny bit interesting?" He teased, referring to her lament.
"So funny." She rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I completed a half a million million dollar task with you. When I get my bonus, would you like me to treat you to dinner?" He leaned closer to her, only to be pushed away disdainfully.
"What kind of bonus do you expect from a task worth twenty million? Don't tell me you are not familiar with Carter's way of doing things."
"Does it matter? I can pool in my money as well. What's it gonna be? The Stallion?" He suggested a venue.
"Thanks but no thanks. I'm good in the kitchen." She smiled and ignored him.
"How charming." He laughed dryly as he drove back to Hell— The Dark Villains' base.
They were the first to report completion of their missions and had to wait until 1am before they finally heard from Carter. It was as usual, a video call on the large screen of the conference hall and they all stood before it respectfully.
"You all managed to complete your tasks." Although it was a video call, it felt as though Carter was staring right through their souls with his penetrative gaze. "I think I've been too lenient, considering some of you were bored to death." He joked, referring to Hazel.
"Alpha team, get ready for your next mission. The rest of you may turn in." Soon after he spoke, a notification chimed on Hazel's phone as well as the other four members of her team.
She read through the details with interest. "Henry Wyatt. I want him."
Carter cleared his throat while Chris and the rest darted their eyes towards her.
"I mean, I want his head, his life or whatever it is that Carter wants me to get from him…and much more." She mumbled an explanation.
"Then you will be in for a treat, my dear Hazel. I want his company." Carter announced flirtatiously. "When you get it, you will be the Villain Queen. Can you imagine how beautiful that would be?"
"What will my bonus be?" She wanted nothing to do with being some Villain Queen. All that mattered was profit.
"Twenty percent of Wyatt Telecommunications shares. For every property of his that you obtain, you will get thirty percent out of it. If he has secret businesses, of course you can snatch that too." He gazed at her through the screen, forgetting all about the existence of the other four.
They all knew that Carter had feelings for Hazel so they tried not to interfere as he vehemently flirted with her.
"You will be wealthy enough to retire—but that is not allowed because I need you here." He winked.
Hazel smiled although her insides were burning with rage. What a jerk.
