Lonely Thieves

Act I, Part II

Norah's Side (April 7th, 8:00 pm)

Even among the rich and famous, the Hayasaka family's mansion was ridiculously large. At 30,000 square feet, it was easily the largest residential building in the city's opulent Eclipse district, and the Hayasakas made sure that everyone knew it. A massive fence surrounded the property, with the only entrance being the massive gate that sat in front of the main building. Normally, such an obstruction would serve to keep anyone out, but today its maw was open, as the gala celebrating the Hayasaka conglomerate's 150 year anniversary was underway. Politicians, dignitaries, and celebrities from all over the country gathered at the gates to join the family in this lavish celebration.

Among these celebrities was Norah Albert, who was doing her best to pass herself off as just another socialite here to enjoy the party. She'd spent an hour on her makeup, and her long auburn hair was done up in a trendy ponytail style. She was wearing a navy blue party dress that she'd rented from a dressmaking company and the classiest heels that she had on hand. In a Perrot bag she held a fake invitation made for her by a counterfeiter that she had met during one of her cases. All in all, this complete getup cost her a small fortune in redals, but it would all be worth it if she pulled this heist off.

She glanced at the man standing next to her in a dapper black tuxedo. His name was Edgar Wilbur, and he was a con man. Norah was not in the habit of making friends with criminals, but as a private detective and now a Night Hunter, that was turning out to be a necessity for her. Still, Edgar had a few more scruples than the common scammer, and he cleaned up decently as well, so he was a good choice to bring for her plus one. The only one who found the whole arrangement inconvenient was Edgar himself, but since he still owed her quite a few favors, he could hardly refuse.

The two of them walked up to the manor gates, arm in arm. There, a line of attendees were waiting to have their invitations checked by Hayasaka's personal security guards. After a short wait, Norah was eventually asked for her invitation. She coolly pulled it out of the bag and handed it over to the guard, who inspected it carefully.

"Did you say your name was Deborah Walters? I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with the name."

Norah put on her best spoiled girl act and pouted. "Excuse me? My father is a long-standing Hayasaka board member. Surely you're not going to claim to be unaware of the people who fund your companies!"

The security suppressed an annoyed grimace and turned to Edgar. "And he is?"

Edgar replied with a graceful bow. "Eugene Mason. Venture capitalist and sweetheart to this little angel here." He pulled Norah in and planted a light kiss on her cheek. Norah resisted the urge to shiver in disgust and let out an airheaded giggle.

The security guard hummed irritably as his partner leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Probably just some spoiled brat who begged daddy for an invite. Just let them in already before they hold up the line."

With that, the two of them were allowed entry into the mansion. As they walked up to the main building, Norah feigned a slip and dug her heel into Edgar's foot.

"Hey!" She whispered angrily under her breath. "Who told you to ad-lib like that, huh?"

"I'm an actor at heart, you know. I give my best for the performance, no matter what it takes."

"No one said you needed to go that far! I nearly slapped you, you know?"

"You're the one who wanted our cover to be lovers. Don't get it twisted. You're not my type, so don't worry about me making moves on you."

"Well, excuse me." Norah quickly put on her ditzy socialite act once she entered the main building. They were only in the foyer, but it was already much grander than any building she had ever seen before. The pillars, floor, and walls were made of ornate marble, and diamond encrusted chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Norah inspected the banister of the staircase and was surprised to find that it was made of real gold. As she did her best to hide her awe as she looked around the foyer, a butler in a black suit approached them with a slight bow.

"Madame, Monsieur, please follow me to the ballroom."

"Oh, of course," Norah replied, trying her best to not sound nervous. "Please, take us there."

The butler led them through the east hallway to a massive ballroom, which was somehow even more lavish than the foyer. Traditional Japanese decorations covered the walls of this room, such as ancient katanas, ornamental dolls dressed in Japanese garb, and silk scrolls depicting scenes from Japanese history. They looked somewhat tacky against the gold and marble backdrop they were placed against, but then, what did she know about how the rich liked to decorate?

There were already a large number of dignitaries, businessmen, and celebrities mingling in the ballroom. Several tables were placed around the center of the room, each one carrying plates full of delicious appetizers and hors d'oeuvres. Several waiters and waitresses wandered about with plates carry champagne glasses, handing them out to anyone without a drink. One such waiter approached them and handed the both of them a glass.

"Thank you." Norah gave the waiter a nod and sipped at her glass as she continued to glance around the room. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to find what she was looking for anywhere. It seemed that despite covering even the walls with decorations and ornaments, that the Hayasaka family was not particularly keen on displaying the emerald necklace.

In a way, that made sense. If someone was willing to spend ten billion redals to get their hands on the necklace, it was obviously not something that would be all that easy to steal. She sighed. The party gave her access to the mansion, but that access was limited. She couldn't blame them if they threw her out for trying to enter other parts of the estate.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Edgar asked as he sipped his champagne. "The other guests haven't said anything yet, but if we keep hanging around here, they'll eventually start to realize we're not who we say we are."

"Oh, can it. What happened to your actor's spirit, huh?" Norah sighed as she downed her glass of champagne all at once. "Hold the fort out here and keep an ear out for any possible info. I'm going to check out the other parts of the mansion."

"Hold on. Are you crazy? If they catch you wandering about the place, they won't take it kindly."

"As if a rowdy guest has never gotten themselves lost in the mansion before. I'll be fine, so don't worry about me, okay? Just stay in the ballroom and keep an eye on developments."

Edgar sighed. "You're a slave driver, you know? Now I wish I'd never got myself into the situation where I'd owe you a favor."

"Blame your indiscretions, not me." Norah placed the champagne glass down on a nearby table and walked off. "All right, wish me luck."

Norah walked over to the ballroom entrance, where two men in suits were standing guard. Norah mimicked a slightly drunk gait and waltzed her way to the entrance. "Ladies' room," she slurred happily as she feigned a fall against one of the guards. The guard kept his composure, but she could clearly see his cheeks growing red.

"J-Just head down the hall past the foyer and turn right," the guard stammered out nervously. "You'll see it on your left."

Norah thanked the man and skipped into the hallway, taking great care to maintain her happy-go-lucky facade. The foyer was emptier than it was earlier, although there were still guests heading to the ball and staff running back and forth between the ballroom and the kitchen. The stairs leading to the upper level of the mansion looked enticing, but it was obvious that there was going to be no chance for her to do so.

She decided to continue down the hall as she was told, at least for the time being. As she rounded the corner, she tried to make a mental map of the mansion's layout. The hall led to the bathroom as the guard had described, but there were also several other halls leading to other places on the lower floor of the mansion. Judging by the waiters running past her, continuing down the hall would eventually lead to the kitchen doors, situated towards the west of the main building. She slid up to the wall and peeked around the corner down the hallway to the right. The hallway here led to the back area of the first floor, which was another big main hall facing the center courtyard.