She was perspiring. Heavily. Great slick beads of sweat that slid down the subtle curves of her face and neck. This wasn’t like her at all. It was distracting. Unprofessional. But she didn’t have the luxury of time to worry about it at the moment.

She crouched quietly before the pedestal, going through a mental checklist of everything she actually did need to worry about. The alarms were disabled. Backup generator taken offline. Security guard: incapacitated. She allowed herself a small smile. That last one was easily the best part of the whole night.

And now, here she was. Just scant inches away from her mistress. Her beautiful and breathtaking Patricia. It was as remarkable an emerald as she had always been led to believe. Uncut. Rough. Raw. And in every way, absolutely perfect.

Her fingertips hovered in the air, glowing slightly with a green hue as they neared the gorgeous gemstone. She felt an electric tingling of anticipation as she drew closer to the stone.

She never even noticed the footsteps.