Den of Thieves (BL)

Lanet Hine was on his way to the Masquerade ball when his phone buzzed. The sharp chime of the alert pulled his attention from the road to the notification flashing on the screen. A break-in at his penthouse.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he made a sharp U-turn. By the time he reached the building, his jaw was set, his anger simmering beneath a cool facade.

The door to his penthouse swung open, and Lanet's eyes zeroed in on the broken safe. The once-secure box now hung ajar, the jewels in it almost looking untouched, except for one thing.

"They only took the Graff Pink diamond," Lanet noted, wondering if this person did it to mock him.

A guard approached and handed Lanet a tablet. "Sir, we couldn't find anything in the footage. The cameras went blank at exactly 7 p.m. for eight minutes."

Lanet's brows pinched together as he took the device. He scrolled through the recorded footage, watching the seamless activity before the sudden blackout. People passed through the lobby, oblivious to what was happening. But when the cameras resumed, the frame captured something that completely caught his attention—a figure that sent a chill of recognition down his spine.

"No," he muttered under his breath, narrowing his eyes. The man on the screen looked far too familiar. The stance, the stride... The resemblance was undeniable.

It couldn't be. That man lived at another hotel.

Lanet rewound the footage, studying it again and again, hoping to convince himself otherwise. But no matter how many times he watched, the conclusion was the same. It looked exactly like him.

Exactly like his mysterious man.

"Thank you. I'll hold on to this for now," Lanet said to the guard as he kept his eyes on the screen.

"Uh, yes, sir, but won't you—"

"Thank you," Lanet interrupted, and spoke firmly this time. "I'll handle it."

The guards exchanged uneasy glances before retreating. Once the door closed behind them, Lanet sank onto the nearest seat, staring at the screen. 

He played the footage over and over, analyzing every detail. Hours ticked by as he cross-referenced everything he could find. There was no mistaking it.

"It's him," Lanet was in disbelief. A sharp, bitter laugh escaped him. "I took a thief out on a date."

Lanet scowled. "No, he's not just a thief. He bypassed my security."

The bitter truth gnawed at him—he'd been played. Not only had he lost the Graff Pink diamond, but he'd also made the mistake of thinking the man might have genuinely liked him. He made a fool of himself. 

For a moment he wondered if any of the shared laughter was true, but he was struck by reality, if it was, this wouldn't have happened.

With a sharp inhale, Lanet picked up his phone and called his assistant. "I'll be off work for the next few days," he said curtly before hanging up.

Determined, he dove headfirst into his search, the hours slipping away unnoticed. The face recognition software ran tirelessly, yet there was no progress. "Come on," he tapped his fingers impatiently against his desk. "It shouldn't take this long to find someone."

But the hours dragged on with no results.

Eventually, he was exhausted, and he drifted off on the couch, the laptop's glow illuminating his scrunched face. When he awoke the next morning, the pain in his neck was the least of his concerns.

The screen finally displayed something—a name: Dr. Langley.

Lanet sat up, feeling a little hope. The address provided wasn't for a home but a clinic where the man had completed his residency four years ago. It wasn't much, but it was a lead.

After a quick shower, Lanet dressed sharply, as was his habit, and set off. His car sped out of the city, guided by the GPS.

As he entered the outskirts, the change in scenery was startling. The polished luxury of his world gave way to crumbling infrastructure and visible decay. Signs hung by a thread, their wooden frames weathered and brittle. Rusted light poles lined the uneven streets.

Children played in a park that looked like a hazard, with rusted swings, some broken, their cheerful laughter did not match with their surroundings. 

Nearby, a mobile soup kitchen served a long line of people whose faces looked like they've been through the most.

Lanet bit his lip as he took it all in. This is the middle class? The thought made his chest tighten. He'd heard Maria speak of such places, but seeing it firsthand was a clear reminder of how little he truly understood about the other classes.

His journey ended at a modest clinic nestled between two small towns. The building stood out, not for its grandeur but for its relative upkeep compared to the surrounding chaos.

The parking lot was full, and people spilled out of the entrance, everyone looked desperate, he could see it in their postures and weary faces.

When Lanet stepped into the clinic, the heavy smell of antiseptic and suffering hit him so hard he almost turned to leave. The harsh sound of hacking coughs filled the air, but what stood out most was the sight of nurses and doctors moving tirelessly. Despite everything, they tended to the patients with compassion.

As a man passing by greeted him kindly, Lanet was jolted back to reality. The weight of his decision to come alone settled uneasily in his chest. 

There were a few options like reporting to the police, but nope, he thought to drive to an unknown place by himself. What was I thinking? What if he's dangerous?

Pushing the thought aside, Lanet made his way to the reception desk. The woman seated there looked up at him with a bright, welcoming smile. Her name tag confirmed her position, but her old age made him pause. Shouldn't she be retired by now?

"Hello," he began, clearing his throat. "I'm looking for Dr. Langley."

Her smile didn't waver as she asked, "Do you have an appointment, sir?"

"No," Lanet admitted, shifting uncomfortably. "I just wanted to talk to him."

The woman pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I'm afraid Dr. Langley is busy at the moment. But if you're willing to wait, please take a seat." She gestured toward the crowded waiting area, where every chair was occupied and some people had resorted to standing.

"Of course," Lanet replied, suppressing a wince. The sheer number of people coughing and sneezing made him instinctively tug at his collar.

Reluctantly, he found a seat among the crowd, his sharp gaze scanning the room. It didn't take long to spot Dr. Langley weaving through the crowd of sick people.

Lanet watched as the man knelt beside a sick child, his voice soft and comforting as he spoke. The doctor's face lit up with a warm smile that seemed to put everyone at ease, if only for a moment.

Lanet thought back to that smile. It was the first thing that had caught his eye when Mysterious was serving tables. That smile, warm and easy, had drawn him in. Later, when they went on their first date, Lanet noticed so much more.

The young man was in his late twenties, far too young for someone like Lanet, who had just stepped into his forties. Yet, the age difference didn't bother him—not as long as it didn't bother Mysterious.

He could still picture him clearly: flawless chocolate skin that seemed to glow under the soft lighting of the sun that shone through the restaurant windows, lips full and inviting, the kind of lips that stirred thoughts Lanet tried to suppress during their meal. He remembered wondering what it would feel like to run his hands over that smooth skin or taste those lips. Would it be too forward to kiss him on the first date?

When Mysterious hadn't made a move, Lanet had taken a chance, leaning in at the end of their date, to press a lingering kiss to his cheek. The memory of that moment still sent a faint warmth through him, and without thinking, Lanet touched his own lips, as if they could still feel the ghost of that kiss.

But the sound of Mysterious's laughter now pulled him back to the present. It reminded him why he was here, why he couldn't stay lost in memories.

He's charming, I'll give him that, Lanet thought bitterly. If I didn't know what kind of man he really was, I might have been charmed too.

Yet, doubts crept into his heart. Could he be wrong? After all, the man before him seemed nothing like a criminal. There were no criminal records, no suspicious activity—just a long list of good deeds and commendations.

But the Graff Pink diamond was missing, and someone had bypassed his security with alarming ease. No matter how convincing this beautiful charming man seemed, Lanet couldn't ignore the facts.

Still, for his own sake, he hoped his assumptions were wrong.