[Chapter 1]

I look out of the window, crossing my arms across my chest. I put on my best pout, and I knew I looked gorgeous even with a pout. It was just a natural gift my parents gave me, after all.

I was dressed in a comfortable baby blue top paired with a leather jacket and long, tight-fitting pants, but the necklace was beginning to itch. Diamonds were girl's best friend, but sometimes, I swear they are just out to get me. Sometimes, my skin would just react to the chains holding the diamond together, and I would itch like a furry animal with the lice.

I looked up at the man sitting across me, smiling at his lustful gaze to me.

"Dear, can I please take off the necklace? I love it, but it's beginning to itch again." I frowned a bit, letting him see a flirty, cute and innocent side of me. Once we land, though, things would be different.

"But of course, my darling Annabel. Anything for you." He cooed, though I wasn't exactly an animal hidden in a cage that only he could see.

I gladly asked one of his servants to help me take it off, relaxing in the plush cushioned seat when it was off my neck. Jewelry were the death of me, I swear.

"Are we reaching soon?" I asked in my honeyed voice, knowing he would be taken in. He thought he was about to marry this hot woman sitting across him -I could see it in his eyes. Too bad, it wasn't happening soon, or even ever.

"Very soon, Annabel. We're into New York's air, just a moment more. We'll land, and we can go to our new home."

"Actually," I said, getting up from my seat even though the sign for seat-belts to be buckled were turned on, "you're going to go to your new home, and I'm going to be free of you, old man."

His face color drained in less than a second, the expression on his face turning shocked as hell.

"What do you mean? Annabel, what are you saying?"

I pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear in a fluid motion, stepping closer to him even as the plane tilted, already ready for landing. I leaned into his personal space, holding on to both handles of his seat.

"Call me Eliza Harding. Annabel Kent was just a woman desperately in need of a free air travel over to New York and couldn't stand the idea of sitting in public transport. I'm glad you've helped me make preparations, darling. Now, I've got to go." I said sweetly, giving him a farewell kiss on the side of his cheek as I swiped the handcuffs out quickly, chaining both his hands to the handle.

"Eliza? You were just cheating me this entire time?" He demanded, losing the helpless look now that he began to regain his bearings.

"You are an easy prey, Mr. Tudor. You should be glad that I am the one capitalizing on you like this. If it were someone else, you would end up with a hole in your head and heart." I gave him a wink, walking back to my seat as the plane landed without a hitch. His servants merely stood behind us, unmoving. Rather, I'd paid them a handsome sum -from Mr. Tudor's account, of course -for not moving to do anything to help him.

"You bitch!" He started yelling, but I picked up my bag -by his compliments, of course.

"Now, now, Jason, don't you get all mouthy on me now. Remember the name Eliza the next time you meet a woman like me and let this be a lesson for you, no?" I purred as the door to the private jet opened, the sunlight basking in.

"You'll regret this, you bitch!" He yelled even as I took comfortable steps down the stairs, breathing in the air of New York. Oh, how I missed this place. This was the place.

My paradise. A con artist paradise.

Rather, a White Collar Paradise.

*********************************************************

Charming my way to a free cab ride took nothing at all, and soon I was standing in the Square before the building. Talking to the cabbie driver had been interesting, and I'd caught up in New York's latest news in no time.

Apparently, there was a new criminal in the open, carrying out White Collar crimes with no fear and all confidence? Jack of Spades -they'd begun to call him?

I walked around the fountain at the square, attracting a little attention with my get up and my killer heels. I walked towards the hotdog stall at the edge of the square, accidentally bumping into someone rushing by. Getting a usual New York lunch definitely brought back nostalgia, and I bumped into someone else as I made for an empty seat at the corner of the Square, watching as everyone rushed around.

I kept my eyes on both the men I'd bumped into, watching as they both approached the same building.

The glass doors slid open, and he walked out, in a breezy strut, a cheerful, carefree air carrying him in his bob. Both men I'd bumped into hit into him, and I saw his hand motions before he was even aware of himself. Both guys glared at him -apparently thinking that bumping into two people in a row was bad luck enough -before they walked off, grouchier than they already were.

He continued to walk out into the Square, approaching the coffee stall. I watched as he took out his own wallet to pay for a cup, walking out whistling shortly after. Watching the scene quietly, I took dainty bites from my hotdog bun.

"Hey, boy! Yeah, you with the brown hair, blue eyes!" The guy from the hotdog stall called out to him, and he stopped midstride, turning to the seller with a confused look.

"Excuse me?" He asked politely, and I laughed quietly to myself. When had he developed manners? I didn't recall anything like that.

"I'm supposed to pass you a message! A lady with long legs, tall, wavy brown hair like yours and your blue eyes came a moment ago and told me that you would be coming out soon. She told me to tell you to check the wallets you have on you right now. I don't know what she meant, but she seemed serious, so I did her a favor." The hotdog-seller did as I'd told him to, and I watched as he nod back in reply, setting his cup of coffee down at the nearest bench before ripping the two wallets he'd pocketed off.

From each wallet, he took out something, and as he read them, I saw as his face glowed even brighter, even younger, even livelier and happier. I smiled to myself despite everything. This was the face I'd come to see. I knew what I'd told him, and I knew he would love it.

The dogs have begun to howl, but you are still hanging on your wire, choking off? I have been waiting for the moment your shotgun sounds off.

That was what I'd written in one of the notes to him, and the other wallet contained a card.

The Queen of Spades.

I was back, and he knew it.

My Jack knew it.

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Finding an apartment in uptown Manhattan was no problem at all, and it was close to my Jack's one too. From where I was, I could track him while he knew nothing. From where I was, I could watch him, and learn his life again.

I should explain -our code, I mean.

When we were young, we created our own code, and being 'hung up on a wire' meant that he was caught, and taken away. When the 'dogs start to howl' was created when we were sneaking around our hometown early in the morning, and our neighbor's dog began to howl at the strike of four in the morning.

Years ago, when I'd gotten that message from him, it's broken my heart. Hearing him being hung on a wire was nothing I would ever image of him. My Jack -he was great in what he did -but he had never really gotten around to put his head in his work. My Jack, he always remembered me.

Now, I was back, and my Jack knew it. I needed to get to him, and I needed to know everything about him since I'd been gone. My Jack had gone long enough without my support. I was back, his Queen was back.

I watched as he picked up his phone from his overcoat, an excited look written on his face. In my ear was an earpiece, crackling with his voice through a bug I'd planted at his place without his knowing.

"The Queen's back! Queen of Spades! God-damnit, where is she?!? I've so much to tell her!" He was speaking like a teenager losing himself over the prom queen, and I wondered exactly how much he'd matured since I last saw him.

"Of course I will meet her, Stike. She won't be happy about Rainer, but I don't care. The Queen is finally back!"

Rainer? If there was something my Jack knew I was to be unhappy about, it would be about the FBI. That could mean one thing -that this Rainer guy was somehow related to the FBI.

"She's going to explode. But I'm the Jack. No matter what she does, I'm still her Jack."

He definitely knew me well. He knew that no matter what he did, I would never stay angry at him for long.

"Keep your ear out for her, Stike. She could be anywhere. And don't think she's just another one on the street. She's way better than you. You can't beat me, Stike. And I can't beat her like my life depended on it. So that's where you can place her in terms of skills."

There was a pause, and then I heard his light laughter. Oh, how I'd missed that laugh. The last time we met and talked face-to-face, it had not gone down right, and though we had texted each other between times, I could not forget the last time we met.

It had happened to be the day I left New York too.

"Don't doubt me, Stike. I have no doubt that she's tracking my every movement right now. Ever heard of The Circle?" He asked, and I frowned slightly. He was being too blatant and open now. My Jack needed to start keeping his lips shut tighter now that I was back in town, bringing the rest of my followers along.

"Didn't think you would. The Circle is where the world's top con artists are, Stike. And my Queen is part of The Circle." He said proudly, and though I was going to have a talk with him about him going around and boasting about me soon, I could not help but smile. Despite the last time we'd parted with bad memories, the good ones we shared together had not been forgotten either.

"You know what to do. Don't bring any attention. Just ask around. She's going to show herself soon, but I want to know everything as quickly as possible." He instructed, finally sobering up. I watched as he smiled to himself, clicking his phone shut and stepping out onto the balcony, hands braced on the railing as he looked down at the hustle-bustle.

His choice of building and apartment wasn't exactly his style, but he seemed quite at ease with the place, so I didn't pursue any answers in that. He was living in a much toned down version of how he used to, and I wondered exactly what had made him like this. We, the people of the same profession, had after all learnt to appreciate the same taste, the same highly aristocratic society, and live the same richly comfortable life. What had made him change thus? My Jack was a stubborn man who refused to give up riches when he was younger -so why had he changed?

Of course, I appreciated a little more humility but this wasn't his style. Jack of Spades wasn't the type of a man who would settle for something small, something comfortable. He was one who would stay in such apartment only if he was forced. He would only make it comfortable for himself if he found no other way to escape his fate.

My Jack took in a deep breath of the New York air, a smile briefly hanging on his lip. I knew I was being too exposed being out here in my own balcony, watching him, but I wondered how long it would take before he realized he was being spotted. His skills must have not been blunt, for he spun around quickly after a quick moment of self-enjoyment, searching the horizon. I tipped my sun hat lower, adjusting my pair of dark, professional sunglasses on my nose.

Eyes found me quickly, and I gave a slight smile and a polite nod of my head, as we were just fellow neighbors, happening to just meet each other's eyes. There was a confused look in his eyes, but he nodded back, turning on the charming smile that belonged only to the Seyfried. Internally, I grinned to know he was still using that charm, while I raised the wineglass that was resting at my side to him.

He tipped the edge of his fedora in reply, as if bidding me quick goodbye, so I rested my glass back down and gave him a dainty wave goodbye. All the while, I used motions that I normally never used -body language belonging to a woman that wasn't me. It was obvious he didn't recognize me, and I shook my head slightly at him as he retreated back into his apartment. Sure, I have changed, but the people of our profession were supposed to be ever-the-changing, weren't they?

I walked back into the shade of my own larger apartment, taking off the disguise as I went to my computer. It didn't take me more than a moment to find out what he was up to.

My Jack wasn't wrong. I was going to show myself to him in a very short while. But before that, I had things to do. Things to settle.

Of course, my life was filled with ups and downs.

Still, no matter what, business beckoned.

I grabbed the suitcase off my bed, checked the goods one last time, slipped in a quick chip at the side of the padding so that it wouldn't be spotted, and locked it securely back in place.

I picked a new disguise now from my new walk-in closet. The blue drawstring waist dress was coupled with another pair of killer stilettos, and I let my hair down from the bun I'd donned on, sweeping my curled hair over a shoulder. I switched the pair of sunglasses for some dark visors, checking my image in the mirror. I knew I should have dyed the hair, but I just couldn't decide on a color, so I had decided that my natural chocolate brown was enough for this time.

I grabbed the suitcase, and was ready to step out of the apartment before I remembered one crucial thing. I doubled back, and grabbed the pack of cards off the table. Yeah, I definitely would need them.

I pocketed my stuff, the necessary items, and was off.

I might be a woman who knew how to indulge, but work was still work.

It was a pity that no matter how tough the job was, I still loved it.