It was a while after the whole Twin Stones fiasco, about five months. I headed out from the office early that morning. As nice as Elise is, I didn't know if I could take another morning of "breakfast soup", so I decided to check out this nice diner in town. It was one of those old-fashioned places with the booths by the windows and the counter full of customers. I had taken a seat in the back of the place and was working on a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage links when it happened.

This man walked up to my booth. He seemed about maybe thirty-years old. He had really, really short blonde hair. Like, practically bald. He had on a brown fedora and a trench coat of the same color. He sat down across from me without a word. He was waiting for me to speak first. So I did.
"Good morning there, sir. Anything I can help you with?", I said, raising my eyebrow ever so slightly.
"As a matter of fact...there might be", he said very slowly. His voice was a little bit raspy. Maybe he had a cold or something.
"Is that so? Well, if you're here on business, I can give you the address for my office... I don't much care for matters of work when I'm eating, y'know?". I gave him just a subtle little smirk. From the way he was dressed and the way he was acting I had a feeling there was no way he would come by the office. What ever he wanted to proposition to me, he was going to do it now.

"I'm afraid this is rather urgent. I need to speak with you about it now", he told me.
"Alright, alright, I'll make an exception this once...", I said, slowly taking a swig of my coffee. I set the mug down, before asking him, "So, what do you need ol' Jack Sly for?"
"My boss needs you to do a job for him. A job you're quite qualified at", he told me.
"What, stealing? Psh, I don't do that anymore. Not like that, anyways. Maybe you've heard of the Sly Securi-"

He cut me off. "He doesn't care about what ever 'legitimate' business you have running. My boss needs you to do a heist for him. It's up your alley too", he said, before pulling a paper out from his pocket. He laid it on the table, and I took it up in my hands, slowly unfolding it. I tell you, my eyes went wide at what I saw next. It was a photo of this dazzling blue gem. This sapphire must have been the size of my fist, and it was set into a square, gold pendant with elaborate engravings. It looked like the design of a dragon, encircling the sapphire. I had never seen anything like it.

"What is this?", I asked him, my mouth slightly agape.
"That, Mister Sly, is the Komodo Sapphire", he told me, "a very valuable treasure from ancient times. Legend holds that a Chinese prince traveled to Indonesia, to the island we now call Komodo. To prove that he was worthy to be the next emperor, he dove down to an undersea cave and found that sapphire. Enchanting it with ancient Chinese magic, he used it's power to fight and defeat a savage dragon. However, upon slaying the beast, he was cursed to forever remain on the island or else we would die. So, he sent the sapphire back to China with his most loyal servant. After that, the sapphire became lost to history. Any documents or records of it were probably destroyed during the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s"

By now, my heart was pumping. Supposedly, this thing had quite the story behind it. That, and if what he was saying was true, it had some sort of magical properties. Jackpot! I mean, hey, I might be running a real business, but come on! One last heist wouldn't kill anybody, right? Not to mention, this gem had a little bit of history around it. Heck, it would be a crime NOT to find it. Which then began to make me think...
"So wait, if this rock here was 'lost to history', how do you have a photo of it?", I asked, only a little bit confused.
"This photo is from a newspaper in Sydney. A museum in Australia found this, and is claiming it to be the real Komodo Sapphire. So, my boss wants you to steal it. He knows you have a knack for finding items that have 'special' attributes. He wants you to do it he can find out if it's the real deal or not". That is why he wanted me to do it. Well, it made sense.

"Of course", he continued, "My boss will arrange all the necessary transportation and a place for you to stay, without it costing you a single penny. So, what do you say, Mister Sly?".
In truth, I should have thought if over a little more. But, I was a little excited at this moment. So, I went with my gut told me. Take it.
"Tell you what... Tell him we have a deal, under one condition. I want tickets for my friends. If I go, they go, you got it?". There was no way I was leaving Tom and Elise behind. Of course, how to get Elise to Australia was an entirely different matter. Like I said, I should have thought it out better.
He held his hand out to me. I took it and shook it. "We have a deal, Mister Sly".
"Just call me Jack, okay?", I told him.
"What ever you wish, Jack", he replied with a smile.