Stop! In the Name of Love!

MIKA (30’s) and JACOB (30’s), newly engaged, will be the first to tell you that relationships aren’t easy. After a round of congratulations, they divulge their entire history to BETTY THE BARISTA (24). See, they’ve been together for eight lovely years, minus that small period where Jacob met a gorgeous socialite named KATHY (early 30’s), dumped Mika for her, and then ultimately was ghosted. He crawled back, and they’ve been in couple’s therapy ever since. It must be working, since they’re engaged now! Mika believes there’s more to it though: the same time Kathy disappeared, so did the world’s most expensive violin. She’s certain Jacob, an instrument technician, was conned, but he doesn’t buy it. Anyway, after sharing all of this with Betty, the other customers in line get real annoyed, and story time comes to an end.

Either way, it’s all water under the bridge, until Kathy shows back up at Jacob’s workplace, after
years of complete nothingness, with an apology and a smile. That night, Mika has a celebration
prepped. Pre-champagne toast, when Jacob arrives home, he casually mentions Kathy has returned to make amends. No big deal. Mika disagrees, they’ve only had years of therapy thanks to this woman. Mika insists Kathy must be on another job, and wants Jacob to have nothing to do with her. He wants closure. Their argument devolves into the one fact they never agreed upon: whether or not Kathy is, in fact, a thief.
There’s only one thing to do when two people vehemently disagree on something: dig in your heels, and prove you’re correct by any means possible. At least, that’s the one thing to do according to Mika. She finds and confronts Kathy, which goes terribly. Not only does Mika have zero proof, but Kathy has a sharp wit, and cuts deep. This only pushes Mika to dig in deeper. To prevent complete fallout with her not-yet-a-husband, Mika invites herself to stay with her work bestie: CURTIS (40’s). They dig through the internet and find Kathy. Only once, in a photo, in a courtroom, at a trial for a woman named EMILY (50’s), who was acquitted of grand larceny. Suspicious, if indeed that grainy photo is Kathy the thief! Mika is going to have to follow Kathy to get further information. With a plan set, she finally asks Curtis about his day. Turns out his dad just died a few hours ago, and he’s mourning. Ick. Talk about failing to read the room.

Jacob apologizes, but Mika needs to hear that Kathy’s out of his life. She’s not. She’s going to remain a friend, a pillar of support, while their relationship is in turmoil. Somehow, this information did not fix their relationship issues. After a long, fruitless stakeout, Kathy emerges. She meets Emily (from the grainy photo, Mika was right), and a young woman named SUZ (25) for cocktails.

Mika infiltrates the restaurant… or rather, she wanders in and orders a drink. Inside, she learns of a beautifully displayed DIAMOND-ENCRUSTED TEQUILA BOTTLE. Mika’s certain that must be
their target. She manages to hide in the restaurant all night, vigilant. Only, nothing happens. The
bottle is safe and sound.

Mika’s a sucker. It was a fake. The real one, kept in a safe in the back office, was indeed stolen
that night. That’s all the proof Mika needs. Kathy is undoubtedly a thief, and Mika is going to take her down. To do that, she’ll need to assemble a team! Too bad she prioritized her relationship over her friends for the last eight years, so nobody is willing to help her. Mika’s alone.

Mika’s not the only one with problems. Curtis’ father left him and his four siblings a sprawling estate and a massive financial inheritance. Only thing is, he expects Curtis to split it up among them, with no stipulations to guide him. Curtis’ family, one by one, attempts to convince Curtis exactly what should be done with the inheritance. The reasons are selfish, inane, and none of them take Curtis into consideration. Somehow, their pleas don’t help his decision.

Mika’s dogged determination has caught the thieves’ attention. Suz confronts her, and admits that Mika has won. If she promises to leave them alone, Kathy will in turn leave Jacob alone, effective immediately. It’s all Mika wants. Except… that’s not what Mika wants. Mika would never be able to prove she was right to Jacob, and she’s unable to accept that. It’s not a happy ending, if Jacob fails to see the picture as it really is. Suz warns her, “You keep coming at us, we’ll take you down.”

Mika retaliates hard. She makes public threats against each business she’s staked out, to heighten their security measures. This forces Kathy, Emily, and Suz to deal with “the Mika problem.” Meanwhile, out of ideas on how to fix his relationship, Jacob asks Curtis’ advice. Jacob is just as stubborn as his fiancé. He’s certain that because they followed a path of clear, honest communication, he and Mika shouldn’t be in this mess. But she’s determined to prove Kathy’s identity. Curtis knows Mika is actually correct, but Jacob only hears what he wants to. Perhaps he and Mika are far better off for each other than anyone realizes.
Suz’s retaliation is swift. Mika gets arrested for theft. Not only did the thieves continue on their
spree, they framed Mika as well. While she sits in a holding cell, Emily visits. She brags about the
crimes, how she pulled them off, all the intricate details. Emily bails Mika out of jail, with one final
warning: butt out. Emily’s wedding is on the line.

Mika is floored, but all the stolen items suddenly connect thematically. A crystal dress, some jeweled pumps, diamond-encrusted tequila. Emily is going to have an extravagant, stolen wedding. With nothing left for it, Mika attempts to reconcile with Jacob one more time. Only she learns that Kathy is still in his life; the thieves lied. Jacob must have some part to play in this still, and Mika is not going to let them get away with it. The audacity alone spurs her on, at the cost of her relationship’s stability.

Mika discovers Jacob has a special order to work on: an ENTIRELY CRYSTAL PIANO. Mika infiltrates the room, posing as Jacob, when the penthouse suite is broken into, and the piano is stolen. Not only that, but Kathy (in a mask), thanks Mika loudly, by name, before making her escape. Mika flees, and once again, the police are out looking for her. She doesn’t dare return home, nor even to Curtis’ apartment. Instead, she breaks down in his parking lot, and reflects upon her choices.

It was foolish to take on master criminals. It was stupid to keep going. Mika isn’t good enough
to even keep Jacob, let alone stop a master heist. It’s not even Jacob’s fault. Mika realizes every
problem she has is a direct result of her choices, or her inability to listen with empathy. She’s
devastated. Curtis has advice for her. His siblings all did the same thing, and worse, Curtis let them try and walk all over him. However, Curtis is an extremely capable man, and he knows his worth. He reveals he took over his dad’s estate, and split the inheritance’s dividends for the siblings, but did not give them anything outright. The point of all this? Mika may not have succeeded, but what she did was amazing, and Jacob has failed to see any piece of it. Self worth doesn’t come from others, it comes from within, win or lose.

Mika knows what to do. She turns herself in to the police. At Emily’s wedding, everything goes
without a hitch. Caterers, musicians, staff, and photographers all move about to fulfill their jobs. The photographer is oddly vocal about capturing these beautiful moments. Capture indeed! The
photographer is Mika, and the thieves are surrounded by the FBI! As they get arrested, Mika confesses how she pulled it off.

Turns out Mika works for a consulting firm, which puts businesses together for sympatico partnerships. As a result, she had access to every high-end venue in the city, and pulled all her favors to close one down: the venue Emily had booked for her extravagant wedding. This left only one high end venue in town to rent: Curtis’ new estate. Mika forced their hands.

With them arrested, she pulls the biggest “I told you so” reveal she can muster. Jacob is taken aback at first, then breaks down into anger and sadness at being conned. Not quite the satisfying experience Mika hoped it would be. Jacob apologizes profusely to her, thanks her for always having his back, despite his choices. This is even worse for Mika. She didn’t expect him to be so lovely in defeat, so reflective of his own flaws. Despite that, she still sees Jacob for what he is: a selfish man, who relied on her devotion to him to take him back, again and again. Not this time. Mika dumps him.

In the aftermath, Mika works on her gratitude towards her friends. She fosters healthy relationships, takes new chances, and rebuilds her life. She takes Curtis out for a beautiful date, and even kisses him afterwards. Ugh, it’s weird, neither of them are into that. Just friends, then. Probably for the better, it’s a great relationship as is, and celebrating that is enough.