✨ LADY THIEF - the broker speaks the language of luxury, assigning brand name price tags to individual brush strokes. Plum-colored blazer sleeves sweep across the catalog pages and with an apex predator’s smile, the broker emphasizes a painting’s likeness to the early works of Edgar Degas. “Can you stand it?” asked the broker. “How can you stand it? The bold brushstrokes – truly, discovering emerging talent like this is once in a lifetime.”
Dot nods as if she’s not in cohorts with the conman who painted the ugly ass thing. Her voice today is low and breathy. “I want it,” she says. “There’s something soulful about the way this Arsène depicts the mundane of Parisian life. He’s going to be big.”
The broker compliments her on having an artistic eye, a sense of creative vision so few clients supposedly have. But, there is no emerging artist named Arsène Affre. The paintings in the catalog are very real, but their early prototypes are mounted in a conman’s bathroom.
“Gilbert really can’t paint for shit,” she thinks.
Dot almost feels bad for the broker.
Both women conclude the consultation with a handshake that’s a clash of pearls and gold bangles. Dot muses that the auction will be interesting. If all goes according to plan, she’ll have an indulgent evening laundering money and tricking a jackass art collector into trading a priceless artwork for Gilbert’s finger paints. Gilbert is a fellow ‘gentle thief’ and ‘confidence man’, and he would be satisfied to end the con there.
It’s Dot who insists on going the extra mile. It’s Dot who insists it wasn’t enough to satisfy their lust for challenge. She wanted to remove the real, valuable artwork from a private collection and delivered to the family of the late artist to do as they pleased. Sure, they could always resell it at auction and have it lost to storage. But, Dot was an idealist who hoped they’d treasure their heirloom if no museum could take it off their hands.
Dot waves off the broker, counting down five minutes to give the woman a head start out of the building. They’d gone over the expected hour consultation time, and Dot had around fifteen minutes before the real owners of “her” penthouse showed up. Whoever owned the place probably wouldn’t take kindly to a stranger posturing wealth through their home.
Dot dashes down the hall. There’s a man ahead, striding towards the elevators. Her red heels click against marble tile, and she squeezes into an elevator just as it closes its maw. She may be a pretty little thing, but she’s no fool. That man had been tailing her. Pursing her ruby lips together, she takes a breath and puts on the fake voice from earlier.
“Foul play? I should report you to the auction house.”
He donned washed silk, deer skin, and dark, jacquard and embroidered threads. His suit was luxurious and tactile with cashmere, silk, and barathea. It was expensive, a Brioni made to recall the colors of Rome. Warm neutrals, earthy browns, creams and tobaccos with sand accents of bright turquoise replaced his usual all-black ensemble. A gift, one of many that he’d received in compensation for his work, and an important piece in the puzzle of his latest assignment.
After all, an expensive con-event called for expensive attire, did it not?
For the most part, he stuck to the walls and stayed in the shadows when he could. It was better, smarter to remain hidden as much as possible, but when it came to a high profile event, blending in was still a part of the job description. Wade didn’t worry too much, he wasn’t out to kill today, only to observe and learn whatever he could about his target. While keeping as much of a safe distance as he could, he still mingled with guests who’d approached him and charmed his way through pretentious conversations about art as he observed his target throughout the night.
“Pretty Amanita”. One of the many names the public had given her, it had been one of his favorites. He liked the way it rolled off of his tongue, and the way it sounded in his mixed in his voice. It would be a lie to suggest that he hadn’t been over-the-moon at the opportunity to work against her. Not only would it be a challenge, but it certainly was a breath of fresh air to escape the mundane routine of his normal kills. It had been fun to watch her in the moment. From listening to every lie escape her lips guiltlessly to analyzing her expressions and trying to guess what she was thinking as she mused about the fake art being presented.
If Wade hadn’t been so confident in own abilities, he might have even said she was a force to be reckoned with.
But still, time passed, the day went on, and his time of light-stalking was soon coming to an end. He takes her handshake as a cue and makes his stride towards the elevators, entering the first empty one he sees. It’s only after he’s pressed the worn-out lounge button and settled against the elevator wall that her voice catches him off guard.
Rather than jumping into a position of defense, he elected to remain the calm and charming character he’d played just shortly before. A playful grin finds its way to his lips, and his head drops to the side at her words.
“I’m sorry sugar,” he begins, gesturing to the elevator buttons, “I’m not too sure what you’re goin’ on about, but if you need a specific floor, I’d be happy to oblige.”