Two pair of eyes met in the museum's crowd. One pair was green grey, the other blue grey. The blue grey ones narrowed, while the green grey grew wider. The face of the tall man with the blue grey eyes was unreadable, and there were no signs he recognized the other person. The other person was smaller and lightly built. He also pretended not to see somebody familiar.
For an outsider nothing gave away the quick communication going on between the two. The lightly built, dark haired man left. He was followed shortly afterwards by the tall man. The smaller and older of the two was cursing all the way to the next cafe. The other one took it more philosophical and was wryly amused, but as unhappy as the other to have met. They had a history together.
The older gentleman took a seat outside. Five minutes later the tall joined him. "What are you doing here, Fin?" The dark haired man asked. "I'm on assignment, Charles." "Ha! I wouldn't have guessed that!" "And what are you doing here?" Fin asked impatient. He was blond. "The same." Charles grumbled. Both were burglars and had worked on one heist together. Unfortunately Charles Harold Fox and Coldham Fintan Noose couldn't stand each other. Jealousy played a big role. During the preparation for the heist Charles had made Fin's life difficult whenever possible and tried to undermine his authority, since Fin was second in command. Fin had tried to take it cool and ignore Charles' behavior. When this didn't work, Fin tried to talk to Charles. It fell on deaf ears, so Fin resorted to a last solution and punched Charles once, breaking Charles' nose in the process. Their boss demanded from Fin to apologize and gave both a lecture, nearly firing them. Fin refused, because he wasn't one bit sorry. Charles and he managed to call a truce and keep it until they were able to go separate ways.
Charles had behaved badly, because he was jealous of Fin's position and felt he was entitled to Fin's job. He was more experienced after all.
A waiter approached them in Hungarian. Fin replied haltingly. Charles felt another stab of envy. Fin seemed to be always so perfect and speaking god knew how many languages. Fin switched to English, smiling disarmingly at the waiter. "Sorry, but that's as far as my Hungarian goes." Charles snorted, not believing a word Fin said. The waiter appreciated Fin's effort. "What can I serve you, gentlemen?" Fin tried his ordering skills and asked: "Lehet, hogy van egy kávé és sütemény, kérem?" "Why not?" The man replied in Hungarian. Fin looked uncomprehending, so the waiter knew, Fin didn't understand. Fin had asked for coffee and cake. The waiter switched language and told them what types were on offer. Charles chose a coffee cake and Fin Dobos.
"How long are you in Budapest?" Charles asked. "A little bit over two weeks. And you?" "A week." "What are you after?" "A piece of Italian artwork." "I'm after a Di Bernardino." "What?!" Fin had suddenly Charles' full attention. "Is it "The Flight of the Holy Family"?" Charles asked. "Yes." Fin wasn't too happy about this development. Both had time to gather their thoughts, because the waiter returned with their order. "Me too." Charles admitted. "Okay, who's your client?" Fin asked, his eyes turned blue, a sure sign he was angry or upset. "I won't say." "Okay, Charles, I'll divulge my source. Does Giovanni Armando ring a bell?" Charles' facial expression told Fin everything. Normally they wouldn't have discussed details, but they spoke now on what each had agreed with Mr. Armando. It disgusted Fin that Charles would have gotten 13 % more than him, if Charles had been successful. The two had four options:
1. They could work together, steal the painting and share the profit.
2. They could try each to work out faster how to get the artwork and deliver it to their client,
3. One of them decided to drop out and the other went ahead,
Or
4. They could walk away from the contract, telling all their friends Giovanni Armando had tried to cross them and make sure nobody was going to deal with him ever again.
Fin wasn't in a charitable mood and thought about others, who could find themselves in the same situation, so for him there was only one way. Knowing Charles' ego Fin thought they would come to the same decision. He wasn't wrong.
Charles and he met at Charles hotel near the castle and rang their customer. Charles had him on loud speaker. "Mr. Armando, these are Charles Fox and Coldham Fintan Noose. We have found out you have engaged both of us to get an item for you. Can you explain why?" Fin was wondering how Charles managed to stay calm. He hadn't made the impression before. "Well, I wanted to make sure I'm getting what I wanted as fast as possible, and competition has never done any harm." He had a thick accent. "Mr. Armando, you have broken a golden rule, when dealing with criminals: Never engage more than one person to do your deeds." Fin added. His voice was cold and showed his displeasure. "Och, come on guys, don't you understand a bit of fun?" Fin and Charles replied in one: "No." "Mr. Armando, since you stabbed us both in the back we are withdrawing. You'll have to find somebody else, who's getting the painting for you." Charles explained. What he didn't say was that they already had spread the word of the betrayal. Mr. Armando never found any high profile burglar who would have been capable of executing his wishes. Charles and Fin moved on to their new jobs in Australia. Revenge was sweet.
For an outsider nothing gave away the quick communication going on between the two. The lightly built, dark haired man left. He was followed shortly afterwards by the tall man. The smaller and older of the two was cursing all the way to the next cafe. The other one took it more philosophical and was wryly amused, but as unhappy as the other to have met. They had a history together.
The older gentleman took a seat outside. Five minutes later the tall joined him. "What are you doing here, Fin?" The dark haired man asked. "I'm on assignment, Charles." "Ha! I wouldn't have guessed that!" "And what are you doing here?" Fin asked impatient. He was blond. "The same." Charles grumbled. Both were burglars and had worked on one heist together. Unfortunately Charles Harold Fox and Coldham Fintan Noose couldn't stand each other. Jealousy played a big role. During the preparation for the heist Charles had made Fin's life difficult whenever possible and tried to undermine his authority, since Fin was second in command. Fin had tried to take it cool and ignore Charles' behavior. When this didn't work, Fin tried to talk to Charles. It fell on deaf ears, so Fin resorted to a last solution and punched Charles once, breaking Charles' nose in the process. Their boss demanded from Fin to apologize and gave both a lecture, nearly firing them. Fin refused, because he wasn't one bit sorry. Charles and he managed to call a truce and keep it until they were able to go separate ways.
Charles had behaved badly, because he was jealous of Fin's position and felt he was entitled to Fin's job. He was more experienced after all.
A waiter approached them in Hungarian. Fin replied haltingly. Charles felt another stab of envy. Fin seemed to be always so perfect and speaking god knew how many languages. Fin switched to English, smiling disarmingly at the waiter. "Sorry, but that's as far as my Hungarian goes." Charles snorted, not believing a word Fin said. The waiter appreciated Fin's effort. "What can I serve you, gentlemen?" Fin tried his ordering skills and asked: "Lehet, hogy van egy kávé és sütemény, kérem?" "Why not?" The man replied in Hungarian. Fin looked uncomprehending, so the waiter knew, Fin didn't understand. Fin had asked for coffee and cake. The waiter switched language and told them what types were on offer. Charles chose a coffee cake and Fin Dobos.
"How long are you in Budapest?" Charles asked. "A little bit over two weeks. And you?" "A week." "What are you after?" "A piece of Italian artwork." "I'm after a Di Bernardino." "What?!" Fin had suddenly Charles' full attention. "Is it "The Flight of the Holy Family"?" Charles asked. "Yes." Fin wasn't too happy about this development. Both had time to gather their thoughts, because the waiter returned with their order. "Me too." Charles admitted. "Okay, who's your client?" Fin asked, his eyes turned blue, a sure sign he was angry or upset. "I won't say." "Okay, Charles, I'll divulge my source. Does Giovanni Armando ring a bell?" Charles' facial expression told Fin everything. Normally they wouldn't have discussed details, but they spoke now on what each had agreed with Mr. Armando. It disgusted Fin that Charles would have gotten 13 % more than him, if Charles had been successful. The two had four options:
1. They could work together, steal the painting and share the profit.
2. They could try each to work out faster how to get the artwork and deliver it to their client,
3. One of them decided to drop out and the other went ahead,
Or
4. They could walk away from the contract, telling all their friends Giovanni Armando had tried to cross them and make sure nobody was going to deal with him ever again.
Fin wasn't in a charitable mood and thought about others, who could find themselves in the same situation, so for him there was only one way. Knowing Charles' ego Fin thought they would come to the same decision. He wasn't wrong.
Charles and he met at Charles hotel near the castle and rang their customer. Charles had him on loud speaker. "Mr. Armando, these are Charles Fox and Coldham Fintan Noose. We have found out you have engaged both of us to get an item for you. Can you explain why?" Fin was wondering how Charles managed to stay calm. He hadn't made the impression before. "Well, I wanted to make sure I'm getting what I wanted as fast as possible, and competition has never done any harm." He had a thick accent. "Mr. Armando, you have broken a golden rule, when dealing with criminals: Never engage more than one person to do your deeds." Fin added. His voice was cold and showed his displeasure. "Och, come on guys, don't you understand a bit of fun?" Fin and Charles replied in one: "No." "Mr. Armando, since you stabbed us both in the back we are withdrawing. You'll have to find somebody else, who's getting the painting for you." Charles explained. What he didn't say was that they already had spread the word of the betrayal. Mr. Armando never found any high profile burglar who would have been capable of executing his wishes. Charles and Fin moved on to their new jobs in Australia. Revenge was sweet.
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