Art and Diplomacy (Lodja and NU + maybe others)

[Libby]

The Civil War in Lodja had taken its toll on the Isle of the Goddess in ways other than the obvious. While the royal wing had been swiftly repaired there were still teams of restorers finding the odd bullet hole along the corridors every now and again. It wasn't uncommon that you could walk down the corridor and find a couple of workman painstakingly filling a hole with plaster and then doing their best to make it look like the ancient stone that the palace was made from. In some cases it had been actually easier to chisel out the old stone and then carefully shape a new one to take its place. Those in the know, including Isidora, could spot the patch jobs and this morning as she made her way to the art storeroom deep in the cavernous underbelly of the palace she spotted a new one.

Her job in the Palace was two-fold. First and maybe most importantly to appear at certain special occasions on the arm of her husband Besarian. It had not been a match made for love like many girls who attend the recently concluded balls had, instead it had been one arranged because Besarian was way to old to be a Bachelor and her step-fathers considered the Ivanov's polo buddies. Their marriage was though a happy one, they supported each others endeavours and she actually rather liked him and of course it helped that he was rather handsome. Her second job in the palace was her passion, art. She had long worked in the Palace as an artist even before marrying the former Lord of the Conclave. She had spent afternoons with other artists sat in the various gardens sketching, painting and even at one point learning to sew tapestries. She'd amassed for her family quiet a collection of art works and that had landed her this job. Cataloguing the royal collection. It had taken her team several months and now all that was left was the collection of art works gifted to the Royals by other nations. Isidora had the official list and as they checked each of the crates in which they were stored between displays she examined their condition, noted any that needed restoration or cleaning and then had them sealed again. Often they were brought out for special exhibitions or more often when someone from that nation was visiting. She ticked off a few from East Moreland given by King David, then there were various portraits painted by Emperor Orion himself of Neu Urburzis for the coronation of Queen Klara. They showed the new Queen and her Ladies and as Isidora checked them off she stopped, glanced down at the paper and flicked it over back and forth several times checking and rechecking the list. She put an asterisk next to one of the codes and then carried on. Three hours later they had done with everything but that one accounted for. It would be rather embarrassing if next summer during the balls their Emperor came as they suspected her would and they couldn't find a painting done by his own hand. There was though one bit of hope, they could avoid making a public announcement and perhaps there was a chance of getting it back.

Isidora scratched her head and then remembered. Makar her brother in law had been rather well connected with their Princess Adelheid and so that would be there route to make some kind of contact.

Makar made the phone call and after various chit chat broached the subject. "Adelheid you remember those portraits Orion painted. Well we have a problem, my sister-in-law is curating the palace art works and well, one is missing. Isidora thinks it likely stolen for some reason during the civil war. You can't think of anyone who would want that particular picture or if there is like a black market for your cousins art?" 

[Norgeras]

It was still early morning in her Penthouse. Adelheid walked up and got herself a coffee, watching the Morning Sun rise over her brand's newest creations. Fashion week had become her whole life, her own purpose. Not just a princess but a woman on her own two feet. But next year's collection didn’t quite cut it yet. It lacked sparkle, elegance. In other words: totally boring.



She groaned and stretched, grabbing her Phone scrolling through her contacts. Annoy her Brother? No. Little chat with Stasya? She’d be sleeping still right now with that adorable baby boy of hers. Her finger stopped on Makar.

‘Didn’t quite work out, huh princess?’ she thought to herself as she lingered on the entry.

She had buried herself in work, he himself in his military career. Then the Mess with Klara happened and they basically stopped talking. Headstrong, but not stubborn. Foreign enough to not be boring. The wrong hair colour never stopped bothering her, but it was a minor detail. Fuck was she getting old to be hung on on a guy she didn’t get. Well, she was getting old, and the biological clock was ticking.



Tick Tock Tick Tock, Cuckoo.

Tick Tock Tick Tock Cuckoo.



Was she just imagining things? No, that was her darn phone ringing. And it was Makar calling. Fuck, compose yourself.

“Adelheid von Uburzis, who's calling?”

Bloody hell she knew exactly before picking up:

 “Oh Makar! Lovely hearing from you!”

She made her way over to the Balcony, taking a seat to look at the early morning city:

“Going great so far, already busy with next year's collection.”

‘And grasping at straws with it right now’ she thought to herself.

“No, no. I’m too old for your Balls. As your brother once said, I'd seem like a needy old hag. But you’ll get a lovely newly minted sixteen year old next time. Sebastian is a bit shy but plays Violin. The girls are going to be drawn to him like moths. Orion?”



She paused for a moment when the Emperor started to be the topic:

“He didn’t take Klara’s and Anna’s violent demise very well. First his Mom, then Viktorya and Arthur. Rhiannon and Augustin getting hospitalised, the twins getting kidnapped. The world hadn’t been kind to him and he still struggles with the fear of causing other people harm. Clings to my brother like a scared puppy still at times.”

She sighed and turned her gaze over to the palace, at this time still shrouded in Mist clinging to the Mountain face:

“The Painting for the Wedding? Oh you mean ‘Having her Cake and Eating it’? Missing?”

She paused, worry creeping into her face as she jumped up and walked to her Workspace, flicking the Monitor on:

“Trust me, they’d buy his used toilet paper. Some People here worship the twerp as if we believed him a god like your people do for the Queen.”

She flicked through a couple Websites and tilted her head:

“Which piece exactly is missing? I’ll tell my Brother. But best to keep Orion in the dark for now. He hadn’t been able to stomach the idea of making an official visit to Natalya yet. With his own brideshow about to get started soon, we… shit.”



She stopped dead as she scrolled through some Website:

“I think I got something. I’ll send you the link. Is that the one with Stasya on it?” she tilted her head: “Yeah looks a lot like it, and i definitely know that frame. I’ll get Albrecht in on this as well. He is the head of our Intelligence Service after all.”

She paused and after sending the Email, she finally was ready to hang up:

“And Makar? Don’t be a stranger and call me some time? There’s always a ticket for the fashion show in February waiting for you if you’d like to.”

Adelheid glanced at the Website, tilting her head. It would be hard to track it down again. It was a temporary private exhibition of Stasya related Items and gave her a very weird vibe. But nothing stated as to who had lent the exhibition a piece that should have still been in the Vaults in Lodja.

[Libby]

It had been some time since Makar and Adelheid had seen each other face to face but he found himself cringing a little as she called herself "too old" for the Lodjain balls. "Now you're someone with your finger on the pulse of fashon and you know very beautiful women are always in fashion in Lodja." he complimented her. The phone call over Makar passed on what he'd found out to his sister-in-law who in turn, as was often the case, told members of the Queen's security staff via the backdoor so to speak.

It then fell to Jan Rezakov, a relatively junior member of the Queens security detail, to head on over to Neu Urburzi. He was picked because he was the newest member of the detail and frankly could be the missed the least. His job was a simple one, make contact with the exhibition and try and gauge what items they had and what could be "acquired" the nice thing was he had next to no exposure to the world in terms of his face being near the Queens but like most members of the detail he came from a Patrician family, his though a rather small one. If anyone checked him out they'd come to a company that had a small business in Gaia outfitting shops. His father had a small piece of land on the outskirts of Gaia in which a rather pretty little house existed known to some locals as "the mini palace". This had given Jan a few stories he could perhaps use but frankly he'd have prefered to have been in the Palace back home but Makar had told him there would be someone to meet him upon his arrival.

[Norgeras]

Rezakov's train had been delayed, a seemingly unplanned stop on the way to it's destination. People had left the carts for a smoke break. It was then when a young woman in a jarring bright outfit took place next to him with a bubbly bright smile, clapping her hands delightful as she giggled: "Oh, how exciting. Are you new around here?"

The woman had in fact, not been on the train before. She smiled at Jan and shoved him a box of cookies over: "Here, take a bite! you look famished!" she shoved the box over, while getting herself a travel bottle and took a couple sips:

"I hope i'm not being too brash. We hardly get new Faces in Nordberg, it's not exactly the most touristy destinations and i just loooove meeting new people!" the woman took a few snapshots of herself, probably annoying a couple other passengers with her phones flashlight.

The box of cookies though had a clearly visible address printed on it, a little sticker that looked just like a sticker you'd put on your Tupperware so you get yours back after a houseparty. This one, however, pointed somewhere else.

"Nordberg Convention center,
30 Minutes after we arrive at the station.
Don't be late."

Rezakov might have to endure to overly bight and bubbly personality for a while, until she parted from him at the station. The woman meeting back up with him at the convention center couldn't be any more different. A strict blazer and  knee long skirt, her hair tightly in a knot and a cold gaze that would freeze anyone looking her the wrong way, and yet. It was the same Person, giving him a nod at the front door:

"Agent Diederich. A pleasure Mister Rezakov." the woman exhaled with a long sigh: "They hosted the Stasya Exhibition here. Of course no one checked papers here, unlike a proper art gallery. we might have to check with Moreland and the Pelagiya's if any more items had been stolen."  she looked around: "Wait. I think we're being followed." she looked around the windows, seeing but a shadow quickly diving back into a crowd a little way down the road.




Orion had taken up his phone as soon as he was back in his lessons at the academy. He had stopped boarding there, but his former room had been changed into a private study away from the palace a while ago. More importantly, he had used this as his own headquarters to keep an eye on Albrecht and his moves, having managed to infiltrate his regents Spy circle quite a while ago:


"So, you're telling me they are in Nordberg? Spotted you? crap." he cursed and sighed: "Try and find out what they are looking for, but don't risk your cover. If Adelheid and Albrecht both work on this it's something i want to know."

Orion sighed and shook his head after ending the call, gritting his teeth and dialing a number. The last time he called there he had spoken condolences over the passing his aunt, he had tried to stay in contact but it always felt a little weird:

"Hey, yeah. It's me. Do you know why Jan Rezakov is in Neu Uburzis?"  he took a breath and nodded: "Yeah, he's meeting with one of my Cousin's Underlings and if Albrecht didn't tell me there's a visit going on i most definitely want to know why."

He waited for a reply and gave him a nod:

"Yeah, it will go ahead. You should be able to get some favors traded knowing first hand it will be announced on my Birthday this year. Though expect my cousins both to try and buy some favors with the knowledge that we will allow foreigners to apply as my bride. Still open if the Senates vote Men to be able, too. I personally doubt so. And i'll be honest, if i can spare Augustin from getting a woman picked for him, i'd prefer it. Hear you soon, Gavril."

[Libby]

Jan had expected a rather routine trip to Nordberg. Turn up, ask a few questions about the exhibition get to know a few faces and perhaps buy a few things to just maintain the idea that he was there as a purchaser of art work. While he had expected someone to meet him at some point he hadn't expected it to be through the medium of cookies, especially rather nice tasting ones. He was unsure of who the woman exactly was but Makar had told him someone would be in touch and as a result he believed there was not much to worry about. He followed the directions on the packet, kind of sorry he hadn't more time to explore somewhere new but perhaps that would come when they had finished their business.

It seemed upon his meeting with Agent Diedrich they had metaphorically missed the boat of the exhibition. "I assume we have a list of inventory or something that they held?" He asked just before the agent suggested they may be being followed. Linking his arm through hers as though out for a casual walk Jan crossed the road, turned to his right, walked about fifteen meters, recrossed the road and turned back to his right maintaining the way they had originally come. It was a simple enough way to test whether they were truly being followed and also gauge what that person might be doing.

"Do you have any suspects of who may be following us?" he asked casting a glance behind them.


While Gavril and Orion hadn't spent exactly a lot of time together in the years since their first meeting they had kept in touch. When he saw the number appear on his mobile he was rather pleased but then as the conversation turned to what seemed like a plot out of a James Bond film the young noble was out of his depth and didn't really know what to say. He had taken up residency on the Isle where he was at the small school there that helped prepare those for the higher eschalons of the civil service or diplomatic corps. It was never nailed on certainty but usually once exams were over it took a miracle not to get a job in one of those two roles. He did a few checks around the palace and got to know a little bit of what was happening after all gossip had a great way of moving around the Palace of the Goddess. That afternoon he texted Orion back. "JR sent on an art hunt for the Palace. Visiting some collection with some cash, expecting to buy something. All for now. x x"

[Norgeras]

Regina was cursing inwards at the distraction, glancing inconspicuously around and laughing casually as she follows Rezakov's lead:


"None of the people we are trying to engage, my guess would be a press snoop shadowing you."


She did stop at the end and raised her heel pretending to check her shoes:


"There we go, a camera drone. I'd say likely press or one of my kind. Let's be cautious, we should be good inside."




Agent Diederich pushed into the venue, smiling at Rezakov before whispering to him:

"I'm going to go with an Inspector looking for Tax Fraud on one of the art dealers, that's the most believable without giving away our real intend. You might be doing the same as well, following a trail of money."

The agent wandered over to the Convention centers bureau, knocking before putting her strict madame persona back on and stepping in without waiting for an answer:


"I had expected you to wait for me at the front door, Mister Strohmann."

She slammed her hands on his desk, almost clawing her painted nails in: "I expect full cooperation or do you want us to assume complicity in Tax Evasion? I have no interest in calling my colleagues  here in Nordberg and go through your books. We need the owner of this Piece here."

She slapped a copy of Stasya's missing portrait on the counter, along several posts and pictures of the piece on the Exhibitions and the Convention center's website:

"This piece has not been declared, at all. We are talking tax evasion in likely the Millions. So, do i have you're cooperation?"


Keeping the man close to her, she nods to Rezakov to take over the interrogation as she nods him to the mans computer.







Orion had a terrible gut feeling when he saw the message from Gavril, and knowing where his Cousins agent had been seen, he quickly pulled up a search engine. It didn't take him long before spotting the piece he himself had drawn. Throwing a pencil against the wall Orion took a deep breath. Yeah, no wonder they tried to keep that from him. He quickly messaged Gavril back with a link to the Website of the Stasya Exhibit:


"I think i solved the Mystery. Art was the key word, spot anything here that should still be in the Vaults?"


Orion waited a little longer before picking his pencil back up, sending a second message: "Keep your ears open. I need to have a word with my Regent about keeping this a secret. Anything i can do for you, too?"


This was going to be an awkward dinner.

[Libby]

This wasn't exactly what Rezakov had in mind but now he was here and involved he perhaps had best just go along and see what happened. It would perhaps be the only way to get back the painting and in the process became respected among the agency. As Regina did her best to make the man pressured he was about to hand his own. He flashed an ID badge with Lodjain markings. "Now if I may add to your woes. If you're not helping us then I'll be asking for you're arrest and deportation to Lodja. Now you may think so what? A bit of tax evasion or accidently handling stolen goods won't carry much of a sentence and you're right. The problem is I'll be asking for terrorism charges. You see the painting was removed from the Isle of the Goddess during our recent Civil War, that means it must have been taken by rebel forces and that means you're in with them. Now imagine we get you sent to Gaia, and imagine your found guilty, well then you're a convicted terrorist and your buddies blew up the East Moreland embassy killing several Morelanders in the process. Now we've a extradition treaty with them and.....well they hang terrorists. So you are facing quiet a problem. So how about you fire up the computer and find us what we need so I can forget the terrorist stuff?" He let the question sit until the man answered.

[Norgeras]

Regina couldn't help herself and give Rezakov a strong nod, dropping character for a moment:

"Impressive, quite impressive Mister Rezakov, it just show's that Lodja means business once you wronged them." with the second half of that sentenced aimed at the man hastily booting up his computer and scrambling through E-Mails:


"I am so, so very sorry Mister Rezakov. M....most of the contract with the Queen Stasya Fanclub was done through written contracts, on paper. And it was their local members that did all of the paper work..."

The profusely sweating man scrambled through some stacks in his office, planting some folder son the desk, before starting to load files onto a thumb drive:

"there's all the pictures our photographers took during the event. We only used some press Pictures ourselves, and send some to the QSF for their own use."

flicking through the Pictures, his face did light up:

"I do have something for you. See these men here? these are the Local members, if you wish to meet them, their Regulars Table is today at the Ratskeller."

The man again cleaned some sweat of his brow, nodding several times:

"Of course the convention center would be more than happy to pay the bill for your visit to the local establishment, after all the trouble we caused."


Gathering more Data the man stopped, lingering at one particular Picture:

"Thinking of it, these two where more odd than the rest of the bunch."

he pointed at two men having champagne and canapes, in front of the stolen painting:

"One had a distinct Moreland accent, and the other i couldn't point, it was foreign to me. Though hearing you now, mister Rezakov, they might just be a Lodjan."


Regina gave Rezakov a nod, as she bagged the Data, before turning to the man:

"Still, i will have to inform the local Steuerbehörde. Expect an audit in the next days." she gave him a sinister smile:

"We both know why you do contracts on paper. Let this be a final warning to straighten up."

before turning to Rezakov:

"I guess we ought to make a Reservation."




The Ratskeller was below the old City Hall, nowadays still used for some of the administrative works, but mostly had the higher ups offices and the traditional Restaurant in the cellars. It was a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with old Win caskets on the wall in a vaulted ceiling. Regina had cleared a table for a foreign dignitary and herself, allowing Rezakov to play his part of leading her into the venue while taking a seat within earshot of the Stasya Stan's. The waiter hadn't even brought the menu when Regina had to breath rather heavily overhearing the bunch behind them:


"Yeah, i mean come on. The others are nice but nothing beats Stasya's Arse. We even have a full set of cushions she sat on."

the group of three varied in age, the youngest looking like he was barely out of school, the middle man dressed in a tight strip suit and the oldest wearing a traditional Gamois tuft hat:

"Still, we can't beat the used toilet paper rolls. I wish we'd know which group got their hands on those."


Regina visibly shuddered as she heard the men describe the Queen of Moreland as waiter arrived, offering the Menu, reading as follow:


Appetizers:
- Crispy Potato Pancakes with Savory Apple Sauce
- Flatbread Pizza with Bacon, Onions, and Sour Cream
- Artisanal Sausage Platter with Freshly Baked Bread
- Herring Salad with Pickled Onions and Sour Cream
- Chef's Soup of the Day, Made with Seasonal & Regional Ingerdients

Entrees:
- Sauerbraten with Braised Red Cabbage and Pretzel Dumplings
- Slow-roasted Pork Knuckle with Sauerkraut and Potato Dumplings
- Breaded Veal with Potato Salad
- Beef Goulash with Egg Noodle Dumplings

Desserts:
- Warm Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce
- Black Forest Cake with Sweet Cherries and Whipped Cream
- Chef's Special Kaiserschmarrn, a Delicious Sweet Shredded Pancake with Tart Plum Compote
- Refreshing Iced Coffee, Served with Ice Cream and Fluffy Whipped Cream
- Assorted Artisanal Cheese Platter, Paired with Sweet Fruits and Crunchy Nuts





Albrecht was somewhat impressed Orion had managed to catch onto him so fast, though he had to double check who the hell his Nephews double agent was. It didn't matter the fact the Emperor had casually dropped over dinner that he knew about the stolen painting, causing the both of them to walk down into the Video conference cellar where Kunigunde's head perked up from behind some cables and Monitors:


"I fixed the Camera, should work now. If they send another update Albrecht. Make sure the others don't press yes until i say so." the young teen put her arms to her side with a wide grin: "anyway, I'll leave you two alone."


"Well, she does come after her Parents."  Orion remarked, taking a seat in an armchair, centered in front a velvet curtain and with a microphone standing next to him. Albrecht connected the call to the isle of the goddess:

"Yes, please get Bessarian or his Wife on the Line. There's someone who wants to speak to them. Yes a Video conference. No, as long as its not his Wife i don't care if he's in his Pyjamas or his Birthday Suit this is not an official interview after all."

[Libby]

Following leaving the office where the man had handed them the list Rezakov was forced to come clean. "If I'm honest I don't think I believe a word I was saying. I very much doubt on what we've got your people would send him to Lodja and I doubt even more if we'd ever get a conviction for terrorist stuff, but he clearly didn't know that so we've got what we need....for now." he shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't really in a role for espionage, investigation and the like back home and in some way he was kind of enjoying the new role. Perhaps when he returned home he might ask more about joining the intelligence services but for now he was simply protecting the Queen, her friends and Lodjain nobility.

The Ratskeller conversation was a little tough to hear. The Queen of East Moreland was highly respected back home, she may do all she could to appear a Morelander but everyone knew she was still a Lodjain at heart. He had however not really eaten properly since arriving in Neu Urburzis and so now turned his attention to the menu by ordering himself some sausage, some veal and the Black Cherry cake, he was just glad he'd not be paying. As he did his best to play the role of someone out with a loved one he also tried overhearing the conversation. He discreetly wrote on a napkin, "Recognise any?" and slid it to Regina.


Isidore and Besarian had just returned from the Isle's theatre where they'd been watching a "rock opera" neither of them had particularly enjoyed it but one of the children of Maxim Schnoor, a significant member of the Conclave, had been in the male lead role and so as Besarian wanted to keep Maxim in his good books they'd attended and applauded enthusiastically at the end while merely they were desperate to get away. Besarian had even arranged the Isle's kitchen to have them some pizza delivered on their short walk home and just as he'd flipped the lid open on a 12 inch Pepperoni Supreme his PA contacted him informing him the Emperor of Neu Urburzis was on the line demanding to speak to him or his wife. He summond Isidora to come out the bedroom where she'd been slipping into "something more comfortable" before planning on attacking her own ham and mushroom snack. She quickly slid on a plain black dress she had hanging on the back of the door and joined her husband who was still setting up the laptop. Once sat down he logged into the video call. "Good evening Your Majesty" He said unsure what the actual time difference was at that point. "I'm not aware we were expecting to talk so I can only imagine you need something from us here in Lodja. If I can help I will of course." He explained wondering what the hell was going on.

[Norgeras]

"Don't i look lovely in this dress? Here, take a look!"

Regina held her phone out to Rezakov with a picture of herself in a dress for the most part, and a small note attached to the lower part of the picture she covered from other viewers:

All small fries from what my backup has messaged me. Though be ready to help me back up in a moment.

Regina took back her Phone and clumsily stood up, straightening her dress: "Oh sweety, i think i need to use the Bathroom real quick, be back in a moment!"

The agent purposely stumbled to the bathroom and took a moment to return. She passed the waiter next to the Stasya Fanclub as she expertly broke off her shoes heel, sending herself tumbling down next to the men, taking the waiter and his tablet full of beer down with her. With an expert twist Regina ensured the contents would pour over the men's possessions as she swiped a phone during her fall. Her broken shoe heel lying visible and red in the middle of the carpet as the seemingly culprit for her fall.  Once Rezakov helped her up she expertly stashed the Phone in his pocket instead, cleaning herself of the evidence.

"Aye, what a stupid ass bitch. Looks like a whore. Clumsy slut." the oldest of the three fans cursed as he tried to clean the drinks off his clothes

"I'm so sorry hun! My shoe broke! Oh, please help me back to the seat deary!" she limped purposely back, enjoying the rest of the evening as she noted to Rezakov during the Veal entree to pass the Phone to another agent who had come in ordering takeaway from the restaurant.

"It will be all good in a day or so, I'm sure i'll be able to walk normally tomorrow after some ice." she added as she let the evening play out with the drunk men leaving early, stinking off and soaked in beer.






"Oh you weren't?"

Orion raised an eyebrow and glanced over to Albrecht crossing his arms, then back at the two Lodjans on the screen. His stance making it clear the young man was non to pleased at the moment.

"I'm rather sure you know exactly what i am calling you two specifically about. I know i'm young to be on a throne, but so is your own Queen. I've been playing this game for a while as well now."

He crossed one leg over the other as he took a sip from a cup next to his seat on the video call. He had purposely set the whole thing up to mimic him sitting on a throne:

"As much as i regret having to call you up this late..."

Orion waved Albrecht off and shushed him visibly as he tried to interrupt him:

"Did you tell your own Queen yet that you lost a Part of the Wedding Gift i had painted for Klara?"

Orion felt his composure falter a little, Klara's death haunted him. She was dearly missed even if they didn't get to know each other to well in the End. But she was yet another Person he started to grow fond of ripped away from him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to hide whipping his eyes as cleaning his nose before returning to the two on the call:

"I would wish it not be my first official interaction with her to discuss this topic. And it shouldn't be much of a surprise that i avoided her so far since the Death of Queen Klara was felt even here. She is... missed dearly."

Orion shook his head slowly again:

"It would be unbecoming of me to falter like this in her presence. If you understand, yet this matter will force our hands. I do not wish for this to go out to the press, so i am open to suggestions how you desire to resolve this? I do not believe keeping your Queen in the dark will work for very long, seeing i figured this out quite fast from just hearing about Mister Rezakov visiting. And i do not wish to start relations with her by lying."

[Libby]

Playing the part of the ever dutiful partner Rezakov made a play of helping Regina up and apologising to the group at the table. He reached inside his jacket pocket and removed a few high value bank notes as Regina took off towards the table. "Gentleman" Rezakov said politely, "I apologise but I would expect you to act like gentleman. Allow me to buy you a bottle of champagne as a gesture of good will." He placed enough of the bank notes to make it possible to buy one of the best the restaurant had to offer. He secretly hoped that the group would pay by card as one of the banknotes was his "safety note" it contained in the security features of the local banknote a hidden fraction of a millimetre wide RFID chip. They were given to agents working abroad so they could, if needed be tracked at short range. As he sat down he pulled out his own phone and tapped away before sliding it round to her so she could see. The message contained the words "RFID track" and the frequency of the chip. If Regina could get someone on it quick enough they'd be easily able to track the group even from outside of buildings. It may be useful and at this point was all he could think of contributing in terms of tracking people down.

As the men had left Rezakov removed the swiped phone from his pocket, checked whether he could access it but as was common it was locked by a fingerprint. "We should get this cracked" he said as he placed the phone back in his pocket. "Got any friends up this late?" he asked.


While Isidore may have been new to global politics Besarian was well versed. "I understand your upset and that is exactly why we're working extremely hard to find a solution and return a valued piece of ours, and yours, nations heritage. As for Queen Natalya as of yet she is not fully in the loop, she been aware for some time that we've a significant amount of art work missing. You need to understand we've had to massively restore the Isle of the Goddess, we've had the homes on the foot of the hills pox marked with bullet holes, we've had huge amounts of fire damage and theft. Those have been our priorities and the Queen herself has been busy making major reforms to our nation. We value our friendship with you which is why you've Rezakov wandering around tracking things down. Once he has something to report the Queen will of course be fully briefed."

Isidore took over "Your Imperial Majesty" she began "We've thousands of paintings and art works on the Isle in various formats, sadly we can't track them all but you can be certain our two nations together will find this. I trust Rezakov and I think you should to. He should report in soon and lets see what he's found so far."

[Norgeras]

Regina gave Rezakov a nod as the phone was carried away, outside the three where already getting tracked and monitored. She gave him a smile as the cake arrives:

"Oh? There's always some friends up somewhere."

enjoying the cake mostly silent, she glanced back at her phone and showed it back to rezakov:

*We'll meet up tomorrow again. I'll leave a where and when at the reception for your hotel. Phone had plenty of Fingerprints so we should get it cracked within the hour. My people are going to forward the findings right to yours, too. We need this dealt with fast.*




Orion was somewhat pleased, as he took another sip from his cup:

"Let me be clear, i am not displeased at this happening. Terrorists and usurpers have their way with Art. I am more displeased i wasn't informed of this immediately."

Orion turned his head and made sure Bessarian understood he glared Daggers mostly at his Regent Albrecht, who stood somewhat awkwardly by:

"Please do make sure we get an Inventory of any other missing Items sent to Albrecht here. I want to ensure all our Custom's officers are briefed and keep an eye open for any item that might make it here. As for the future, i grant you permission to contact me directly should any sort of incident happen of this caliber happens again. Mistakes and Tragedies happen, it's how you handle them as we Uburzians believe."

He slowly stood up and nodded again:

"Also, if you need any replacements made for lost artworks, we have many artisans that would gladly help out, too. Just tell Albrecht and we will have something made before January to send over. And tell Rezakov to come to the Palace once he's done gallivanting the countryside. We'll have him pick a gift to bring back from my Gallery. I started a little collection myself and would be honored to fill any void left. Have a good Rest, Lord and Lady Ivanov."

Just as Orion stood up and left the room, Albrecht walked up to the camera without taking a seat:

"My sincerest Apologies, that was my mistake. He's grown into a proper Emperor, hasn't he since he danced in Lodja?"

Albrecht smiled as he bowed to the two:

"Upon request by my Sister i've sent six Tickets for front row access to the Fashion week towards you and your Family Lord Bessarian. These are separate from the Official invites for the Queendom, so i doubt you have to take a guess whom she hopes to see aside from the tickets for you as an apology."

[Libby]

Rezakov made his way back to his hotel, it was not some luxurious thing but rather just a cheap and cheerful chain hotel. He had a friend in the Lodjain embassy in East Moreland book a 2nd room, straight across the corridor from his own. He made a play of casually walking along the corridor and passing by his room to gauge the reaction of anyone who may be following but the corridor was empty. He opened his own door and there found pushed under the door a keycard for the other room. He picked it up and then having waited five minutes switched carefully to the room opposite once again having checked no one observed him. He checked in with HQ filling them in on the days happenings and then settled down to an evening snooze.


"If you've been in the corridors under the Palace of the Goddess you'd see thousands of carefully preserved art works. Rotated regularly between the Palace, museums, galleries, embassies. Its going to take us months before we get a full list of everthing"  Isidore replied being a part of that process. "Your Majesty can be assured once that full list is done we'll give you a copy and naturally we'd like to discuss perhaps sending an official exhibition of our art to your galleries?" Besarian had to admire the way his wife had just turned an awkward moment into an oppurtunity.

As the call reached its climax Besarian had little care for fashion shows but suspected his wife would be eager to get in attendance. "Rest assured we shall be there." Besarian responded. Breathing a sigh of relief that the conversation was over.


The next morning Rezakov rose bright and early before crossing back to his room he'd booked. He quickly changed into a pair of smart black trousers and fresh grey wooly sweater before slipping on his coat and making his way down to reception to see what had been left for him. He checked the details on the note and then headed out to find a coffee and a way to the RV

[Norgeras]

The note left for Rezakov was overall simple. It had a big Lipstick smooch on it and read:

"Pack up sweety, i got us tickets for the Airship to Neu Uburzis Stadt. Meet you at the Airfield. Kisses."


At the Airship, Regina was back in her Bubbly Sweet Influencer Outfit. Once Rezakov arrived she almost jumped into his arms with an overly sweet:


"Hello Sweety! Look we will fly right to the Capital! Isn't that great!"

While the Agent kept smiling warm and happy, she gave him a quick nod before glancing around that no one was close, hiding her face behind an exxagerated fan:

"It seems we have been tailed by the Young Lion. He made a bit of a roar and called up your superiors in the middle of the night. You're expected to come for a visit."

She slipped him a tablet as they boarded the Airship, giving him a nod:

"Everything we got from the Phone, copied and dumped on here. Our people are going through it as we speak, but maybe you can find something that we miss or have no context for. None of this bodes well, that group of underfucked Pigs has dabbled with forces far out of their echelon. We have some alias names in their contacts that are typical for Soviet Kaitane, several smugglers, human traffickers and even Borlander go-to Aliases. Of course we can't yet tell if any of these are genuine or just Copycats. What is clear however, is that these people have the money to pay for items, but no ability to gain them themselves. We also have one Name from the Capital that is a possible hit for the missing Piece, hence why i also go there. We also dispatched a suggestion to Queen Stasya's security personal to dispose any personal waste articles through incineration for the time being."

Sitting down at a Table for two at the Windows, Regina sighed heavily:

"Seriously this is a worse mess than i expected."

[Libby]

Rezakov had never travelled on airship before and wasn't quiet sure he was going to find the experience useful. What was wrong with helicopters and planes? He kept his thoughts on transportation to himself however. The tablet was full of names that made very little sense to him but then again the task had changed dramatically since he had been dispatched. What should have been a simple trip to check on some art work now had seemingly turned into a global smuggling and espionage adventure. He would clearly need to pass these details up stream to his nations own intelligence networks as there would be little he could do here in Neu Urburzis. He was about to give up hope on the list when he spotted a transaction. It seemed someone who had the phone had been overly charitable. "Here" he said pointing to one of the transations so Regina could see it. "This is a bit weird. I've no idea who that its" He said pointing to the name of the payer, a name that sounded very Urburzisian () but was unfamiliar to him. "But, the Moratev Collective, thats a name that rings a bell. It was a charity that hosted celebrity auctions. You know the kind of thing like a ticket to a royal ball or a pair of footballers boots etc. The Collective then syphoned that money to a variety of good causes. They've sold various things connected to Stasya Pelagiya in the past. The thing is, its Honorary President was Leopold Hamsik, the former husband of Queen Klara. It had the vast majority of its assets seized following the civil war, especially when it was found Hamsik had syphoned off sums to his own slush fund. Now what makes this interesting is Hamsik escaped at the end of the civil war. No one has seen him since but it seems he maybe is still accessing funds. He'd have had a chance to steal artworks during the war and if he was planning something beyond. But who is that other name? We should pay them a visit."

[Norgeras]

Regina looked at the transaction and send out a note to her colleagues, before taking a closer look herself:

"I've been a bit out of the loop with Mister Hamsik. After my identity got leaked a while ago i'm mostly on low threat level missions like this, where i can openly cooperate with another nation. Though that name does ring a bell, let me see..."

she flicked through her own notebook a couple times, before the worry crept up on her brows, she put the notebook back and groaned:

"Fuck."

she shook her head and opened her phone, dialing someone mid flight:

"Mister Rezakov got us a lot more than we asked for. King's Gambit is involved with the Alchemist. Yes, Rudolph himself has shown up."

She closed the Phone and cursed several times before addressing Rezakov again:

"You likely remember that itty bitty terror attack by the borlanders on lodjan soil a while back?" she shook her head: "One Rudolph of Niameck, then ambassador to Lodja, had a bit of a Vendetta against them ever since and has crossed more than one line of insanity. They kind of blew the pieces of a newfound lover all over his face. He's been evading us ever since his grandfather had disowned him for sewing a bomb into someone he suspected a borlander. And he's the guy who now made a transaction with your ex king. Fuck."

She started walking towards the windows looking down:

"It would be his style to get money by using some shortsighted horndogs."

[Libby]

The discovery of Hamsik having some kind of connection to this suddenly made it way above Rezakov's pay grade, the problem was he was the only Lodjain on the case. What had begun as a simple case of track down a missing painting now seemed to be turning into some kind of espionage thing, especially with murder and terrorism seemingly being tied to the case. "You'll have to give me a moment to check in, things have changed somewhat" he explained as he picked up his mobile phone and headed for a quiet spot in the airships gondola. He dialled the number he had been given and Nikanor Matveev answer. Nikanor was what was best described as a desk minder. He was a member of the national intelligence service whose job was straight forward, sit at a desk in the agencies HQ and answer the phone following several flow diagrams to get the caller to the right person. It wasn't his dream job but he'd only been in the agency two years. The night shifts were actually OK, the phones hardly ever rang and when they did it was often just necessary to leave a message for some higher up. The call began in a similar fashion, the questions being designed so that anyone within ear shot of Rezakov would think he was merely discussing an expected delivery of something he'd ordered. As Rezakov gave the name of the shipper as "Hamsik Cargo" and that his own name was "Leopold Rezakov" was enough to send a cold chill running down Matveev's spine. "Shit" he audibly muttered as he frantically began tapping on the other phone on his desk.

"What is it?" Vaska Bogdanov, the head of the team tracking down those who had fled Lodja. He had been woken up and was determined that if it was nothing he'd be sending the caller to some crappy duty somewhere like Hygelac.

"Sir, I've an asset on the phone. Thinks he's a link to Leopold Hamsik." Instantly Bogdanov was awake, he left his wife in bed and hurried downstairs getting dressed as he went. By the time he reached his car he'd just about zipped up his trousers. It took 12 minutes to get to the office and a further three to get Rezakov back on the phone. "Rezakov its been agreed you work for me now. We're part of the National Intelligence Agency that is hunting the treasonous members of the government and military and you've just hit the jackpot. One of our specialists, Tatiana Kovalchuk, will be with you tomorrow morning until then help the locals as much as you can."

"Undertsood sir. I'll do my best." Rezakov said before returning to Regina. "They're sending a more specialist agent out, we need to meet her tomorrow morning I've to send her where best to meet.....assuming we've a plan where we are heading?" He asked unsure how their discovery changed things.


Bogdanov had two further calls to make now. The first was to the Isle of the Goddess to get things rolling there and the other was to the Morelanders. If Hamsik was traceable you could be certain they'd want to know, after all they'd had their embassy attacked and it was unlikely they'd let that lie. Under the CNN network Bogdanov made an arrangement for an online meeting with a counterpart over in Northfort.

[Norgeras]

Regina kept quiet while Rezakov made his calls, but texted some of her contacts. If the Alchemist was involved this could get ugly, fast.

"It most clearly did. We'll have to meet up with my boss, so your trip to the young Wolf might be pulled up earlier. It also means my original lead could be a dead end to start with. The Alchemist is bad news, and in really bad news. I'm more surprised he'd work with King's Gambit. There is a chance he either didn't realize, considering his more and more unhinged nature, or Hamsik promised him the location of Borlanders. Could he have that type of information?"

She slowly stood up: "Let's retreat to our cabin. It's smaller and now view, but i think we are beyond taking chances."

Regina lead Rezakov to an inside cabin, taking seat at a small table inside: "I got clearance that you can forward myself as your current contact. Like i said, after a leak i am sort of an open name more or less and work mostly as Liaison agent where exact secrecy isn't necessary or unwated."




Albrecht was not having a great day. Not only was there the Bride Contest to plan that would happen alter that year, the whole Picture incident had dug up a name that spelled trouble. He knew Rudolph had supporters that wanted blood from the Borlanders all around the world. Those that where too unhinged or too unstable to work with the Morlanders. Those who didn't want justice but revenge. He had killed and mutilated several bloggers that spoke favorably of the Moreland terrorists over the past years, but Albrecht had more than enough knowledge that Vigilance by now was itself a fully grown terrorist group. One tied to his own former adviser, who had to quietly retire once Rudolph started blowing people up.

And now Hamsik, would Albrecht get a chance he'd cut the guys Balls off and make him eat them raw. He threw his beloved cousin back for years in building mental fortitude, and he was not going to let that slide. No, that guy better prayed the lodjians get him first.

[Libby]

Elena Kirilia was not your typical member of the Lodjain intelligence service. She was not a University graduate, nor had she spent any major time in the military or police force. She had been a paramedic who five years ago had won a couple of martial arts competitions. It had surprised her when one day a gentleman from the national intelligence agency had approached her to join up and drawn to the excitement she had jumped at the chance imagining she would be like some female James Bond. That though had soon not been the case as instead she had become a member of a team that would get involved in hot spots around the world where Lodja's interests where potentially at stake. She was supposed to be the one responsible for ensuring any injuries the team incurred were taken care of but soon that meant she learned some of the craft that went with intelligence gathering. Now she was being sent to help track down Hamsik.

She had arrived in Neu Urburzis in the evening and made her way to the hotel that Rezakov had booked for her. She settled in and just after midnight he arrived to bring her fully up to speed. She had with her a file, it contained the name of four individuals that they'd already worked out had some prolonged contact with Hamsik and were now living in Neu Urburzis. "If your contact can stick someone on watching each of those I'd be very happy" She explained as she did her best to enjoy a bowl of some average room service mac and cheese.

After a short sleep, the jetlag still to kick in, she made her way to the little cafe at the end of the road to meet Rezakov and Regina. After brief introductions Elena outlined her intentions. "I'm here to follow up the leads that hopefully my colleague got to you when I arrived. We believe that perhaps one of these individuals would have been in receipt of the paintings smuggled out the Palace, arranged for it to be sold here and then some of the proceeds sent to Hamsik somehow to ensure he can live the life of luxury in exile somewhere. We need to work out which of them may know something and then if need be how we get them back to Lodja. I'm hoping you may have a lead for me to start on with them."

[DaveIronside]

"Join the Police Force they said....it'll be an adventure they said. I imagined myself chasing drug dealers around Silverhills not this" Aiden Murray had left the mainstream police force nearly a year ago after dislocating his knee chasing some moped gang stealing handbags. Since his return he'd been put onto a taskforce that seemed to spend all its time doing rubbish like this. Aiden parked his car up  in the big communal car park for Rockhampton market place. Twice a week the market set up in the old medieval square enticing the tourists who came to the historic city and quiet possibly if the royals were not in residence going up to the royal retreat on the pinnacle overlooking the city. He ambled into the market store and went looking for what the informant had told him. There on the edge of the market was a stall set up, like many others, selling objects related to the royal family. Here you could buy mini flags, plates with pictures of the Palaces, even teddy bears dressed as Red Legionnaires ceremonial guard. These items, while massively designed to rip of tourists was not his concern here today what he was looking at on this stall was its section that was dedicated to the Queen of East Moreland. Since her marriage to King David there had been a steady flow of Lodjains wanting to visit and then of course many young women followed her on social media and wanted to emmulate her. This had seen Aiden literally becoming what was jokingly called the "Queen Stasya Fashion Protection Agency" Every week they were finding counterfit goods ranging from fake "Pelafashion" handbags, to signed memoribellia and what he was here for today perfumes. There was a concern that many of those selling such items were selling fake fragrances which could either be dangerous to anyone silly enough to wear it or more to Aiden's concern funnelling money to organised crime or terrorism.

"Good Morning" Aiden said as he approached the stall and handed a business card over. It was one the stall owner had expected to see and immediately he told his partner to look after everything.

"Peter" The man began using the fake name Aiden had given him, "It'll take me another four days to get the remaining 10,000 units you wanted, we had a slight shipping issue."

"So Martin you're telling me I've wasted my time?" Aiden did his best to sound annoyed.

"Not at all. I've the first 10,000 ready for you and.....because I'm a nice guy and I want your repeat business we'll say the price on the next 10,000 is $3 a bottle not the $4 we originally agreed." It seemed that despite selling fake Pelafashion perfume at least this guy seemed to have some business ethics.

"That's very generous but it doesn't help me get it onto the boat I need it on. This is very inconvenient buddy." Aiden lied.

"All I can do is say I'm sorry. This fashion week thing means a demand I hadn't anticipated so their keeping more of it in house." That little gem may be useful.

"You mean keeping it in Neu Urburzis for the mugs over there for that bore-fest" Aiden hoped to get confirmation.

"Guess so. It doesn't need to move far, Niemeck can reverse engineer any fragrence for us, so if you think of any others you need let us know."

"I'll see if I can move these first, got to get them to Bakkermaya and out to our various outlets." They'd reached a box van that Aiden had dropped off at an agreed point for Martin two days earlier and dropped the keys into a waste bin. Now Peter triumphantly allowed the back door to roll up revealing the rear packed with cardboard boxes. "Nice" Aiden said and made a decision there and then that this was enough to get them onto the next rung of the ladder. "Sorry Martin but your under arrest for selling counterfeit goods" Aiden grabbed the man pinning him to the trucks size and slapping cuffs on him. Instantly two other police officers arrived and guy was taken away. Under fear of spending some time inside Martin was only too happy to give up his supply chain and a few days later they'd got the names of his supplier but more importantly the person he paid a cut of his money too.

"Leigh Mayweather" the name worried Aiden, "He's been under suspicion of being a kind of fixer for supplies of various things and while we've never managed to get him red handed with anything more serious than fake Honeybadger rugby shirts there have always been rumours he gets things for the Borlanders."

"Where is he?" Aiden's commanding officer asked.

"Not been seen for 18 months, was last seen heading to Vanora, we reckon he was in on a scam trading fake historic artefacts. My best suggestion is that we follow the labs that are reverse engineering the stuff, they likely know where Mayweather is." Aiden explained. It was therefore ageed to pass their folder onto the Neu Urburzis embassy and hope they could investigate the labs making the fake perfume and perhaps find Mayweather.

[Norgeras]

Regina had picked a quiet cafe for the meeting with private rooms. She knew usually it was a bit of a meeting place for people to have fun with anyone but their partners but it was the perfect disguise in this regard.

"We got some news during the night over from our friends to the west. They look for a group of people making fake perfume which lines up with the Alchemist. I Think Rudolph is the Center piece on our End from everything we gathered. Though i am still surprised he sides with Hamsik. There is a chance this might be the weakness we can use against them. If the Alchemist and his ilk weren't aware Hamsik is involved, they might cough up info. though we need Mister Rezakov here at the Palace for the day, i assume this makes you my on ground partner for now, Miss? Any Codename you are privy to using today i should stick to?"

Regina sipped her coffee and looked out the window, before nodding to a building riverside:

"That's our goal over there. Usually they deal in fine wine, but art and fine wine has a good amount of cross over and we had them on our list as potential money giver for Vigilance for a while now. It's a snobby but cultural important place so be careful, we can't damage the whole families reputation without good reason."

[Libby]

Elena Kirilia sipped a coffee while observing the building, "It seems like far too big a target for us to kind of jump in on just the four of us here, especially if Rezakov is off doing whatever. Is there any chance of any back up?" she asked Regina. "Maybe stick something on the river incase someone makes a run for it and perhaps a few extra people who can come in with us, if its a factory of sorts they'll be lots of people and we'll need people to keep an eye on them while we make checks and the like. Add to that if its perfume its likely to be a bomb if something goes wrong. Is there any chance if they deal in wine you can perhaps get me in to have a meeting there." She removed a card holder from her pocket and thumbed through a variety of business cards before settling on a thick creamy one that she handed Regina. "Lara Megeka, Chief Sommelier Peliuk Hotel Resorts" it reported to belong to. It was one of several front companies the Lodjain intelligence community maintained should operations require certain tools. "Maybe say you're my local guide and that I'm looking for a few cases as a sample with a much larger order in future. I can meet and at least get a feel for what they have there. Take things from that?" She added a touch of milk to the coffee. "Failing that we may just need to kind of go in and throw our weight around"

[Norgeras]

"We'll have a call here what to go for. If we mainly aim for Hamsvik, we need to leave the link to the Alchemist running and use them to flush him out for us. I think at this point the painting itself is secondary."

Regina took a long sip of coffee musing options they had. Before cracking a smile:

"As I've explained to Mister Rezakov, i'm nowadays more or less a face used for meetings, my cover has gotten blown by an issue over in Kaitane with my mother. But i do have someone in mind perfectly suitable. We'll send the Emperors Uncle. Prinz Kurt was the Head of Intelligence before his accident. That's when Albrecht took over. Not to mention, him going with a Somelier from a Foreign Nation is more than plausible. Additionally, he needs help with his wheelchair, ergo bringing some extras and security is just natural."

Regina finished her coffee and a small cake, waiting for a reply from her superiors:

"The prince regent agreed. Myself and Rezakov are told to ride up to the Palace a little earlier, Prinz Kurt will rendezvous you at the Tram station in the next cart coming down from the palace. We'll add some surveillance on the River side, too. Would that be acceptable? Also he did suggest you actually do pick up some Vintage on our Bill, after all they are a superb Supplier. It's Wingert Family after all."

[Libby]

Elena, or as she was calling herself for this little task "Lara" , agreed that they'd need someone watching from the river and while she'd have loved some more manpower available it was probably for the best that they handle this with a little more discretion. She had gone out to a local store selling brewing equipment and picked up some of the tools of the wine trade, test equipment for pH balances, alcohol levels and various other things. A nice neat briefcase was a must have in her line of work and so these were now placed into the briefcase which had a small camera stored in the handle. At least she'd look the part. Meeting with Kurt she headed towards the target and hoped the royal would be able to handle the formalities of getting them a look inside, at which point her eyes and the camera could deal with the rest.

[Norgeras]

"Ah, Miss Megeka. We've been expecting you." Kurt rolled towards 'Lara' in his wheelchair, followed by several bodyguards:

"Let's get to the point. We'd love to bring some of the local Wine's over for the Ball season this year, especially since the Emperor can't participate himself. Let's start right at one of our biggest players in the quality wine market. Don't be intimidated by the name, i assure you not all Wingerts are like Wilhelmina." 

Kurt had invited 'Lara' to the Royal Tram, the vehicle setting into motion again. As soon as the doors closed he held a handkerchief in front of himself, pretending to wipe his nose as he spoke to her with covered mouth:

"I'd have loved for this to be the real reason. But a true reason to visit is the best cover we could get. There will be tensions for my personal reasons which should mask us our actual prying and keep their eyes on me. If they prod too much about the wine i'll interject with personal drama."

Kurt's demeanor seemed somewhat worried, shaking his head:

"This hole mess really came at a terrible time."




The Entrance hall to the Wine Emporium was set with black marble and large columns, statues of bare youths seaming the large staircase that caused an audible groan from his bodyguards, before an old woman stepped down from the top:

"I haven't expected you to grace our hall Kurt. Especially not with your Wife. What gives? Can't be Michael, and i didn't hear a word about the twins."

Kurt gave her a nod, and pointed to a door behind a statue:

"Firstly, i'd prefer to use your elevator, secondly this is Miss Megeka from the Peliuk Hotel Resorts. We are considering to host the Embassy Ball with them and wanted some special vintage for the better guests on hand."

The woman looked 'Lara' up and down, then sneered back at Kurt:

"I suppose it makes sense. Even if the Bastard is to play host, we should hold up appearance. Especially since both your own brats try their hardest to get a Lodjian whor..." the woman coughed: "A Lodjian noble to wed our little fairy-tale emperor."

Kurt glanced around the hallway, before stopping his wheelchair abruptly, almost but barely not rolling over 'Lara's' foot:

"Ah, my apology."

as he got closer, he pointed to the painting, taken off the wall and tugged behind a statue.

[Libby]

Elena, or Lara as she would be for the next few hours, was used to skulduggery of the kind they were up to however she'd have prepared to not have some wheelchair bound royal with her just in case things went a little sideways. It did however seem that at least the guy was mentally switched on as he pointed at the painting which appeared, at least at a glance, to be one of the missing ones. It could of course just be a reproduction or a print, there were many of those doing the rounds but generally they were more likely to be posters on walls of the girls who admired Stasya or silly boys who lusted over her. She turned so the camera in the handle of her briefcase pointed that way and hoped the IT boffins watching the stream would snap off a couple of useful shots. She though was keen to get a look at the back of the operation because after all that would be where the "juicy" stuff would be kept. "You've a wonderful place here" she complemented their host. She made a play of admiring the statues and art works while not looking clearly at the painting they'd been keeping an eye out for. "Now if I can say we've had a lot of guests getting involved in our wine tasting events at our resorts, its becoming one of our most popular evenings. Now the problem is people don't want to turn up and just try the same four or five wines every time, what I could really do with is something a little less common, something that our guests are not going to see that often. I'm aware of your usual catalogue of goods but I don't suppose you have something a little more, how shall we say......exotic stashed away somewhere"