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As far as parties went, this one was almost exactly the same as every other exhibit opening night Benn had to attend for work. It included rich snobbish people, expensive drinks, tiny food and too many priceless artifacts and pieces of art that should have been in museums instead of owned by people who knew nothing about appreciating any of it. But that was none of his business. He wasn’t paid to worry himself with the moral aspects of owning something this expensive, he was there to make sure the company would not have to end up paying a large sum of insurance money in case some thief took this over the top party as an open invitation.
To Benn, there was no ‘if’ about that; in his experience, at least two criminals were casing the place for a heist. Whether it happened tonight at the opening or sometime later while the exhibit was still displayed was yet to be seen. His guess was that at least one would try to do it during the party, which was why he was there in the first place, keeping an eye on the security system and any possible weaknesses in it. And despite what both the host of the party and the museum’s head of security had to say about the impenetrability of the system, Benn had seen a great number of extraordinary criminals that have toppled government facilities guarded far better than this small museum in Amsterdam.
There were two small Rembrandts, three Turners and a Munch on the walls, telling Benn that a heist was highly likely and even though he was fairly confident in the security in place, he was aware that overconfidence would be a bad thing here both for him and the company. He expertly ignored Alvida’s annoyed glare, knowing she’d rather not have him there amongst her high class attendees, scanning the room for anyone suspicious. One of the catering people was already arrested after Benn found her trying to disable the sensors in front of the displays before he recognized her as someone he’d almost caught a couple of years before.
Catching Nami was lucky, he knew that, but it also served as proof that someone would be interested in the art displayed for this exhibition. Not that he needed any confirmation, really, considering most of these pieces were borrowed from private collections and were on public display for the first time in decades.
All in all, this was a truly spectacular mix of excitement and stress for Benn because, as much as he enjoyed catching criminals, no one else in this room would be concerned about any of these pieces until they were stolen. And then he’d be blamed, which really wasn’t something he’d like to experience, thank you very much. Besides, so far his supposed thrilling quest for thieves amounted to listening to police academy rejects drone about the perfection of the security system that included a couple of sensors, motion detectors and an alarm. Far from impressive, but coupled with the guards that would patrol the place at night, Benn was confident it was going to be enough. After all, it wasn’t regular thieves he was worried about.
He was making his rounds through the party with that in mind, blending into the crowd, certain that no one was paying him that much attention as he observed for anyone out of the ordinary. In this case it meant anyone who didn’t look at the waiters as if they were lower than dirt or someone who actually looked at this art with appreciation. Despite being in a museum, Benn had yet to see any of the guests appreciate the art itself rather than the price of it. After all, the more expensive a piece, the bigger worth it’s owner had. Supposedly. None of them were in it for the art. Hell, Benn wasn’t that into art either, but at least he could appreciate beauty when he saw it.
Hearing something similar to his thoughts voiced out loud drew his attention to where a woman giggled quite loudly. He was surprised to see Alvida in front of a Rembrandt print, blushing and giggling like a woman much younger than she actually was. Last he noticed her, she was also making her rounds through the crowd, stopping every so often to speak to another donator.
Now she stood next to a young man, sharply dressed like the majority of the guests, but his bright red hair and wide smile made him stand out. Normally, Benn wouldn’t bother sizing up a rich boy in a pristine suit at a party like this, after all, they were a dime a dozen and none of them showed any particular interest in anything that would alarm Benn. Except this one seemed to be raving about Alvida’s beauty of body and spirit, which was suspicious in itself. She may have been a beautiful woman on the outside, but Benn had first hand knowledge about her vile personality as did all people in her social circle.
Suspicious, Benn stayed close, but out of sight, listening in on their conversation, barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes at what he heard. This young man, with a wide and charming smile, was spewing compliments to her all the while glancing over her shoulder at the work of art on the wall.
Benn trusted his judgement enough to know this was something worth pursuing, even if he wasn’t sure what exactly was at play here. Not yet, at least, but he wasn’t discovered just yet so he opted for staying in his spot, listening in on what was essentially word vomit. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to listen to that.
“You should visit at the winter castle, there are many more pieces on display like the ones you have here, I know you would appreciate them,” the man spoke with a slight accent, fingers wrapped around a champagne flute as he gestured towards the walls around them. “It’s truly a shame that these works of Rembrandt aren’t in the family’s collection.”
That sounded awfully suspicious, not to mention ridiculous, but Benn was unfortunately used to this level of snobbery.
“Of course, Highness,” Alvida replied, before her eyes widened. “Oh, forgive me, I wasn’t supposed to call you that in public.”
Everything that had left her mouth just explained the situation to Benn. A grifter. The guy was a grifter. Obviously, he knew how to pick a target, knowing she was completely and utterly clueless about Europe. It was surprising she managed to pick Amsterdam for this particular venture in the first place.
“I’m sure we could make some arrangements about adding these works into your collection,” she told him suggestively and Benn almost snorted at the ridiculousness of this entire thing.
Before the conversation could proceed, though, Alvida’s attention was luckily drawn away and she excused herself tersely, leaving the supposed member of a royal family all alone. Benn picked up a glass of champagne before making his way over to where the man stood, now openly admiring the print on the wall.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Benn asked as he stepped next to the grifter who hummed in reply, both of their attention on the art.
“Are you an admirer of Rembrandt’s work?”
“I suppose,” Benn said, “but I’m mostly here for work, not to enjoy the art, unfortunately,” he couldn’t help but add because talking to a criminal was the first bout of excitement he had at this party.
“And what is it you do, Mister…?” He asked, turning towards Benn as he trailed off, expecting Benn to supply his name while the grifter sized him up. Or checked him out, Benn wasn’t entirely sure until the guy smirked, eyes meeting Benn’s after they raked down his body then back up again.
“Benn,” he said, extending his free hand for a handshake. “I’m here to make sure everything runs smoothly tonight.”
“Jacques,” the man said, but somehow it sounded wrong. Benn doubted that was his really name, anyway. “Is everything running smoothly then? Considering you’re talking to me.”
“Oh, I have everything under control,” Benn said with a smile, knowing he probably shouldn’t be doing this, though he was aware that he could do nothing about the grifter unless he was actually caught while stealing something.
“Mister Beckmann, I thought you’d left,” Alvida interrupted, appearing without drawing Benn’s attention and somehow managed to sound annoyed and relieved at the same time, but Benn was looking at the man before him, looking for even the slightest shift in his posture. He didn’t miss the slight widening of the ‘Jacgues’’ eyes or the stiffening of his shoulders. It only confirmed what Benn already figured out, knowing his own name was already known in criminal circles for the work he’d been doing in recovering stolen art.
“I assure you, I am not leaving until tomorrow after checking all systems are still working,” he said, still looking at the man in front of him, smile spreading as he noticed the grifter realizing something or another. “Your art is safe with me,” he couldn’t help but add with a widening of his smile.
“I should hope so,” she huffed, turning towards her young companion who had yet to look away from Benn. “Would you like another drink?” She asked and this seemed to snap him out of whatever reverie, looking at her for the first time since she joined them.
“I would love to, but unfortunately I must go now,” he said before glancing back at Benn. “It seems my plans for the evening have abruptly changed and I’m needed elsewhere.” There was a curl to his lips, a smirk directed at Benn as he looked back to Alvida to kiss the back of her hand. “I’m sure we’ll meet again, my lady, and surely the same can be said to you as well, Mister Beckmann.”
She was flustered enough to not notice the look directed at Benn before he turned and walked away, disappearing through the front door and away from the art he was planning on acquiring.
It was only two weeks later, the morning after the exhibit was closed, that Benn got a call from Alvida, screeching into the phone about a missing Rembrandt and an unaccounted for member of security that had only joined the team two days ago; just a day after Benn had left Amsterdam. It wasn’t too hard to guess who the mysterious security guard was once she’d calmed enough to mention the name of the painting that was taken, replaced by a note addressed to Benn.
What an awful coincidence that someone stole the same painting a grifter was eyeing, he thought with a grin, already looking forward to the challenge this chase would be.