"The thing about happiness is that you only know you had it when it's gone."
- Conrad Kellogg (Fallout 4)
...
March 15th.
Gotham City, Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Center
In the curator's office, two people are sitting on the sofa having a face-to-face conversation.
One of them is a middle-aged man in a suit, and the other is a professional-looking woman in office clothes.
The first is Henry Orpheus, the curator of the Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Center, and the second is Kim Beckett, the person in charge of lending the "Hope Diamond" from the Smithsonian Museum for the exhibition in Gotham.
[Author's Note: A curator is like the keeper of a museum or other collections. Enjoy~]
"Welcome to Gotham, Ms. Beckett, from the Smithsonian Museum."
As the host, Henry warmly greeted her.
"You're too kind, Mr. Orpheus. I came here this time to discuss the security details of the exhibition with your institution. I hope you don't mind if I'm being too careful. We absolutely don't mean to interfere with your work."
Kim showed a polite smile on her face and humbled herself.
"No problem at all. The 'Hope Diamond' is such a precious treasure that it should be well protected. It's only natural to pay attention to every detail."
Henry keeps nodding in a sincere manner.
This is not surprising.
As the organizer of the exhibition for the "Hope Diamond," if anything happens to the diamond, he will be held responsible.
It's likely he would lose everything he has just to compensate.
As for whether he can buy theft insurance...that's a joke!
Which insurance company would dare to sell insurance in Gotham?
They would be accused of fraud.
In fact, a famous gem like the 'Hope Diamond' would be fought over by major museums and exhibition centers wherever it was exhibited.
There would be no shortage of venues willing to pay to borrow it.
However, in Gotham, the situation took a 180-degree turn. The "Hope Diamond" seemed to have become a controversial issue because of the curse, and no major museum was willing to take it.
As a result, the Smithsonian Museum had to announce the cancellation of the exhibition in Gotham.
Yes, this is the real reason why the exhibition of the 'Hope Diamond' was canceled, not because of fear of the Phantom Thief or any other criminals.
No one knows what the head of the Smithsonian Museum was thinking, but they had too much free time to send the gem to Gotham for no reason.
They may have thought that they could use the fact that the Phantom Thief would eventually give back the stolen gem to get more publicity.
If, unfortunately, Phantom Thief is caught this time, it would mean that the legend of the cursed 'Hope Diamond' would continue, which would be a win-win situation.
In Gotham, people with these kinds of thoughts usually go to Arkham to get help, but who knows what people from Washington are thinking?
In short, just when the Smithsonian Museum decided to completely give up on the Gotham Exhibition plan, the Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Center took the initiative to approach them.
The Smithsonian Museum didn't think much of this medium-sized show center.
Henry believes that exhibiting the 'Hope Diamond' exhibition is a great opportunity, as it can greatly increase the fame of their exhibition center.
So both parties agreed, and they reached a cooperation agreement smoothly.
"May I ask when you've decided to hold the exhibition?"
Henry hesitated a bit as he asked.
"What I mean is, when will the 'Hope Diamond' be sent to Gotham? Without the diamond, our security measures won't be complete, and we'll be missing the final piece."
"I understand what you mean, Mr. Orpheus. I'm not here today to ask you to do anything, I just want to discuss the future work arrangements."
Kim explained.
"As for the exact date of the exhibition, it officially starts on March 31st and lasts until April 4th, a total of five days. The 'Hope Diamond' will be brought over about a week before the exhibition starts."
"I see, Miss Beckett. Words alone might not be convincing enough. If you don't mind, please come with me, and we'll visit the exhibition center together."
Henry stood up and invited Kim.
"To make this exhibition a success, we spent a lot of money on high-quality security equipment from Wayne Enterprises, LexCorp, and Star Labs to make sure that no one will steal the 'Hope Diamond.'
"Seeing your confidence, I'm curious about what kind of security measures you've taken."
Kim accepted the director's invitation, and the two headed towards the exhibition center.
Henry clearly valued the 'Hope Diamond' exhibition.
He excitedly introduced various high-tech equipment to Kim, even demonstrating some of them to show their actual functions.
In fact, he could have assigned this task to his subordinates, but he insisted on personally introducing them to Kim.
Even someone who has never understood these types of equipment wouldn't think they were cheap just by casually looking at them.
Moreover, most of the equipment looked new and had been recently installed.
It was clear that Henry had spent as much money as he could.
After a round of observation, the two returned to the office.
Henry talked the entire way, and his throat dried.
As soon as they entered the room, he took a sip of water from a cup on the table and said, "This is the best we can do, Ms. Beckett. "
Kim nodded in satisfaction and said, "You've done an excellent job; to be honest, I even think that the Smithsonian Museum's security measures are not as good as yours."
"You flatter me."
"I have to go back and report my work, so let me say goodbye, Mr. Orpheus."
Kim and Henry shook hands, then turned and left.
As she walked away, Henry sat in his chair with a look of satisfaction on his face. He started imagining the fame and wealth that awaited him after the successful exhibition of the "Hope Diamond".
Knock, knock!
Soon, there was a knock on the office door.
"Come in."
Henry quickly composed himself and spoke calmly.
But when he saw the person standing in front of him, his face suddenly froze.
"Ms. Beckett? Why did you come back?"
The person who came in was Kim Beckett, who had just left a short while ago.
However, Kim seemed not to understand Henry's words and asked, furrowing her brow, "What do you mean by back, Mr. Orpheus? I just arrived here."
At the sound of this, Henry's face turned pale, and he stared at Kim in shock.
Kim did not understand why he looked like this and seemed puzzled.
The two just stared at each other in silence.
...
Thurston Manor.
"The 'Hope Diamond' exhibition will be held at the Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Center from March 31st to April 4th, for five days, with a ticket price of $8 per adult."
Dean glared at the news on his phone.
...
A/N: If we reach 500 power stones today, I will release an additional chapter tomorrow.
patreon.com/Sothisq
You can find up to 20 advance chapters at my patreon.