Damn, that was way too close.And of Course that was just a bluff. I'll actually take a rest now, I'm way too deprived of sleep..
"Hey, you okay?", Lucian was zoned out looking on the floor, he suddenly zoned in as Nicolo asked him.
"Huh?", Lucian looked at Nicolo, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Sorry for the intense interrogation we did. I guess we put way too much pressure on you doing that", Nicolo smiled nervously.
Lucian's sleepy eyes widened a little and then he said, almost stuttering, "Why are you…sorry? You just did what you were supposed to do, you know."
Oh right. He is being kind. How dumb am I to even be shocked by such a normal behaviour. I get it, it's just that it was never a normal behaviour for me.
"I know but..nevermind. I just wanted to ask one thing, Mr.Cole, despite being so wealthy, why did you choose to work with 'The Ghost' for money?", Nicolo seemed genuinely curious as he sat beside Lucian.
"Good Question", Lucian started sliding his fingers through his own hair, "If I have to answer, I'll say that I was too detached from the world. There was no one I could share my inner self with, I never felt like I was important to anyone either. So when I received an opportunity to work with someone as important as 'The Ghost', I felt like I could establish some kind of goal and importance in my life.", Lucian stopped, his eyes closed.
Nicolo was still staring at Lucian, expecting something more than this incomplete and confusing answer.
"Yeah everything I said might sound illogical, but I just can't express myself right now. You know, I'm tired and I want to sleep.", Lucian released his head on the sofa.
"I can understand. Take your nap, but how about a cup of coffee? As I'll be living here from now on, I might as well start it with a coffee, right? Want one?", Nicolo smiled at Lucian after standing up.
Lucian's quick response was, "Yes!".
Just as Nicolo stood up and freed the space on the sofa, Lucian laid down his body on it.
A few minutes later, Nicolo came from another room, with two cups of coffee in his hands, only to find out that Lucian is deep in sleep already.
"Oh, he is already sleeping. Do I have the capacity for two cups? Maybe? Actually yes!", Nicolo said to himself, "I did explore the whole house as Ralph told me to, and I did not find anything…other than that painting replica of course."
Taking a sip, he continued, "I'm here to ensure that Mr.Cole doesn't contact 'The Ghost' again. Means, Ralph obviously doesn't trust him fully yet, but then again, why would he?", Nicolo sighed, "Why did I even ask Mr.Cole that question, it's not like I'm fully pure either."
Nicolo was looking at his cup of coffee, he looked in front of him and saw Lucian taking a sip from his coffee.
"What?!", Nicolo got terrified, "W-When did you wake up?"
"Oh, me?", Lucian looked at Nicolo with his sleepy eyes again, "I just smelled the coffee and then...woke up."
"Okay…."
Man, all of those preparations I did were definitely required, but ultimately useless. I literally called my other new phone everyday during the days of the heist in Eclipse, even talking to myself on calls to make sure that even if they somehow find records of those calls they'll find believable stuff. Well, Ralph didn't even ask for the number, let alone find the records…..
22nd July,2023
Morning,
"So…Where are we going first?", Karl, a member of Ralph's investigation team, asked Ralph, while they were entering the Barlow Street area.
"Just where we should go first. The 1st house of this street, which belongs to Mr.Spears. We would go sequentially, investigating every house, which by the way, is in the amount of 23.", Ralph was explaining.
"23?!", Karl looked at Ralph with shock.
"Yes, you heard me right. Which means we have a long day of work in front of us.", Ralph had his hands in his pockets, looking forward.
They were full of energy today, as they had enough rest the previous day making sure they can take the pressure of work today. Both of them had sweaters on, as it was extremely cold now, opposite to their flame-ish eyes, looking for the success of their investigation.
"And what about Zeph? I mean Mr.Loxley.", Karl asked, after a few seconds.
"Didn't I tell you? Oh right, that was Nicolo. I sent Mr.Loxley to the first business associated apartment in this street. Which belongs to….Luther Kane. He'll basically pose as a businessman that went there to sign a deal or something. He'll ultimately not sign any deal but will get some info out of it. We'll then investigate those apartments as a part of our normal investigation. But as we'll have info beforehand, we can catch lies easily", Ralph explained.
"Right, I understand. I don't know why, but I've got a positive feeling about this. I think we are going to succeed in no time.", Karl said, looking forward.
"You don't have to understand why you're getting this feeling, just celebrate that you got it!", Ralph replied, finally coming in front of the first house on Barlow Street.
Zeph Loxley reached Luther's apartment at the same time, which was the 14th residence of this street.
As he entered the apartment, he saw a lot of guests waiting in the guest room, possibly all for business deals.
Inside, Luther Kane was sitting on his chair, going through his computer, waiting for the 3 guests, which included Zeph Loxley, which is not the name he came here with.
Meanwhile, Elias was present in one of the rooms in Luther's apartment specially assigned for him. It was Saturday, so no work for him, as the Vespera Museum doesn't open on Saturdays and Sundays.
"I wonder what Luke did with the painting. It has been around a day since he last called me, I guess I should ask now. But then again, considering his skills, he should have found something by now. Is he planning something for himself again? I can't trust that guy fully yet, not after what happened to me when I did trust a guy.", Elias was talking to himself, walking around the room with his phone in his hand.
"No point in this. Let me call him.", Elias called Luke.
"Hello?", Lucian said.
"What's the progress? Tell me the details you found in the 16th piece.", Elias asked quickly.
"Well, let me be completely genuine with you. The 16th piece had no details nor clues about the people you are searching for.", Lucian's voice was heard through the phone.
"What? Are you kidding me right now?", Elias sounded disappointed, really disappointed.
"What is this guy up to now? Oh god why am I still so far from my goal?! How much more do I have to do? Is Luke really hiding those details from me now? Or is he actually telling the truth?", Elias had questions in his mind, which was immediately answered by Lucian in the next second.
"Of Course I'm not. Assuming the fact that you did tell me the truth and you, in fact, are looking for people to take revenge on, then I think the importance of this piece is not in itself, rather in the consequences that comes with it after someone steals them.", Lucian expressed his mind this time.
"Look, you'll have to trust me. Whatever I told was the truth, why would I lie about my dead wife?", Elias took a long breath, "But you'll have to give me all the info you have gathered, I'm requesting you at this point."
"Really? Then why don't you trust me fully yet? If you did, you would've told me the enemy's name. But then again, why would someone trust a thief, right?", Lucian asked expecting no answers.
"See, it's just, you don't need to know the name and stuff, you'll just have to do what I told you, the rest is on me. If it fails, then I fail. You'll not have a single thing to worry about. For now, explain to me about what you said.", Elias sat on his bed.
"Right. So what I was saying is, you were most probably manipulated by someone. When you said that you accidentally got to know about this 16th piece, something came to my mind. I doubt that it was an accident. I think, someone intentionally slipped up that info to you, hoping that one day you'll yourself or using someone else, go and steal that 16th piece, and then they'll identify that the one who stole this piece must be Elias or someone connected to him, even though, confirming that takes a little luck, as it can be anyone. But I also doubt the fact that they'll need you again. I think they predicted the fact that you'll use someone to steal it, maybe even very specific someone, maybe even ME. So there's a good chance that whoever this person is you are going to take revenge on, is also after ME.", Lucian ended his explanation.
"Y-You, how can you say all of this with so much confidence? Denying everything I experienced with such ease? But, if what you said is true, and they are also after 'The Ghost', then what are you going to do now?", Elias asked.
"I don't know. I guess I'm going to find more about where they live, completing my mission you gave me. It's not like they are going to find me any time soon. I'm safe, I'm here for the mission, once it's done, I'll go back to my own routine.", Lucian said.
Sounds came from the office Luther was sitting in, it seemed like the last businessman entered...