Blood Diamonds

First Meet

The Arlberg-Orient Express had just left Calais and was making its leisurely way to Paris. There were a lot of people in the cars of different classes, some of them were going to Paris, some to Zurich, some to Budapest, and some to Bucharest. Surprisingly, the dining car was still empty, only two people were sitting at a table near the window.

The first was a young man in his mid-twenties, wearing dark trousers, a light shirt, and a beige leather vest, and he has a terrible accent. The second was a middle-aged man in an old, shabby gray suit.

There was no one else in the car, so they talked to each other calmly. They speak in English.

"Do you really believe that?" The man in the jacket asked. "Do you believe that all this is... true? Do you believe that this necklace really belonged to the Romanov royal family?"

"Believe me," the young man smiled, taking a sip of wine from his glass, "the person who told me about this won't lie."

"So..." the man swallowed nervously and loosened his tie a little, "you ... you're going to..."

"Yes, I'm going to steal a diamond necklace that once belonged to the Russian Royal family," the young man said boldly, lifting his chin proudly.

"Hush!" the man shushed him, looking around. "Do you not afraid to say this outloud?"

"There is nothing what or, more precisely, nobody who I should be afraid of here," the young man chuckled.

The second man looked around the empty car and swallowed nervously, shrugging his shoulders. He understood that his companion is right.

"Make up your mind, my friend."

"So... What's the price of this whole thing? I mean, it's not like stealing an apple from the market. This thing should cost a lot of money."

"Oh, Bernie," the young man smiled, "you are a thief, so you should know the cost of such things. All I can say is that you will be rich and happy in your old age."

The man paused, calculating something in his mind and fidgeting nervously with the lapel of his jacket. The young man, watching him closely, took another sip of wine from his glass. The cheap wine was disgustingly sour, so he winced after every sip, but he kept drinking. He knew that after he had done this job, he would be able to afford any wine he wanted.

"A tempting offer, huh?" The young man said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it is very, very tempting," the man muttered, rubbing his neck nervously. "But, you know... To rob a jewelry store?"

"No, of course no," the young man said, shaking his head. he looked at him reproachfully. "How could you even think of such a thing?"

"A pawn Shop?"

"No, no."

"Break into an old lady's house and rob her?"

"How could you even think of such a thing?"

"Then what?"

"A person, one particular person have the necklace. A man. This man are coming to Paris any day now and stay at a certain hotel. But it doesn't matter where yet. So, all we have to do is sneak into his room and..."

The young man suddenly stopped talking. He was distracted by a strange noise that came from the corner of the car, where there was a table with a lamp turned off. It even seemed to him that something moved there.

"Okay, okay," the man nodded. "Just want to ask one question."

"Then do it!" The young man winked at him and stood up.