Nocturne in Black and Gold

Chapter 3: Moving On

The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey. July 4, 2005.

"How appropriate to have fireworks for Independence Day." Marta stepped closer to the Whistler to study the details. "When I saw pictures of this, the painting looked muddy, but that's not the case at all." The canvas was propped up on Rolf's dresser. Soon it would be on its way to Hungary.

Rolf pointed with his right forefinger. "Whistler depicted the fireworks at the Cremorne Gardens—flickers of lights piercing the gloom of the foggy night sky of industrial London."

"The painting is a masterpiece," Klaus added from his chair by the patio doors. An easy smile graced his lips over his beard. Marta could understand why Anya liked the beard. It gave him a rakish look. Klaus hated it and only wore it at Rolf's insistence.

Marta had joined the brothers in the evening to celebrate the heist's success. Rolf had ordered room service. Her first Fourth of July in the States and they were feasting on lobster and Dom Perignon. Not bad for a girl who grew up in an impoverished Czech village near the border with Slovakia.

Her husband Jacek had left ahead of schedule and was already back in Hungary. Marta suspected he rearranged his timetable to avoid any awkwardness. Jacek was tolerant of her relationship with Rolf, in large part because he enjoyed the freedom as well. They could work closely on jobs without any emotional entanglements and still be occasional lovers when it suited them.

"Any trouble with the heist?" Rolf asked Klaus.

"No, it proceeded like clockwork. I suspect the earliest the museum will realize it's missing is sometime tomorrow morning." He retrieved the champagne bottle from the ice bucket and refilled his glass. "If no one has noticed the switch by the end of the day on Wednesday, I'll phone in an anonymous tip."

Marta remembered vividly how nervous she'd been when she first did jobs for Klaus. Jacek had been equally anxious to please. Had Neal felt the same way?

She and Jacek had started working for Klaus after Neal left, but Klaus had been lavish in his praise of his former protégé—both for his skill as a thief and as a forger. Marta used to resent the comparisons until Klaus said she and Jacek were equally gifted in their own fields. Even that first year they'd known his goal was to win Neal back.

Now that Klaus's dream was about to be realized, she could already detect a difference in him. He was more relaxed, more humorous. It made her wonder what he'd be like after they'd accomplished their goal.

Rolf's attitude was curious. He seemed to be as fixated on Peter as Klaus was on Neal. There were very few people that Rolf admired but Peter was one of them. He was convinced that Peter was sending him signals under the radar through the FBI agent's stories. Make me an offer. That's what Peter was telling him. Rolf was particularly excited about the messages he detected in her latest story.

Those stories had been an odd twist in the plan they'd formulated so long ago. It had been almost a year since Klaus had initiated the operation to lure Neal back with the theft of Raphael's painting of Saint George and the Dragon from a Washington, D.C. museum. Marta and Jacek were brought in to be part of the crew in September when Klaus rented the townhouse in New York City. When Klaus realized Neal was attempting to play him, he'd been intrigued and amused by the strategy Neal and Peter employed. Rather than being disappointed, he was excited by the challenge. That job also gave Rolf the first indication Neal was not the only prize to be acquired.

When the Arkham Files stories appeared, Rolf mocked them but Marta was convinced he was being influenced by them. Anya was concerned as well. She'd spoken with Klaus on several occasions but he insisted there was nothing to be alarmed at. He claimed that if anything they served to up Rolf's game. Boredom had always been the main vulnerability for Rolf. But not now. Rolf was convinced Peter was using Diana without her knowledge to conduct private negotiations with the man they called Azathoth.