Nocturne in Black and Gold

Chapter 4: California Dreaming

When Neal arrived at work the next morning, he stopped off for a coffee and then headed to his art authentication niche in the lab. Travis was already working at his workstation which was next to his art corner.

"Any news on the Azathoth front?" Neal asked, taking a seat.

Travis nodded, swiveling his chair to face him. "We received the data yesterday evening and already have positive confirmation that his malware was used. It appears that the security program was infected two weeks ago. This is the first instance of us sharing an investigation with D.C. Art Crimes since the directive took place. So far so good."

Last month the assistant director ordered Travis's team to handle the analysis for all cases related to museum security software. Neal had wondered if Kramer would play nice or drag his feet.

He took a sip of coffee and made a face. The swill was worse than normal. Daily cleaning of the coffee machine should be a required task for all probies. "This will make the West Coast museums rue the day they didn't implement Aidan's anti-malware."

Travis nodded. "I've already heard from museums in L.A. and San Francisco. News like this spreads like wildfire. Kramer's having all inquiries concerning technology forwarded directly to me."

"Kramer, the team player. This will take getting used to." For as long as Neal had worked at the Bureau, Kramer had only grudgingly allowed the New York office to participate in art crime cases when they occurred in the New York metropolitan area.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Peter said, approaching them. He pulled up a chair. "It's a new era of cooperation."

"About time," Neal muttered to his swill.

Peter chuckled. "I understand the sentiment and second it. My former mentor has finally seen the light."

"Or the assistant director lit a fire under him," Travis noted. "Nothing like pressure from above to stoke the flames."

"Then by your reasoning, that must have been quite a fire," Peter said. "Phil called me yesterday afternoon just as I was getting ready to leave. He wanted to brainstorm ways to assist the West Coast museums. Kramer was very complimentary of our successes with the Interpol art crimes task force, and specifically mentioned the compliments the French gave us for our presentations in Paris last month. He'd like us to take our dog and pony show to the West Coast."

"The one where I conduct a workshop on how to steal a painting?" Neal asked incredulously.

Peter shrugged. "He knows you're the expert, and the timing couldn't be better. You sacrificed vacation time to help Travis and me at astro camp a few weeks ago. Good deeds like that shouldn't go unrewarded. You were going to have to pay for your airfare to Comic-Con. Now the Bureau will pay for it. Kramer wants us to go to Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles next week. It's a tight schedule but we'll be done in time for the opening day hoopla at Comic-Con on the thirteenth. How does that sound?"

"Like I better start reviewing blueprints." He was excited at the excuse to study the security systems of some of America's finest museums. Too bad Mozzie had already left. He would have loved participating, even though the thefts wouldn't be carried out. "I've always wanted to plan a heist at the Getty," he confided, not caring how that sounded. "I accept your offer gladly."

"Three cities in three days?" Travis asked. "Is Kramer trying to establish a new record?"

"If we took more time, we'd have to miss out on the first couple of days of Comic-Con," Peter said. "With the museums pressing so hard, Kramer didn't want to delay till the following week." He turned to Neal. "Do you think it's manageable?"