Lock Me Up (With A Kiss)

Two Sisters

Getting a call at eight in the morning on Saturday never ever boded well for Kurapica's weekend, but when he reached for his work cell phone, he was surprised to find it wasn't the one vibrating insistently. He didn't think that work would call his personal line, but he was still slightly apprehensive as he got up and walked away from his breakfast. He made his way towards the coffee table across the open room, in the lounge area, where his phone was charging. He picked up the device and checked the caller ID before sweeping his thumb to answer, disengaging the charger with a flick of his wrist.

"Melody. Everything all right?"

"Good morning, Kurapica," his friend said, her voice sweet and gentle as ever. "I trust I'm not waking you?"

"No, I was just having breakfast," Kurapica assured her. And because she was not exactly in the habit of calling him this early, especially on his day off, unless they had plans together, he asked again, "Is everything okay?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure," she said, then marked a slight hesitation. "Something peculiar happened this morning."

"Peculiar," he echoed softly, not quite making it a question. He turned to his front windows, watching as people ambled by. He lived on a quiet street, but it was a beautiful Saturday, and clearly, some of his neighbours had decided that a morning walk was the best way to start the day.

"Yes. Seeing how you just got that position at the Bureau, I thought perhaps you could help me determine if something untoward might have happened to one of the pieces I'm responsible for."

Kurapica raked a hand through his hair—it was far too long for the liking of most of his coworkers, but Kurapica had never been one to stick to conformity, and if SSA Netero could have a long ponytail, he didn't see why he should cut his. "You want me to investigate a theft?"

"Well," Melody trailed off for a moment, then cleared her throat. Across the street, a black and white cat was sniffing at a fire hydrant. It turned away and climbed the stairs up to another terrace house. "I'm not sure what happened exactly, but it is a little suspicious. I've told you we were scanning our permanent collection?"

Kurapica abandoned the street gazing so he could return to his breakfast, as it seemed like Melody might be on the line for a while. "The high resolution scans?"

"Yes, that. The one our insurance company requested so they could compare recovered paintings after a possible theft."

"You've mentioned it before," Kurapica said, sliding back into the chair he'd vacated. He jammed the phone between his shoulder and ear and poured himself a cup of coffee. "What happened?"

"Last night, we were going through our Renoir paintings. Everything went fine, but this morning, we noticed that our scans disappeared."

Kurapica paused, confused. He set the coffee pot down and moved his hand back to his phone so he could straighten up. "Your scans? Not the actual artwork?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." At the other end of the line, Melody sighed. "We think one of the transport crates may have been tampered with. Two Sisters . It could be nothing...."

"...Or it could be something," Kurapica finished for her. "I'm on my way."

"Wait!"

Kurapica had already been moving his phone away, but she knew him well and had said it loud enough that he heard and put the device back to his ear. "What?"

"I'd like you to bring... an acquaintance of mine. If the painting's been tampered with, he'll know."

There was an odd edge to her voice that got Kurapica's attention right away. "Who?"