Two heads are better than one.

Better at everything, really.

Just how long will we survive...

When we're the most wanted criminals in the world...?

Location: Paris, France
Time 7:47 GMT (8:47 Local Time)
Date: 21-7-2012

It's a simple job, he goes in, I wait, he comes out, we leave, oh if it were only that simple? David kept his hand gripped firmly around the gear stick. Waiting eagerly for his patner to return. He was still getting used to the new BMW that they had bought a few days before. It was a brand new 6 Series. The M sport version, only the best equipment met the needs of David and his partner and this was no exception. It still had the new car smell, the leather a smooth light tan colour, creaked as David shifted in his seat. The dials infront of him waiting silently, waiting for the engine to burst to life when needed. But on the July morning in Paris it was quiet. A little too quiet. The buzz of the traffic could be heard it it didn't seem as loud as it should have been. The tall Parisian buildings surrounding the courtyard must have been masking the sound as it made its way up in to the world. Still nothing. David waited patiantly basking in the silence. All of a sudden bells started ringing, the white doves on the cobble stone court yard burst into the sky their morning feed interrupted by this sudden outburst. Alec flicked his wrist and the car roared into the life, the V8 growling loudly, the sound echoing in the courtyard. "Length of trip, 36.8 miles. Journey time, 21 minuets." His gloved hand gripped the steering wheel and gear stick waiting in anticipation. "Just waiting on you buddy" He smiled.

The cameras were set to a loop. The Louvre was closed today, but the cameras were always on, but useless when blind to the man that walked along the hall. Near the entrance, the curator waited with nervously twitching hands, sweat beaded on his brow. Jack had breezed past him so easily one would have thought he were a ghost. But the curator saw him. And the papers in his hands. Jack’s gaze was fixed on the last glass case. Only recently found, it had only been laid out for public viewing yesterday, and the museum was closed to finalize inspections. Unfortunately, Jack had caught wind too quickly. The diamond was a red diamond. While most valued diamonds that were purely clear and uncolored, the red diamond was amazingly rare. When he stood in front of it, putt the papers under his arm, took off the glass with gloved hands, and brushed bright red hair out of his eyes, he found the diamond was as large as the palm of his hand, and heavy. No wonder it cost fifty million U.S. dollars!

Carefully replacing the glass case back over the velvet purple pillow and pocketing the diamond, Jack returned toward the exit. Before leaving, he stopped in front of the short curator. “Remember.” He growled. “No police. No tails. No nothing. If I hear anything from you mentioning any names or any images, I’ll just have to show these...” He waved the papers in front of the man.

“No. No nothing. I promise.” The curator stuttered terribly. Jack grinned, showing slightly crooked teeth. Without another word, he left, bouncing down the stairs and to the idling BMW that waited for him away from the entrance in the gonging bells of morning. He hopped into the passenger seat, though with a little difficulty considering his near seven feet of height, and sighed, taking out the tooth caps that made them seem slightly yellowed and crooked. “Take off, Davey.” Jack said. “I’ll show you when we get onto the side roads.” He pulled his hair, the entire cap coming off cleanly to reveal his true blonde hair.

David grinned widely "With pleasure." He dropped the parking brake and slamed his foot onto the accelerator the BMW screeming as he left the court yard in fan fare of noise and white smoke that slowly drifted in to the morning air. "I always like to leave with a bang, now where we?" He swung the car across the road, the rear tires screeming in agony and torture. The car glided down the road with ease, traffic swerving wildly to avoid the fast approaching German super saloon. Having caused enough trouble David manouvered on to the correct side of the road while still gaining speed with each passing second. As they approached a junction David's feet danced over the peadals, his arms spinning the wheel. With more smoke and screeming the BMW glided round the corner, in an almost artistic fashion. "Having fun buddy? Cus I sure am!" He laughed hysterically like a mad man on a rampage. What David failed to notice was the approaching sight of blue lights and sirens. It wasn't until the following car was was a few meters behind that he noticed it. "Oh dear, it looks as though our inside man didn't keep to his word, what a shame?" David weaved in and out of the lanes of traffic the police car close behind. They approached the Arc De Triomphe David had a cunning idea. The road around the famous landmark was already full of traffic. But rather then go around it, why not go through it? Which is what he exactly did. He did more foot work on the pedals and violently turned the wheel trying I manouver the car through the tight spaces. He heard a light ding toward the back of the car. "Bollocks!" He tore through the middle of the landmark, people throwing themsleves to avoid the crazy driver. He came out the other side and took a gap in the traffic. At least it was one less police car to worry about.

Jack glanced around as the sound of the sirens hit. “That little shit.” He muttered angrily. His Italian accent showed through for a moment, and he replaced the tooth caps and wig tucking his hair out of sight by using the mirror. “Keep straight for a minute.” Jack kicked his shoes off. If he scuffed or dirtied the interior he was sure David wouldn’t talk to him for a week. He put his feet up in a crouch on the seat, making himself a bit more uncomfortable, and pulled a long, narrow black box from under the seat. Clicking it open it revealed a black M16 up, specialized with an attached grenade launcher. It was small, but extremely powerful. Pulling a projectile out from the box, he loaded it. “God, I hate being noisy...” He told David. Rolling down the window, Jack made sure his wig was secure and leaned out, bringing the gun up and out of the window with him. He aimed.

The explosion was definitely shuddering. Even the growling BMW shook a bit when it blew. Jack ducked back into the car and leaned back, hiding the weapon below him and bringing his knees up. The sirens were gone and they were in a more quiet area. Amazing how quickly the vehicle moved. “How about a bit of a larger car next time?” He asked David. “Do you enjoy making me squeeze?”

David felt the car slide slightly as the explosion occurred behind him. "Jesus fuck man! Did you really need to do that!" When he shouted he lost his generic British accent and slightly drifted towards an Essex accent before dropping it quickly. "Listen I'm sorry the car is a bit of a squeeze for you, but in places like here we need agility and this fits the bill, that's why I chose it. I'll get a long wheel base car next time okay." David dodged through the traffic, he could still see the smoke rising from the exploded police car which was now a smouldering wreck on the road. He decided to take the car of the main avenues and drove down smaller side streets, it was a tight squeeze but he manage it. Just. People were walking in the other direction towards the mysterious explosion. David and Jack ploughed through Paris's streets from smooth tarmac to rough cobble stone, David nearly thought his spine was going to exit through his head. "Gah I've lost my sense of direction cus of that explosion! Wobbled me for a moment. Okay Salivón, Salivón, where the bloody hell is it. The more time we wonder the more likely well get caught." Just as he closed his mouth two police cars shot round the corner, tires squealing. "Oh brilliant." he said in a sarcastic tone. He put his foot down again and shot of down the road. As he reached the end two more cars appeared and blocked the end of the road. "Shit!" The two other police cars formed a blockade the other end of the road trapping the two men. "Shit, shit, shit." He looked for an exit but at his angle he couldn't see one. He slammed the car into reverse and backed up the road. "Please god let there be an exit." As he sped up the road he flew past a small ally. He hit the brakes and started a burnout turning the car at the same time. "Breathe in this is gunna be tight!" He dropped the brake and the car shot forward at a lightning pace.

Jack growled, struggling for a moment to replace the gun in its case. “Questo è ridicolo. I don’t know why you never let me drive!” He withdrew something from his pocket as David punched the break, then the gas, throwing them around and forward. “The explosion was necessary. I’ve killed more than that in my life, you know that. Turn right when you exit here. We’ll be off the main roads. Easy to lose the cruisers. We’ll be off the radar once we get out of town.” He studied the digital map. “If you didn’t speed all the damn time, maybe it’d be a bit easier to avoid especially dangerous situations---” he caught. In his pocket was a different type of bomb. It’d create a massive, lingering smoke screen.

“Slow a bit, I need a good hit for this---non-lethal bomb.” He made sure to let it be known the next thing wasn’t as dangerous. He turned again, grabbing the tennis-ball sized thing from his oversized pocket and chucking it backward. When it hit, a puff billowed into the air, creating a massive, black and red smoke screen.

“Find a safe enough place to stop.” Jack said. “Change the plates and we’ll be good for a while more.” Jack almost sighed. He didn’t know why he didn’t sneak off more often and be just a bit more stealthy.

The car made its way down the ally way with only half an inch on each side of the mirrors. He pressed a button on the door and folded the mirrors in giving a bit more room on the side. The car exploded out of the ally and onto the road, David pulled the parking break and slid the car to a hault in a parking space. He huffed at Jack's outrage. "The reason I don't let you drive is because you filddle around with the CD player and Radio, you leave the seat waaayy back so I have to reset it and you you're too heavy on the clutch. That is why I don't let you drive." David reached to the centre console and pressed a button labeld '2' a clunk was heard at both ends of the car. This confirmed that the plates had changed rendering them in a different car. He opened the mirrors again and flicked the indicator stalk. "Put this hat on just incase" He handed a baseball cap to Jack to partially disguise him. David reached into the centre arm rest and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "Oh yeah, nice move with the smoke screen back there." He pulled out the parking space and drove round the corner.

Having spent 20 more minuets then David would have liked they found their way into the French countryside, full of rolling feilds and open space, David and Jack cruised leisurely on the winding country roads. "Oh yeah you said you were going to show me somthing? Before we were rudely interupted." David continued for another 10 minuets down the road before reaching the town that they had been living in for the last few days. This was their third house that they had acquired over the last few months. Jack had a house in Italy and David had a house in England they bought the chateaux in the French village of Salivón as an extra safe house that they ould use and bought the BMW to go with it as a mode of tansport. After a few more minuets of driving they reached the front gate of their new home.

Jack gritted his capped teeth as he took the cap and fitted it over his head. “Sue me for being seven feet tall.” He muttered, not loudly enough to be heard by more than his ears. The combination of cap and real-hair wig being a definite discomfort as it pressed his bunned hair to his head. He slipped his shoes back on and replaced his digital map into one of his pockets. For once Jack was glad to have worn old, baggy clothes. At least the cap on his head wasn’t out of place.

As they left the town behind, Jack lost himself for a moment in the sky. It was a beautiful sunrise, and the noise of town---and their fun---was long gone. Only when David mentioned it to him did Jack recall why they were even there. “Oh!” He jammed his hand into his pocket and extracted the diamond. “This.” It glimmered a tone that wasn’t quite red, but a violet-dark pink tone. “A massive red diamond found in an excavation site. They’re at least a few million U.S. dollars a carat, so this one’s at the most meeting fifty million dollars. I’d think it’s one of my best acquisitions.” He smiled, and only then remembered to pull the caps off his teeth with his other hand, and the glove along with it. “Since my contact didn’t keep his word, I’ll have to take care of his...” he glanced around and found the papers he’d set in the seat before sitting on them. “... secrets.” He pocketed the diamond again. “He’ll regret calling the police once he’s fired and disgraced.” Jack chuckled. “When we get back home I’ll let you see the diamond more closely.” He assured his friend.

They glided through the town, the engine quite and calm, giving a low rumble as they passed the small shops that lined the high street. David glanced over to see Jack's latest prize. "Bloody hell look at the size of it! No wonder it's worth fifty million!" They continued through the town and along a narrow country lane they soon met a large pair of black iron gates coupled to a high dirty brick wall littered with chips missing and moss growing all over the surface. David flicked a switch just behind the rear view mirror and the gates slowly opened allowing access to the two gentlemen's residence, a late 19th century French chateaux, with soft peach walls and tall slate roof's in front of the house were the gardens which were sprawled with exotic flowers and shrubs, a rainbow of colours covered the garden but in way that was not to eccentric or harmful to the eyes. The gravel drive crunched under the weight of the car making it's way closer to the house. David pulled up to the front door and shut the engine off. The sound of the birds in the morning sun could be heard singing in the garden the sun lighting the lawn and illuminating the dew that was still yet to be evaporated. He leaned back in the seat and gave a long sigh. "That could have gone a bit better, if I'm honest. I think another few days and this car will fit like a glove." He rubbed the leather steering wheel, almost stroking it. He turned to Jack with a serious look on his face his eyebrows scowling. "What are we going to do about that curator? You didn't exactly tell me what was in those papers. Excuse me." He reached across in to the glove box and pulled out a Glock 22 handgun. He pulled out the magazine and checked how many bullets were left in the clip before putting the magazine back into the gun with a 'clunk.' "Right you go and let us in, I need to inspect that dent, joy of joys." David undid his seat belt and jumped out the car. The air was cool in summer morning, it was more refreshing then the stuffy interior of the car in comparison. He went over to the back of the car to inspect the damage. "Oh bloody hell's bells." There was a dent about the size of a brick in the passenger side rear quarter of the car. "Fuck sake!" He kicked the wheel of the car before storming into the house.

Jack watched the garden pass in a flurry of color, blending though they were moving slowly. He maneuvered his leg as David went for the gun he’d stashed. “Well.” He took up the papers and unrolled them. “No need to resort to violence this time ‘round. Once Mr. Blaise is revealed for fraud and various drug trafficking charges, he’ll be spending a good amount of time in prison. That, and considering I’ve got photographic evidence of him assisting a large organization in stealing the red diamond, he may never be heard from again.” Jack smiled at the expertly photoshopped images. He’d been able to enlist the help of an artist on the wrong side of the law. He’d have to personally deliver the packed papers, but it was a small price to pay.

He dug in his pocket as he went to the front double doors, taking the cap and wig off his head at last. The warm summer weather made wigs a painful bother, and stuck the hair to one’s head. A cooler morning breeze was welcome.

As he went back down the stairs off the porch, he passed a cursing David. The dent was probably worse than he thought. Going around to look, Jack found the problematic blemish. It didn’t look terrible. A ding, really, and in one curved hit. David really did blow things out of proportion. He went around to the trunk, lifting out something that resembled a suction cup on a pump tube. Simple. He fitted it onto the brick-sized dent and tightened it. As it tightened, a metallic pop sounded, and the suction cup released. Running a hand over the chipped paint, there didn’t seem to be any remaining indicator that an ugly dent had been there, other than the white scratches in the dark paint. It could be easily covered.

Returning the item to the trunk, Jack followed David into the house. The diamond would have to have a place beside some of the other gems he’d snagged.

David now fuming that he'd damaged his latest toy went to grab a phone from one of the many rooms in the house. He flicked through the phone book and made his way back to the car. The phone rang in his ear as he went back to look at the damage. He made sure to speak slowly so the other end of the phone could understand him. "Bonjour, Urm I was wondering if you did repairs? You do? Fantastic, oh it's a BMW 6 Seri ..." David brought the phone away from his ear, to find the man on the other end of the phone was still talking. He ran his hand over the bodywork. It was completely smooth, there was still the obvious mark of the lack of paint but the car looked as though it had only has a shopping trolley run against the paint work. But he was sure that there was a dent in the body work. He hung up the phone while the man was in mid sentence and walked back into the house. "JACK!! Ima koko ni anata no o shiri o nyūshu!" David had been speaking Japanese since he was in his late teens, after years of learning he found it like speaking English and only slipped into Japanese when he got angry. "JACK!! GET YOUR ARSE HERE NOW!" He started tapping his foot against the tiled floor. The only downside that David hated about himself was his short temper and at the rate things were going it was going to wear out imminently. "JACK!" His voice becoming hoarse from the shouting. It seemed as though Jack wasn't going to appear any time soon and in his anger David hurled the phone across the entrance hall into a wall, shattering the phone into pieces that then covered the floor. David left the hall and went into the kitchen.

Jack scratched his head and stared at himself in the mirror. It felt like tiny fleas had infested him, and in annoyance he scrubbed his head. The heavy, ragged clothes he’d been in were gone, replaced with well-fitted, custom made clothing that both fit his length and narrow build. Being seven feet tall was a damning sentence. Sometimes not even a good disguise kept someone from knowing who he was from his height.

When David called, very loudly, he paused, looking out the slightly open bathroom door. What the hell was he pissed about now? He ignored his friend for a moment and focused on his eyes. They were brown. Carefully, he pulled the colored contacts out, leaving his gaze their usual ice blue. Rubbing his hands over his face to make sure there wasn’t any remaining putty, which he’d used to make his cheeks and neck a bit fuller and his forehead a little bumpy, he stepped out of the hallway bathroom and went down the hall. Going downstairs, he didn’t see David, but one of the house phones broken against the wall. “Was zur Hölle ist los mit dir!?” He yelled loudly, echoing through the entrance hall. German was his third language. Other than English and Italian. He knew it well. “What the Hell is wrong with you?” He growled, stalking into the kitchen to find David. “You know we’ll need to replace the phone you broke.” He added evenly. Though he could quickly anger, it didn’t last long in the right situations. Otherwise, Jack was rather calm, especially with his loose-cannon friend, whom he could handle easily.

David was leaning against the table when Jack came through the doorway. "Watashi to nani ga warui nodeshou ka? Anata to nani ga warui! What's wrong with me? What's up with you. You keep fucking with my head! First the explosion in Paris, now the dent what's next? You're going to make the car key's vanish of the face of the fucking earth!" He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. He heard Jack mention the phone. "Ohh Boo fucking hoo, we're not exactly short of money are we? We have a fifty million dollar pillow for to land on. You know, just in case! I'll get one tomorrow. I might as well get the car done while I'm town." He sat at the table and gave a large sigh. "I'm just gunna save your breath, I over reacted I know but it's just it's a new car and you know I like my cars, I mean look at the way I treat Euphie." Euphie, short for Euphiemia was David's Lexus back in the UK and he treated it like it was his new born child. If Jack couldn't find him in the house he was in the garage either looking into the engine or hoovering the seats. "I'm sorry for the way I acted." He sounded like a small boy getting scolded by his parents "I'll buy you a Rolex to make up for it!" He laughed, he seemed to have done a 180 on himself from what he was like a few minuets ago. He got up from the table and made his way to the door. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to make a phone call" He winked at Jack and left him alone in the kitchen.

Jack sat at the center island and took the verbal abuse with a grain of salt. Just like he always had. It was amazing how they managed to become the friends they were at that point. Most would have taken a baseball bat to the little man. Or, little to Jack, at least. His hands were folded in front of him as though he were the employee of a massive business being told off by a boss, but instead of a fearful expression, his face was placid and his eyes only slightly focused. He almost rolled his eyes at the mention of Euphie. Never had he met someone who acted as though his car were a fragile piece of glass, a priceless artifact that would run away if not washed every day and cleaned out every other day. But he could relate, if a bit. His babies were his guns. If he loved anything in the world, it was his guns.

He let the barstool swivel with him as he watched David leave. Fifty million dollar cushion? Only fifty million...? Jack had never told him about the rest of the money he had. Legally, Jack might add. Besides, he already had a rolex. He stood and followed David a bit listlessly in appearance. “Fifty million’s small change to me.” He told his friend. “You can break all the phones in the country and it wouldn’t make a dent.”

There. He admitted it. Cautiously, he stepped away and left David to his call, going into the office Jack had decided was his own since there were so many others.

David punched in the phone number and let the phone ring. He tapped the desk and listened the continuous ringing. "Pick up anytime you like." He heard a click and a rather rich French accented woman pick up the phone. "Bonjour?" David prepared himself and got a voice going in his head. "'Ello love, Rich Sanders, Inter news corp, would you mind answering a few questions about the explosion in Paris this mornin'" He heard a click at the other end of the line, indicating that the woman had hung the phone up. David placed the hand set back into it's craddle. "Huh just as I thought"

He chucked slightly and woke up his computer, the humming of the tower filled the silence with the occasional click from his mouse. It was a standard routine that David did on his computer. Start it up, log on, check mail, Internet and then see if any work needed doing. He kept everything logged that involved a transaction of any kind; shopping, groceries, banking, you name it and David had logged it somewhere, he brought up the file for the BMW and looked at the document. It covered what was in it, how much it cost, warranty, not that he needed it thanks to Jack's little gizmos that he had put on. By what he was looking for was the paint colour, but to some mystery that field just showed 'N/A' he was sure that he put in the code for the paint. Maybe he overlooked it by accident, but It wasn't like him to do that. He reached down and opened a draw with a single file in it labeled BMW, it was bursting with papers that needed sorting but David just wasn't in the mood to do things like that. He flicked through the folder to find the page that he wanted but it wasn't in there. David started to panic. Only Jack and him had been in this house since they bought it yet a piece of paper was missing forms compleate file. "Jack! Can you come here for a minuet? I need to talk to you." He knew that Jack would hear him, sound traveled through the house with ease, it was just a matter of if he bothered coming at all.

Eight million...

Twelve million...?

Almost fifteen million. Islands didn’t go for very much, Jack was rather surprised to discover. Prices did vary from region to region, though. His eye was caught directly on a lovely medium-sized island, around a hundred acres, that had yet to be developed and was going for a cheap price. Possibly because most entitled individuals wanted houses or resorts already built and the land cultivated so they didn’t have to work. Jack loved the sight, however, of a tropical island near Jamaica, covered in trees and untouched land. And for only nine million dollars and some change, it was a definite bargain. He put his hand to his chin in the universal motion of deep thought, but as the screen went blank, his eyes went wide. “What.” He muttered. The screen blinked. It brightened again, but had gone to the login screen with the words ‘installing updates’ blaring. David said something from his office, but Jack didn’t quite hear.

“NO!” Jack grabbed the monitor. ‘You stupid bastard! I hate you so much! Go die you sorry piece of shit!” He growled, stomping from his office. He hated technology. Oh, he hated it. While so much patience could be spent on anything in the world, he lost it when dealing with technology. Because technology hated him too. He pounded up the stairs, calming himself as he made it to David’s office and stepped inside. ‘Er... sorry... What’s wrong...?” He pointed behind him. David had heard his outbursts before, this was just an unfortunate combination of events.

David was looking out the window when Jack entered, he heard his out burst a few moments ago but decided not to bring it up. "Jack you haven't been in the BMW file have you? One of the pages is missing. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" David decided that it was only a small thing to worry about and got to the reason why he wanted to talk to Jack. He walked away from the window and leaned against his table "Now I've been observing things for a while now and I think that in a couple of days time we should make our way over to Nice. Only for a couple of days because I think that there is somthing that might interest you as I know you love to add to your collection of, hmmm how can I put it, Plunder?" He scratched his nose as he thought about what he had just said but quickly got back on track. "Uhhhmm, anyway I think that I would a good move to go and grab the Sword Of Damocles as it will be in the Nice Galleria of Historical Art as part of an exhibition about the Acient Greeks, this is the only time that it will be in France as moves onto London after the exhibition closes." David reached behind him and picked up a plum coloured folder and handed it over to Jack. "You don't have to say yes, I'm just giving you a heads up that's all." David walked back round and noticed something in the waste paper basket. He reached in and grabbed the slightly crumpled piece of paper, and noticed it had the BMW marque on it. "Well that solves that mystery" He sat back at his desk, leaned back and closed his eyes a bit irritated that such an important document had found its way into the bin.

Jack shook his head slowly. Of course he hadn’t stolen anything. He only did that to bother David half the time, and his reactions were always hilarious. But he gave whatever it was back after his fun ended. The stealing of a simple piece of paper? That was juvenile. All things considered, anyway. Still, it must not have been too important. Jack couldn’t figure out why David didn’t bring up the more glaring situation first. Taking the folder as David handed it over, he leafed through it. Images of various small and medium items, the exhibition, the location it would be...

“This. Sounds. Amazing.” Jack said at last. “I don't know why you'd even think I'd say no to this!" He shook the folder as though it'd reiterate his point. "In fact... I've got a hide-house around there. Just a two-bedroom single-floor place." He ran a hand through his hair and thought about what he was going to say before the prospect of more fascinating collectibles entered his mind. "Oh! I was thinking about buying an island near Jamaica. What do you think?" He tilted his head, almost as though David's say had any relevance to whether he'd do so or not. Of course he would!

David smiled when he heard Jack looking through the file with such enthusiasm. "I'm glad you like it, that's what I've been compiling over the last few months see. Each item in that file I have chosen because I think they will be of most interest to you, Each page covers an item and has the history of it, value, where it's been in the past and where it will be in the gallery." He looked over at his partner who looked like he was on cloud nine. "You have a house there you say? Well that saves more spending!" He chuckle lightly. He got out of the chair and leisurely walked over to the window and looked out on to the gardens. They seemed much more vibrant in the mid day sun then they did this morning, David hadn't had the chance to walk in the gardens since he arrived, he thought that he would go for a stroll later in the afternoon.

David's day dreaming was broken when he hear Jack mention something about an island. "An island? In the Caribbean? We just got here and now you want to buy an island? Well how much does it cost? What country is it a part of? Do you even have pictures of it? and anyway if you do buy it what do you plan to do with it? How will we get there? Because if it's by boat I'm not happy with it. You know what I'm like around oceans." Ever since David was about twelve he developed hydrophobia but only towards large body's of water such as lakes, seas and oceans. He was okay with pools as he could see the bottom of them but just the thought of the ocean put shivers up his spine.

Jack leaned against the door jamb. He’d much prefer being able to research the items of interest himself, but he’d do a bit on his own along with the details written in the folder. It was absolutely necessary, at least for him, to double, sometimes triple-check things, everything, even if it held little relevance to the bigger picture. Sometimes it was called OCD. If even a slight case of it. Of course Jack had been diagnosed with various mental issues. He doubted many held any water.

He glanced up. Of course he forgot about his friend’s aversion to deep water. He rolled his eyes and shut the folder. “I’ve had this place for years.” He said. “Just... decided to mention it recently since it was, basically, necessary.” He twisted a part of his bangs between a couple fingers. “I think it’s about two hundred acres. Part of the U.S. but far enough away to where any nearby land would appear as little more than a dot on the horizon. For the time being it isn’t much more than inspected for any dangers, and nothing more than native animals, very few at that, are around the island. And since it’s large enough, it ought to be just fine for you to be there without being too near the water. Even though, you know, it’s impossible for it to grab you and pull you in.” He giggled a bit. “And it’s out of most tropical storm pathways.”

He turned. “Well, you wanna come look at the place... if my computer isn’t being an ass...? I think it’s around ten million euros.” He counted on his fingers a bit as he stepped away and out of the room.

David, following Jack out of his office, felt skeptical at the sound of the island, yes it would be a lovely place but the thought of him having to cross the sea made him go cold. Ten million euros you say? That's almost ten of this house to make up for that." Despite being ludicrously wealthy along with his friend, David still didn't like spending money unnesscerally, he liked spending money, but just not on silly things, but he would see how this island plan panned out. "I'm not petrified of water that I won't go near it, I can stand on a beach, very shallow water at the most but you won't see me having a ball when I'm about ten meters out." Then something clicked in his mind. If Jack was saying that the island had been his for years, why was he saying that it cost ten million euros? He stopped in the undecorated hallway and crossed his arm. "You're lying. Aren't you? You don't have an island, you just like it because it's in the middle of nowhere and hoping that I would fall in love with it the moment I saw it, like some cheesy novel." He turned and leaned against the wall rubbing his palm along the cool flat surface. "I'll still look at it, but I'm a little miffed that you didn't just say that you saw an island and though I might be interested."

He started tapping a beat onto the wall with his fingers. "You know, this might not be so bad? I don't know, but to would be nice just escape from the world everyone in a while. A change of scenery, nice weather, peace and quiet." He closed his eyes and imagined what this island might look like, he imagined the white sandy beaches, the cool azure water, clear and fresh, the sky without imperfection and not a clould in sight. Then the thought of him having to cross that clear azure water entered his mind again and he shivered. "I'm still not sure because of that factor that is the ocean. The only other way I can think is flying, but I don't think either of us know how to fly a plane."

Jack paused. What the hell was this little man talking about? “Are you an idiot?” He asked, going around his desk. “I specifically referred to this house when I said I’ve owned it for ten years.” He rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. “I don’t... yet... own the island.” He reached under the desk to turn on the monitor and tower, closing his eyes for a moment to hope it actually listened to him for once. Though the computer was very useful in many cases, it frustrated him so much he’d much prefer to throw it out the window. Which on several occasions he had. As the screen began to glow, he sighed in relief. “Anyway, you know how much I hate cliche romance novels that just ooze stupidly dramatic love that can’t exist in reality... I hate romance in general...” He muttered the last bit to himself, but shook the thought away when the login screen popped up.

As he logged in and went to find the website he lost when the automatic update nearly sent his fist through the thin plasma screen, he bit his tongue almost automatically. “I’m sure... you’ll like it...” He spoke slowly as he typed. “It’s... got shallow freshwater pools... around the middle... a couple caves... a mountain... just not too tall a mountain.” He found it and waved David over, bringing up several images of the island from the sky and the water itself. “There’s a lot you still don’t know about me.” Jack admitted. “I’ll let you in on it all eventually, but when is up to you. Just tell me what you think of the island for the time being.” He went back and stood, going to a bookshelf that, instead of books, held records for a gramophone in the corner of the room.

It was 'this' house that he'd owned for ten years, well that explained the furniture when they arrived but David just decided to end that conversation there, one argument was enough for one day. Well in David's eyes it was seen as an argument, they had spoken, well shouted in other languages, and this was a sign that they were angry, David had learnt this shortly after he'd met Jack that he shouted in German when David shouted in Japanese. But Jack rose a point that rang true, David didn't know everything about Jack, he felt like he knew less then he actually did. Maybe he was right, but whatever Jack had locked up inside him, personal or not, he kept it masked behind those icy blue eyes. "Oh I'll be sure to ask when the time is right, don't worry there's still some things that you don't known about me." He said some over a lot for a reason, when David and Jack first teamed up, Jack held an event like the spanish inquisition, so he had said quite a lot about himself yet Jack had said very little in return. There was definitely some alluring power that Jack had, it sort of mesmerised David, power between them shifted every now and again but it was more a sixty, forty split if you were to divide it in that way, the sixty going to Jack.

He walked behind Jacks desk and flopped into his chair, he didn't like the feeling, it was strange, it was like walking in someone else's shoes, allowed if permitted, but always uncomfortable. He looked at the web page displaying the island. It certainly was beautiful and some pictures had shown what David had imagined it to be like. Then he saw a picture of the mountain that was found there, it wasn't the biggest of mountains but a mountain none the less. It seemed to fit the whole picture, it really fit the picture, there were other pictures including one from the top of the mountain and David melted a little inside, the view was absolutely stunning. It was like nothing he'd seen before, the whole island could be seen form this point the sun reflecting of the ocean and fresh water pools. The patches of woodland that dotted the land and a vividly blue back drop to finish the picture. It looked like he was looking at a dream. He continued to look at more pictures and a map of where it was, his jaw slowly dropping to more and more pictures of the place, it was about one hundred and twenty miles south of Jamaica, so it certainly was remote, with the nearest island with suitable amenities about 40 miles away they would be the only form of sentient life around for hours. He looked over the monitor to Jack who looked like he'd been watching him the whole time. David smirked and simply said "Go grab the check book."

Jack raised a brow. Of course, he didn’t know everything about David, though he knew more about him than David knew about Jack. He was rather paranoid, a secretive person, and though he could consider David a good friend, he wasn’t yet that good a friend. He didn’t dare tell David, at least not yet, how much he’d stolen before they met, how much each thing was worth, and for how much he’d sold it for. He didn’t want to tell David quite yet about exactly how much he distrusted banks in general and therefore kept his money in various places, in waterproof, fireproof safes buried beneath the floors of the basements of each house he owned. Most of all, he dared not tell David about his love of fire. Explosions. Jack was a reasonably tame pyromaniac, basically, and he didn’t quite know how his friend would react to that. He was lost in his thoughts for half a second, and managed to shake them away to slide a record from its sleeve. It was marked very specifically: Triple Concerto in C Major for Violin, Cello, Piano, and Orchestra, Op. 56: I. Allegro. The white sleeves each were marked in the same way, detailing what they contained, and there were a little more than a hundred, mostly from Beethoven. Jack placed the record down, and began playing it quietly.

He looked around to David, staring at the computer screen. It seemed to be a bit of a blank stare... Not that it wasn’t common. Jack almost laughed at that rogue thought, but shook it away. Yesterday Jack had already decided to get it, and took out the necessary money from one of the five safes in the cellar, beneath the laid stone. He’d placed it in a thick yellow folder, which he and David used quite a bit considering their jobs, and set it on the window sill that was just beside the gramophone. That reminded him. He pulled about seven folded papers from his pocket and another, empty, yellow envelope from the highest shelf of his bookcase, and unfolded the papers, placing them, with a bit of difficulty, inside. With it, he placed a small photograph and with a small tube of superglue, sealed the lip shut. With a small pen he wrote an address on it, and looked back to David as he set the envelope on one of the shelves again.

David's reaction was promising. "I already have the money." He picked up the unmarked envelope. "An older man is selling the island and has the deed to the land, and he and his... contact... agreed to meet just outside town. I've researched the man, though, his name is Jeffery Allen. I've discovered he's a very successful man, investing in the oil industry and running various large vehicle manufacturing factories. He bought the island, found he had no time to put into it, and is now selling it." Jack patted the envelope with two fingers. "I thought I'd have to go meet him alone, but I think that's not much of a problem anymore... is it?" He tilted his head as though genuinely curious.