Disclaimed.
Before you begin reading, have in mind that the clue hunt never happened. It is mentioned in this story, but the characters introduced in this chap. are not aware of its existence. Enjoy your read! :)
The cell doors opened, and out came two police officers. Each of them held a mischievous-looking prisoner from the arm. As the three walked down the grey hallways, imprisoned men began to protest, demanding to be let out too. And even though they disgusted the newly freed twenty-three-year-old, he couldn't help but smirk. A smirk that all of you know very well.
The famous Ian Kabra smirk.
"Your time here is up, Van Gogh," one of the police officers, Danny, said.
Ian's smirk grew. One of the things he'd miss the least (if he'd even miss anything at all) was his nickname, Van Gogh. Since he'd been sentenced to twenty years of prison because of art theft and illegal art trafficking across the United States, the nickname was predictable.
"So. When am I getting out of this orange…" Ian glanced down at his jumpsuit, his handsome face distorted with disgust. "Thing."
"Soon," the other officer, Jenkins, answered.
Danny grinned. "We first have to determine if you will get out of prison, though."
Ian glanced at him, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Didn't you just say that my time here was up?"
"It will be, depending on the task the Art Crime Team will give you," Jenkins informed.
"And let's not forget the way you'll participate in it," Danny added, his blue eyes glinting with mirth. "You will be graded on that, too."
Jenkins shook his head. "Better not get your hopes up. You might just be walking right back to your cell this afternoon."
Danny's smile grew. "He's exaggerating, Ian. What he's trying to say is that you might not be released, but just given a year's break or a reduced sentence. Who knows? Maybe we'll see you next year!"
"Oh, I hope so. He's got such a great attitude, after all. He made our job even more pleasant than before!"
"Don't get so excited, now, Jenkins. Remember, he's got enough money to bail himself out."
"But didn't he get disowned?"
The policemen laughed as if they'd said the funniest thing ever. Ian simply gave them his deadliest look –one that he'd been giving them the entire time.
"Well, at least I won't be stuck socializing with criminal hobos while wearing a disgusting khaki shade of uniform for my entire life," he spat. "If I'm not out now, I'll be out in twenty years, you Neanderthals."
The two friends' annoying cackles just got even louder.
"Thanks for bringing him. I'll take it from here," a clear voice said behind them.
The three turned around, just to find a sweet-looking FBI agent in her early twenties.
"Of course, miss," Jenkins answered, suddenly turning serious.
The woman gave them a curt nod before taking Ian away.
Once they were a few steps ahead, Ian glanced at the auburn-haired girl next to him. "You haven't changed a bit, Amy."
Amy remained emotionless, to which Ian just replied with a chuckle.
"Guess that teacher of yours has finally taught you how to ignore the accused. I must congratulate Ned. It must've been hard with such a nice girl like you," Ian continued.
Amy still remained quiet.
Ian sighed. "Could you at least tell me where we are going?"
"Somewhere private," Amy answered. "We need to discuss things with the team."
Ian raised his eyebrows. "The team? So you're not an apprentice, anymore, huh? That's amazing, Ms. Cahill. Especially since that means boring Ned has probably retired by now."
Ian watched with great interest as Amy's emotionless face turned to a cold one. Ian wanted to laugh out loud. Just by calling the Starling "boring", Amy already wanted to go all defensive on him. Ian shook his head, chuckling.
"What?" Amy asked, inspecting him with curiosity.
"Nothing," Ian told her nonchalantly. "It's just that you haven't gotten over your crush on Ned, that's all."
"I don't have a crush on my leader!" Amy exclaimed. But her red shade contradicted her words. She shook her head, looking away.
Ian remained silent, smiling to himself. Amy had been an apprentice when Ned and Hamilton Holt, two art specialists on the FBI team, had prosecuted him. She'd follow the pair around as they investigated Ian, and it couldn't escape his eyes the way she acted around Ned –even nerdier and more shy* than usual. Ian stole one last look at Amy, who was still slightly pink. Even though she was one of the reasons he'd been sentenced prison-time, she was fun to annoy. In other words, she wasn't so bad to be around with.
Amy opened a grey door, and Ian groaned as he heard Hamilton's loud voice talking about some stupid training sessions. Once Ian was inside, Hamilton and Ned turned to look at them.
Ian pursed his lips. "I had hope that you'd retired, Ned."
Ned smiled, already used to Ian's crude ways. "At twenty-five, I don't think I'll be leaving soon. Thanks for bringing him here, Amy."
"No problem," Amy said with a smile as she sat down between Ned and Hamilton.
"So you're not such a quiet mouse who blushes whenever someone looks their way, anymore," Ian noted, addressing Amy.
Hamilton frowned. "Watch your mouth, Kabra. Even the simplest things as that might ruin your chances of getting out of here."
Ian wanted to snap at Hamilton, but remained silent. He wasn't such a fan of the muscled Holt and his reactions when someone angered him.
Ned pushed a document over to Ian. "Alright team, let's not waste more time and go straight to the point. One of Jonah Wizard's paintings has been stolen."
Ian raised an eyebrow. "The rapper kid?"
"The one and only," Ned affirmed. "He's contacted the FBI and asked for it to be found as soon as possible. He didn't specify why it was so important, but-"
"He offered an amount of money that you couldn't deny," Ian cut in.
Hamilton shot a warning glance at Ian, who tried not to look affected in the slightest way.
Ned cleared his throat. "Anyways, we know that you've got contacts with Leo DiPaulo. We haven't been able to catch him yet, but he is one of the best art thefts around. That fact led us to the conclusion that you know him –and we're pretty sure he's our robber."
Ian nodded, an expectant look on his face. "So if you know it's him, why need me?"
"Things are not as simple as that," Ned explained. "We need a motive, the painting itself, and more proof to other robberies. So to arrest him as soon as possible, we'll be heading to Florence tomorrow before he leaves to London for some business. To do so, we need you and Amy to pretend to be a soon-to-be-wed couple, befriend DiPaulo, get him to invite you to his farewell party, and get us what we want."
Ian nodded. His gaze shifted toward Amy, with a smile that oozed with mischievousness. "So this green-eyed wonder will be my lovely fiancé?"
Amy looked away.
"Your pretend fiancé," Ned clarified.
"Interesting reply," Ian murmured, rubbing his chin.
Hamilton snorted. "If she did end up marrying Cobra, I'd make sure that he wouldn't make it to the altar in one piece."
Ned tried not to smile, looking down.
Ian, displeased with the comment, narrowed his eyes. "If I get points off for my behavior, then Barrel of Muscles here should, too."
Hamilton was about to answer, when Ned cut him off.
"Deal."
Ian smiled as Hamilton began to protest.
"He's the only one who should be monitored!" Hamilton exclaimed.
Ned pressed his lips. "Sorry, Hammer. But we want him to cooperate."
Hamilton murmured something unintelligible, crossing his buff arms across his chest. Ian tried to ignore his glare.
Ned glanced at Amy, who had a pensive look on her face. "You're too quiet, Amy. Anything you don't agree on?"
"Nah, she's just realizing how fortunate she is to be able to pretend to be my fiancé," Ian joked.
Amy raised her eyebrows. "Actually, I'm trying to figure out ways to act happily around you so it seems realistic."
Ned frowned. "You are okay with this, right?"
"Of course. It's just for a day or two, after all," Amy replied.
"Alright, then. Guys, remember that Ian will be a temporal addition to the team. Be nice," Ned instructed. "Ian, your belongings are in the front office. You should thank Amy and your sister for moving them out of your family's mansion and into a storage room."
Ian smiled at Amy. "Thank you, dear."
Amy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, giving him a small smile. "Your sister did most of the work." Her smile disappeared. "And, please, don't call me dear or any other name that's not Amy."
Ian nodded. "I will if you tell me whether I'm getting out of this prison or not."
Amy shook her head. "Sorry, we won't be able to tell you until a few days."
Hamilton stood up, grinning wickedly. "Never mind that. You have to change your clothes and gather your belongings."
Ian breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God! I hated this orange suite. Amy, please take me to my changing room."
"No, not Amy," Hamilton said. "I will."
Ian's amber eyes slightly widened.
"We do need time to become 'friends', after all."
*Is it 'shyer' or 'more shy'? I wrote 'more shy', but I'm not sure if that's the correct way of writing it.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Remember: Constructive criticism is like chocolate for me ;)