How to Steal A Million

Full Summary: Based on the film 'How to Steal a Million'. Haley James is the only child of a rich art collector, but what no one knows is that his entire collection is made up of fakes. When Jimmy James is in danger of being found out Haley is forced to turn to Nathan Scott, a young socialite and occasional burglar, and together they must steal a million-dollar sculpture!

A/N: If any of you have seen 'How to Steal a Million' starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole then you already know where this story is going. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you do, because it's great (IMO). Certain things from the film have been changed, but a lot of the main bits are sort of the same.

Prologue

"Are you sure you don't want to come, sweetheart?" Jimmy James asked his daughter as he put on his bow tie.

"I have work tomorrow, Daddy. And even if I didn't, I still wouldn't come; you know I don't approve of this," Haley said crossly.

"Haley, darling, you need to stop worrying."

"Daddy, it's bad enough that you paint all these fake Van Gough's and Da Vinci's and sell them for thousands of dollars –"

"That's hundreds of thousands, Haley," he corrected his daughter.

"But to loan the Chellini Venus to the art museum? Someone is going to notice that it's a fake and then you could go to jail."

"You have nothing to fear, Haley. I may not be a great sculptor, but your grandfather mastered the art of sculpture, as I have mastered that of painting, and no one is going to know that his Venus, which your grandmother posed for, is not the real Chellini."

"Someone could test it-" Haley began to protest again, but her father would not hear her.

"In a crowd of over a hundred people, while it's protected by a high-tech security system? I don't think so. Now I am off to the grand unveiling of the Venus and you should be off to bed."

Jimmy James left for the museum, and Haley sighed as she made her way to her bedroom. She loved her father dearly, but she was always worrying about him. If anyone ever found out that his entire collection had actually been painted by him, including the ones he had sold, he would go bankrupt and sent to jail. And to top it off, he would be ruined in society, which would be the worst blow to Jimmy. Haley wished she could find a way that would make her father stop his schemes but, as yet, she couldn't see how.

……………

Nathan Scott said goodnight to his mother and hung up the phone. He was currently staying at the Plaza as his house was redecorated. He hadn't particularly minded its previous decoration, but his parents were having problems and Nathan found it was better to indulge most of his mother's whims. She had also wanted him to stay with her while his place was redecorated, but that was where Nathan drew the line.

He had just told Deb that he was going to the art museum for the unveiling of the Chellini Venus. However, in reality, Nathan was actually headed to the house of Jimmy James, the man who was in possession of the statue, and had loaned it to the museum. Nathan knew that the servants were out, and Mr. James and his daughter would be at the museum, so he would be able to pass through the house easily.

Nathan Scott was widely known in Tree Hill society, because of his father, Dan Scott. Or rather, because of his wealth. Nathan was twenty-four years old, and had never worked a day in his life. He had gone to college because he felt like it, and because it allowed him to get away from his father. Yet, ever since his graduation, almost a year ago, Nathan had fallen into the habit of…well, stealing things. Not just things; he had a penchant for stealing paintings. It was something he had tried once, in the summer before he left for college, because he had been bored and it seemed like it would be fun. The same boredom had come over him after his return from college, so he continued to do so, but only every so often, so no one noticed the pattern behind the thefts or could link them to him. His last theft had been over a month ago, and he was starting to get anxious. Tonight provided him with a golden opportunity, and who was he to pass it up?

Checking his watch, Nathan smiled lightly to himself and put his jacket on. It was time to get ready.