Itsuki Koizumi set his piece down on the Othello board light-side-up. "I believe it is your turn."

Kyon studied the board for only five seconds before setting his piece down adjacent to Koizumi's, making it obvious that he wasn't really into this game. Kyon reached for his cup and took a sip of tea. He turned toward the desk at the back of the room where the SOS Brigade leader was busily clicking away at her computer. "So Haruhi. Have you decided yet? Today is Friday, after all. Are we meeting tomorrow morning or not? We all have regular lives, you know."

Mikuru Asahina, turning toward the person speaking, noticed that Kyon's tea cup was getting low. She walked over to Kyon with her teapot. "Would you like some more?" she asked with a sweet modest voice. A grateful smiling Kyon nodded.

"I haven't decided yet!" Haruhi barked to her impatient subordinate. "Don't rush me!" Haruhi reclined back in her chair and folder her arms. "I'm tired of searching for out-of-the-ordinary stuff in all the same places. I really want to do something different this week!"

Yuki Nagato sat quietly in her chair, turning the pages in her book, about one page every twenty or so seconds. She seemed oblivious to the passing scene.

"We could go to a baseball game," Kyon said. "We haven't done that for a while. The Chunichi Dragons are in town."

"You know," Koizumi lifted his finger into the air, "I just read a very interesting article about the resurgence of the arts in Japan. Do you know that people spent more money viewing the arts last year than they did on all sporting events combined?"

Haruhi's ears perked up. "No way!"

"Oh yes. Far more people go to experience classical concerts, Kabuki shows, and museums nowadays."

"Museums, huh?" Haruhi started nodding her head. "That's a great idea! There's all kinds of strange things at museums! Dinosaurs and mummies and stuff." Haruhi got up out of her seat, raised her right arm into the air, and proclaimed, "It's been decided! Tomorrow, the SOS Brigade is going to explore the Art District!"

Kyon looked over at the small girl walking next to him. There were definite benefits to being one of the two people to draw a short straw. The main one: Kyon got a break from his hyperkinetic leader. He had a feeling Koizumi and Miss Asahina were jealous of his good fortune.

On the not-so-bright side, drawing the short straw with Nagato meant that Kyon wouldn't be engaging in much conversation as they trudged around the Art District together. He didn't mind, though. He wouldn't trade anything in the world for this quiet girl's unique brand of friendship. After all, she'd saved his life on more than one occasion.

"Hey Nagato. Do you want to go to the library?"

"The nearest library is 10.3 miles away. Traveling at our current rate of speed it would take us 3 hours 12 minutes and 47 seconds to get there."

Kyon looked up at the sky. Though it was a cool overcast day, it didn't look like it was going to rain. "I guess that's a 'No' then?"

Nagato did not answer.

To Haruhi's chagrin, the museum didn't open until 2PM this particular Saturday, since they were setting up a new wooly mammoth exhibit. With a healthy lunch in their bellies and a few hours to kill, the SOS Brigade's leader decided it would be more efficient to explore the area in teams. Haruhi, Mikuru and Koizumi were responsible for the area south of the museum, while Kyon and Nagato went north.

They walked past several boutique stores, coffee shops and art galleries. The pictures on display in the windows of these galleries looked… interesting. Some were nice. Some were ugly. Many made no sense at all. After rounding the corner of one block, Kyon noticed a gallery with some activity. He looked up at the sign. The bright neon lettering glowed brightly in contrast with the gray sky. It read "The Hasegawa Art Gallery". A large portable folding sign board sitting on the sidewalk in front read,

Sweet Springtime at the Hasegawa!
New Artist Exhibit - Public Welcome

Cars were parked all up and down the street. This show was drawing quite a crowd.

Kyon turned to his friend. "Want to check it out? We've got nothing better to do."

Yuki Nagato nodded.

Taro couldn't believe it.

The previous evening, before the official opening of the exhibit, Tomo Hasegawa had placed a small brass box filled with information cards below the painting entitled, "The Prisoner". In fact, Mr. Hasegawa had placed boxes near the artwork of all the artists participating in this exhibit. Those who were interested in a particular piece could take one of these information cards; and by entering the numbers from a card into either a private handheld terminal or a custom iPhone app, patrons could electronically bid on his painting.

That part was the believable part.

The unbelievable part was the display on Mr. Hasegawa's iPad. On a graph, next to "The Prisoner", in a column labeled "Current Highest Bid" stood the figure 500,000 YEN (~ US $5000).

"That's not real, is it?"

Mr. Hasegawa chuckled. "No, it's not." He turned the iPad toward himself and tapped the bottom of the screen. "That number does not reflect my 5% cut. Which is normally a 20% cut," Mr. Hasegawa shrugged, "but I owe your uncle a huge favor." He turned the iPad back towards Taro - who's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when the number changed, but still read 475,000 YEN!

"A regular client of mine pulled me aside last night. He told me he's willing to pay ten million Yen for your entire 'Law and Order' collection." Taro nearly lost his balance and fell over when he heard that. Mr. Hasegawa smiled. "You've got talent son. My clients aren't stupid. They recognize talent when they see it. They think you have a future."

"Ten million Yen," Taro said softly to himself.

Mr. Hasegawa nodded. "It's probably a bargain. In five years, each painting could be worth twenty times that."

"No way…"

Taro was jolted out of his stupor by some commotion off to his left. "Who painted these!" a very irate young man asked one of the ushers. The usher pointed in Taro's direction.

"THE MODEL IN THESE PAINTINGS!" the young man shouted as he stormed over to Taro. "WHO IS THE MODEL IN THESE PAINTINGS!" This very emotional guy was now screaming into Taro's face. "AND WHERE IS SHE?"

"She's a very private person," Taro answered, a little flustered. "She made it clear that she doesn't want me to share that information with anybody." Two security guards now flanked the young man.

Mr. Hasegawa nodded to one of the security guards, who pushed a taser into the young man's side and pressed the button. The two guards grabbed the young man by the arms before he collapsed to the floor.

"Please escort this gentleman out to the street," Mr. Hasegawa instructed the guards. "And if he returns, call the police."

Taro looked over at Mr. Hasegawa with a shocked expression. "Why did you…?"

"The art on display today is worth many millions. Two years ago an unhinged art fan destroyed several paintings and two priceless sculptures… of his ex-girlfriend." Mr. Hasegawa raised his eyebrows. "Fortunately we were insured. It goes without saying, we no longer take any chances."

Taro watched as the guards dragged the stunned young man out of the building toward the street. As he did, Taro noticed a small girl wearing a high school uniform standing near one of his paintings. She was staring at him with a cold, emotionless expression. It gave Taro the creeps.

The small girl turned and followed the young man and his security guard entourage out of the gallery.