Notes: At the end of this chapter is background information for those new to the Caffrey Conversation series.
Chapter 1: Rules of Acquisition
Winston-Winslow. Monday, February 18, 2008.
Diana propped her elbows on the round table in Win-Win's pub-themed conference room and scanned the shelves of games lining the bookcase in front of her. "Which game did you pick for us?"
Mozzie nodded his appreciation at her assumption that he would designate one. "This con is breaking new ground. Dare I say, 'Going where no man has gone before?'"
"Amend that to 'or woman,'" Sara said, "and we could make it our slogan."
Neal kept his chuckle to himself. A new con with Diana, Sara, and Mozzie in his crew. He was calling it another Valentine's Day gift.
"This day's been a long time coming," Diana declared with the gleam of a true con artist in her eyes. "Sara, when I did first mention this?"
"About as soon as you started working at Win-Win," Sara replied, exchanging smiles with her.
"Your mistake was to not include me at an earlier stage," Mozzie said. "I could have had the con up and running in a day."
"But we didn't have a target yet," Neal objected.
"Bah, petty details."
Sara stood up and went over to the bookcase. "Which one is the lucky game?" She knew Mozzie tended to lose focus. This preliminary meeting could last for hours if they didn't stay on track.
"For what we have in mind, Star Trek: Warp 9 calls to me." As Sara retrieved the box and placed it in front of him, he added, "The Rules of Acquisition of which I'm the master will chart our every move."
The game was one of Mozzie's favorites. It allowed him to channel his inner Ferengi. He'd probably already written several new rules for the con.
A brief knock at the door was followed by Peter stepping inside. "You've got drinks ... Is this business or an early happy hour?"
"Both," Neal said. "Would you like to join in? We would have invited you, but I knew you were working at the brokerage firm today."
"Jones and I wrapped the case up an hour ago." Peter eyed the gameboard. "Are you planning your costumes for Tac-Con? For once, I won't tease you. I'm too grateful for your assistance."
The annual sci-fi convention was next week. Yellowface, their yellow-faced bee superhero, was about to hit the big screen in his first full-length animated movie, Yellowface vs. Godzilla. The trailer would be shown at Tac-Con. This year, groups from both the telescope workshop and the Uptown Girls Club planned to attend. Between June and Janet's recruitment drive and Peter's efforts at Win-Win, Neal strongly suspected there would be more volunteers than kids.
"You make an excellent suggestion," Mozzie said. "To get into character, all members of the crew should wear Star Trek attire at Tac-Con."
Sara shook her head firmly. "The rest of you can, but Neal and I have already planned our outfits."
"Hang on," Peter objected. "What crew are you talking about?"
"For the con," Diana said. "And if you can drag yourself away from thoughts of costumes, we need to—"
"Costumes?" Jones asked, walking in. "Anna and I already decided to reprise our Klingon looks."
Sara smiled knowingly. She'd predicted that would be the case. Jones was successfully navigating the murky waters of workplace romance with Win-Win's technical lead Anna Hsu by indulging in their mutual love of video games. So far they'd kept the jinx away.
"I repeat, we are NOT meeting to discuss costumes," Diana huffed. "But go ahead and take a seat. We'd like you on our crew."
"Sorry, I'm late," Henry said, entering the room. "My meeting went on longer than I expected. What did I miss?"
"We were just wondering what costumes you and Eric were wearing at Tac-Con," Neal said, easily dodging the paper missile Diana hurled at him.
Mozzie rapped the table with a bar of gold-pressed latinum he'd taken from the game box. "I hereby declare the first meeting of the Red Diamonds in session. The costume discussion will be tabled for a later time."
"Red Diamonds?" Henry asked, arching his eyebrows.
"That's the crew name I'd proposed to Sara when we first discussed setting ourselves up as jewel thieves," Diana explained. "We shelved the project, and I'm glad we did because it's even more appropriate now."
"Diana and I sketched out the con during a very productive brainstorming session in Boston," Sara said. "Earlier in the day, Neal had spotted Adrian Tulane at the American Museum of Natural History. We speculated about his interest in historical gems."
"Not that we have any proof Tulane is involved," Diana clarified. "There may be multiple rings targeting the jewels. Mozzie used the nickname of Azathoth for the unknown cybercriminal we later discovered was Rolf Mansfeld. I'm calling our present target Diamond Lil."
"When Klaus reported that one of the French crown jewels at the Louvre had been replaced by a fake, Sara suggested we give the con serious consideration," Neal said. "I approached Interpol Art Crimes for their backing, and we received the go-ahead yesterday." The present meeting had been scheduled to bring Henry up to date.
"Beginning later today, I will start the rumor mill about the Red Diamonds," Mozzie said, fingering the bar of latinum.
"Will I have to wait till then to get a clear explanation of what the con entails?" Jones complained.
"You know me," Mozzie chided. "You should already be filling in the blanks. I haven't hidden my interest in lost treasures, but what few appreciate is that famous lost gems are among my favorite targets. My accomplices are helping me find them, and we've already had remarkable success. The Star of Persia was our first triumph. The 290-carat pink diamond had been missing for over a century until my ace crew recovered it."
"Why haven't I heard about it?" Peter demanded.
"Because we didn't actually find it," Sara said. "Mozzie will plant an ad on the Jewel Box darknet, announcing that the lost gem is available for purchase. After a few days, the notice will be removed, implying that someone bought it."
"The pool of prospective buyers with sufficient resources to purchase historic gems of high quality is small," Diana added. "Their names are undoubtedly jealously guarded. We suspect that our thief will be so intrigued by our success that they will eventually contact us to form a partnership."
Peter frowned. "How? Won't you keep your identities secret?"
"We intend to initially," Sara said and turned to smile at Mozzie. "But thanks to our ace rumor supplier, tantalizing breadcrumbs will appear for anyone who wants to follow the trail."
"Sara and I will build on the reputation that Neal has already used to great effect," Diana said. "When he worked at the FBI, he ran a long con where he led a second life of art thief and forger. We persuaded him to expand his horizons."
"Diana, the con is more elaborate than you and Jones realize," Henry said. "You too, Peter, unless Sara or Neal has already filled you in."
Sara shook her head. "As leader of the crew, that's your call."
"Does this have anything to do with the amber music box?" Peter asked.
Diana's eyes widened. "You mean we'll finally learn the truth about what happened?"
"It's past time, and we'll probably want to resurrect the crew," Henry said. "Before you'd thought of the Red Diamonds, the Black Diamonds were formed to con a mobster into believing we'd learned the whereabouts of the Amber Room. Neal, Sara, Mozzie, Travis, Eric, and I were the crew."
Neal was glad Henry didn't mention that the musketeers were auxiliary members. They provided technical support and essential distractions but Neal was careful to ensure they did nothing illegal. So far the musketeers didn't know about the new con but it was inevitable they soon would. The Red Diamonds would need to call on Travis for his electronic wizardry. Since Richard was his husband, fellow musketeers Aidan and Keiko would soon hear about it. Neal and Sara had already discussed the possibility and they weren't worried. The same rules of keeping them out of illegal or dangerous maneuvers would apply.
The travel needed to sell the con should fit in well with Neal's other work, both for Interpol and his doctorate. He had a lighter teaching load this year to allow for overseas research. His university advisor, Vanya Sherkov, kept reminding him that he expected to read his dissertation a year from now. Once Vanya signed off on it, the paper would need to be submitted in April if Neal hoped to obtain his doctorate in May. And he did. Sure, he could apply for an extension for another year, but he was beyond ready to move on.
"Wasn't the Black Diamond the name you used for the sailboat during the U-boat con?" Jones asked.
Trust Jones to remember anything related to U-boats. He and Mozzie continued to play a U-boat video game even though that con ended over two years ago.
"That's where I got the idea," Henry said. "It was especially appropriate since we built on that earlier con. Neal and I established ourselves in the underworld as risk-takers who play free and loose with the law. How much is true is still unknown."
If anything, the circumstantial evidence was stronger than ever now that Neal and Sara lived in their newly remodeled penthouse in the mansion.
"We intend to build on your gray reputations and add ourselves to the mix," Diana declared. "It's not outside the realm of possibility that Jones and I left the Bureau because we wanted a piece of the action too."
"You're simply following in my footsteps," Peter joked. Although he didn't mention his move to a townhouse near the mansion, that was exactly the sort of evidence Mozzie loved to base his rumors on. Peter knew that and he seemed fine with it. Neal suspected that no longer having to worry about explaining his actions to the rigid bureaucrats of the FBI was the major cause of Peter's relaxed attitude.
"How do Jones and I fit into your scheme?" Peter asked.
"We'll need to prepare an extensive trail of financial records to verify the truth of our fictitious transactions," Mozzie said. "The con will have to be a lengthy one to make our successes appear realistic."
Jones smiled. "I like it. The crew's activities are in a gray area of treasure recovery. Not illegal per se. If the sales are private transactions between individuals— "
"Exactly," Mozzie said, jumping in before Jones could point out the legal ramifications. "If a diamond ring is found in a public park, no one would claim that the ring belongs to the park. If our clients choose to keep their purchases a secret, that's not our concern."
"While we circulate rumors, the art crimes task force will continue to press museums to check their collections," Neal said. "Many gem galleries are in natural history museums that generally don't have advanced anti-malware security programs installed. The American Museum of Natural History is an exception. We don't know if that's why their gems all passed inspection, but it's an intriguing possibility."
"Players, select your pieces," Mozzie said, scattering the plastic tokens onto the table. "And pick wisely. Your choice will determine your code name for the con. I, of course, will be Quark. Spock is reserved for Travis." He paused to eye Henry. "You're a natural to be Captain Kirk. I have the expanded version of the game which includes characters from several different series. As for Tac-Con, you're not required to wear your character's costume, but you'll win extra points."
"Points?" Jones challenged. "Is this a game or a con?"
"Both," Mozzie said. "You better bone up on your Rules of Acquisition."
That evening at the Ellington Mansion.
"No need for you to change your costume plans," Mozzie told Neal unexpectedly.
Up to then, they'd been working in companionable silence in the game room. Vanya had requested an outline of Neal's dissertation, and he was dedicating his evening to the project. The women in the household were volunteering at the girls club.
As for Mozzie, who knew which of his numerous projects had grabbed his attention? Neal suspected it was the backstory for how Sara and Diana had discovered the Star of Persia. If Mozzie were true to form, the backstory could approach a novella in length by the time it was done.
"Sara and I don't plan to," Neal replied. "You can call our costumes a tribute to your Doctor Who musical." He was going as the tenth Doctor and Sara as Rose. They already had the clothes on hand since they'd worn them for an undercover job at Scima's movie campus outside London two years ago.
"There's already chatter about the musical on the internet," Mozzie told him. "Amazingly enough, it wasn't planted by me."
"Isn't this a little early? You've only been working on the script for a few weeks."
"True, but the producer signed off on the synopsis. That's now in the hands of the composer and lyricist. I suspect someone in the back office leaked a few reports to start the buzz flowing."
June was one of the backers. She'd successfully used her position to advocate for a team from Masterson Music being selected for the music. The Black musicians who were picked for the 1930s-era musical were eager to recreate the atmosphere of Harlem dance halls.
"Didn't the producers of Yellowface vs. Godzilla want you to be on their panel at Tac-Con?" Neal asked.
"Yes, and their pleas were quite touching. But I was on the panel last year. This time I'd rather go incognito. My Quark costume is an excellent disguise for what I have in mind."
"Which is?"
"Eavesdropping. Travis agreed to lend me a new device to pick up conversations from a distance. The earbuds will be hidden by the Ferengi ears Richard is making for me. The earbuds are controlled remotely by a device concealed in my pocket."
"Who is your target?" Neal asked warily. Was Mozzie the multi-tasker running a side job?
"The convention attendees, of course! I intend to circulate among the fans for Yellowface and Red Sands. Their reactions will be key for future publicity efforts."
The Red Sands video game was at least a couple of years away from being released. Neal's part in the project was finished now that his concept drawings were in production. But Richard and Aidan continued to supply updates on the game's progress. Neal had set a personal goal to obtain his doctorate before Red Sands went on sale. The game updates provided by his friends served as useful nudges to keep him focused on the dissertation grindstone.
He turned his head at the sound of the front door opening and rose to greet Sara, Janet, and June.
"How was the workshop?" he asked, helping June with her coat. Angela and Richard had led a special session on sci-fi makeup for the club members.
"The class was way over-subscribed," Janet said. "It's a good thing we were there to help."
"Angela had Janet and me help with hairstyles," Sara said. "June was a godsend. She photographed the steps so the girls would have something to follow next Saturday."
"I haven't been a part of such chaos in a long time," June said with a laugh. "It was rejuvenating."
"In that case, Saturday will turn us into kids," Janet predicted. "Volunteers will meet at the club at eight o'clock in the morning to help the girls with their transformations before the bus takes us to the convention. I expect the mayhem will be worse than backstage during Fashion Week."
Everyone was trying to maintain an upbeat atmosphere for June's sake. In two days, the household would pause to honor the memory of her husband Byron. Four years ago on that day, he'd passed away. Janet had conspired with Neal and Sara to prepare a special dinner with Byron's favorite dishes. Tac-Con was arriving at a welcome time. The convention could spark lighthearted exchanges about how Byron would have reacted to cosplay and the girls club.
Notes: Star-Trek: Warp 9 is a game I invented for The Woman in Blue. Travis looks forward to playing it again with Mozzie. Neal and Sara's adventure as the 10th Doctor and Rose was in Echoes of a Violin. Peter portrayed a corrupt bank auditor in An Evening with Genji.
A shout-out to my awesome writing partner Penna Nomen for providing the title to this story during our 2023 writing retreat. The title is also an Easter egg to a scene with Travis in Caffrey Disclosure when he channeled Spock from the classic Star Trek episode 'Piece of the Action.'
Don't go searching for the Star of Persia. I invented the gemstone.
Background on the Caffrey Conversation AU for new readers: The series was created by Penna Nomen and begins with her story Caffrey Conversation. Our blog has a list and short summaries for all the stories. The primary initial difference from canon is that Neal was never sent to prison and the characters are several years younger. Peter recruited Neal in 2003 when he was 24. In the fall of 2004, he entered Columbia University's graduate program in art as a part-time student. In October 2006, he left the FBI and began working at Henry's company, Winston-Winslow. He and Sara were married the following month. At the beginning of January 2007, Peter moved into his new role at Winston-Winslow. In February 2007, Diana Berrigan and Clinton Jones left the FBI to work at Winston-Winslow. Neal is now in his fourth year at Columbia University. He hopes to obtain his doctorate in May 2009.
Main non-canon characters:
Henry Winslow: Neal's half-brother. His husband is Eric Vasquez.
Travis Miller: tech and electronics expert.
Neal's friends from Columbia University: Richard Carlisle, Aidan Phillips, and Keiko Nakahara. Richard's husband is Travis. Aidan and Keiko are now married.
Janet Dodson: Mozzie's girlfriend and soulmate.
Klaus Mansfeld: master art thief.
John Hobhouse: leader of the Interpol art crimes task force, headquartered in London.
Marcel Jauffret: the French representative of the art crimes task force.
Blog: Penna Nomen & Silbrith Conversation
Visuals: The Red Diamonds board on the Caffrey Conversation Pinterest site