The Good Book is wrong.

Money is not the root of all evil; avarice is. Want. Envy. Covetousness. Trying to keep up with the Jones leads us all down the road to Hell. As Hannibal Lecter says to Clarice Starling, "We covet what we see every day."

Most people haven't the nerve to steal what they want, so they simmer in their envy until it consumes them. They act hatefully towards the possessor of what they want, ruining whatever relationship they might have enjoyed. If they'd only acted on that envy and taken what they want, they'd be much happier.

You're not buying that, are you?

Good. It's a weak defense anyway. I don't steal from my fellow man because I want what they have " though certainly that plays into it. I steal from my fellow man because I can, because I'm good at it. Hell, because I'm the best thief that ever was.

Don't believe me" Well, let's take a little tour through my trophy room, shall we" You'll be amazed at what I've collected over the past 25 years.

That there" Oh, yes, that's the real thing - Bal du moulin de la Galette. Renoir. $131 million. Stole it right out from underneath the nose of a little Japanese sararīman. And that' Yep, also real. 245 carats, first mined in South Africa in 1895, called the Jubilee for Vickie's 60th year of reign. I assure you that everything you see in this room is real, and was stolen by me.

That' Oh, that. Well, that may look like a mere "5 note, but it's more than that. It's the beginning of everything else. It was the first thing I stole. What' You want to hear the story of how the Dragon got started" It's boring, I assure you. Let's go have a Cuban and a glass of Remy Martin Louis XIII " no, I didn't steal either of them, cheek ? and I'll tell you the tale of the Dragon's last job, instead. It's much, much better.

The Dragon had said to be there at 5:30 p.m., which meant Rory had showed up a few minutes before 3:00 to check the place out." If it really was the Dragon who'd called him, there probably wouldn't be any trouble, but that didn't mean he was going to blindly trust the guy, either." Paranoia isn't really what you'd call a problem when there are a good dozen countries who'd happily see you dead." It was more like a requirement for survival." He walked around the entire airport, which took for-freaking-ever, paying as much attention to the security as he did the people in the place." Roughly two hours later, he was fairly satisfied that there weren't any surprises waiting for him, so he headed over to the cafe the Dragon had specified." It was a good thing he had a return-trip ticket, too, since passengers weren't even allowed in the terminal area without one." At 5:15, he sat down at a table and ordered the requested hummus, pita, and mint tea, plus a bottle of Fiji water for himself." Then he waited.

Grey hadn't exactly lied to Rory when he'd said he'd be tired from his flight." He did fly into LA, though not from Auckland as he'd mentioned on the phone." Instead he was coming in from Dubai, a part of his cover identity." His plane had arrived at 1:30 p.m. and he had been sitting in the cafe the entire time that Rory had spent walking around the airport." He was disguised as a bored son of an obscenely rich caliph - a little self-tanner turned his normally-pale English skin a dark honey colour, contacts replaced his oak-leaf green eyes with those of a deep, rich chocolate, and a dark wig covered his closely-shorn blond hair." His wardrobe remained unchanged, though - a bespoke Saville Row suit, hand-made Italian loafers, an understated Bvlgari watch, platinum and diamond tie-tack and matching cuff-links." When Rory finally settled himself at the table with the requested food, Grey stood and made his way through the crowded cafe." "Excuse me, sir?" he said, English accent replaced by a thick Arabic one." "There are no tables available." Might I join you for just a moment?"

Rory glanced up at the Middle-Eastern-looking guy, assessing him automatically for weapons and intent, then shook his head." "Sorry, pal, I'm waiting for someone."

Grey smirked and sat anyway, crossing his legs and letting his right ankle rest casually on his left knee." "Very good, Mr Lynch," he said, allowing the smooth, cultured, English accent to slip out." He reached for the tea and the hummus then, taking a sip of the former and digging into the latter." "And thank you for this, too." How much do I owe you?"

A slight narrowing of his eyes was the only reaction Rory showed when the Arabic suddenly shifted to upper-crust English." "Nice look," he said." "Been waiting long?" I noticed you sitting there by the wall when I came in.?" He didn't answer the question about money for the food; if this job paid half of what he was expected it to, a little meal, even at airport prices, wasn't a big deal.

Grey waved his hand airily dismissively." "The wait was miniscule.?" He reached beneath his seat and withdrew a leather briefcase and set it on the table." He opened it and withdrew a single item, a full-colour brochure." He slid this across the table to Rory and then closed the briefcase and set it under his seat once more." As Rory read the brochure over, Grey sat back and continued his repast, eyes never leaving the passers-by, or the crowd in the cafe.

Rory picked up the brochure without comment and looked at it." He recognized the diamond on the cover of the thing. The Jubilee wasn't exactly a an unknown rock." Last he'd heard, it was valued at something like a hundred million dollars." That was serious money." The brochure went on to talk about the unveiling of the diamond, more useful information." Where and when was the kind of thing they needed to know." "You don't think small," he said." "Not that I expected anything else."

"I'm prepared to offer you twenty percent," Grey said around a mouthful of hummus-slathered pita." "Our covers are already established." We just need to take a little peek at the set-up."

Rory let out a humorless little laugh." "You kidding me?" You as much as admitted you can't do this job without me." Forty percent isn't asking too much."

Grey chuckled good-naturedly and took a sip of the tea before replying." "Don't insult my intelligence, Mr Lynch." You are a skull-breaker, which isn't exactly a complex skill." I could hire one of at least three others of your caliber and they'd be delighted to take fifteen percent."

"You couldn't find three others of my caliber." If you could, they wouldn't take twenty percent, either.?"

"Seems to me that $20 million would go a long way to paying off a certain Somali gun runner," Grey countered.

Rory laughed again, this time with real humor." "He won't be looking for anything, let alone money, anytime soon." Someone as rich as everyone says you are shouldn't mind thirty-five percent." You don't need the money."

"Twenty-five percent and I get the Libyans off your back as well.?" Grey took another sip of his tea, looking over the edge of the cup directly at Rory, the first time he'd made eye contact with the man since sitting down.

"The Libyans haven't had the guts to try something in almost a year." Still, that's a pretty good offer.?" It was also the amount he'd wanted coming into the deal, but, hey, you didn't start bargaining where you wanted to end up." "Okay, deal."

"Very good decision, Mr Lynch." I applaud you." Now, let's get down to brass tacks, shall we?"" He pushed the empty plate of hummus and pita away and brought out his briefcase once more." Opening it, he withdrew a slim, manila folder and passed it across the table to Rory." Inside was a Swiss passport, de Beers company ID badge, two credit cards, and a Swiss driver's license - all featuring Rory's photo." The identification was in the name of Jean-Pierre du Rhone." "We're attending the unveiling as employees of the de Beers company, going to see that our diamond is treated well."

"Tres bien," Rory said, flipping quickly through the documents." They looked as close to perfect as possible, which fit what he'd heard about the Dragon."

"Mais oui," Grey replied smoothly." "I have secured a pair of suites at the Hotel Sofitel, in Beverly Hills, and a Town Car for the time we're in the city." If there is anything further that you may need, I will be glad to secure it for you as well."

"I'll let you know after I see the place.?" How the guards were outfitted would make a big difference on what he brought into the job.

Grey snapped closed his briefcase and rose gracefully." "Shall we, Monsieur du Rhone?"

"Apres vous, monsieur...?"" The Dragon hadn't mentioned what his cover's name was.

"Devereaux, Henri Devereaux.?" He left the cafe, walking quickly but casually towards the car rental kiosks.

Mr Nadir, an older man with a thick shock of pure white hair, small intense brown eyes, and a gap between his front teeth that was exposed as he smiled at them, stood and came around his desk." "Salam wa aleikum, Monsieur Devereaux, Monsieur du Rhone," he said and extended his hand to them both."

"Wa aleikum ah salam, Monsieur Nadir," said Grey and shook the man's hand before stepping out of the way to allow Rory to exchange pleasantries with the museum owner.

"A pleasure to meet you," Rory said in a very Germanic accent." His cover ID said he was from Zurich, on the border of Germany." He shook Nadir's hand firmly, then took a step back.

"Please, gentleman, have a seat and I will discuss the security arrangements for your diamond.?" Nadir gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk and then returned to his own seat." He withdrew two folders, which were printed with the Museum's logo, to Grey and to Rory and allowed them to look over the information in their own time." Grey settled down and began looking through the folder. Rory nodded his thanks to Nadir, and opened his folder as well.

The diamond would be held in an underground vault when it was not on display." The vault was guarded by two men, armed with not only the same pistols as the other guards they'd encountered already, but pump-action shotguns as well." The vault itself was accessible only after entering a code, one's fingerprint, and the correct combination on the dial lock." After the door was opened, there were heat, sound, and motion detectors as well as cameras to defeat.

"We are planning to hire additional security men." We will have five three-men teams patrolling the grounds, as well as the building," Mr Nadir offered.

The shotguns carried by the vault guards could present a bit of a problem, but nothing insurmountable." Long barrels made them a lot more unwieldy than a pistol, making it easy to stay out of their line of fire once you got close." Of course, it was the getting close that often proved to be the hardest part of a job." Rory figured the Dragon had a plan for that, though.

"The vault's walls are too thick or blast through, I assume." Grey made it a statement, rather than a question." Nadir nodded and then Grey closed the folder, glanced aside at Rory, and then said, "I would like to walk through your building and see the vault." Rory nodded at that, since that would be the only way for him to see the guards there."

Nadir rose and took them through the building, showing them exits and entrances, the location of hidden cameras and mics, everything Grey would need to plan a successful heist." As the art dealer nattered on, Grey was silently memorising the lay-out of the building, pinpointing the location on his mental map of every security device, counting his steps, figuring out blind spots and so forth." By the time Nadir had finished with his tour, Grey knew exactly where they'd enter the building and exit once the diamond was in their possession.

The art dealer brought them to an elevator and after a short ride, the doors opened, revealing the vault room." There was a small area between the elevator doors and a short half-wall that was topped by bullet-proof glass." On the other side of the glass were the two guards, sitting behind a desk atop which was a bank of small televisions and a dedicated phone line." Upon spying Mr Nadir and his guests, there was a loud clicking sound and the door to the right of the elevators opened a bit.

"The guards must release the door locks before anyone can enter the vault room," Nadir explained." Grey nodded and his heart sunk a bit." This was going to be more difficult than he'd originally thought." He followed Nadir out of the elevators and into the vault room itself, looking around as the art dealer once more helpfully pointed out all of the cameras and mics and detectors.

After Greyson satisfied his curiosity about the security measures, Nadir escorted them back upstairs to his office." "Well, gentlemen?" Does it meet with your approval?" the art dealer asked.

"It very much does, Monsieur Nadir." Thank you for your time." We will see you tomorrow evening, ne c'est pas?"" Nadir nodded, there was a round of handshaking and soon the thieves were exiting the building and headed back to their car." Grey waited until they were on the freeway back to their hotel before saying, "We're going to be here for about a week, Mr Lynch." I trust you don't have anything pressing?"

"Nah, the receptionist wouldn't give me her number,?" Rory said, smirking." "My schedule's clear."

Grey chuckled." "This is Los Angeles." Birds like that are a dime a dozen." I'm sure you can spend the next seven nights in the company of a different girl each night. If you were so inclined, that is. Once we're back at the hotel, let's order dinner and begin planning. I've got a scenario in mind. Let's see what you think, shall we??