overshadows extravagance, tag: Pandora

Stealing from another thief was easy. Bela had been doing this for years, and she hardly felt any challenge behind having to steal from another thief. They were all just as arrogant as she was - and she knew that that was going to be their own weakness. It was certainly easy to manipulate and keep from coming off a threat - especially when you weren’t going to bother sneaking around about it. What the buyer had called her about had sounded vaguely familiar, and after she’d done a bit of research on it, she figured it must have been a name she’d heard while she’d been in the middle east. The Urn of Osiris. A tricky little thing, apparently, as it’d taken more work than she would have thought to track it back to a particular thief. After that much, though, she was sure it wasn’t going to exactly be all too difficult. She was good at what she did for a reason, after all, and she certainly saw it through that her buyers got what they wanted. It would just involve screwing someone else over in the process, and she was fine with that.

The woman that she was looking for, well, what she did was rather obvious. Bela had heard the name thrown around a few times, after all, as well as of the antique store that she run. It was certainly one way to be obvious about it, in her own eyes, although it would certainly come off as nothing but an antique store the police. Smart woman, she’d give her that. It wasn’t going to do much in her own opinion, because Bela certainly got what she wanted. Whether or not she was going through with this job was too be determined, though. The pay was a bit low for her own expectations, and while she wasn’t sure what it’d been sold previously, she still had her expectations. If it was an easy job, she would go for it - but if it required any real sort of expertise, well, she certainly had her own doubts about having to go through with it without a bit of a higher pay. She didn’t take risks for just any price, after all. And that was one thing that her buyer would just have to learn to deal with.

Bela straightened out her jacket slightly as she finished maneuvering her way among the streets of New York, slipping into the store that she’d been making her way for. She planned on at least just scouting it out for the day - which would be most of determining whether or not it would truly be worth it. Her doubts were there most prominently, after all, and that was a sign of nothing else that the likely hood of her following through with this job were rather diminished. And she was more than okay with that. There were always other jobs to do, after all, and more than enough resources to exert to make a little money. Glancing around the area, she kept her eyes very weary over the place - you never could be too careful with people in this kind of business, after all. Bela was cutthroat about it, and she knew they could be quite equally so. ”Hello?” She called out, her British accent cutting crisply through the silence of the store. It would have been a bit too convenient if no one happened to be here.

Pandora didn’t necessarily like to steal, but sometimes it was necessary, considering she liked to make a tidy profit, and what her husband didn’t know about her business wouldn’t hurt him. Her files were always seemingly in order, and those clients that didn’t play ball, she made sure she’d procure the item, but wouldn’t arouse suspicion in her direction, considering she bided her time before going after it. Anyone clever knew that by trying to bargain for an item then immediately stealing it would make all the red flashing signs point to them and then the jig was up before you could say sorry; Pandora wasn’t that stupid. She kept them all on file, away from everyone else, hidden in a locked cabinet until she procured the item, and then documentation was typed up for it, and it was shipped out of her hands as quickly was was humanly possible so that the item was miles away before the owner knew it was even missing. It was items like that, that didn’t get kept on record, and she made the price add up somewhere else to make up for money that was seemingly appearing out of thin air from her business. Every dirty little trick she’d ever learnt about making the figures add up, she’d learnt from a top accountant friend of hers, and she made sure to deal with everything properly and took her time cleaning up her tracks, just so that she didn’t have any officers of the law on her tail, or at least when they were, they had no prints to follow her. Even when she was acquiring the item she made sure to leave no evidence behind that could put her in the blaring spotlight of the investigations of stolen property; and this made her a well-known person in the trade.

That day Pandora had had no intentions of going to her store, but she’d gotten the call that morning that there was some paper work on her desk that needed signing so that she could get her hands on yet another priceless artefact, and she had made her way there earlier than she’d asked her workers to come in so she could get some peace and quiet whilst she was working. She’d opened the Auction House early too, even though she knew that hardly any customers would come in during that period, but at least if they wanted to, the open door was there. She had sat herself at her desk, hunched over it as she read the contract, scowering every last bit of it and editing it so that it suited her rather than her client. She never did anything for a client, she was always selfish when it came to deals, but she was ever so sly about it. She always made sure they thought they were getting a good deal, when in fact they were getting robbed in broad daylight without realising it. She bought things for half of what they were worth and always tried to sell them for triple what they were worth, making more than a tidy profit on it, and even though she didn’t really need to make that much, she did it to prove to her husband that she didn’t need his money or help to get by in the industry. She was just reaching the bottom of the contract when she heard the unfamiliar British accent ringing through to her office, and almost instantly she began to check her schedule, wondering if she had any meetings, but it was blank. She rose from her chair, placing her glasses on her desk and walking out into the main area to see brunette stood there. With an eyebrow raised in curiosity, she quickly scanned over the woman before speaking, “Can I help you, Miss…?” She didn’t know what the woman wanted but normally they would have to make an appointment, but if this particular person wanted to talk business then she’d be glad to make an exception this once, if it meant she was going to make a tidy profit in the process. She pointed her in the direction of her office, holding the door wide open for her to enter so that they could talk without being disturbed. “So what brings you to my little auction house so early? Anything I can help you with? Something you want? Something you want getting rid of in a hurry?”

It was certainly any interesting little store, Bela would give it that much. She had only done a bit of looking into the store itself, as the owner of both it and the auction house attached to it had seemed to catch her attention more. Pandora Crowley. The name itself was rather familiar, although it had hardly taken any effort to put it together with Stephen Crowley. It almost felt strange that she was considering the possibility of stealing from his wife when she had already worked on stealing for him. But it wasn’t like it was anything she hadn’t done before, and chances were, screwing around with people so tightly interknit would be quite a common thing. Matters like these tended to be quite gentle naturally, and had a habit of becoming something that seemed to be within family trees. It at least made getting to know some clients and buyers quite a bit easier than it would have been otherwise. Bela’s own preference of course was anything that didn’t involve family - but her bias against it had always been a bit obvious. They were useless and only brought you down. She had no doubts that such things could have applied to this woman with her husband - and all of it was pathetic, really. She had no issue with the prospect of working for Mr. Crowley and getting quite the nice paycheck, all the while screwing his wife over in the background. The thought was certainly more than content in her mind, after all. It wouldn’t have gotten in the way of anything that she was doing. If she could merely get the buyer to just double how much he was offering, then of course it would be much more likely that she would actually bother to go through. There were very few things she’d go after for such a skimpy amount.

Bela let her eyes appropriately wander around the place. Interesting little set up. Perhaps worth keeping in mind for the future - as you could never have too many possibilities. It was fairly empty, as well, which seemed like it would certainly be better for such things. Random civilians getting in the way - even if chances were that they weren’t exactly mere civilians in this kind of business - was never a good thing. And she wanted her little analysis to be as full as possible when it came to this particular possibility, just for the sake of making sure that she wasn’t getting herself ripped off. She wouldn’t bother to steal it just for kicks, not at the moment. Too many risks without the certainty of a well paying buyer, in the vary least. ”Lugosi. Alex Lugosi.” She introduced with a nothing but polite smile gracing over her lips. It was the same name she had given the woman’s husband, as a part of her was curious how much this woman may have known when it came to her spouse’s work life. ”A pleasure to meet you. I presume you’re Mrs. Crowley?” There was a small tilt of the head with the question, a slim raise of the eyebrow, even if she was already confident in what the answer should have been. Bela walked smoothly and without hesitation into the offered office space, curious what this woman may have been expecting out of her. The questions certainly sounded innocent enough, no doubt well enough rehearsed with some variety of people wandering in and out of the parts. She waited until the office door was shut, not wishing to be overheard, before she answered the questions. ”Well, you know what they saw, early bird gets the worm. And I actually heard rumors of a particularly... unique object that you may have procured.”

The one rule in business was simple; trust no one, and why was there such a rule? Because everyone in business was just another shark, going out of their way to take out the littler businesses and leave more room for their own business, and there were some tough bosses out there. Pandora Crowley was one of them, there was nothing really that could compare to this cold business woman and she would play dirty if she had to, and that included pulling a gun on someone if it was completely necessary. She would have no qualms about taking someone out of the way and cleaning up her mess, not when it was her husband’s business that did more shady things than herself, and with that overshadowing her business, she snuck around unseen. She wasn’t completely unwary of the other thieves that pottered around doing similar business to her but on a less legal basis, in the idea they were more black market than auction house. Building her business on top of her more shady work had been the best idea that Pandora had ever come up with and even her husband wasn’t fully aware to the extent that his wife would go to get what she wanted. She wasn’t spoiled, she just knew when there was a good deal to be had and if she couldn’t achieve it by kosherized rules then she would simply play the game a little bit rougher to make ends meet. Those kinds of files were kept in a safe hidden behind a wall crevice in her office, and you wouldn’t even know it was there unless you knew what you were looking for in the first place; that’s why whenever the police did come to call, the tended to find nothing and leave again.

Pandora’s sharp blue eyes scowered the details of the woman in front of her, looking for the tell-tale signs of what she could possibly want, yet, even in her eyes she kept the secret well. She pursed her lips and thought over the name the entire way to the office. Lugosi. Now where had she heard that name before; even if she couldn’t remember the where the fact she’d heard it at all was bad news for the young individual, as it had already broken any barrier of trust. She allowed the door to close behind her before taking her seat at her desk, shoving any spare papers and files away in drawers, eyeing the girl before her. “I procure a lot of unique items Miss Lugosi, you’re going to have to be a tad more specific.” She opened up her appointment book, scribbling the woman’s name down in the time slot that they were currently at, checking over her watch a few times as she realised it was still somewhat early, before she circled it roughly. She slapped the book closed and slipped it into the drawer along with the scruffy papers from before, her eyes looking over her square glasses at the woman. “Now Miss Lugosi, what kind of item is it your looking for? If you know the specific name of it that would be most helpful.” She tapped the pen from before on the desk, somewhat impatiently as the name preyed on her memory, trying to pinpoint where exactly she’d heard the name, but it just wasn’t coming to her. Perhaps it had been a name that she’d heard in passing or just heard in a coffee shop at one time or another when she’d been eavesdropping on people’s conversations when she shouldn’t have been.

Even now, the woman seemed to be exceptionally calm with the situation that they were in. Bela doubted that the woman would have been able to recognize who she as - she had always gone to extraordinary precautions with changing names, numbers, and even a few little physical things just for the sake of keeping herself hidden. The name hadn't been a slip, though, and it seemed to be most apparent that Mrs. Crowley had managed to slip from getting the bait. That was interesting, then, the woman didn't know about any of the things that she had done for her husband. Something perhaps that she could play with later, tuck away in the back of her mind just in case it became necessary. Bela was certainly not above dirty work when it came to what she wanted, after all. This was more a visit of... courtesy, at best. She could have easily just rummaged through the place and gotten either the location of the object or object itself - and probably saved herself a bit of time, at the very least. It might have been a bit safer that way, but getting known with a few associates in the business couldn't have been too much of a pain. Most of them seemed to switch names and faces faster than you could blink, as well, but from looking through the records of this woman... she was either extremely talented with what she did, or her ego was big enough to think it wouldn't be entirely necessary. Either way, it had certainly grabbed her attention, and Bela was very much comfortable with looking into it. At the moment, after all, she had nothing to loose as far as this woman was involved.

Bela watched the woman straighten up her desk and write down something in what was presumably an appointment book of sorts. She gave an appreciative glance over the office, taking quick and careful notes of where the majority of things seemed to be located as she did so. Hearing the book shut, Bela walked over a bit closer to the desk, giving a glance at the chairs sat in front of it, yet she made no move yet to sit down in it. "Mrs. Crowley, I feel it might be necessary for me to straighten a few things up before we get too into business." She decided out loud, letting manicured nails rest of the desk, ever careful to make sure she didn't leave any type of print. "Unlike any official records or anything of the sort, I know exactly what you business does. I don't care what you think you know or what others may know about it, but you should be very aware that I've given a careful little look your business. Don't assume for a second I'm that ignorant to the little extracurriculars around it. We run in very similar circles, Mrs. Crowley, I assure of that much." Her tone remained even throughout the little spiel, her facial expression hardly changing as well. Bela took a small step back, just enough to seat herself and cross her ankles, her eyes still remaining very carefully and searching for any sort of reaction on the woman's face. Her hands folded into her lap smoothly, her back still straight and chin easily still held high. "I've heard you've recently come into possession of the Urn of Osiris." She stated calmly, waiting.

Pandora twiddled the wedding ring on her finger as she sat in her seat, trying to make heads or tails of the woman in front of her. All she had to go on was a name, and as far as she was concerned, it could well be a fake name, but she tried to keep her business front up rather than letting it slip into a verbal battle with the woman to try an extract the information she wanted before she would do business with her. No she could do this; she’d get the truth without running her mouth off or making the woman in front of her feel uncomfortable. After all, she’d twisted clients for years, this little woman was going to be no challenge, after all, she had learnt from the best. Her husband was the expert in getting what he wanted, and after years of being married to him, it was no wonder that she had a few tricks up her sleeve as well; it was expected from anyone in the Crowley family to be perfectly honest. Both her son and daughter had gained the traits from working with their father much to Pandora’s reluctance to it.

“Please, sit. There’s no rush for you to leave is there?” She pursed her lips and watched the woman, somewhat suspicious of the fact she hadn’t just seated herself like all her other clients would do. It was somewhat abnormal for a woman of her standing to remain stood when there was perfectly good seating in a room. She raised her eyebrow at Alex’s next statement, her lip curling into a smirk as she listened to the woman, who had quite clearly done her research on her business, and was somewhat pleased by the effort she’d put into it to gain such information. “I must say Miss Lugosi, you are the first client that has bothered to do their homework. I’m impressed.” She folded her hands in front of her and leant over the table, sharp blue eyes still on the woman in front of her. “I had a feeling you were a… under the radar worker. You should come work for me sometime.” She licked her lips, a wide smile on her face as she slipped back in her chair, leaning in it with her fingers pressed to her lips in thought, swinging only slightly in her chair.

“You’d be right in thinking that; however, another client has shown interest in that item so you’re going to have to be the highest bidder.” She stated clearly and without a moment’s hesitation as she recollected the name of the Urn she had gone to great lengths in collecting for her buyer. “I’m afraid those are the rules. And the buyer did put down a pretty hefty price on the urn. So name your price and I’ll tell you if you’re even remotely close.” She rummaged through the files, looking for the one she had on the Urn of Osiris, and a little piece of paper at the top with the figures that her other client had given her to pay for the item. She raised her eyebrow and looked up at Alex, waiting for an answer, waiting to compare the offering price with the price she already had written down. After all, Pandora was not the type of woman who would give away anything for nothing; it wasn’t in her nature and it certainly wasn’t in her families nature either. She wasn’t going to let some younger woman just waltz in here and take something off her hands just because they worked similarly.

"Of course, no rush at all." Bela agreed with a smile, seating herself and crossing her ankles, letting her hands rest folded in her laps and remaining with nothing short of perfect posture. She naturally preferred to remain standing, sitting felt like too much of a sign of obedience practically, and the only person she would ever properly listen to was herself. That was just how her nature was designed and would continue to be. She couldn't afford to listen to others over the years, the woman included. That didn't mean it put her above listening unfortunately, as much as she would have liked to just outright do what she wanted, around potential clients and people who needed to see her polite side, it was best to remain in line. Besides, it was likely she was going to screw this woman over in the long run, best to remain as poised and innocent looking as possible. Interest didn't mean she'd have to be of blame - or that there would be any proof of it, at least.

The smile turned vaguely pleased at what was more or less supposed to be a compliment. A little sweet talk here and there was entirely common after all, it was more often than not there. It seemed like everyone was on those terms were they faked to be the bestest of friends, even though they were all just stabbing each other in the back constantly. "Thank you. Although, coming prepared is the only reasonable option." The smile easily hid her real intentions with the little meeting, keeping her eyes from constantly flickering around the office or any other bits of the stores. Little cameras here and there hadn't missed her careful eye, after all, but she doubted they would be of any issue. She'd dealt with quite a few tricky things in the past, and she didn't things were going to be any more difficult now than they had been then. She had other things to mess around with after all, and she could take her time with this job. Perhaps the more time she spent in hesitance, the less thought or suspicion that would be placed on her. "Perhaps I'll have to consider it." She agreed, giving a delicate shrug of the shoulders.

Of course - the highest bidder gets it, blah blah. As if that wasn't something she hadn't heard a hundred times, and she'd still managed to walk away with the object in her hand. Bela had little concern for how the woman managed to think that the object was going to go with it. It was almost cute. "Of course, I would expect the rules to be no different." She agreed with was true enough, that was a bit of a standard - people didn't play this game for allies or friends, they were nonexistent and people continued to only be in it. "I prefer to discuss price after a few questions, just to be.. safe before stating anything solid." In other words, she just wanted to an excuse to inquire further about the object, but she would be perfectly fine with toying around with the woman. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you manage to get your hands on the Urn? Rumors surrounding it had it off of the market for years up until now." She questioned, her head vaguely tilting to the side, a slim eyebrow raising up in curiosity.