The Mexican Job

**Yumyumcrow** · Dec 14th, 2013 11:50 PM

The diner was just off one of the main roads into the city, squeezed into an L-shaped space at the less obscure end of a struggling strip mall. The shape of the floor space, coupled by the unusually high and private design of the booths (one got the impression they were not booths, so much as wooden compartments) served to make it a regular haunt for the likes of Nat and Wierzbaski. The food wasn't first rate but the coffee was tolerable. The kitchen staff never changed but the wait staff turned over so much it was a wonder the door wasn't revolving.

Wierzbaski was waiting for someone. Today he was dressed in shirt and slacks, an unfashionable coat piled onto the seat beside him. His new hairstyle wasn't suiting him at all: the disaster of long corkscrews made him resemble an absurdly bad copy of 'Sideshow Bob'. Given Wierzbaski's notoriously weak chin, the illusion was almost too perfect. Bored and dejected, he stared off into the largely empty parking lot.

Nat Princess

**Princess** · Dec 15th, 2013 10:46 AM

Nat strolls into the place with the calm confidence she couldn't help, wearing a "I'm clearly not up to something" green sweater and khakis from her auntie. Oh, the manifold ways she might disappoint her relations if she were ever honest.

Taking a seat and gesturing for coffee and a menu, she raised a friendly smile to Mr. Dubs and remarked casually, "How are things?"

**Yumyumcrow** · Dec 16th, 2013 02:36 AM

Wierzbaski became aware of Nat. Turning from the window, his face and posture became suddenly alive and animated. The opportunity for mischief had arrived and he was thrilling in it.

"Hey hey!" He grinned impishly. "Glad to see you again and I am well, very well, thank you for asking. Biz is good. So good, in fact, that I'm getting the interesting stuff now..." As he spoke, he moved a hand to the bag concealed by his coat. "How about you? Still Sac-towns favourite party girl?" He played the game, drawing out the casual conversation while Nat ordered.

**Princess** · Dec 16th, 2013 10:45 AM

"You know it," she replies, with the self-centered smirk she usually had when she had no pressing reason to replace it with some other expression. She peered at the menu, contemplated something new and unusual, but went back to the fact that this place actually did chicken and waffles surprisingly well. Or perhaps she was just a sucker for it. No politicized commentary had come her way from Mr Dubs yet, so she went ahead and just ordered chicken and waffles like she did last time.

Order in, waitress away, and coffee in hand, she asks just slightly more quietly to be neither overheard nor suspicious, "What sort of interesting?"

**Yumyumcrow** · Dec 17th, 2013 05:42 AM

Wierzbaski preened like a rooster - a particularly lean rooster with a mess of red coils sprouting on top of its small head. The less than savoury entrepreneur dug into his bag and produced a Notebook. Flicking it on, he positioned it so that they could both look at it.

"I've got copies for you as well, so don't sweat it," he said quickly as the device booted up. "This... This is the job. New client. New town, I guess... Basically they are looking to bring a choice item into the country and they need to help with the correct paperwork because they want it all to run smoothly".

The device ran a presentation or slide show, detailing the types of documents the client wanted preparing, and the item in question: an baroque crucifix of dull, warm, gold, with semi-precious gems fitted to the points. It looked of a size just too big to be held in one hand, but a bit too small to require two. It was threaded to a chunky chain of gold links

"Its a superb piece, eh? Anyway they want to ensure all the letters of authenticity and ownership are sorted before they bring it over. So its these forms here that they need assistance with..." Wierzbaski smiled as he spoke. He did love mischief...

"...And if you can do it well, they definitely have other work in the pipeline."

Nat can clearly read the needs of the job, even before her contact runs through his presentation. The client wants to forge all the required forms, documents, and other necessities of ownership for the artefact so they can bring the object across the border legitimately and in doing so, write a legal and legitimate connection between themselves and the artefact in question.

The forms are copies of the paperwork necessary to accomplish this feat from both the Mexican and US jurisdictions

**Princess** · Dec 17th, 2013 09:24 AM

Nat's eyebrows dance with interest, or at least to give one that impression, as she replies, "I do love working in the arts. How soon did they need this done? Two weeks? Or is this a rush job?"

**Yumyumcrow** · Dec 18th, 2013 02:10 PM

Wierzbaski looks over the table with a wary look. "Two weeks is fine. If you need, I have some scope to give you a month in total. The client is only going to move when the project is ready. But they want to move soon - in the New Year at the latest."

**Princess** · Dec 18th, 2013 02:34 PM

"Well if they are really in a hurry, I could rush it out by Christmas. That might entail additional fees, though. I'd have to move some things around, you know how it is."

Knowing Nat as well as Mr Dubs might by now, it was a safe bet that she would not be done by Christmas without extra pay at this point simply out of stubborn, greedy 'principle.'

**Yumyumcrow** · Dec 19th, 2013 01:56 AM

Mischief played in Wierzbaski's eyes. "Well. Now that you mention it... there was some scope for movement on that score. You dig?" He made an impish grin. After all, trickle down economics did work... sometimes.

**Princess** · Dec 19th, 2013 10:03 AM

Nodding, she adds professionally, "Well then, there's the matter of my retainer and then I can get started. You're client will have what they need for Chirstmas Eve, presuming the rest of my fee is provided at said date."