Thyme Paramaanantra and Kavin Kittiyangkul used to be the the billionaire it boys of Kocher High School. They were part of a group called the F4.
But in present day, Thyme is the owner and curator of a well-known art gallery. And Kavin is an FBI-tr...
Thyme knew Kavin was avoiding him. He was not exactly subtle about it. The moment the nurse removed his IV he practically flew to the police headquarters. And the man would freeze like a popsicle whenever Thyme would get anywhere near him. It would be amusing if it wasn't so infuriating.
But Thyme decided he would not force the issue. Especially not now with the auction only hours away. There were far too many things to think about.
Besides, he didn't really know what he and Kavin would say to each other if forced to confront what happened. Did Kavin mean the words? Or was he just dizzy with fever? Did Thyme feel the same way? Was he brave enough to say what he was feeling? What if Kavin meant the words but for someone else, what then?
To be honest, risking his life to hunt down and capture a key leader of the leading Russian cartel seemed way less stressful than trying to answer any of those questions.
At this moment, Thyme was by the loading area of his museum awaiting the arrival of Olga's personal assistant and her men. They were delivering the art for the auction today, making it the perfect excuse for Chief Khao to wait with him. The art was worth hundreds of millions after all, it would make sense for Thyme to increase security. It was a move Olga would not find suspicious.
Inside the main museum hall, Kavin and five plain clothes policemen were going to assist the museum staff in setting up the event area. That would give them time to set up listening devices, sweep for bugs that were not police-sanctioned, and to control the table and exit layouts - making sure that when Olga arrived she would have a hard time fleeing if shit hit the fan.
Mathematically speaking, probability of trouble was low. This was not some action novel, you know? The reality is that most detective work is quiet and boring. Tonight, all they'll be doing is listening, recording, and most importantly tracing the locations of the buyers of the art pieces. If this was indeed a money laundering operation, most buyers would turn out to be bogus - shell companies and fake identities "buying" art to launder dirty money. Boss and his tech team were setting up computers at Thyme's office, ready to follow every IP address taking part in tonight's festivities.
Once the event starts, Thyme would work the floor as he always did and behind the scenes, everyone else would be glued to monitors, watching code and numbers. It would be like the world's most unexciting reality show.
Thyme hopes it remains boring for all their sakes. The alternative was literally death.
He gives a final appraising look at the ten pieces of art just delivered. He instructs his staff on where to put each new piece as they are unwrapped. But the tenth item gives him pause. It is a shiny white sculpture about a foot high. Olga rarely does sculptures and when she does it usually in clay or employs wiring. But this was made with glass and was oddly reminiscent of a Liam Reeves. And that's another thing Olga didn't do - copy.
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Thyme eyebrows knit together. He remembers something from the night they came back for Kavin's ring.
He walks towards Kavin, phone in hand. As he approaches, he sees Kavin begin to pale.
