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Chapter 15: Franz

Chapter 15: Franz

It’s Wednesday, January 14th, 2am.

It was a 7 hour flight from Montreal to Paris.

The group lead by James wakes up when they hear, “hello ladies and gentlemen. We have arrived in Paris. I hope you enjoyed your ride. Please enjoy your time in Paris.”

The men exit the plane and retrieve their luggage.

"Well I guess we should book a hotel," James says in an exhausted way. "Anyway I was thinking we should lay low for a week. As in no heists and stuff. I'm frankly tired."

"Alright," Thomas says.

They make it to their hotel room. They are staying in a 3 star hotel because James doesn't want to pay extra for a 5 star one. The room has 3 beds and a shower.

"Well guys let's get some rest."

*10pm*

Michael wakes up. He gets his clothes and makes it into the shower room. He starts singing in the shower. He sings Back In Black By AC/DC. This wakes up Thomas and James.

"Shut up will you! I mean I love that song but your singing is awful!"

James steps out of the room and goes to the elevator. They are on the 6th floor. He makes it to the lobby where the lady behind the counter says good morning.

James reaches for his pack of cigarettes. He opens it but there's no more inside.

"Absolutely great. I have to go to the store and buy a pack."

He remembers seeing a corner store down the street.

The sign reads "TOTAL".

James walks inside and tells the man he'd like a pack of cigarettes. But he doesn't know any of the French brands. He just says, "hand me the most popular brand in Paris."

The man hands James a pack of Marlboro.

"Oh we have that brand in Canada too."

He takes the pack, gets outside and unwraps the plastic wrap. He takes a cigarette out and smokes it. James then walks back to the hotel.

He enters the elevator to the 6th floor. He then walks to room 610 where they are staying.

The smell of body wash lingers in the air. Both Thomas and Michael had showers.

“I guess it’s my turn,” James mutters.

James reaches into the fridge to pull out a beer, and takes it with him to the shower. He drinks his beer as he showers, and thinks to himself about the Van Gogh painting they stole.

*meanwhile at an undisclosed location*

“The prime minister has requested that we expand our search worldwide for suspects James Morley, Michael Douglas, and Thomas Moore.”

“Good. It’s about freaking time,” Sevro says.

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“Sir we’ve received a call from an anonymous person that says they’ve seen all 3 men at the Montreal airport.”

“Have we verified this yet?”

“We are currently verifying this. And we are looking through the airport’s security cameras.”

“Well it fits what James would do. It’s outside the 300 mile radius that we established.”

“In addition Sevro, there was an elaborate art heist at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.”

“Yes I’ve heard about that. Honestly I think the lead that they were at the airport is credible.”

*meanwhile back at the hotel in Paris*

“Okay guys. The police probably expanded their search worldwide for us now. In addition, our faces and names have been broadcasted all over the country. When we boarded the plane, our names and faces didn’t get released to the press in Montreal, but I’ve considered the possibility that someone who saw the news broadcast after we left might have seen us earlier. It’s not safe to stay in Paris.”

“Man we just don’t get a break do we? We were supposed to stay ‘low’ as you said,” Michael says.

“Well we have to leave now. I was thinking taking taxis is the best course of action. It’s too risky taking other means of transportation.”

“Okay let’s just follow what the man is saying.”

It’s now 11pm. James has called a taxi.

“So where are we going?” Thomas says to James.

“Germany, for at least a week. Then I will have to come back to Paris to pick up the painting.”

The taxi pulls up to the sidewalk in front of the 3 men.

“So… can you tell me how far you can drive us? We need to get to Germany.”

“I’m not allowed to drive more than 100km in any direction. I can take you as far as Provins though.”

“Okay sounds good.”

The men get in the taxi… and eventually they end up in Provins.

“So what do we do now?” Thomas points out.

“We’ll just call another taxi. Honestly We’ll be taking many taxis. I’m really sorry about that but if we take the trains there’s too many security cameras. Anyways I’ve decided we’ll go to Saarbruken. It’s on the west edge of Germany.”

*5 hours later*

After taking 5 more taxis, the group ends up in Germany. It’s now 6pm.

“Okay guys. As promised, this is it for now. We’ll spend a week here. They most likely will know we went to Paris, but they will have a hard time finding us now.”

James lights a cigarette and says, “Hey I’m getting hungry. Let’s eat at that restaurant just down the street.”

The neon sign reads ‘Herzenslust Restaurant’.

There’s at least 30 people eating in the restaurant. The sounds of silverware scratching plates echoes throughout the building. People are talking and laughing. There’s even employees singing happy birthday to a child. In the back is a bar where one man is clearly very drunk. He’s slurring his words.

“Soooo Magaret, I’ll hev anoter beeeer.”

“Franz, you’re too drunk. You’ve had enough. Let me call you a taxi.”

“But I em nut drunk missus…”

“Yes you are. I can barely understand you.”

She calls the taxi, but the man continues to insist on drinking. He gets up slowly, and hobbles his way behind the counter.

“Franz you’re not allowed to be here. This is only for employees.”

Franz picks up a bottle full of wine, and pours himself a glass.

“Franz you have to stop or I’m calling the police.”

Franz breaks the bottle of wine, and is holding the sharp glass in his hands. This is the kinda thing you see in movies. He waves it around. At this point everyone in the restaurant is staring at him. A bunch of people are calling 112… this is the German equivalent of 911.

“Hello do you need police?”

“Yes, there’s a man holding sharp glass in his hand at the Herzenslust Restaurant. He’s waving it around. He seems pretty drunk,” says the man in a white dress shirt and pink tie. “I think he’s going to hurt someone. Please get here fast.

“Just great,” James mutters to Michael and Thomas. “We can’t afford to be here when the police show up. They will get witness testimony from all of us if something goes south. We have to get out of here.”

The 3 men walk out of the restaurant and down another street. They see a hotel with a restaurant.

“I think we can stay at this hotel fellas.”

The men don’t bother booking rooms yet. They go directly to the restaurant.

There, they eat hamburgers and fries.

“So James, do you have plans to steal the Mona Lisa?”