The library was dark and empty when Zhan pulled open the door, light from the hall spilling into the room. There was something wrong. What was that on the sofa? He flicked on the light, revealing his Lowry had moved from the wall to the sofa in the...
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Whilst Yibo was having his mistakes explained to him, across the city, Zhan was finishing his work for the morning.
He stretched and leant back in his seat, looking over to the large Turner seascape on the opposite wall, a beautiful sunset over a calm sea. Just looking at it, Zhan felt his own nerves calm.
The previous night had been a bit of a wake-up call. He'd really let his guard down with regard to the security of his own collection. It was enough to throw off the copy-cat thieves, but with The Little Ice Prince targeting higher and higher profile targets it was time for an overhaul.
Zhan had been lucky so far. He'd only ever had a visit from The Little Ice Prince once, although Zhan had interrupted the crime before he had stolen anything. Zhan had serious doubts that he was the real Little Ice Prince.
He switched off his computer and got up. He'd called UNIQ Security as soon as they'd opened and they'd promised to send their top engineer over as soon as possible.
In the kitchen, he made himself a pot of tea, then settled in the library to read whilst he waited for his visitor. The library was Zhan's favourite room in the house, an oasis of calm away from his noisy clients. He never let anyone other than his PA in.
When the doorbell finally rang, Zhan slid in the bookmark and carefully put his book aside.
Waiting at the door was a young man who Zhan wasn't sure was old enough to be one of the best engineers at one of the top security companies in the city. He was casually dressed and looked like he hadn't slept for a week.
"Hello, are you Xiao Zhan?"
""I am," Zhan replied, amazed by the man's blunt tone when talking to a potential customer.
"I'm Wang Yibo," The man introduced himself, giving Zhan his ID card to inspect.
Zhan handed it back and invited him inside.
"I'm gonna take some measurements and map out your house -don't worry, all the data's kept under the strictest security- then we can work out what kind of equipment and stuff you want," Yibo said as Zhan lead him through into the sitting room.
"Do you usually do this?" Zhan asked before he could stop himself, he would never think to be this casual to a prospective client.
"I haven't agreed to use your company's service yet."
Yibo turned his cat like yet pretty brown eyes on him, ones that locked him to the spot.
"We're the best security in the city. Yes The Little Ice Prince breaks through our systems, but find me a company that hasn't been hacked by him.
You seem like you're smart and like your collection, so you're going to employ us to keep it safe because your current system is wildly out of date and could be broken through in seconds. And no, I don't normally do the house calls, you're just special."
