Benny nearly gasped as the words took his breath away, "No no no no no, I'll be fair, I'll do you a good deal. I apologize for my brevity and indignance, ma'am. Mister Torretino. I assure you, I'll give more than fair value to make up for my blunder." He neither wanted to lose sight of the lovely Nico, nor a finger, and that much was obvious to both of the villains in the shop.

"That's better, Benny," Cesare cooed as he reached over and lightly slapped the man's cheek twice. "Now, take ya time, look over them real well. An' make sure yous pay for all twenny-eight of 'em."

"Twenty-eight?" Benny paused and looked up at Cesare. "There's only twenty-fi-" There those daggers were again, boring right into his soul as Ces narrowed his eyes. "Y-yes... I must have miscounted. Twenty-eight it is." And Benny went back to his due diligence of inspecting the diamonds.

Cesare, on the other hand, turned and leaned against the jewelry case, flipping out a cigarette to light up. "Find anything worth it for ya in 'ere?" he called to Nico, studying her while keeping his peripheral vision on Benny as he focused on the gems.

"Mmm..." Nico hummed as she milled about, keeping herself within Ben's line of sight to give the impression that he could keep an eye on her. Ever so gingerly, she traced a set of leatherbound, gold-embossed titles on an adjacent bookshelf, hovering just shy of actually touching them to avoid doing any damage. "Maybe..." 

She slowly milled about, giving every corner of the store equal solid scrutiny. "Some interesting first editions and limited prints over here. But I'd need to see the provenance and independent verification. A few of those coats are authentic mink. The pearl is certainly to my liking... maybe the sapphire, too... depending on price. A couple of Roman rings in the far case here -- intaglios, if I'm not mistaken... or momento mori. Again - I'd have to verify. But I'd happily snatch them up if my authentication was validated."   

Quietly, she worked her way back to the counter and sidled up to Ces with a warm smile. "He really does have exquisite taste. ... almost makes me willing to overlook that initial little... indiscretion." There was a gentle smile sent Ben's way, soft and solicitous. She had more grace and tact than 'Mister Torretino'. She was the reasonable, compassionate one. She was easier to reconcile... if dear little Benny played his cards right. It was clear in every aspect of her body language as she hovered over the gems with an anticipatory excitement -- patiently offering him the chance at atonement and redemption in her eyes. 

"Ah, yes ma'am." Benny looked up for a moment. "As soon as I'm done here, I can get the records for the first editions if you'd like!" He smiled, looking to Nico... Then to Ces, daggers again. "Ah," Benny hushed, then went right back to work, "Right away, Mister Torretino," he added. "Right away."

And just like that, Benny was eating out of the "bad cop, good cop" routine they'd never even practiced; the play of fear versus desire, and the respect given to both.

Cesare didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at Nico and pulled on his cigarette, exhaling a plume above all of their heads. A smile was given to the woman of the hour, and he bowed his head politely.

Eventually, Ben set the last gem down and looked up. "I'd love to know where these came from... BUT, I know better than to ask," he side-eyed Cesare and Nico with that comment. "So instead, I'll say this - these are pristine cuts done by a master jeweler's hand. But - and I apologize if it's rude on the price, I can offer no more than a hundred a piece? For all twenty-fi, er, eight? Is this agreeable?"

Ces raised a brow and looked to Nico. "Well, madam, you're the one with an eye for good gems like these. What do you say? Two large with eight ta spare?" He puffed on his cigarette in anticipation, wondering if she'd milk him for a bit more...

Smiling Nico bobbled her head for a moment before nodding. "No apologies, Ben. I'd wager that's as close to fair market value as I could ever get outside a specialist's."  Reaching over, she pilfered through the gems for a moment before returning two of them to the little black stachel. "Call it twenty-six for that lot... and the name of a decent local designer for these two, hm?" 

The bag was handed back to Ces with a wink, "I'll pay a finder's fee, of course... and fair value for the additional resources should you feel both equipped and motivated to source them for me." 

There was a brief pause as she eyed the fur coats wistfully, "And, if you're amenable, I'll put a deposit on the pearl mink coat, the Lawrence, all four Lazenbies, and the Masoch. Remainder to be paid when I return for the provenances." She tactfully avoided the man's scandalized gaze as she dropped the names of interest. 

"Deal?" 

Oh, yes. She was MUCH nicer than Ces. 
But then, she was priming the man for further business. Slowly worming her way into a long-term gig that would serve them ALL very well if all went to plan. Providing poor Cesare a front row seat to watch her work someone else over, as she had done with him. 

Benny nodded almost greedily, "Oh, I think that will work just fine, ma'am!" Seemed Benny understood pretty well what was going on here. He went for the safe in the back to get their two thousand six hundred, leaving them for a moment.

Cesare looked over at Nico as he vanished into the back. Sliding closer, he leaned to whisper, "I like th' long con deal yous workin' on. Heh. Gonna have ta keep an eye on ya. You got tha brains for business, darlin'." He winked, not even bringing up the money she was spending. He didn't care. Far as he was concerned, it was half hers anyway, even if she was leaving it as a deposit on him.

"So, what'cha thinkin' on them items, eh?" He smiled, curious to understand what it was that Benny, supposedly, understood.

Nico smirked warmly at Ces' compliments, leaning in as if to impart to him some special secret about her master plan. 

"When I see something I like, I make arrangements to keep it," she purred into his ear, giving his chest a gentle pat. 

Pulling back, she smiled up at him for us a moment too long before adding, "That and moral contraband is unlikely to possess proper authentication. So, either our dear Benny is going to give me a lead toward eliminating my competition in town OR an opportunity to provide some vitally essential and mutually beneficial services. ... either way - it's a win for me." 

She paused as Benny returned, watching him carefully count out the cash... and then counting it herself before handing it off to Ces with a nod. Assuming he would likewise count it before stowing it away, she turned back to the counter and continued the rest of her business in hushed tones. Twirling a stray curl around one finger, she leaned on the counter and pressed poor Ben with the suffocating weight of her full attention. Smiling as he stuttered his way through pricing and penning their deposit agreement. 

Unphased by the quoted price, she simply smiled as her crimson-tipped ivory fingers dipped into he sleek satin of her emerald clutch. Returning with a nonsensical wad of cash, which she handed across the counter with a calm and unwavering smile. "I assume this will more than cover the initial down payment? I'll return Saturday, after the midday observatory exhibit to retrieve the items -- with validated provenance, yes?"

There was no doubt in her mind that the offered amount was more than enough. Likely the sum total cost. But today was less about good prices and more about good business - the kind of business that was played in power moves and carefully manipulated positioning. 

Offering her hand, she waited for Benny to shake (like a good lap dog) before rolling his hand over in hers and placing a crimson-stained kiss to the back of his knuckles. "Until then, my dear," she smirked, letting the soft pad of her thumb ttrace over the man's utterly uncalloused hand before turning and slipping her arm into Ces'. 

"Shall we?"

Ces started counting as soon as he was handed the stack, side-eyeing the two as they were speaking - a gentle chuckle escaping with a smile as he flipped through the bills.

Once he was done, he folded them carefully and slipped the bills into a money clip, then into his pocket. "All accounted for," he announced, sliding the rest of their little bit of gems left over. "Don't forget to get tha lady's business handled, alright Benny?"

He chuckled then took Nico's arm in his and led her toward the door. "Ready if you are, darlin'. Let's see what this day brings us, eh?"

Benny, this time, wore the daggers. How he envied Cesare at the moment, with Nico wrapped around his arm. "Mmf," Benny grunted, a frown growing on his face. "I won't forget. See you two on Saturday I suppose." He almost looked hopeful as he gandered at Nico, but frowned again as his eyes landed on Cesare. He still seemed sour at Terretino's presence. But that mattered no longer. Ces still had his money, and there was the promise of more to be made thanks to Nico.

Leading the duo out, he paused and flipped his cigarette case open yet again, taking one for himself and offering one to her. "Where to next? Gonna need you ta lead th' way now." He chuckled...

Nico giggled almost uncontrollably as she climbed into the passenger seat, taking the offered cigarette with a nod of gratitude. "Not half bad. You've got a good eye, Kiddo." She praised his sleight of hand and the ease with which they worked. "Pull out slow so you don't blow off my fascinator... Then it's wherever you wanna go first." 

Once the door closed, Nico fished several items from the folds of her outfit and stashed them carefully in the glove box. Waiting to unload her hair until they were out of sight. "This damn shoe is gonna drive me nuts," she chuckled, pulling several gold coins from inside with a wink. 

"Speaking of shoes... you'll need new ones. And a suit. ... probably a barber. Proper watch -- unless you have one at the shop. Which would you like to start with?" 
 

... and that was exactly where they headed, guided by her gentle directions and the steady purr of the v12. No doubt plenty to discuss along the way... 

Ces pulled out slow, as instructed, and turned down Hollywood Boulevard with a grin. "Figure get myself a nice suit an' shoes before we go get tha haircut. That ways they'll take me a bit more seriously," he chuckled half-heartedly. "But, I ain't never been t' no proper tailor, so's lead me in tha right direction? Where would you go for a good tailor?"

"Then we'll do shoes after, then hair cut... An' I got a good watch at tha shop ta finish it off."

He eyed the gold coins suspiciously, brow perking in question. "So, what'cha got there, eh? Personal collection, or lookin'a offload'em elsewheres?" There was a snicker that followed, truly curious what she was thinking in the moment as they headed off for a tailor - whichever one that may be...