Juan raised an eyebrow and thoroughly refrained from getting worked up, as Jim had one of his infamous explosions. It wasn't the first time he'd heard a dig at his country, sure wouldn't be the last. Perhaps Jim got so angry because he had thought Juan to be the leader -- and thus an uninformed one, with the con's last remark. He wondered how many of the others thought the same thing. Still, some of his remarked irked him just a bit.
"Jim, when we first hit that art gallery a year back, we were just seven crooks. We were desperate and broke. There was no ringleader, we were [i]all[/i] in the dark. When one of us found a job, we all jumped at the chance," he said. "Nothing's fucking changed, besides we're a little richer and a little closer. We've dug a little deeper into our goddamn graves. But this is a job -- it's a cut for each one of us, another check for you to blow on booze, or women, or whatever. You trusted the work then, we all did. So when Alex told me he had a job for us in Chicago, I packed my bags and I took the first flight from Monaco. We are all equals on death row, my friend. I am not the 'boss', I am a con. And nothing's changed."
Werner turned the radio up, and Juan sat in silence for the rest of the trip. By the time the car stopped, he had reverted back to his usual demeanor. The building's lobby was pretty plain, and a single receptionist was the room's only occupant. She sat behind a computer, a middle-aged lady with a nametag which read "Deborah". Juan entered through the door and immediately smiled at the woman, walking casually up to the desk. When he spoke, his accent was gone -- replaced by a soft American tone. In his white tee and leather jacket, he looked like the poster child for the States.
"Hello there! Sorry to bother you, but my firm's just moved into the building. I believe I emailed the building's owner about getting security badges for my employees. Seven in all, though I'm hoping we'll expand soon with the new location," he gave another sweet, disarming smile. The lady returned it, and produced the badges from her desk. Juan found his -- Toby DeCosta, Global Trust Finances. He found the ones for Jim, James and Werner, and left the other three for Angelo's group to grab. With a nod to the others in his group, he thanked the receptionist and called the elevator.