Gambit

PJ Puznowski. Think, man.

You stupid bastard, what!

Welcome to London.

Before we throw you

into the thick of it,

I should give you a bit

of the history.

Monet's Haystacks.

On September 15th, 1891, during

the course of one very productive day,

the master Impressionist

finished two oil paintings:

"Haystacks, Dawn",

"Haystacks, Dusk".

"Haystacks, Dawn" was traded

amongst various private collectors

over the years.

"Haystacks, Dusk" was put on display

in Paris at the Jeu de Paume.

That is,

until the Nazi occupation of 1941.

"Haystacks, Dusk"

was carted off to Carinhall,

the private residence

of Air Marshal Hermann Gring,

for the delectation of his eyes only.

In 1945, Carinhall is overrun

by the first division of Patton's army,

the Big Red One.

The point platoon is led

by Sergeant Brian "Bulldog" Puznowski,

the Killer of Kilgore, Texas.

Your grandfather.

For the next 67 years,

the whereabouts of Haystacks, Dusk

has proved one of the art world's

most tantalising mysteries.

And what is all this to Shabandar?

A man of outsized appetites

and enormous enthusiasms,

and no few eccentricities;

an avid nudist, a case in point.

Owing to his considerable fortune

and my not inconsiderable knowledge,

he has assembled

the most important collection

of Impressionist masterpieces

in private hands.

The prize? Haystacks, Dawn.

Acquired at auction 20 years ago

in spirited bidding.

The bid is with the gentleman

on the aisle. The bid is 8 million.

- Good heavens.

- I have eight and a quarter.

The bid is with the gentleman

on my left.

The bid is against you, sir. The bid

is eight and a quarter million pounds.

Shabandar rolled

all his competitive impulses into a ball

and outbid his great rival,

Akira Takagawa.

He purchased the painting

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