The next day, the crew watched the news on the club's mounted TV. Sure enough, most news channels were focused on the "scandal" that Blueblood had been accused of. Bain was able to cover their tracks pretty well, as there was no evidence showing that the unlikable politician didn't hire them to steal the art.
Their client in particular was happy, giving them a rather generous payout for their efforts. He also mentioned some "friends in low places" that would learn about their skills, which would no doubt open up several new job possibilities.
It didn't take long for one of these possibilities to present itself. Forgoing encrypted files sent by e-mail, this client simply called the crew directly through the club's phone.
"I hear good things about you people," he told Dallas over the phone. Bain was also able to hear the conversation, after a quick phone tapping job. "I have recently come out of prison, and I come to Equestria to maybe start new life, but then I see old rival of mine is not only here, but engaged to some broad! So I figure this; you help me disrupt their wedding, and I give you a nice payday. And please, as a request, make sure he knows it's me."
Dallas hung up the phone, and quietly consulted Bain. "Should we do it?"
"I don't see why not. I did some background digging; this guy's name is Vlad, a former Russian mob boss. It seems like he either wants to get back in the game, or tie up one last loose end. Either way, this could pay off."
Further down the bar, Wolf and a random stallion had started placing bets on the soccer match they were now showing on TV. The Swede cursed in his native tongue as his team lost, and the stallion raked in the bits placed on the counter.
Hoxton laughed at their antics. "Maybe football's not the sport for you, mate," he told Wolf.
Meanwhile, down in the safe house, Chains did some tinkering with his guns. Sometimes, sawing off a small part of a shotgun can go a long way...
"Oh, hello, Twilight!"
"Hey, Rarity! You sure seem happy today."
"Did you not hear? Blueblood's name is now dirt!"
Twilight looked at the newspaper that her friend was shoving in her face, reading the headline: "Canterlot Noble Caught with Drugs and Stolen Art".
She chuckled at the story. While she didn't like to get involved in politics for this very reason, it was good to see that Rarity was starting to get over the trauma she faced at the bank not too long ago.
That got her thinking. It had been a couple of weeks since that incidence, and the four criminals responsible haven't even been spotted around Ponyville lately. Despite this, the police were still on edge, as were the citizens.
As Rarity happily bounced off, leaving the newspaper with Twilight, she kept reading the story, but stopped when she came to one section:
The night after an auction at a local art museum, there was a break in, and four armed robbers stole a number of expensive pieces of art. After leading the cops on a deadly chase and shootout, they managed to escape, afterwards they likely gave the loot to Prince Blueblood, who repeatedly denies this.
The purple unicorn thought about this. Four armed robbers? Surely that couldn't mean...?
Twilight shook her head. Kevin was right; maybe she was worrying about this a bit too much. Her friends were unharmed, and even though Fluttershy still refused to come into town for more than a few minutes at a time, she still functioned pretty well.
Still, she couldn't help but shake that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was overlooking something serious...