Adam stood before the grand entrance of the five-star hotel. The handout he had found in Philips's room had led him here.
He looked up at the towering structure a monument to wealth and luxury. This was the place. He walked inside and approached a man standing near the reception desk.
The man was dressed in a suit.
"I want to go to the auction house," Adam said.
The man's professional smile did not falter but his eyes grew guarded.
He looked Adam over for a moment a silent assessment. "I am sorry sir," the man said.
"You must be mistaken. There is no auction house here. This is a small five-star hotel."
Adam had expected this. An operation of this scale would not advertise itself openly. The invitation from Philips's room was proof that something was happening inside these walls.
He knew these people would not let him enter so easily. They had their protocols their layers of secrecy. He had to prove he belonged.
