Everyone turned to look at Ave as she entered the meeting room. Ave stood still. The only movement on her body was Zestal twitching its whiskers from her shoulder.
“Who is that?” Lady House asked icily.
“I think that’s a cat.” Mayor Letterman offered.
“Not that. The person under the cat.” said House.
“Oh, I didn’t see her. I don’t know.” said Letterman.
“I think that’s my adjutant.” said Councilor A. “What are you doing here? I don’t remember giving you any orders.”
Ave waited a half second. Then she slowly walked forward to the Councilor’s chair. No one made any move to stop her. When she was a half meter away from the Councilor she bent at the waist and held out the metal briefcase she was holding.
The Councilor’s eyes popped in surprise. “Oh yes. My briefcase. I was just about to send for that.” He took the case. “That will be all. You can go now.” He waved a hand.
The three very important persons were seated around a very important looking table in the center of the room. Lady House and Councilor A were seated across from one another on the long sides of the table. Mayor Letterman was seated on the short end facing the door. A miniature model version of the Ocean’s Bounty was displayed in the center of the table. It was complete with tiny toy tourists and rolling diecast carriages.
A line of a dozen Guards stood behind Councilor A in a semicircle with Platina standing directly behind him. A line of a dozen bouncers were standing behind Lady House in a half oval with Angel taking position next to her chair. Mayor Letterman was seated quietly in the middle.
Ave took a step back so that she was standing next to Platina.
#
“As you can see the majority of our event revenue comes from a relatively small selection of big spenders.” said Lady House.
“That’s very impressive.” said Mayor Letterman.
“They must have a whale of a time at your gambling Hall.” Chuckled Councilor A.
“Their enjoyment is irrelevant. Only their attendance is necessary.” Lady House shuffled a stack of papers in front of her.
Mayor Letterman searched through a pile of papers in front of him. “And where you find these, spig benders, I mean, big spenders?”
“They find themselves.”
“Huh?” The Mayor had a hard time hiding his confusion.
“The largest gamblers at the top require a population of other competitive players below them. These competitive players require another larger group of long term but not as competitive players below them. On and on, below each group until you reach the single attendance tourists.” Lady House stacked some of the figurines on top of each other.
“It’s a lot like a pyramid.” said Councilor A.
“It’s exactly like a pyramid.” said Lady House. She flicked the figurines with a manicured fingernail. They tumbled down and scattered across the table.
“No one wants to be a casual tourist. And everyone wants to be a big winner. So they pay to enter our events for the chance at winning a big prize.”
“It certainly is a, bold marketing tactic.” Mayor Letterman said.
Councilor A slapped his knee. “It’s fantastic! They come here even though they could just as easily summon the thing they wanted at home.”
Lady House’s voice was like morning frost. “No. They could never get this anywhere else.” She traced a finger over the top of the Ocean’s Bounty model.
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Mayor Letterman swallowed. “And what do you charge for that?”
“Whatever we want.”
Mayor Letterman opened his mouth, then shut it.
*Knock*Knock*
“Excuse me.” Rosy stuck her head into the room.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“I was just looking for, there he is!” Rosy noticed Councilor A. She slipped into the room and shut the door behind her.
Rosy speed walked over to Councilor A. She was wearing a simple blue sundress and sandals. She held a parasol in one hand and there was a bandana loosely tied around her neck. On top of this she was still wearing her longsword and shoulder harness.
*Zestal Tensed*
Councilor A looked annoyed. “Do I know you?”
“I’m Rosy. I’m an Adventurer.” said Rosy.
“You’re not dressed like an Adventurer.” Councilor A eyed the sword.
“I was fired.”
“Oh yes. That’s right.”
“And while we’re on the subject I need you to sign this.” Rosy produced a small receipt and placed it on the table in front of Councilor A. She made sure to politely move some of the miniature tourist figurines out of the way so her sword wouldn’t tip them over.
Councilor A looked over the receipt. “Let’s see, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm. Services rendered. Hmmm, hmmm. I see. Hold on, let me get a pen.”
Councilor A leaned over and pulled his briefcase into his lap. He pointed the briefcase so that the flat side was facing him and his thumb was pressed into the top.
Ave leaned over ever so slightly.
Platina whispered.
Rosy waved at Ave.
The cat tilted its head.
The Councilor leaned in close to the metal frame of the briefcase. He whispered something into the case.
*Be-Beep*Click*
The case opened. The Councilor pulled a fountain pen out of the top and then snapped the case shut again.
Ave leaned back into position.
Lady House was staring directly at her.
“And what do you think?” Lady House said.
Councilor A had to pause for a moment as he realized that she was talking to the guardswoman standing behind him.
“Are you impressed with our operation?” Lady House directed her question at Ave.
Councilor A started writing on the receipt. “Don’t bother. The Capital Guard is trained to follow orders. Not to offer opinions-”
“I think people should be responsible for their own money.” said Ave.
Councilor A frowned but didn’t look up.
Ave’s voice was level. “It’s up to the individual to make sure that they’re not making a bet that they can’t afford to lose.”
“So the responsibility is on the player, not the house?” Mayor Letterman rubbed his chin.
“However, if you claim to offer a form of entertainment, then you should be prepared for the consequences when people learn that the real ‘game’ is letting the wealthy watch them lose.” said Ave.
Lady House reclined back into her finely upholstered seat.
She pushed a single errant strand of hair away from her face. “I think you mean, If.”
Ave’s hair fell in front of her eyes.
“It’s not ‘when’ people learn that they’re the game. It’s ‘If’ people learn that they’re the game. I’ve been at this for decades. And from what I’ve seen, most of them don’t even care.”
*Knock*Knock*Knock*
“What is it now?” Lady House sighed.
“Who is letting people into our private meeting?” Councilor A put away his pen.
“I’ll find out sir!” Angel shouted.
“No! I will!” Platina shouted.
Three doors on three separate sides of the room opened at the same time. Three messengers entered the room from three different directions. They hurriedly approached the center and spoke to the three heads of state.
Zestal slouched down off of Ave’s shoulder. The cat scampered across the room and leapt up onto Lady House’s outstretched arm with a quick jump. As the cat curled around her shoulders it sank back into the older woman’s hair and disappeared.
Mayor Letterman stood up. “I’m very sorry. I have someone, er, something I need to attend to. Excuse me.”
“I also need to deal with a small matter.” Lady House rose from her seat.
“We seem to have had a conference call.” Councilor A chuckled to himself. “I also need to look into something. Shall we reconvene at a later time?”
Mayor Letterman shoved his arms into his suit jacket. “Yes. Of course. I’ll be gone for exactly an hour. I promise. I’ll see you soon.” He power walked out the door.
The three very important persons all stood up from the table in the center of the room and started walking to the exits.
Lady House paused next to Councilor A.
“Who was that girl?” she asked.
“Which girl? The Adventurer?” he looked back around.
“No. The other one. Your adjutant.”
“Oh, right my adjutant. Her name is, uh… hmmm…” Councilor A looked at the ceiling. “This is quite embarrassing. Uh, hmmm, where did she go?”