Qual seemed to slump, and he said in a voice that, even through the translator, sounded subdued. "If you are so anxious to seek danger, then I will take you. But do not tell me I- did not give you all fair warnings."
"Fair or not, I'm ready to roll," said Asho. "When do we go, and what do we need to take."
"Tomorrow we go," said Qual, in what sounded like a doleful tone. "Bring your most powerful weapons. Get a good sleep-we leave at dawn. And if you have any business to settle, do it now. We seek the most dangerous beasts on Zenobia, and there is no promising that we will prevail."
"Yee-hah!" hollered Asho, tossing his hat in the air. The other two hunters managed a smile, too, although they were a good bit less exuberant. As for Qual, he flashed his teeth-an expression that might mean almost any thing and vanished into the dark.
17
Journal #748
Having spent as much time as I have in the employment of those who have acquired their fortunes in one form or another of commerce, I have learned at least - this much about how these somewhat enigmatic persons think: The average person looks at a deal, and asks, "What's in it for me?" The successful businessman asks, "What's in it for everybody?"
It is the ability consistently to find a satisfactory answer to the latter question upon which the greatest fortunes are built. And that particular ability is one that Mr. Willard Phule, known to the Legion as Captain Jester, possessed in full measure.
Doc ushered Lola and Ernie through the Fat Chance Casino's lobby, up the elevators to the executive office level, and into a conference room where Tullie Bascomb and Victor Phule sat waiting. "Good, good, glad you're here," said Tullie, indicating two chairs drawn up opposite his desk. "Thanks, Doc."
"You're not the only one who's glad," said Lola, sinking into one of the chairs. "Your security chief got there just in time to save us from a fairly nasty experience. Which, by the way, is very much related to our problems with your buyout offer..."
"Well, 1 suggest you wait until you hear what we're offering," said Bascomb. "Drinks?" He waved toward a nearby cart bearing several ornate bottles, an ice bucket, and assorted glassware.
Ernie's mouth opened, then snapped shut as he saw the look on Lola's face. The elbow she dug into his rib made her meaning plain, just in case he'd missed it. "Uh, no thanks," he said.
"All right, then, we'll get straight to business," said Bascomb, with a twinkle in his eye. He'd noticed the elbow. "I think the captain's come up with a plan that addresses your problems fairly directly," he continued.
"He has?" Lola's brow furrowed. "What does he know about our problems, anyway?"
"Well, you'll probably want to ask him that," said Bascomb. "All he told me is that he figured out what was going on when he debriefed a robot that used to work here."
"A robot." Lola opened her mouth, then shut it again. After a moment's thought, she continued, "Well, that's certainly interesting. But maybe we should save that subject for later and find out what the captain's offering."
"Good idea," said Bascomb. "As a matter of fact, he's decided to improve the original offer a good deal. We'll buyout your 'share' in the casino for $7.5 million. But instead of the annual royalty, he's offering-the two of you full-time paid executive positions with the Fat Chance; The salary is pretty generous, but not outrageous-and the job description ought to be right up your alley. Basically, the captain wants you two to supervise our cheat -detecting operation. He figures you know the scams as well as anybody-and we'd rather have you on our side than working against us."
"I suppose we ought to take that as a compliment," said Lola. "If I were looking for a regular job, I guess it'd be as good as anything..."
Bascomb smiled. "There's more, in case you hadn't guessed. Figure in complimentary lodgings and meals in the casino hotel, and-I think this might be of particular interest to you-complete access to all of our facilities and services, including security."
"Security," mused Lola. "Now, that just might be something we can talk about. I was certainly impressed by the way Doc and his people took care of a little problem we ran into back at the hotel."
"Nothing to it, Miss," said Doc, smiling broadly. "Just doing our job." He poured himself a glass of cold water from a pitcher on the bar cart and settled down to drink it in a soft chair facing Bascomb' s desk.
"The offer would also include access to some of the best plastic surgeons and uh, image consultants, in the business-just in case you want to be a little bit harder to spot. And you might also like to know, we've managed to recall the photos that PR had sent out, before the stories were distributed-at least most of them. And we managed to tweak the few stories that did run to imply you were off to parts unknown to enjoy your winnings. The long and the short of it is, the captain thinks you're good at what you do, and he wants you on the Fat Chance team," said Tullie.
"And as it happens, Mr. Phule agrees with his son."
"That's right," said Victor Phule. "I must admit I'm not quite certain what it is old Ernie does, but he's clearly very good' at it. And Miss Lola is very sharp."
"Thank you," said Lola, looking at Tullie Bascomb. "But you must realize, gentlemen, this is all very sudden. Could my client and I have some time to discuss it in private?"
"Why, of course," said Bascomb. "If you'd like, we can arrange for a private dining room so you can discuss it over a meal. On the house, of course."
"Thank you very much, but! think we'll be able to come to an answer with just a little walk around the block," said Lola. "We can celebrate with a meal if we decide to accept."
"Sure," said Bascomb, nodding. "If you'd like, we can have a couple of security people keep' an eye on you-at a distance, of course."
"Again, thanks but no thanks," said Lola. "We won't stray that far outside the casino. And unless I'm mistaken, the only people who had anything against us are already out of the game-at least, for the time. being."
"All right, then," said Bascomb. "I'll be here when you're ready to talk."
Lola and Ernie said nothing until they were all the way down to the bottom floor in the elevator and out the doors. There, Lola set off at a brisk pace, with Ernie struggling to catch up despite his longer legs. Finally, after they'd turned a comer and put the casino's front entrance out of sight, he said, "All right, what's the problem? Are we gonna take the bait or not?"
"I don't know what other choice we have," said Lola. "Unless you want to head off for no place in particular and hope to stay one jump ahead of Mr. V and his boys. They're really going to be mad at us, now."
"Yeah," said Ernie. "I don't want to be anywhere they can find me. Unless I've got more guns on my side than they do on theirs."
"Which is exactly what's attractive about Phule's offer," said Lola. "We'd be stuck on a space station, where the company isn't necessarily my kind of people, and where we'd pretty much have to give up hustling and play by the books. And that could get dull after a few months. But with the Legion in charge of security, the Fat Chance has got more muscle than some small planets I've been on. The syndicate originally hired us to try to snatch Phule because they knew a direct attack wasn't going to work. Now, it looks as if an indirect attack's not going anywhere, either. So odds are we'd be safer here than anywhere else we can afford to get to, even if Mr. V and his boys know exactly where we are."
Ernie walked silently for a few paces, then stopped, and said, "That all makes sense to me. So what are we waiting for?"