forward, wrapped my arms around his neck, and gave him the biggest, juiciest kiss I knew. One of the other things I know more than a little about is kissin’, and this particular sample lasted a fairly long time. When I felt him startin’ ta struggle for air, I let go and leaned back.
“Wha ... Who ... Massha!” he said, gaspin’ like a fish out of water. “What happened?”
I batted my eyelashes at him.
“I don’t think I catch your drift, Big Red.”
The Geek just sat there blinkin’ for a few seconds, one hand on the top of his head like he was afraid it was goin’ ta come off.
“I ... I don’t know,” he managed at last. “I’ve been drunk for ... what day is it? Never mind! ... For a long time. Now all of a sudden I’m wide awake and stone cold sober. What happened? How long have you been here?”
I smiled ta myself and mentally accepted a pat on the back. My record was still intact. I’ve been told more times than you can count that nothin’ sobers a body up as completely or as fast as a little hug and a kiss from Massha.
“Just long enough to catch the curtain goin’ up,” I said. “Now that were all present and accounted for, though, I want ya ta listen close to a little proposition.”
The Geek used ta be one of the biggest bookies at the Bazaar. At one point, he had his own club, called the Even Odds. Of course, that was before Skeeve caught him usin’ marked cards and suggested strongly that he sell us his club. I wasn’t sure how the Prez would react to my cuttin’ the Geek in on this new project, but he was the only one I could think of who had the necessary knowledge to set up a casino and was currently unemployed.
“I don’t know, Massha,” he said after I had explained the situation. “I mean, it sounds good ... but a casino’s a big operation. I’m not exactly rolling in investment capital right now.”
“So start small and build. Look, Geek, the house is going ta be providin’ the space and decor rent free. All you have ta do is set up security and round up some dealers to work the tables.”
“Did you say ‘rent free’?”
It occurred ta me that maybe r shouldn’t have sobered him up quite so much. Now he was back ta thinkin’ like a Deveel bookie.
“Well ... practically. The way I figure it, the house will take a piece of the action, which means you’ll only have ta pay rent if you lose money.”
“That’s no problem,” the Geek said with a smile. “With the dealers I’m thinking of, there’s no way we’ll end up in the red.”
Somehow, I didn’t like the sound of that.
“I hope it goes without sayin’ that we expect you ta run a clean operation, Geek,” I warned. “I don’t think The Great Skeeve would like ta be part of settin’ up a crooked casino. Content yourself with the normal winnings the odds throw the house. Okay?”
“Massha! You wound me! Have I ever run anything but a clean game?”
I gave him a hard stare, and he had the decency to flush slightly.
“Only once that I know of,” I said, “and if I recall correctly it was Skeeve who caught you at it that time. If I were you, I’d keep my nose clean ... unless you want ta wake up some morning on a scratchy lily pad.”
The Geek sat up a little straighter and lost his smug grin.
“Can he really do that?”
“It was just a figure of speech, but I think you catch my meanin’. Just remember, the only times you’ve lost money on your crew is when you got suckered into bettin’ against us.”
“That’s true,” the Deveel said with a thoughtful nod. “Speaking of Skeeve, are you sure there won’t be a problem there? The last time] saw him we weren’t on the best of terms.”
“You worry about the casino and leave Skeeve ta me,” I smiled confidently, hopin’ I knew what I was talkin’ about. “Anyway, Skeeve’s not one ta hold a grudge. If memory serves me correctly, Aahz was all set ta tear your throat out that last meeting, and it was Skeeve who came up
“Wha ... Who ... Massha!” he said, gaspin’ like a fish out of water. “What happened?”
I batted my eyelashes at him.
“I don’t think I catch your drift, Big Red.”
The Geek just sat there blinkin’ for a few seconds, one hand on the top of his head like he was afraid it was goin’ ta come off.
“I ... I don’t know,” he managed at last. “I’ve been drunk for ... what day is it? Never mind! ... For a long time. Now all of a sudden I’m wide awake and stone cold sober. What happened? How long have you been here?”
I smiled ta myself and mentally accepted a pat on the back. My record was still intact. I’ve been told more times than you can count that nothin’ sobers a body up as completely or as fast as a little hug and a kiss from Massha.
“Just long enough to catch the curtain goin’ up,” I said. “Now that were all present and accounted for, though, I want ya ta listen close to a little proposition.”
The Geek used ta be one of the biggest bookies at the Bazaar. At one point, he had his own club, called the Even Odds. Of course, that was before Skeeve caught him usin’ marked cards and suggested strongly that he sell us his club. I wasn’t sure how the Prez would react to my cuttin’ the Geek in on this new project, but he was the only one I could think of who had the necessary knowledge to set up a casino and was currently unemployed.
“I don’t know, Massha,” he said after I had explained the situation. “I mean, it sounds good ... but a casino’s a big operation. I’m not exactly rolling in investment capital right now.”
“So start small and build. Look, Geek, the house is going ta be providin’ the space and decor rent free. All you have ta do is set up security and round up some dealers to work the tables.”
“Did you say ‘rent free’?”
It occurred ta me that maybe r shouldn’t have sobered him up quite so much. Now he was back ta thinkin’ like a Deveel bookie.
“Well ... practically. The way I figure it, the house will take a piece of the action, which means you’ll only have ta pay rent if you lose money.”
“That’s no problem,” the Geek said with a smile. “With the dealers I’m thinking of, there’s no way we’ll end up in the red.”
Somehow, I didn’t like the sound of that.
“I hope it goes without sayin’ that we expect you ta run a clean operation, Geek,” I warned. “I don’t think The Great Skeeve would like ta be part of settin’ up a crooked casino. Content yourself with the normal winnings the odds throw the house. Okay?”
“Massha! You wound me! Have I ever run anything but a clean game?”
I gave him a hard stare, and he had the decency to flush slightly.
“Only once that I know of,” I said, “and if I recall correctly it was Skeeve who caught you at it that time. If I were you, I’d keep my nose clean ... unless you want ta wake up some morning on a scratchy lily pad.”
The Geek sat up a little straighter and lost his smug grin.
“Can he really do that?”
“It was just a figure of speech, but I think you catch my meanin’. Just remember, the only times you’ve lost money on your crew is when you got suckered into bettin’ against us.”
“That’s true,” the Deveel said with a thoughtful nod. “Speaking of Skeeve, are you sure there won’t be a problem there? The last time] saw him we weren’t on the best of terms.”
“You worry about the casino and leave Skeeve ta me,” I smiled confidently, hopin’ I knew what I was talkin’ about. “Anyway, Skeeve’s not one ta hold a grudge. If memory serves me correctly, Aahz was all set ta tear your throat out that last meeting, and it was Skeeve who came up
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