"I'm here for Red"
Why are they scanning me,
"He's clean… Follow me"
What do you take me for? I already know it's a death wish to bring anything harmful.
This place sure is as lively as ever. A casino this huge is insane for just one person to own.
"We're here. The boss rarely handles anyone looking for him. I suggest you keep that in mind when you are speaking with him that is if you want to come out unscathed"
I was seriously just pushing my luck in hopes of meeting this so-called indisputable cartel boss. I didn't think it'd actually work.
"Yeah"
The lifestyle of a cartel boss makes mine look like a complete failure
This place is seriously incomparable to any place I've seen. And I thought I was supposedly living it good this past few days. Sigh, one room made absolute mockery of me.
Click!
Mhmm! This place is loaded with guards all over.
"Sit"
The three people sitting are all wearing masks. Most likely to hide Red's identity. It's unlikely if he's even in this room at all.
I've been staring at them for a while now and they still haven't said a thing.
This pressure really is intense having so many nuzzles pointed right at me. They are not kidding around. I could actually end up dead if they want to.
"What do you want"
Don't let it get to you and secure what you came here for. Right.
"I'm sure you know what I'm here for. I just want to deal a little business"
Why bother to ask? I'm sure you've already been given all the information about me before I showed up.
"What kind of business is it?"
"I want protection"
"Protection?"
Did I say something wrong?
"So you want to have s*x?"
"I don't mean that! I'm talking about guns of course"
God you should already know this.
"Then you should have said it from the beginning. I'm not one for idle chatter. When I ask a question I expect a direct answer. Do you understand"
"I understand"
He's handling this conversation like he would any other. Even though I should look younger than the necessary age to bat an eye for.
In that case I must not let this chance slip away.
"Good. Now you may continue"
If they spot any sign of weakness the trade is off before it begins.
While they could easily supply ammunition. It's what comes after that they are most weary about. I must read the flow of the conversation and answer accordingly.
"Yes, I seem to have offended some dangerous people and I'm now on their black list. Since they are not one to be trifled with so having the right weapons would be of great help in fighting them off"
"Is that all"
"I believe so. Any more information would be going astray of the topic"
This is an evaluation. I'm certain there's a deeper meaning to what he said. If he's not truly one for idle chatter he wouldn't care about specifics. The thing he's doing is something a lot of monarchs have read about use. When dealing with someone new they often use a simple conversation to completely read the ability of someone.
"Hm, not bad. I can probably help you with fighting them off. But you have to prove to me you're worth the risk"
"Prove and how do I do that"
I already know what he's looking for. The way he's handling this conversation ties perfectly to all I've heard about him.
There's only two ways to garner his attention: either you have an astronomical amount to buy it. Or you give him the thing he values most. Trust.
"I'm sure you understand that my business is not very appreciated by the public. So to keep things running smoothly we need to ensure that our partners are the most trustworthy"
"In that case. What can I do to earn your trust"
"Mhmm… I've run this job for a long time, possibly longer than the day you came to this world. I've grown ties with a lot of people from all the deals we've made, some I could call my brothers. But even among them few even know about my existence. I trust them but not to the extent I can reveal myself so casually"
So that's why he wanted to meet me himself even though I seemed suspicious.
He runs this place like an organization with managers and executives numbering in hundreds. Even if I'm to say I did business or I heard about him from someone it will instantly be seen as a lie. But why would he warn me in such an indirect way? Could it be. Does he think he has a traitor in his group that wants him dead?
"So where did you hear about me from"
That would make sense a lot of people would supposedly be after someone of his standings and if he's facilitating an operation this huge. Holes would have surely formed. Big enough for dangerous spy's to leak in.
I see how very sly of him. If there's a traitor in his group I'll probably be the biggest lead that could find them and if there are none you could end me here to prevent information leak.
This guy had intended from the start to make me a bait.
Well then it's a good thing I have the fish you're looking for.
"Clinton. Clinton Dravik"
It was subtle but they flinched.
Well it's not like I made the name up since he's actually a cop I ran into during the dark age.
And by sheer coincidence he mentioned in one of our conversations how he had long been planning a sting operation to bust the biggest catch of his life. Red.
But he couldn't gather enough evidence in time before the world became a complete mess.
"That… That bastard had been a rat all along!... Even after all I did for him he had other motives… you two head over to Clinton mansion, make sure you bring him back to me by the end of the day"
They must have had a guess someone had been tipping the Fed's but couldn't figure it out who. Guess Red actually knew Clinton.
Now he has failed to capture Red in two lifetimes. I apologize Clinton. But it's every man for himself.
"Yes sir"
"Control yourself we are still in the middle of a meeting"
"Screw this"
Click!
"I might as well blow he's brain out since he's one of them"
What the hell! Why's holding a gun to my head? I gave him what he wanted so what happened to his refined self from before.
"Stand down"
Wait no need to panic the two are still composed so there's nothing to worry about.
"You're not one of Clinton's are you"
The one in the middle seems the most rational from the three.
"As you can tell clearly. I'm not"
"Then If that's the case how did you know of him and how did you come about my name from him"
Dammit! I should have figured he'd ask that.
But if I look at it this way it should be clear to him that I'm not associated with Clinton since I easily sold him out. If I can give him the story he's looking for then everything should turn out fine.
"See my father does a lot of business and meets a lot of investors. Clinton just so happens to be one of them. Coincidentally I met him during one of my dad trips and he just happened to be talking about a mysterious figure named Red"
"And you were able to trace that all the way to me"
"I'm really intuitive when it comes to people so it wasn't too hard asking around. And by sheer coincidence. I happened to meet a member of yours named Stephan"
I twisted the story but it's not a total lie since my dad does deal with Clinton. The part about finding information from him can also be true just not in the way I said it.
This should be more than enough to clear me of all suspicion.
But that's if they even intended on making a deal with me from the start.
"It's not hard to believe your story. No, probably your story does make quite a believable story. I just don't choose to believe it"
Click! Click! Click! Click!
W-hat! W-hat!
Every single guard his pointing their guns at me. Are they seriously planning on killing me?
Shit! Even after I had it all figured out.
"You're too clever for someone your age that at this stage I just can't trust you"
Did I make a mistake coming here!?
"But I probably can trust my intuition and right now it's saying killing you might be a waste. So here's the deal if you don't want to get stuffed with bullets like a human sized teddy bear. You'll answer a question of mine"
"And that's?"
"Out of the three of us which one is Red"