“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 we’re 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 I shouldn’t have sobered him up quite so much. Now he was back ta thinkin’ like a Deveel bookie.