“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 our 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 I 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 with the suggestion that let you off the hook with your skin intact.”