Stilman fixed a cold, level gaze on her.
“It’s not funny,” he said. “These soldier boys of yours haven’t shown me much so far, but I’ll tell you, this casino has some of the toughest employees I’ve ever seen. Where did Huey find them, anyway?”
“You’ll have to ask him the next time you talk,” Max said, suppressing a smile of her own. “Not tonight, though. While I don’t think there will be any trouble as long as you’re just here as a guest, it probably wouldn’t be prudent if Mr. Martin were seen conversing with us or any of our known associates this evening.”
“Yeah … well … it’s all nice and easy for you to say `Don’t worry,'” Stilman growled, glancing around once more, “but you aren’t the one they’ll be coming after if you’re wrong. I don’t know why I had to be here, anyway.”
“You don’t, really,” Maxine said. “Realizing, though, that you and your men have had to put up with being roughed up and humiliated due to my policy of no rough stuff during our various diversionary probes, I thought you might enjoy being around `for the kill,’ as it were.”
“What? For this?” Stilman made a small gesture at the casino floor. “I suppose it was a nice thought, but this is about as exciting as watching grass grow.”
Maxine cocked a regal eyebrow at him. “I know you sometimes think me dull, Mr. Stilman, and perhaps in comparison to the excitement of the astroball circuit, I am. You should recall, however, that I also have a love of the dramatic. Rest assured, that things will get much more lively soon-in fact, in about fifteen minutes, I’d say.”