Vegas Rules

by Jan Stryvant

  April smiled, "Yes, Stewart."

  Sapientia Visit

  "Sean, Jolene, Roberta!" Arthur stood up and smiling he shook hands with each of them as they came into the room. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of inviting Joseph over to meet with us as well."

  All three of them were a little surprised, but smiled and shook hands with Joseph from the council of Eruditio, who had also stood to greet them.

  "James, if you could bring us a fresh pot of tea please?" Arthur said and motioned for Sean and the girls to take a seat on the couch as he and Joseph moved to the overstuffed chairs that were on the other side of the coffee table from them.

  "I don't mind," Sean smiled as he sat down with Jolene on his right and Roberta on his left. "It just saves me an extra trip."

  "Oh? You were planning on stopping by?" Joseph asked raising an eyebrow.

  Sean nodded, "For what it's worth, both of you have been seen as supporting the lycan cause. I think it's only fair that I visit with you from time to time so we can discuss any issues that might come up."

  Joseph nodded, leaning back in his seat, "Thoughtful."

  "So," Arthur smiled, "what brings you here today?"

  "Primarily, I wanted to share intelligence," Sean decided to just get to the point. If Joseph was here, he figured that something was up. So the sooner he got his issues dealt with, the sooner he could find out what theirs were.

  "We're still building up our network," Sean continued, "and while we're learning things every day, I'm sure that with your greater experience and with your network of councils that you're catching a lot of things which we're missing. As none of us want to see Reno become a battleground, I was hoping you'd tell me if you knew of anyone who's preparing an attack."

  "Don't you mean, 'Planning an attack?'" Arthur asked as James came in and set a pot of tea down with five cups.

  Sean smiled, "They're all planning an attack, I don't doubt that for a moment. But right now I'm more worried about just who is actually putting those plans into action."

  "And what are your plans for countering any attacks that we tell you about? I don't think any of us would like the kind of excitement that you caused in Las Vegas yesterday. I mean really, Sean. Burning down two casinos? How are you going to cover that up?"

  Sean shrugged, "They'd been warned, repeatedly, and they chose to ignore the warnings. I'd hoped that with our attack on Dolitt's place and with my killing him that the others would finally see that the rules had changed and they'd just roll over.

  "Unfortunately, the owners of the Mata-Hari decided to engage in a mass kill off, and well," Sean shrugged again and then looked Arthur directly in the eyes, "anyone who does that dies. No hesitation and I don't give a damn about the fallout. We're not having another 'Night of the Silver Death.'"

  Out of the corner of his eye, Sean noticed Joseph wince.

  Arthur sighed as he poured out the tea into the cups, "I understand, but still, I've seen the reports that they're finding a lot of bodies in the building."

  "Roxy's father has it covered," Jolene spoke up.

  "Oh?" Arthur asked looking at his niece in surprise. "How's he doing that?"

  "By telling the truth of course," Jolene grinned as her uncle flinched, "just not all of it."

  "And just what truth is that?"

  "That the owners of the Mata-Hari were engaged in a human trafficking operation. They were using their 'slaves' to work in the casino, and prostituting them out on the side. When they discovered that the Sheriff's office was closing in, they decided to use the fire on the other side of town as cover to dispose of all of their slaves before they could talk to the authorities and destroy all of the evidence."

  "And unfortunately," Sean picked up, "some of their employees balked when the killing started. They were okay with enslaving people, but not mass murder. So an argument turned into a firefight, and the fire was a result of that."

  "That's kind of a stretch though, isn't it?" Joseph asked.

  Jolene shook her head, "Roxy's dad got the Nevada State tax office involved, all of the dead bodies were in employee uniforms, but were not on the books or in the tax records. They were all undocumented, and almost all of them were young women. By the time this story hits the press tonight, the fire at Dolitt's will be forgotten about, and with all of the government and press attention focused on undocumented workers in Vegas, nobody is even going to risk bringing slaves in there to work anymore."

  "Yeah," Sean chuckled, "it's one thing to have a bloody lion with a sword threatening to cut your head off, but the IRS? Now that's something everybody is terrified of!"

  "What," Joseph asked, "are they planning to tell the press about Dolitt's?"

  "Massive fire code violations," Sean said. "The only person that died there was Dolitt himself as he was confined to his bed due to illness. That's just a terrible tragedy brought on by his own mismanagement.

  "Again, we gave them every chance to be reasonable. Those that were, they're all fine. Those that weren't," Sean shook his head and sighed. "It's not like I enjoyed it, even if they deserved what they got. Honestly, I'd rather see more operations like the one we pulled in Sacramento."

  "Yes, about Sacramento," now it was Arthur's turn to sigh, "we're hearing rumors that some of their people are pushing rather hard for an attack on Reno to get their lycans back."

  Sean nodded, "We've heard some rumors about that as well, but they have to understand by now just how many of us there are up here, after what happened to the Vestibulum. Unless they're going to coordinate with their other councils in the country, I don't see them becoming much of a threat. Which is why I'm here; are they involving the other councils?"

  "Not that we've seen, but you must understand that Kurt Reese is a very nasty man, and I daresay the rumors of his wife's infidelity, as well as the new ones of his children not really being his," Arthur shook his head, "let's just say the man is driven, and he has a lot of power."

  "They're not rumors," Roberta snickered.

  "Hmm?"

  "His wife bought one of the collars that the Sorceress Guild uses. All of her children, and I do mean all were fathered by her boyfriend, the wolf that was in charge of their security. Might be part of why he was so faithful?" Roberta smirked.

  Arthur sighed again, "If she hated him so much, why did she marry him in the first place?"

  "Power, of course. Isn't it always about power?" Jolene said looking at her uncle, "I mean really, Uncle, we've all seen the lengths magic users will go to for power. Look at what it did to me! I traveled halfway around the world and learned the kinds of things that all of the 'traditional' magic users shun just so I could come back here and not only get my revenge, but to rub everyone's noses in what they did to me!

  "Thank god that I met Roxy and Sean. They definitely saved me from myself," Jolene sighed.

  Sean put an arm around Jolene and gave her a hug, causing Arthur to smile. He was pleased to see that his niece really had found someone who cared about her.

  "You really think that the Ascendants in Sacramento are going to try something?" Sean asked, getting the conversation back on track.

  Arthur and Joseph both nodded.

  "Yes," Arthur said, "though I suspect Reese's anger is directed more at his wife. I wouldn't be surprised if all he wants is to see her and the lycan she was sleeping with dead. But he can't get that unless he sells them on some big campaign to teach you lycans a lesson and all the usual rhetoric."

  "Sooner or later, however," Joseph picked up, "someone is going to decide to assassinate you, Sean."

  "Harkins already tried," Sean shrugged, "that didn't work out very well for him."

  "He did?" Joseph and Arthur both looked surprised at that.

  "Yup, brought in the same guy he used to kill my father. We had some words," Sean growled, thinking about that. "He's actually the one that killed Harkins after I told him about how Harkins had violated his oath. Apparently, assassins don't like it when they're li
ed to."

  "That doesn't mean someone won't try again," Joseph warned.

  "I'm aware of that," Sean nodded. "But right now I'm a lot more worried about another army showing up on my doorstep."

  "All of us are," Arthur agreed, "but then, whose doorstep are you planning on showing up on next?"

  Sean smiled, "I honestly haven't decided. But if the good folks down in Sacramento give me enough of a reason to go there, well, I'd hate to waste the trip, right?"

  Sean leaned back against the couch and looked at Arthur and Joseph.

  "So, seeing the two of you together like this, does this mean that Sapientia and Eruditio are allies now?"

  Arthur and Joseph exchanged a glance, Joseph smiled, and Arthur shrugged.

  Joseph spoke up first, "Eruditio has always strived to remain neutral, Sean."

  "And so did the United States, right up until it joined the war against the Nazi's," Sean pointed out.

  "Sapientia has always sought counsel with the leaders of Eruditio," Arthur supplied. "With Sapientia returning to the number one position among the councils, it's another tradition we're looking to reclaim. If the Vestibulum had bothered to consult with them, I daresay Morgan would never have engaged in any of his foolishness."

  "Well, his loss is your gain, right?" Jolene put in.

  "Oh, I'm not complaining too much," Arthur acknowledged. "But everyone is much more worried about the future right now. We have a huge change in the way things have always been done; we have a shifting power structure and everyone trying to see just what they can grab, and what they can hold on to."

  "On top of that," Joseph added, "all of our seers are seeing trouble on the horizon. But we don't know if it's related to the councils making their power grabs, or because of all of the lycans being set free."

  "And that brings us to the real reason Joseph is here," Sean smiled, "to ask more questions about us lions."

  Joseph smiled, "Astute as always, Sean. Yes, both Arthur and I have many questions, and more than a few concerns. I guess the first and most important is fairly simple: What are the Lions planning?"

  "To free the lycans, obviously," Sean told them.

  "And then what?"

  "What more can there be?" Sean asked Joseph back. "I mean, isn't that enough?"

  "There is always more, Sean. Once you've freed the lycans, what will you do with them? Who will lead them? Will the lions come back to rule them?"

  Sean could have sworn that he felt the First actually facepalm.

  "You're worried that we're going to try and take over the world, aren't you?" Sean snickered and then had to laugh at the expression on Joseph and Arthur's faces.

  "Trust me! We're not making that mistake again!" Sean laughed.

  "What do you mean by that?" Joseph pressed, looking concerned.

  "Look, if we wanted to rule the world, all I would have to do, all any lion would have to do, is to order all the lycans to bite every single human being in the world. Inside of a week, everyone who isn't a magic user would be a lycan.

  "Instead we've all but forbade them from ever biting anyone!" Sean shook his head, but he couldn't stop grinning. "I mean really, guys. I'd have thought that one would have been obvious."

  Joseph looked rather embarrassed, while Arthur was looking thoughtful.

  "I must admit, to my embarrassment, that I had overlooked that argument," Joseph admitted.

  "Why haven't you?" Arthur asked.

  "Why haven't we bitten everyone?" Sean asked a little surprised.

  "Yes, why haven't you? It would make all of this unnecessary; you'd already be ruling everything."

  'It is a good question,' Sean asked the First, 'why didn't you do that?'

  'Because it would be very unwise. We considered it, discussed the issues it would cause, and were reminded of our place in the order of things.'

  "Because it would be very unwise," Sean replied.

  "Unwise, how?" Joseph asked.

  "That's one of those mysteries that you're just going to have to discover for yourself," Sean smiled.

  'Good one!' The First snickered in his head.

  'I'm learning,' Sean laughed back at him.

  "So," Joseph pressed, "you do admit that lions did once rule the world?"

  'Academics, once you start answering questions, they never stop asking,' the first snickered.

  'You're having too much fun with this, aren't you?'

  'May I?'

  'Knock yourself out,' Sean said, and let the First take control, curious as to what he'd say.

  "What do your records say? Those legends I told you to go check?" the First smiled.

  "Ours apparently do not go back far enough. However, those of the dwarves and the elves do seem to indicate that you once were the masters of the world."

  "For what world there was, yes, we were," the first nodded.

  "Why'd you stop?"

  "Stop what, ruling the world?"

  "Yes," Joseph nodded, "you had it all! What happened?"

  "Boredom, it's all so exciting to conquer the world, but it's not so much fun running it."

  Joseph blinked, even Arthur looked surprised.

  "You mean to tell me," Arthur interrupted Joseph's questioning, "that you gave up on ruling the world because you found it boring?"

  "Isn't that what happened to Alexander the Great? Aren't your histories all clear on what happened to him, once he was done? Once there was nothing left to conquer?"

  "I'm not sure I'm following your point."

  "Why did he conquer the world?"

  "Because he wanted to rule the world?"

  "Oh, hells no!" the First laughed. "It was a bet, over a couple of beers! We all thought he was a cocky little bastard! But damn, he sure showed us!"

  "We?"

  The First grinned, "We lions, I wasn't there of course. I'm still new to all of this, but as I've said before, we talk."

  'Nice save,' Sean laughed. 'You know, when you say things like that, you have just got to be driving them crazy.'

  'Why do you think I do it?'

  The First stood up then, Jolene and Roberta standing up as well.

  "Arthur, Joseph, thank you for your time, I think I've left you both with enough mysteries for today."

  Arthur and Joseph got to their feet as well and shook hands.

  "But there are so many questions I want to ask," Joseph sighed.

  "Well, tell you what, I'll give you a free one before I go. How would you like to know just how many lions there are?"

  Joseph blinked, "Why, I would love to know that! It's a question that no one seems to know the answer to!"

  "So?" The First prompted.

  "How many lions are there?"

  "Why, as many as there needs to be, of course!" The First said with a wink.

  Arthur almost lost it, putting his hand up to his mouth to try and cover up the loud snort and grin as Joseph grumbled.

  "Serves me right, I guess."

  Arthur shook his head and snickered as Dean closed the door behind the Sean and the girls. Arthur couldn't help but notice that even his men were smiling.

  "I can't believe I fell for that," Joseph grumbled.

  "Yes, Joseph, you did walk right into it. Apparently, lions have a quirky sense of humor."

  "Do you really believe what he said about Alexander the Great?" Dean asked from over by the door.

  "The best jokes, Dean, are always those with a little truth behind them, he was just playing with us," Arthur smiled.

  "Yes, I daresay he was," Joseph agreed. "Kind of refreshing these days though, isn't it?"

  Sean took back over and steered the girls out the door and back to the car, he could hear the First's laughter in his head.

  "Did you have to do that?" Jolene asked.

  "Oh come on, it was funny," Sean snickered.

  "It serves him right for being too pushy," Roberta agreed with a smile.

  "How about we swing by Sawyers on the way home, and see what he has to say
?"

  Jolene nodded, "Definitely. I'd rather get the facts straight from the source."

  Sean nodded as they got into the car, "I'm surprised that they don't seem to know more about what the other councils are up to though."

  "I'm sure they know more than they shared with us."

  "You think so?"

  "Of course, especially when you keep teasing them like that."

  "More likely," Roberta said as she started up the car and put it in gear, "they just don't want us to know how good their sources are. Remember, we're on the same side today. Tomorrow, they're worried we won't be."

  Sean nodded and conceded the point, and sat back to enjoy the ride. Roberta had a tendency to drive the speed limit, or slower, unlike Daelyn who would have had them halfway across town by now.

  "Jolene! Sean, Roberta, good to see you," Marx said as they walked in through the door. "Everybody's talking about what you did in Vegas yesterday! Boss loved it," Marx raised his voice then, "ain't that right boss?"

  "Hey, Kid! Marx is right! Oh man, I couldn't get enough of watching old man Dolitt's place burn to the ground on TV. Bastard owed me a quarter million! Serves him right that he burned to death!"

  "Sorry, but he didn't burn to death, Sawyer," Jolene said as they walked back to his counter.

  "What? But the news!" Sawyer said looking back and forth between Sean and Jolene.

  "Sean cut his head off first," Jolene grinned.

  "Hot damn! That's even better!" Sawyer laughed. "So, what can I do for you, and do you have any more stuff for me? I'm all out of stock here again."

  "We just got back last night," Sean told him, "I'll get started on it tomorrow. Trust me, everybody wants more."

  "Your wife Cali was in here earlier with your other wife Peg, and that friend of theirs," Sawyer snorted, "they ran up quite the bill. But I gotta tell ya, that Cali, she sure knows her weapons. You're a lucky one, Kid."

  Sean grinned and nodded as Jolene's eyes went wide.

  "Wait a second, did I just hear you right, you gave someone credit?" Jolene turned towards the door, "Marx! Where's the real Sawyer and what have you done with him?"