Points to clarify: Village names, like Konoha, are city names. Country names are country names. Therefore, Suna is the base of the rival gang to Konoha's ruling gang. However, names such as the Hokage, the Kazekage, are the name of the gangs. Therefore, you will see references to the Hokage as a plural group of people. The boss is called by another name that I will give soon (a general yakuza term), and sometimes by their number (i.e. sandaime, godaime, as from canon).

Chapter Two

It wasn't that difficult to smile at Uchiha Itachi. She'd done it before, albeit at gunpoint. No hard feelings.

"Itachi," said Kisame, "meet Inuzuka Hana, the one woman in this entire building who does not seem inclined to assault you. Inuzuka-san, Itachi."

"Charmed," Hana said. Since neither of them felt inclined to extend a hand, they gave each other a very shallow bow instead.

Then Itachi opened his big mouth. "We're acquainted, Kisame."

The other man's pale eyes widened. "Really!" He glanced at Hana, not so much surprised as amused. "Is there something you haven't told me?"

Hana's pleasant veneer didn't waver. "It was so long ago, Kisame-san. Before he worked with you, I believe."

Kisame's toothy grin broadened. "Itachi is so close-mouthed about his earlier life. This must be the skeleton in his closet that he's so determined to hide."

Hana decided, then and there, that she loved this man. "Only the usual," she said. "Murder, theft, nothing sensational. I'll tell you all about it sometime."

He took the hint. "You must have plenty of catching up to do. You will be around later, won't you, Inuzuka-san? I'll hold you to your promise." With a parting chuckle, he left her alone with Itachi.

Hana raised her eyes, meeting a gaze the color of claret. "So quiet, Itachi. What's wrong?"

He flagged a passing waiter and took a glass without looking away from her. "I could let you wander around this hotel for hours on the strength of your false invitation until you achieved your purpose…but I'm not that patient."

"Pity, that." She looked around. "Well, the hotel opening looks like a success so far, even with the new non-smoking policy."

"Incidentally, Hana, would you like to see one of Red Moon's smoking rooms?"

She gave him a beatific smile. "Excellent idea." Her tone was only slightly patronizing, but that was the first thing that provoked any reaction out of the man. The cool, conditioned air fell several degrees as he led her to a smaller room closed off from the hall.

Hana brushed her fingertips over the spotless, polished surface of a mahogany table. A shame that she didn't have cigarettes with her; she rather doubted that Itachi would have any on him. He didn't seem the type to smoke. Men with no vices were harder to analyze.

"I'm not here for you," she said, switching tack abruptly. "One of your colleagues invited me here; you'll know who soon."

His voice was soft. "Not enough, Hana."

"Hokage business is none of your business, Itachi," she said, stressing his name. The smile she flashed him showed teeth. "Not since you left…how many years ago?"

He crossed his arms, leaning back against the opulent dark wood paneling. The lighting in the room was warm and dim, creating an intimacy that did not exist between the room's occupants. The way Itachi was standing, most of his expression lay hidden behind a mantle of shadow. Not that he needed the cover, with that infamous poker face.

Ha-ha, she thought. You're a riot, Inuzuka.

"Don't pretend not to remember," he said.

She adopted a mock-exasperated tone, mimicking his stance. "Listen, Itachi, I don't know very much about you, if we're being honest here. Your life so far has been the stuff of legend. And we, the Hokage, are not entirely without appreciation for your nerve." She shook her head, exaggerating the ruefulness in her voice. "What would convince you that we're off your back, for good?"

His mouth curved in a cold smile. "Stay away from me and mine."

"The question is," she continued as if he hadn't spoken, "are you willing to let go of the past? Call it –" she paused, selecting the perfect words, "water under the bridge, and so forth?"

Hana had years of experience gauging reactions as an unmemorable liaison. She sensed that Itachi's absolute stillness now indicated anger more than nonchalance.

Not that his tone revealed any of that. "The Hokage don't forgive or forget. Neither do I."

But just then, Hana heard a muffled electronic fizz in her ear. Hidden behind her hair, the transmitter emitted a low, masculine growl: "Where the f – are you?"

Yanking open the door with a bang that startled several people outside, Hana faced Itachi with calm triumph. "It's certainly been nice talking to you, Itachi, but unfortunately, I have a prior commitment. Maybe someday we'll find common ground again…the day the Uchiha name has any honor worth a damn, perhaps?"

He gave her a slow, ironic nod. "An Inuzuka could speak with great authority on the subject, of course," Itachi said silkily, but he let her go.

She almost smirked at that; despite everything she knew, she could still picture him delivering that line as an uptight policeman's brat. Who knew? If the Uchiha clan had produced the right kind of policemen, maybe Itachi would have made a career out of it.

Hana reentered the giant hall and located the man called Deidara at one of the tables. He slouched in a chair, where he'd apparently thrown himself in sullen distaste. His ivory shirt draped in a loose, organic manner over his torso; the striped, cobalt blue tie looked as though he'd been tugging at it. One button at his shirt collar was undone, and his suit jacket dangled over the arm of the adjacent chair, discarded with the same artless impatience that had set a thousand tiny wrinkles in the portion of Deidara's shirt just above the belt.

He glared when Hana approached, tilting back his head. His eyes matched the tie. "Kabuki or kinbaku?"

"Hanabi," said Hana. A pyromaniac would prefer fireworks over either of those other artistic pursuits. She took a seat, overlooking the man's rudeness. Kurenai, who had briefed Hana on the contact, had already warned that Deidara was handsome but abrasive. Hana had lied to Kisame earlier on the extent of her ignorance, but Itachi's business partner had not yielded anything particularly new or useful. "Sasori-san has business elsewhere?" Although her tone was mild, Hana's casual query was anything but. Sasori was without scruples; he had dealt with Suna's ruling crime family in the past for everlasting riches – a priceless set of brilliant cut diamonds. Understandably, the Hokage suspected his every move.

Deidara gave a one-shouldered shrug, letting her draw her own conclusions. "The board of Red Moon won't tolerate sokaiya." He was referring to the yakuza-backed men who bought shares for the right to attend meetings. "But Sasori-danna will arrange a public event using the hotel as a venue. The Hokage will be permitted to impose supervisory measures on certain rooms and corridors."

Hana concealed a smile – first, because judging by Deidara's courteous manner of referring to the other man, he did in fact respect someone. Secondly, Sasori's offer was even better than relying on sokaiya. The installation of supervisory equipment provided a better ruse for one of the Hokage to learn the hotel layout. All hotels in the Red Moon franchise had the same basic plans. The special importance of the founding hotel in Ame, a foreign city beyond Hokage reach, and the one on the riverside destined to become Red Moon's southern headquarters, might result in slight variation, but overall, Sasori had actually improved upon the Hokage's original plan.

So… one team to set up extraneous surveillance equipment, and one discreet member to infiltrate the hotel in broad daylight. Red Moon had so far paid and screened its staff too well for the usual modus operandi to work, but this just might do it.

"What type of event?" she asked.

"Invitation of a famous media personality, a gala event, a beauty pageant. Do the Hokage have a preference?"

Obviously, Sasori wanted more information. The classic problem with dealings between crooks, Hana reflected: everyone wanted to one-up each other. "Does Sasori-san know how large he wants the casino to be?"

"Full length and breadth of the second floor," said Deidara.

"Invite a famous speaker." A majority of the hottest, most popular ones were on the Hokage's payroll or owed a surfeit of favors.

"Red Moon hires the floormen and pit managers."

"No."

"Then no deal."

Hana flagged over a waiter in an increasingly familiar gesture and used the drink-selection time to figure out a different approach. "You know we can't allow that," she said reasonably. "The casino will already be inside your hotel. Red Moon can observe through the eye in the sky. What do you need pit managers and floormen for?"

"How stupid exactly do you think I am?" Irritation laced Deidara's voice. "Give yakuza pit managers free rein behind Red Moon cameras? Try again."

The discussion reached a lull, each of them taking a drink from their glasses. Hana nearly called it off as a deadlock, until she remembered something else. "Gambling, or the facilitation thereof, is quite morally repugnant, isn't it?"

Deidara's eyes narrowed. "And yet it's legal," he remarked in tones of mock-amazement.

"But morally repugnant. Some would consider it sinful." Hana's drink paused at her lips. "Has Sasori-san brought his…ambitious proposal before the other board members yet?" She saw from Deidara's face that he had not. "I know a man who might throw his entire might against this hypothetical casino once he caught wind of it. Perhaps he could be outvoted over its establishment, but I wonder…what will happen if he realizes Red Moon will be employing staff to perpetuate one of the sins most strongly condemned by his religious creed?"

Deidara was young; his anger came to the fore too readily. "You mean Hidan," he snapped.

Hana just looked at him for a long moment, knowing that would stoke his temper. "If you push him, he might take drastic measures. Hidan owns many of Red Moon's best assets, doesn't he? Nearly three-quarters of the northeastern chain. He worked closely with Kakuzu long before you even joined the board of directors."

The blonde man looked annoyed enough to interject, but Hana spoke again before he could. "The Hokage is not making you choose between Hidan or a lucrative casino. We know firsthand how much a casino can generate under good hands. We offer Red Moon a great opportunity and require only certain royalties. We can run it smoothly from extensive experience. Red Moon stands only to profit. Why provoke protest from a devout man?"

She stood up, replacing her bland smile with a chillier expression more conducive to convincing the likes of Deidara. "Please don't rush to any decision. We'll be in touch."

Hana breezed past the welcoming staff at the wall of glass doors and climbed into the sleek black car loitering near the entrance. The driver, clad in a tux and bereft of his customary bandana, smirked at her. "You don't clean up half bad, Inuzuka."

"Shut up and drive, Izumo," she said shortly. The first thing she'd do when she got home was take off the damned corset.

(TBC)