There's a speakeasy in the middle of neutral territory run by a woman named Pallas Athena. She's as pretty as she is deadly – that is to say, very. And Spades Slick had a date with her.
No, not that kind of date! He was here for business only, mind you. Though thoughts had crossed his mind about the other kind of date.
He stomped into the building, past guards who immediately let him in upon seeing who it was. Jackie valued anyone if they could pay right and, judging from the suitcase in his hand, he could.
He stepped out of the way as guards lugged Fin out. He thought about stabbing the green torso then and there, but Pallas wouldn't like that. She didn't like her place getting dirty, which was probably part of why she built it in neutral territory.
"And stay out!" the guard snapped. "You know Miss Athena don't like seeing your green mug around here!"
Slick never knew why, but Pallas had a thing against Fin. Not even the entirety of the Felt. Just Fin. And she always avoided the question when they asked.
"What'd he do this time?" Slick asked, jerking his thumb at Fin as he stalked away.
The large Prospitian guard shook his head. "Just trying to bother Miss Athena again. Guy doesn't know when to quit."
A vague answer as always. Slick supposed he shouldn't expect any better or be wasting his time with one of these guards. He walked into the speakeasy, crowded as always. There were tables full of Dersites, Prospitians, and even green torsos. Just a handful of the last one since they were so few in number though.
There was a bar on one side of the room, run by a tall, thin Dersite. On the other side was a stage with a piano. A heavyset Prospitian man played the piano. Pallas was at the mic.
She was the type of woman who made heads turn as she walked in the room. She wore a pretty black and white dress, black boots, white thigh highs, and a little top hat quirked to the right side of her head. Her hair was pulled back in her usual French bun. Blue eyes scanned the room as she sang and stopped on Slick.
He awkwardly raised a hand as their eyes met.
Pallas didn't say anything until she finished her song, and then she stepped off the stage and crossed the room to get to Slick.
"Why, if it isn't Slick. To what do I owe the honor?" she asked.
A smirk curved the corners of his lips upwards and he offered a lazy shrug. "You know, business as always."
"Yes, business as always." She turned her back to him and motioned for him to follow her to her office. He did.
She closed the door behind them and locked it so they wouldn't be bothered, before taking a seat behind her desk. Slick sat across from her on the other side.
"So what are you wanting intel on this time, Slick?"
"The Felt destroyed one of our casinos, so we're taking out one of theirs."
"Which one?"
He thought for a moment as he scratched at his face. He hadn't thought this far ahead yet. "Well, which do you recommend?"
Pallas stood and went to a nearby file cabinet. She opened a drawer and went through the files until she found one labeled "Felt Casinos". She then returned to her seat and browsed through the files.
"You've really got intel on everything, don't you, Pallas?"
A smile crossed her face. "That's what I'm here for, isn't it?"
Finally, she found what she was looking for and took a few papers out of the folder, scribbling down their contents onto a sheet of paper she had ready for any potential customers like Slick.
"Well, tell me what you're writing," Slick demanded. He always was the impatient sort.
"In east Felt territory, there's a certain casino that's been doing better than the rest. If you want to get back at him, that's the way to go."
She offered the paper to Slick and he looked through it. Address, Felt most likely to encounter, best ways to get back at them through the casino – Pallas had really thought of everything. But that was her job, and that was why Slick kept coming back to her. She knew what she was doing.
"Pallas, you are brilliant."
"I try."
