"You just know that Koushiro was thinking about raising to try to represent the straight, but Takeru has become somewhat known for making big hero calls in recent times, so he couldn't quite pull the trigger."
Takeru pulled in a small handful of chips.
"Let's take a look at where we stand after a long day of poker here at the Panok Millions cash game. When play started earlier today, we had nine players. Nine highly prolific high-stakes players sitting around our table, each one buying in for a minimum of six figures. Six of those players have now left the table, all of them losing between one hundred and four hundred thousand dollars. You are looking at the three players who have benefitted from that. Takeru Ishida, up over two hundred thousand dollars. Perry Iverson, up two hundred and eighty thousand. And the big winner so far tonight, none other than Koushiro Izumi, sitting on nearly half a million in profit."
"I almost emptied the clip there," Koushiro said, holding his hand up, index finger half an inch from his thumb. "Very close. But I thought you might have top two and couldn't fold."
"I wasn't folding," Takeru replied. "Maybe if you went all-in I couldn't call, but even then...I can't let you run me over."
"With three players left, we are going to up the stakes. We are now playing one thousand and two thousand blinds with a five hundred ante. Cash games don't get bigger than this."
Takeru slipped in two black chips and a red chip, watching Koushiro put out one red and Perry throw out a black and a red.
"With only three players still in, and a pot of forty-five hundred dollars getting built before any action goes in, expect to see these three guys really play aggressively and make moves, knowing they have fewer players to get through. Anyway, another hand getting dealt out, Koushiro on the button. And Phil, our lineup today has been top-notch, but look at who we've been left with after fourteen hours! Perry Iverson, Koushiro Izumi, Takeru Ishida. Does it get much better than these three playing short-handed?"
Koushiro looked down at seven six of hearts, sliding the cards into position in front of him.
"You don't have to sell me on this table right now. Many people consider Perry Iverson to be the greatest all-around poker player in the world right now, tournament and cash, and Koushiro Izumi is often called the greatest cash game Holdem player in the world. You might be looking at the two best poker players in the world right there, it's at least a good argument."
Koushiro put in six black chips.
"And Koushiro will raise to six thousand with small suited connectors from the button. And then you've got Ishida, who may not have the long established track record of Perry and Koushiro, but who's running better than him right now?"
Perry had a glance down at his two cards, ace of clubs and two of diamonds.
"Right, Takeru has only been a professional for...less than four months now, but he's just been killing it, so you have to acknowledge him as a real force in the game right now. Yeah, this is quite a trio. Perry's got a weak ace in the small blind."
Iverson put out two white chips and two black chips next to his small blind.
"And Iverson will re-raise with his ace deuce to twenty-three thousand. Wow, that's an overbet."
Takeru, with a quick look down at the queen of spades and six of clubs, folded.
"That gets rid of Takeru in the big blind pretty quickly. When you're three-handed, any ace is playable, but frankly, ace deuce offsuit is still a pretty bad hand, so Perry makes a big raise here hoping to just end things now. Would prefer not to get to the flop. Especially when he's out of position."
Koushiro looked intently over at Perry, playing with some chips in his right hand.
"Koushiro has position on Perry this hand, so that might be enough to motivate him to make this call. It's a big raise, though, and seven six suited looks a little less appealing when facing that much preflop action."
Koushiro's eyes dropped down to Perry's stacks of chips.
"Koushiro is calculating things out in his head, trying to figure out if calling is worth it. I think he's going to find that it is. Perry bought in for a million dollars when this day started, and is now sitting on a stack of over one and a quarter million. He has Koushiro covered, Koushiro bought in for four hundred thousand and is now sitting on a stack just shy of nine hundred thousand. Even if Perry has a hand like aces or kings, Koushiro must be thinking that if he can make a hand, he can win a truly massive pot."
Koushiro tossed a single white chip forward, following it up with seven blacks.
"And we will have two to the flop. Phil, who do you think has the advantage in this game right now?"
"Look, if you ask me that question in a situation where Perry Iverson is involved, I'm always going to say him. But it's definitely close. And Koushiro, this is sort of his thing, short-handed cash games, this is where he feels most comfortable. So it's certainly debatable. Nearly fifty grand in this pot already, and we have a coin toss heading into the flop. Both players with just about fifty percent equity."
The dealer put down the jack of clubs, three of diamonds, and five of clubs.
"Both players have flopped a gutshot straight draw. Perry has the best hand and the most equity as of right now with ace high, but...man. I almost don't want to jinx it, but if the turn card is a four...talk about the gin card."
"Especially if it's not the four of clubs. A four that's not a club would give Koushiro the nuts with the seven high straight, and Perry Iverson would make the third nuts with the five high straight. It almost seems too much to hope for."
Perry fired out three white chips and five black ones, sliding the small stack out towards the dealer.
"We might not get that far, Perry Iverson has bet thirty-five thousand into forty-nine thousand five hundred. Despite flopping the gutshot, it's not going to be easy for Koushiro to call here. I suspect he will call, but it's not a slam dunk."
Koushiro watched the dealer count out the size of the bet, looking down at the board.
"With the line that Perry has taken so far, it's easy to imagine he has a big pair. If that's the case, then Koushiro is drawing only to the straight, four outs. Not a great spot for him to be in, he'd be well behind. I think he'll peel and see a turn card, but it doesn't feel great just holding seven high."
Koushiro rifled a stack of white chips around.
"Maybe he's thinking about a raise? Would be a reasonable play, he knows he has outs with the gutshot, and can sometimes just take the pot down right here."
Koushiro finally put out three whites and five blacks.
"Nope, he's just calling. And someone like Koushiro, I promise you he's thinking about more than just the gutshot. He also thinks he might be able to take the pot away later by floating here, he can later represent that he has a jack, or that he has clubs, and find other ways to win even if he doesn't improve. If nothing else, he's flopped quite well, has to continue at least once."
The dealer, after gathering together a pot of nearly one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, burned and turned the four of hearts.
"OH MY GOD!"
Perry, expression unmoving and stoic, looked over at the turn card for a beat, then looked back down to his chips.
"Wow, this is...this is unreal. This is unbelievable. Perry Iverson has made a straight, and he is drawing dead. He's got the wheel, the straight ace to five, but Koushiro is sitting there with the absolute nuts. What a turn card."
Perry rubbed his finger over his upper lip a few times, then reached down towards his chips.
"Since it's about to become very relevant, let's remind our viewers that Koushiro is the effective stack, he currently has eight hundred and twenty-eight thousand behind. Right now, Perry is trying to figure out how to get as many of those chips as he can into the middle, not realizing that he's drawing dead."
"We're going for the record. The biggest cash game pot in televised poker history is just over one and a half million dollars. If all the money gets in, we will break that record quite comfortably. Wow."
Perry tossed out nine white chips.
"Ninety thousand dollars from Iverson, pretty standard sizing. Phil, is there any way in the world that he can get away from this?"
"Well, he's never going to fold on the turn, that's for sure. He's not worried about Koushiro having six deuce at all, so the only hand he's losing to right now that can even cross his mind is seven six specifically. But, if can somehow get to the river with chips back, and then the river is a scare card, he might be able to at least not get stacked. If the board pairs on the river, or if the river is a club, he'll have to at least be suspicious. Short of that, I don't think he can get away from this."
Koushiro, taking his time, kept his eyes trained on Perry as he played with his chips.
"And with the flush draw out there, I have to believe Koushiro's going to put in a raise here. There are definitely some bad river cards that either kill his action, or in some cases, make him concerned that he no longer has the best hand."
"Yeah, Koushiro's definitely raising. I would make it around two hundred thousand more, maybe even a little less. Make it look like I could be raising with the thought of folding to a re-raise with something like a flush draw. What you really don't want to do is make a raise so big it guarantees you're committed to the hand. That gives Perry the opportunity to at least think about things and consider what hands you'd be willing to commit nearly eight hundred thousand dollars to, and then maybe put you on the nut straight. That's perhaps the one way Perry could actually get away from this."
Mimi, up in the first row of the bleacher seating around the table, was involved in an animated conversation with Daisy and Hikari.
"Mimi Tachikawa has absolutely no idea what's brewing on the table right now. If she knew, she'd probably be giving off tells so big, even Perry would pick up on them from twenty feet away. As Koushiro's girlfriend, she has a vested interest in his performance on the felt, so you can be sure that in a few moments, she'll have all of her focus on the game."
Koushiro put two gold chips, then stacked three white chips and two black chips on top of it. He dropped these chips off past his button, prompting the dealer to reach out and start counting.
"He's raised an additional one hundred and forty-two thousand dollars! The pot has ballooned to four hundred and forty-two thousand, and we're far from done yet!"
"And I like that raise a lot. It leaves Koushiro with a ton of chips behind, so it's not unreasonable to think that he's raising with plans to fold to a re-raise. I still don't see Perry getting away from this. Granted, if anyone in the world can get away from it, it's him, he is considered the best player in the world. But I just can't imagine it. In fact, he might even declare all-in right here. Koushiro has just short of six hundred thousand behind, so it would be an overbet, but at this point, he might figure he may as well."
Perry blinked down a few times, staring over at Koushiro's stack.
"He's out of position as well, so he really doesn't want to get to the river, see a scare card, and be forced to check. What he doesn't realize is that sequence of events might very well save him a lot of money. But how can he possibly know that?"
"I'm all-in," Perry said.
"THERE IT IS! Perry Iverson has shoved six hundred thousand more!"
"I call," Koushiro announced.
"And of course, Koushiro calls immediately, he is holding the nuts. Perry turns over his wheel, and he can only grimace in pain as Koushiro reveals his seven six."
Perry blinked a couple times. "Wow. Nice hand."
"Oh my GOD, what a turn of events! Perry Iverson has just lost nearly nine hundred thousand dollars in one hand, this river card is completely irrelevant, and Koushiro Izumi has just taken the biggest pot in the history of televised cash games!"
"That's no good," Perry grunted, starting to count out his chips and pushing them in towards the middle of the table.
"Officially, this pot is one million, seven hundred and seventy-six thousand dollars, and it is all going over to Koushiro Izumi! The dealer has dealt out the river card, the jack of hearts, changes nothing of course, and here comes the double up!"
"And you can say...whatever you want about Perry Iverson. You can say he's worth over a hundred million dollars, you can talk about the thirty million dollars in live tournament cashes, the consistent profits in high stakes cash games, the grinding online for hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, the fact that he's more than capable of winning it all back over the course of a couple good days...this hurts. This hurts bad. That's the value of a brand new Parvarti Super Eight Performance Car that Perry is sending over to Koushiro, and he feels it."
Mimi, hands now tightly gripping the rail circling the table area, was no longer participating in any conversation. She mouthed a series of three words that were quite obvious. Takeru, meanwhile, couldn't help but give a wince.
"Mimi can't believe it, and Takeru...he and Koushiro are friends, I'm sure he's happy for him, but even he can't help but feel some sympathy pains for Perry Iverson, who had been doing so well today before that hand."
"Alright, I think that's it," Koushiro said as Perry tossed a handful of chips forward.
OOO
~Takeru~
"I'm all about pink diamonds," Mimi explained, holding up a small purple pillow in her hands. Atop the cushion was a small necklace, made up mostly of a thin golden chain, every fourth link swapped out with a gleaming pink crystal, each one cut into a perfect old styled Tolkowsky cut. Each pink gem was framed by a tiny circle of round clear diamonds. "You can't beat the pinks."
Takeru leaned in to examine it closely. "Well, it's certainly got my world series bracelets beat in more ways than one...although, I'm quite happy with those."
"Your One Drop bracelet probably isn't too far off in value," Ken pointed out. "That's ninety grand, right?"
"Ninety grand," Mimi repeated.
The small shop had been packed to the brim with the finest jewelry in the world, hiding behind glass display cases. The group had congregated in the back left corner of the shop.
Koushiro gave a small sigh. "The problem is, I literally can't not get her whatever she wants. I literally have to. Because she watched me play poker for like fifteen hours today, and she knows that I made almost a million and a half, and if I don't give her what she wants, I look like an ungrateful jackass."
"Problem?" Mimi repeated, raising an eyebrow over at her boyfriend. "How is that a problem?"
Koushiro rolled his eyes. "Oh...you know." He reached up and scratched the bridge of his nose. "Ninety thousand, I...the Leavensworth suburban kid in me can't help but really feel that kind of amount." He put his hands in his pockets. "Besides, that's like...one hundred and fifty big blinds at Six Figure Stacks."
Mimi wrapped her right arm around Koushiro's back. "Well, dear, you're a long way away from Leavensworth. Now, when we're done here, we'll head back home, and we'll...find some solutions to those problems, eh?"
Koushiro gave a small nod. "Well, there is that."
"That's the spirit," Mimi said, setting the pillow down on one of the glass counters.
"We're not done, are we?" Koushiro asked.
"Not even close," Mimi replied, walking off.
"Oh come on, buddy," Takeru said teasingly. "We all know that you and her come here, like, twice a week and clean the shelves off. This is your town, you run this place."
Koushiro gave a sheepish little laugh. "Please." He scratched the back of his head. "Today's a special day, that's all. If it wasn't for that hand, I would have just headed straight home."
"Well, congrats. Another spot in the record books," Takeru said, clapping Koushiro on the shoulder.
"For the moment," Koushiro replied, following Mimi down one of the aisles.
"What's your favorite?" Mimi asked, looking down at one of the display tables hidden behind a sheet of glass. "You like the pinks?"
"They're nice," Daisy replied, having followed Mimi down the aisle. "I, uh...I've always liked the emeralds and sapphires. Color contrast." She loudly cleared her throat, a glance over her shoulder.
"I hear ya," Takeru said, an impish grin on his face as he turned back towards the back corner of the store, towards where Hikari was standing. "Something the matter? What are you doing?"
Hikari was standing in the corner, holding her arms tightly to her sides. "Just...making sure I don't touch anything."
"Don't look so stressed," Takeru said, motioning her to come towards him. "You're fine."
Hikari glanced around, then marched forward towards Takeru. "I've never been so afraid to trip and fall in my life, and that's actually really saying something."
"Don't waste the worry," Takeru insisted. "These glass panels are meant to stand up against bullets. You can fall on them as hard as you want."
"The stuff by the entrance was like four hundred dollars, what's even the difference?" Hikari asked. "It all's the same stuff, isn't it?"
"You're asking the wrong person," Takeru said. "But the commercials tell me that the more expensive it is, the more your girl loves you when you give it to them." He clapped his hand on Hikari's shoulder. "And who am I to argue with that? You wanna help me pick something out that Daisy will like?"
"You're definitely asking the wrong person," Hikari said. "Uh...whatever's the second cheapest thing they have."
"Wait, what are these even for?" Koushiro asked, holding up a small golden band inbetween his fingers. "Where do they go?"
"They're toe rings," Mimi explained.
"Toe rings?" Koushiro repeated. "Toe rings? That's what they're making now?" He shook his head. "It's amazing, people just...they know the industry is trying to find every little opening to get more money, and they just fall right into the trap. Toe rings, can you..." he turned around, looking over at Takeru. "Can you even conceive of something more pointless?"
"They've been around for quite awhile, sweetie," Mimi insisted, reaching up towards him and plucking the ring from his fingers.
"Like...who's supposed to be looking at your feet? Who's supposed to notice that?" Koushiro asked.
"We're still getting it," Mimi said, setting it down on the glass countertop.
"Oh, I know, I'm just saying," Koushiro said, rolling his eyes. "Alright, are we...we're doing the brooch too, right?"
"Just to set expectations now, I can't possibly match this," Takeru said, tapping Daisy on the shoulder. "This, this extreme baller status from Prodigious, I can't stand up to it. This is beyond me."
"I've been called a lot of things over the years," Koushiro replied. "Baller isn't one of them." He pushed his hand through his short red hair. "That's a new one."
"As an impartial observer, watching you buy like...two hundred grand in jewelry without even a wince, it's appropriate," Takeru insisted. "Trust me." He turned back towards Daisy. "So anyway, I'm just thinking, I can't compete...is it more pathetic to try to compete and come up miserably short, or to just not bother trying."
"I would definitely think less of you if you don't try," Daisy said dryly. "I understand your dilemma, but...you should try."
"Uh-huh." Takeru stood back up straight, taking his weight off of the countertop. "Alright. Let's see."
OOO
"Buddy, you have no idea how great this is." Takeru looked out the long expanse of ocean water, leading off towards the final bits of a sunset. He and Koushiro were slowly ambling along the edge of the sandy beach, just a couple feet short of where the small waves were lapping at. "Maybe you just can't realize how awesome this is because you're in the middle of it, but this is incredible." He held his arms out to his sides, extending them. "Really."
Koushiro smiled. "Mimi told me that owning your own island was basically the ultimate power move. She said that...if you're at the point where you can actually buy an island to live on, then you've really made it. Doesn't matter if it's small, doesn't matter how nice the island is, just...the ability to say you have your own island is enough."
"She's right," Takeru said. "I mean, this is really something. Your own island, couple miles away from Panok, I...if I had a different life, I'd be looking for a matching plot somewhere around here for sure." He pointed off to his right. "Find another little piece of paradise, maybe...five miles in that direction, set up shop there, cruise into Panok every day for nosebleed cash games...there's the life."
"It is pretty nice," Koushiro agreed. "I was surprised, it wasn't even really that expensive." He glanced around. "Not as much as I was thinking, anyway."
"Really?" Takeru raised an eyebrow over at Koushiro, sticking his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "You got a good price on this?" Takeru gave a small wince. "Hard time believing that, everything else out here is so expensive." He pointed at himself. "And this is coming from me! I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch today that cost thirty-eight bucks! We gouge people at The Mecca, but this is...this is beyond even that."
Koushiro nodded. "Yeah, the economy out here...it's far removed from anywhere else in the world. Fortunately, there just so happen to be an awful lot of these small little islands peppered around here...and not a ton of willing buyers." He shrugged. "So if you show a bit of interest in one of them, you can really negotiate the cost down." He looked around. "I can walk around this place in an hour, but...just the fact that the whole thing belongs to me, it's just amazing."
"Hey, you deserve it," Takeru insisted. "Look where you were ten years ago, I...I can't even come close to imagining how hard it must be to dig yourself out of that."
Koushiro nodded. "But, really...I do it for her," he said, jerking his head towards the center of the island, towards the forest of trees that surrounded the actual mansion in the middle area. "I like making her happy. Me, I'd be fine with a tiny apartment down the street from The Ultra, but...she's really into all these sorts of things. And...it feels like we're gonna be together for a long time."
"So you're really thinking about it?" Takeru asked. "That's quite a big thing."
"I mean, why not, right?" Koushiro shrugged. "Who else am I gonna find who puts up with me?"
"Yeah, nobody wants to put up with the...millions of dollars and the private island and the traveling across the world." Takeru rolled his eyes. "So horrible."
"Maybe," Koushiro admitted. "I know I can't be the greatest boyfriend to have when I start multi-tabling online. She just...she completes me. We're such different people, we look at things so differently, and...here we are, making a great team. I just think that's beautiful."
"Hey, just be sure to get a wedding invitation out to me," Takeru said. "I'll be there. But, you gotta think about what you're gonna get her when you drop it, you're buying her pink diamonds on a whim. Gotta find a way to top that for a proposal."
"I was thinking a yacht." Koushiro rubbed the back of his head. "God damn, I might end up regretting all of this if I ever start running bad, but I just can't help myself. I like making her happy."
"Noble cause," Takeru replied. "Making them happy, it feels good. I can relate, Daisy...I love making her happy."
"I know it must seem shallow from the outside looking in," Koushiro said suddenly.
"Huh? What, no, I...hey, I didn't say anything," Takeru said, slightly defensively. "No, I...I didn't say anything."
"It must seem like that," Koushiro continued. "I hear stuff like that on television and read it on the internet. You know, people look at me and look at her, and they just think...how does that happen? What do they have in common, other than he has money and she likes money? But it's so much more than that, really." He nodded. "If you're not there day in, day out, you can't know how much she means to me."
"I, I believe you," Takeru insisted. "You don't have to convince me."
"And, it really is a joy for me to be able to give her all these things." Koushiro turned to look back towards the center of the island. "I mean, unless you're...born right into it, you never really think you're going to have millions of dollars and all these nice things one day. Me, of course, but even her...this is all beyond even her more optimistic hopes. I take serious joy out of...seeing her eyes light up when she sees the lifestyle she can have because of what I do. What's the point of making millions of dollars if you can't bring some people along for the ride with you?"
"That's a really sweet way to put it," Takeru replied.
"And when it's someone who never thought they'd be able to live like that, it's even better," Koushiro said. "I get a lot out of it. And beyond all that, like I said...I really feel like she completes me. We've been together for a few years now, I think I've got it figured out."
"I'm trying to figure that stuff out myself right now," Takeru said. "You sound like you've got it more than me."
"My advice to you is...take your time," Koushiro said. "I mean, you have to be feeling great about things right now, how could you not feel great about someone like Daisy, but...make sure before you make a big commitment."
"I definitely will," Takeru agreed. "Anyway, thanks for showing us around this place, it's...it's amazing that this is actually yours."
"My favorite part is the internet never drops," Koushiro said. "I had them build a tower on my roof when they built it, reception is perfect all the time. Never drop connection during a hand, which tilts me like nothing else in the world. I have an entire graveyard of computer mice from times I've timed out in the middle of a hand because of connection problems."
"Mmhmm," Takeru said, nodding.
The two stood there in silence for several seconds.
"If you're waiting for me to offer to let you stay the night in my guest room, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't," Koushiro said.
"Okay, okay," Takeru said with a laugh. "Okay, alright, I'll...we'll head back to the mainland." He pulled his personal assistant out of his front shirt pocket and began tapping along the screen. "I understand."
"Nothing personal, it's just...I bought a lot of nice stuff tonight, I'd like to have the house to myself." He nodded. "Hope to see you more over the next couple days though, you know where I'll be."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sticking around for awhile. I've got some stuff going on here, and...I'm gonna do the super high roller in a couple weeks too." Takeru's forehead wrinkled. "Say, uh...PokerHub, can I ask you something real quick?"
"I probably can't answer, but...go ahead," Koushiro replied.
"Uh...Ray Paxson, you uh...you interact with him much? Know much about him? Care for the job he does?"
Koushiro glanced to his left and right, then shrugged. "Honestly, I...I don't pay attention to anything over at Hub, I just can't bring myself to care, I'm only with them because I didn't want to get sued." He scratched at the side of his face. "I just wear the patch when I play live, and...the last year I've gotten desposits every month. I just don't care about the business that much. Any reason why? I heard you already picked Big Stack."
"I've just heard some...not great things," Takeru said passively. "Nothing big, but...just some less than flattering statements about how the company is run."
"My initial deal with them expired last year, I could have done whatever at that point, but...I re-signed just because I figured, what's the difference? Don't take it as an endorsement of them or anything, I just...I play there, so why not?" Koushiro bit down on the inside of his cheek. "I don't pay attention to the business very much, I just...focus on my game."
"Fair enough. I've just heard some stuff, wanted to see what you thought." Takeru nodded. "Alright, man." He reached over and clapped Koushiro on the shoulder. "Congrats on tonight, that was...history. Glad I was there for it."
OOO
"I love this!" Daisy said, spreading her arms to her sides as she stepped through the front door of the bungalow, looking around the main room. "This is something I've never gotten in my life before, this...rustic quality, I kind of feel like I'm roughing it."
Ken let out a coughing laugh as he pushed a cart full of luggage through the entrance, wheeling it over towards the left side of the door and releasing it. "Yeah, roughing it, wow, that's...sorry, Daisy, I know you don't like being mocked for being born rich, but...I'm afraid I'm gonna have to whip that card out right here."
"Oh, I don't mind being mocked for being born rich," Daisy countered, slipping out of her shoes and vaulting the back of the couch. "I just don't wanna hear it from you, buddy. You make me feel like a peasant, you're not allowed to say anything." She reached over the back of the couch, pointing at Hikari as she entered the bungalow. "She can say something. That's fine, she can say whatever she wants."
"Go on, let her have it!" Takeru goaded, entering behind Hikari. "Tell that uppity silver spoon woman what things are really like in the real world!"
Hikari rolled her eyes. "She doesn't know any better, I forgive her."
"Seriously, though, this is...like, right on the beach, all the...ambiance from outside, the ocean being like forty feet away from the front door, this feels...there's a purity to this that I've never had anywhere else."
"Well, take a look at the stuff you can order from the resort to dispel that myth," Ken said, going over to the wall, where a small computer screen was built into the wall. He tapped it, bringing up a display. "Look, you can...you can actually have girls in bikinis come down to your bungalow and feed you chilled grapes. I push one button, and I can order that. Four hundred dollars an hour with a mandatory minimum twenty percent tip!" He shook his head. "Yeah, we're just out in the middle of nowhere, man versus wild type survival."
"Four hundred dollars an hour?" Daisy repeated. "Maybe I should move here and take a second job, I'd make a killing."
"Sure, you can start practicing now," Takeru said, leaning over the back of the couch, looking down at her. "I can call the resort, tell them to send down the grapes and the bikini, and skip the girls."
Daisy shrugged. "Why not skip the bikini too?" She put her foot up on the armrest of the couch. "Thanks for spoiling me, by the way." Her ankle was sporting a thin band of gold with a couple sapphires and emeralds dangling from it. "It might have been a sad effort next to Prodigious, but...it was an effort nevertheless."
"You're very welcome." Takeru turned back towards Ken. "Alright, so, what are we doing here? What's your idea?"
"Right," Ken said firmly, stretching his arms up above his head. "Well, it's pretty simple. Panok is a real paradise for the super wealthy. If you can afford the place, then this place is very kind to you. And, of course, that includes places to secretly stash large amounts of money without public knowledge. Evading taxes, dodging questions about where the money came from, Panok is a haven for all of that." With a sigh, Ken sat down at one of the stools in the kitchen area to the right of the main room. "Is there even a one percent chance that Gandolphini doesn't have a significant presence in those stashes?"
"Okay, great, but...what can we do with that?" Takeru sat down on the edge of the backrest of the couch. "Panok doesn't care about that, they've made it pretty clear. In fact, they pretty much welcome it." Takeru drummed his fingers on the backrest. "And unless you can prove where the money came from, nobody else can do anything." He shrugged. "Actually, even if you can, they can't really do anything. That's the point of it, right?"
"You could get another nation to declare war on Panok," Daisy suggested. "I get the distinct feeling these guys don't have much of a standing army."
"That sounds like one hell of a long-term play," Takeru said, eyebrows raising up towards his hairline. "I'd really rather not be the guy who sparks the first international conflict in decades."
"Well, obviously, that's not my thinking," Ken said. "Look, the Vincent kid gave us a lot of vague indications of the kinds of things that his dad is involved in. So, while we're here, we'll poke around, and when we see the things that are connected, we'll actually have a chance to know that the connection is there. And then, maybe, we'll have some kind of trail we can follow."
"Well, it's definitely something," Takeru said. "Just, where do we start?"
Ken chewed on his tongue for a moment. "Michael uses his shipping business as a way to appear legitimately wealthy, he's got cargo ships passing through here all the time, might be something useful there." He pursed his lips. "We're definitely playing a very dangerous game, but...we really don't need that much. Just something that he wouldn't want to get out that we can use to blackmail him with. Even if it's not that big, he's...he's worked long and hard on his empire to risk it over having his fingers in one casino. Even if we found something as simple as tax evasion evidence, that's probably enough."
Takeru put his arms out to his sides. "Hey, I...all things being considered, this sounds easier than I was even hoping it would be. If it ends up being as simple as you make it sound, I'll be thrilled."
"Don't be thrilled," Ken chided. "This, this can still involve us being put in some rather uncomfortable situations. We're gonna have to take chances, we're gonna have to do things that could easily blow up in our faces. Seriously, don't think for a second that just because I have a plan means the plan is just...gonna go off perfectly. We're going to have to ask favors from people who could easily decide they'd rather not rock the boat with organized criminals."
Takeru nodded. "Well...so be it. I just can't help but feel like things are going to work out for me."
Daisy, sitting up from behind Takeru, reached up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Obviously. Because nothing else in the world ever goes your way."
"I'm obviously due for some good luck," Takeru snarked. "Now, how about that animalistic lust we were talking about before we got here?"
Ken snorted, spinning his stool so he was facing away from the couple. "Well, at least I got him to talk about serious stuff for two minutes."
"Oh, Hikari, you can get in on that grape stuff if you want," Takeru said, standing up and reaching down to lift Daisy up bridal-style. "Just have them charge it to me."
Hikari put her finger up to her lips. "Uh, are they green grapes or red grapes?"
With a sly smile, Takeru nodded over towards her. "She's getting picky now, I love it."