Chapter Twenty:

To Collect Paisano Intelligence

In his office, Marty stood near the desk as he and Mario observed every effort imaginable to open SMG3's Sussy Notebook.

Many hours had passed, and there was no such luck in the slightest. The machines and the experts the cardboard CEO and his creator/associate hired did everything, but the purple notebook would not open.

'SMG3 was prepared.' Marty mused, 'Even though you succeeded in stealing it, we have yet to open the notebook, and find the secret recipe within. Burning it will do us no good, nor will using any of the picklocks suffice.'

Mario nodded his head to his creation/boss. "Have no fear, Marty..." He said with dim-witted confidence, "We'll get that notebook open before long, but Mario isn't so sure we can trick SMG3 into giving us the access code or the key to opening the notebook. After he found out the truth, after I stole it, there is no doubt he will be uncooperative and resilient at that."

'Let us not forget.' Marty went on, 'That notebook doesn't just contain a pizza recipe, or the deepest and darkest of secrets that SMG3 has within those pages, it may contain the details you need for that new Club Penguin skin. You may have been invested in World of Warcraft before, but I know how much you love the other game.'

While the sentient cardboard and the fat Italian focused on opening SMG3's notebook, neither of them noticed that a Boo was observing from within the walls.

No, not just one Boo. A whole pair of Boos.

Silently, and covertly, the troublesome ghosts, known for harassing Mario on Bowser's behalf, had sought out and infiltrated the casino on orders from someone almost anonymous to even the pudgy Avatar and Marty. One Boo quietly recorded the scene in the office on a ghost phone, then he and the others made a silent leave.

Some levels below, Swagmaster and Chris were guarding the elevator, sporting well-pressed suits, and the latter held his Tommy in a firm manner. Swag adjusted his sunglasses, and dramatically scanned the room with his machine gun at the ready, as if he was prepared to ward off intruders.

"Don't hold Steve at gunpoint." Chris said to his associate.

"I wasn't aiming for him, Chris." Swag replied, holding his gun upward, "It was just a coincidence the gun seemed to be aimed at him that time. I'd say, you're acting very on-edge today, soldier."

"On-edge? You're acting very overdramatic." Chris tapped Swag on the shoulder.

Swag pulled out a card that he had in his pocket. "Want to play Go-Fish?" He offered, waving the card around.

Just then, the elevator dinged, and Mario stepped out while adjusting the security guard hat on his head. Swag put away his card, and saluted alongside Chris. The pudgy plumber walked past the two guards, and strolled past Steve, who was playing cards with Spy of all people.

Spy glanced at the pudgy plumber, then he discreetly tapped a button on the bracelet around his wrist.

"Do you have any eights?" Steve asked.

Spy held up a card with eight spades.

"You guessed zat right, chicken man." The secret agent told the Minecraftian farmer.

"Go fish?" Swag offered Chris again.

"Go guarding!" Chris told his associate, declining the dim-witted soldier's offer.

Neither them or Mario knew why Spy was truly here, but the Merc, living up to his name, had come here on a mission. A spy's mission involved gathering intelligence for whomever they were working for, and in this instance, Spy's objective was to gather information around Casino Paisano as well as the shady secrets it held.

Downstairs in the main casino area, Spy's associate, British agent James Bond received the signal, indicated by a blink on his spy watch. He made sure to be as stealthy and undercover as possible, especially since there were security cameras everywhere.

He heard the ding, and observed Mario emerging from the elevator. Bob, standing close by, tipped a hat to the pudgy head of security. The fat Italian observed the activity in the casino, then he walked past the pool table before exiting the main room into the lobby area, unaware that a pair of Boos were watching at that moment.

In the security room, two Butt Ninjas, cleverly disguised as security guards, studied the footage depicting the activity taking place in the building. One ninja plugged in a USB drive and copied a bit of footage to it, then he put away the hard drive in his pocket. His associate made sure they left no trace.

"Mario's coming." A third Butt Ninja told the two.

Quietly, the ninjas made their escape, departing the room in a puff of smoke, before Mario arrived. He looked around, seeing how things looked to be in order, then he sat down in the closest chair and began operating the security cameras.

'It'll be some time before Marty summons me again.' The dim-witted Avatar thought, 'But it'll be longer before we get the notebook open. SMG3 can't outsmart us forever, soon, he... Eh? What's that?'

He looked over at the security monitor on the left. For a moment, Mario saw a Boo floating through the walls, and frowned with confusion. When he blinked, the Boo in the footage was gone. Perhaps it was just his mind messing with him then, it was better to get back to work. Mario stood, and left the room, heading to the security desk in the lobby.

By that time, James Bond, the Ninjas and the Boos had departed the Casino, all heading for the Showgrounds to meet with their contact, and deliver the intel without fail.