Nellie's head bobbed up and down. She moved off, knowing she was not to interfere. Otherwise, there would have been an introduction. She knew she'd never seen the man before. Who was he? Was this an accidental meeting or had it been arranged by Charles? She debated a moment about calling Charles to ask but decided to wait it out to see if Elias would confide in her once the meeting, if it was indeed a meeting, was over.

Nellie carried her sandwich and coffee over to a table and sat down. Every newspaper known to man was on the table. At least she wouldn't be bored. And the sandwich was actually rather tasty. The coffee was delicious. The only problem was she couldn't smoke, and that irritated her.

Across the room in what looked like a small alcove, Elias sat down and stared at Peter Udal, the president of the NGC. "It's been a long time, Peter."

"Yes, a very long time. I did send you a Christmas card."

"And I believe I sent one in return. Let's cut to the chase, Peter. Why this urgent meeting?"

"The casinos are in trouble. A delegation came to my office about a month ago, hell, maybe it was six weeks ago, and told me some pretty bizarre tales. We got right on it, but so far we can't pin anything down. Elias, do you know anything about how this town operates?"

"Only that the guys who run those casinos make boatloads of money every single day of the year, and that includes Christmas. I thought NGC was on top of things. Is this FBI business, or are you talking to me as an old friend? As of Friday I am no longer the director of the FBI. I can pave the way for a meeting with Navarro if you think it's advisable."

The roly-poly man worked his lower lip as he pondered the offer. "It might come to that, but for the moment, talking to you might help me make my decision. I'd like to start off by saying we're rather desperate, and because of that, we might have done something really desperate. Time will tell."

"How about a drink, Peter? I'll fetch it. What's your poison?"

"Whiskey straight up."

"Be right back."

At the bar, Elias ordered the drinks and added two sandwiches to a plate. At the last second he snatched up a half dozen cookies because they looked ooey-gooey good, and he did like his sweets.

Back at the table, Peter Udal reached for his drink and downed it in one long gulp.

Elias knew the man was deadly serious.