"Oh, yeah, her picture was in the paper. A real looker. Fox. Yeah, Fox was her name. She said the owner didn't know how to park and was over the white line. She even has a picture of Cricket's parked car and damn if it wasn't parked over the white line. Looks like his insurance company will be the one sucking it up. Why are you laughing, Elias? Oh, you know her, right?"

Elias finished his drink. He wondered if Nellie was reading in the paper about Lizzie's foray into playing bumper cars. "In a manner of speaking. She's to the East Coast what your Mr. Cricket is to Nevada. If you're a betting man, put your chips on Fox."

"That good, huh?"

"That good, Peter."

"Let me finish this so your companion doesn't get irked at you for letting her sit so long after a long plane ride. Over the past few weeks, Miss Barnes has filed numerous police reports. Her house was broken into. Her car was vandalized. She was fired from her job. And seven days ago there was an altercation outside the Babylon when she won another $300,000. This time she fought back and was arrested. Her attorney as of yesterday is the lawyer that smacked up Cricket's car. So, I guess she's in good hands."

"The best."

Udal took a deep breath. "Look, Elias, you can see how desperate I am here. I went so far as to try to contact those vigilantes, that's what I meant when I said we did something desperate. I know you had them on the FBI radar screen, so I was hoping you could. . .intercede for us. You must know with all your resources at the Bureau how to reach them or know someone who knows them. I offered a percentage of the recovery plus a flat ten-figure deal. That's a lot of scratch even for this town. Plus we don't want word getting out about all of this."

Elias snorted. "And you think having the vigilantes invade Vegas won't somehow get out? What planet have you been living on, Peter? Just for the record, and as much as I hate to admit it, those damn women are smarter than our best agents. Jesus, they took down the acting director of the FBI, they went head to toe with the president of the World Bank, who has never been seen or heard of since they went after him. Those women are a legend in their own time. They have more money behind them than Fort Knox. They have people helping them from all over the world. I heard not too long ago they're guns for hire these days. I can't help you, Peter."

"Oh, Christ, now I remember. That Fox woman. She's the one who defended the vigilantes before they skedaddled. They're like those goddamn ninjas that invaded your space. What's up with that, anyway?"