Luke shrugged. “You shouldn’t. You should ask around and find out about us. We’re in no hurry. We’ll wait. You’ll find out we’re the real deal.”

Parr smiled. “I go on instinct. It’s worked for me all this time.”

One of the men sprawled in the chairs pushed himself up and followed, an Uzi cradled in his arms. The guy was short and thick, shaped like a thumb. His arms were immense. His neck was like the stump of an oak tree. A tattoo circled it, which looked like a necklace of thorns. He wore a white wife-beater T-shirt, camo pants, and boots. He was bald except for a low, three-inch-wide strip of Mohawk on top of his head. A scar ran down the side of his face.

“Is this guy part of your instinct?” Luke said.

“That’s Roger,” Parr said. “He’s what keeps you honest. I trust you, but I’m a trusting soul. Not Roger. If you try anything stupid, he’s gonna kill you. And another thing. You see that door back there?”

Parr pointed to a rounded doorway in the back of the chamber.

“Yeah.”

“We’re about to pass through that thing. That’s the point of no return. You can turn around right now, and go back out onto the street. Find your way home, or wherever you want to go. No harm, no foul. But once you pass through that door there, and you witness the secrets of this palace, there’s no coming back. You’re either in or you’re out after that. And if you’re not in, you’re dead.”

He raised his hands, palms upward, as if to say “Sorry!”

He looked at them for a long moment. His eyes were so bloodshot they seemed to glow in the dim light of the room.

“So what’s it gonna be, boys? In or out?”

Ed and Luke looked at each other.

“I’m in, man. I’m sick of being thrown to the wolves for nickels and dimes. This close to millions, I’m not turning back.”

Parr nodded. “Good man.” He looked at Luke.

“You?”

Luke nodded. “I’m in.”

Parr smiled. “Follow the yellow brick road, boys, and I’ll show you what I’m talking about. Come along and learn something.”

* * *

Parr led them through the door.

Now there was a small entourage moving through the marble hallways. Parr, his bodyguard Roger, Cole, Luke, and Ed. Luke and Ed were the only ones who were not armed.

“We’re running a business here,” Parr said. “And we treat it like a business. Which means there’s a pyramid structure and a chain of command, with me at the top and newbies at the bottom. We do percentage deals. That means if you want to earn, you gotta put in work. What I’m about to show you? You haven’t earned any of it, understood?”