Good for you, thought Giselle. Get her away from Nelson and get a couple of drinks in her, and she takes off. I’ll have to remember that. Giselle took a quick glance around the bar. No one was paying them the slightest bit of attention. She had to concentrate hard to cloud so many minds and make sure they wouldn’t remember her, but that and her blond wig seemed to be doing the trick. She just had to remember not to drink too much.

“How did you find this place?” she said. “Are you a fan of the dark floors?”

Babylon looked over at the gaming tables, then back at the women. “I’ve always enjoyed them. Much more peaceful than the wet or dry ones, and away from the hustle and bustle of the light floors.”

“Unless you’re looking for shoes. Then I love the light floors,” said Bayliss. Giselle had briefed her on the layout of Jinx Town, but now wished she’d do a little shutting up about it. No more drinks for her.

“Don’t discount the dark floors for shopping,” said Babylon. “There are some exceptional places nearby. I get most of my suits here.”

“Thank you. Maybe I’ll take a stroll later.”

“Just take a clove or two of garlic with you,” said Babylon. “The exsanguinator riffraff can be a bit annoying.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve worked with vampires before,” Bayliss said.

Reel it in, thought Giselle. She kicked Bayliss lightly under the table.

“Really? Where?” said Babylon.

“Oh, here and there,” Bayliss said. “You know how it is. Business takes you all sorts of places with all sorts of people.”

“Indeed,” said Babylon.

“Would you mind telling us a bit more about the box?” said Giselle before Bayliss could cram her foot in her mouth again. “Is it everything I’ve heard it is?”

Babylon finished his drink and held up his glass for another. A waiter nodded in his direction. “It depends on what you’ve heard. There are a lot of rumors and tall tales.”

“Since we’re the buyers, if you don’t mind, we’d like to hear it from you,” said Giselle.

“The box, to put it simply, is an edge,” Babylon said. “Nothing less than luck incarnate. It’s what every entrepreneur needs. A constant and reliable edge on the competition.”

“There are stories floating around that it’s something else, too,” said Bayliss.

Babylon shrugged. “Stories about the box are as numerous as Scheherazade’s thousand and one tales. Recently, an associate of mine plucked it away just as a couple of low-rent doomsday cults tried for it. Each thought they could use it to set off their rival Armageddons. Have you ever heard of something so silly?”

“Lucky you found it before they had a chance to test it out. Then we might not have had the pleasure of meeting you.”