Aces and Knaves

asked me what restaurant Ned was supposed to be at. Then he called them, I think. I wasn't really listening so I can't tell you exactly who he called, but at some point he must have called the police."
    "He called somebody else just before he called the police."
    Stan shook his head. "You'll have to ask James."
    I had struck out on that one. What else could I do? Start slowly. I said, half jokingly, "Tell me, Stan. What really goes on here? You've got lots of beautiful people flocking here every night, the cream, it would appear, of San Francisco society, gambling as intently as if their last dollar were riding on it, and yet no money ever changes hands. There's something wrong with this movie."
    Stan looked slowly from one of us to the other, and smiled. He said, "Don't you have any fantasies, any dreams, any desires? I know Arrow does; she wants to be a CEO."
    Arrow didn't deny it. I looked at her and believed it.
    Stan paused while he took a sizeable gulp of his Bloody Mary and crunched on the celery stalk that came with it. Then he said, "What we have here is an adult Disneyland. Your dreams can come true and you don't even have to wish upon a star. All you have to do is get a few blackjacks or land on a double zero or roll three sevens in a row."
    "Would you care to elucidate?" I asked, finishing my beer and signaling the waiter to bring us another round. Stan's patronizing manner was irritating, but at least he was talking.
    "Karl, what is your secret desire?" Stan asked placing his hand on my knee.
    My secret desire wasn't to have his hand on my knee and I had to exercise a lot of self-control not to shake it off. I said, "I'd like to own a certain Honus Wagner baseball card." An easy choice since I'd just been talking to Buchanan about it.
    "Tell James. With his help you can own that card."
    "He already did," Arrow said. She was still working on her first drink. The second one sat untouched in front of her. "Let's come down to earth for a moment and change the subject. How much Dionysus stock does Tartan own and what are Buchanan's plans in regard to Dionysus?"
    Stan laughed out loud. "You don't want much, do you? Just give away our corporate strategy. You always were very direct, Arrow. I admire you for that. But I guess you'll have to wait for the next SEC report to come out."
    "By the time the report comes out the information will be completely out of date and useless."
    "Yes."
    Stan took another healthy swallow of his drink. I surreptitiously signaled the waiter to bring yet another round.
    "Is that what you want most in life right now?" Stan asked Arrow. "Because like I said, dreams can come true here."
    "My future is tied up with Dionysus," Arrow said. "I also owe it to Richard to find out all I can because he's my boss and he started the company—it’s his child."
    "Wait here," Stan said. He got up and stumbled slightly before he regained his balance and headed in the direction of Buchanan, who was talking to some people at the roulette wheel.
    At least his hand was gone from my knee. I watched him for a few seconds, then turned to Arrow and said, "Do you understand what's going on?"
    "Not exactly," she replied, "but I think we'd better take it easy on the booze so we can stay alert."
    Good advice. Too much beer made me sleepy and dulled my senses. After a couple of minutes Stan came ambling back, swinging his body in a way that suggested he was feeling no pain. He sat down and took a swig of his third Bloody Mary.
    "Okay, here's the deal," Stan said. "James isn't averse to giving you the information you asked for even though he knows it will go straight to Richard. After all, he's not a secretive person. In fact, he's willing to give you daily updates on Tartan's holdings of Dionysus stock and any strategic moves we're making in regard to Dionysus. You'll be a hero, Arrow."
    "What's the catch?" I asked.
    "The catch, as you call it, is that you have to gamble for the information. Roulette, craps or blackjack, your choice."
    "Blackjack," I said, immediately. The odds would be most in our favor because I knew how to count the cards.
    "All right, blackjack. You start off with $500 in chips. If you can triple your money you win. If you lose the five hundred you lose."
    "What's the penalty for losing?" Arrow asked.
    "What if we win and James welshes?" I asked before Stan could answer Arrow.
    Stan looked hurt. "James doesn't welsh on his bets. Ask anybody here. They wouldn't keep coming back if he