Establishing a high roller

[MBCE]

Sammy smiled warmly when he returned home after his time at the Arena. Though he didn't meet the person that sent out the invitation, he was able to find a group of people to help him rob the diamond collection.

Sammy placed his bag on the floor in its usual spot and moved over to the couch. He sat down and his eyes landed on the strange box he stole a few weeks ago. 'That was some strange night. Who would have thought that those guards would have almost killed me. I'm supposed to be The Ghost -- not some common catburglar! They should have never even noticed I was there!'

Sammy rubbed the spot where the bullet had penertrated. The wound was already healed, but the feeling of the hit still lingered. He stopped rubbing the spot once he realized that he was again remembering the pain. 'Add to that the pesky gun happy heroes that had popped up after that! One disappears in a swirl of black energy. The other simply gave up after getting hit a few times.' Sammy smiled at the memory. It was rare for him to get into fights, but he felt good that he was able to hold his own against the deadly foe.

The thief stood up and moved over to his television. He turned it on and began to flip through the channels. Occasionally, his gaze lifted to the strange box sitting upon the table.

[MBCE]

Sammy put the remote control on the table and got up. He walked over to the strange box and lifted it up. It wasn't much to look at but someone had wanted it bad enough to send him to get it. Now, whomever that was had failed to contact him.

'Wonder what's inside. Maybe some kind of massive device of some kind or something more stuble? Maybe I should simply bust it open and take a look inside. Yeah, that's all I need. Break the box open and have the person who wants it come a calling my way.' Sammy put the box down and moved to the bed room.

'I need to get out of her for a while or I'll go crazy! Might as well take a walk along the boardwalk and see what's out there. Might even find something worthwhile to keep me busy.'

Sammy picked up his back and walked out of the room, not noticing that the strange box was slightly ajar.....

[MBCE]

Sammy pondered the small box as he walked down the street. The weather was beautiful and a number of tourists were out enjoying the fine view of the river. Sammy smiled absently as he walked passed a young boy throwing a rock into the river.

'I remember doing the same thing in Chicago when I was younger. Ah, those were the days. Running the streets, picking pockets left and right. Now, I've got to deal with supers running around which makes things difficult. I mean, how do they expect a simple theif like myself to get any business done when I have to watch out for some strange tights wearing freak everytime I head out to work?'

Sammy scratched his head slightly as he continued down towards teh casinos. He normally didn't play when he was feeling this way but he trusted that Lady Fortune would send him the right direction.

'Hopefully working with the others will be good for me. It's always a good thing to have friends in your corner. That Collateral fella sounds like a fairly useful guy to have around. I think I'll enjoy visiting his base. It should be interesting. I better take a look at that museum before I head out though. They're going to be wanting the information to make plans with.'

Sammy looked up and saw that he was near the Golden Calf Casino. 'Why in the hell did she bring me here? I hate this joint. They have no idea on what class is. Guady gold statue in the plaza. Come on! Do they think this some movie set?'

Sammy turned to head back home when his eyes caught a ticketmaster booth near the casino. 'Hmmm, I haven't checked out the theater here yet so I guess I should see what's playing. Maybe they have something interesting.'

FIve minutes later, Sammy came out of the booth with a ticket to the play Sparrow. 'Now this is sure going to get me back in the mood of things. Set me back on track. And it shouldn't interfer with the heist either. Man, Lady Fortune really likes me!'

Sammy turned and headed back to his apartment. As he walked, he hummed a show tune from the musical Wicked.

[MBCE]

Sammy was halfway home when his eyes caught an interesting sight. Slightly off the main strip, a man stood under a tree. His whole demeanor was one that stood out from the usual people that walked the Boardwalk. While most people smiled and moved quickly from casino to casino, enjoying the lights and thrill that gambling imparts, this man stood cooly watching the people walk by.

Sammy was intrigued and moved closer to the man. "Afternoon," he called once he was a short distance from the man.

The man looked up at Sammy's approached and nodded his own greeting. "Afternoon to you, too. I've haven't seen you around these parts. You new to town?"

Sammy nodded his head. "Yeah. Moved in a while ago. Still trying to get the lay of the land, so to speak. Name's Sammy."

The man smiled and held out his hand in a friendly greeting. "Why nice to me you, Sammy. My name's Lenny. I'm pretty well know around these parts as a good person to now."

Sammy tilted his head in slight surprise, "Oh? How so?"

Lenny gave a mysterious smile as he answered, "Well, if you need anything, Lenny's the guy to come to. I know a lot about the area and can get my hands on pretty much anything. For the right price that is."

"Sounds like you're the competition to some of the more influencal people on the Boardwalk," Sammy said with a quick glance towards the Southside Palace.

Lenny followed the gaze and smiled. "Naw, we have an understanding. I stay well out of their sphere of influence and they let me do my business. But it seems you're a little knowledgable about the world I operate in. If you should ever need anything, come look for me. I'll be more than willing to point you in the right direction."

Sammy thought for a moment of just how transparent his appearance was for him to be read so easily. Of course, walking around in all black clothing wasn't the best idea even for him. Still, here was another great opprotunity for Sammy to take advantage of. With someone in the know around the area, getting jobs and equipment shouldn't be a problem. The thoughts flashed through his head quickly along with a silent prayer of thanks to the Lady of Fortune that watched over him. "I'm sure I'll be in touch, Lenny. This just might be the start of a wonderful relationship!"