"Bit of a scum bag, isn't he," Pookie said with a grimace. "Do you see what I mean about the offers female bodyguards get?"

"So what makes him so clever?"

"You have to learn to listen closer, dear," Pookie said. "The Due had no intention of paying us... or anyone else regardless of the failure or success."

"He didn't?"

"Add up the pieces," Pookie said, counting off the points on her fingers. "First, the farmers try to expand their holdings and run into a local critter, the Hefalump, that takes offense at their trespassing. Second, by his own admission, the Due would have ignored it, but the farmers threatened to withhold their tax monies unless he did something. His response was to offer a reward to anyone who would kill or scare off the beast."

Spyder frowned thoughtfully, then shook her head. "So what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing's wrong with it," Pookie said. "It's actually very clever. He had to do something, so what he did was make an offer. A move that cost him no money or effort. Simply by making the offer, he kept the farmers paying taxes."

"And if anyone were actually successful going up against the Hefalump, he could renege on the payment and it still cost him nothing," Spyder finished. "That is kind of clever. But we outfoxed him with this escrow thing, huh."

"Not really." Pookie shrugged. "Remember the sheriff here answers to the Due. That's why the Due agreed so readily. Tell me, Sheriff, were your instructions to send the money back as soon as we went after the Hefalump, or were you supposed to wait until tomorrow?"

Silence answered her.

"Hey! He's asleep!" Spyder said.

"Yes," Pookie said without looking. "And with what I put in his drink, he should be out until well after midnight"

She rose to her feet and stretched. "So, Little Sister, gather up that lovely gold and we'll be on our way."

"What?" Spyder exclaimed. "You mean we're just going to take the gold without going after the Hefalump at all? But that's ..."

"Stealing," Pookie said. "If you want to pretty it up, the Due was ready to swindle adventurers by taking advantage of their short-sightedness. We're just returning the favor. Remember I told you that adventurers are thieves or killers ... and you specifically said that, if possible, you'd rather be a thief?" She paused and considered the sleeping sheriff. "Of course, if you've changed your mind, we could slit his throat on the way out"

"But won't they come after us?"

"And admit that they've been flimflammed? By a couple females?" Pookie smiled. "I doubt it Even if they do, they don't even have our names when it comes to tracking us down, Looking for a Klahd and a Pervect, they'd be lucky if they didn't run smack into Aahz and Skeeve."

MYTH-CALCULATIONS

By Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye

I eyed Guido as he slid into the booth opposite me. We were at the very back of the inn in the Bazaar, a favorite spot of ours to relax, but also to do business. It was one of the few places where a Troll such as I fit behind the tables as readily as Deveels, Klahds, and Imps, probably a tribute to their high-fat cuisine. I signed to the innkeeper to bring us the specialty of the house.

"Three strawberry milkshakes," I said. "Will that suit you, Tananda?" My little sister nodded, still keeping her attention on Guido. The Mob enforcer, as dapper as ever in his big-shouldered sharkskin suit, seemed uncomfortable, shifting on the slick bench. I caught the bartender just before he turned away. "Oh, and if anyone's looking for us, we're not here."

"Whatever you say, Chumley," the proprietor said, with a cheery wave.

"Thanks, Chumley," Guido said, keeping his fedora in front of his face.

"Well," I said, keeping my voice low, since Guido had asked for confidentiality. "To what do we owe this meeting? We always welcome a chance to chat with friends."

Guido worked a finger under his collar as if to loosen it "Dis is by way of bein' business," he admitted. "Don Bruce has gotta problem."

Tananda's eyebrows went up, and I know mine were the mirror of hers. Though my face was masculine, enormous, and covered by fur, with tusks at the corners of my mouth, and hers was female, elfin, and beautiful, those people who knew our family could easily see the resemblance. "What kind of problem would he have that he can't handle by himself?" I asked.

"It's kind of embarrassin'," Guido said, hesitating again. "It's a financial problem. He's still flush, for now, but if word gets around he might start havin' to reach further down in his pockets, and dat he does not like to do."

I was cognizant of that. The Don was generous to his friends and those of his relatives on whom he doted, but he disliked having to "shell out," as he would say. "Word of what?"

"Well, it's somethin' goin' on here in the Bazaar, which is why I come to youse." Guido shot a quick glance around to make certain we were not overheard. Several Deveel merchants had noticed the three of us for, though we were in a private booth at the rear of the establishment, my size did not lend itself to subtle concealment. When I turned toward them and bared my teeth, they quickly not-looked at something else. Guido continued.

"You know how the Don's interests stand here on Deva. He takes a ... personal interest in the well-bein' of the businesspeople here. For this service he expects a small weekly kickba—I mean, honorarium. That's just for goodwill. It ain't supposed to put no one out of business, and it ain't supposed to make anyone hurt. That comes if somethin' goes wrong. In exchange, we are, like, on call in case there's trouble. No one leans on one of our clients without us comin' in and makin' 'em stop."

"I understand all that, but where does the problem arise?"

Guido's face darkened. "There's someone else hornin' in on our deal here, you should excuse the expression. The deveel's in the details. The Don suspects dese same individuals have been runnin' small loans for the little guy. Now, you know how it's hard for anyone to operate in the Bazaar. Once in a while you need a little extra cash. Normally they go to one of the usual establishments, or they come to us. Everything's fine if you pay back on time. Anyone who tries to skip out gets leaned on. Now between the loans and the protection... I mean, insurance payments, all the action is with dis new group, and we're not gettin' our cut. The way they do it is not so different on the way youse guys were helpin' run the Don's operation, but when defaulters get the treatment from these new people, they ain't the same anymore. Geddit?"

"I believe so," I said. "Would you mind elucidating further?"

"I don't do no elucidatin'," Guido said, "but I'll tell ya some more. This action has been cuttin' into the profits the Mob has come to expect. I've tried talkin' to 'em myself, but they're not answerin'. And they're not trottin' back into the fold, like the Don wants. He sent me here, but I'm out of my depth. I need an enforcer to bring 'em all back into line."

"Why ask us?" I inquired. "Why not someone like Aahz?"

"Well," Guido admitted, "he ain't felt what you would call motivated lately, since the Boss left"

"He's the logical person, being, well... formidable."

"Yeah," Guido said, glumly. "I got him to go and lean on one of the, uh, clients, but they was too scared to comply."

"They wouldn't comply? With a Pervert?" Tananda asked, astonished.

"Pervect" I quelled my little sister with a look. Aahz was an old friend, and shouldn't be referred to by a derogatory title, especially one he personally eschewed. "What could possibly cause such a breakdown in authority?"

"More to the point," Tananda asked, interrupting me, "who is it? A rival gang?"