Thomas raised the stakes by another fifteen grand. The musings of the entourage had been entertaining enough thus far, but there were bigger scores at stake than a measly few thousand.

	[color=F1D592]"Vorpool has been more active recently. What's gotten the city wound up as of late?"[/color]

	A gruff voice answered him. [color=f7941d]"People are spun all up by Gilleon's robbery and the mandated evaluations the feds are gonna be pushing."[/color] The burly, silk-clad man continued. [color=f7941d]And that'sta say nothing about the drug trade."[/color]

	Thomas listened to the first two grievances with passing interest. Gilleon Bank was famous for flaunting its so-claimed impenetrable security, but with the caliber of people he had run across in the past three years, it came to no surprise that someone was able to slip in and out undetected. In fact, it was more surprising that it took someone this long to breach the bank after they had taunted the city's underbelly for as long as they had. As for the anomaly re-testing, everyone without their head in the sand knew the government was going to be doing something underhanded—but for the sake of national security, anything the bigwigs wanted to do could be justified. They could shoot every Epsilon in the capital without stirring up any kind of serious opposition if it was really a part of the agenda. It might even be better in the long run, as it were.

	No, the third comment was what had caught his interest. [color=F1D592]"Drug trade, you say? What's been the commotion there?"[/color] Thomas lit another cigarette and gripped it with the corner of his mouth—it seemed this little tangent wouldn't be so fruitless after all.

	[color=f7941d]"I hears that they're getting hooked out there on some new chemicals. Some've them boost their strength, and then others are cheap imitations of the real things. But all of 'em are spiraling out of control. They say Downtown's festering with the stuff, 'specially in the slums."[/color] Fascinating. Thomas' Friday sessions never failed to disappoint; the information he earned almost always ended up being more valuable that whatever he might win that evening and tonight was no exception.

...

	[color=F1D592]"Well, gentlemen. It's been enjoyable, but I believe I've won."[/color] Thomas placed his hand on the table, containing a measly pair of aces. [color=F1D592]"Better time next week. With any luck, we'll all have some higher quality hands."[/color] Thomas reached forward and carried his winning chips with him to the counter. [color=F1D592][i]The drug trade.[/i][/color] If today's session was any indication, he would need to pay some of his less... [i]respectable[/i] contacts a visit this evening. Exiting the Casino, Thomas leisurely strolled toward the heart of downtown.