In The Money

Number 13 - Flash Cards safe house and HQ 23:23

High Rise stepped off the last length of the poorly lit metal staircase, coming up to the third door before even getting inside the building proper. A dissonance of voices was now much louder than before, clearly just on the other side.  'Argh, who made this system anyway? Strip clubs don't have this many closed doors...' The pegasus complained internally, practically headbutting the wooden door that was painted a soft red and pushing it open. Only creaking slightly, the door swung to allow High Rise entry before he stepped through, and the door closed itself behind him. The pegasus sighed happily at the sight he was greeted with 'Finally, the place were it's all at. That feeling will never get old'.

The room he had entered was a simple square, about 40 feet either way and holding close to 25 ponies, griffons, thestrals, and changelings. The Flash Cards certainly weren't fussy in regards to race or species, if you had skills they wanted you were invited, there was no other way in. The room itself was just one big bar/restaurant/social area, tastefully designed with vertical wood paneling, well spread wooden tables of good quality, and a wooden divider that ran the perimeter, leaving clear floor space for people to move easily without bumping into tables and breaks in the wood in places to allow access to the middle of the room. This was of course, all before even getting to the bar, sweet Celestia the bar. The thing ran the full width of the room inside the divider, making it an approximately 30 ft long hardwood topped work of art, lined with expensive stools with seats that were wrapped in Saddle Arabia import faux leather. Behind the bar was a plethora of taps, bottles, glasses, and brands. The whole system was what High Rise repeatedly labelled as 'the way the world should be'.

High Rise strode up to the gap in the divider, a few club members already watching him, before rising to his hind legs, flaring his wings for balance, and spreading his forelegs wide.

"Guess who's back with hauuuul!" He cried over the noise in the bar area, soon the center of attention as all eyes lifted and turned to him. His fellow Flash Cards made short work of spotting his bulging black saddlebags and erupting into cheers.

"Holy shit he's robbed a bank!"

"Who's credit card did you steal to get that!?"

"Great! You can buy the next round of drinks for everyone!"

Everyone in the room including High Rise laughed at the last comment, coming from none other than the barkeep himself, before the grey pegasus spoke up.

"See peeps? I told you poker is the way to go, this is all from one good game." Several of the rooms occupants fixed him with disbelieving looks after that proclamation, but no-one moved to argue, High Rise really built a reputation during his 8 months with the Cards after all.

'I know it, they know it, I know they know it, and they know I know they know it... I think?' While he mentally struggled with grammar, the pegasus started his way towards the bar itself, giving nods in response to congratulations or simple greetings from those he passed. Once he reached the bar he rose up to rest his crossed forelegs on it and gave a holler.

"Kha'Zix! Did you miss me? Yes or yes!?"

"I'm stood right here you damn feather-brain." The changeling bartender quipped from his position in front of High Rise, trying and failing to suppress his smile, so he settled for just letting his fangs show.

"I know right?" High Rise responded with obvious mirth "But after that last time I gotta be sure around you."

The forest green changeling raised a brow 'Hey I didn't think they could do that.' then shook his head slowly. "I was ignoring you on purpose because the first time we met you were just so buzzing annoying!" He exclaimed, then sighed because he knew what was coming next.

"Haha, yeah... Hey 'Zix, I heard you guys 'taste' people based on their emotions, so is it true? 'Cause you still haven't told me. Do I taste as good as I look?"

The changeling sighed again and closed his slitted emerald eyes, when he opened them again the stallion before him wore a perfectly serious face. 'How anything can leave his mouth while he keeps a straight face is beyond me." The shapeshifter thought with a unvoiced groan before taking a deep breath.

"No." Came his simple rebuttal.

"Is that a 'no you don't taste that way' or a 'no I can't taste you'?" High Rise queried with apparent honesty. Kha'Zix groaned aloud this time while the pegasus laughed and made to leave.

"Don't worry 'Zix, we all know just how good I am - I mean, how much of a great guy you are. You know I love you right?"

"You do?" The changeling asked "If you do then you should've got a job as a hive infiltrator, because that's something I can't taste at all." He called after the pegasus with no small amount of snark.

High Rise just laughed some more as he made his way through a gap in the dividers. The stallion had a lot of respect for Kha'Zix, everyone does. Kha'Zix was the Flash Cards' jail break; whenever a member got into trouble with the authorities, the changeling would fill their place in a cell so that the member could keep working to bring bits in, although a large cut of their next haul always went straight into the shapeshifter's funds as was only fair given what he was doing. The fact that he provided the drinks in Number 13 was good incentive for people to avoid needing his jail breaking services. That line of work was what got him invited to the Cards in the first place, he was well known as a unicorn alias that broke out of a super tight prison just outside of Las Pegasus, simply called 'The Hole', because once you fell in, you only got out if someone let you out. Kha'Zix was the exception to the rule.

The steely pegasus proceeded to follow the divider wall around before coming to the area behind the bar, glancing to the sign above the doorway as he walked through it.

'Switchboard's Office Room Office'

'Time for a nice chat with one sexy bat mare.' High Rise thought with a smile as he began the ascent up a gently curving set of stairs. At the top stood a simple, brown wood door, one of very few of it's kind within Number 13 seeing how most were either painted or metal. Stopping before the door High Rise lifted a hoof to knock, then placed it back on the ground with a smirk on his lips.

"Knock-knock!" He called through the door.

Silence...

A muffled sigh...

"Get in here already Rise." Responded a slightly tired female voice which, although dampened by the wood, was still the sweetest sound the stallion believed he had ever heard.

High Rise couldn't help the grin that he found on his face as he pushed the door and walked through into a supposed office.

"Say," He started, his smile trying to somehow grow. "have you been on the cigarettes again? Or is that smoke in the air just you Switch?"

The mare behind a modest desk in the corner of the room gave an easy smile, tilting her chair back. "Can't it be both?" She asked. "I have had a pretty stressful night."

"Aww," High Rise cooed sympathetically. "can I help relieve that stress at all?" He asked while waggling his eyebrows at her, or maybe he didn't, he never was very good at doing that.

The thestral only smiled cheekily. "Depends, are you going to leave now?" She questioned coolly.

"Switch I thought you'd already figured this much out; if that's what you want, well, when it comes to winning you over, I can't think of a price too high to pay." The pegasus provided, sounding quite proud of his response.

"Well aren't you just the nicest little stallion?" Switchboard asked sweetly, High Rise nodded with a smile. "What if the price is my own life?" She challenged, and the stallion pouted.

"Spoilsport..." He grouched, folding his forelegs in front of himself and his ears back for a moment while slouching in his chair, though he soon enough shrugged and sat back up with a small smile seeing the mare stifling giggles at his expense.

"Okay, so you're the cause of all the noise downstairs I'm guessing?" Switchboard said while gesturing to the door, she tilted her head to get a look at the stallion's saddlebags when they caught her eye. "Huh, and I can see why. Is that the haul from your run tonight?"

"Yup." High Rise affirmed with a nod. "One two hour game and I walk away with 563 bits profit, no too bad." He stated casually, and took a seat on the chair in front of the desk.

Switchboard nodded appreciatively at the amount. "'Not too bad' huh? So what, I can expect better in the future can I?"

"You know you can, that's the reason I'm here in the first place remember?"

"Yeah, i know, you turned this place around..." The mare answered quietly, looking reflective.

"Uh-huh, I remember it too." High Rise pointed out

Number 13 - Flash Cards safe house and HQ 8 months ago

High Rise followed the unicorn in front of him closely, hanging just to the leading stallion's left side as they approached a dull grey door made of steel, a number thirteen messily sprayed in white paint next to where the handle should be.

"So what did you say it was your company does again?" The pegasus asked, adjusting the black saddlebag over his left flank, his cutie mark of an ace of spades with wisps of smoke rising from it adorning the material.  His recent memory was a little blurry after all, he'd walked out of The Bit Drop casino with a fortune and a grin on his face and so much new money to his name that he had to ask for a check as opposed to bits when he cashed his chips in. After that this unicorn with a  name he couldn't recall had come up to him and claimed High Rise was invited to join some high-end business. Considering the amount of alleys he'd been led down from there, he was beginning to lose the ability to believe the unicorn.

"We're here actually, so you can ask all that when you meet who you're going to be discussing your 'work' with" The unicorn responded evenly before knocking on the door.

*Tap-pause-tap-pause-tap-tap*

'Secret knock and everything? Why does this keep seeming less of a working business and more bad business?' High Rise mused to himself. While he did so, he perked his ears as he noticed the unicorn was having a hushed conversation with a slot in the door, and caught some of what was being said as the unicorn glanced back towards him. "...yeah Switch wanted me to find him and bring him over."

The door offered no response but the slot was closed, followed by a clunk and the door swinging inward, a well built orange earth pony appearing behind it who beckoned the two in.

"Yeah, okay, definitely bad frikkin' business." He muttered to himself as he followed the unicorn inside, through a second door, and down a flight of metal stairs until they stopped before yet another door.

"You guys like these things huh?" High Rise asked sarcastically while gesturing to the painted wooden door, but only got a glance in his direction in response. The unicorn pushed the door open and allowed the pegasus through, the two entering a large square room populated by multiple worn looking tables, chairs, and a full length bar that seemed to be lacking supplies. What the room was devoid of however, was life aside from the pair who just entered.

"Lively place you got here." High Rise voiced with mock cheer. The unicorn responded by passing him and began to lead around the wooden dividers on the rooms perimeter.

'Not like he can tell. This guy's about as emotionally diverse as a desert is wet.' He thought sourly, taking his place behind the leading stallion once more. The pair rounded a right turn, passed one door before turning again and entering the next. The familiar sight of stairs, this time going upwards, got High Rise to pause.

"Say pal I think you took a wrong turn, we just came down these." The pegasus pointed out, frowning when his sarcastic quip garnered a repeat of no response. The unicorn continued to stare impassively at him from his position next to the now open door, once he was sure High Rise was done, he spoke up.

"Who you are meeting with is waiting for you up these stairs, there are no turns, so you shan't get lost... Unless you don't think you can handle the curve in the stairs?"

The grey stallion looked at the unicorn, unamused. "So now you've got a sense of humor on you huh...? Whatever." He muttered heading up the stairs. 'Jackass.' He thought on the way up, when he reached another door at the top of the stairs, he groaned, but rolled his neck and shoulders in case this was the dodgy affair he now suspected it to be.

'Hopefully this really is a whole new opportunity.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------