Chapter Two

 

Now, of all the things a leprechaun might come to me for help with, I sure would have never thought it would be to find his wife. I didn’t even know where leprechauns lived. I had heard that the ones around Vegas lived in magically hidden forests and glens in valleys up by Lake Mead. But I would have to ask someone above me in the ranks if even that was right.

And besides, I was a superhero in the world of gambling, specializing in poker, thus the name, Poker Boy. I wasn’t Missing-Persons-Boy, although I wouldn’t be surprised that a superhero with that name actually existed. Gods and superheroes seemed to exist for just about everything on the planet.

So he had to have a special reason for coming to me.

“I’m sorry to hear about your wife,” I said, actually being sincere. “But not sure what you think I can do to help.”

“I was told you would be the best person to help me,” he said, looking very worried.

“Who told you that?” More than likely this was just a joke being played on me, and so far I had fallen for it and taken the little guy a little too seriously.

“The general manager of the Okey-Doke Casino checked around and found out you were the best. He asked your boss if it would be all right if I contacted you, and he said sure.”

“My boss?” I asked, now stunned. “Who do you think my boss is?”

The little guy sort of shrugged. “Some guy named Stan I think.”

That was enough. I looked up into the air and shouted “Stan!”

An instant later Stan, the God of Poker, appeared beside me in the parking lot. He had on his normal brown slacks, short-sleeved business shirt that matched his slacks and loafers. He had nothing at all distinctive about his face and his brown hair was cut short, but not too short. Perfect camouflage for a poker player. He could walk down the street and no one would notice him.

Stan glanced around and nodded. “Dead camera area, huh?”

“And fresh air,” I said.

“A little chilly,” he said and a brown sweater appeared on him.

“You know Lenny here,” I said, indicating the leprechaun.

Stan nodded. “Never met, but heard of the problem. Sorry to hear about your wife. If anyone can help you, it’s Poker Boy.”

Okay, so now I was convinced that Stan was in on this joke as well. Gods were well known for pulling pranks and practical jokes. And Stan had done his share over the years.

I stood, adjusting my leather coat. “Okay, so tell me the punch line so I can get back to my game.”

Lenny the Leprechaun looked pained and Stan just looked puzzled. After a moment Stan seemed to catch on to what I was saying, and he shook his head and looked at Lenny.

“You haven’t told him your problem yet?”

“I told him my wife was missing,” he said, defensively.

“But you didn’t tell him where, did you?” Stan asked, staring down at the little elf.

Lenny looked almost insulted. “Where else would my wife go missing that I couldn’t find her?”

I shook my head and started away from the dead area of the casino parking lot. “I’ve got a game to finish.”

“Silicon Suckers,” Stan said.

The two words stopped me cold and I turned around and went back.

Silicon Suckers are a very, very old race of beings that have been on Earth far longer than humans. They are often mistaken for the “Grays” by alien-watchers. The Silicon Suckers live in what they call “castles” under desert areas. They have huge, city-sized caverns and hundreds of miles of tunnels under the desert outside of Vegas on the north side of town. The Silicon Suckers control a large amount of desert all around Las Vegas. I have done numbers of favors for them over the years, so I am an honored guest in their cities.

They also killed an old girlfriend of mine when she wouldn’t return some sacred silicon a doctor had put into her breasts. I had warned her many times that the Silicon Suckers would get their silicon back one way or another. And they did.

I ignored Lenny and looked at Stan. “I thought the fairy world and the Silicon Suckers were not on speaking terms.”

“They aren’t,” Stan said, clearly disgusted. “But Mrs. Lenny thought she might be able to negotiate with them for a small piece of property near the lake.”

“Did she ask anyone why that property would never be for sale?” I asked, stunned. The only property the Silicon Suckers controlled near Lake Mead was a cliff face that represented some of their deepest beliefs and history. I was told that the cliff was the last remaining wall of their most ancient city.

“I doubt it,” Stan said. “Otherwise she wouldn’t be missing.”

“We thought it would be a good addition to a charming pool under the wall,” Lenny said. “Make some slides on it, diving platforms, you know the drill.”

I just shook my head in disgust. Stan just smiled. His poker face was better than mine.

If Lenny’s wife had tried to even make an offer on that cliff face, she was long since dead. Just the offer would be so insulting to the Silicon Suckers that Lenny’s wife would be moisture for their underground gardens.

I was about to tell Lenny that, when it dawned on me that I knew exactly where Lenny’s wife was, and that she hadn’t even gotten to insulting the Silicon Suckers by telling them her people wanted to make a recreational area out of a scared place.

I started laughing and both Stan and Lenny looked at me like I had gone crazy.

“Where did she try to go in?” I asked Lenny between laughs.

“At the large Downtown Vegas billboard off the highway on the north,” Lenny said, staring at me. “And what’s so damned funny about my wife being missing?”

“She’s not dead, that’s what,” I said. “She is a magical being, right?”

“Of course,” Lenny said, clearly angry, his little frame shaking.

Then Stan started laughing as well. He understood enough about the Silicon Suckers to know that they must know a person’s true name before they will be allowed inside of their castles. And magical people won’t give out their real names unless really pressed, thus she would never be allowed into any Silicon Sucker city.

“I’ll go get her,” I said to Stan. “Take Lenny here back to Vegas and wait for my shout.”