The sun was still high in the sky, beating down on the dry air. The only sounds around were a few insects that buzzed and the sound of wind brushing against the greenery. The secluded, private, and peaceful feeling of the space allowed the atmosphere to feel more welcoming, but serious.

With everyone gathered around the table, Livia, Zander, Vincent, Eliot, and Fang all sat down and began to discuss their plans for taking down the Setting Sun, and ultimately, Lucretia.

“So,” Livia announced, “let’s get started.” She folded her hands and rested her elbow on the table. “First order of business: what is the end goal?”

Eliot turned his head and replied, “Isn’t it to take out Lucretia?”

“Naturally,” Livia responded, “but I also remember you telling me when we first met that you all had another goal—the entire reason why you’re here.”

“We do?”

There was a moment of silence before Vincent finally spoke up, exclaiming, “The obelisk!”

Zander turned towards Vincent and stated, “I’m surprised you remembered.”

“Well, of course, it’s the one thing I haven’t forgotten.”

“Well,” Livia interjected, “I actually have some information on that.”

Zander raised an eyebrow. “Do tell. That’s the one thing you still haven’t clued me in to,” he noted.

“Right before you all came to the casino, Shades came back and recited an interesting conversation to me between Lucretia and someone she was on the phone with. She mentioned that she was ‘highly guarding it’ and that the ‘special delivery was secured and ready’ among other things.”

Livia then turned towards Fang and continued what she was saying. “I didn’t think much of it until I had a...talk with Lucretia.” She shuttered. “She told me about a strange obelisk that appeared suddenly in the Upper Echelons. She told me that it was important enough to hire a bunch of security to protect. Then, you all came to the casino, asking about it. I told Lucretia that there was someone in the casino that knew about the obelisk, telling her your names, and she told me to tell you that you,“ she looked at Vincent and friends, “could view it for a steep price.”

“We remember you telling us that,” Zander commented.

“However, there’s no need to pay such a price.”

Vincent and Zander leaned in close upon hearing that.

“I know the location of it and,” she continued, “it just so happens that it’s located in the exact place that we need access to in order to pull off this plan.”

Fang then jumped in. “Where is it?” they quickly asked.

“It’s located inside my sister’s personal vault,” she answered.

“Personal vault?” Zander asked.

“Yes, her personal vault that only she has access to. It’s the room right behind her throne room.”

“I’m not even going to question that one.”

Vincent, a bit confused, intervened, asking, “Why do you need to get into her vault? Are we gonna steal some money or somethin’?”

“Close,” Livia answered. “We’re going to steal incriminating documents. It’s a plan that Zander and I have been working on.”

“Huh?”

Livia then looked at Zander, who answered her look by standing up.

“Allow me to explain why,” Zander announced. “Recently, there has been a rumor that has caused the upper three pillars to stir a bit. Apparently, there is an international detective that is on his way to Cairo. No one knows why, but through our information networks, I can pretty much confirm this to be true.”

“Ok, and?” Vincent impatiently asked.

Zander sighed. “Normally, incriminating documents and proof against Lucretia won’t mean shit to any government in this country. However, if we were able to cause a ruckus and leak the truth about this place to the international scene, then not even the President could protect it any longer. Lucretia would be ruined.”

“Ohhhhh.” Vincent finally understood. “Makes sense to me.”

As the wind blew, causing a few leaves to wiggle in place, Fang finally stood up. They gently, but firmly placed their hands on the table. Pushing their hair to the side, they asked, “But what good does that do?”

Everyone turned and looked at them.

“I mean, yeah it would be cool if we were able to get those documents and give them to an international detective, but there’s no way that he would even make it anywhere near Cairo, nevertheless this casino,” they continued. “Wouldn't President Akins just pay off the military or other law-enforcement unit to ensure that the detective could not go anywhere or meet anyone that would expose anything?”

Zander and Livia all nodded their heads in response. Livia stepped in and replied, “You’re right, and honestly, I’ve seen that very thing happen before...but that’s where our plan comes in.”

She then pulled out three pictures from her back pocket. In order, the three pictures were as follows: An ashy-white lady, no younger than 50, who wore black, silk clothes and whose hair was puffed up all around; a half-Japanese half-Arab man whose face was hard and cemented in a frown; and smiling Arab man that had a bottle of liquor in one hand, while his other hand’s fingers were crossed.

She looked down at the images. “These people are the Diadems of this casino,” she stated. “Diadems the wealthiest people of the casino—each one owning a monopoly in some sort of business here. In order, they are: Madam Roach, who owns the all food business; Hanzo Abrammis, who oversees all of the labor and manufacturing that goes on here—essentially, he owns the Dawn Patrol; and finally, we have Jurries Khan, who recently came into power by swindling Madam Roach out of the alcohol business.”

She then looked back up towards the group. “These three form a triumvirate of wealth called the Diadems. The only person higher than them is Lucretia, herself. It is a coveted position that practically makes you invincible to anything that goes on in the Setting Sun, or hell, even in all of Egypt.”

“But what does this have to do with my question?” Fang asked.

“You see, there’s a certain man,” she said, looking at Zander, “who wishes, above all else, to be among those ranks. This man needs to own a monopoly on something, in addition to being in the Upper Echelons. However, basically everything in this place is already owned.”

“Except,” Zander interjected, “something that we’ve been working on.”

“Exactly,” Livia commented. “Because of your victory in the Omnia, Zander was able to get his hands on a deed that gave us just enough control in a certain business—the only one that has yet to be completely taken over.”

“Victory?” Vincent asked. “But I lost.”

Livia glanced over at Fang.

Vincent followed her gaze, and replied, “Oh.”

“So what’s this business?” Eliot piped up

Zander twitched for a second before answering, “Just wait a little bit, I’ll show you when we have everything in place.”

“Ummm, alright,” Eliot half-heartedly accepted.

“Anyway,” Livia said, bringing the conversation back, “this man that I’m referring to is President Akins. He has gotten substantially greedier in recent years and wants to have the same type of monetary power as a Diadem. And, it just so happens that Ahmed is trying to compete in the very same business we are. Since we have a majority of the stock in this business, Zander proposed an idea.”

“We’re going to run him dry of all of his funds,” Zander elaborated. “I will sell him all of my merchandise, which will temporarily drain him of all his liquid assets. This drainage will only last, at most, two or three days. Meaning, we have to get him to spend all of his money the day that the detective makes it to Cairo. That way, he won’t have any money to pay anyone to get in the detective’s way.”

“Huh,” Fang commented, “interesting. So what do I do?”

“Yeah, Zander, this just seems like something you two can take care of,” Eliot commented.

Livia clapped her hands. “Oh don’t you worry, you are all the most important part of this plan,” she confidently stated. “Each one of you has a task that needs to be completed. Eliot and Fang,” she looked at them, “you two will be in charge of slowly making spare copies of the keys to the rooms that Zander keeps his merchandise in. When the deal is made and Zander receives his payment, you two will be in charge of stealing the merchandise.”

“That way,” Zander added, “he can’t just turn around and sell some of it to get enough cash to pay off anyone to get in the detective’s way. He will be completely broke and ruined.”

“And Vincent,” Livia said, turning her attention towards the wild friend, “you’ll be in charge of causing a distraction the day that this all takes place. We need Lucretia to be distracted long enough so that we can steal the merchandise and the documents within her vault. You got this job because I heard that you’re really good at causing a scene.”

“Oh, one-hundred percent,” Vincent replied with a smile.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Eliot chuckled.

“In the meantime, Zander will be in charge of keeping in constant communication with Ahmed to ensure that the deal takes place,” Livia commented. “At the same time, I will be in charge of finding out the best ways to enter the vault, all while providing you all with inside information of anything that might unexpectedly pop up via Shades.”

“Damn, that’s a lot,” Vincent remarked.

“It really is, isn’t it?” Zander smugly responded.

“How long do we have to pull this off?”

“Exactly one week,” Livia said. “We have exactly one week until this detective is in Cairo. And even then, when he arrives, he’ll only have a day before the oppressive political forces of this country drive him out.”

“Which means,” Vincent reasoned, “we only have one day to make it all count. Meaning, on the last day, we’ll only have until midnight.”

“That’s right,” Livia confirmed, putting her hand in the middle of the table. “Now, who’s in?”

“Hell yeah!” Vincent shouted, rocketing his entire hand in the middle.

“Well, of course, it's my plan, anyway,” Zander smiled, adding his hand to the group.

Livia then said, “To stopping my sister.”

“To saving the poor victims of this place,” Eliot stated, firmly placing his hand in the middle.

“To getting the hell out of here,” Fang finally added.

Zander then smiled and looked at each person, individually. “To pulling off the job before our midnight deadline.”

Everyone at the same time, with their hands in the huddle, said, “To midnight!”