[oom] Some people are impossible to shop for.
The bike alone had been enough incentive for her to find him something unique for his birthday, but it was the diamonds and rubies that had set the bar impossibly high.
No matter. Just meant she had to get creative.
The idea hit her when she was laying on the beach in the Caribbean inlet. Barry did a little research for her, found a mark with a suitable piece of property. The rest was all research and a little bit of practice at the poker table.
Anthony De La Vina, big time real estate trader, small time gambler, owned a sweet little piece of property in the Bahamas. Victoria Point Cays were two islands, totalling eight acres of paradise, with a private dock, and gorgeous little villa. She got herself invited over for a party one weekend, just so she could give the place the hard once over. It was exactly what she was looking for.
Well, okay, she did have to make some phone calls, and pressure Señor De La Vina's bookies into calling his markers, and making the man's life a living hell for a few weeks, but y'know, she enjoys her work. When she had him desperate enough for cash, that's when she moved in for the kill.
Enrique planted the seed with a carefully dropped rumour, telling De La Vina all about the dashing European heiress known for losing millions at the card tables in Monaco, and how she was coming to Nassau for the weekend. If he could only get into the high stakes game she was setting up, then he could get his life back.
She used the forged letters of credit to get a line with the house, and for the first hour or so, she lost most of it, knowing there was no way in hell he was going to walk away from the table. She hadn't expected his best friend to join them, and the man seemed a lot more grounded than the mark. There was a tense moment when De La Vina's looked like he was going to listen to the man's advice, but the problem solved itself when he followed her to the loo.
Really, he'd get over it. He'd walk with a limp for the rest of his life, but he'd get over it.
So she'd managed to stage a stunning comeback and win all her money back, and then all of his stake as well. De La Vina was to the point of grovelling, and she thought about letting him off the hook -- for about half a second. She asked if he had anything else to wager. Something unique. Something that no one else had.
Well, of course he did. He had the Victoria Point Cays.
The rest was history really. She made him sign the deed over before the last card was turned, and one might think it was fitting that the Queen of Diamonds did him in.
Pesky details managed, she signed the deed over to a holding company in the name of Ramon Salazar.
The second part of the present was even harder to attain. She had to beg and cajole and plead and whine and generally be a royal pain in the ass until Bar agreed, with some stiff stipulations attached.
The Key would only open a door to the main house on the island, and if he ever set foot on the mainland through that Door, both Key and Door would stop working. Forever. The Bar would never let him through again, and he'd be stranded in her world. She had no illusions that Bar wasn't kidding. It didn't mean he couldn't visit the mainland through her Door, so long as she opened it for him.
She printed out the pictures she'd taken, and had it all put together in a nice little portfolio with the Deed.
She spent good long time just staring at it, wondering if he'd like it. And wondering what Michael would say.
No matter. Just meant she had to get creative.
The idea hit her when she was laying on the beach in the Caribbean inlet. Barry did a little research for her, found a mark with a suitable piece of property. The rest was all research and a little bit of practice at the poker table.
Anthony De La Vina, big time real estate trader, small time gambler, owned a sweet little piece of property in the Bahamas. Victoria Point Cays were two islands, totalling eight acres of paradise, with a private dock, and gorgeous little villa. She got herself invited over for a party one weekend, just so she could give the place the hard once over. It was exactly what she was looking for.
Well, okay, she did have to make some phone calls, and pressure Señor De La Vina's bookies into calling his markers, and making the man's life a living hell for a few weeks, but y'know, she enjoys her work. When she had him desperate enough for cash, that's when she moved in for the kill.
Enrique planted the seed with a carefully dropped rumour, telling De La Vina all about the dashing European heiress known for losing millions at the card tables in Monaco, and how she was coming to Nassau for the weekend. If he could only get into the high stakes game she was setting up, then he could get his life back.
She used the forged letters of credit to get a line with the house, and for the first hour or so, she lost most of it, knowing there was no way in hell he was going to walk away from the table. She hadn't expected his best friend to join them, and the man seemed a lot more grounded than the mark. There was a tense moment when De La Vina's looked like he was going to listen to the man's advice, but the problem solved itself when he followed her to the loo.
Really, he'd get over it. He'd walk with a limp for the rest of his life, but he'd get over it.
So she'd managed to stage a stunning comeback and win all her money back, and then all of his stake as well. De La Vina was to the point of grovelling, and she thought about letting him off the hook -- for about half a second. She asked if he had anything else to wager. Something unique. Something that no one else had.
Well, of course he did. He had the Victoria Point Cays.
The rest was history really. She made him sign the deed over before the last card was turned, and one might think it was fitting that the Queen of Diamonds did him in.
Pesky details managed, she signed the deed over to a holding company in the name of Ramon Salazar.
The second part of the present was even harder to attain. She had to beg and cajole and plead and whine and generally be a royal pain in the ass until Bar agreed, with some stiff stipulations attached.
The Key would only open a door to the main house on the island, and if he ever set foot on the mainland through that Door, both Key and Door would stop working. Forever. The Bar would never let him through again, and he'd be stranded in her world. She had no illusions that Bar wasn't kidding. It didn't mean he couldn't visit the mainland through her Door, so long as she opened it for him.
She printed out the pictures she'd taken, and had it all put together in a nice little portfolio with the Deed.
She spent good long time just staring at it, wondering if he'd like it. And wondering what Michael would say.