The street, at night

Alistair shrugged. "There have been runs of bad luck here and there. But that's normal."

"Bad luck isn't the same as screwing up outright. Screwing up outright means you're going to jail or getting hung. Both aren't good options."

"Well, you don't see my neck with a rope around it, do you?" Alistair asked with a grin.

Luke glanced at the two as they chatted, feeling a bit awkward sitting at a table with two people talking about cheating other out of money. Suckers just like him. His eyes glanced around the room for a distraction from the current conversation. A couple of Coxish women in the corner, a redhead in the table next to them, two brunettes in the table behind them...

Garrett tilted his head in amusement. "Might have to get a few tips then. Mostly just been going off cases you find in the newspapers..."

"They're the ones that get caught," Alistair answered, waving a hand dismissively. "Do you truly wish to learn from the fools that get caught?"

Garrett shrugged slightly. "They're really all I've got to work with. Find out how they get caught and be sure not to do that."

"Better to learn the trade as I did," Alistair answered.

"I assume you didn't take a class on the subject, even if economics comes close. I assume you learned from that Professor of yours, though not sure if anyone else out there'd be willing to teach," Garrett replied. Pride and caution kept him from outright asking, despite the obvious invitations.

"He took me in because it amused him and he needed a partner who had the ability to draw the eye of young ladies," Alistair answered with a shrug. "Perhaps I'll take on a student myself someday..."

"Care to take one on today?" Garrett asked, moving to snuff the butt of his cigarette.

"A student?" Alistair raised an eyebrow. "I wonder what would be in it for me if I did?"

"Ten percent profits of course. The better you teach me, the more you get," Garrett responded with a smile.

Luke, on the other hand, had had enough of this talking. The whole subject made him uncomfortable. As quietly as he could, he picked up his drink and tried to disappear from the atble, heading to the table with the blonds.

"Fifty and I might consider it," the con man said blithely.

"I might go as high as twenty percent, though no higher. I have to feed myself after all," Garrett replied.

"Feed yourself on 80% of your profits? Hah! You'll be taking time away from me that I could be using to make more valuable investments," Alistair answered smoothly, eyes twinkling.

Garrett shook his head and steepled his hands in front of his face. "Think of it this way. Lets say we go into a scam that requires two people. We make one hundred kenetra for the sake of making the math easy. You take sixty because you're the lead man, I take fourty. Then with your fee I give you half of my earnings, leaving me twenty. Even if we were to assume we could make one thousand kenetra a day, that only leaves me with two hundred of my usual three hundred kenetra income. Not a very good thing for me as far as I'm concerned. I need to cover the cost of hygiene, the cost of materials, the cost of room and board and the cost of food."

"We split the profits even," Alistair answered calmly. "Anything I earn, I'm taking. Anything you earn on your own under my supervision, I take half of. Any job the two of us do together, I take half, you take half. Room and board provided, as long as you keep up your end of the deal. If we need anything, I'll take it out of the budget I set aside out of the funds you hand over. Got it?"

"Got it and accept your terms. Best write it down in case either of us forget anything about it," Garrett replied.

"I have pen and paper on the ship," Alistair answered. "If that suits you. For now, however, I need a new suit, as does--" he paused, noting Luke had slipped away, then looked for the man with some irritation.

Garrett glanced around the bar, spotting Luke having a nice, casual conversation at a safe distance with two of the female patrons. Looking back to Alistair, he added pleasantly, "Perhaps we can continue out conversation later. Just give me the name and port number of your ship and I'll send my belongings that way."

"Your name first," Alistair answered, smiling. "Mine is Alistair Fairchild. And that's my brother Lucas over there."

Garrett paused a moment to consider if he should haven given his real name. His instincts told him it was a bad idea, though he figured if he was going to be learning under someone else, it was best to give them at least that much. And hope they didn't chose to go looking into the name.

"Garrett Agril at your service," He replied with a tip of his bowler hat and a wink. "Hope to get to work with you as soon as possible, Alistair."

"Our ship is docked at number 227. Just tell the captain that we referred you. She's a young idiot little girl, so be prepared for that. Avoid Miss Cardham and the other fellow if you can. They're bad news," Alistair instructed. "There should be room with us, though if the Captain is willing to make other accommodations, let her."

"I'll be sure to contact her and avoid anyone else. Thanks for the advice," Garrett replied with a smile as he got up, leaving his whiskey untouched.

Alistair moved over to his brother and the women he was talking to. "Hello, there."