Hades: King of the Dead (notbitter) wrote in history_dot_com, @ 2012-05-17 00:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | ~hades, ~nike |
For a Few Philosophers More [Las Vegas 1932] (Tag:Nike)
Hades should have known that when Veles chose Fyodor Dostoyevsky as his plus one, it meant trouble. No one brought a depressing dead Russian novelist to a social gathering without an agenda. But Hades had a strong opinion about Crime and Punishment, which he supposed in the scholarly world made him a fan, and had thought that while Veles had trickery as a patronage, Dostoyevsky would not share that same duplicitous nature. It had not occurred to Hades that this was also the author of The Brothers Karamazov. It had also not occurred to Hades that Dostoyevsky was infamous for his gambling addiction, or that pairing a depressed dead Russian novelist with a depressed dead Greek playwright could lead to a catastrophic blowout and the two of them gambling for their very souls, or that when gambling, the ghost with the most experience has the advantage.
Which was why Hades found himself in the Northern Club in a small city called Las Vegas one year after gambling had officially been legalized in Nevada. The only way that Veles would let Hades get Sophocles back was if he agreed to play for him with Aristotle on the line. The only way Hades was willing to put Aristotle on the line was if Hades knew he could win. By himself, Hades couldn't. If Hades was trusting his own good luck to get him through this, he might as well just go buy all of the great Greek philosophers a Russian phrasebook. But if Hades had help from someone so experienced at winning that it became their job..... Maybe the Greek Underworld wouldn't be doomed to try and fall asleep to the loud unending wails of Euripides for the rest of eternity.
If Nike would help. Locating her hadn't been too difficult, but Hades wasn't sure how open she would be to the idea. People probably asked for her favor all of the time. Hades' request would definitely inconvenience her, and it wasn't like the two of them were particularly close. They had a pretty good history, and Hades was hoping that would play in his favor, but it was just that: a history. Barring crises, Hades hadn't had many opportunities to see her. It wasn't like the King of the Underworld attended many Olympian social gatherings. They were realms apart. But now, as much as he loathed asking for it, Hades needed her help.
Hades weaved his way through the establishment until he located her among the other patrons.
“Nike,” Hades said once he had gotten her attention, “Would you mind if we spoke for a moment?”