Needless to say, the headquarters of Paixao's gypsies were a sight to behold. Compared to the blonde and blue-eyed panoply of the city, they were a remarkably colorful lot, going about their business with a flare for the theatric and the dramatic. And nothing, absolutely -nothing- was ever as it seemed.

The whole tour took perhaps an hour, at the end of which he led her back to the office they had started in. Their glasses had been cleaned, and the bottle stood at the ready. With that same slippery smile, he poured two more full glasses for them, and held the second out to Naja. "A toast, to celebrate this union. May it smile on us both, and all those we command."