Estephen is doing what he does best: leaning against a wall and being extremely cool.
His scales cycle slow — pink, cyan, green. His cowboy boots click on the sidewalk. He has nowhere important to be, and he is very good at it.
Then Gorillionaire shows up.
"New briefcase," Gorillionaire announces. He holds it up with both robotic hands. It is silver. It is magnificent. It is beeping.
"Why," says Estephen, "is it beeping?"
Gorillionaire looks at it. He frowns. He presses a button.
A golden swirl opens in the air. Spinning. Crackling. Smelling, somehow, like horses and old maps.
"Hmm," says Gorillionaire.
Then he falls in.
Estephen grabs his tail. That is a mistake.