A small smile curled the corner of Dumas’s mouth when Samuel called Chester ‘charming’.  That was a very diplomatic evaluation.  Dumas’s own first meeting with the club’s magician had left him considerably more flustered and frustrated.  But that had been back in the days before he figured out a way to deal with Chester that didn’t involve fucking or murdering him (or doing both of those things, in an order which fluctuated depending on Dumas’s mood).   “He’s a good man,” Dumas admitted quietly.  “I’d trust him with my life.  Although probably not with my wallet, or my phone, or my lover...”<br/><br/>Truthfully, Dumas was just relieved that the two men had achieved some sort of truce.  As long as it stayed in place, he didn’t need to know the exact details.<br/><br/>Upon reaching his office, Duma’s manner became even more relaxed.  Red owned the club, but this room was his domain, the place where he felt the most comfortable.  It impressed him that Samuel knew enough about what he was seeing to ask a sensible question.  Although the answer to that question did open up a can of worms.  “The system was designed to be manual only,” Dumas explained.  “Whether it’s now AI assisted...well, that subject is open to some debate.”<br/><br/>Of course, as if on cue, a hologram materialized in the room with them.  At first glance, it appeared to be an exact copy of Dumas.  But closer examination revealed subtle differences.  The hologram’s posture was slightly off, as if the being creating it had never actually inhabited a physical body.  And the emotions it expressed tended to be more theatrical than natural.  Placing its hands on its hips, the hologram glared at Dumas and pouted like a scorned schoolgirl.  “How can you say things like that?  After all that we’ve been through together.”<br/><br/>Inwardly, Dumas conceded that DEE had a point.  The more time he spent around the security system, the more he became convinced that it was something beyond his own image being reflected back at him in a funhouse mirror.  But outwardly, he wasn’t ready to admit that.  So he answered DEE’s protest by rolling his eyes.  “Samuel, meet the club’s security system.  Detection and Emergency Execution -- or just DEE for short.  DEE, meet our new doorman.”<br/><br/>Smiling, the hologram turned towards Samuel and bobbed its head enthusiastically.  “I handled your background check.  Very impressive stuff!  You’re just the sort of man we need around here right now.”