In Dumas’s mind, the answer to DEE’s question seemed perfectly clear.  Chester was charming flirt, blessed with a silver tongue.  His words seduced everyone he met and always left them wanting more.  Hell, Dumas suspected that Chester could convince a spider to spin a square web or a bird to fly backwards.  So getting Mari to accept a pretty new necklace?  No problem at all.  A gift from Chester would be a romantic treasure.  She’d probably wear it constantly without him even asking her to.<br/><br/>Dumas would be lying if he said that he wasn’t a little bit jealous of Chester’s seemingly effortless charisma.  Too often, the only emotions he elicited in people were anger and fear.  But he was enough of a tactician to make decisions based on facts instead of pride.  So the choice seemed obvious.  Of course, as Dumas should have learned by now, sometimes life was far from obvious.<br/><br/>“Me?”  The word leapt from Dumas’s mouth before he could stop it -- not really a question, more of an incredulous outburst.  His easy banter with Chester had developed over a long period spent testing the other man’s boundaries (then finally realizing that Chester didn’t seem to have any).  And DEE was a unique situation.  But in general, Dumas had trouble talking to people.  He never knew what to say that wouldn’t upset or offend.  If he carefully monitored his words, he came across like a monosyllabic thug.  And if he spoke freely, the impression he gave was more in the realm of ‘complete jackass’.  Surely a gift from him would seem more creepy than affectionate?<br/><br/>But Dumas wasn’t the type to shirk a task once it had been assigned to him.  Recovering from his shock, he nodded at Chester.  “Alright.  I’ll talk to my guy and get the tracker made.  If Mari doesn’t throw it back in my face, we can proceed from there.”<br/><br/>However, there was one change Dumas wanted to make to their plan.  “As much as I appreciate the gesture, Ches, I can’t accept your offer.  When the shit hits the fan, we’ll all take our share of the blame.  I’ve never hidden behind anyone and I’m not going to start now.”<br/><br/>That seemed to be it.  So when Chester announced his impending departure, Dumas nodded and gave the magician’s avatar a small salute.  “Go knock ‘em dead.  You always do.”