The world was going to Hell in a hand basket. Apparently mounted on jet-propelled roller skates. And yet, somehow, life in the desert went on as usual. One would think that the outright isolation of Las Vegas from the rest of human civilization would have caused a panic. Instead the city doubled down on the very act of being Las Vegas.<em>City surrounded by impenetrable vines of black rock. Planet cut off.</em><br/><br/>So Jenny's life went on. Busy as always. Insane as ever. She watched and served cocktails as The Mirage lived up to its name as never before. And yet as ever before. On Monday, she connected Rosa from housekeeping with an immigration lawyer who owed her a favor (she had been the one to send him home before he completely gambled away his earnings for the month) to halt deportation hearings. One would think that the whole thing would have stopped on its own seeing as there was no real physical method by which one could be deported at the moment, but the City wasn't the only civic institution that kept going by its own rules. But even the Feds weren't willing to take on someone that was lawyered up. On Tuesday, management decided to add an extra 9:30 performance of<em>Show and Tell.</em>Maribeth's babysitter flaked out on her, so Jenny had to move around her hours and take care of her daughter as Mom pranced about on stage. Despite the cutoff in traffic to the city, shows up and down The Strip were playing to packed houses every night. On Wednesday, she managed to get the cake, gather the staff, and arrange an impromptu celebration for Peter's 30th birthday in the break room. She didn't know where anyone got the food any more, but the supermarkets were still full, and the buffets were as well stocked as ever. At least with pink icing. Come to think of it, the place still had water. And electricity.<br/><br/>Then came Thursday. She knew from the look on Candi's face that it couldn't be good news. "The whale in the high stakes room wants a Cosmopolitan. From you."<br/><br/>"Really?" Whales were the lifeblood of the city. But then again, they were also once the lifeblood of Mystic, Connecticut. Now Julia Roberts could barely eke out a living selling Pizza there. She tried to cash in a favor. She didn't usually - not for herself, but God... Whales... "Couldn't you do it? I mean the tips will probably be huge."<br/><br/>"Nope. He wanted you. He asked for you by... Well let's call it physical description."<br/><br/>Jenny answered with a sigh. "Thanks, Candi." As long as they kept gambling (and losing), Whales generally got what they wanted. She'd just have to remind the guy that this was Clark County - and it was Nye to the North that sold what he obviously really wanted.<br/><br/>On this, Jenny was wrong. Sure the guy wanted something, but not<em>that</em>. In fact, if she had known what he wanted, she'd have judged him insane. But of course,<em>insane</em>was precisely what the City was looking for at this point.<br/><br/>And for better or for worse, it was also looking for Jenny.