<hr/><div class="floatleft">(http://gunsofold.com/marshal_badge_silver_balltip.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Date:</strong>January 9th, 1874<br/><strong>Time of Day:</strong>Evening<br/><strong>Location:</strong>The Back Room<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Sloane<br/><hr/><div class="floatright">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d1/Mrlee.png)</div><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/0/0b/Msgreene.png)</div>Whiskey Nick flipped the bottle up from behind the bar, sliding it confidently down the wooden bar; he seemed assured a fellow bartender would get a hold of it before heading off to the private room, then casually lit his pipe while turning back to the other quiet customers in his saloon.<br/><br/>Lee's friendly smile was as much a mask of inscrutability as the taciturn looks most Chinamen seemed to adopt out of habit, or the stone-faced impassivity so common amongst the Indians tribes throughout the Maze.  He seemed either not to notice or acknowledge the subtle hostility in Sloane's demeanor, but Greene simply responded with a brilliant, patently artificial smile at Sloane's brusque greetings.  Miss Greene had two very different reputations in the city – in the wealthier districts of Gomorra, she was known to be an upstanding socialite, her only mar on her reputation her business ownership and the brothel that bore her name.  But her reputation among the business community was far different – a savvy negotiator, a woman very much the equal of any man for keen business dealings.  Rumors circulated about where she'd acquired her startup capital, and if Miss Greene had once been a whore herself, though few suggested it to her face.<br/><br/>She did smile with a bit less practiced ease and a bite mor genuine amusement when he mentioned the Indian import.  “I had not taken you for a man of rarefied tests, Mr. Sloane.”  Her eyes flashed with amusement, but she poured the tea, standing to lift the saucer and cup across the table.  She fixed her long skirts and then settled back down, giving a permissive smile as Sloane inquired into the intrusion.<br/><br/>“A... number of reasons,” she said.  “We share a common industry, and also seem to have a certain desire to retain our independence that the other brothel owners here in town seem less concerned for.”  Her smile was lighter, and she sipped at her tea, regarding Lee and Sloane over the brim of the teacup.  She set it back down, letting the china clink.  “And we all know there are powerful interests not much interested in us maintaining our independence.”  She reached into a small handbag, extracting a collection of folded papers.  “I've taken a look at just extensive Sweetrock's holdings have become.  Even I was a bit surprised to find they'd acquired half the mines around Gomorra.”<br/><br/>“Half?”  Even Lee looked a little surprised by that, opening the papers, mining records from the assayer's office, and no doubt assumed to be confidential.  “How much...”<br/><br/>Greene frowned slightly.  “Exact figures are impossible.  Most of their mines belonged to other miners, so I can get a good sense of how much earned previous to new management.  Then there's only broad strokes estimates as to how much the various subordinates are earning in bribes and wages.  But...”  She tilted her head.  “A conservative estimate is around fifteen thousand dollars.  A day.”