[b][ROBBY][/b] 

"Thank you for coming, ma'am. Be enjoying your stay at the Black Tree! ... Next!" 

The old lady - she was definitely a 'white zone' guest...what would someone like her even [i]do[/i] in a grey, red or black zone?  -  tottered off, probably to wait for the shuttle to the main hotel.  

Robby watched his next group anxiously huddling together, the two parents and two cubs - it was [i]'kids'[/i], humans didn't like it when you called their young 'cubs' - all trying to get through the scanner at once. His computer pinged with all four IDs and guest passes, so whatever. 

He was done after this lot, anyway. Hopefully. Done with his shift and free to enjoy the perks that came with being a Black Tree employee at their flagship resort...in another half hour. Any stretching the group along he could do would be great. So, he let them bunch up at the scanner, then held a paw up, "Please, one at a time." 

The family backed out, then the cubs - [i]kids[/i] - were sent through first. 

〔 Jasper Kingson 〕
〔 ˈʤæs.pəɹ 〕
〔 13 / M / HH 〕
〔 Guest? - y 〕
〔 Access? - AHDM 〕 

〔 Oliver Kingson 〕
〔 ˈɑl.ɪ.vɘɹ 〕
〔 10 / M / HH 〕
〔 Guest?  - y 〕
〔 Access? - AHDM 〕 

The boys were average - brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian skin. Jasper was a hand taller than his brother, though neither was likely to be the tallest boy in their grade. The whole family had a vaguely European look. 

Next, the parents, who were his real targets. Robby's job was twofold - a) make sure everyone was who their ticket claimed, and b) upsell as much of the resort as the guest could handle. More than, actually. Science said that humans and Anthros alike could easily be overwhelmed when presented with too many options. By throwing the whole resort at them, first thing... well, more often than not it worked to get them to pay more for an upgrade. 

He had to be judicious, though. Old lady who just left? Let her enjoy her sun and sand and free booze. She didn't want or need what other 'amenities' the Black Tree offered. This lot? Normally, Robby would say the same as for the old crone. But, today, he felt like it'd be amusing to see if he could swindle the parents into buying a 'Midnight' upgrade. Once they learned what that really meant, it'd be too late to get their money back, and the resort was known to have...disappearances. 

Officially, the disappearances were the result of unhappy local Puerto Rican gangsters, who resented the Black Tree for monopolizing the illegal drug smuggling trade, the illegal arms trade, human/Anthro trafficking (both legal and not), prostitution... basically for being the "Wallsmart" of the criminal underground. Driving poor, struggling, mom-and-pop criminals out of work. Anyways, the point was that if he could play it just right, he'd get the dad to upgrade to a Midnight stay, and the Black District would eat them all alive. 

Possibly literally. 

〔 Charles Kingson 〕
〔 ʧɑɹlz 〕
〔 36 / M / HH 〕
〔 Guest? - y 〕
〔 Access? - AH ; MORNING 〕 

〔 ACCOUNTS MGR, PRAETOR ARMS CO. 〕
〔 EURUSSIA DISTRICT 〕
〔 @FOR - PRAETOR DISTRICT LDR SUMMIT 〕 

〔 Raya Kingson 〕
〔 ˈɹeɪ.jɑ 〕
〔 33 / F / HH 〕
〔 Guest? - y 〕
〔 Access? - AHG ; MORNING 〕 

〔 LEAD ENGINEER - RIFLES,  Wk HŐLZCHEN GmbH 〕
〔 @FOR - GUEST OF KINGSON, CHARLES 〕 

〔 NOTICE : SCANNER DETECTED THAT SUBJECT MAY BE ARMED 〕 

〔 NOTICE : SUBJECT MARKED AS A VIP OF WK HŐLZCHEN. 〕
〔 RESORT SECURITY MUST ACCOUNT FOR SUBJECT'S WHEREABOUTS AT ALL TIMES. 〕 

Ah, fuck. That soured things. If the bitch 'disappeared', Hölzchen might stop cooperating with Black Tree. If [i]that[/i] happened, [i]Robby[/i] might 'disappear'. But she had a gun, at least. As long as she had ammo...well, rumor was that even the lowest-level Hölzchen employee had to demonstrate elite-level mastery of every single gun in Hölzchen's lineup, [i]before[/i] getting hired. She'd probably do better than her husband, and [i]his[/i] company were literally mercenaries. 

To buy himself time to think on his approach, Robby made as if browsing through the scan results. 

First, something to break the ice, "Praetor and Hölzchen in bed together!? How did you two survive the scandal?" 

The woman, Raya, laughed, "He wasn't always a Praetor. Used to work in my shop, running errands and such while he made his way to his Master's degree. Then, ironically, it was those slobbering mercs at Praetor who snapped him up right out of college. By that time, we were already engaged, so they couldn't touch us." 

Robby forced a 'polite' smile - one that didn't show teeth - and gestured to Mr. Kingson, "And yet you let him drag you around to his business meetings? Well, this time it might not be so bad, eh? Please, both of you, have a seat. We've just a few things to clear up before you catch your shuttle to your hotel." 

There were only two seats, so the two kids were left to mill around behind their parents. Once the adults were settled, he passed them each a 'Morning' brochure, "In these brochures, you'll find information about all the amenities and attractions that your pass level grants you. If you'll look at the map on the first page, you'll see all the areas you have access to with the 'Morning' package." 

He purposefully traced his finger around the White zone on the map, 'inadvertently' emphasizing how much of the resort actually was [i]not[/i] accessible with the 'Morning' package. 

Jasper was the first to pick up on it, looking over his mother's shoulder, "What about all those grayed-out areas?" 

"Higher package tiers have more access to the full resort, and more services. They also cost more, and the highest two tiers require waivers and nondisclosure agreements to be signed." 

Monkey Psychology 101 - tell 'em they can't have it, or that it's exclusive --> they'll want it even if they didn't before. Hook, set. 

"You're actually in a good position for an upgrade, sir, if you don't mind me saying. Your company has already paid for a "Morning" package, which means you'd only have to pay the upgrade fee - significantly cheaper than if you were to buy the higher package outright. After that, the only question is to which tier do you want to upgrade?" 

Line, set. 

"Why do the highest tiers need...waivers?" Mr. Kingson asked. Oh yeah. But don't reel it in too soon. Wait, be patient. 

"Well, because the red and black districts are...hmm, let's say 'lawless', and put it nicely. Those districts...well, they cater to a very [i]exclusive[/i] clientele, for whom money is no object and for whom ordinary pleasures aren't enough to sate their  ...cravings. The lack of any regulation in those districts requires us to have guests sign waivers to enter them. And the exclusive clientele wouldn't be signing up if every gossipy tourist could talk about who did what to whom - it's for their protection that you need an NDA." 

There. Perfect. He didn't exactly lie, just downplayed everything. And the man seemed intrigued. 

"So...what are these other tiers, and what all do they get us?" 

Reel it in. 

"Well, first there's your own tier - Morning. Gets full access to the beaches and shopping areas, as well as a stay in the exravagant [i]Vermillion Pearl[/i] hotel. This is the most basic tier. Next is Noon - which allows access to all the 'Morning' areas, plus these zones here and here. You get exclusive VIP treatment at all our vendors and restaurants, and there are attractions exclusive to that tier. Your stay with this package would also be at the [i]Pearl[/i] but your rooms there would be the more luxurious ones on offer. Last, there's the Evening package. This gives you access to all those other areas, plus here, the Red District, which requires a waiver. The Red District is where you'll find more...adult... entertainments. The Evening package comes with your [i]choice[/i] of either the [i]Pearl[/i] or one of the three exclusive hotels of the Red District." 

"You'd said there were [i]two[/i] packages that require the extra paperwork...what's the other one?" 

Robby made a face as though realizing he'd said too much, then said, "Well, I'm not supposed to have mentioned that, but since I did, I'll tell you... there's one more package,  Midnight,  that gives you access to the full resort, including the utterly lawless Black District. It's usually reserved for our most select clientele - VIPs of VIPs, you understand." 

"How much?" The father asked. 

"Since you already have a Morning package? $16,970. Your sons are not normally eligible for full access to the Red, but a Midnight package overrides that, so I'd keep a nose - I mean, keep an [i]eye[/i] on them. Also, the Midnight package grants you a stay at any of the hotels in the resort. It may be easier - considering your summit, Mr. Kingson - to keep your current accommodations at the [i]Pearl[/i], however. Just to confirm - you would like me to upgrade you to the Midnight package?" 

"Do it, Dad!" The younger boy urged, "You said this place is super-exclusive already, and you're gonna turn down an [i]all access pass[/i]?" 

The youngest urging the father to get this package was such tragically delicious irony. Robby kept a straight muzzle, though, and merely raised a finger, "I'd like to be clear - 'Staff Only' areas are still off-limits. For the record." 

"Can you take a wire transfer?" 

[b]<〔 [color=green] 14 : 20 [/color] 〕>[/b] 

'Fish' : caught. And he had ten minutes to spare to get the paperwork out of the way and this innocent family off to either an amazing vacation or their tragic deaths. Robby didn't care in the least either way - ten more [i]fucking[/i] minutes...