"Good lord. . ." Jessy moans. "They did it again. . .I guess they really want me to bankrupt the morons." Rupert takes the thick envelope and shakes his head as he reads everything. "They are fools."

"They expect they can just put the casino on a cruise ship and still make money hand over fist."

"Okay, I've heard of gambling cruises but why. . ."

"Once they're in international waters they're not bound by state gambling regulations." Joyce snorts.

"Exactly."

A couple weeks later Jessy gets off the plane in Los Angeles, the shuttle taking her to the dock again.

"How was the trip?" Horatio asks as she trudges to the car.

"A fucking photo op from the word go. It was luck of the draw whether or not you got the good stateroom. Which I didn't. They had photographers everywhere trying to get pictures of 'happy gamblers' and were stunned when a lawyer told them that just because you paid for their passage, it didn't mean you were allowed to take pictures of them."

"No, they have to sign releases."

"They tried claiming I signed a release but magically they couldn't find it. Or any of the other releases. Because they didn't exist. I wasn't the only one saying that if a release showed up in my name I'd be suing for fraud."

"Was anybody sick this time?"

"No thank god but they were heard whining about not making enough money. Especially after I killed them on the slot machines. They were expecting high rollers to drop ten thousand dollars a day on games and they didn't get it because people were outside by the pool, getting fresh air, eating. . .sleeping. . .doing everything but gambling 24/7."

"Did you deposit your winnings?"

"Yes, they were wailing about going broke as people were streaming off the boat. We paid their way, they were gonna sue because we didn't drop as much money as they wanted. I spent a whole five dollars on the slots the entire trip."

Joyce shakes her head as Jessy recounts the trip once she's at the House. Sorting through her mail she drops most of it in the recycling bin. "No, I don't need ten million credit cards or to buy a new car since mine is old." She drawls. The others snigger.

Jessy yawns as she strips her bed the next day, she'd slept poorly on the ship and had slept a solid ten hours after dinner. Joyce chukles as she looks in on her, helping her make the bed back up before she pushes the hamper to the laundry room.

"How are you coming on your business plan?"

"Good, I'm well on track to send everything to Mr. Sampson this fall. Any update on the construction?:

"The local papers and news shows are going to be writing and airing stories about it over the next few months, the government wants a big production of everything opening . . .they'd wanted it to be Christmas."

"Christ, the mall's not even half-finished. . .let alone got any stores." Jessy looks over her shoulder from putting the last of her laundry in the washing machine.

"Yep, calmer heads. . .not morons trying to frantically keep their cushy jobs in the government. . .prevailed. The bank and restaurant, warehouse store and possibly the megaplex will be open by Christmas. The mall. . .they hope by Labor Day next year."

"Hope is right. I don't see it opening for next Christmas."

"Amen. But maybe the multiplex will bring in more interest."

"Doubt it."

"If not the county can use it for shelter and supplies during hurricanes." Joyce says. Jessy grins as they walk out of her home.

Rupert and Oz get on a plane to California, his little facebook thing is growing by leaps and bounds and they're flying to California to talk to the people who want an operation in California. They're already outgrowing the operation in Florida, they purchased land to build a larger complex that will have a solar farm to supply most of their power needs.

The summer passes quickly, the fool woman who would not stop trying to tell people where to park at the mall was sentenced to six months in jail and had been forced to attend counseling. Her husband had put her out of the house and her kids didn't want anything to do with her for her stupid stunts and she's finally realizing that maybe she wasn't all that special and people could park wherever they damn well wanted when they went to the mall.

Jessy looks over the list of supplies a a truck pulls up to the sewing shops and she checks everything off as the others move it into the building. Several hours later she moves a couple items and nods in satisfaction.

"How are we on orders?" Rupert asks as she comes into the cafeteria for dinner.

"We got three people coming in to pick up outfits at the adult shop, we have five more being worked on, and eight appointments. We're getting people coming in now from beyond Miami."

Rupert nods in satisfaction.

"But I thought everything would be done by now." the moron who'd wanted everything by the house wails as he inspects the construction. The bank is the only building finished and will be opening in a few weeks. "Where are all the stores flocking to the area to get in on this?"

"Moron, we're in the middle of nowhere. . .nobody is going to come out here. The news shows are going to be advertising the mall and the local newspapers will do the same but you're going to have to realize even if you get stores, there's no saying they'll stay in business."

"But why not?" he wails.

"Because there won't be any customers moron." The head of the building crews has finally had enough and rounds on him. "If you'd bothered to fucking listen to people they would have told you this was a poor place for a mall. Nobody comes out this way, it's not in a major traffic area. . ."

"Bu. . ."

"Shut up moron," his boss bellows. "You were told it wouldn't work but you went ahead and did it anyway, now you know you fucking screwed up and still don't want to admit you were wrong."

"But I thought that people would flock to the area." He whines as he's shoved into a car.

"You're probably one of those fools who think that you're going to win the publishers clearinghouse prize too." The head of construction snorts.

"But I thought people would flock to the area." he howls until his boss snaps at him to shut the fuck up.

"Why would they flock to the area. . .because you said so? I don't think so. Not only are we on the hook for buying the land and construction, we've got to find them stores. And we've got to pay their costs for five years, including the employee wages. By then the mall should be functioning on it's own or we're paying damages for putting up this monstrosity."

"Nnnnnnoooooooo!" he wails.

"Yes, the courts were not happy with you trying to pass the buck onto them. They told you the damn thing wouldn't work."

"But I thought people would flock here." He wails again, then howls when he bites his tongue when his boss tells him to shut up. Again.

"What about using the mall as a stop for Greyhound. Or the local bus line. . .I'm sure people would love the opportunity to shop as they wait for the next bus." He runs into his boss's office a few days later.

"They change busses in big cities, not small towns." His boss snorts. "They have one bus that goes through daily and it wouldn't go out there."

"What about putting up an advertisement on the expressway for the mall?"

"We'd already planned that. They're also putting up billboards to direct people to the mall since it's a little out of the way. But they gotta have stores there first."

"Is that moron still wailing about there being no stores flocking to the area to be in his mall." Another government employee asks a couple weeks later.

"YYYYeeeessssss." his superior says in disgust. "Now the fucker wants to advertise the mall at the Miami Airport."

"Nobody's going to want to drive from Miami to a mall .. ."

"An hour away on the interstate."

"They drive to Miami to shop, not the other way around."

"Exactly, moron thought a handful of stores in the area meant he could put up anything in the area and now he realizes he fucked up. Not only are we responsible for the mall, we're responsible for the bank they didn't want. . .moron bleated that didn't the people who work at the power plant and commercial farm need a bank. They told them that they could drive ten minutes into town and go to the bank. But that wasn't good enough for him."

"Oh jeez, he is a fucking moron."

"Oh yes, so not only do they have a mall, they have the bank, a restaurant, a warehouse store, and a megaplex we're responsible for. Because of his stupidity. The bosses are reaming him out and he's finally realized he's not all that. He's afraid he's going to lose his job but he's not getting off that easy."

"No, they'll be making an example of him for decades."

In early August Jessy, Cordelia, and Xander head into Miami to get their books, Jessy and Xander dropping off their business plans in the box at Mr. Sampson's office. He's currently out of town but had told them that was okay. Cordy's beginning to get different books than them and they look them over back at the house after they've picked up their supplies at the college and the university center.

Jessy looks over the footage of the new buildings on facebook once it's put up, shaking her head. She can't believe they got everything done so quickly. In turn they're moaning about the construction going up that she had taped coming back from the school in Miami.

"Yes," Jessy says on the phone to her ear as she walks into the main house. "My boss told him that there wouldn't be any business but of course he knew best. With the commercial farm and power plant out here didn't they need a bank? He didn't want to hear that they could drive ten minutes down the road and go to the bank. We needed a bank . . .and once we had the bank didn't we need a mall, a warehouse store, a restaurant, and a multiplex? Moron's frantically trying to get stores in the mall and not getting any bites. The bank is the only one open yet and they're not getting the business from the employees, they're still driving ten minutes and using the bank in town."

Guffaws on the other end of the line. "He's stunned they won't use the bank. . .he's gonna sue." Derisive hoots of laughter and catcalls. "Yes, he's not going to get any satisfaction there. Moron wanted everything to be open by Christmas, he was stunned that he can't just magically wave his pissing wand and have everything the way he wants it." Rupert sighs as the women on the other end of the phone cackle.

"We told him the employees would just drive into town. . .most of them live there." Jenny says dryly.

"Oh please, who are we to tell him the truth? He's full of his own self-importance and only when like this happens will the moron realize he's stupid and should have listened to people who know what they're doing."

"But how could they have been right?" he whines in DC. "They've got to be forcing the employees not to. . ."

"Shut up asswipe, nobody's keeping the employees from using your precious bank. You were told the bank wouldn't get any business, that they could drive ten minutes into town and use the bank there."

"But they should have wanted to use my bank." He whines. "Can we build a retirement community out there? That way we have a captive audience."

"No, we're not putting up a retirement community out there." his boss says dryly. "We don't need more buildings sitting empty. Have you got any interest in the mall yet?"

"Noooo," he wails. He's complained that people had to be hiding the interest in the mall from him but he'd sent out more information and got no responses.

"Any news on when the restaurant is going to open?" One of the cooks asks a few nights later.

"Not until the grand opening for the megaplex. Nobody's going to come out otherwise. That's supposed to be in a couple weeks."

The new semester starts and Jessy and Xander are called in to talk to one of Mr. Sampson's class about the absurdity of putting up all those businesses off the main track. The latest pictures of the mall construction are put up on the screen.

"And he wanted it open for Christmas?" One of the students shakes her head.

"Yes, and he's still trying to get stores interested. I expect to see some interest once the megaplex opens."

Jessy shakes her head at all the live coverage on the tv the day the megaplex is supposed to open. The government is still frantically trying to pull their nuts from the fire and mucking it up as usual. Rupert snickers behind her as he walks into the cafeteria. "Not going to try to be one of the first hundred people there to get a free ticket?" Since they technically own the megaplex, they've got passes to get them in any movie free.

"Please god, don't start the damn midnight showings." Cordelia mutters as she walks into the cafeteria. Why had she started a business degree? Oh yeah, Rupert insisted.

"Why the hell didn't they wait until Friday night when people are off?"

"Because that would make sense?" One of the cooks snorts. "This way they have to find a sitter for their kids or attend a movie they can watch."

"Are you going into Miami?"

"Tomorrow." Jessy says. "Fucking mall's going to mean traffic in the area."

"We had to expect it, thankfully they're not directly on our road."

They drive off the next morning, seeing the 'grand opening' banners flapping in the breeze as they look towards the megaplex.

In Miami their first stop is the comic book store and Jessy snickers as she sees another flyer for the mall. "They're trying." The manager says.

"Oh yes, he's trying not to lose his cushy government job. He's whining because nobody's using the magnificent bank he put up, we told him that they'd just drive ten minutes into town. . .because they live there or it's on the way to their homes."

The manager nods. "Did you go to the magnificent grand opening of the megaplex they've been talking about on the news?"

"Fuuuuccccckkkkk no." Jessy shudders. "I'm not one for movies at theaters anyway and there was not way in hell I'd go somewhere on an opening day. Even out in the boondocks where we live. Especially after all the fucking hoopla on the news. Which is just going to get worse the closer to the mall being completed we get."

"So do you own the megaplex like you do the mall?"

"Yeah, everything but the bank. We own the land and they're paying us rent." Andrew says absently. "Or rather the government is paying their rent for five years. They're still praying for a miracle that will pull their fat ass out of the fire. Because if the businesses fail and we can't find a use for them. . .they gotta return everything to the way it was. So it's in their best damn interest to make sure this colossal mistake turns out well."

"Because god forbid they listened to people who knew what they were doing in the first place."

"Amen."

The bookstore owner smiles as he sees them walk in and start shopping. Andrew sniggers as Jessy walks to one of the chain stores like she's facing a firing squad but grabs a second cart, he probably should get some clothes of his own.

Many hours later they pass the megaplex on the way home, finding employees had picked up the debris left over from the banners and whatnot. There's a few cars in the restaurant with more cars in the multiplex parking lot.

"Maybe this won't be a fucking disaster after all." Jessy mutters as they drive past the construction and pull off onto their road.

"Your mouth to everybody's ears." Andrew mutters. "But if they get enough customers the traffic will be hell."

"They're putting in a traffic light here and we'll have a straight lane past the mess."

"How much land do we own?"

"With this newest purchase we go up nearly to the town limits. If I remember the map right the corner just before we reach town is the very end of our land. Not counting what we brought in town."

Andrew nods, the crews had been working on the houses all summer and true to form with the worst houses in the area well on the way to being the best houses the other homeowners were painting at the very least. Eric's father said that he had a dozen projects lined up for his people once they were done with the houses.

"Is Rupert still flipping houses in Miami?"

"Yep, he's got Wesley going to a foreclosure auction next week. Some of the houses are in pretty bad shape, but some they just got in over their heads with either buying more house than they could afford or the damn bad loans everybody talked about."

"Well yeah, that one show showed a house that had mortgages that was nearly twenty-five grand a month."

"Yeah, I remember when I thought six thousand a month mortgage was bad."