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You, of course, strongly suspect that the mystical talk from yesterday was just a foil. You are equally interested in his business dealings as you are in his talks with Avrami mystics and street magicians, and the former probably has infinitely more practical use to you. Alejandro has a flare for the dramatic, but he is a very shrewd businessman; he would not be openly uncovering his secrets, but rather keep his enemies - and, presumably, friends, too - guessing. What is more probable - that a merchant actually found a way to manufacture gold, or that he is using that talk to divert attention from the real source of his wealth?
And also, your mission - to secure a despatch of some vague description that not even Newt knows more about - is simply too ill-defined. Perhaps if Alejandro talked a bit about where he travelled and traded, that might help you learn some more.
It may put Alejandro on the spot to talk about it directly. Perhaps it's even something illegal. It matters little, because you will enjoy prodding him into talking about it regardless. You wouldn't even like to have him spill all the secrets here, in public. Information's worth is inversely proportional to the number of people who know it. The most preferable scenario is to talk about it just enough to open up the conversation for the rest of the evening, then leave everyone else guessing, and then to extract the real information later, when you are alone. You think you know just how you might achieve it. Get him to drink a bit, innocently sit next to him, put your hand on his chest while admiring just what a big, smart man he is--
-- let's just say that, by the end of the evening, it will be a miracle if you don't walk out of there with the despatch in hand, gladly surrendered to you.
You stand and raise your glass.
