09/04/2025 Snippet, BANSHEE BEACH.

Filling in the blanks continues!

…

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t get past the foyer of the Cochimi Ritz. They did send up a bellhop to knock on Banshee’s hotel door with only a minimum of snootiness. The concierge even lost some of the haughtiness when I made it clear I just didn’t care either way. He looked relieved, in fact, which I got. It kind of sucks to be ‘on’ all the time.

The bellhop returned in quick time to announce that “Administrator Wozniak” (I was mildly surprised at the title of nobility) would be descending shortly; it surprised the staff (but not me) to discover that Banshee was most non-aristocratically punctual. It surprised everybody when she gave the concierge a glare. “Was there a reason that Mr. Vargas is not allowed to knock on doors on his own?” she asked him.

I was impressed, honestly. She managed to make the man quaver even without having to threaten indiscriminate violence. “Ah, Dona, we endeavor not to let anyone pass into the guest spaces who is not vouched for,” he managed. “We do not make exceptions.”

“So there was a reason,” she nodded after a moment. “Understood.” The concierge relaxed. “But since I do vouch for Mr. Vargas, surely” (I wondered if I imagined the emphasis there) “such a rigmarole will not be necessary in the future?”

“It’s a foreign word,” I told the concierge as he looked at me in confusion, and I don’t know why, either. “Means ‘embrollo.’”