fandomhigh | Freelance Treasure Hunting, Monday, Period 5, Class #1

As the students arrived, they would probably notice a woman clad in form-fitting black leather perched on a picnic table, swinging her feet as she waited for them to arrive. Some students, if they had met her, might be shocked at the woman's resemblance to Aeryn Sun.

Not that Vala knew the girl's last name, but that wasn't the point.

"Good afternoon, class. My name is Vala Mal Doran and I'll be your instructor for this class. As you know, this class will be about how to make your living as an interdimensional space pirate."

"Now, the first question you may have is why you would want to be an interdimensional space pirate, er, treasure hunter, in the first place. Clearly, you have much to learn if this is your question--because first, it's about fun. There's excitement, and danger, and your adrenaline rushes, and it's a wonderful feeling to know that you have done your best at every step of the process, and that the money you hold in your hand at the end of the day has been if not precisely honestly earned...well, you still have it in your hand, so it hasn't been used as bribes or bail money, and that's always a bonus."

"But enough about me," she said, getting up and wandering around, "I want to know about you--your names, where you're from, how long it takes to get there, the most convenient travel route, and any valuable or mythical objects that, if you were from your universe, you would attempt to appropriate and sell. Also, if you know of any pitfalls to obtaining these objects, either mystical or legal, please feel free to elaborate."

"Don't be shy," she coaxed, after a minute, "Who would like to go first?"

[ooc: ~~Please wait for~~ OCD is up!]

[daughter of ooc: Going to run errands for a few hours, will pick up pings when I get back.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm Dean Winchester and I'm from Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence has....pretty much nothing of value. At least that's interesting. Although I've heard rumours that there's a gate to hell in a church cemetary nearby but I don't think that's the kind of thing you could sell..."

She shook her head, "Actually, you can always sell something. What's important is how you sell it. For instance, assuming this gate to hell is true--how would use that as a money making opportunity?"

Dean thought about it. "I suppose you could sell the knowledge of where it was to someone, but I don't know if that would be the smartest thing you could do. Generally people who want to know where a gate to hell is are the last people you want to have that knowledge."

"Have you considered selling fake maps of the area?" She suggested, pleased she actually had information to impart, "Or devising almost-but-not quite-foolproof kits for finding the gate?"

"I'd be worried some fool would manage to find it anyway," Dean said. "And then I'd have to deal with either stopping them or figuring out a way to close a gate to hell."

"Are there are many of those? Gates to hell, I mean? Maybe you could charge a toll..." she considered.

"Have you ever dealt with a demon?" Dean asked. "You don't want them open. Trust me."

"No, I haven't," she admitted, though now she was wondering if they were an untapped source of revenue.

"There's a hell of a lot easier ways to earn some money than dealing with hell gates," Dean said. "Hustling pool, credit card fraud... and you don't have to worry about the world ending."

Vala blinked. This was someone who had something to teach her. "Tell me about these...credit cards?"

"They're.... kinda like official promissary notes in a way," Dean said slowly, trying to think of how to explain credit cards to someone not from Earth. He pulled one out of his wallet to show her. "Companies will send you one if you have good credit -- a good track record of paying your debts. You can use it like money most places. Then the credit card company sends you a record of all the places you used it and how much you spent and you're supposed to pay them."

He paused and then went into what he was sure she really wanted to know. "The fraud part comes in when you get cards that aren't in your name and then don't pay the bills. They don't have your name and address -- because you always use a post office box -- so they can't track you down and make you pay. And when the card is maxed out, you just go on to another."

That was one of the best things she'd ever heard. "And these companies, they just keep letting you use their money?"

"Well they will cancel the cards eventually if you never pay," Dean explained. "But you can just get new ones in new names sent to new P.O boxes. They do keep track of purchases though so it always works best if you're on the the road and not using different fraudalent cards in the same places."

"So, for instance, this money could be used to finance a trip to another location?" Cairo was looking better and better, frankly.

"Yeah. We used to use them a lot when we were on the road."

"We?" She asked, trying to be polite, "And what penalties do you face if you're caught?"

"My Dad, brother and me. My family," Dean clarified. "If you get caught you can go to jail. Like most fraud and stuff."

"Hmmmm." Maybe this required more planning. Or at least an investigation of the prison system before she did anything.

"Not that Dad's ever got caught," Dean continued a little proudly.

"And how long has he been doing this?"

"Fifteen years, give or take?"

The person she really wanted to talk to was this boy's father, but maybe the son knew enough, "Would you please see me after class? I have an opportunity I'd like to discuss with you."

Freelance Treasure Hunting, Monday, Period 5, Class #1

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