by Duval Alex
As quietly as he could – fortunately loafers were good for stealth – Jason moved toward the nearest workstation. He snagged a heavy flashlight, just because he felt a little better with something weapon-like in his hand, as he circled around the hub. The flickering images on the screens kept tugging at his attention, making him feel like someone was moving up alongside him.
He froze as he heard a murmuring voice. None of the monitors he’d passed had had the sound on. Jason listened hard. The voice was coming from around the next corner.
‘He has a seven of hearts and a jack of diamonds. You’re fine,’ it said. The speaker had an accent. A French accent.
Got him, Jason thought. The speaker had to be Marc’s partner.
In one fast move, Jason snapped his body around the corner. A beefy man wearing a headset with a small microphone leapt to his feet, but before he could get out a word of warning into the mic, Jason slammed the flashlight down on his head.
The man slumped back into his chair, chin resting on his chest. Jason pulled the guy’s headset off and held it up so Adam could see it. Adam pointed to a monitor near the center of the bank. It showed Zach’s arm – Jason recognized the onyx cufflinks – and his cards. Right now, they were flat against the table, but as soon as he raised them slightly to take a look, the camera would show his hand.
Jason clicked off the headset. He checked the one side of the hub he hadn’t seen. ‘He’s the only one in here,’ Jason told Adam.
‘I wish I’d brought the counterfeit cash,’ Adam said. ‘I could have stuffed it in our French friend’s pockets. I think he deserves a nice, long jail sentence.’
‘Oh, man. Look at Marc squirm.’ Jason pointed to a monitor filled with Marc’s face. The close-up was so tight, he could see the tiny droplets of perspiration that had begun to form on Marc’s forehead.
‘Is he wearing eyeliner?’ Adam demanded.
‘The right beauty products aren’t going to be able to save him now,’ Jason answered. ‘Zach just won the hand.’ He and Adam high-fived again. Because, again, it was essential.
‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ Adam asked, letting his hand fall to his side. ‘You look like you remembered there’s no Santa or something. You did already know that, right, about Santa? I didn’t spoil anything?’
‘What I just remembered is that Marc is scum,’ Jason said. ‘What I just remembered is that he’s a cheating piece of crap.’
‘OK, I’m with you. That’s why we’re here. That’s why you just went all Joe-Pesci-in-Goodfellas on his accomplice over there,’ Adam answered.
‘But what was the point?’ Jason burst out. ‘Marc’s lying, cheating scum. That means even if Zach beats him – which he will now that we’ve evened the odds again – Marc’s not going to just walk away from Paige. And he’s not going to release Sienna as long as he thinks that keeping her hostage will make Paige do what he wants.’
‘Not a problem,’ Adam said, a grin spreading over his face.
‘Were you listening?’ Jason demanded.
‘Uh-huh. But I was also watching a little TV. I’m a good multi-tasker,’ Adam answered. ‘Check out what’s on over here.’ He tapped the monitor three to the left of the one showing Marc’s big head.
Jason sighed – he didn’t have time for Adam’s goofiness right now – but he turned to look at the screen, and took a deep breath for what felt like the first time all day, because there was Sienna. She was sitting in the casino vault, picking at her nail polish. She looked bored out of her skull, but completely unharmed.
‘You found her! We can go break her out!’ Jason cried. Then he stopped, realizing that there was a problem. ‘Yeah, let’s go break her out … of the vault of one of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas!’
Adam raised his eyebrows. ‘Yeah. We’re about’ – he did some quick counting on his fingers – ‘two short.’
‘Huh?’ Jason said.
‘It takes eleven to break into a casino vault. Maybe more since they had George Clooney and Brad Pitt,’ Adam explained. ‘Of course, we have vampires, so maybe eleven would do it. Except you and I aren’t vampires. Although, as you might remember, I do have the very heroic chin, and you have managed some minor feats of heroism in your time as well.’
‘The only way Sienna’s getting out is if Marc lets her out,’ Jason said thoughtfully, as he stared at the monitor showing his girlfriend. ‘And he’s definitely not going to do that if he loses, which we’ve just pretty much guaranteed he will.’
‘Yeah, he just lost another hand,’ Adam agreed. ‘He’s hurting without his inside man.’
Jason knew that if Marc lost, he’d need Sienna as a bargaining chip more than ever. He racked his brains, trying to find a way to outwit Marc. He felt like a hamster on a wheel. No more options. No place to turn.
‘Wait,’ Jason said, an idea hitting him. ‘Wait. What if Marc wins?’
‘Isn’t that what we’re in here trying to stop?’ Adam asked.
‘Yeah, but right now, I think our only shot is for Zach to throw the game and lose,’ Jason told him. ‘If Marc wins, he’ll let Sienna out. That’s the only way he will let Sienna out. Then we just have to come up with a plan to keep Paige from having to fly off to Paris with him.’
‘You mean, a plan to keep Paige from having to fly off to Paris with the psycho murderer who travels with a pack of bodyguards?’ Adam asked meaningfully.
‘Yeah,’ Jason agreed. ‘So we need to work fast.’
Seventeen
‘LOOKS LIKE MARC just called for a break. At least I figure it was him. He must badly want a break right now, and all the players are getting up from the table,’ Adam commented. ‘Is this a good thing or a bad thing in our must-work-fast plan? By the way, I don’t actually know what the plan is.’
‘I don’t either, not exactly,’ Jason admitted. ‘For now, just go tell the others what the deal is. Especially Zach. Tell him that when the game starts back up, he needs to start losing.’
‘Got it. What are you going to do?’ Adam asked.
‘Stay here and try to think up the next part of the plan,’ Jason said.
Adam gave Jason a salute and hurried out of the security hub. Jason locked the door behind him; he didn’t need any surprises right now.
But he got one almost right away: Marc’s voice coming through one of the speakers. ‘Philippe, what the hell? I told you not to take the headset off for anything!’
Jason shot a glance at the unconscious guy – Philippe, obviously. Still out. Good. He put on the headset, switched it on and mumbled, ‘Tech glitch, sorry,’ trying for a French accent. He hoped the mumble, the brief message, and the accent would keep Marc from realizing that someone new was on headset duty.
‘It had better not happen again!’ Marc snapped. ‘We’re on a fifteen minute break. We, not you. The headset stays on.’
Jason grunted in response, which seemed to satisfy Marc. He checked the monitors and found one that showed Adam talking to Zach and the rest of the group up at their table in the gallery. Zach nodded his head, like he was agreeing to the plan. All good, so far.
But Paige … Paige looked like she was approaching meltdown. Why wouldn’t she be? The thought of being on an airplane with Marc in a few hours—
Wait. Airplane. Airplane meant airport. That was it! He’d just come up with the second part of the plan. At least, there was a possibility it could work, which was better than what they had now, which was nothing.
Jason started for the door, then hesitated. He’d given Philippe a good whack with the flashlight, but the guy wasn’t going to stay out forever. Duct tape, he decided. A place like this should have duct tape around. Every place should. It’s an essential item.
He started to search the workstations, and noticed some cables had been duct-taped together. He was right. There had to be a roll of duct tape someplace. He found it in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet, and used nearly all of it in binding Philippe’s hands together behind him, and taping his feet t
o the legs of the chair. That would slow him down.
Jason hesitated again. He’d done a decent job with the restraints, but … He pulled off Philippe’s tie. Good thing all the Bonheur employees dressed so nice, and that Philippe was trying to blend. He wrapped it round Philippe’s head, covering over his mouth.
‘Could have been worse, guy,’ he said to the still-unconscious Philippe. ‘I could have used one of your socks.’
He patted his jacket pocket to make sure he still had the key card for the security room, then hurried out and back through the maze of corridors that led to the public part of the casino. He almost ran into the cleaning guy. ‘Night, Charles,’ he said, remembering his name from the tag on his jacket.
‘Night … sir,’ he answered.
Jason rushed directly to the private poker room and up to the gallery. ‘Let’s go outside a minute. For an update,’ he told Zach and the others. He didn’t wait for an answer, just turned around and made for the door.
‘I think I have a plan,’ he said when the group was assembled out in the hall.
‘We heard the first part of the plan from Adam,’ Belle said. ‘Make Zach lose a quarter of a million dollars. And let Marc think he can take Paige to Paris.’
Adam winced. ‘That’s not exactly how I put it.’
‘Close enough,’ Jason said. He shoved his fingers through his hair. ‘I know it sounds stupid. And there probably is a better plan, if we had time to come up with one, but I think it can work. I think it can save Sienna and Paige.’
Zach chopped one hand through the air. ‘Get to it. What’s the rest?’
‘I’m going to need Adam’s counterfeit money.’ Jason looked at his friend.
‘It’s yours. It’s a lot to ask, yes. But I will sacrifice the phony money – that could get me thrown in jail or disowned – to your plan,’ Adam answered solemnly.
‘We also need Marc’s suitcases. I’m sure he has them packed and ready to go to the airport,’ Jason went on. ‘Any bright ideas on how to get them?’
‘I’ve got one,’ Belle announced. At least the voice was Belle’s. Her short blond hair had darkened and lengthened. Her face and body had grown rounder. Her nose tilted up a little, and her lips were a bit thinner. She smiled. ‘I’m sure that I, Ms High-powered Hotel Manager, can get into any room I wish.’
‘Genius!’ Erin told her. ‘You look just like her.’
‘Of course, I don’t carry bags. I’m much too important for that. I’ll need bell boys,’ Belle declared. She pointed to Brad and Van Dyke.
‘You can just snap your fingers at any bellboy,’ Van Dyke protested.
‘I look a lot like Ms Mayer, but I’m not an exact match,’ Belle told him. ‘I don’t want anyone who really knows her to get too good a look. Besides, I want to see you two in those cute little bell boy suits. Hey, Belle and the Bell Boys. Keep the suits and we’ll start a band.’
‘I’d pay to see that group,’ Maggie said, giving Van Dyke’s butt a pinch. ‘The pants on those uniforms are tight.’
‘Mmm-hmmm,’ Erin agreed.
‘This is humiliating,’ Brad muttered.
‘You love it,’ Belle told him. ‘You wouldn’t spend so much time working on your muscles if you didn’t want to get looked at.’
‘Now, that’s true,’ Adam said. ‘I don’t do the exercise thing, because I’m shy. I know that the ladies would not be able to stop staring at my body if I worked out, and that would make me feel so, so uncomfortable.’
‘Do it,’ Zach told Brad and Van Dyke.
And that was that. Although Van Dyke did say, ‘I work on my body because athletics are an important part of being a well-rounded, healthy person,’ as Belle led him and Brad away in search of uniforms.
Jason strode after them. ‘Meet me back in the security hub when you get the suitcases. It’s through that door. The code is 060681.’ He quickly ran down the turns they’d need to take to reach the hub. ‘There are a few people working back there. A couple in offices and a cleaning guy. Be careful,’ he added.
‘We will,’ Belle promised him. ‘See you later.’
Jason returned to the group.
‘I’m heading back to our hotel to get my bag of dirty cash,’ Adam said.
‘Meet me back at the hub. I’ll be going over there in a few,’ Jason replied.
‘Adam, out,’ Adam said as he moved off.
‘So what’s my mission this time?’ Erin asked.
‘I need you and Paige and Maggie to go back to the table in the gallery,’ Jason told her. ‘Marc will get suspicious if he notices we’ve all disappeared. And he’ll go nuclear if Paige goes missing.’
‘Unlike the boys in their uniforms, Marc losing it is not something I want to see,’ Maggie said. ‘Let’s get back inside.’
Paige nodded, looking a little dazed, as the three girls started for the private room.
‘I need to get back, too,’ Zach said. ‘The break’s about over.’ He didn’t move. Just looked at Jason. ‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing?’ he asked finally.
Jason shrugged. ‘It’s the only thing I can think of,’ he admitted.
Zach gave a short bark of laugher. ‘At least you’ve managed to get out of some tight spots before. You have a decent track record.’ He nodded at Jason, then disappeared through the brocade door.
Hope my record holds, Jason thought. He reentered the staff area and made it back to the security hub without being sighted. It was a start.
He did a Philippe check. Was he in a slightly different position than when Jason left? His chair seemed to be further to the left. Jason noticed that there were grooves in the carpet.
He snatched up the flashlight and held it over Philippe’s head. Philippe’s eyes snapped open. Knew you were faking, Jason thought.
Philippe shook his head, pleading.
‘Sorry, guy,’ Jason said, bringing the flashlight down with a thunk, ‘but I need some privacy here.’ He did remove the tie, though. Jason wanted to make sure Philippe could get enough oxygen.
Jason sat down in one of the empty chairs and checked the monitors. The players were returning to the table. He pulled on the headset and made sure the mic was live, then he gave a little cough so Marc would know his cheat system was operational.
He checked Paige. She still wasn’t looking great, but Maggie and Erin were clearly doing all they could to get her through.
Jason cracked his neck as the dealer whipped out the hole cards. He’d fooled Marc into believing he was Philippe once, when he’d spoken about three words. Was he going to be able to pull it off again?
‘Ten spades, seven hearts for Zach,’ he said, with his phony French accent, as he watched Zach check his cards on the monitor. ‘Ajax for the woman,’ he added, warning Marc of Sexy Actress’s ace/jack combo. He’d noticed that some of the screens showed the other players’ hands too.
Marc didn’t seem to notice anything wrong. He didn’t even seem to have noticed that some of the Malibu group had vanished. Paige was probably all he cared about.
On the other hand, Jason thought, Marc was a poker player. His poker face could just be that good.
Jason talked him through winning that hand and avoiding defeat on the next one, then got him started on another hand. Then he decided he had time to check the other monitors to see how the rest of the plan was coming along. Marc wouldn’t be expecting more help right away.
Jason walked around the corner to the next bank of monitors, his eyes darting back and forth as he scanned them. OK, yeah, there was Adam coming back into the casino with his backpack of funny money. Perfect.
Through the headset, Jason heard Marc expel a loud breath. Maybe he needed advice faster than Jason had thought he would. Jason circled to the monitors that showed the game.
‘The turn gave white suit three of a kind,’ he said, then he moved to a different wall of monitors and searched for Belle. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling when he spotted her striding through the hotel lobby w
ith Brad and Van Dyke scurrying behind her, loaded down with luggage.
Jason flicked off the headset, pulled out his cell and hit speed dial four.
‘Whassup?’ Adam responded.
‘Belle and her boys have the suitcases. They should be at the staff-only door in two,’ Jason told him. ‘Wait for them, OK? I gave them directions, but the hallways are confusing. Actually, call me before you go in. It’s pretty empty in here still, but the cleaning guy is around, and some executive type is making microwave popcorn in the kitchen.’
‘Got it. Adam, out.’ He hung up.
Jason flicked the headset back on, and checked the monitors showing the game. Zach and Marc were heading into a showdown for the pot. Zach was about to lose. Excellent. Everything was coming together. For now, anyway.
Other Tuxedo Guy’s chips are really getting low, Jason thought as he waited for Marc’s inevitable win. He’s not going to last much longer. Sexy Actress wasn’t doing badly, while Yakamoto had turned into some kind of a maniac, making all sorts of wild bets. It wasn’t working out entirely badly for him, though. Too Much Bling was looking nervous.
Jason’s cell rang. It was Adam. Jason flicked off his mic, then picked up the phone. ‘You ready to come in?’ he asked.
‘If you’re ready for us,’ Adam replied.
Jason found the TV screens that showed the staff-only section of the Bonheur. ‘Right, the exec is making another bag of popcorn. He burned the first one. The woman in the suit is still in her office, door almost closed. And the cleaning guy is in the big conference room. That’s everybody.’
As Jason watched, Adam, Belle, Van Dyke, and Brad came through the door. Jason did a quick check of all the other people in the staff area. None of them seemed curious about who was coming in.
The game! Jason remembered suddenly. He put down the phone, flicked on the mic, and moved back around the corner to the bank of monitors showing the private poker room. The hole cards had just been dealt. Yakamoto was flying American Airlines.
‘Pair of aces, to your left,’ Jason told Marc. It couldn’t have made him happy. He was holding the three of clubs and the eight of diamonds. It was a bad opening hand. He didn’t need Jason to tell him to fold. He was already doing it.