hope your luck holds,” she said.
Her name was Gloria. I'm not a bad person, honestly I'm not. That girl wasn't one of these washed-up hookers you hear about in Vegas, she was stunning and clever and... Okay, so maybe I let my manhood do the thinking, but everyone needs a bit of fun once in a while. The truth is that gambling had become mechanical for me, and I was dead bored despite all the bright lights of Vegas. That girl gave me a good time, and in return I bought her drinks. The trouble was that she didn't want to let go of a good thing, and the truth was nor did I. She followed me round the casinos and watched as I raked in the cash. I played a few card games at first to try and get her off my scent, but pretty quickly she cottoned on that I won every time I played dice. She promised not to tell anyone, and by the last night I was looking forward to being on the plane the next morning and rid of her. So we slept together one last time, big deal, then I fell asleep content in the knowledge that I had enough money to last me and Jenny for a good long while.
When I woke up I had a stinking headache and the girl was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the hotel apartment, at the lipstick-stained glasses and the mess of clothes on the floor, then I realised that her revealing outfit was gone and so was she. What's more the big pile of money I had shoved carelessly under the bed was gone too. As I sobered up I felt more and more sick. She had cleared off with all the money and left me nothing but my plane ticket home and the fifty dollars that I had left in my wallet.
The truth is I panicked. Jenny was clever, she'd figure out what had happened if I came home with nothing. Besides, I couldn't lie to her if she had grounds for suspicion, I just wasn't that good at it - she knew me too well. The whole thing had been a terrible mistake from the start. The only way out of it I saw was to hit the tables hard and fast and try and come back with at least a reasonable amount. I had three hours before my flight, so I got dressed quickly and hurried downstairs to the casino.
I was hungover and desperate, so I put the whole fifty bucks on the first bet. Of course I won. I did it again. Then again. Then again. The table was busy and other people were making bets, making it harder for the casino worker to notice that I kept rolling threes. I thought I was getting away with it, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. The bouncers were twice the size of the ones in England. Everything in the States is bigger; the stakes, the bouncers and, as I was to find out, the danger.
“What's your game, you little punk?”
The next punch sent stars flying across my vision.
“I told you, I wasn't cheating.”
“You rolled fifteen double threes in a row by chance? I don't buy it. Nobody cheats in Tony's casino.”
The next punch sent everything black for a second, then I came back to consciousness with a ringing in my ears.
“What should we do with him, Celino? Break his legs?”
“Sounds like a good idea to me, Benny.”
“No, please,” I said, tasting blood in my mouth. “I'll show you. Just give me some dice.”
“You think you can fool us?” spat Benny.
“No,” I said. “Really. Get me a pair of dice and I'll show you.”
“He's just buying time,” said Celino.
I heard a door open and watched as Celino and Benny both sharpened up.
“Hello Tony,” said Benny. “Can you believe this punk? He's been playing your tables with a loaded dice and now he's trying to talk his way out of it.”
“Is that so?” came a calm and level voice. “What's he saying?”
“I've always been able to do it,” I gasped desperately. “I roll a double three every time.”
Tony laughed. “You shouldn't lie to me.”
“No, I'm not lying, get me a pair of dice.”
Tony loomed into view. He was the scariest individual I had ever seen. “Get him a pair of dice.”
“Boss?”
“Just do it. Lets see if this punk can deliver.”
When I rolled the tenth pair of threes on the third pair of dice, Tony told me to stop.
“Okay, so I believe you. I don't know how the hell you do it but I believe you.” He paused. “Pretty stupid of you making so many bets though. You should have been clever.”
“I was desperate,” I said, my voice broken. “Some girl stole all my money.”
Tony pursed his lips and thought for a while.
“So you want to make some fast cash?”
I nodded.
“And you always get a six?”
I nodded.
“I'd like to make you an offer you can't refuse.”
So Tony promised to pay for another flight back to England if I stayed another night. Like he said, I couldn't refuse. His men watched me all day, then at about ten o'clock in the evening they brought me into a back room. There were two chairs sat facing each other in the middle of the room. There was plastic sheeting on the floor.
“So you always get a six, eh?” Tony said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a revolver.
I nodded vigorously.
“This here piece holds six bullets. Now isn't that convenient?”
I froze. Before I could think of anything to say the door opened again and another group of three gangsters walked in. One of them was dressed so sharp he could cut glass, and I guessed he was another mob boss.
“You ready for the entertainment?” he said.
“Course I'm ready, Donny” said Tony.
A guy who looked like a drug-addict stepped forward from the ranks of the other mobsters and sat on the chair facing me. He smiled in a sickening way at me.
“Lets not hang around,” said Donny. “You got the money?”
Tony nodded, holding up a briefcase. “Twenty gees on my man here to win. Russian roulette. Shall we start?”
Donny nodded. “Lets do it.”
Tony reached in a pocket and pulled out a single bullet and held out the gun with an exaggerated gesture. He flipped out the barrel, put the bullet in one of the chambers, passed me the gun. He gave me a side-long glance and I think he might even have been trying to reassure me.
“My man here spins the barrel,” he said.
Of course, I thought. I go, that's one, he goes, that's two, I go that's three, he goes, that's four, I go that's five, he goes... BANG! I span the barrel.
“Good,” said Tony. “Now my man goes first.”
Donny smiled. “No, Tony, my man goes first.”
Tony smiled back. “I said my man goes first.”
Donny shook his head slowly, still smiling. “Always trying to get one up on me, Tony. Boys!”
Before any of Tony's men could move, Donny's men pulled out guns and levelled them at us. We were nailed.
“Now, the briefcase.”
Tony shook with rage. “You won't get away with this.”
“Yes I will. But lets not forget the entertainment. My man goes first.”
So that's how I got there, five chambers spent and only one left. My luck had brought me here. I always rolled a six. I tried to think, but nothing came. Then it happened. My shaking finger put just that little bit too much pressure on the trigger and... CLICK. I opened my eyes and heard Tony laugh.
“The gun jammed,” he said. “Wouldn't you believe it?”
Then there was a lightning quick flurry of movement. Tony's boys pulled out guns and levelled them at Donny's men.
“You think you're a wise guy, Donny?” shouted Tony. “Now who's the punk?”
Donny smiled. “You are.”
The noise was deafening, and it seemed like it took minutes for the echoes to stop ringing off the bare concrete walls. When I opened my eyes next I couldn't believe it. There, laid out on the plastic sheeting, like spots on a dice were six dead bodies.
###
About the Author:
A passionate writer, 3 + 3 is my first short story on SmashWords. It is intended to create interest for my fantastic new novel of fish, love and copious amounts of rum, Fish Stocks Limited. You can download Fish Stocks L
imited at the address below:
Although Fish Stocks Limited is only my third novel, I have considerable experience of writing as part of my university course. I also have received payment from Dailey Swan Publishing for a number of short stories to go in their anthology and had short stories published in MediaVirus magazine (as editors pick) and in The Absent Willow Review magazine.
For other books check out my author profile on:
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