by Paul Harry
“I’m ready for those cards,” the remaining agent stated.
“Okay, okay, let me grab the keys,” said Peter. He was beginning to sweat. The phone was ringing off the podium, undoubtedly Benny from upstairs. Peter knew he should answer it, but the fucking agent was pressing him, so he ignored the phone and grabbed the keys just as a pit clerk approached. She handed him a fill slip.
“Tony needs this fill, now−it’s a rush,” she said, wide-eyed.
Peter glanced as the fill slip. It was for another 4.5 mil. Shit, he thought, hesitating.
“Peter, you with me here,” a voice said. “I need those cards, pronto. And you, honey, I’ll need to see your ID too.”
Confused, Peter looked up. The agent was checking the pit clerk’s ID and the damn phone was still ringing. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath. He signed off on the fill and handed it back to the clerk, then headed for the card storage cabinet.
Upstairs, Benny was livid. He could see on the screen that everything in high limit was going to hell in a hand basket. Of all the fucking times for Gaming Control to make an appearance. And now, no one was answering the phone and the kid was kicking his ass. Nearly every $25,000 dollar check was gone from the rack−4.5 million! Fuck, Fuck, Fuck! He slammed the phone down, nearly breaking the receiver, only to pick it up again. He dialed a number.
“Where the fuck are you?” he demanded over the phone. Someone on the other end replied, and Benny yelled. “Well, get your fat ass outta there now and meet me in high limit! And bring Bruno!”
Benny slammed the phone down again, grabbed his suit jacket, and hustled his way out of his office and to the elevator.
* * * *
Daniel watched with amusement at everything that was going on inside the high limit pit. With Benny’s people preoccupied, he was free to continue doing what he did best−emptying the till of the Blue Diamond. Hand after hand, he forced the cards to his favor by manipulating the outcome of each hand. Knowing the dealer’s hold card and every card that was coming out of the shoe made it just too easy for him to miss. Already, the chip rack was nearly empty of $25,000 dollar checks, forcing Tony to order another fill−security was on its way with it.
Daniel felt a buzz in his pocket. His phone was vibrating. That was his warning, Benny was on the move. He leaned over and whispered to Paige, letting her know. She shot him a worried look.
“Don’t worry,” he said, swallowing his own nervousness, “we’ll be okay.”
He glanced around. There were probably fifty people or more milling about, standing along the perimeter of the high limit room along with a bunch of uniformed security guards. Somewhere in the mix was the FBI. Judy said she’d have more than enough agents ready when the time came. He hoped she was right.
The fill arrived−another 4.5 mil. The dealer ran the checks down, then he and Tony signed off on it, at which point they were placed in the rack. It was time to play again.
* * * *
Benny was livid. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but heads were going to roll when he found out. Nobody was going to take his casino for a ride−not even some rich tech punk. Exiting his private elevator, Benny hit the casino floor expecting Sid and Bruno to be there waiting for him. They weren’t. Instead, he was greeted by a flash mob of reporters and cameramen who converged on him like a swarm of locust with lights and cameras waiting. Amidst a flurry of flashing bulbs and microphones jammed into his face, Benny suddenly found himself being besieged with questions regarding allegations of bribery with a state senator. To his chagrin, he had no idea what they were talking about and it showed. He was bewildered and caught off guard, stuttering and stammering like a fool as he tried to ascertain where all this was coming from. It was only with the advent of Sid and Bruno coming to his rescue that he was finally able to break free and head over to high limit−a herd of press following.
* * * *
By the time Benny hit high limit, he was back in control and ready to bite the head off of anyone who got in his way. With a series of angry hand gestures and sharp retorts he instructed a number of his security personnel to take care of the press, and several others to fall in behind Sid and Bruno as he made his way into the pit. Daniel watched them out of the corner of his eye. They looked like a small posse coming his way.
The first to fall was the gaming agent who confronted Benny. He flashed his badge and tried to block Benny, but Benny went through him like an ice pick through tissue.
“Get the fuck outta my way,” the casino owner snarled, forcing his way past him, “or my people will toss you out on your fuckin’ ear.” The threat was real and the agent let him pass without a word.
Peter approached. “Mr. Marcos...”
“Not now...” dissed Benny.
Walking up to the blackjack tables, Benny took off his coat and folded it over an empty chair. He approached the game where Daniel and Paige were playing and tapped the dealer on the shoulder.
“Take a break,” he ordered, shoving the dealer out of the way.
The dealer moved aside and Benny took his place behind the game. He sized up the rack, or what was left in it, noting the pile of chips in front of Daniel and Paige. It was somewhere near seven million. Benny fought his anger. These two dweebs had to be cheating−it was the only answer.
“So how yah doing?” Benny asked as he studied Daniel and Paige. He pumped out the cards setting up the next six hands. “You seem to be takin’ my place for quite a ride. Want to tell me how?”
Inside, Daniel was shaking like a leaf, but somehow his anger kept him focused. It had to. “I don’t know−maybe I’m good at blackjack” he answered. “Who are you, anyway?” he asked.
“My name’s Benny Marcos, kid. And I own this joint.”
“Ahh,” said Daniel, giving Benny a smart-ass smile. “And you’re here to give me more money?”
Benny glared at Daniel. “Kid, I’m gonna make you wish you’d never heard of blackjack.”
“Wow, that’s quite a threat,” responded Daniel. “And what are you gonna do? Break my hands like the Mafioso did in the old days? Maybe take me out into the desert and bury me?”
Benny grinned. “If that’s what it takes, kid. I don’t like cheaters.”
“Ya know what I don’t like, Benny? I don’t like people who step on other people. I don’t like murderers and I don’t like being threatened. Mickey threatened me like that−just before I pumped ten rounds into him. That’s why he’s not around, Benny. He’s dead. I killed him.”
The look on Benny’s face was absolutely priceless. He looked like he’d been punched in the gut and it took every ounce of self restraint to keep him from reaching across the table and strangling Daniel, but there were too many witnesses. Instead he snapped his fingers, giving the signal to Sid and Bruno to move in. The two thugs pushed their way around the table, rudely knocking Paige out of the way, placing themselves on either side of Daniel. He glanced at the two goons.
“Sid... Bruno... Nice to see you again.”
Stunned, the two gorillas shot looks at one another. “Do we’s know you?” asked Sid.
“Guys... I’m hurt. You come to my home, beat me, kill my father, then blow the fuck outta my house... and you don’t remember me. God, even Mickey remembered me.”
Bending over the table, Benny put his face inches away from Daniel’s. “I don’t know what kinda fucking game you’re playing here kid, but it’s not going to end well.”
“No, you’re right Benny, It’s not going to end well−which is why I brought some friends.”
Turning his head, Daniel gave a quick wave, signaling to Judy and the FBI that it was time to move in, which they did in force. Not only was it the FBI, but Gaming Control and Las Vegas Metro as well. Surging forward out of the crowd, they immediately nullified the Blue Diamond’s uniformed security, then hit Sid and Bruno full force. The two goons were yanked off their chairs and thrown to the floor where they were handcuffed and arrested.
Be
nny was stoic. He just stood and watched as everything around him crumbled. What else could he do? With the press flashing pictures as the FBI encircled him, he put his hands behind his back in prep for the handcuffs that were coming. He knew the routine, having been down the road once or twice, and he took it in stride, looking smug and tough till the end. It lasted only for a moment though. When Daniel removed his sunglasses, showing off his dead white eyes covered with scar tissue Benny almost fainted. The kid was fucking blind???
From behind the mobster, a very elated Judy Salinski appeared. And with a righteous enthusiasm she said, “Benjamin Marcos, you are under arrest for the murder of Steven Tyler Raye. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right...”
Daniel smiled to himself as they led Benny Marcos away. There were even tears in his eyes.
“Hey? How are you feeling?” a voice whispered in his ear.
“Like I just won the lottery,” he sighed, sinking wearily into a chair. “I just made over seven million ripping off the guy who killed my Dad, and now he’s going to prison for the rest of his life. Yeah... I think I just won the lottery.”
Paige gave him a huge hug. “And you got the girl too,” she laughed, squeezing him tightly. “I guess you did win the lottery.”
Epilog
It was a year later and damn cold. Waiting outside in the pre-dawn dark, Daniel sat back and watched as the SWAT team he was assigned to surround a house. He was lending them his expertise, filling them in on where the sentries and snipers were hidden. He pointed out three of them and watched as they fell to silent fire.
“It’s clear,” he noted into his radio, watching as they charged the home, breaking down the door, and shooting whomever got in their way. It only took a minute and all was clear.
“Come on,” said Judy, when they got the word. “You’re up.”
Daniel entered the house, passing by three dead bodies and two others who were in handcuffs. The place was a pig sty and smelled to high heavens. Daniel looked around. There was nothing here so he moved on to the next room−again nothing. The third room was different; he could see ambient heat waves emanating upwards from the floor under the bed. His infrared sight also registered a faint heat source.
“Under here,” he said, with a wave of his hand.
Three members of the swat team jumped into action, flipping the bed out of the way. They ripped up the carpet and there underneath was a trap door. Ripping it open, they found a coffin like hole with a child inside−the child they were looking for. She’d been kidnapped two weeks earlier and was barely breathing, but alive. Judy called for the paramedics.
“You did good, Daniel,” she said later as they left. “The guys here were more than impressed.”
“Thanks,” he responded. “I’m glad it ended well.”
“Did you hear what happened to Benny?” she asked as they walked to his car.
Daniel’s ears perked up. He knew the mobster’s trial was coming up soon and that he might have to testify. “No,” he answered. “What happened? Don’t tell me he cut a deal.”
Judy smiled. “Well, he tried. And the boys in Chicago were none too pleased. He was found hanging in his cell with, shall we say, a rather personal item stuck in his mouth.”
“Ouch,” said Daniel. “That’s really nasty.”
“Yeah, well... when you play hard you die hard.”
“I guess. So? Am I free to go?”
“Yeah, we’ve got nothing going on, but stick by your phone. You never know.”
“Will do.”
“And say hi to your Aunt and Katie for me.”
Giving Daniel a quick kiss on the cheek, Judy watched as he drove off into the night. It must be awesome, she thought, to have the power he did. Already he had helped solve half a dozen cases and he was only twenty-two. Yikes!
Dear Reader:
I would like to personally thank you for taking the time to read my novel: NANOVISION. I hope you enjoyed it and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the story. If you could you take a moment and leave a review with Amazon at http://bit.ly/Nanovision it would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Paul T Harry
PS: Be sure to visit Sphere Publishing at www.5moons.com for other great sci-fi novels and to sign up for our mailing list featuring new upcoming books! And, if you have a question or comment for the author please feel free to drop us a line at [email protected].
NANOVISION
A Desert Portal Book
Sphere Publishing, LLC
Gold Canyon, AZ 85118
Website: www.5moons.com
Media contact: [email protected]
E-Book edition / November 2014
Based on the Screenplay NANOVISION by Paul T Harry
ISBN − 10: 0988785803
ISBN − 13: 978-0-9887858-2-3
Front cover art and design by Fazel Rehman aka Phuzzle through 99Designs.
Permission for use granted through standard licensing agreement.
© 2014 Sphere Publishing, LLC All rights reserved.
Other Works by Paul Harry
The 5 Moons of Tiiana / The Chronicles of Rez Cantor
The EPAWAR
Have Gun / Time Travel
The Green Felt Heist
Pavlov’s Bell
The Garden / The Unauthorized Biography of Adam and Eve
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to everyone who helped me develop this novel.
Anne Sanchez
Terry Foster
Craig Christensen
Gabriel Marquez
Anthony Casares
Al Moe
Samantha Morton
Todd Burnett