by Sage Nyx
Impossible for them, not impossible for someone with a photographic memory like me.
After ten spins, I stop for a moment to rapidly type in the numerical code for each character combination into my laptop.
“Now I need to enter the numbers to see if it’s enough to determine where the machine is in the computer program. Once we know that, then we can determine when the next payoff will come,” I explain. “At that exact moment, I will need to hit the spin button within one half of a second to score a win. The most difficult part of this will be the timing on the spin button. You must practice. If you’re off by even a half a second, you’ll miss the payout.”
“Whoa! Wait a minute. Are you suggesting that we memorize every spin?” Eva asks in amazement. “And then jot it down on a piece of paper?”
I nod at her. “That’s right,” I say. “You’ll probably need to write it down.” Sometimes I forget other people don’t possess my kind of memory.
“That’s impossible and it won’t work,” she says. “Each spin is a combination of twenty characters. From what I understand about the computer program, it will take a minimum of twenty to forty spins to pin down the timing and exact location within the sequence. That’s too much for anyone to remember by glancing at the screen for a split second. And since you haven’t agreed to help us execute the plan, there’s no way one of us can do it. I can barely remember my grocery shopping list, much less the placement of eight hundred characters. How about you, Natasha? Could you do it?”
Natasha rolls her big blue eyes and shakes her head in an emphatic ‘no.’
“I didn’t think so,” Eva says.
“You don’t believe it can work?” I ask, a wave of disappointment washing over me. “All of my hard work is for nothing?”
“Oh, it can work,” Eva says, reassuring me with a smile. “I’m saying there’s a much easier and faster way to do it. Use your cell phone. Try recording a video of twenty spins and then feed it into the program on your laptop to find the precise location of the code.”
“But you can’t videotape in casinos,” I argue. “It’s against the rules. You’ll get caught and thrown out, or maybe even legally prosecuted.”
“Everything we’re doing is technically against the casino’s rules,” she reminds me. “What’s one more thing?”
“Videotaping the machine would place an electronic device into the plan,” I say. “This would make it riskier legally. As long as everything is in your head, there’s nothing the casino can do except ask you to leave.”
Eva raises her eyebrows at me. “I see you’ve done your homework. We need you with us on this. I can’t stress your importance enough. For the plan to work correctly, there needs to be four people on the team. One person at the slot machine, another serving as a lookout in the casino, one in a remote location with the laptop and Kim to back us up in security. We can’t do it with only three, and not without you. Please consider staying in town and joining us.”
She sees the indecision crossing my face.
“Don’t you want to finish what you started, Jade?” she asks. “To see how it ends? If you leave now, it will be like putting down a book with ten pages left to go.”
Damn right, I do.
“You can keep telling yourself that I blackmailed you into breaking the code. The reality is you wanted to see if you could. I didn’t force you into anything. There’s more going on inside you than you’ve ever let anyone know about. Natasha and I see you for who you are. You’re not Judy Miller, a Statistics major from a cookie-cutter subdivision in Florida. You’re Jade now. A badass, incredibly smart young lady who can match wits against anyone. And most importantly of all, you’re one of us now. Please say you’ll stay.”
“You’re asking me to stay here?”
I can’t believe I’m considering such a rash and impulsive move for even a moment. Have I lost my damn mind?
“Why not?” Eva asks. “At least temporarily. You don’t have a job. You’ve finished school and you can do anything. The world is yours. You’re not tied down by responsibilities except to your family. They need money and you can supply plenty of it from here. If you grow bored with Vegas, you can always move on.”
“This is your chance to change your life,” Natasha says gently. “Become the woman who’s sleeping inside you.”
“How soon will you implement the plan?” I ask.
“As soon as you’ve rested up, if you agree to help us. The plan isn’t complicated. The Russians trained people straight off the street to do it in two hours. Reverse engineering the code was the hardest part. The rest will be easy.”
I have my doubts.
“I’m not agreeing to anything until I hear the details of the plan. I refuse to sign up for something unless I believe it has a real chance of working. The risk is too great. My family depends on me.”
Eva crosses her arms and stares at me. “Has anyone ever told you you’re stubborn?” she asks. “Okay, we’ve gone this far. We might as well fill you in on everything else along with a big warning. Don’t do this on your own.”
I swear, the woman is a mind reader.
“It won’t work without a team,” she continues. “We’ve thought this through carefully and our plan is the only way. Natasha has seen it in action enough times to know.”
I glance up at Natasha in surprise. She’s leaning against the slot machine.
“You’ve worked the machine before? Where?”
“Not me,” she says. “I’ve watched the plan in action. In Peru and Macau.”
“Did it work?”
She smiles and pats the machine. “Very well.”
“Don’t worry,” I reassure them. “I have zero interest in running solo on something as big as this. Fill me in on the details and then I’ll give you my decision.”
“Fair enough,” Eva says. “Here’s what we’ve come up with. We’ve worked on this for a very long time.”
She explains every detail of the plan from the moment we leave the basement until we split the money among us. It doesn’t surprise me to learn my involvement was an integral part of their plan from the very beginning. They were counting on the fact that I couldn’t resist a challenge.
The plan is simple and will happen on Christmas Eve, one of the busiest nights in Vegas.
I can’t believe it hasn’t been pulled off before.
Then again, how many people have access to a Peggy Penguin slot machine to break open and reverse engineer?
“What do you say?” Eva asks after she’s explained everything and answered my numerous questions. “Are you with us?”
The moment of truth has arrived. Once I take this next step, there’s no going back.
“When is the first test run?” I ask.
“Whenever you’re ready to go,” she replies.
“Give me twenty-four hours,” I tell her. “Once I catch up on my sleep and eat a decent meal, I’ll be ready.”
Jade
Our first test run…
The yellow taxi slows to a stop at the entrance of the Polynesian-themed Bora Bora Hotel and Casino. While Natasha pays the driver, I step out and self-consciously pull my short skirt down.
I feel overdressed and uncomfortable, though I’m trying not to show it. Natasha spent a great deal of time selecting tonight’s outfit for me; a shiny slinky gold dress with strappy heels to match.
Unfortunately, the upper portion of the dress is designed out of an itchy, metallic mesh that I’m already hating because it’s irritating my sensitive skin. I’ll be lucky if an ugly red rash doesn’t cover me before the evening is over.
The mesh was chosen because of its ability to be concealing and yet thin enough to allow video transmission through the material. The dress has a high-neck collar that hides the tiny camera pinned to the lace of my bra. I’m also wearing a matching jacket that I won’t remove until we sit down at the slot machine.
The heel of my shoe catches on a crack in the sidewalk and I almost trip. It
’ll be a miracle if I can walk around in the high heels all night without falling flat on my ass.
Now I understand why so many other girls in Vegas can’t seem to stay on their feet. I’m already unsteady and I’m not even drinking.
After the cab pulls away from the curb, Natasha steps closer and places a comforting hand on my arm.
“Stop fidgeting with the dress,” she whispers. “It is meant to be short. You are beautiful. Do not worry.” She holds out her hand. “Take your glasses off and give them to me.”
“No.” I adamantly shake my head. “My glasses aren’t for decoration. They have a purpose. I need them.”
“Do you need them to see close up or far away?”
“What difference does it make?” I say. “I need them to see! My eyes are bad.”
“Can you see the slot machine without them? Do not lie.”
“Maybe,” I answer slowly.
“Give them to me,” she says, holding out her hand again. “The glasses do not match your hair and makeup. Have you ever thought about contact lenses?”
“Not really,” I reply. “I don’t want to stick a foreign object in my eye. This isn’t a good idea. I should keep them on.”
She doesn’t take her hand away.
“I will be your eyes tonight,” she says. “Hand them over. You should wear contact lenses. The ugly glasses hide your green eyes. How long have you worn them?”
Natasha isn’t one for fake compliments. I can count on her to be honest.
“Since eighth grade,” I admit. “My family isn’t rich. I can’t afford new, stylish glasses every year. We have to make do with what we have.”
“Soon you can buy a new pair. For tonight, I will hold them for you.”
Sighing, I take off my glasses, fold them carefully and give them to her. “Be careful and don’t scratch them.”
She opens a zippered side pocket of her dainty purse and slides them inside. “Can you see?”
I gaze across the busy street and squint when I can’t make out the fuzzy features of the people walking down the sidewalk.
Great.
“It doesn’t matter,” she blurts, anticipating my answer.
“Are you sure we can pull this off?” I ask. “For the plan to work, everything has to fall into place perfectly. There are too many things that can go wrong. I’m not sure we’re ready yet.”
“Don’t worry,” Natasha replies. “This is only a practice run. We’ve gone over the plan many times. It is good and solid. There will be no mistakes. Eva and Kim will handle their part and we will do ours.” She slides her arm through mine. “Smile, try to pretend as if you’re having fun and come with me. The first Peggy Penguin slot machine is waiting for us inside.”
Natasha’s unwavering confidence bolsters mine and gives me hope that maybe we can pull this off. Today’s trip to the casino is only a short practice run. If we make any mistakes, we can correct them before the real deal on Christmas Eve.
Practice makes perfect.
I smile brightly and put on what I hope will pass for a happy, carefree expression. I haven’t had many opportunities in my life to hang out with other women for fun. I’m uncertain how I’m supposed to act.
“Stop trying so hard,” Natasha whispers to me when we step inside the busy casino. “Your smile is fake. Plastered on like a mannequin in a store window. Act natural. Pretend we’re out for a big party. Follow me.”
I drop my smile a little and take a deep breath.
“Much better,” she says. “This will be easy. As you Americans say…a piece of cookie.”
“Piece of cake,” I correct.
“Whatever,” she says with an eye roll. “You eat too much here in the United States. Always talking about desserts or hamburgers.”
“What’s wrong with dessert? I love cookies and cake. What do you talk about in Russia? Borscht?”
“Survival,” she answers. “How to survive is the main topic of conversation in Russia.”
We hesitate for a moment once we’re inside the large, loud casino. Now that we’re here, I’m unsure of where to go or how to proceed.
“What’s next?” I whisper. “Do we go straight to Peggy Penguin?”
“We’ll walk through the casino first. Maybe stop at the roulette table. Or watch a poker game.”
I nod and follow alongside her as we walk down the long row of blinking slot machines, slowing down to peek at any that catches our eyes.
“Remember, there might be big ears listening to our conversation,” she reminds me. “Play the part. Don’t screw up.”
“I won’t.”
We wander around the casino like two tourists unsure of what to do.
“How about this one?” she finally suggests, plopping down on a stool in front of a slot machine called Dragon’s Dungeon.
“Dragons!” she exclaims in a perfect Americanized voice, without a trace of her normal Russian accent. “C’mon, let’s play. You take one and I’ll take one. Let’s see who can win first.”
She excitedly pats the empty stool beside her, and I sit. It’s hard not to be weirded out by her change in accent and personality. Natasha is anything but a bubble-headed, bleached blonde. She’s falling into the part well. Something tells me this isn’t the first time.
“This will be fun,” she exclaims in a giggly voice that is two octaves higher than usual. She claps her hands together. “Let’s try our luck.” Taking cash out of her purse, she slides several bills into the slot machine. “You should play too. Lady Luck is on our side tonight. First, we need a drink to start us off right.”
She turns around and waves her hand at the cocktail waitress walking down the aisle behind us.
“Can we get a drink?” she calls out in a loud voice.
The waitress hurries over. “Sure. What would you ladies care to drink tonight?” she asks with a big smile.
“I would love a vodka tonic,” Natasha tells her. “My girlfriend will have a diet club soda with lime. She’s dieting.”
The waitress gives me a curious glance. “You don’t need to be on a diet. Are you sure you don’t want something better than diet club soda? It’s Vegas.” She leans down and whispers in a conspiratorial voice. “Haven’t you heard the big secret? Calories don’t count here.”
“Well in that case, I would love a…”
“No! Don’t spoil your diet!” Natasha interrupts. “You’ve worked too hard. Remember?”
I blink at her, trying to follow her line of reasoning. If she wants to me have a diet club soda, then I’ll drink the damn stuff even though I hate it.
“You’re right,” I say. “After I lost those first fifty pounds, I wanted to keep dieting.”
“Are you sure I can’t get you something stronger?” the waitress asks again.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I say. “My friend keeps me fit. She’s my conscience.”
“Diet club soda?” I ask when the waitress leaves. “Why did you order me that? I hate diet drinks.”
“You will appear to be drinking alcohol when you’re not,” she whispers. “In case casino security is watching us. Drink a few sips.”
“If that’s the case, why are you drinking alcohol?’
“They give babies vodka in their bottles in Russia to help them sleep,” she replies. “It’s water to me. Put your money in and start playing.”
The next few minutes we play game after game on the machines, laughing obnoxiously and cheering each other on. We lose money on every spin.
It’s fun to pretend to be someone ditzy for a change. When our drinks arrive, Natasha finishes with her current round and stands up with an exaggerated sigh.
“Let’s go play something else,” she says in a fake voice. “These machines are rigged. Stupid dragons.”
“Okay, where to next? How about blackjack?”
We need to keep up a normal conversation in case someone is eavesdropping.
“Card games are boring,” Natasha whines. “Come on. Let’s find somethi
ng better.”
We wander around aimlessly, stopping at the roulette table and then watching a few minutes of blackjack.
Natasha’s glamourous appearance and long, blonde hair catches a few of the big player’s eyes at the poker table. A wealthy Middle Eastern man tries to motion her over to his table. She ignores him.
Meanwhile, we’re keeping a close eye on the three Peggy Penguin slot machines scattered around the floor of the casino. As soon as one frees up, we’ll grab it.
We wait patiently for our chance. When an elderly gentleman hits the cash out button and moves away from a Peggy Penguin machine, Natasha quickly slides up behind him.
“Oh, wow!” she exclaims loudly. “Penguins and puffins! I love penguins. They’re my favorite! Why don’t you try it? You’re luckier than I am tonight.”
“Penguins are my favorite too,” I say enthusiastically. “They’re so cute and cuddly! We should go to Alaska to see them.”
Playing an airhead is losing its appeal. Keeping up my end of the conversation is hard. I’m quickly running out of stupid things to say.
“If you win, you have to split the money with me or buy me a stuffed penguin at the gift shop,” she says, her voice taking on an alcohol-induced slur. “While you play, I’ll order us both another drink. Where is a damn waitress when you need one? My fucking glass is empty.”
She glances around the casino impatiently as if she’s hunting down a waitress while holding up her glass. In reality, she’s searching the room for plainclothes security.
Kim provided us with photos of every casino security team working in the hotels we’re planning to hit. It took me only a short time to memorize all their faces. Natasha and Eva have been studying the photos since before I arrived in town.
I settle down on the stool and make a big show out of pretending as if I don’t know how to play, or even where to put the money into the machine.
“Put the money in here,” Natasha says in mock exasperation, taking the bill from me and sliding it into the machine.
The Peggy Penguin machine hums and sparkles into life, exactly like the one in the basement of Platinum. They’re all the same, but to see it in action surprises me. I smile when the familiar catchy music plays.