p class="MsoNormal"Note: So, I have serious writer's block. I'm hoping that going through each chapter and revamping will help me. Some chapters will have a lot more changes in them than others. I'll update the story description to let you know which chapters I've redone. /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"After Amanda said her goodbyes to the team, she took the elevator down to the ground level with Amaro. There was an awkward silence between the two. They were both in their own worlds when Amaro looked over towards Amanda and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then promptly snapped his mouth closed as soon as Amanda met his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, out with it!" Amanda said with a chuckle, "you obviously want to say something to me."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amaro looked down at his shoes with a slight blush growing on his cheeks, "I was wondering…I mean…are you…" he stammered, "um…are you okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda looked at him questioningly, "what do you mean, am I okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"When Amaro hesitated to answer, Amanda quickly reviewed the last few hours for any questionable behaviour she may have displayed. Not coming up with any, she got defensive, "There's nothing wrong with me Amaro. Maybe you are projecting; with all your problems lately?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Almost immediately after uttering the words, Amaro's head snapped up in Amanda's direction. Amanda immediately started to shake her head sadly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. Please, I'm sorry."/p
p class="MsoNormal"If the awkward atmosphere could become any more unlivable, by the time the elevator opened at the ground floor, the air around the duo was so thick with regret it was almost unbearable. They gave one another a quick nod and quickly parted ways./p
p class="MsoNormal"While Amaro headed towards the closest subway entrance, Amanda hailed a taxi and said a quick "to Garden Drive, please," as she settled herself into the car./p
p class="MsoNormal"The taxi dropped Amanda off at the entrance of a alley, surrounded only by garbage and rats. She paid the taxi driver, and proceeded to walk a couple blocks in the opposite direction. She needed to be sure she wasn't followed. She may just be paranoid, but in her line of work, a little extra effort for the sake of safety was well worth it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Finally reaching her destination, a non-descript wooden door in a very sketchy looking alleyway, she opened the door and slipped inside with one last look behind her to ensure no one was following./p
p class="MsoNormal"Stepping inside, she took a moment to warm herself up after being in the cold New York air. The building looked to be an old warehouse or maybe a factory. Walking the winding hallways, passing through many larger rooms, and down multiple flights of stairs, she finally reached an enforced metal door with a very muscular man guarding it. The guard, dressed in all black, gave her a slight nod which all she needed before she put her hands straight out to her sides and slightly spread her feet apart./p
p class="MsoNormal"After a few moments of Amanda standing in that position, the guard took out a metal-detecting wand and scanned her body; paying close attention to her waistband and pant cuffs./p
p class="MsoNormal"Upon finishing his inspection, the guard nodded again. Amanda quickly squeezed past the man and through the now open doorway. The room inside was in stark contrast to the dull grey that the rest of the building contained./p
p class="MsoNormal"The floor was covered in a deep red carpet. The bar table and all card tables were a deep mahogany wood that was accented with, what looked to be, hand-carved embellishments. The lighting was bright in the casino area of the room but had been dimmed in the bar area. This gave the room an early twentieth century parlour feel. It was elegant; as if only the best of the best were allowed to enter the hidden gambling area./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda headed straight for the bar and ordered a glass of gin. Holding it in her hand and swirling its contents around a few times, she leaned her elbows back on the bar and scanned the room. Her eyes flickered between tables; looking for her winning seat. Her eyes took in a clearly intoxicated man sitting by himself at a table and took it as a sign that she would not only be able to win money from the house, but the poor unfortunate drunk man./p
p class="MsoNormal"Setting her drink down on the table and getting comfortable in her seat, she looked at the dealer saying, "I want in on the next round."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Placing her chips in front of her, she waited a moment for the man beside her to lose his hand and for the next hand to begin. She felt a rush of excitement at knowing that her table-mate, based on his facial expression, was not doing so well tonight. To a seasoned gambler such as herself, that meant the table was ripe for her. She could have a good night, have some drinks, and walk away with some extra pocket cash./p
p class="MsoNormal"A couple of drinks in, many hands later, she seemed to be recognizing her losing streak. Either way, she still didn't feel like going home yet, "hit me," she said with a small tap on the table./p
p class="MsoNormal"The drunk man chose this moment to speak up, "you do know you have a 16 against a dealer 3."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda looked at him for a moment and then scoffed, "yeah, how about I count my cards, you count yours? "/p
p class="MsoNormal"The dealer turned over one more card and she dropped her head in defeat knowing that she just lost more chips from her pile./p
p class="MsoNormal"The dealer looked at her with a half smile, "better luck next time."/p
p class="MsoNormal"About to put some chips on the table for the next round, a young woman came to the table to refill drinks. One look at the girl and Amanda knew she was in trouble; the girl had recently been in custody of the SVU for a case. Amanda knew she was made./p
p class="MsoNormal"The drunk man was clinging to the girl. Torn between helping the girl out and helping herself get away, she chose to use this distraction to get up from the table and head back over to the bar, she handed in her chips and received what remaining money she had in bill form./p
p class="MsoNormal"Hoping she wasn't found out, she gathered her coat and purse. Turning towards the exit, she found her escape hindered by a man. He leaned lazily against the bar giving her a once-over./p
p class="MsoNormal""Leaving early?" the man asked with an Irish accent./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda didn't like how close he was standing to her so she stepped back a little from the bar, "quit while you're behind, right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda knew the girl had told the casino owners of her job because she soon found the same guard from the room's entranceway standing in front of her. He had his arms crossed over his chest which made his arm muscles push out almost comically./p
p class="MsoNormal"The smaller Irish man spoke again, "would you mind coming with us, miss?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Not liking the sound of things, Amanda nervously asked, "uh, I mean, is there a problem?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda smiled as nicely as she could in order to smooth over whatever the problem was. Unfortunately, her nerves only heightened when the man replied, "no, only solutions. Just do as I ask."/p
p class="MsoNormal"With no other options, Amanda let herself be lead towards the back of the room where the wall was made up of a large one-way mirror. As the guard opened a small ornate door, with a plaque inscribed em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"OFFICE/em, Amanda was forcefully pushed through the doorway./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"After Amanda said her goodbyes to the team, she took the elevator down to the ground level with Amaro. There was an awkward silence between the two. They were both in their own worlds when Amaro looked over towards Amanda and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then promptly snapped his mouth closed as soon as Amanda met his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, out with it!" Amanda said with a chuckle, "you obviously want to say something to me."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amaro looked down at his shoes with a slight blush growing on his cheeks, "I was wondering…I mean…are you…" he stammered, "um…are you okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda looked at him questioningly, "what do you mean, am I okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"When Amaro hesitated to answer, Amanda quickly reviewed the last few hours for any questionable behaviour she may have displayed. Not coming up with any, she got defensive, "There's nothing wrong with me Amaro. Maybe you are projecting; with all your problems lately?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Almost immediately after uttering the words, Amaro's head snapped up in Amanda's direction. Amanda immediately started to shake her head sadly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. Please, I'm sorry."/p
p class="MsoNormal"If the awkward atmosphere could become any more unlivable, by the time the elevator opened at the ground floor, the air around the duo was so thick with regret it was almost unbearable. They gave one another a quick nod and quickly parted ways./p
p class="MsoNormal"While Amaro headed towards the closest subway entrance, Amanda hailed a taxi and said a quick "to Garden Drive, please," as she settled herself into the car./p
p class="MsoNormal"The taxi dropped Amanda off at the entrance of a alley, surrounded only by garbage and rats. She paid the taxi driver, and proceeded to walk a couple blocks in the opposite direction. She needed to be sure she wasn't followed. She may just be paranoid, but in her line of work, a little extra effort for the sake of safety was well worth it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Finally reaching her destination, a non-descript wooden door in a very sketchy looking alleyway, she opened the door and slipped inside with one last look behind her to ensure no one was following./p
p class="MsoNormal"Stepping inside, she took a moment to warm herself up after being in the cold New York air. The building looked to be an old warehouse or maybe a factory. Walking the winding hallways, passing through many larger rooms, and down multiple flights of stairs, she finally reached an enforced metal door with a very muscular man guarding it. The guard, dressed in all black, gave her a slight nod which all she needed before she put her hands straight out to her sides and slightly spread her feet apart./p
p class="MsoNormal"After a few moments of Amanda standing in that position, the guard took out a metal-detecting wand and scanned her body; paying close attention to her waistband and pant cuffs./p
p class="MsoNormal"Upon finishing his inspection, the guard nodded again. Amanda quickly squeezed past the man and through the now open doorway. The room inside was in stark contrast to the dull grey that the rest of the building contained./p
p class="MsoNormal"The floor was covered in a deep red carpet. The bar table and all card tables were a deep mahogany wood that was accented with, what looked to be, hand-carved embellishments. The lighting was bright in the casino area of the room but had been dimmed in the bar area. This gave the room an early twentieth century parlour feel. It was elegant; as if only the best of the best were allowed to enter the hidden gambling area./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda headed straight for the bar and ordered a glass of gin. Holding it in her hand and swirling its contents around a few times, she leaned her elbows back on the bar and scanned the room. Her eyes flickered between tables; looking for her winning seat. Her eyes took in a clearly intoxicated man sitting by himself at a table and took it as a sign that she would not only be able to win money from the house, but the poor unfortunate drunk man./p
p class="MsoNormal"Setting her drink down on the table and getting comfortable in her seat, she looked at the dealer saying, "I want in on the next round."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Placing her chips in front of her, she waited a moment for the man beside her to lose his hand and for the next hand to begin. She felt a rush of excitement at knowing that her table-mate, based on his facial expression, was not doing so well tonight. To a seasoned gambler such as herself, that meant the table was ripe for her. She could have a good night, have some drinks, and walk away with some extra pocket cash./p
p class="MsoNormal"A couple of drinks in, many hands later, she seemed to be recognizing her losing streak. Either way, she still didn't feel like going home yet, "hit me," she said with a small tap on the table./p
p class="MsoNormal"The drunk man chose this moment to speak up, "you do know you have a 16 against a dealer 3."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda looked at him for a moment and then scoffed, "yeah, how about I count my cards, you count yours? "/p
p class="MsoNormal"The dealer turned over one more card and she dropped her head in defeat knowing that she just lost more chips from her pile./p
p class="MsoNormal"The dealer looked at her with a half smile, "better luck next time."/p
p class="MsoNormal"About to put some chips on the table for the next round, a young woman came to the table to refill drinks. One look at the girl and Amanda knew she was in trouble; the girl had recently been in custody of the SVU for a case. Amanda knew she was made./p
p class="MsoNormal"The drunk man was clinging to the girl. Torn between helping the girl out and helping herself get away, she chose to use this distraction to get up from the table and head back over to the bar, she handed in her chips and received what remaining money she had in bill form./p
p class="MsoNormal"Hoping she wasn't found out, she gathered her coat and purse. Turning towards the exit, she found her escape hindered by a man. He leaned lazily against the bar giving her a once-over./p
p class="MsoNormal""Leaving early?" the man asked with an Irish accent./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda didn't like how close he was standing to her so she stepped back a little from the bar, "quit while you're behind, right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda knew the girl had told the casino owners of her job because she soon found the same guard from the room's entranceway standing in front of her. He had his arms crossed over his chest which made his arm muscles push out almost comically./p
p class="MsoNormal"The smaller Irish man spoke again, "would you mind coming with us, miss?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Not liking the sound of things, Amanda nervously asked, "uh, I mean, is there a problem?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amanda smiled as nicely as she could in order to smooth over whatever the problem was. Unfortunately, her nerves only heightened when the man replied, "no, only solutions. Just do as I ask."/p
p class="MsoNormal"With no other options, Amanda let herself be lead towards the back of the room where the wall was made up of a large one-way mirror. As the guard opened a small ornate door, with a plaque inscribed em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"OFFICE/em, Amanda was forcefully pushed through the doorway./p