Bet On Red
Fanfiction
This was inspired by an excellent mystery I read by Jeff Abbott whilst in Europe.
Warnings: AU, some OOC… Language. Only ONE fullname will be revealed. I did write this with specific characters in mind but I thought it would be more fun if you, the reader, could picture whomever you wanted. You'll probably be able to guess who I thought of though… THERE ARE NO OCs in this fiction!
P.S Don't worry! DL and RTS will be updated soon! This is just a gift fic for those who have reviewed my stories before and those who are reading my "drabbles" for the first time. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
Smoke rings filled every inch of available airspace in the casino. The low murmurs of approval came from all around as business deals were made, futures of the various companies decided. On the other hand, in the same room, "propositions" of a decidedly different kind were being struck. The heady scent of luck and the enticing possibilities of fortune were sizzling in the air.
This was Vegas.
A man sat at the bar, his lean, muscular body carefully folded in a picture of sleek sophistication. Long light-colored hair tied in an impeccable queue, his seemingly idle eyes took in everything happening around him. He called the serving girl to his table and ordered another dry martini. He'd definitely need one for what he had to do tonight. Peripheral vision allowed him to detect another man's approach to his right. His target.
The other man, this one with midnight-black hair sat down at the oblong table, barely conscious of the look of pity being directed at him. Blue eyes sparkled with something akin to wicked mischief.
"Good evening Mr. Keiri."
"Same to you Mr. Fuun. I trust your stay here has been satisfactory."
Success. Fuun's face showed the first hint of fear. Keiri didn't want to hit him. This was purely business. He'd been sent to do a job and he'd do it. Anyway, it was Fuun's own fault. He'd been sent here to close out one of the boss' "markets", grab the jewel and head out. But instead, he'd apparently made himself very comfortable, living off the money he was sent out here to retrieve and making no real effort to hurry and leave. In short, he'd failed. And in this world, if you failed, you were disposed of. Simple as that. Still, it was a pity. He'd been one of the few men Takai liked. Dumb as post, Fuun was, but an entertaining source of amusement nonetheless.
"W-Well yeah…listen…you'll tell the boss won't you? You'll tell him I mean to hurry out but I hit a snag…"
His words were suddenly cut off and his eyes widened. Keiri turned in his seat to see what had caught his attention and found himself drawing a sharp intake of breath.
She's gorgeous…
Indeed she was. Blue-black hair and crystal blue eyes, pert little nose and lush lips. God must have had a sense of humor to put an innocent face like hers on top of a body that was clearly made for less-than-pure intentions. Take that body and wrap it in a vibrant red dress and you'd get a picture worthy of the Louvre.
The heavenly creature walked on stage and proceeded to sing about lost lovers finding their way back in her smoky–sweet seductive voice.
A round of applause broke through his hazed mind as Keiri realized she was done.
"And that was our resident little songbird–-Kagome Higurashi!"
Kagome…
"I'll make a bet with you."
Snapped back to reality at the sound of Fuun's voice, Keiri looked at him in bemused incredulity.
"Sounds interesting… what're the terms?"
"I'll bet you, that I can get that little songbird to sing my name tonight. If I win, you help me out of my little 'problem' with the boss."
"And if you lose?"
"You get ten grand."
Golden eyes flashed as Keiri considered. He'd decided earlier that his life was more important than sneaking a little green out from under the boss' nose. But if he won it in this bet, he wouldn't feel quite so guilty. If Fuun happened to find a way to get Kagome, then, he'd at least have a nice last memory tomorrow morning.
"Done."
Fuun's grin couldn't have been wider.
He watched as his soon-to-be-late "friend" sauntered over to the bar and introduced himself to Ms. Higurashi. He waited for a tell-tale slap or at least her yell for him to "back off", but things remained strangely silent from their end. She was even smiling at him!
The angels seemed to be on Fuun's side that night. He walked out two hours later with a wink at Keiri and his arm around Kagome.
See you in the morning…
He knocked on Fuun's hotel room. There was no answer, and when he tried to listen at the door, no shower running. He ran downstairs to the lobby to check at the restaurant.
Damn…the one night I decided to be nice!
No Fuun there either, but he did see Ms. Higurashi enjoying a piece of jam-slathered toast. He decided she was as good a lead as any.
"Where's Fuun?"
She cocked an amused eyebrow at him.
"Somewhere you'll never find him."
His eyes darkened as he grabbed her and pulled her to him, taking note of how her soft her body felt against the hard planes of his own.
"Listen honey, I don't like getting rough with women but I'll do it if that's the only way to get my info. So talk."
"No need to get so rough Mr. Keiri… he told me everything already. Nice to know you were putting my virtue up against ten grand though I'll admit I think it's worth quite a bit more than that. Here's the deal. Mr. Fuun had one million dollars on him last night. You get one hundred thousand and Bobby, I'll take the rest."
"You're really in no position to be making demands," he said, releasing her and instantly missing her warmth.
"Were you in on this from the beginning?"
"I only met him last night."
Damn if that didn't lessen the weight on his chest.
"Listen, I have to go. Meet me here at noon if you want your Mr. Fuun back."
She turned from him and walked out of the restaurant and onto the Strip.
He'd follow her of course. It'd be his hide if the boss found out he messed up.
She led him to a suburb on the outskirts of Las Vegas proper at 131 Shikon Drive. He waited in his rental until she stepped out again at about ten o' clock, broke the lock and walked in with his handgun raised.
He found Fuun in the bedroom, naked save for his boxers and chained to the bed. There were angry red welts on his wrists from where he'd apparently attempted to twist the handcuffs off. He was one big bruise. But he was awake.
"Keiri! Get me out of here!"
"First things first. What the HELL happened?"
"She must have drugged me! Last thing I remember was getting into the cab. When I woke up, I was here. So get me OUT already!"
His voice was frantic now.
"Not so fast."
"You'll help me won't you?"
He turned away from Fuun and walked to the TV set, turned on the news and turned the volume up as far as it would go.
"Yeah I'll help you all right."
The neighbors never heard the screams.
Keiri met Kagome at the allotted restaurant on time and this time he had a big smile on his face.
"Well lady, the tables have turned."
"What are you talking about?"
"You've got one dead man in your house on 131 Shikon Drive. You don't give me that money, I call the police as a concerned neighbor and tell them about that funky smell coming from your bedroom."
They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity until finally she told him everything. How she'd heard through a contact that Fuun was loaded and how she'd even gotten colored contacts after finding out he liked blue-eyed, black- haired women. She knew the boss and owed him quite a bit too (just like everyone else that worked for him). She'd also told him that Fuun just wanted a little "fun" before going back to work and that this hoax wasn't "anything personal", she'd just really needed the funds.
"So what do we do now?"
They thought for a moment.
"Hey Kirei… does the boss like green eyes? Or grey?"
"Why? Thinkin' of playing the same trick?"
"...maybe."
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