Chapter Seven
There are friends,
there is family.
And then there are friends that become family.
Linus stood in the mirror with his large nose already attached to his face and the Gilroy that he had been given from Livingston was held by a pair of long tweezers that he used to apply the pheromone device to his neck. After it was applied, he quickly burned the tiny little device and washed his hands before making his way towards the Villa door where Abigail Sponder stood waiting for him.
"Well, hello there," Linus greeted the older woman.
"There are no tomorrows, Mr. Pepperidge," she told the 'translator' just before the pheromones from the Gilroy ensnared her senses.
"Call me Lenny," Linus told her as she stumbled her way into the Villa.
"I need this room," the blonde tried to tell him despite the attraction she was now feeling towards him, "I gave Mr. Chang a - Mr. Weng a chance. I need the Asian villas, all the Asian villas."
"Oh. Well," Linus began, as he came up behind her not giving Sponder the chance to clear her senses, "Perhaps you'd like to tell Mister Weng yourself." Sponder exhaled sharply as the Gilroy continued to ensnare her even more.
"In fact, I would," she told Linus, "I would because, uh, you know, the last time we spoke he was quite rude to me."
"Well, in that case, you'll find him somewhere between the cashier's cage and the high stakes pai gow room," Linus explained as he continued to follow Sponder closely, "He was about to eat when the mood to play suddenly hit him."
"It just hit him, just like that?"
"Well, I might've said something to encourage him," Linus lied.
"Why would you do that?"
"When you work for a powerful man," Linus began with a sigh, "Sometimes the collar get a little tight."
"Ooh," Sponder whimpered, "Excuse me."
"Mr. Bank," the Royal Five Diamond Reviewer began as he interrupted Bank's walk on his casino floor, "I just want to thank you for throwing me out of your hotel."
"And who are you," Bank asked in confusion.
"Nobody."
"Now, my little thief," Natalie started, looking down at Charlie as she set him up on one of the only chairs in the tunnel, "I want you to keep this hat and these headphones on okay. They'll protect your head and your ears. And I want you to listen to your uncles Turk and Virgil, okay?"
"Okay, Mama," Charlie said, smiling up at both his mother and his father, "Where are you goin'?"
"Your mom and I have to go take care of something before we can all be family," Rusty explained to the young boy, "We have to go help your grandpa Danny, that's why you have to stay here, okay..."
"Does it have to do with Mr. Bank," Charlie asked, looking curiously at his parents. Natalie nodded and leaned down so that she was face to face with her son.
"It does," she told him honestly, "Daddy and I need to go and make sure that Mr. Bank and everyone else know that you are off limits, okay, that they are not allowed to hurt you and take you from us again." Charlie looked at his mother and grabbed her cheeks like he always did when he could sense that she was about to become an emotional mess.
"You're going to get the bad guy," he asked her. Natalie smiled and rubbed her fingers on his tiny arms.
"Yeah, Daddy and I are going to get the bad guy," she chuckled. She hugged Charlie to her chest, before releasing him and allowing Rusty to do the same. As the father and son shared what seemed to be their millionth hug of the day, Natalie turned to look at Turk and Virgil fixing them with a glare that she only ever reserved for when Charlie had done something that he wasn't supposed to do.
"I am trusting you with his safety, you hold onto him tightly when you start that drill," she told the twins calmly, causing both of them to nod quietly in response, "Or so help the two of you because if one hair on his head is out of place when Rusty and I get back, I am holding the two of you responsible and if you think what we're doing to Bank is bad, let me remind you that I am capable of much worse when my hands aren't tied." Both Turk and Virgil nodded once more, looking almost frightened of the glare that Natalie had on her face.
"All right, fellas," Basher said, exiting the tunnel with a suit on. Natalie and Rusty shared one more hug with Charlie.
"I love you, my little thief," Natalie said, kissing her son on his head before replacing both his hat and his noise cancelling headphones back on his head.
"Love you, Mama," Charlie shouted, a tooth filled grin on his face, "Love you, Daddy."
"Love you, Charlie," Rusty responded, as both he and Natalie made to exit the tunnel, "You ready, Nat?"
"Let's gut the son of a bitch," the angry mother responded.
Danny followed Denny and the other whales towards the high roller tables where Bank wanted them all to congregate at the same time that Livingston was attempting to repair (read: unsuccessfully sabotage) a shuffle machine. Everything seemed to be going to plan until a group of familiar looking suits walked into the casino with Bank's security at their beck and call.
"We're gonna need you standing by in a support capacity," the one that seemed to be in charge said to one of the security guards.
"Bad news just walked in," Frank announced over their radio frequency as he spotted the group of suits.
"All right, the Bureau's in the house," Danny continued to announce as the high rollers continued to gather behind him, "If they move towards blackjack, somebody top Livingston." Danny turned back to the large group of men that was now headed by Willy Bank.
"Well, let me welcome you to The Bank with our finest Kubota sake," Bank started, as the models passed around the small glasses, "And good to have you back, Denny, got some Grey Goose on ice for you. Enjoy!" The high rollers saluted their glasses to each other before taking a drink.
On the floor below, Frank noticed that the group of suits were making their way towards Livingston. Quickly he brought the glasses he was wearing down his nose before bringing them back up again in an effort to signal the team's technician. Livingston saw the signal and quickly signalled back, but it was too late.
"Livingston Dell," the man in charge of the suits asked, "Federal Bureau of Investigation. We've got all the exits covered – you've got nowhere to go. Don't be stupid." The FBI agent then grabbed Livingston and cuffed his hands behind his back. As all of this was happening, a pit boss alerted Bank to everything that was going on causing the owner to come running.
"Whoa," Bank shouted, "Hey, what is going on here?"
"You've been breached," the agent explained, "We've had this man under surveillance. He rigs machines."
"He rigs 'em?"
"We've been in contact with his company;" the agent continued to explain, "His background information was bogus."
"Well, how many machines has he gotten his hands on," Bank asked, looking at the agents and his staff in confusion.
"I'm not sure," the pit boss responded.
"All right, well, let's change them out," Bank ordered.
"We won't have enough," the pit boss responded in kind.
"The company's sending over new machines," the agent supplied.
"Well, if he rigs machines, he's working with players," Bank thought out loud.
"We know he's involved with confederates," the agent explained, "We just don't know who they are. If you see anything that looks unusual, you contact us."
"You bet," Bank assured the agents, before turning to Livingston, "You think this is over? This isn't over. I'm pressing charges. State and Federal charges, got it? Now, get him off my floor. Come on." The group of FBI agents led Livingston away as Bank turned to leave, one of his security guard following him.
"His fingerprints are all over that shuffle machine," he quietly whispered to the guard.
"Yes, sir."
"I need a name and all known criminal associates," Bank ordered as they continued to walk through his casino.
"Bank's gonna run the prints off the shuffle machine," Basher announced over their comms as he sat in a restaurant outside.
"Damn, he's good," Turk responded.
"He'll get Livingston's ID and known associates," Natalie sighed.
"That's us," Rusty stated obviously.
"Uh, what do we have in place for this," Saul asked curiously.
"Nothing. They'll scoop us all up, Natalie and Charlie will be in danger," Danny responded, "and Bank'll have the best night of his life."
"We can't let it get to Bank,"Natalie chimed in.
"I know what to do," Basher answered, after giving it some thought after seeing some of the things around him – like a sign advertising for the jump that was to take place at midnight and a book about speaking with distinction, "We'll set up a cartwheel. Back of the house, fifteen minutes."
"Who's gonna hack this," Danny asked.
"Well, the ideal person's in the back of a car in handcuffs," Basher responded, "Nat, what about your friend Roman?"
"I haven't been able to get a hold of him all day," Natalie sighed, "He keeps avoiding my calls."
"I can handle it," Turk tried.
"Is anyone else available," Rusty asked, not paying any attention to Turk.
"This is Virgil, I'll give it a shot," the other twin offered.
"I can handle it," Turk tried once more.
"Virgil it is," Rusty said, making the executive decision, "Get it done, Virg." Meanwhile, while the entire crew was trying to figure out how to circumvent Bank finding out that they were Livingston's known associates, Livingston was being led to an FBI car. Once inside, he kind of smiled to himself knowing exactly who the Shuffle Royale was going to send as his replacement – Roman sauntered into the casino with the replacement shuffle machines.
"Switch these out first, then do the man floor," the pit boss ordered.
"Absolutely," Roman responded, a smug smile on his face.
"Alright, time for the starter's gun," Danny began, stepping away from the high roller table he was currently positioned at, "Rusty, Nattie, what's your 20?" There was no response from his daughter or from his right hand/future son-in-law.
"Anybody got eyes on Rusty or Natalie," Danny asked, "My guys are getting roughed up and they're gonna walk and this is a three-man play."
"Back in range," Rusty finally responded as both he and Natalie walked back into the casino a secret smile on both of their faces.
"Sorry, Daddy," Natalie said to Danny over the radio, "We just had to make a last minute stop that took a little longer than anticipated before also making a last minute pick up."
"Hi boys," Reuben greeted the team over the radio.
"Hey, there he is," Danny greeted with many of the others joining in not longer after. Reuben separated from Natalie and Rusty making his way towards one of the many tables that Bank had in service. Taking a seat, he placed his money on the table before smiling up at the dealer as well as the rest of the participants at the table.
"Let's raise the minimum," he told the dealer, "I'd like to play all the seats."
Back in the Villa that had been rented out as a part of Yen's cover, Sponder was all over Linus, whispering in his ear. The straps on her dress had fallen off of her shoulders.
"Really," Linus asked in amusement, "Pineapple?"
"Yeah," Sponder repeated, as she began placing light kisses on the side and back of Linus' neck.
"No, wait," Linus said, trying to stop her before anything happened, "No, no, not-not here, not here. I could lose my job."
"Oh," Sponder panted, "Doesn't the forbidden make it seem so much more pleasurable to you?"
"No, no, no, no," Linus repeated, "Abby, Abby, I can't be free with myself in Mr. Weng's Villa. Is there another room?"
"No, we're overbooked by forty percent," Sponder panted.
"Somewhere, somewhere we can go where we can be alone," Linus pleaded with her, "Please, Abby, take me."
"Oh," Sponder moaned, "Okay, come with me."
Virgil plugged the laptop into the network, while Turk kept Charlie tightly in his arms wanting to make sure that the little boy didn't go wandering off while he and his brother had their focus on this new task. As soon as Virgil was set, he gave Turk the order to cue the slots. Turk held the remote out to Charlie, who smiled at one of his new found uncles and pressed the button that was being indicated to him.
Inside the casino, several things happened at once. The controls for the slots exploded in the control room causing several rows of slots to suddenly go dark at the exact same time, sending gamblers into a tizzy as Bank made his was to his over.
"This is why we have soft openings," Bank began, speaking to a couple of his mechanics, "So, things like this don't happen. Get 'em fixed."
"Yes sir," the mechanics agreed, before they began to work. Bank continued to make his way through the casino where he ran into Saul dressed as Kensington Chub, whom gave him a slight pat on the bottom as they passed one another Bank turned to look at the older man in bewilderment before Saul tossed up two thumbs up. Bank's eyes widened. He finally had that fifth Five Royal Diamond review that he so desperately wanted.
"Wow," Linus gasped as Sponder led him into the Diamond showcase room, "Stunning."
"What is," Sponder asked in return, "Me or the diamonds?"
"Both," Linus answered, earning himself a smile from the older blonde. As she continued to lead him into the room and towards the bar, Linus took advantage of her having her back to him to plant several small devices all around the base of the diamond case.
"You know, Lenny, I think you're the most honest man in this town," Sponder gasped and moaned, "And I don't think we're gonna need the security cameras for this next part."
"Well, not unless you want to watch the playback," Linus quipped as he made his way towards the bar now that Sponder's eyes were back on him. Sponder moaned at his words at the exact same time her phone began to ring.
"Now," Linus continued, as he brought her phone and purse closer, "I thought we agreed to turn off our phones."
"I know, but that's Bank – he's the only one that has that number and I..."
"Oops," Linus interrupted as he shut her phone off.
"I could make you give that back to me, you know," Sponder laughed.
"You could try," Linus quipped again, "Do you have any wine back there?"
"I got everything you need back there," Sponder responded before leaning down to get a bottle of wine allowing Linus to place the last small device that need to placed around the diamond case, "Chateau d'Yquem?"
"As long as it's not '73," Linus responded.
Bank walked toward his desk, opened a cabinet behind it and pulled out a bottle of vodka and a small glass. He needed a breather. It seemed that despite conning Ocean into letting his whales play at his casino, everything else seemed to be falling apart. The guy he sent to take both Natalie Ocean and her son had the let the mother and son duo slip right through his fingers and into a waiting car, the Shuffle Royale had employed a man who rigs shuffle machines for a living and his slots had malfunctioned. Thankfully, he had managed to secure that Royal Five Diamond award and he had someone running that man's finger prints in his illegal system which means he should have his accomplices in no time.
He really needed a breather.
In one of the men's bathrooms, Saul was changing out of his Kensington Chubb disguise when he received a phone call. Pulling the phone out of his suit pocket, he answered it.
"Yeah..."
"Cue the cartwheel..."
"You got it," Saul answered, before hanging up his phone, only to dial another number. He waited as the phone rang a couple of times before a young woman that he knew answered. He told her what he needed her to do – distract the motorcyclist Fender Roads, long enough to get his American Flag jump suit and hand it off to Basher who will be waiting outside his trailer.
Inside his office, Bank was downloading the known accomplices of Livingston Dell onto his computer when his office door slammed opened and Fender Roads waltzed in with his secretary hot on his tail.
"I am so sorry, sir" his secretary apologized, "I tried to stop him."
"Not your fault, sweetheart," Basher as Fender Roads responded, "You can't stop a man who's jumped thirty-six greyhounds end to end."
"It's alright, Lucille," Bank assured the woman, "I-I'll speak with him. Yes?" Basher fell into one of the chair opposite Bank's desk and rested his feet on top of the desk.
"Mr. Bank, do you know what Chuck Barry said every night before he counted '1,2, 3, 4," Basher asked, the casino owner.
"What did he say?"
"Pay me my money," Basher chuckled, counting the words on his fingers.
"Well, I'm sure my people will be-"
"In cash," Basher sing songed.
"Cash," Bank asked incredulously, just as the known accomplices of Livingston popped up on his computer starting with Rusty, "You've already been wired the money."
"Uh, Mr. Bank," Basher started, getting up out of his seat trying to keep Bank's attention on him while Virgil worked his magic on Natalie's record right before his very eyes, "This is, this is, thi-thi-this is a Fender Roads moment! Mr. Bank, listen, all due respect, all due respect, sir. You got a job tomorrow, running this place. You go to work every day."
"Oh yawn, yawn," Bank countered, miming the act in question, "I make one phone call I get Shaun White Travis Pastrana, five of their buddies before midnight doing, uh, heel clickers and lazy-boys off the back of the building."
"Y-y-y-y-yes, yes," Basher stuttered, "If your audience wants to see a bunch of longhairs ridin' rice rockets, but I'm talking about heavy bikes, sir. This is heavy bike. Fender Roads is a..." Basher trailed off as he imitated a piccolo.
"I'm a goddamn American Icon," Basher insisted, finishing with a salute.
"This is a night that people will talk about as long as there's a Las Vegas," Bank told Basher, not knowing how right he was going to be for all the wrong reasons, "And when they're talking about it, they'll either be talking about you or they won't. Now, that's your choice." Basher nodded.
"Mr. Bank, can I just say one more thing," he asked, as he tried to keep Bank's attention for just a little bit longer while Virgil finished his work. Bank nodded, but all Basher did was hold up his fist and mumble under his breath before turning to walk away.
"Well, you gonna jump," Bank asked, as the man he thought was Fender Roads walked away from him.
"Jumpin' baby," Basher shouted, as Bank's phone began to ring.
"Bank, here," he answered it, "Yeah, I'm looking." There on the screen behind his desk were Livingston Dells' known associated with new names and new faces.
"Alright, Rusty's up," Virgil said as he put the laptop away and made to take Charlie from Turk.
"I got to say, I'm impressed," Turk complimented his brother, as he handed the little boy over to his other uncle, "I think you did a very nice job."
"Yeah, I know I did," Virgil responded as he made sure that Charlie's hard hat and noise cancelling headphones were still securely on his head before they made their way further into the tunnel, "That's why they asked me to do it, not you."
"Wow, 'kay, see, that is me offering you an olive basket," Turk complained, "And that is you spitting in my face, in front of the kid no less."
"Oh, is that your face," Virgil asked, "And the kid can't hear a thing with these headphones Nattie put on him..."
"I can still hear you, uncle Virgil," Charlie responded, looking up at his uncle with an impish little smile, "And Mama would be telling me to apologize to uncle Turk if I had done what you had done..."
