Coming to Terms Chapter 25
A/N Um, what can I say? Better very late than never? No, nothing will make it better so sorry. On the plus side I'm on annual leave so perhaps I'll be able to update a couple of other stories… maybe. For this story I'd hop back a chapter to see where we're up to if you don't remember; I certainly had to! This chapter is also a bit of an experiment for me as anyone who's read my stuff is probably aware that I tend to concentrate on feeling and emotion but this is all conversation so I hope it doesn't disappoint too much. Thank you for your patience.
There was stunned silence for several second. More than one of the visiting brothers wondered if walking into drama and intrigue was a normal everyday occurrence for their larger than life gambler brother and from his entirely unruffled demeanor you would have to say yes. Chris resisted the urge to look round and see if they were part of a movie set and nobody had told them. This being none of the Colorado contingent's comfort zone they kept quiet as the hotel staff and Ezra began to discuss possibilities but JD's brain was whirring at a rapid rate. After Maude had been ruled out due to her modus operandi not fitting the facts plus her not being an idiot and knowing that an attack on Vegas would, if the crime went sour, see her ostracized from every casino in the Western Hemisphere. Besides she was a con not a thief, well not unless circumstances were grim and Ezra had assured them that she was pretty flush at the moment with her latest mark.
JD listened as the casino staff ran through possible scenarios as to who and what were the worst case outcomes of their findings, from rival casino jealousy to nerdish computer hackers playing games just because they could. However what intrigued the young computer genius most had nothing to do with his specialist subject, what had captured his interest was the fact that they were only discussing his realm of expertise. He knew from his days at MIT where he and his friends had often dreamt up mock casino breaking schemes, just for the academic thrill of course!, that casino staff were very savvy on the more personal aspects of detection like body language, paper trails and other means of uncovering cheats and swindlers. But there had been nothing mentioned, no potential devious behaviour or staff acting out of sorts. Surely there would be more than just technical problems? A little light came on in his brain… technical problems!
"Um, guys?" his voice was hesitant and quite quiet; he was unused yet to holding his own with his elders. In the world of academia you were either staff or student and whilst the professors treated their students as young adults rather than children the students weren't often encouraged to be so casual.
"What is it JD?" The gabble of voices trailed off as Ezra acknowledged the voice that they hadn't heard. The sudden silence and mass of heads focussing on him rendered JD mute and the words rabbit and headlights came to several minds. The wink and slight nod of a chestnut brown head, however, acted like a key in a lock and with a deep breath he launched into his theory. Unfortunately the launch was like a rocket and Ezra was soon making a halting motion. "Slow down JD, unfortunately we do not all have the mental capacity to process information at the rate you do, so please take pity on us."
JD blushed and nodded before beginning again. It wasn't the first time he had needed to be slowed, even as a toddler he had driven his mother to exasperation.
"Okay, sorry guys, I was just wondering what would you have done if I hadn't stumbled across the incidents being more than glitches?"
"Hardly stumbled JD" Carmine complimented but he had to admit that it was doubtful they would have been discussing crime, at least so early in the day, "I suppose we would still be running diagnostics to try and see if the problem lay in our software or hardware or was, perhaps, down to some outside influence such as our ISP."
"You wouldn't just contact other casinos and see if they were having problems first? That would confirm or rule out the outside possibilities." Chris was unprepared for the look of shock and horror on the casino operatives faces. Ezra and Fats chuckled before Fats explained to the out of towners.
"Reputation is everything in this business Mister Larabee. Any hint of weakness or financial insecurity and it would be 'good night Vienna' for us within weeks. The last thing that we would consider is talking to our competition. Definitely a last resort" Fats shuddered at the thought of the feeding frenzy from his fellow inhabitants of the shark pool that was Vegas.
Chris couldn't help but think that it was a pretty stressful way of life. No wonder his southern brother was so high strung. Give him horses over gaming chips any day.
"So who would you contact if you thought it was your equipment at fault?" JD thought by now that he knew the answer but he wanted to be sure. This wasn't a student role play game, this was, as Fats had just made clear, peoples livelihoods at stake.
Carmine frowned and thought for a moment, mentally running through his options. "I guess we would call in our security maintenance contractors for a full overhall."
"And I bet they're new!" JD's eyes shone with excitement as he had his guess confirmed.
"You'd lose that bet kid" Carmine informed him apologetically. "We've been using Desert Security for several years now. They're one of the most popular and trusted companies in the State of Nevada."
"Oh." JD's disappointment was obvious. He had really thought he was on to something. He just hoped he hadn't made too big a fool of himself in front of his brothers, especially Ezra since these were his friends. He'd hate to think of them pitying the gambler for having an idiot for a brother. "Sorry, I just thought that… well I guess it doesn't matter what I thought." JD smiled apologetically expecting laughter at his expense but was surprised to see a mixture of expressions from pride to abstracted thoughtfulness.
"Hey junior, it was a good idea, don't beat yourself up over it just because it was wrong, you didn't have all the 'data'" Buck grinned and made quotation marks over the computer speak word.
As his other brothers and new friends nodded their agreement making him sigh in relief Ezra contrarily shook his head in the negative.
"I'm not so sure that our resident genius is wrong" he stated as he moved over to the nearest desktop computer and began typing.
"Now wait a doggone min… huh?" Buck had been ready to defend his little brother from the others sarcastic comment but then realised that Ezra was being serious and was defending the original idea.
"Damn!"
At Ezra's muted but vehement comment all in the room gathered round him at the computer screen even though they couldn't see what was on it.
"What is it Ez?" Vin had kept quiet up until now. He neither understood the world of high tech or Vegas politics but he understood his brother and knew when he was perturbed. "Ez?" he repeated when his brother failed to respond.
"Hmm? Oh Ah'm sorry Vin, I was just thinking. Fats, do you remember that party you wrote me about, around a year or so ago? The retirement party for your old friend?"
"Rob? Yeah, you mean Rob Baines, the owner of Des… Ah, hell!"
Turning to his brothers as the casino staff realised instantly where he was going with his reasoning Ezra explained.
"Rob Baines founded Desert Security many years ago. He built up a thoroughly reputable business and ran it personally until he retired last year. Looking at the new company lineup several changes have been made at high level. All new appointments seem to have been made by the new company president, Robert Baines junior."
"A young gun" Fats added with a grimace. "All change for changes sake, or so I thought. But why would he risk the whole family business for one sting on a middle range casino? And just what is he hoping to get away with? It's hardly likely that finagling the security cameras will give him the sort of access he needs to get away with our cash and even if he did it wouldn't beat what his company makes annually. It just doesn't make sense but I agree that it's too much of a coincidence to be disregarded."
"Any chance that he's got financial problems? Handled the company badly and been skimming the profits?" Vin might not know much about technology but as a bounty hunter he was more than aware of human failings and there weren't too many reasons for committing crime, money being at the top of the list.
Fats gave it serious consideration but then shook his head. "Not likely. If he'd been gambling or womanizing then word would have gotten out. Any hint of impropriety would have had us all dropping the company like a hot cake. Of course I don't know much about him; he went to Harvard, did a stint in corporate finance in New York and then got the call to come home and step into his Daddy's shoes." Fats shrugged to indicate that was the limit of his knowledge before adding "Most of those he replaced were pretty close to retirement themselves, maybe he was just being a new broom, sweeping clean."
"Or maybe he was putting cohorts into place." Nathan was more trusting than most but even he could feel something wasn't right here and that they were somehow on the right track, even if they didn't know where that track was heading.
Fats had to agree. Despite the friendship he had with Rob senior his gut was telling him that maybe the veteran's sense of honour didn't pass to the next generation. With a sigh he turned to Carmine "Car, do a thorough background check on these new board members, right back to their kindergarten records and check when they last serviced our systems, before or after the management change."
"On it boss."
Ezra's expertise was more in depriving casinos of their money by legal means but with a snake for a mother he had an innate sense of the criminal. His aunt had often said that he would have made either a wonderful detective or an exemplary crook and his instincts were telling him to think outside the box on this. It was obvious that they had been given an unexpected heads up by JDs presence but…
"Ez?" Fats knew when his boy was on the jazz… could he help it if he was an ATeam fan… and Ezra had that look he got when he was close to figuring out an opponents tell.
"Gentlemen, and lady" Ezra grinned charmingly at Tina "We still, despite now having a suspect, have no motive."
"I would've thought cleaning out the casino was a pretty big motive". The brothers nodded their agreement at Chris's comment.
"Big, yes, but big enough? Ah'm not sure about that."
"I agree" Fat's concurred "But where else can we go with this?"
"Maybe he's doing the same to other casinos. It's not like you'd all tell each other if he did. Could be he saw Ocean's eleven. They hit three casinos and got away with about a hundred and fifty million."
JD's comment was purely off the cuff but it triggered flashbulbs in Ezra's brain and he smiled that sharks grin that signified he had a winning hand to lay down.
"No Ezra, we wouldn't tell each other, but Baines wouldn't have the chance to hit more than one casino before the cops made a connection and contacted the others to warn them. This ain't the movies and they don't service the likes of The Bellagio" Fats pre-empted his boy having recognized that look.
Ezra nodded in agreement but his predatory look was undimmed. Vin furrowed his brow in thought and then smiled as he reached the same conclusion as his brother. He turned to Carmine to confirm his idea.
"Mr Danvers, this is how I see it and how I reckon Ez has it figured so tell me what happens next. You get glitches and you can't figure them out so you call in Baines. He checks out the system and finds that the problem is man made and tells you that you should call the police. What do you do?"
"We call the cops, can't afford not to, the insurance company would be down on our heads if anything happened."
JD had taken a bit longer to get there but with a nod from his two slightly older brothers he took over the scenario.
"So now Baines is called in by several other casinos that he's set up and he advises them to call the police…"
"They would for the same reason" Fats supplied exchanging confused looks with Carmine and Tina.
"And the police would launch a major investigation into an imminent mass theft, no doubt with images of George Clooney in the backs of their minds, while the casinos would lock down tighter than Fort Knox." Ezra added.
"And they would quickly uncover the common denominator!" Fats was glad to hear the puzzled frustration in Nathan's voice as it echoed his own thoughts.
"Yes!" declared Ezra triumphally "But by then they will be too late and little Robbie will be continents away with his ill gotten gain…" he paused for dramatic effect (he was a showman and Maude's son after all) and then huffed as Vin got in ahead of him!
"Because while the cops and casinos are charging around like a passle of puppies chasing their tails he and his gang will have hit their true target and gotten away in the confusion."
"A diversion! We're a diversion? I think I'm offended" Fats chewed on his cigar furiously while shaking his head in admiration at both the gangs audacity and his boy and the brothers deductive skills.
"But what's the true target then?"
"That, Buck, is the million dollar question." Ezra shrugged as he replied.
"You mean you don't know!? None of you know? It's like a murder mystery with the last page missing!"
"Could be a bank, several banks, a casino not on their customer list, a hotel, a…"
"Okay kid" Buck cut JD off "We get the point."
"That's for the police to decide but Ah know that there are at least two major exhibitions in town at the moment that would make Midas weep, not to mention payrolls." Ezra would put his money on the Ecklin Jewels exhibition at the Museum reckoned to be worth at least seventy five million dollars but he always did have an eye for beauty, maybe Baines had a more prosaic nature and would go for the cold hard cash. His imagination began to build a hypothetical plan to acquire the jewels himself before he suddenly became aware that everyone but his brothers had left the room.
"They've gone to alert the police" Buck answered his unasked question before placing a firm guiding hand to the back of his neck and adding "Come on Danny Ocean, it's dinner time and the only caper we're planning is to decimate the all you can eat buffet."
"Ah always saw mahself as Brad Pitt" Ezra mused as he allowed himself to be led away.
Ezra hoped that his blush had gone unobserved as his inner thoughts had been perceived so easily. Since when had he become so transparent. And why wasn't he as bothered as he knew he should be?
TBC
A/N Next chapter should see us back home and events will start moving towards a conclusion within, at a guess, two or three chapters.