Lt. Chase and Officer Clark, wearing their best formal attire, met promptly with Shield and Alias. The vigilantes were in what appeared to be dark tuxedo suits with neck ties coordinated to their typical gear but still had their gloves as well as their headgear. They were also accompanied by a fifth person: the woman was dressed in elegant evening wear with a full white mask depicting an androgynous humanoid face. She carried a heavily secured case that was attached to her wrist which they presumed bore the physical money they needed.
“Looks like you two dressed down for the occasion,” Lt. Chase noted.
“Who is your friend?”
“This is Katana,” Shield stated.
“She represents another party that has lent us the money necessary for this transaction.”
“A charity case?” Clark asked.
“Didn't know there were any of those in this city… Who is it?”
“For security purposes, the less you know of the arrangement with my employer, the better,” Katana said simply.
“Let us proceed to the meeting so we can get this over with.”
Lt. Chase gave her a stern look but turned and led the way.
They walked a few blocks from their designated meeting point and arrived on the main street just across from the casino building. Gleaming lights cast a welcoming glow to any who could be fooled by the facade put forth to such a den of thieves, scoundrels, and scam artists. They didn't consider themselves such fools but still approached with an air of alertness and caution.
As they reached the front doors of the establishment and noted the line waiting to get in, a man wearing a completely black set of formal wear with a white tie and smartwatch contrasting the ensemble waved them over. Patrons in line talked amongst themselves at the spectacle of not only these newcomers skipping the line, but of the party composition. Several people took out various smartphones and other devices, taking pictures or video of the scene.
“Great… this is going to be all over the news tomorrow, isn't it?” asked Clark.
“Doesn't matter,” Alias stated.
“All that matters is that we take care of things.”
“Afraid of a little public exposure?” Shield asked sarcastically.
“Enough bantering,” Lt. Case commanded discreetly.
“We are here on a mission.”
The group approached the bouncer, who greeted them with a surprisingly pleasant demeanor.
“Welcome to House 21,” he said.
“The bosses told me to keep an eye out for a group that looked out of place, and here you are.”
He silently counted the number of people.
“Weren't there only supposed to be four of you?” he asked.
“The fifth member is our money handler,” stated Lt. Chase.
“Precautions on part of the party involved in the money itself.”
The bouncer put a finger to the earpiece he wore, listening to conversation only he was privy to.
“Seems legit enough,” he said.
“Present your pass so we can get you all checked in.”
Alias retrieved the playing card from an inside pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to his brother, who showed it to the bouncer in turn.
“Hmmm, Four of Diamonds,” the man said.
“Interesting…”
He waved his smartwatch near the card and the face of the card inverted the colors from black and red to white and teal.
“You're free to enter the facility,” the man said with a grin.
“Hope you enjoy your visit!”
The group entered the building and was immediately met by four security guards and a host, each member wearing a different card suit icon on their uniform.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” the host said casually.
“If you please would step over to this side room, we are going to make sure you aren't carrying anything we don't want you to have.”
They complied and were thoroughly searched. The vigilantes and Katana did not have anything on them to be removed, but the officers each carried concealed firearms. These were properly checked in for them to retrieve later.
“Didn't know you had to do that as officers of the law,” Alias commented.
“It seems House 21 has their own rules…” Lt. Chase drolled.
“But I'd rather keep this as streamlined as possible so we can get this over with.”
The party was then escorted from the lobby to the main hall where various machines and tables of all sorts of gambling happened. Many were too entranced in their activities that they barely noticed, but the attention of some was pulled immediately to the group being led directly to the grand stairwell to the loft where the wealthiest patrons operated.
One man in particular took interest in the entourage and watched them closely. He collected his winnings from the game he had just finished, straightened his dark green suit, and followed the group up the steps. When one of the hosts at the bottom of the stairs stepped forward to intercept him, he flashed his own pass: a Jack of Hearts that had a stylized sun as part of the motif. The host acquiesced and did not interrupt the man.
Katana glanced back and spotted the follower, but gave no noticeable reaction to his presence. The group was brought through another layer of game tables with some more prominent-looking figures seated around them and toward a section that was sectioned off by golden velvet cords.
“Aren't you the vigilantes that have been all over the media?” the man asked as he caught up to the group.
The security near the back of the group turned to stop him but halted when they saw who he was.
“Mr. Sunshine….” one of them began.
“How can we help you…?”
Mr. Sunshine simply smiled, though the expression didn't seem to reach his steely eyes.
“I just wanted to see if the rumors were true,” he began.
“That House 21 was to have some… out-of-the-ordinary… guests tonight.”
“Are you planning to turn said ‘guests’ away from my establishment?” called a man's voice.
They all turned to see Jack approaching the party from the other side of the divider.
“That would be a rather rude thing to do…”
Mr. Sunshine looked at each member of the group in turn, then nodded.
“Good luck over there,” he said in a more serious tone.
“Try not to gamble your lives away too hard.”
He then turned back to the stairwell, giving one more glance to Katana, then carried on his way with his hands in his pockets.
“Is he a regular patron?” Alias asked Jack.
Jack shook his head.
“Not in the traditional sense… he comes by every other month… but I digress… you are here for more interesting things than those who can afford this tier of our games!” he said with a clap of his hands.
“Come right this way!”
The host unclipped the cord from one side of the carpeted pathway and stood to the side, allowing the group to pass. Once they had gone through, she reattached the clip and left, the security guards lining up along the barriers to keep an eye on things.
In the center of an elaborately decorated platform was a round gilded stone and wood crafted table with the icons of the members of House 21. Four chairs were already positioned around it and four more were brought in by staff to accommodate the players. Jack took a position near his coordinated symbol, the Spade, and the other members of House 21 emerged from a back room to their respective quadrants.
“I take it that the Miss is carrying the money?”
Shield nodded and motioned for Katana to step forward.
“As demanded, five hundred thousand,” she stated as she unlocked the case.
After entering a PIN and using a thumbprint scanner, the case’s lock mechanism popped. She turned the case around so the House 21 members could see the bundles of money.
“Demanded implies there wasn't a choice,” Jack said in a mockingly jovial tone.
“I'd like to think it was heavily suggested.”
“Here's your money, now where is the girl?” demanded Alias.
“Now, now, let's not get too hasty,” Jack began.
“We didn't invite you all the way up to the highest tier of our tables for a mere exchange. But as an act of good faith, we are inviting her to sit with us tonight as well!”
He motioned to a pair of guards at the back of the room and they opened the door again. Two more goons were on the other side leading a blindfolded Charlie to another chair near Jack and cuffed her to it.
Alias and Lt. Chase both reacted on impulse to the visual, but neither made a move otherwise. The blindfold was removed and Charlie scowled at the bright light centered over the table as she tried to make sense of the scene. She looked around and did a double take when she saw the group of people at the other end of the table.
“Cody?!” she called, almost tearing up.
“What are you doing here?”
“Hey, sis,” Cody almost said in a whisper.
“We're here to take you home.”
Charlie looked again at the members of the group. She noted Angel Clark, but her confusion increased with the presence of the masked woman and the two who appeared to be the vigilantes but wearing tuxedos instead of their typical armor. She paused and focused more directly on Alias as if studying what few features were visible.
“What about them?” she asked.
“Why are you with the vigilantes?”
“While the ins and outs of whatever tenuous alliance may be, I’m sure you can all take time to catch up later,” Jack interjected.
“They are all here to play friendly game of cards with us!”
He gestured to the empty seats, motioning for the officers and vigilantes to sit down.
“I much rather would’ve just pummeled the lot of them with my bare fists…” grumbled Maverick.
“I might be tempted to take you up on that offer,” Shield commented, choosing to sit next to the Scotsman.
“Though the outcome might not be to your liking.”
“We aren't here to beat each other senseless like barbarians…” chided Tesla.
“What are we playing exactly?” Clark asked.
“I'm so glad you asked!” Jack said enthusiastically.
He gestured to a man nearby who was wearing a smart looking red vest who had a black metallic case in his hands. He approached the table and opened the case, revealing a deck of black cards with gold, silver, and red metallic patterns on their back faces.
“Now, I am sure you'd expect some more casual games like your standard Poker, Blackjack, and the like…” Jack began as the dealer shuffled the cards.
“We will warm up with a few rounds of those but then we have a more… specialized game we like to play here at our VIP table. We will explain that later.”
Comments