Post by Church on Mar 9, 2021 21:25:11 GMT -6
The thick mahogany of the well-built table had clearly been a part of this office for a long time. It showed experience in its aged lines. Spilled beverages. Pens dug too deep into a piece of paper. It’s length of stay added strength of character.
In front of Amanda Porter sat a tall glass of a Vodka/Sprite. She sipped gently from the glass before standing and walking around the room. Two other servers, Carrie and Laura, sat comfortably but nervously in chairs beside her. In front of Laura, a Miller Lite. In front of Carrie, a glass of iced tea.
“Alright, so we’ve got something important to address today. Church is in session.” Amanda speaks as she rounds the table, drawing all eyes up towards the head of the table. The far side sits Marcos and Chris, the two remaining of Aria’s former security team. In front of Marcos, a tequila spritz. In front of Chris, a bottle of Bud Light. A couple of gentlemen sit off in the corner with short glasses in hand; card dealers.
At the head of the table sits a neat pour of bourbon, as Church reaches forward and takes a healthy sip before letting his chair lean back once more. He crosses his hands across his stomach as he looks up to meet all the eyes of his ‘staff’. Amanda rubs a hand across his shoulder as she passes around the corner to stand behind him against the wall.
“I’m proud of you all. We’ve built somethin’ special here while Vegas falls apart around us. We’ve kept each other safe, we’ve kept makin’ money, and I thank you all for stickin’ around. Couldn’t do it without ya.”
Church speaks with a genuine appreciation, keeping eye contact strong while he speaks; but finally those eyes fall to the mahogany at his knees as he continues.
“But we ain’t got much time left on this train. We’re runnin’ out of food. We got nothin’ left but the shit chips in the vending machines from floor 7 and up of the hotel. We’ve got the bar just about tapped down to Buds and Millers. Machine’s are breakin’ and the money comin’ in from players is just enough to get you guys paid.”
Everyone in the room slowly nods their head. Simple observation from all that were part of these daily operations led to this being a simple ‘address of the known’. It was no surprise.
“This lockdown ain’t ending soon. And it’s becoming increasingly beneficial to our own little 1% to keep that a fact. We’ve had a good run but it’s time to start planning for the reality that awaits us. That we ain’t gonna be able to survive by continuing to ‘play house’ within the walls of Aria. What we need...is numbers.”
These words from Church change the vibe of the room a bit from acceptance to reluctance.
“I ain’t sayin’ we gotta fight. I’m sayin’ we gotta be prepared to fight. If you’re with me, then let’s hit up our contacts. Alot of us have worked on this strip for a long time. If a name pops into your head when I say this, reach out to them. See if they’re still here, see if they’re still whole and tell them to come here to talk to me.”
"Take 'em to Church!" Marcos jokes as the table responds with nervouslaughter
“Excuse me, Church, what exactly are we talking about? Fighting for territory like the rest of these animals?”
Church smirks for a brief moment, running a hand through his hair to make his face entirely visible. His eyes shine with equal parts determination and worry.
“I think we need to be prepared for plans B through G, ya follow? But no. Not territory. We still have our building. We still have our shelter, for now. But weakness in this Vegas climate? Smells like a grease trap. And that stench carries down the boulevard in each direction.”
He leans forward to his elbows, scooting his chair closer to the table as he locks fingers against his chin.
“But I think what we need to do is...we need to buckle down while I continue fighting in Black Pyramid’s tournament. We drive this train until the fuckin’ wheels fall off. Then, when I win the Million Dollar prize awaiting me at the end of this road?”
All eyes are on him with the heat of sunshine through a magnifying glass.
“We get the fuck out of here. By any means necessary.”
The room fills with the sounds of slurping, as everybody takes a drink.
“I ask for no loyalty. This is not some sort of obligation. This is an option. But this is what I need to do...and if you think this is what you need to do too, then when the doors close to our game room...When we can’t keep the games goin’ no more...if you’re still here the next day? Then I’ll know you’re ready to stop playin’.”
Church rubs the peak of his sinuses as he lights the cigarette resting between his lips with the opposite hand. He reaches out and tugs the glass ashtray a bit closer to himself.
“Think they stay?” He asks upwards, Amanda the only left in his presence in the meeting room. She looks up from hanging blonde bangs as she leans over the table, cleaning up.
“No, probably not.” She answers sharply, but a kind smile breaks the harsh truth up into digestible pieces. Church slowly nods in agreement.
“You still in contact with Luther?”
Amanda looks up slowly, stopping her cleanup to cross her arms and look at Church with a cocked brow.
“I’m in contact enough. You’re not thinkin’...”
“Yeah. Yeah I am.”
“Last time you saw him, didn’t he say he was gonna kill you if he ever saw you again?”
Church again nods slowly from his curtain of smoke, this time with a bit of laughter slipping through his lips.
“After 5 years of obliging? I’m willing to call that bluff.”
“Well alright then. I’ll see if I can get a hold of him when we’re done here. Word has it he’s pretty much runnin’ the whole Old Strip.”
“The casinos? Or the streets?”
“Probably both.”
Silence fills the room for a span of time as Amanda gets the rest of the remaining disposable items off of the table. She rubs her hand an extra time across the clear surface, enjoying the feel of the mahogany against her fingertips.
“You ready for L~7?” She asked curtly. “She’s been pretty damn impressive in this tournament so far.”
“Funny thing about L…” Church says, not speaking in the expected manner.
“What’s that?”
“She’s a being unlike us. She has this opportunity to observe this world anew; our species. And all she did was stumble right into the lineup with fools such as myself...she stumbled right into the filth. Right into the definitive opposite of the freedom our country preaches to stand for. Just ironic, I guess. When you think of ‘aliens among us’, you wouldn’t guess they’d willingly put themselves into a caged city and experience the worst human beings have to offer.”
His diatribe leaves Amanda a bit perplexed, but she shrugs it off as she watches his eyes travel off to a distance.
“I would have so many questions...in a world like this. I already do and i’ve been stuck here the whole time.”
Church tightens the corner of his mouth in a facial tick.
“It’s too bad the answers aren’t on the bottom of my boot. Then, atleast, when I kick her fuckin’ head back into the solar system it came from, she’d get what she was looking for.”
Amanda shakes her head in response with a laugh.
“You can be so sophomoric.”
“I guess I should, considering I never finished sophomore year.”
She laughs some more, even Church cracking a slight smirk at his empty-headed charm. His smirk fades as his thoughts return to the aforementioned inevitabilities. A sigh breaks the ‘tough guy’ outer shell.
“I’ve spent my whole life in the muck and mire. And that’s alright. Ain’t got a problem with that. This is just one more drop in the bucket. But the power of the few reigning over the struggle of many? Las Vegas becoming Locked Vegas for what? To contain a virus? To contain people? Like animals on exhibit, I guess I can’t really knock it, because I will continue to do whatever it fuckin’ takes to get that million dollars. I’ll be the star at the end of the circus charade. I don’t care…”
He contemplates…
“Just sucks that L~7 will know that this is what it is to be human; This is humans being.”
*Credit to J.C./McManus for the banner*