No More Good Days
Jan 12, 2021 20:53:49 GMT -6
Punished Von Brandt, L. A. Blackwater, and 2 more like this
Post by Church on Jan 12, 2021 20:53:49 GMT -6
12/14/20
Aria Resort And Casino
Aria Resort And Casino
Two men dressed in dark suits snicker at each other, each with a small latte cup in one hand.
“Yo, I’m telling you, she looked me up and down from the blackjack table...and she nodded her head.”
“Nodded her head like… ’follow me’ nodded her head? Or nodded her head like she was stretching her neck at a game table?”
“I’m TELLING you man, I could see it in her eyes...the lust was strong with that one.”
“See it in her eyes? You said she was wearing sunglasses.” The two continue to walk side by side down the small corridor that looked down upon the gaming floor.
The security office was dark intentionally, keeping the monitors clear to the eye. Cameras galore, there were 3 hubs of screens and one large screen in the center of the room that split 2 views, rotating between cameras throughout the casino. The room stretched further as sitting on the front end of his mahogany desk was Church, Director Of Security.
He inhaled on a cigarette as his head hung, his facial features hidden behind a duo of surrounding shadow and the curtain of long hair. His head pops up as the two guards walk into the room with energy. Nodding his head, his eyes roam the monitors.
“Camera 22, bring it up.” Church says, his voice booming through a hint of gravel.
A female sitting by a console near the largest screen leans forward from her chair, obliging as Camera 22 fills the entire screen. Church leans forward as the two male employees gather around too. One of their favorite things to do was to try and see what Church was seeing before he made it verbally known.
They often failed.
Church runs a hand through his hair to brush it back, squinting as he watches the specific roulette table for 3 rounds of play. The three in the room with him slowly look over and up to the large man who lets out a sigh through a snarl. He looks up at the duo that had just walked in.
“God damnit. Go spook the gentleman in green from the table and then bring me Hector.”
“Hector?”
“Yes, Hector. The dealer. Started with us 2 weeks ago.” As he speaks, he shakes his head slowly in frustration. The kind of frustration that makes it clear he wished he had say in hiring. The two look at each other, alarmed, but know better than to question. They leave the office and get back to the gaming floor as the female employee, name tag reading “Amanda”, looks back and forth between the camera feed and her boss.
“What is he doing, Church?”
“Hector over here is adding chips to this gentlemen’s stack with each win. It’s called top hatting. The most common way for a dealer to help out a buddy. I just hate for an employee to be the one stealing...” Church rubs at the corners of his lips before running a closed fist down the length of his large beard. He gets up and makes his way towards the door.
“Tell the boys to bring Hector down the hall.” Church says firmly as he exits the room and heads to his right.
“...shit.” Amanda sighs to herself as she brings the walkie talkie up to her lips.
Hector shakes a bit, doing his best to maintain the look of surprise and shock on his face. Church emerges slowly from the shadowy corner of the side office. Up on his shoulder rests a shotgun. He looks inquisitively at Hector, who is scared speechless.
“You’re stealing from me.”
“No, no! I don’t know what this was all about! Did I make a counting mistake?”
Church jolts forward ever-so-slightly.
“You don’t want to add lying to that tab, friend.” His words were cold, lifeless.
“Alright, I’m sorry. A buddy of mine is having some hard times so I figured I could help him out, ya know?”
“Listen, Hector, I know you’re new here. So let me introduce you to someone...this is Shelly.” He slowly holds his Pump Action Shotgun out in front, slowly running his fingers down it before pulling back on the Forearm, breaking the silence. He tilts the gun forward to show the empty chamber momentarily before putting it back to rest upon his shoulder. His eyes pierce right through Hector’s, who is choking back fearful tears.
“Look, look, I fucked up, alright? I fucked up. Alright? I’m sorry. I’ll pay the money back that I slipped and I’ll leave. Is that fair? Fair?” He says with his arms up in the air, a reflex despite knowing the gun rests unloaded.
“Fair? Fair is everybody doing their part. Fair is a dealer who keeps his head down and lets the game be played. Fair is NOT a dealer that PLAYS the GAME, you follow? So now...now we get to play a little game.” His words dance with a charismatic growl as Hector’s head drops. Church slowly moves forward, his eyes raising above the sightline of Hector to catch the TV screen up in the far corner. His eyes squint for a moment, as the headlines about lockdowns flash up, live cameras showing madness on the streets around Las Vegas as the information spreads. Church watches quietly for a moment as Hector weeps silently in front of him.
Church lowers his angry eyes back down, face to face with the man in the chair before him. His eyebrows draw further down and he shows his teeth for a moment, a human predator, before letting an exhale slip through his lips. His eyes look up once more to the news on the television before standing tall.
“They’re lockin’ down Vegas. You? Get the fuck out of my casino and get the fuck out of Vegas before there’s no escape. And if you ever come back to my town, Hector?”
He leans in real close, speaking in a devilish whisper.
“The next time you hear someone say “take him to Church”, it will be a funeral call, ya understand?” Church grabs him by the shirt to help him up and pushes him towards the door. Church leans forward, leaning his head back to watch the coverage through squinted, questioning eyes.
“...shit.”
1/7/21
Church sits amongst the game tables, looking over things for a moment. His hair pulled back, his beard wild as ever. His dress a conglomerate of denim, leather and steel, a man never to be picked out of the lineup as a ‘management’ type. But here he was. “Managing” a much different world of casino as a means to continue to make money for himself as well as the staff that ended up stuck in Vegas.
From afar, Church spots the eyepatch, doing a small double-take before recognition clicks. Eyes locked, Church’s intensity rides the airwaves all the way to the one good eye of L.A. Blackwater. Other than a few minor facial tics, there is complete stillness between the two starring across a world in between them. A server leans over towards Church, serving tray in hand from which Church takes a whiskey.
“He sends his regards,” she says. Church watches Blackwater leave the casino as he slowly raises his glass in the direction of his future.
“To no more good days”
*Credit to J.C./McManus for the banner*