Tricks and Traps (Gray Spear Society Book 7) (25 page)

There were many guards in tan uniforms, too. Aaron didn't know how many were mercenaries, but some had an obvious military bearing and nearly all had a gun.

"Jack?" Marina said. "Is that you?"

Aaron looked over. His security chief was playing one of the games. He had sweat stains under his arms and glazed eyes. His tongue was hanging out as he frantically worked the controls of a machine.

Aaron walked over. "Hey!"

Jack didn't respond. He was using pink paddles behind a sheet of glass to bounce a wooden ball up a corkscrew ramp. Holes and rubber knobs formed obstacles. The apparent goal was to hit a big silver bell at the top, but there were smaller bells along the way. Watching the game made Aaron's eyes cross. He could feel the pull of the machine, and fighting it off took some effort.

"Jack!" Aaron said. "Stop playing. Look at me."

Jack shook his head and kept playing.

Aaron grabbed Jack's right index finger. Aaron applied pressure until a small bone snapped. The move was subtle and wouldn't attract attention.

Jack yanked his broken hand away.

"Are you listening now?" Aaron said.

Jack's eyes were badly bloodshot, and his jaw was slack. He reeked of stress sweat.

"Yes, sir," he said.

"How much money have you lost?"

"I don't know. I ran out of cash and had to use credit cards. I have some receipts..."

With his left hand, Jack pulled scraps of paper out of his pockets. The totals ran well into five figures.

"You're in a lot of trouble," Aaron said. "That machine got its teeth into you, good and hard."

Jack looked around. He gulped and shuddered. "Yes, sir."

Aaron pushed him towards the rest of the team.

"Jack is confined to headquarters until further notice," Aaron announced. "He'll live there full-time. Also, he won't have any shifts in the security booth. He is completely off-duty until I decide I can trust him again. Everybody else will have to take up the slack."

Jack's face fell. "What will I do, sir?"

"Read a book. Watch TV. I don't care. You're useless to me right now, and a danger to yourself."

Jack sniffed and wiped his eye.

"Smythe," Aaron said, "can you get him home?" He handed over the car keys.

"Yes, sir," Smythe said.

"Be careful until you're safely out of the casino. He may try to run. He's not thinking clearly. You can fix his hand later."

Smythe grabbed Jack firmly by the upper arm. "Let's go."

Jack gave his game one last look before being pulled away. He had the slumped shoulders of a broken man.

Aaron sighed deeply. "That really sucks."

"You're lucky you got to him quickly," Marina said. "If you can keep him out of trouble, his mind may eventually heal. He's a tough old bird."

"How long do you think that will take?"

"Weeks. Months." She shrugged. "We don't even know what we're dealing with."

"The twins are out of commission. Now Jack, too. My team is falling apart." Aaron turned to Tawni and Sheryl. "Let that be a warning to both of you. Never let down your guard. The enemy attacks when we are weakest."

"Yes, sir," the women responded.

"Let's keep moving."

Aaron walked quickly as he continued his reconnaissance. He wanted to get out of this place.

The bottom two floors of the casino were entirely dedicated to games. He recognized the Super Double Monkey machines, but there were many other types. All of them involved little balls, tricky challenges, and complicated controls though. As far as he could tell, normal games like poker and blackjack didn't exist here. It was a great business decision. The monkey machines and their cousins were sucking money out of gamblers' pockets like vacuum cleaners.

Stairs led up to a third floor, but it was roped off. A guard told Aaron that section was for private functions and VIPs. Aaron decided not to press the issue.

Eventually, the team finished their hurried tour and left the casino. The darkness and quiet of the night was pure bliss. His head was ringing from sensory overload. The experience had left his sense of reality a little tattered at the edges. He looked up at the stars and the moon until he felt right again. Everybody else had the good sense to keep quiet in the meantime.

He took a deep breath and faced Marina, Tawni, and Sheryl. Having so many beautiful women in his life felt a little strange to Aaron. He was used to hanging out with guys.

"Observations?" he said. "Insights? I'm listening."

"That was some bad shit," Tawni said. "Those people weren't just gambling. They were slaves to the machines."

"But was it unnatural? Were we looking at something that should be impossible?"

"Yeah."

Marina and Sheryl nodded in agreement.

"Security was very tight," Marina said. "I've seen prisons that weren't as well guarded. I wouldn't want to get caught in there. Fighting my way out would be hell."

"They can certainly afford to pay for that kind of security," Aaron said. "God knows how much money that place is pulling in. The gamblers were handing it over like it wasn't even theirs. We need more information. I want to start by finding out who owns the casino. That's the guy we need to talk to. Tonight is the grand opening, so I'm sure he's in the building somewhere."

"I don't want to go back inside. That place is too hard on the soul."

"The guards didn't seem to mind. It was strange. Everybody else was drooling over the machines, and security wasn't even interested."

"Maybe they know a trick for fighting the effect," she said.

"If so, it's a trick we need to learn. I could feel the pull. The games were calling to me. I understand what happened to Jack." He grimaced. "I don't want to go back, either. Not tonight."

"So we have to get Mr. Big Shot to come out here, instead. That's easy enough to arrange."

Marina pointed across the parking lot, and Aaron turned in that direction. The main sign for the casino looked like a giant iron pot full of gold coins. Yellow lights made the treasure gleam brightly. A steel pole held the massive sign high in the air.

He smiled. "Good idea. I love working with somebody who thinks like me."

"What?" Sheryl said. "Did I miss something, sir?"

"Watch and learn. I want you and Tawni to find concealed positions near the sign. Be close enough to see the show, but not too close. And I need the keys to the van."

Tawni handed over the car keys. "Come on." She walked off.

Sheryl followed her into the darkness.

Aaron and Marina took the long walk back to the green minivan. He opened the rear doors and found a gray duffle bag. It contained basic supplies that were brought along on almost every assignment.

He unzipped the bag. "How much C-4?"

"Six ounces," she said. "The pole looked thick."

"Sounds right to me."

He found a block of C-4 in the bag. Using a knife, he sliced off a chunk of the off-white material. He dug out a detonator, a timer, and the other small items he would need to build a bomb. He put all the materials in his pockets.

His phone rang. The caller ID indicated it was Bethany. He answered, "Hello?"

"We have to apologize, sir," Bethany said in her soft, polite voice. "We've been awful."

"That's true, but apologies won't help us with the mission. I need to know if I can rely on you. Are you back in the game?"

"We'll do the best we can."

"That's not an answer," he said.

"This isn't easy for us either. The project is consuming all the resources in our minds and pushing out everything else. God keeps sending us text messages."

"I don't really blame you. I understand you're in an impossible situation. If I give you a small assignment tonight, will you be able to do it?"

"I think so, sir," she said.

"Expect a call in a half-hour." Aaron put away his phone.

Marina shook her head. "I suppose the good news is this can't go on much longer. God will demand a resolution."

"I hate to think about it."

They walked back across the huge parking lot to the casino sign. He assembled the bomb at the base of the support pole. The soft C-4 molded to the curved metal surface. He found some big rocks nearby and placed them around the bomb to help focus the blast. Finally, he set the timer for ten minutes.

They hurried off.

"How do you want to play this?" Aaron said.

"Nothing complicated," Marina said. "You chase me, and I'll do the lift."

"I love chasing you."

"And I love being chased by you." She blew a kiss to him. "Don't forget to get all red-faced and angry. That's my favorite part. There is a vein in your forehead that pops out."

"I'll try not to disappoint. Thinking about Jack should be enough motivation."

They crouched among the parked cars closest to the casino. The C-4 made an impressive thunderclap when it exploded, and broken rocks sprayed like shrapnel. There wasn't a lot of light or smoke. Car alarms went off all around. The sign didn't move.

"Fuck," Aaron said.

"Wait for it," Marina said.

Finally, the sign began to tip over. Metal groaned as it twisted and broke. The pot of gold at the top smashed down and crushed the roof of a car.

The response from the casino took a while to get going. Security was the first on the scene. They stood around in confusion for a few minutes before finally calling for reinforcements on their radios. Two police cars and a fire truck with flashing lights showed up next.

"Maybe we should've done something bigger," Marina said.

"Patience," Aaron said. "This will work."

A short time later, men in nice suits started coming out of the casino to inspect the destruction. Clearly, they were the executives. Aaron studied the growing crowd as he tried to pick out the top man.

Eventually, he spotted a tall, handsome man with brown hair. Two huge bodyguards bracketed him and made him appear small by comparison. He wore a simple brown suit made of slightly glossy material. Whenever he spoke, everybody else stopped talking and listened.

"That's our guy," Aaron pointed.

"I see him," Marina said. "He just oozes charisma. Are you ready to do this?"

"I'm very sorry."

"What?"

He slugged her in the face. When she looked up, she had a red mark on her cheek and a cracked lip. The effect was exactly what he wanted.

She wiped her bloody lip with the back of her hand. "That wasn't nice."

"You have to look like you've been in a fight, and we don't have any makeup. You can pound the shit out of me when we get home."

"It's a deal. I'm going now."

She ran towards the crowd around the sign. He waited a couple of beats and chased after her. She screeched hysterically and glanced back at him with a terrified expression. He roared in anger. Their feet slapped the asphalt as they sprinted at top speed. She aimed her body straight towards the man with brown hair like a guided missile. Aaron followed about ten yards back.

Marina ran headlong into her target without even looking at him. She acted as if she were too distracted to realize he was standing there. The bodyguards tried to deflect her but were a fraction of a second too slow. Marina and the man went down together. She was back on her feet and running again a second later.

The security guards finally got organized. Some of them intercepted Marina before she could get away. Other men blocked Aaron so he couldn't pursue her.

"Bitch!" he yelled. "Whore!"

"Stay away from me!" Marina screamed in a high-pitched voice.

One of the men in suits came forward. "What's going on here?"

Aaron didn't care for the royal purple color of his outfit. The man with brown hair was already drifting towards the back of the crowd and clearly didn't want to get involved.

"That woman cut in front of me," Aaron said. "I was waiting in line for a half-hour for a game. I went to take a piss. When I got back, she was playing."

Marina shook her head. "That's not true! The game was open."

"You saw me waiting."

"You were just standing there. I didn't know what you were doing."

"You stupid cunt!" he said. "I wasn't there to pick my nose!"

"Keep that fucking asshole away from me. He hit me in the face. He's out of control." She cowered behind a security guard.

The man in purple made calming motions with his hands. "Relax. I'm sure it was a simple misunderstanding."

Aaron shook his head. "No. She cut in front of me on purpose. She was waiting for me to get out of line."

"If you hit her, that's battery. I think you need to cool off in a jail cell. Officers, could you please arrest this man?"

Two cops came forward. Aaron broke and ran the other direction. He knew the police wouldn't shoot him in the back for such a minor offense, but they did chase him.

He sprinted down the block until he came to a gas station. He went around to the back, vaulted onto a dumpster, and climbed onto the roof. He watched from above as the cops showed up a few seconds later. They looked around in confusion.

Eventually, they split up and went in opposite directions. Aaron waited another minute before getting down from the roof. He circled back.

He had to find where Tawni and Sheryl were hiding. He could've used the locator app in his phone, but it was much more fun to do it the old-fashioned way.

He crept from car to car, always staying in the darkest shadows. Sweat beaded on his forehead. The weather was a little too warm for this kind of work, but it wasn't bad. At least the sun wasn't beating down on him.

Two dark figures were hiding behind a bush and watching the commotion. They had the slender bodies of beautiful women.

He came up behind them, making no noise at all. He didn't want them to scream in surprise, so he reached around from behind. Abruptly, he clamped his hands over their mouths.

Sheryl squealed. Tawni tried to elbow him in the ribs, but she didn't have a good angle.

"Hello, ladies," Aaron whispered. He let go of them.

"Sir," Tawni said in a tight voice, "I hate it when you do that."

"It makes you a better
legionnaire
."