James Swain - Take Down

“Something wrong?” the big man asked.

“I thought I saw a reflection,” he said.

“Binoculars?”

“Maybe. Or a high-powered camera.”

“Think someone’s spying on us?”

“There’s always someone spying on us in this fucking town.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t see it now. Maybe it was nothing.”

Travis dropped his voice. “So where’d you find these jokers?”

“It’s a long story,” he whispered back.

“I don’t trust them.”

“Nor should you.”

“Got it.”

Billy turned from the wall and went back to his crew. Ike was showing off his Super Bowl ring to Cory and Morris, while T-Bird was chatting with Pepper and Misty. Gabe stood off to the side, clutching the bag of counterfeit chips protectively against his chest.

“Everyone, listen up,” he said. “In a few hours, we’re going to pull off the biggest heist this town has seen in a while. I need your undivided attention for a few minutes.”

The conversations stopped, and they huddled around him.

“Here’s the deal. At a few minutes past four o’clock, Ike and T-Bird are going to make a run at the cage and hand over the counterfeit chips to a cashier in return for a briefcase containing eight million in untraceable money orders. That in a nutshell is how we’re going to rip the joint off. T-Bird will be impersonating a drug dealer and will need to have appropriate threads. You’re also going to have to shave off his dreads.

“I’ve been thinking about where this transformation should happen, and decided my suite at the hotel would be best. Misty and Pepper, come to my suite at two thirty with clothes for T-Bird to wear. Sound good, ladies?”

Misty and Pepper both said sure, no big deal.

“Each of you has a role in today’s heist,” he went on. “T-Bird needs two Mexican female bodyguards to accompany him. Misty and Pepper, that’s you. Dark wigs and lots of makeup should do the trick. You’ll also need some dangerous attire.”

“Who has female bodyguards?” Pepper asked skeptically.

“Prince had female bodyguards when he was doing the Purple Rain tour,” Misty reminded her. “They came with him to one of the awards shows.”

“I remember them. They were wicked looking,” Pepper said.

“Think you can handle it?” Billy asked.

They both said yes.

“Gabe and Travis are going to play dumb tourists, and need to be hanging around the cage when the chips are cashed in,” he continued. “Their job will be to intercept any employees that walk by, and turn their attention away from the cage.”

“I can do that,” Gabe said.

“Same here,” Travis said.

“Cory and Morris, you drive the escape car. Go to the airport, and use fake ID to rent a red Chevy Malibu from a rental company. Bring the car to the rear exit of the casino at ten minutes before four. Park by the exit, and have the trunk unlocked. Got it?”

“Why a red Chevy Malibu?” Cory asked.

“It’s the number-one rental car in Vegas. Harder for the police to locate in case you’re chased.”

“Got it,” Cory said.

“At a few minutes past four, there’s going to be a major commotion by the blackjack pit that will draw security. That’s when Ike and T-Bird will cash in the fake chips. Once they have the money orders, they’ll leave through the back exit, where Cory and Morris will be waiting for them. The four of them will head back to Gabe’s house, where they’ll hole up.

“Gabe and Travis will hang around the cage for a few minutes to make sure everything’s cool. Then they’ll hook up with Misty and Pepper and leave the casino. I’ll meet up with everyone later tonight. We’ll chop up the score and go out for a victory meal.”

He paused to gauge their expressions. It was a lot of information to absorb, and he wanted to be sure that each person understood what his or her role in the operation was.

“If you have any questions, ask them now,” he said.

“What kind of commotion?” Cory asked.

“I’m going to sic security on a family of cheaters scamming the casino.”

“You’re ratting out another group of cheaters?” Cory sounded incredulous.

“Not in the way the casino wants. They won’t go to jail, and they’ll come out on the winning end of things in the end.”

“How you going to pull that off?” Cory asked.

Billy had taught Cory the cheater’s code, along with every other cheater that had run with him. The code spelled out how the game was played and what the rules were that they lived by. He tousled Cory’s hair until the younger man loosened up.

“Trust me on this,” he said. “It will all work out.”

“Okay,” Cory said.

They were done, and he said good-bye to his crew. If things broke bad, he might not see them again for a while, and he took the time to speak to them individually. Done, he walked toward the stairwell with the punishers. At the entrance he stopped as if he had forgotten something.

“I didn’t give the girls the key to my suite. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

The punishers headed down the stairs. He turned around and walked back to where the SUV was parked. His crew had gotten in, ready to leave. The passenger window came down, and Misty stuck her head out.

“Hey, stranger, what’s shaking?” she said.

He took the room key from his pocket and handed it to her. “You’re going to need this. I’m staying in Tower A, suite 1841. What do you think of my friends?”

“They’re a couple of two-bit hustlers,” Misty said.

“I’ll second that,” Pepper said, wedged in beside her. “They’re scum buckets.”

“I wouldn’t trust them with my kid’s lunch money,” Gabe added from the backseat.

“We don’t like them, either,” Cory said.

He rested his elbows on the open windowsill. “Your instincts are good. These boys are planning to rip us off. Forget everything I said about leaving with them in the rental. Once the exchange is made at the cage, I want you to do the pigeon drop, then get out of the casino as fast as you can. Does everyone remember the pigeon drop?”

The pigeon drop was the first street scam that Billy had learned when he was apprenticing, and he’d taught the scam to everyone who’d run with him. It was a surefire way to separate a sucker from his money. Everyone inside the vehicle said they remembered the scam.

“Good. Travis, you’ll be the steerer. Gabe will do the switch while Misty and Pepper keep the boys distracted. You’ll need to get a leather briefcase for the switch. Cory and Morris, that’s your job. Everyone clear on what they have to do?”

Another group yes. They were all on board.

“Here’s to getting rich together.”

With that, he rapped his knuckles on the roof and walked away.

Mags punched the horn of her rental. A hard rain was falling that had turned the streets treacherous, and traffic wasn’t moving. She jumped out to see what the problem was. Up ahead, two vehicles had collided, the drivers standing in the road inspecting the damage.

She decided to hoof it. Leaving the keys in the ignition, she hustled down the sidewalk with the university’s majestic spires in view. No member of the Flynn dynasty had ever made it to college, her family tree filled with losers and two-bit thieves, a tradition she’d faithfully carried on. Amber was about to break the mold, and Mags was determined not to miss the seismic moment.

It was her first visit to the college, and the manicured grounds and stately buildings made her choke up. Tuition had to be expensive. Had Amber gotten a scholarship? Mags didn’t know. Some mother she was.

The gymnasium’s shimmering glass walls captured her quiet desperation as she hurried inside. For all these years she’d carried around the belief that she and Amber would one day form a bond beyond the infrequent phone call. It happened on the Hallmark Channel all the time.