We were off. Got caught in a miserable combination of a rainstorm and a sandstorm. Almost got buried, our tires desperately trying to stay above the sand. If we stopped, we'd probably be buried. We made it through though.

  Vegas was nothing like today. There was no underground portion, just disparate skyscrapers existing under a semi-unified security company. A few people walked across the surface from building to building. That’s not to say nothing was under the sand though, parking garages, just like in Dallas, were dotted throughout the city. Even in those days there was a small line in and out. The city was alive and busy, the perfect place to cut out a new start.

  We got in line and waited. It moved inconsistently, a few quick bursts of movement, and then nothing for minutes on end.

  Both of us were calm and collected the whole time. Neither of us would let anyone take us again. Thankfully though, people kept to themselves.

  It took us a while to get inside. Or maybe it just felt like a while due to the stress. Either way, we got in eventually.

  The parking garage was full of armed men and women. We pulled up and rolled down the window.

  “I don’t recognize you.” The man said.

  “Is that a problem?” Mara asks.

  “Only so far as making me say yet another speech.” The man sighed, and began to speak with a rehearsed indifference. “Welcome to Vegas, safest place in the new world. We expect you to keep it that way. Each casino uses a different currency, exchange your chips for water before you leave. We have cameras everywhere and a full security team on standby. Your car will be safe, and attempts to steal will be met with nothing short of lethal force.”

  “Wait, parking was free?” Cassie asks. “Bastards charged us 50 chips a night.”

  “If Zero is anything like C-1,” I answer, “which I’m certain he is, he’s optimized his city as far as it will go, far beyond what a human would do. I’m just not sure if he’s optimizing for stability like C-1 was, or purely income.”

  “Son of a bitch.”

  That pulls a laugh out of Vince, wiping away some of the stress of telling his story.

  Yeah, parking was free. Although it wasn’t just out of good will. They did have a man inside, a dedicated station to trade your car for a meal and a drink. One last chance to get enough pocket change to try to gamble away to repay your debts, or maybe just enough to die tomorrow instead of today.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked as we parked.

  “To work.” She stepped out and slung her rifle over her shoulder.

  Rusty hopped out and I followed him. My rifle stayed on my back, but I drew my pistol. I wasn’t about to take risks. The three of us headed upstairs, and Mara walked up to the nearest guard.

  “I’m looking for Scoville.”

  The guard just laughed. Mara clutched her hands, but didn’t quite throw a punch yet.

  “I know what I’m getting into. Just tell me where he is.”

  “Sure you do.” The guard shaked his head. “Fortune’s Kiss.” He jerked his head to the south, and we were off.

  Walking across the desert out in the open? That was just as miserable as it is today. The fact that we weren’t alone almost made it worse. Anyone we passed by could be desperate enough to try something. We moved quickly, finding our building and ducking inside.

  They’d done a lot of work. Knocked out a few floors, leaving the rest of the skyscraper held up by thick scrap pillars. A fire escape had been installed on the inside with a makeshift door on every landing, giving access no matter how the storm ended up.

  The lobby was packed. They had electricity set up, but it was limited. Just a few lights. Even without electricity, they had every game they could. Blackjack, poker, roulette, dice, everything you could need to throw away your life.

  We headed downstairs where a heavily barricaded room sat, with an airlock of sliding bulletproof glass atop a desk being the only entrance.

  “Going rate is 100 chips per gallon of water.” Someone called out through a blown out speaker. “Food is at a variable rate based on calorie count, at our sole discretion.”

  We just walked straight past them. Rusty hated every step. Too many people. He stayed close to me, rubbing against my leg with every step. I kept him safe.

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  Mara took in the room slowly, and we made our way to the back of the palace. Two people were standing on either side of a door. Mara walked straight up to them, fished a necklace out of her shirt and flashed it to them as she went. Both of them stepped aside, and we went through.

  I didn’t ask her where she got that until later, I really didn’t want to give away just how out of my depth I was. Later learned she pulled it off the slaver’s neck.

  We climbed a stairwell upwards, floor after floor. Ended up high above the desert where another guard stood. Mara flashed her necklace once again, and we stepped in.

  Scoville had opened up most of the floor, turning the palace into a fine office. Cameras and screens surrounded him, letting him watch the entire casino, and the grounds around it.

  He cocked his head at us and a hand disappeared below his desk. It reappeared a moment later, and he set a pistol on the desk.

  Mara took another step forward, and tossed her necklace to him.

  “Richardson’s dead.” She declared. “We’re responsible.”

  That got a laugh out of Scoville.

  “You two?” He asked.

  “Over the course of a year, I got close to him, rallied the slaves, and put down his whole operation. He was sloppy, complacent.”

  The door opened behind us, and a few guards rushed in. I drew and aimed at them. But we all held our fire.

  “And what? You’re here to brag? Finish the job? Get revenge? Die trying?”

  “I’m here to work.” Mara said. “Seems like you could use some better men.”

  That got another laugh out of him. With a wave his guards lowered their rifles, at ease but still ready to snap up and put an end to us.

  “How old are you?” He asked.

  Oh she hated that question. But she swallowed her pride and answered.

  “Young enough to be underestimated, old enough to get the job done. Richardson’s all the proof you need.”

  “Tell you what.” Scoville leaned forward, folding his hands together and resting his chin on them. “There’s a man named Frederick, works in The Full House. Bring him to me, alive, and I’ll consider you forgiven, and you can consider yourselves employed.”

  “I assume we don’t get any information on him?” Mara asks.

  “Wouldn’t be a challenge if you did.”

  “You said alive, but do you need him in one piece?”

  “I’m very particular with my wording.” He said.

  “And when you said we can consider ourselves employed, were you careful with that wording too?” Mara asked slowly, her words measured. “Or is there an actual job in it for us?”

  “I appreciate having smart employees.” He chuckled to himself. “Yes, I was careful with my wording. However, do a good job and I’ll be more than happy to hire you.”

  “We’ll get it done.”

  “See that you do.” He turned around in his chair and returned his attention to the endless screens.

  We turned around and let ourselves out, the guards watching our every movement.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked on the way down.

  “Make friends and drug him.” She said casually. “Backup plan is kidnapping while he’s conscious. We’ll need blackmail or a good threat for that though. We’ll start by gambling, you do cheap bets, I’ll be a high roller. Find a dealer and I’ll do the rest.”

  “Ok.”

  We stopped by the car, picked up a fair portion of the food Mara stashed in there, and were off. We got our chips, and I started walking around the floor.

  I’d never gambled before, didn’t know the rules for any of the games. I just sat and watched, trying to learn. They had a simple dice game, the house rolled three dice, and revealed two. You bet if you could roll higher or lower than whatever they rolled.

  I sat down and started to play, tossing out a single chip every round. Wasn’t long before another man sat down beside me and started a conversation.

  “Nice dog, you looking to sell?” He said, tossing in a chip and joining my table.

  “Absolutely not.” I snapped back.

  “Fair enough.” We played a few rounds, and he just watched. “You look lost, kid. First time in Vegas?”

  “Yeah.” I answered.

  “Piece of advice? Get out of here. Nothing good goes down here.” He had this vibe about him, similar to when Mara spoke. His words weren’t genuine, he didn’t care. He was trying to make friends to get something.

  “I need to stay.” I answered.

  “I’ve seen you glancing at the girl over there.” He nodded to a poker table that Mara was at. “She yours?”

  “Yeah, we’re together.”

  “She’s chill. Think you could stand to be the same?”

  “Yeah, maybe.” You would not believe just how out of my depth I was. “How?”

  He pulled a small stick out of his pocket and handed it to me. A lighter came up next, and lit it.

  I’m going to skip over most of what happened and how it felt. Point is, we spent some time together. I lost an awful lot of chips, water, and food, both to gambling and whatever he was peddling. I did my job though. Mara eventually caught up to the two of us, and she got what we needed.

  Me on the other hand? I got put to bed.

  I was basically falling over myself, had no idea what was going on. Mara bought a room, and I don’t even know how long I slept. Rusty stayed with me the whole time though, did his best to support me when I started vomiting. Even then I was still messed up. Just drank some water, and collapsed back into bed.

  Every time I woke up I felt worse. I honestly didn’t think I’d make it a few times. My entire body was clammy, I sweat through everything. I’d rather be back in the mines than go through that again. Suppose it was a good lesson, if nothing else.

  I recovered though. Enough food, water, and rest do wonders. Plus, Rusty needed to go out. I had to get up and move.

  It felt like a long time, shuffling through the casino, dragging my own body along. But we found our way outside, and shuffled our way back. After that I just put out some food and water for him, and we went back to bed.

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