Twisted Mercy

Dead or Alive

October 31st, 2021

7:38pm

Location: Las Vegas, NV

**********

I peered over the rooftop of the Wynn Las Vegas Casino. Nightlife was buzzing. People roamed the streets. They hailed cabs, laughed loudly, spoke of the different shows they were going to see. Much too perfect for my taste.

"You ready, Lillian?"

I turned to see Genevra getting ready climb into the AC duct. One thing you should know about Gia: she loves air vents. It's weird when you consider the fact that she'd take a computer room over being in the field. Stick an air duct into the mix and she's begging me to stay behind.

Sometimes, I say no. That doesn't end well.

I dropped down after her and braced myself for the impact. I hated dropping down. It caused massive bruising to my knees that wouldn't heal for days.

The vents were dark. Made sense. I don't know why Hollywood makes the vents so bright in movies. It totally throws off what you actually experience in reality. The air was freezing and it smelled of different foods. I guess what they say is true: casinos do scent their vents.

We moved forward and made multiple turns in every direction. If I didn't know Genny, I'd say we were mindlessly crawling through vents. Fortunately, I did know her. She had memorized the vent systems after I had came to her with my plan. It took her twenty minutes. Photographic memory has its pluses, I guess.

After about twenty-nine more agonizing seconds (I hate small spaces), Gia stopped. Dashes and dots.

We're here.

The area underneath us was loud. I could hear laughter and shouts from the winners while the losers yelled at the machines or their table mates. She pulled out a tube of lipstick from her pocket and shot the laser at the vent in front of us. A few moments later, we were sliding out of the vents and into a dark room. Thank goodness for the fact we were already wearing our night vision goggles.

Genevra began rummaging through different filing cabinets and I made my way to the desk in the middle of the room. Aidan and Jonny's conversation was at the forefront of my mind.

**********

"I just don't understand how there were no traces of them," Jonny exclaimed while walking into the Cabal's kitchen. Aidan followed not too far behind.

"They weren't the best because they were sloppy, Jonny. They couldn't leave any traces behind because that would lead everyone on the circuit right to them." His attempts at calming the older security guard were in vain.

"I wish I could send them some sort of message. To let them know that not all of us are bad guys and want them dead, ya know?"

"I know. The best way for us to do that is hope they tapped into the house somehow."

He looked at the skylight right as he said that. It was impossible for him to know we placed a bug there, be he smirked and winked anyways. The jackwagon.

"I hope they did. Then, we can tell them that there's a target on their backs. Not just the Cabals though. Everyone they knew on the circuit knows how much the two of them are worth dead. They're priceless alive."

Jonny's words struck fear into my heart. We were wanted, dead or alive. Bon Jovi predicted it.

"Do their intended bosses know about them?"

This was intriguing. I thought we were slated to death when bosses didn't want us anymore. What a game changer.

"Yes. Everyone knows about them. Not only do they have the circuit to worry about, but I heard Sir Cabal mention the Feds are after them too. A tip was sent to them," Jonny began to get frantic. "It's not their fault that they were brought here. They're like you, ya know. They got taken at a young age too. It's not fair. I was born into this. None of you should have to pay for crimes that you didn't want to commit."

A tear fell from my eye when Aidan rested a hand on Jonny's shoulder and said "I could've ran away a long time ago. Lily needed me, so I stayed. I just wish I knew what was going to happen to them so I could've left too."

"I know, kid. I hope they make it to Vegas, at least. I heard that there were plans of their...disposal in one of the casinos. The Wynn, I believe it was called."

"Don't worry, Jonny," Aidan said, once again looking at the skylight. "I think they're already on their way."

**********

That brings us to now. Gia had gone through both filing cabinets and was now looking in between and through all of the books to see if something was stashed there.

I began tapping on the desk to see if there was a hidden spot containing any information when, all of a sudden, I was blinded.

"Argh! What the frick?!"

I tore off my night vision goggles and blinked away the black spots that were covering my vision. After a few moments, I could make out two blurry figures in the room.

Shoot. We've been caught. All streaks had to end at some point.

"Look, Josh," a smooth voice began. "I think we've found some trespassers."

"Ya know, Samuel? I think you're right," was the response I heard before lights out.