Chapter Fifteen: What Goes Around Comes Around
Ink
She didn’t cheat, but she was competing with Mr. Lu. She’d definitely been card counting. No harm, but when I watched her from afar, I could see that glint in her eye as she started to match her skills with Mr. Lu.
In a way, I was at a grand loss of control with her. She had the unpredictable energy of a loose cannon. Granted, knowing all that she’d been through, I understood why. Her intelligence and sassy brand of street smarts were appealing to me.
She summoned me with her sultry eyes to the bar after the game.
I stood beside her as she ordered a drink. “Get anything?” I asked.
She looked straight forward and we didn’t make eye contact. “What’s the dealer’s name on table 8?”
“Sindim, why?”
“She’s working with him. He must be giving her a cut. They’re working together. He showed his ass on the second game because he didn’t like me winning.”
“Okay. Are you certain?”
“Check your camera on it, if you don’t believe me,” she said sharply. “Or I’ll show your team. Watch how many times she touches her nose, and tucks her thumb in, correlating that to the hands and types of bets he’s putting down.”
“Noted. Thanks.”
She gave me a small smile and drank her gin and tonic.
I resumed my post. I radioed it in to the team. “Table 8, we have a code 44.”
“Holy shit. We do?” Marty replied over the speaker. Code 44 was the code for a breach with the dealer of the table identified.
Jaz finished off her drink and left the room. Her efforts to help the casino were already paying off.
The rest of the night, I kept an eye on Mr. Lu. Red Stone had strict policies about cheating in the casino and I knew for sure Sindim would be fired on the spot.
I went upstairs during my lunch break to see John Boyer, the manager, in the breakroom conversing with the guys. “Hey, John.”
“Hey, Ink. We have a situation in the high roller room where one of our staff is cheating.”
Marty jumped in, “He knows, he’s the one that called it in.”
John appeared shocked. “Ordinarily, I would fire the staff member. I want to get more evidence on Mr. Lu and how he is working in connection with the dealer, so we can attack it casino-wide and spot-check all our dealers. One more shift to double down on it, then I will take over from there.”
Red Stone needed an overhaul, that was for sure. Better surveillance, more competent staff and tighter regulations. This would add to giving us the upper hand when we bought the casino. “Sure. I can do that. I’m in there tomorrow night as well,” I said.
“Great work, team.” John patted me on the back and left.
I felt proud of Jaz for staying true to her word. Slowly, we were building trust.
I was due at the club with a few bike parts for Coyote, so I dropped into Wheelz early. My early morning radar was still asleep and I had to grab a coffee, which I hated. I liked a juice to get me going, but this morning I needed a little more kick.
Coyote stood at the bar as I came in with the plastic bag of parts. “Hey man. How are you doing?” I greeted my friend.
“I’m good, but I want to warn you to keep an eye out. The cartel is on the rampage and wants to start a war,” this dire warning was the first thing out of his mouth.
“How come you know?” I felt agitated that I’d been out of the loop on things of late. If I was working behind the bar every day, I would know all of this stuff.
Coyote shrugged as he eyed me carefully. “You haven’t been around, but you know how the grapevine gets going. Bones and Smoke were talking in here last night. Expect an emergency meeting to be called. Bones will call you.”
I handed the parts to him.