“No, nothing, you’re good,” he confirmed.
I didn’t want to alert him to what I saw. I don’t know why. I should have. That was my job. I should have told him to watch out for the woman whose name I had yet to learn. The one with the quick fingers and pretty bright nail polish, but I didn’t. I kept the newly obtained knowledge in the cavity of my chest. I planned to tell my brothers at the Rebel Saints and conduct my own brand of investigation.
“Thanks, man,” I added.
As I entered the dark lunchroom, I turned the lights on. I was the only one in there. The lunchroom was attached to the security room where all the monitors were running full time. I would have to find the right camera and the footage. I cringed, mad at myself for not calling it in and noting the time. I would have to scrape through the footage. All I knew was it had been around 8 p.m. If I checked either side of the hour, I would be able to clarify what my tired eyes witnessed on the cameras. On top of this, I could do it without raising a question with the other security personnel for the night. I had to be very casual about the whole thing.
My stomach started to rumble, letting me know it needed to be fed first. I opened the fridge and pulled out my leftover stew, heating it up in the microwave. I let it nuke for a couple of minutes, stirred the contents and put it back in for another round. I pulled it out and spooned the hearty goodness into my mouth. I finished up pretty quick and made my way through to the closed door of the security room, entering to see three men diligently scanning all the screens.
“Hi guys. Anything exciting going on out there?”
Larry, one of the long standing team members with Red Stone answered, “No, it’s been a slow night for crooks, with the exception of two guys trying to lift a lady’s purse near the slot machines.”
A spark of an idea that would pass with the crew was searching for the camera footage of Samantha earlier. “Did you just come on, Larry? Did you catch an incident on the parking lot camera?”
Larry’s face appeared blank. “No, you see something? I’ve been here since four in the afternoon.”
“Yes, there’s a woman that was dealing in the underground parking lot. Can you keep an eye on it for me? I busted her on the walk-in, just after five.”
“Oh, hell no. I missed that. My bad. Let me run it back.” Larry quickly moved over to the screen to find the evidence and examine.
I raised an eyebrow. “Happens to the best of us. Don’t worry.” I remembered the monitor connected over the roulette tables and the blackjack table the mystery player had been on. I found it while Larry and the others pored over the parking lot footage. I snuck a quick glance at them. That ought to keep them entertained for a while. I made a note of the camera for later. I would have to sit down and go through it. As my eyes lifted up at the overhead clock, I knew I didn’t have enough time to take a thorough look at it.
“You are shitting me. Is this the one right here?” Larry asked.
I bent over while looking down at the screen and felt my deep anger flourish. “That’s her. Is that in real time, Larry?” I tapped him on the shoulder.
“Yep. It’s real time. You got it?”
“I got it,” I muttered.
Samantha was right back in the parking lot, hanging over a vehicle and cutting deals. Red Stone Casino was turning up the heat tonight. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. Samantha was the hard-headed type, so this was a lesson she would have to learn the Rebel Saints’ way. I texted Bones and Coyote.
Get to the casino. Sam. Now. I sent a quick easy text both of them would interpret as urgent. We were all on high alert after the parking lot incident. I wanted to watch her and see how much audacity she actually had. How long did she intend to run the deals before she left out for the night? My legs moved at the speed of light as I ran out of the door and past the patrons. I caught a few curious looks, but that didn’t matter to me.
My breathing quickened as the double automatic doors opened to the back door entrance and I stepped into muggy, thick Mississippi heat. My forehead started to perspire. Another of those ultra humid nights. From the camera viewpoint, I knew Samantha was in a slightly different spot than where I caught her earlier. Her timid voice carried through the parking lot, she was in a back corner. I bobbed down low and rested my hand on my Tazer gun. Handy to have. A nice little shock to her system ought to keep her off our turf.
A pulse beat in my neck. Snake had to be the one who put her up to this. He had to be taunting us by sending her out in the same night, to the same spot.
Bastard.
I came up right behind her now, my back pressed to the bumper of a white sedan.
“You want a little baggie. A hundred for you. I’m feeling nice tonight,” she purred.
The sound of her voice flamed my rage. I wanted to place two hands around her neck and squeeze the life out of her. The violence of my feelings shocked me. I would never harm a female if I didn’t have to, but I wanted to harm her. The nice guy part of me was probably why I ended up in a coma.
“Oh, yeah? How nice you feeling? Do you do extras too?” The buyer was trying his luck.
The nervous scraping of her foot on the asphalt was visible, she wore tennis shoes. “No. No. It’s not that type of party, but if you need extra pills, that I can do.”
“That’s too bad?” The rest of the sentence got cut off as the throttle of two motorcycles approaching permeated the air.
The sound got louder and louder as I smirked. My guys, the Rebels, always came through. I rose from my hunched position.
“Ahhh shit. Quick, you need to leave. Go now! Piss off!” she yelled at the driver as the screech of burning rubber filled the air as he pulled a 180 and swerved out of the parking lot. The bright lights from the bikes directly beamed on Samantha as she put her arm up to shield her eyes, like a vampire in the daylight. She turned to run the other way.
I extended my arm, yanking her back like a pinball machine. “Not so fast. I thought I told you to stay off our turf. What I say, huh?” I whispered forcefully in her ear as she attempted to slap my hands off her. “Stop struggling, Samantha. I have a Tazer here. My security guards or the Rebel Saints, which one do you want?” I warned through gritted teeth.