HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN⎪OCEANS ELEVEN

danny's idea

"The vault at the Bellagio." Danny said as Rusty and Iris examined several blueprints in front of them.

"Well?" Danny asked.

"If I'm reading this right, and I'd like to think that I am, this is probably the least accessible vault ever designed." Rusty stated.

"Yep."

"You said three casinos?" Iris asked.

"These feed into the cages at the Mirage, The MGM Grand, but every dime ends up there." Danny explained, as he pointed to two of the gates shown on the blueprints.

"The Bellagio, the Mirage and," Rusty paused and looked at Danny as Iris stated, "These are Terry Benedict's places."

"Yes, they are" Rusty sighed.

"Do you think he'll mind," Danny asked, with a hint of sarcasm.

"More than somewhat. You need at least a dozen guys doing a combination of cons." Rusty said.

What do you need?"

"Off the top of my head, I'd say you're looking at a Boesky, a Jim brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros, and a Leon Spinks." Iris began, "Oh, and the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever."

"Do you think you can get the money back this?" Rusty asked.

"If we're hitting these three casinos, we'll get our bankroll." Danny reasoned, "Benedict's got a long list of enemies."

"Yeah, but enemies with loose cash and nothing to lose." Rusty thought out loud again and Iris caught on "Ah Reuben." They said.

"Reuben." Danny repeated. Suddenly, the trio were blinded by a bright torch light. Looking up, they saw the night guard shining his flashlight into their faces. Wincing at the brightness, Danny put his empty hand in front of his eyes.

"Jesus, Oscar, lower it a bit, would you?" he asked the security guard.

"Sorry." He apologised, "You guys done up here? Find what you want?"

"Yeah." Danny replied, holding up the blueprints he continued, "Just going to take these home for the night, make some copies if it's alright."

"Whatever you need."

"Appreciate it." Danny said, as the three turned and made their way towards the elevators. A heavy silence fell between them, especially for Danny, it felt to him that they weren't saying something.

"What?" Danny finally asked, having enough of the silence.

"I need the reason." Rusty answered, looking at his friend head on, "Don't say money. Why do this?"

"Why not do it?" Danny responded, but Rusty shook his head in response. Danny thought for a second.

"Because yesterday, I walked out of the joint after losing four years of my life, and you're cold-decking Teen Beat cover boys." Danny said, causing the other two to nod in agreement, "Because the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes, the house takes you unless when that perfect hand comes along, you bet big, and then you take the house."

"You've been practicing that speech, haven't you?" Iris asked with a teasing smile.

"A little bit. Did I rush? I felt like I rushed it?"

"No, it's good. I liked it." Rusty admitted, "Teen Beat was harsh." They stepped into the elevator and leant against the wall with Iris on either side.

"I wonder what Reuben'll say." Iris said and Danny stopped playing with the stolen blueprints as the doors closed and all three of them stiffened.

*********************************
"You're out of your goddamn minds!" The older man said, looking at three of his closest friends, "Are you listening to me? You're, all three of yous, nuts. I know more about casino security than any man alive. I invented it, and it cannot be beaten. They got cameras, they got watchers, they got locks, they got timers, they got vaults. They got enough armed personnel to occupy Paris." Reuben paused for a moment looking at Iris, Rusty, and Danny.

"Okay, bad example."

"It's never been tried." Danny mentioned.

"Oh, it's never been tried. It's been tried." Reuben started, "A few guys even came close. You know the three most successful robberies in the history of Vegas? Number three. The bronze medal. Pencilneck grabs a lockbox at the Horseshoe. He got two steps closer to the door than any living soul before him." Reuben paused for breath before carrying on, "Second most successful robbery. The Flamingo in '71. This guy actually tasted fresh oxygen before they grabbed him." Reuben paused, "Of course, he was breathing out of a hose for the next three weeks. Goddamned hippie." This time Reuben didn't even pause to breathe. "And the closest any man has ever come to robbing a Las Vegas casino," Reuben continued once more," was outside of Caesar's in '87. He came, he grabbed, they conquered. But what am I saying? You three are pros, the best. I'm sure you can make it out of the casino at least. Of course, lest we forget, once you're out the front door, YOU'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING DESERT!" Danny, Iris, and Rusty don't even bother looking at each other.

"You're right." Rusty admitted, before turning to Danny and Iris, "He's right"

"Reuben, you're right." Danny agreed, "Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs."

"That's exactly what it is." Iris continued, "Pure ego."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Reuben said, waving his hands at the three of them, "Blah, blah, blah."

"Thank you for lunch." Danny said, rising from his chair and pulling out his sister's. "Sorry we bothered you."

"Look, we all go way back," Reuben said, "and, I owe you from that thing with the guy in the place and I'll never forget it."

"It was our pleasure."

"I'd never been to Belize.

"Give Dominic your addresses." Reuben called after them, "I got some remaindered furniture I want to send you."

The three of them kept walking when Reuben called after them again.

"Look, just out of curiosity, which casinos did you geniuses pick to rob?" Reuben asked and Danny stopped for a moment.

"The Bellagio, Mirage, and the MGM Grand." Reuben stopped feeding himself and looked over at the three cons. He dropped his silverware and stared after them, stony faced.

"Those are Terry Benedict's Casinos" Reuben commented.

"Is that right?"

"I think he's right." Iris said, looking at her brother. Reuben waved his arms at them, knowing they were up to something.

"That's right" Danny confirmed.

"You guys," Reuben started, walking over to where the three of them stood, "What do you got against Terry Benedict?"

"What do you have against him? That's the real question?" Danny answered.

"He torpedoed my casino, muscled me out. Now he's gonna blow it up next month to make way for some gaudy monstrosity." Reuben paused, "Don't think I don't know what you're doin'."

"What are we doing, Reuben?" Iris asked.

"If you're gonna steal from Terry Benedict, you better goddamned know." Reuben warned them, "This sort of thing used to be civilised. You'd hit a guy, he'd whack you. Done. But with Benedict, at the end of this, he better not know you're involved, not know your names, or think you're dead. Because he'll kill you, and then he'll go to work on you."

"That's why we'd have to be very careful," Danny explained, "very precise. We have to be well-funded."

"Yeah, you gotta be nuts too, and you're gonna need a crew as nuts as you are." Reuben said, "Who do you got in mind?"