Safe with you

Lucky

We breezed in, arm in arm, past the security guards at the door into the spacious foyer. We paused at the hallway to the main area and my eyes couldn't find which bright thing to focus on. Every surface seemed to be made of gold and covered in shining jewels and every person was laden with the same level of bedazzlement. The men were parading around like peacocks in their suits with waistcoats and the ladies were all wearing fine gowns with furs and jewels up to their ears. The extravagance of it all was overwhelming.

Besides me, Bucky was calmly taking in the room and from the set of his jaw, I could tell it was to analyse the strategic points such as exits and hiding spots. Following his lead, I steeled myself and scanned the room as well. It was large, with tables upon tables of numerous casino games lined up towards the back of the room. Groups of people clustered around these, cheering on their friends and bemoaning their losses when they lost everything. The room was in an 'L' shaped design, with the bathrooms situated at the very rear, out of sight from the main doors but with large signs pointing to them. There were rows of poker machines to our right with a large bar lining the entire wall on our left. At the end of the bar, at the end furthest away from the door, there seemed to be a cluster of people milling around... strangely.

In the centre of the group was a large, balding man who seemed to be calling the shots. He seemed to be radiating an aura of power and everyone near him was doing as he commanded. His booming voice reverberated across the room so even if he had been trying to be inconspicuous, we could hear every word he said. Even if he had been quiet, it was impossible not to look at him. He was enormously tall and was wearing a bright purple velvet suit that showed off all of the rolls on his stomach. His face was greasy and reflected the lights that beamed down onto him and I could imagine that his blazer pockets were filled with wads of cash, ready to be doled out to unworthy recipients.

I noticed that people were continuously approaching this man, seeking to enter to door behind him which his body and the edge of the bar had been obscuring until he stepped aside. Only a few were successful, with the rest not so quietly told to 'be patient' and 'wait at the poker table' until they would be allowed in. There were also a few unlucky ones that were being forcibly removed, clearly having overstayed their welcome in this man's domain.

I went to unlink my arm from Bucky's and to make my way across the room towards the cluster but Bucky was quick to grab my arm and fix it into its previous position. I flicked my eyes up to meet his to which he responded with a small, inconspicuous shake of his head, stopping me in my tracks.

He ducked his head down to my ear and I angled my head as if we were two besotted lovers whispering sweet nothings to each other, the image of doting partners. I almost laughed out loud at the absurd picture it painted in my head but Bucky's whisper and his breath down my neck stopped me, sending shivers down my spine instead.

"We have to blend in. We'll play a few games first just to analyse the situation before we head in. Just... relax. If it doesn't seem like it's going to work then we call it quits and try again tomorrow."

"We don't have time to waste on this, Bucky!" I whispered back urgently, eyes flicking back to the cluster near the big man. "None of them are even playing any games, we might miss our chance if we're caught up gambling."

"Eyes on me, sweetheart, they'll notice you if you keep looking at them like a deer in headlights," Bucky mentioned in a blaze voice, his head moving as he scanned the room again. He let go of my arm and grabbed my hand instead, leading me over to the roulette table. When the dealer invited us to join the game, Bucky declined, choosing instead to stand at the back of the game and survey those playing and their strategies. He went to cross his arms, but the hand that was holding mine prevented that from happening, so he tucked our joined hands into his blazer pocket.