THE BETRAYER'S GAME

Jackpot

Our plan was bold—some would say borderline idiotic, but that's kind of our thing. Robbing the biggest casino in the city during peak hours, with our wanted posters plastered everywhere, wasn't exactly subtle. But when you've already got nothing to lose, you go all in.

"Just blend in," Vinny had said, like that was easy with his ridiculous giant mustache drooping over his lip.

Honestly, we looked like two third-rate extras from a knockoff heist movie, but if it worked, I wasn't going to complain. 

We all wore jackets saying the band of the hawk behind it that Eli had customized for us so that Scarlet believes us when saying we made the move.

The casino was packed, and chaos was our best friend tonight. The flashing lights, the ringing slot machines, and the mindless noise of people throwing away their money would cover our tracks, or at least that was the hope.

We rolled up in a beat-up 4x4, a vehicle that screamed "We're definitely not robbing a casino," and parked in an alley. Stefano and Eli were behind the wheel, looking like they regretted ever agreeing to this madness.

"I swear, if we get caught, I'm ratting you out first," Stefano muttered.

"Love you too, Stef," Leo shot back sarcastically, giving him a mock salute before we headed to the back entrance we'd scoped out earlier. 

A rickety ladder we'd stashed behind the building led to a window over the casino's bathrooms. Vinny grinned as he adjusted his drooping mustache.

"This is gonna be smoother than butter on a hot pancake, baby."

I shot him a look.

"Yeah, well, let's hope we're not the ones getting flipped." We climbed the ladder, slipping through the bathroom window like pros—almost. Vinny tripped on the sink and sent a soap dispenser crashing to the floor. Real smooth.

"Smooth," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

We weren't alone, either.

A drunk guy stood by the mirror on top of the sink, glaring at us like we were the weird ones.

"What're you clowns looking at?" he slurred, swaying slightly as he stared at us. Before I could come up with a good excuse, Blade jumped in, throwing his arms up dramatically. 

"Good sir! We're from... plumbing inspection! Very serious stuff. You wouldn't believe the regulations these days!"

The drunk blinked at us, clearly unimpressed. He started to stagger forward, waving an empty bottle of whiskey.

"Yeah? Well, inspect this!"

Blade was faster than I'd ever seen him. He tapped the guy on the jaw, and the drunk dropped like a sack of potatoes, snoring before he hit the ground.

"Well, that was professional," I said, shaking my head.

"What? I told him it was an inspection," Blade shrugged.

We slipped out of the bathroom and into the hallway, creeping along like we were ninjas. My heart was pounding. We were getting close now, the sounds of the casino getting louder with each step.

The main floor of the casino was a whirlwind of flashing lights, people cheering at slot machines, and stacks of cash changing hands. The perfect cover. Despite the wanted posters on the walls—featuring us—no one even glanced our way. Eli shot a glance at Vinny. "If that mustache falls off, I'm leaving you behind."