Midnight Creek Tales

#1. Cut The Deck / Chapter 2

Gerald sat down on his king-sized hotel bed and began to think as time started to pass quickly. He was energized yet at the same time tired if that even made any sense. After a couple of minutes reflecting on his greatest achievements, like conning that man from Mexico out of 100 grand, his spirits and confidence soon began to soar and flood back to him like a tsunami.

Gerald got in the shower where he did his best meditating, following by putting on fancy attire to make himself look presentable. And even though he has never known any billionaires personally, he sure could talk like one!

When he was ready to leave, he slipped all the essential cards into his long sleeves. To cheat during tight situations, he'd ask to use the bathroom and place them into a slot in his underwear before playing the game. Just in case they wanted to check his sleeves or pockets when he immediately walked in before the first round started.

Gerald read the address and then began to put it into his high-tech GPS system. But before doing that, he made sure he had his briefcase with all his earnings at his side in the passenger's seat.

The drive was longer than he imagined. It seemed as if he was just driving along the lonely countryside until he spotted a huge mansion in the distance a couple of miles up the gravel road along the pastures. It was humongous and reminded him of the White House regarding its size and capacity.

It had Paul Bunyan-like fields of agriculture and in the middle of it all was a hedge maze that resembled the one from The Shining. Which seemed neat to have, as long as you didn't go in there without a map.

Gerald knew that he would have to make a good impression when he first met them all. He'd have to play it cool, but not too cocky, but also show that he meant business.

He peered down at his new gold Rolex watch on his wrist and saw that it was 9:53. But since the house was a couple of miles away, he knew he'd have to pick up the speed. So he sped up and started to drive past the speed limit eventually reaching the mammoth of a mansion precisely at 9:59.

Gerald pulled into the driveway, stunned at how expensive it all looked. He took his briefcase full of cash out from the passenger's seat and grabbed it to make sure it was all nice and secure with his money. He had a little over 10 million dollars in the briefcase. Ten years of scamming amounting into now just one direly crucial night. But with Gerald's luxurious and flashy life, he knew the expenses would only keep rising. Tonight he was putting his reputation, and all of his marbles on the table. He took a deep breath as he cracked his knuckles as he did before every poker game, and opened the car door.

Gerald scanned the front perimeter of the mansion; it stood tall like the Statue of Liberty. When he went up to the front of the house, he stopped. He stared at the door and then looked for the doorbell. When he finally located it, he knew if he rang, there'd be no turning back. He took another deep breath and rang the doorbell. Ten seconds later he began to hear footsteps, and the door slowly crept open...