The Smartest Kids Alive (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter XVIII

MACKENZIE

Music: Feiton from Gradius IV

Our next flight is a little longer than the rest of them so far have been; around forty-five minutes, give or take. Most people either chit-chat or sleep. I decide to use the last five minutes or so to go over some things with Sam (Luke's currently the one piloting the hovercraft).

"You said earlier that we need to be a bit more clever with taking the bad guys out... do you even have an idea of how to do so?" I ask.

Sam shrugs. "I mean, kinda. After giving it a lot of thought, I came to the conclusion that it all comes down to a matter of opportunity. The reason we haven't been able to get rid of anybody yet is because they either don't give us an opportunity or we don't take any that we do get. As soon as the time is right, we need to make any moves we can."

"I personally think it'd be cool if we could turn their plans against them. Like, whatever they use to try and kill us, we make it backfire on them," I tell him.

Sam gives me a nod of approval. "I like it." Then I feel the hovercraft beginning to settle down.

"Just caught sight of the bowler dudes entering a casino. Definitely a good chance for us," he explains.

As our team gets off and heads to the front doors, Heath mumbles to himself, "I don't think I've ever been inside a casino before."

"Heath, none of us have," Skylar sighs.

Music: Gamble Game Gallery from Super Mario 64: Last Impact

As soon as all nine of us have made our way inside, the sights from inside causes all jaws to drop. Slot machines, pool tables, cards, roulettes, you name it.

"This is incredible," I marvel, taking in everything I see.

"Okay, let's split up," Sam instructs. "Try to stay under the radar. Reminder that we're young and don't want to get in trouble here."

I go with Sam, Elle, and Avery (Avery and I are kinda both "third wheels" for Sam and Elle, although we both see Sam as nothing other than a friend), and the four of us walk over to the slot machines. "Hey, any of you got any cash for one of these babies? I wanna try my luck," Sam asks.

Avery slips him two 1-dollar bills, and on the first try he doesn't get any sort of match, but on the second he actually manages to get three 7s, meaning that he's able to earn a hundred dollars. Sam picks up two dollars to pay Avery back, and then leaves the rest behind. ("I don't think I'm legally old enough to take all this money with me.")

Next, we venture past a few roulette tables and observe the action. At one of the tables, there are two guys sitting, and one of them apparently guessed right for his turn, because he does a fist pump and yells, "YES!" repeatedly as he grabs some cash.

At first, we think nothing of it, so we just begin to walk away. Then Elle gasps, and when Sam asks her why, she simply turns around and points to what the two men, who are now walking away from the roulette table, are wearing on their heads.

Bowler hats.

And to make matters worse, they're walking right up to Heath, Luke, Skylar, Jack, and Eghosa.

HEATH

My group (Skylar, Luke, Jack, Eghosa, and I) is watching a couple of people participate in something I've never seen before: A life-sized game of foosball. Glass walls surround the field, while two people on opposite sides of the field use their handles to control the "players" inside the field in order to kick a gigantic beach-ball sized ball into soccer-style goals.