I scan the casino floor, looking for his stupid hat. He isn’t at Lila’s table or any of those immediately around her. Standing, I arch my back and act like I’m stretching. I take a few steps to the left, nonchalantly searching for him.
Oh shit.What the hell is he doing?
He’s taken a seat at Dana Ross’ table, going completely off script.
The plan was to monitor her from afar while we were here, getting a look at the people running through her table and comparing them to those we identify from Lila’s interactions as part of the ring. I guess McBride has other plans.
Either that or he’s flirting with her.
Dana wasn’t on the casino floor when we arrived, but the manager told us she’d be on shift tonight. As a result, Andrews was relegated to van duty with Carson. We didn’t want to risk her recognizing him as the agent who questioned her. As for me? Dana’s seen me here plenty of times, as most of the staff have. And since I’m not positioned on the gaming floor, the risk is minimal.
Andrews comes through the comms, addressing the rogue cowboy. “Shift an inch or two to your left, McBride. Your cam isn’t giving me a clear enough view of her hands.” He takes a breath, then says, “Perfect.”
After a short pause, he comes through again. “Stay there for a few hands, and we’ll see if we can catch her marking with those rings. Although they look different from Lila’s, they might work the same way. But we don’t need you there long. I don’t want to spook her.”
Apparently, Andrews is on board with this. Maybe they talked about it earlier when I was prepping Lila and forgot to mention it to me.
If Dana is involved, it’s probably because they threatened her family and not because she’s a diabolical mastermind. But I’m good with them sniffing around anything that smells fishy.
There are enough of us here protecting my cookie to allow Luke to do some hunting nearby.
Another ten minutes pass until there’s action at Lila’s table. She finally gives us the code phrase. “Do you smell that?”
A brunette at her table responds, “All I smell is my future bankruptcy.”
Lila laughs softly. In a lower volume, she mutters, “Smells like it’s coming from over by the ATM.”
From this spot, I can’t see the ATM. It’s killing me not to get up to look, but since I just got up and stretched a few minutes ago to see McBride, I don’t want to do it again so soon.
Agent Carson addresses her. “We see him, Lila. Act natural. You’re doing great.”
Knowing they’re monitoring her so closely helps ease my nerves some.
Hemsley’s voice comes through next, volume modulated so no one around him hears. “I have eyes on him.”
I catch sight of Grant sliding into a seat at the table directly behind Lila’s. From there, he’ll have a great view of the players at her game and can get to her quickly if needed. Not that we’re expecting trouble tonight.
STK would need to have solid brass balls to make a move on Lila right here in the middle of the casino. The real danger will come when she finally gets that damn meeting with Silas.
Two new players amble up to her table. A tall, blond male and a redheaded female, both of them dressed to the nines. Hemsley peeks at them from under the brim of his ballcap. No doubt Romero and Fowler are honing in on them too.
The male newcomer leans over the edge of the table. Through Lila’s audio, I catch the expected question. “Is this table as lucky as it looks?”
“Only one way to find out,” Lila responds, her voice coming through perfectly calm.
She rolls her neck and shoulders, signaling that the cards have all been marked. For the rest of the night, nobody else will need to exchange signals with her unless she happens to be moved to a different table. It seems the gang members communicate with each other once a card deck has been verified, as they’ve just done.
The pair takes the last two open chairs and joins the game.
And we’re rolling.
By the time Lila’s due for her meal break, Carson has identified the initial pair of cheaters through facial rec. She also ran every other player at the table, searching for gangaffiliations, criminal records, or other red flags. Already, we’ve got a vast amount of leads. There arefarmore players involved than Lila estimated.
At least five times as many.
And Lila’s shift is only halfway over.
I’ve unraveled the routine they follow to rob the casino blind. The player sits down, wins a few hands, loses a couple, then places a much larger bet. Essentially goingall in. After their big win, they color up their chips and go. They blow through like the wind in a systematic rotation. Oftentimes, the next scammer will take the same seat their peer vacated. The only time they deviate from the script is when they walk away. Most move to other table games, but some hit the slots before returning to blackjack or craps. But so far, none have returned to Lila’s table.
