Chapter Two
The sounds of an ambulance siren jolted Ethan awake. He sat up abruptly, bundles of cash slipping off of him and falling off the edge of the bed, apparently he fell asleep covered in hundred dollar bills as his blanket. He glanced off to the side, clock reads ten minutes past twelve noon, he had missed breakfast. With a groan, Ethan fell back onto the bed, eyes searching for anything of interest in the ceiling.
Last night's fiasco was quite the memory. He doubled the cash he had, if not, close to tripling the amount. But who's hand was on his shoulders and what did that person want. Ethan tried to find the answers on every nook and cranny of the ceiling, but as he came up with nothing, he turned to the side. Perhaps some people were a little cranky about losing and wanted to take his winnings. Ethan definitely didn't want that, but the idea made him sat upright. He remembered the way to the Golden Nugget, there was an urge to come back and play more yet at the same time he doesn't want to run into trouble. It was conflicting. After he ran away, he found himself in a decent but slightly run down hotel just a couple blocks away, he could always comeback to the Golden Nugget and play a few rounds of blackjack but why was that the only thing in his mind. He could think about food, or perhaps figure a way to fake some ID, not that the latter was near possible. Ethan sighed and glanced at the cash around him, that's right, the cash. It wasn't endless, sooner or later it'll run out if he doesn't gamble. He wouldn't easily find a job without the proper papers, questionable ones, sure but he was already in trouble before he came to Vegas, why add more to the list. All this problematic thoughts made him groan and smack his forehead with a bundle of cash.
"I'm forgetting something.." Ethan muttered. Other than how great it feels to win big first thing after arriving in Vegas, something else happened last night. He bumped into a man. Ethan ran his tongue across his bottom lip as he tried his best to picture that scene. He bumped into a man dressed in black suits, and his eyes, he had odd eyes. Ethan remembered seeing a glimpse of green, a deep shade of green but only in one eye, his other eye was darker, almost like black.
"I think it's called something...a condition" Ethan hummed, tracing his fingers softly against his chin.
"Hematoma? No that doesn't sound right" Ethan shook his head. Why does it matter, whatever it's called by the end of the day it was something cool.
He began stuffing the cash that was all over the place back in his bag, though after sometime he realized it wasn't smart to just carry all of it around so he split it in a 30/70. Hiding thirty under the mattress of the bed and bringing seventy with him. Just as he was about to leave the room, he shoved the hotel keys in his pocket and felt something sharp nick at his fingers. He hissed and pulled his hand forcefully out of his pocket, taking whatever it was that cut him out. It bounced against the floor and rolled off under the bed. Confused, Ethan bent down and searched for it. It was small so it took him some time to find but the way it glinted made him spot it with ease. He gently picked it up and rolled it around his palm. His first thought was cufflinks by how small it was but upon closer inspection it seemed to be a brooch. It was silver, as small as a quarter but what made it interesting was the emblem resembling a skull key with rubies embedded on the skull's eyesockets. Ethan contemplated whether the rubies were real or fake but it looked pretty so he decided to keep it. After that whole thing, Ethan made his way down to the lobby, saluting the cranky old lady by the desk who rolled her eyes at him when he passed by. He went straigt to the exit, getting out of the building and into the main street whilst wondering what to get for lunch.
Even at daytime, Las Vegas was bustling, although incomparable to the nightlife it still held it's own beauty. If only Ethan wasn't an illegal immigrant running away from people he had debts with, he imagined himself fitting right in and even living here. On his walk, he passed by a few cafe's but it was already late for a mug of coffee so he strolled around some more. It didn't take him long to find a small restaurant serving Italian food. Ethan always wanted to try some authentic pasta, he's curious if there's really that much of a difference since italians seem to take their pasta making quite seriously. He took a seat and was handed a menu, a simple order of spaghetti carbonara and a tall glass of orange juice was his choice, not that he can recognize or even pronounce the other things on the menu. He waited for his order patiently, pretending to read the newspaper that he grabbed hanging by the rack in the entrance. Just as his order arrived, he put down the newspaper and thanked the waitress when something caught his eye. Ethan blinked once, wondering if he was seeing things, and then blinked again to confirm it. A man, sitting two tables across from him, had a similar brooch attached to the collar of his shirt, it looked exactly the same as the one in his pocket.
"What does it mean?" Ethan muttered under his breath, a frown forming in his face. He wasn't able to stare that long as the man stood up and left the restaurant, leaving Ethan alone with more thoughts to think about. Ethan sat there, eating his carbonara without exactly enjoying it. He tried to piece some things, though it might just be a coincidence but his gut was telling him something else. An organization, that's what he thought it was. Some rich guys from above and their private little group. It made Ethan snicker loudly, earning some looks from a nearby table. After his lunch, he was back strolling around downtown, he picked off new clothes from nearby thrift stores, a functioning gold watch though rusty to replace the broken one he bought just for looks, and then a few interesting snacks he found on random stalls in the side of the street, now he just needed to secure his dinner.
Ethan went back to the hotel after grabbing a clubhouse sandwich to go, it was the same one he got when he first arrived, the same order, the same fillings, the same wrapper. After he got himself comfortable inside his room, he started sorting out everything he had purchased, since there wasn't any small fridges he hid the snacks he got inside the small drawer on his nightstand beside the bed. Once again, his mind was filled with thoughts of cards, chips, the sounds when someone wins, the cheering, laughter, and so on. Ethan shook his head free of those thoughts, he tried his best to not think about it, he really did but as he realized that the urge wouldn't stop, he couldn't help but slide down to the floor, back pressed against the foot of the bed, a hand pinching the bridge of his nose. Nothing had changed, he was still his same old self, despite losing whatever he had left of his parents, getting thrown out by the person that took him in, being on the run and sleeping on the streets, Ethan still didn't change. Infact, even if he cut off one of his fingers now, he'd still find a way to gamble while it's not even fully healed yet. It was ridiculous, he doesn't know how far has he come to be this deep into his addiction, gambling kept him alive, literally and figuratively. Sure, there was some good things about it but it wasn't a good way of living. Ethan could only sigh I'm defeat. He glanced at the cash left on his bag, it was a good amount but it wouldn't last him more than a week. He chewed his bottom lip nervously, with every ticking noise the clock made he grew more nervous and hesitant.
"But what choice do we have?"
Plenty, that was the word he wanted to tell himself but that was far from the truth. With a bit of frustration, he grabbed a new pair of decent clothes he bought and made his way to the bathroom to shower and head out.
Finding his way back to the Golden Nugget was easy, the bright sign made him bubble with excitement just like the first time he located the spot. Ethan clutched the straps of his bag tightly, taking a few deep breaths before finally stepping into those doors. Same as yesterday, he was met with the smell of cigarettes, the sound of cheering and laughter from every table, chips passed around and money raining down on winners. Ethan kept his head down and made his way towards the same table he played blackjack with yesterday. There were different players, and this time two spots were empty but the game had already started. Ethan waited for their round to end before he bought himself chips and his fun began. The night was young, Ethan had plenty of time when he came. As his first game started, his winstreak also did. First win, second, third, it kept coming. He always used to think, even though he may not be lucky in life, his luck in gambling definitely payed for it. As they played more rounds and there were still no signs of him losing, he got way too into the game. His guard was completely down that he didn't notice three men had already surrounded him from behind, all dressed in black suits and neckties with a half mask covering their eyes. By the time the 10th round started, as Ethan was about to place his bet he felt a hand on his back patting him gently. He chuckled and pushed the hand off to the side.
"Sorry man, I'm not leaving yet so you gotta wait till there's a free spot" he chuckled. When he recieved no response and felt another pat on his back his blood ran cold. Everyone on the table had stopped playing and was glancing nervously, some curious, behind him. Ethan dropped his chips on the table and slowly faced the men. Because their faces were masked he couldn't tell if they were old or young, or if they were all men as one of them seemed too slender, even slightly smaller than him.
"Hey gentlemen, do I know any of you?" Ethan started, waving his hands nervously in the air. The three men glanced at each other before the one in the middle spoke.
"Can you quickly come with us. We have something we want to talk about with you. It'll be quick" the man explained. Ethan noticed that his voice sounded robotic, a voice changer hidden somewhere in their suits. Ethan glanced around and when no one seemed to offer any hand to help him, he just smiled sheepishly and nodded his head. The first two men on the sides began moving, followed by the one in the middle though he made Ethan walk ahead so he was surrounded in all corners with no escape. Ethan followed them towards the exit and into the dark alleyway on the side of the Golden Nugget. As they stopped, Ethan cleared his throat and faced the man that previously talked to him.
"So...what are we supposed to talk about?" Ethan asked, trying to stay calm and composed. No one answered him, all of them stared straight at him and he chuckled low under his throat.
"I thought you all called me out here cause—ack!"
Zap!. The sound of a taser gun going off, followed by a loud thud. Ethan's sentence was cut short as the person standing behind him pulled out a taser gun and shot him, rendering him unconscious. As his body hit the cold, dirty pavement, the men wasted no time to grab his bag and rummaged through it, finding loads of cash and some snacks.
"Do you think these are stolen?" The man who used the taser asked as he emptied the bag and transfered it to their suitcase.
"What does it matter, boss said he had money so we're taking it" the man who spoke to Ethan earlier, replied. They emptied the bag off everything, leaving behind snacks though the last man in the group took them too. After taking everything , they threw Ethan's backpack on his unconscious body and slowly left him in the dark, not caring if he were to be found by anyone or not.