"Then we go home," Stu said.
"Here's what's going to happen," Isaiah said. "They'll send two men in to sweep the room before they cart in the cash. Confirm all's cool. We can't be in here when that happens. How many cams we got, J?"
"Three, I think. They're with Mark. Where is he, by the way? He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."
"We'll put a cam in here, one in the bedroom, one in the bathroom. We let them come in. Let them get comfy. Then we come up through the floor like the fucking wild bunch. We're going to be charging in with Taser cartridges. They'll be carrying something with a tad more bite. Full-auto subs if I had to guess. We got no margin for error on this takedown. It has to be fast and quiet. One minute, they sitting around chillin'. The next they're twitching on the floor. We're gonna have to ball gag and zip-tie a minimum of six men inside of twenty seconds."
Isaiah called Mark again but he wasn't answering.
"Something's wrong," he said.
"Yeah," Stu said, "he prolly decided to bail and get stoned. Where'd you find this kid anyway?"
"He came recommended. Highly."
"Well, he was our uplink to the room. To the hallway. Without him, we got no eyes. Without him...I think we're done."
Isaiah bristled. "Done?"
"How we supposed to pull this off coming in blind?"
"You're looking at a ten million dollar payday and you talking about walking away that easy?"
"I didn't come out to Vegas to die."
Isaiah looked at Letty.
"What?" she said.
He stood and walked over to the wet bar, opened one of the cabinets.
She said, "Hell no."
He smiled. "Not saying it ain't gonna be tight, but I'm thinking we can fit you in there. You gonna be our eyes."
"Hell no."
"Really? That's cool. I'll cram Stu in there and you can bust in here with the big boys, facing down sub-machineguns with a Taser. I mean, if you feel that'd be your best contribution to the team..."
16
It was dark, cramped, and muggy in the cabinet. Letty crouched with her knees drawn tightly to her chest. Her iPhone was set to silent, and she clutched it in her right hand.
1:34 a.m.
With the slab of marble flooring in the bathroom back in place, she couldn't hear the boys in the room below. Nothing in fact but the throbbing of her heart like some anxious drum.
What am I doing?
What am I doing?
A week ago a waitress.
Now this?
Robbing a casino?
But it was beyond exhilarating, and she hadn't even thought of using in hours.
Her phone lit up—Isaiah texting.
call if you can
She dialed.
"Tell me you found Mark."
"He's AWOL."
"Seriously?"
"Still ain't answering."
"Shit."
"He was our ride out of Dodge. Had the radio, the scanners down cold."
"So what now?"
"What now? Nothing now. We stand the fuck down." She felt a flare of relief, a pang of regret. "I hate this," he said, "but we gotta be ready to roll. Can't just camp out on the roof of the convention center with nine duffel bags full of cash. Hoping to somehow figure this shit out before the sun rises and the S.W.A.T. rolls in."
Letty closed her eyes, surprised as the needle swung firmly into regret.
"It's the score of a lifetime," she said.
"You think I need to hear that shit?"
"I have an idea," she said.
"What?"
"We need a driver, right? That's all?"
"Yeah."
"Call you back."
In the darkness of the cabinet, she searched her call history.
Please don't have done anything stupid. Please. Please. Please.
Christian answered, "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Letty. I wake you?"
"No."
"You okay?"
"I haven't done anything yet, if that's what you're calling about."
"I have something to ask you."
"Thought you weren't going to try and save me."
"I'm not." Not entirely true. She cracked the cabinet door so she could keep an eye on the entrance to the suite.
"What's going on, Letty?"
"Remember when I asked you what it would take for you to want to live?"
"Yeah."
"And you said a new experience."
"Right."
"What if I could give you that? Right now."
"You could give me a new experience."
"Yes."
"I wasn't talking about sex, Letty. Much as I like you—"
"I'm not either."
"So what are you talking about?"
"What kind of car did you drive out to Vegas?"
"Excuse me?"
"What kind of car did you drive here?"
"A Suburban. Why?"
She felt her heart swell with hope, said, "You really want a taste of something new? Something so far out of your realm of experience, it's gonna blow your mind?"
"Yes, Letty."
"Even if it's dangerous?"
"Especially."
"Fast as you can, bring your Suburban over to the Wynn. I'm going to give you the phone number of a man named Isaiah. He'll tell you exactly what to do."
"What is this, Letty?"
Sure about this?
All in.
"We're robbing the casino in less than one hour. Our driver is MIA. This is your chance to step in, take his place, and earn over a million dollars for a night's work."
The silence on the other end of the line went on and on.
She could just hear the sound of the television bleeding through. Some violent TV show or film. A man screaming through a gag.
She said, "Christian? You there?"
"Is this for real?"
"I swear to you. Look, I hate to pressure you, but our backs are against the wall. You ever see the movie Heat?"
"Sure. It's in my top ten."
"Remember when De Niro goes to the diner and hires the black guy from the Allstate commercials to be his driver?"
"Yeah."
"Remember how it's a right then and there, in or out, yes or no proposition?"
"I do."
"Well this is exactly like that. I need a yes or no right now. And before you answer, I have to be straight with you. This is beyond dangerous. If it all comes off the rails, you could be killed. If we're caught, you could go to prison for a long time."
More silence.
She said, "Did I just totally call your bluff, or what?"
"You called it. Damn. You called it. But you know what?"
"What?"
"It wasn't a bluff."
# # #
"No way."
"Isaiah—"
"No way. He's a civilian."
"So what? He knows how to drive, doesn't he? We aren't asking him to do hostage control."
"And you've known him how long?"
"I met him when I lived in Charleston. Six months."
"You gotta be kidding me. What's he doing in Vegas?"
"He lost his family recently. He's suicidal. Nothing to live for."
"These are selling points?"
"You want this money or not, Isaiah? How many shots come along in your lifetime to make a score like this?" Finally, a pause. She could almost hear the gears turning. Said, "It's 1:44, Isaiah. Someone's coming through that door any minute now, and you know it."