Aces & Eights: A NCISLA FanFic Relay Chapter Four

Deeks and Kensi join Nell and Eric on a trip to Las Vegas. They go for fun and gaming, but all does not turn out as planned and unexpected danger lurks under the bright lights of the Luxor.  A wikiDeeks Exclusive: A Fan Fic Relay in 12 Chapters by seven of your favorite fanfic writers: SweetLu, Jericho Steele, peanutbutterer, Kadiedid, imahistorian, Tess DiCorsi, and phillydi.

Chapter 4

by Jericho Steele

…

The deadbolt lock clicked once before a tipsy woman staggered through, quickly leaning her shoulder against the wood to seal the room against the outside world, dropping her ‘inebriated’ persona, tired from having to act like a drunken cougar out on the floor of the casino. She allowed herself a few more seconds of peace before moving further into the relatively small suite, dropping her purse onto the edge of the floral print couch. She was passing by the door that led to the other, more spacious master bedroom, when a man sitting in the shadows cleared his throat.

“Jesus… Phin, you scared the crap out of me!” The dark-haired woman had clenched her hand to her chest to calm her now rapidly beating heart.

The man stood slowly, his lanky form lost in the darkness of the room. “You’re late… Sheila.”

The woman, whose name was really Angela Pastel, moved toward the small dresser that held all of her clothes. “You can dock it from my pay.”

“Oh, Angela… I might just do that.” Phineas MacLeod flipped on one of the wall lamps, casting a haunting glow across the room as he stepped closer to the woman who was pulling out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, anxious to change out of the sultry outfit she’d worn for most of the afternoon. “I guess you failed in seducing the target?”

“No shit, Sherlock… you go to MIT to figure that out?” Angela wasn’t keen on the man, but if she kept her eyes from meeting his, maybe she wouldn’t say or do anything to make this deal any worse.

“You do know the penalty for failure?” Phin paused, allowing his unspoken threat to wash over her. When she didn’t respond, he thought it best to refresh her memory. “Your brothers have a rap sheet longer than my arm and with their last misadventure into armed robbery… that’s big time. If you or one of those dimwits blows this… the only time you will ever see them again will be during visiting hours down at the state pen.

Just the thought of that reality sent a cold shiver down her spine as she finally stepped away, putting some much needed space between her and the man she had once seen as her savior. She knew he held what was left of her family’s future in his hands… and she knew he didn’t make idle threats, but if she thought he was done reminding her of the power he held over them, she was wrong.

“And what about you? Tax evasion, tax fraud, and that little Ponzi scheme you were running in upstate New York… you were looking at ten to twenty yourself.” Phin turned to lean back against the edge of the dresser as Angela kept her back to him. “I made all of that disappear.”

“I was doing all of that to get my brothers a good lawyer… that idiot public defender was going to get them sent up the river for forever… I had to do something.”

“Your motives were noble, I’ll give you that… but unlike me, you went and got caught.” His smirk covered his skinny face.

“And I came to you for help…” Angela folded her arms across her chest, trying to look strong when all she felt like doing was breaking down in tears. “…and now you’ve got us tied up in this casino scheme that could get us into even more trouble.”

“Just say the word Angela… and you can walk right out that door.” He used his pale arm to point toward the room’s exit, his eyes shifting into a darker tint as his lips curled into a snarl. “But the moment you do, it’ll only take me a few keystrokes to bring back all that I erased… and you and your brothers will spend the foreseeable future finding out what hell is really like.”

“God… I hate you.”

“You can hate me… just as long as you fear me.” Phin dropped his hands to his sides, almost giddy at the swell of immense control over her he felt at that moment. “But enough chit-chat… since you weren’t able to get him to the room, did you at least accomplish the second part of your mission?”

Angela released a frustrated sigh as she reached for the purse she had dropped earlier and, after tugging it open, she pulled out a small plastic bag that held several small, blue discs. “He wasn’t drinking so I got the next best thing.”

Phin took the bag from her hands, holding it up so he could inspect it closely. “What are these?”

Angela almost responded with “They’re poker chips, Dumb Ass!”, but he’d already threatened her once and she wasn’t in the mood to push him even more. “He was at the poker table, played with those for the better part of half an hour. You should be able to get most, if not all, of his fingerprints from them.”

Phin quirked his eyes over to her, a satisfied grin replacing the smirk. “Well done, Angela. I see that I sent the right person for that particular job.”

“Well, I was a pickpocket in an earlier life… you just got lucky.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it… it is due to my meticulous planning and higher than average I.Q.” Phin walked over and placed the baggy in a leather briefcase that sat on the edge of the desk next to his laptop.

“Just out of curiosity, why do you need his prints?”

He turned back to face her after clicking the case shut. “When this is all over, having someone to frame for it will give me… I mean… us, plenty of time to get out of the country while poor Mister Beale has to explain why the laptop that cracked the casino’s security codes has his fingerprints all over it.”

“Do you really hate him that much?”

Phin looked shocked that she would even suggest such a thing. “Hate him? Absolutely not… he’s my hero.”

When he didn’t elaborate, she shook her head in confusion. “Then why try to ruin his life like that?”

“Because my dear… all heroes must have an archenemy.”

Angela knew that Phin was slightly off his rocker, now she began to wonder if he wasn’t completely bat-shit crazy. She didn’t have much time to process her thoughts before he was gesturing toward the clothes she had pulled from the drawers.

“Get changed, we have an appointment that we simply can’t miss.” He watched her disappear into the bathroom and waited for the lock to click into place before he pulled a cellphone from his pocket. It rang twice before a woman’s sultry voice answered.

“Candy.” Her voice oozed sex and seduction, but now wasn’t the time for pleasure, it was time for business.

“It’s Phin… are you clear?” He heard a rustling over the earpiece and figured that she was now cradling her phone closer to her ear.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Did you verify their room numbers?”

Candy Moore nodded against the phone as she answered. “Yes, Mr. Beale is in 819 with a little pixie red-head.”

“What about the other couple that they checked in with?” Phin had been sitting in one of the plush chairs just inside the Luxor’s foyer when he’d heard someone whining about how much his beard was itching. He’d been secretly scanning for the frequency of the hotel’s security communications when he’d glanced up and saw the unmistakable face of his old college roommate, Eric “The Code Master” Beale getting drug into the hotel by a tiny woman who looked like she was about to punch her companion. The four of them had walked right by him as he continued to fake-read the afternoon paper and he couldn’t believe his eyes, or his luck, when he recognized his old friend. The dark beard and hair was clearly meant to hide the man’s identity, but there was no mistaking that pouty whine, one he’d heard too many times back in school to mistake it now.

“They are right next door in room 818.” Candy stepped further into the small alcove in the casino’s main floor. “I was on their floor when they went into their rooms.”

“They saw you?!”

“Cool your jets, Rocket Man… yes, they saw me but the guys were too busy admiring my ‘assets’ and the girls too busy getting all possessive to really notice me.” Candy knew she had a killer body and helping Phin in his little heist was going to help her… improve… what good genetics had already graced her with.

Phin swallowed his frustration, content in the fact that promises of Ferraris, diamonds, furs, and whatever else her little heart desired had delivered the unbelievably gorgeous showgirl into his plans and into his bed. He let the little ‘Rocket Man’ quip go this time (he tended to allow his excitement in the bedroom to… ahem… cause things to ‘blast-off’ before the countdown had concluded), deciding that he would bring it up with her, when everything was over. “Did you pass that information onto Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum?”

“Yes, they were heading toward the rooms just a few minutes ago.”

Phin took a moment to do a little happy dance in the middle of the hotel room. “Great… just great. I can’t wait to see the look on Beale’s face when he finds out who’s behind all this.” He heard Candy’s heavy sigh over the phone and his feet and arms stopped their movements.

“What is it Candy?”

The blonde folded her arms across her ample chest, a tinge of worry in her voice when she answered. “Do we really need to grab them? Can’t you just ask your old friend to do this for you?”

Phin answered almost immediately. “No. Eric Beale was always a crusader… only pulling off the hack jobs that would help somebody out and he’d never agree to help me steal millions, even if his life depended on it. That’s why we’re grabbing him and his friends… he may not do it for himself… but he’ll do it for his friends.” There was another small sigh from the woman on the other end of the phone. “What, Candy? Spit it out.”

“It’s just… this is all messed up Phin. When I agreed to help you, you never said anything about someone getting hurt.” Candy remembered the tall, handsome blonde who had his hands all over the pretty brunette; his eyes had been so blue and kind. “The other guy, the shaggy blonde… he looked sweet.”

Phin’s voice dropped into a threatening tone. “Don’t go getting cold feet and don’t let some good-looking guy distract you Candy… don’t forget what’s waiting at the other end of this.”

Candy let the image of the tall blonde with the cute smile fade under a wave of mansions, swimming pools, BMWs, and diamond rings as her resolve returned once more. “Gotcha, babe.”

“Good, now carry out your next assignment… the boys will need security to be distracted while they escort our ‘guests’ from the hotel.” Phin finished with his final instructions before ending the call.

Candy tucked her phone into the hem of her miniskirt and adjusted her halter top as she headed out toward the center of the room where the majority of the security team would be focused. She’d already picked out the high roller at the blackjack table that she would snuggle up against just long enough to get his attention before yanking her top down and screaming that he’d attacked her. It wasn’t very creative, and it wasn’t the first time she’d showed her boobs in public, but it was guaranteed to attract everyone’s attention for the right amount of time.

…

Jasper and his younger brother, Horace, ambled their way down the hallway, careful to avoid making eye contact with any guests they happened to meet along their way. They’d coordinated with Candy, planning to use her distraction to grab a certain computer geek and his girlfriend. They didn’t like this kind of work but since they felt like they had no choice, they played along with Phineas’ plan. They’d been assigned the easy ‘snatch-n-grab’ and if the guy was as big a nerd as they were told, he wouldn’t be any trouble… and if he was… well, that’s why they were going to grab the girl as well.

“Do you have the room number?” Jasper had trusted his little brother with that piece of the plan, hoping it would help boost the man’s confidence after their last unsuccessful excursion had ended in abysmal failure.

Horace wiped his forearm across his brow for the hundredth time since they had entered the casino, his sweat glands in overdrive. He was desperate to prove himself to this new gang in which he found himself, giving this job his undivided attention. “Yeah, I even wrote it down like you told me to.”

“That’s good, bro…“ Jasper smiled, thinking that maybe after all this time, his little brother would finally become an asset instead of an albatross. “… see, you’re thinking things out… planning ahead… using your brain.”

They didn’t speak directly about how the last little job had gone south because Horace forgot to insure that there was enough gas in the getaway vehicle. That ended with them being escorted into the back of a police cruiser while every cop at the scene laughed hysterically at their ‘bad luck’.

As they neared the end of the hallway where their target rooms awaited, Jasper slowed his pace to glance over at his brother. “So, what room are they in?”

Horace brought his arm up so he could see the number he’d written across the inside of his forearm and his grin turned into a frown when he saw nothing but a black smudge across his skin. He stopped walking and it took a moment for his brother to notice.

“Well?”

Horace held up his arm, showing his brother the now illegible numbers. When Jasper looked at his brother’s face, he could see the black smear was repeated on the man’s forehead where he’d been wiping his sweat with the very arm on which he’d written the numbers.

“Really? That’s where you wrote the damn number?”

“I… um… uhhh…“

Jasper pressed his eyes closed, fighting against the sudden urge to punch something. Or someone. “Please… just tell me you remember the number?” The blank expression that appeared on his brother’s face confirmed Jasper’s fears.

“Uh… it started with an ‘8’…“

“I know that… we’re already on the eighth floor…“ The air was getting hotter for some reason. “…we need the actual room number. Now think!”

Horace concentrated. Hard. So hard his head began to hurt.

8… 8… 14?

No. Too low.

8… 8… 36?

No. Too high.

8… 8… 8… 18? No… 19? Maybe?

Before his thoughts could clear, his brother cut in. “Come on… can’t you remember?”

That made the younger Pastel brother a little frustrated himself. “Well, you were there too, can’t you remember?”

“I told you to write it down so I wouldn’t have to remember!”

“Don’t start with me Jasper… you’re no brainiac yourself!”

Jasper was almost to the end of his rope. “If your stupidity has screwed up another job… I swear, it won’t matter that you’re my brother… I will kick the ever loving crap out of you!”

“Bring it Mr. I graduated from the eighth-grade… you think you’re so smart with all of that book knowledge you’ve got? You told me to write it down!”

Jasper turned to face his brother head-on. “Not on your arm, you numbskull!”

“Who are you calling a numbskull?” Horace’s immense shoulders rolled up, making him look even larger.

“You, you moron!”

“Oh, so now I’m a moron… wish you’d make up your mind!”

The door right beside them slipped open and a thin man spoke firmly to the two arguing men. “Hey guys? Why don’t you take it somewhere else, you’ve disturbing the entire floor.”

When they turned to growl at him to mind his own business, they came face-to-face with a clearly agitated Eric Beale. The old picture Phin had showed them had displayed a younger man than the one before them, but everything looked the same, except for the darker hair.

“Guys?”

That was all Eric was able to squeak out before the two behemoths were shoving their way into his room. The older one closed the door behind them as the younger one grabbed him around the wrist, clamping his other hand across Eric’s mouth.

“Hmmmphhhhhh mmmmmfffff…“ Eric strained against the man’s iron like grip but it was like wrestling with a bulldozer. It wasn’t really painful, but he was locked up tight, unable to do more than breathe.

The older behemoth stepped in front of them, his eyes a little more intense than the one holding him. “Quiet… we don’t want to hurt you.” There was an unspoken “But we will if we have to” that hung in the air between them. When Eric realized struggling would do him no good, he relaxed, seeing the honesty in the other man’s eyes.

When their captive relaxed, Jasper took a moment to glance around the room. “So, where’s your little girlfriend?”

Before Eric could stop himself, his eyes cut toward the bathroom. Jasper turned his enormous frame in that direction just as the door swung open… but the person that came out wearing a pair of baggy board shorts and a loose shirt was a tall man with shaggy blonde hair.

“So, what was the commotion out in…” Deeks’ question died in his throat when he saw the two uninvited guests, one with Eric wrapped in his gorilla-like arms. “What the…!?”

“Just do what I say and my brother won’t pull your friend’s arms out of their sockets.”

Deeks’ mind flashed to Han Solo’s quote in Star Wars, but the look of fear in Eric’s eyes stopped any smart retort he could come up with. “Okay… okay… everyone just remain calm.”

The larger gorilla pointed toward the wooden chair near the desk, and Deeks sat quickly, hoping for a chance to make a move that wouldn’t endanger Eric. As he sat down, behemoth number one began to duct tape him to the chair, covering his mouth with a small piece of tape as well.

Holding Eric tight to his chest, Horace posed a question. “I thought he was with his girlfriend?”

Jasper nodded toward Deeks, a strange look crossing over his face. “Maybe he is the girlfriend.”

Deeks shot Eric a very surprised look, humming behind the tape over his lips as his eyebrows shot up. The expression on Eric’s face was just as confused and embarrassed, the entire situation turning into a circus.

“But Candy and Phin both saw them with girls.” Horace plopped Eric down in the matching chair as Jasper taped him up in similar fashion to what he’d done to Deeks.

“They might be in it together… probably from California… you know how weird those people can get.” Jasper finished taping and talking just as there was a soft click from the door and both brothers quickly moved behind their captives as two women waltzed into the room. The tall brunette was the first to look up and notice the uninvited guests in the room and the condition of the men restrained in the chairs.

Kensi literally wanted to kick herself for leaving her sidearm in her bag back in the room she was sharing with Deeks, that brief moment of letting her guard down coming back to bite her. She was weighing her options for how to take out the two gigantic men standing behind her friend and her lover, when the one behind Deeks wrapped a thick arm around his throat and squeezed just tight enough to render her partner’s face a light shade of purple.

“You two pretty ladies do exactly what we say and I won’t have to give pretty boy’s head a little spin.”

…

To be continued…

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Randy (Jericho Steele) is a contributor for wikiDeeks.
You can also find more of his great stories on FanFiction.net.

Thanks to Lindy AKA Sweet Lu for the wonderful feature image.