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Family, can't live with 'em; Roulette Match RP
Topic Started: Jan 20 2011, 04:49 AM (80 Views)
Jay Wildman
In a retirement home
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Roulette.

A game of the ultimate chance, one bounce and you could end up either winning it all, going bust or pushing the line. Millions of people tried their luck in Vegas at the simple game created by the French in the late eighteenth century, wanting fate to be on their side for once in their entire lives. Just one simple bounce could change the fortunes of so many. Living dangerous, betting wild and putting your faith in numbers.

The things people would believe in these days were amazing.

I walked down Tropicana Boulevard towards the main strip in Las Vegas, looking for an old companion I hadn't seen in ages. She called me out of the blue a few days ago saying she would be in town, hoping to talk about some sort of business proposal. If I remembered her passions, it would involve hand bags and a vat of grease. In other words, she's one strange and wild woman. The last time we saw each other, she nearly killed a Catholic priest and three Guatemalan children with a pair of tweezers.

"When are we gonna meet your lady friend, Jay?"

I ignored my brother Elias. He invited himself on this trip since he couldn't believe I knew someone with a "vagina" besides my assistants. He also cajoled me about how jealous Zyrah would be about my clandestine visit. The worst part about his blathering, he knew the truth. Zyrah would question why I would even meet this person much less entertain a business offer. She would think I would let her go of her contract, citing the many reasons why she's qualified for her assignments.

"You aren't meeting her, Elias. I never invited you so you get to wait out on the strip or... Wait, I know, you can always go home like you planned on ever since you stepped foot in Las Vegas!" I replied.

"Come on now, do you think I'm gonna let you off the hook after getting me involved in your business?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and started counting backwards from ten in hopes I would calm my frayed nerves. Elias stopped a step behind me, grumbling about how inconsiderate I am for making him wait. I felt my hands clinch and release before facing him, a scowl on my face which could curdle milk.

"I never asked you, Elias. You were the one who wanted me involved with APW's side show, you were the one who wanted me in a match against Amos for 'Shits and Giggles' and you're the one who can't take a hint when I tell you I don't need you around."

Elias looked up into the heavens as if he were pondering the greatest mystery in life. He furrowed his brow and scowled at the sky, his mind wrestling with the thoughts now battling in his head. I shook my head in frustration, turned around in disgust and walked away before he could catch up. I knew I could never be so lucky as to leave him behind without a trace but I could always hope. Before I could get too far away, my brother broke out into a sprint and caught up, grabbing me by the shoulder while laughing.

"You know you'd be bored without me here! You'd just work yourself to death and then you'd expect us to revive you again like we did the last time. Did you forget about the butter and the lime?"

My jaw dropped, not because I remembered the incident he imagined but for the reason he imagined it in the first place. I knew he suffered from many concussions which left him drooling like a school house chimp but now it's a little excessive. I closed my jaw, tilted my head and rubbed the temple with my index finger, this time counting backwards from twenty.

My brother just stood there, a goofy smile on his face as he waited. After I stopped he nodded as if my counting signaled he could move on with life and motioned for me to continue walking since I knew where we were headed. I sighed and did as he told me, wondering how I could get out before I ran into my associate. We turned the corner onto Las Vegas Boulevard and headed north past the MGM Grand where onlookers gawked at the inherent false veneer of the Strip.

After a few feet down the street, I heard my brother sigh as if thinking hurt his brain as the air escaped from where ever it could. I wanted to avoid the confrontation, knowing it would be best if I could just jump out into on-coming traffic to end it all but the deeper sigh stopped me in my tracks, feigning interest instead.

"Yes, is there something wrong?" I asked.

"It's..."

"Yes?" I repeated through clinched teeth.

"I got a letter today."

My eye twitched violently at this point, I thought I would be having a stroke at any point in this conversation as the smell of purple flooded my nostrils. I could feel my fist clinching. I counted backwards from thirty this time around as my brother waited for me to stop counting. I stopped, cracked my neck with a quick jerking motion from left to right before looking Elias in the eyes and forcing a smile.

"What did the letter say?"

"I'm not sure I can tell you."

I often wondered what it would be like to be across the ring from me while I wore the Grimnir mask, running around and hooting like a madman while my opponent would be uncomfortable or even take me seriously. Often I thought it could be used to my advantage, overloading their minds with my psychotic state. Now I knew it only paid me back in karmic hell.

"If you didn't think you could tell me what it said, why did you tell me in the first place?"

"There are some sti… sti… sti…"

"Stipulations, is that what you are saying?"

Elias nodded at me as if he were a child in kindergarten who managed to earn himself a gold star by assisting the teacher. I patted him on the arm with a reassuring smile, knowing he would never tell me if I didn't go through all of the silly nonsense. After a few moments of his insipid smile, he broke and continued with his questions.

"The letter said I can't tell you what it told me to not tell you but it did tell me that I could tell you what I could tell you."

"Could you try it in English, Elias?"

"I said the letter told me I can't tell you. Someone sent me a cashier's check for two million dollars but told me I had to do something to keep it."

Two million dollars isn't anything to sneeze at, even when you are my simple brother. The lawsuits and brain damage alone must have put him in the poor house. It broke my father's heart to have his pride and joy damaged in the head after having such a promising career as a sports star but in the end, it was my father's neglect which drove the three of us insane most of the times.

"Good for you, I hope you keep all the money. I'm sure you need it."

Elias bit his lower lip and sobbed. I quietly struggled with the sense of dread. I didn't feel like asking who he told. He probably called his former clients and told them all about his little trials in hopes to get them worked up about getting their settlements. Before I could stop him he dropped and bellowed like a dying whale, causing everyone around us to turn and glare at our noisy interruption. I blushed violently as I forced a smile, helping Elias back on his feet.

"Calm down and tell me all about it, brother."

"I told everyone! I couldn't help it! I told them all about the money and what I could do with it all! They are going to come back and take it all away from me! They are going to ruin me like my clients ruined me with their greed!"

Much like a bad movie, my brother managed to sob the last word into a broken jumble of e's with his rapid breathing. I tried calming min down but the people gathered around muttered about how rude we were. I forced another smile and grabbed my brother's mammoth arm so he would calm down and stop crying. I might as well have been an ant moving the moon. I gave up and thought I should have left him where he sobbed but since he is family, I couldn't do it.

My eye caught a piece of paper dangling out of his coat pocket. I reached down and pulled it out, holding it in my right hand and reading it as I patted Elias sympathetically with the left hand. I read the stipulations once for clarity but didn't bother reading past the warning since I didn't want my brother to end up broke. I hated him with the passion of ten thousand suns but he is far better than BBD or Roscoe when they are drunk. I placed the paper in his pocket and spoke in a calm tone.

"Hey big guy, you know what? You aren't in trouble at all. You didn't tell them about the actual thing you had to do, right?"

Elias shook his head while still biting his lower lip, sheen of tears over his cheeks which only caused them to glow a deeper red.

"You're fine. You can tell them about the money, you just can't tell them about the way you got it. Keep quiet about it and you'll keep the money, ok?"

Elias nodded once, still sobbing.

"Good. Let's say we go home and get you something warm to eat, you shouldn't be out in public like this anyway."

"But... But..." Elias stammered.

"It's ok, she can wait. I'm sure she'll understand what's going on anyway. Besides, I have to make sure I do my part and get ready for my roulette match and keep you out of trouble at the same time. I'm going to have a lot of fun doing it."

My brother bolted up, hopped up into the air and clapped like a seal waiting for a fish. He scampered away through the crowd into the distance, turning the corner past the MGM. I sighed, my brothers must go sooner rather than later if I wanted to survive in Las Vegas.

I'm ready for my roulette match at Showdown, my family keeps me trained every day.
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