miss it, then you lose the fifty,” Jake argued.
“Yes, but if you lose then you bet the same third again, this time with a hundred. Fifty to cover the money you just lost, and another fifty to still make a profit.”
“And if you miss again?”
“Then you bet again, two hundred; one-fifty to cover your loss, and that extra fifty for the profit. Remember the odds are one in three, so the chances that it will continuously miss that same third are slim.”
“Yeah, in a perfect world.”
“Even if you only hit one in six, you’ll still make that profit. Once you do, you only bet that original fifty, and the cycle starts again.”
“It’s fool proof,” Solomon added. “The only catch is that you need a lot of money to start with. How much do you have?”
“Almost four-grand.”
“And how much do you need?”
“Fifty.”
“Jesus. Well, I don’t see any other option. Four thousand won’t help, and unless you want to bet a horse, I’d say it’s irresponsible not to take this opportunity we have so selflessly presented to you.”
“You’ve used this system before?”
“Yes,” they both lied.
“And it works?”
“Absolutely.”
Meanwhile Charlie was behind the wheel of his navy green four-wheel-drive with Harry by his side and Theo in the backseat.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Theo said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. His left hand clasped the ten-thousand-dollars in his pocket tightly.
“Relax man,” Harry said. “Thugs are like dogs, if you show them you’re afraid, they’ll attack. Keep your cool, and stop sweating.”
“Easy for you to say,” Theo said.
“This is it,” Charlie said as he pulled over in front of the address Theo had given him. They stepped out of the car and took in their surroundings. The moon was rising above the low rooftops, the few working streetlights lit up the copious amounts of graffiti along the walls. The three of them made their way up the front stairs of the apartment building.
They found their way through the dim corridors until they arrived at their destination. Theo took a deep breath. Charlie and Harry waited for him to be ready. Theo knocked on the door with a quivering fist. A moment later it opened. A thick muscular man in a worn cheap leather jacket faced them. “I’ve been looking for you,” the man said in a thick eastern European accent.
“Sorry,” was all Theo could say.
“Andrei?” Charlie asked.
“I am no Andrei, I am Ivan” he replied as he stepped back into the apartment. “Little boy is here,” Ivan said to man on the couch.
Charlie and Harry entered the apartment before Theo. They saw the man sitting on the couch facing two laptop screens on the coffee table. He finished what he was typing before he graced them with his attention.
“Who are you?” the man on the couch asked in an equally thick accent.
“I’m Charlie, this is Harry, I believe you know our friend,” he thumbed Theo. “You must be Andrei.”
“Little Theo, where you been?” Andrei said as he rose to his feet.
“I’m sorry. I was getting your money,” Theo said while staring at the floor beneath Andrei’s feet.
“You have it now?”
“Yes.” He retrieved the envelope from his pocket.
“Come,” he beckoned Theo forward. “Don’t be afraid.”
Charlie studied the mans demeanor as his friend slowly skulked towards him. He could see the intimidation that frightened Theo so. Harry kept his eye on Andrei’s right hand man who had taken a step back and watched with his arms crossed against his bulky chest.
Theo held his arm forward. Andrei reached for it, the yellow envelope was within grasp, but his hand continued forward and grabbed hold of Theo’s wrist. “You remember our deal, yes?” Andrei asked. Theo shot a panicked look at Charlie. “If you are late, I take finger.”
Theo dropped the envelope and tried to yank back his arm but the grip was too strong. Charlie and Harry stepped forward. “Don’t move,” Ivan said as he produced a gun from his waistband and aimed it in their direction.
“Andrei wait,” Charlie said calmly.
“Oh, alright if you say so Mr. Charlie,” the Russian gangster mocked. Ivan joined him in a laugh without lowering the aim of his gun.
“Let’s make a deal,” Charlie said.
“I already make deal with your friend,” Andrei replied as he continued to grip Theo’s wrist with the strength of a bear. “He promise to bring me my money four days ago, I tell him if he no do this then I take finger. I am business man, this lying is no good for my business and no good for my reputation.” Andrei flicked open a hunting knife.
“We understand that,” Harry chimed in; “but are we right in assuming that no one outside of this room knows that our friend Theo here was late in returning your generous loan?”
“This is correct,” Andrei entertained.
“So unless your man Ivan here is a little bitch rat,” Harry noted the agitation his phrasing brought to Ivan’s face; “then no one is going to know, and your reputation will remain intact.”
“And what is in this deal for me?” Andrei asked as his grip loosened slightly.
“What any good businessman wants, more profit.” Harry said.
“How much?”
“Twenty percent of the initial.”
“Fifty percent sound better.”
“That’s a bit much,” Harry said.
Ivan stepped forward and pressed the gun firmly against Harry’s cheek. “Fifty percent is deal, or we take your fingers too.”
Charlie made no attempt to hide his smirk.
“Tell me Jerkules,” Harry sneered; “what was the point of building all this muscle if your going to threaten me with this little faggot gun instead?”
Ivan’s eyes filled with anger as he clicked back the hammer. “You think I need gun to kill you boy?”
“Looks like it.”
Andrei’s amusement in the situation had caused him to release Theo, who slowly made his way to the side of the room.
“Want to make a new deal?” Charlie offered. “Harry beats your man, it’s twenty percent.”
“And if Ivan win? Fifty?”
“Hell, call it sixty,” Harry said defiantly. Andrei laughed. Harry studied the man he was about to fight. He had a thick silver chain around his neck, several large rings that could cause some damage if he landed a solid punch, under the leather jacket was a tight black shirt that hugged his muscles tightly.
“What you think Ivan?” Andrei asked.
“I crush them both,” Ivan snarled.
“I've got a sore neck,” Charlie said. “I'll sit it out.”
“Okay. Deal,” Andrei said.
Theo watched in horror as Harry prepared to face a man with a considerable age, size and weight advantage on account of his own actions.
“Anything I should know princess? Heart condition? Bad knee? Any rules?” Harry provoked the man as he rolled up his sleeves.
“No rules,” Andrei said.
Ivan furiously banged his gun on the table and removed his leather jacket. “I going to kill you,” he growled.
“If you’ll do the honors,” Charlie said to the Russian gangster as they both took a step back.
Andrei smiled as he announced for them to begin. Ivan’s anger gave way as he rampaged towards his victim and launched a powerful fist. With a spring in his step Harry did the first thing he learned in his frequent fighting experience, he stepped aside. With his right arm he deflected the thunderous punch that contained the majority of Ivan’s momentum directly past him. When he was in a suitable position Harry firmly grabbed the back of Ivan’s thick silver chain and yanked on it; it snapped, but not before partially crushing his Larynx and windpipe. Ivan grabbed his throat and gasped. Harry stepped around the mountain of a man and del
ivered a solid punch on the bridge of his nose, blood exploded downwards and gushed over his mouth and chin. Harry grabbed the man by his shirt, placed his leg behind both of Ivan’s and pulled him back. The apartment shook as the large man fell. A quick kick to the solar plexus and Harry stepped back with a satisfied pant.
Andrei looked on, hiding his surprise, as his man lay convulsing on the floor. He took the gun from the table and held it comfortably in his hand. “Impressive,” he said calmly. “How old you are?”
“Old enough,” Harry replied as he rolled his sleeves back down.
Andrei pulled the hammer back on the gun and asked again. “How old you are?”
“Twenty-two,” Harry said.
Theo slowly rose to his feet and cautiously made his way over to his friends.
“Twenty percent?” Charlie asked.
“Yes,” Andrei confirmed, a sadistic smile came across his face. “And finger.”
“We had a deal.”
“I have gun, so I make new deal. Twenty percent and finger.” He looked at Theo as he spoke. “Go find someone who deserve to lose finger more than you,” his hauntingly thick Russian accent sent a chill down Theo’s spine. “Now leave.”
Over the course of the night Jake, with the help of Sam and Solomon, had won over eight thousand dollars from the roulette tables. The figure brought a total of twelve thousand dollars in chips stacked before him. The system had worked and continued to work; the only flaw was that of human endurance. The hoarding had taken six hours of sitting and betting responsibly, under the instruction of Sam and Solo. The cash had been distributed among them in the beginning, and they mixed in several non-consequence hands of black jack and poker to avoid suspicion from the terrifyingly brutal men who