"I suppose that the first thing I should tell you about is that toxic hotel in Vegas. The entire downstairs was a roaring casino full of fools and drunks but upstairs it was clean enough if a bit dark. The curtains were thick and the room's only source of light was a few strings of flickering bulbs. I remember the offsetting purple of the walls and the mini fridge filled with cheap alcohol. Our beds were soft with silk sheets but The maid had spread a sickening amount of rose petals over them. It was apparent that this room was not meant for platonic business partners such as ourselves but that was of little concern to us, we simply needed a place to stay.

I was leaning in the corner, if my memory serves, trying in vain to keep dust clouds away from my white suit. Janna was curled up on one of the two twin beds, smiling at me with her cherry-scented lips. She had on a purple skirt and a silver blouse so low-cut I was obliged to look at her sideways or feel like I was somehow in the wrong. Janna was tall but sturdy. Her hair had been cropped short and dyed a bubblegum pink. I never asked her age but I would assume that she was around twenty-five.

Simon, on the other hand, was fifty-something. he sat cross-legged on the unoccupied bed typing at such a slow pace that I am sure it took him a full minute to form a sentence. He had jet-black hair that stuck to his skull like a second skin and drooping, brown eyes.

Rhys was in the shower, pouring his heart and soul into a one-man rendition of the mission impossible theme music and Ms. Tanner was downstairs winning at poker so there is no need for me describe them just yet.

"Simon?"

Janna mumbled from the bed in her usual southern drawl.

"Simon, you have our next mark yet? We've been here for days And I'm getting antsy."

Simon peered over his laptop at her, registering the remark before curling his lips into an apologetic smile and said

"Just a little longer Janna. It's hard to find something worth our while to steal. Perhaps a priceless art piece this time? Or some classified information."

Simon drifted away from the conversation and began to type once again.

I looked at Jenna and shrugged. Going off of past experiences we could have been stuck there for weeks or left in an hour, there simply was no telling.

"How'd you like the last job, Bennet?"

Jenna asked me to break the silence.

"I thought that it was rather messy."

I replied. It had been a bank robbery that went a bit sour at the end, forcing us to end the lives of several captives, and I always hated killing. We all did.

"Ya, it was a bit messy."

Jenna continued

"But did you see that policeman? Hot right?"

I laughed and said

"Only you could take note of an attractive man in the middle of a shootout."

Jenna laughed with me before saying

"But you found him hot to right? I mean how could you not be attracted to that man?"

I rolled my eyes and said

"Not really my forte. Anyway, you couldn't have found him that good looking, you shot him, remember?"

"Only in the leg!"

Jenna defended

"a wound like that will only land him in the hospital for a month or so, no damage to his beauty."

We laughed again before falling into a comfortable silence, listening to the clicking of Simon's keyboard and Rhys's out of key singing.

Janna blew through her teeth in obvious boredom before rolling off the bed to stand, high heels clicking on the wooden floor.

"I'm going down to the casino to lose some of our savings. That cool?"

She asked.

I Looked at Simon when he didn't respond I simply gave her the thumbs up and watched as she strutted out of the room.

By this time Rhys had emerged from the shower but had not yet gotten around to clothing himself and so was lying on the floor with a large white towel wrapped around him. I haven't the faintest idea why the floor was his chosen place to dry out, given that we had two beds or, in fact, why he would not simply dry out in the bathroom like the rest of us semi-sane people but I am fairly sure that, if asked, his answer would be something along the lines of 'why the hell not?'

Rhys is tall with hair that I can only describe as 'surfer dude' and blue eyes that are all together to good at looking sad when he wants something. Besides the aforementioned, not much was noticeable about Rhys except for one major detail. He was minus an arm. I don't know the particulars of the accident, he would never tell me, but given the savage burn marks that crisscross his left side and curl over his hip bone I have my theory. You, my friends, are free to draw your own conclusions.

Taking into account the relative inertness of my boss and the awkward position of my friend I got up to leave. Halfway across the small room, I felt a hand grab my ankle. Turning around I glared at Rhys and said

"Let go, I'm going to the casino to find Ms. Tanner."

Rhys Poked my ankle before looking up at me and saying

"But it's loud in the casino, I can barely think with all that noise."

I stared at Rhys in confusion. He was our getaway driver and as such commanded the stereo. Believe me when I say that man has no problem with loud noise so long as its pop or some equally cheesy form of music. I shook my head and answered.

"Doesn't matter douse it? You don't need to come."

Rhys grabbed my arm and pulled himself up before answering

"Of course I'm coming! You can't leave me alone with Simon, he'd probably eat me."

We both looked over at Simon who calmly raised his eyes from the keyboard and said

"Oh no, I've never been particularly interested in cannibalism, although a friend of mine used to be very keen on the matter."

I looked back at Rhys and told him

"Well there you go, he says he doesn't eat people. Perfectly safe."

Rhys looked at me imploringly, I sighed,

"Fine, go get dressed."

After rummaging around in his suitcase Rhys changed into dress attire at which point I helped him into his red blazer and tie. We left the room and strolled towards the elevator. it was hard for me to keep up with Rhys's long strides but I suppose that the excitement of Las Vagus was infectious because I felt cool in my cream-colored suit and fedora.