A Little Bit of Luck

It was the light streaming in through the halfway open curtains that woke Mackenzie the next morning. Like most mornings, her back was pressed against Scott’s chest, his arm resting around her waist. The fingers of his left hand were interlocked with the fingers of her own left hand.

This is what she had awakened to every morning for the past 7 years. Scott had became her rock early on in her life. He was the one who was always there for her, the one that she kept no secrets from. He was her best friend and her future husband.

“I know you are awake,” He whispered, placing a kiss on her left shoulder, “What are you thinking about?”

“Stuff,” She replied, squeezing his hand, “And no, not business stuff.”

Before Scott had the opportunity to ask anything else, the door flew open to reveal Donovan. A look of pure disgust was on his face from the sight of his sister in bed with a man. Looking towards the ceiling, he said, “I think it is time for the two of you to get up. Everyone else is curious as to what the plan is. And by the way, I hate both of you sometimes. Would it be impossible to sleep in separate bedrooms?”

“Donny,” Scott began, setting up in bed and chuckling, “you really need a girlfriend or something. You are starting to get ridiculously bitchy about your sister and I.”

“When do I have the time? I’m always involved with something that the group is doing.”

“Donny, you are just an ass. Tell everyone we will be out there in a few minutes,” Mackenzie said, motioning for Donovan to get out of the room.

In the living room, Helena was setting a box of doughnuts on the table for everyone. She was the maternal one of the group, the one always taking care of everyone else. At first she had been wary of acting herself around everyone else, she had thought that it might annoy them. Luckily, for everyone involved, it worked out very well.

Kurt was tapping his fingers against his legs, anxious for Mackenzie and Scott to join them. He still wasn’t sure how they were going to pull this off, let alone why. Even after all the years he had spent with these people, their calmness still amazed him. They were going on what could easily become a suicide job and they were acting completely normal.

Sebastian was already connecting his beloved Xbox to the TV. It was his way of escaping when things got too stressful. Then again, it was also what he did to pass the time. He was easily the most laid back person in the group. It took something horrible to rattle his cage.

“Where are they?” Kurt asked, preparing to begin pacing across the living room.

“Hold on to your panties, Kurt. Now the quicker we get started the smoother this will go. So instead of going through the whole introduction to the crime thing I’m skipping to the chase.

“The Diamanti hotel and casino is located on the strip, next door to the Sahara. The current owner is the third owner. He is also the first person to own the casino that is not blood relative of the original owner. He is a ruthless, cheating, scumbag but he is smart.

“In order to pull this job off we are going to have to infiltrate the casino very carefully. Until we get the blue prints we can’t really accomplish anything. We have to know everything about the security in the building. Which brings us to the first thing on the agenda, getting those prints. They are kept in the owner’s office.

“To be able to gain access to them we are gong to need a two-fold strategy. Someone is going to need to be in that office alone while someone else causes a problem in the casino.

“Kurt, you are going to be the distraction within the casino. They are going to think you are cheating. I’m going to make a phone call, figure out which table you are going to be at, and then you will play the game normally. Everything else will be arranged for you from there. But I want you to wear a blonde wig, a mustache, and a hat. We can’t afford to have you flagged this early in the game.

“In the Diamanti, when a guest is suspected of cheating the first person to know is the owner, Clifford. Every pit boss reports to him at the first suspicion of cheating. Once he gets the notification he heads directly to the casino floor. Which will leave his office empty.” Mackenzie stopped, needing a breath of air.”

“So when he leaves the second person breaks into his office?” Sebastian asked, still unsure of how Mackenzie planned on getting the blue prints.

“No. The second person will already be in the office.”

“So you expect him to leave a stranger in his office alone? Are you sure you thought this completely through?” Helena finally joined the conversation.

“I’ll be the one in the office,” Mackenzie said, just before her brother interrupted.

“And she isn’t a stranger. Lets just say Mackenzie is an acquaintance of his. It is best that we leave it at that until we get the plans.” Donovan was already handing a piece of paper to his sister. Written on it was a single phone number, belonging to the blackjack dealer that would be helping them later that day.

At one o’clock that afternoon, Kurt entered the casino. He was now the epitome of calmness. There was nothing in his demeanor that even began to hint at the uneasy feeling eating him away on the inside.

Ten minutes later, Mackenzie entered the front door. Instead of heading for the casino, she headed for the front desk. She walked directly to a closed window and pulled off her sunglasses. “I’m here to see the owner.”

“I’m sorry, he doesn’t have any appointments for today,” The lady said, looking agitated.

“Tell him that it is Mackenzie Page and he better make the damn time.” Mackenzie knew this was her best chance. If she started off with an attitude he would be informed. She also knew that if he thought she was in a bad mood he would expect the worst, which would be a death sentence for him.

The lady picked up the phone and carried on a short, hushed conversation. Mackenzie knew the woman was trying to keep the conversation a secret, but it wasn’t working. “He said that he is waiting in his office,” the lady said, hanging up the phone.

“Thank you,” Mackenzie said, turning towards his office.

Scott and Donovan were seated at two slot machines near the blackjack tables. They were in a position that gave them a clear view of the table Kurt was playing at. Seated there, making small talk, they looked exactly like two friends that were on vacation. All three were playing their parts perfectly; Kurt was drawing suspicion and they blended in.

“I’m just saying,” Scott said, pushing the button on the slot machine, “you could at least knock before throwing the door open.”

“And I’m just saying that it wouldn’t kill you to sleep in separate rooms. Not at every house that we stay in but a few. I would like a break from seeing you two curled up next to each other every damn morning.” Donovan leaned to the side a little bit, nodding towards the blackjack dealer.

On the other side of the casino, Mackenzie was throwing open two wood doors. In the center of the lavishly decorated room, behind a mahogany desk, sat a man. He looked up from his paper work, fixed the cuffs on the jacket of his suit, and then stood up.

“Hello Mackenzie.” He said formally, leaving the greeting open.

“Father.” She replied coldly, walking towards the desk.

“What brings you here? I haven’t seen or talked to you since you were eighteen. That is what,” he trailed off, trying to figure out exactly how long it had been.

“Thirteen years,” she informed him, “Is that anyway to great your only daughter?”

“Last time that we spoke you called me a liar. I wasn’t under the impression that you cared how I addressed you.”

Meanwhile, Kurt was being watched by a pit boss. The dealer had given a very discrete signal, which had placed a large amount of attention on Kurt. As he played he gave off every sign Mackenzie had instructed him to.

This was the first time he had played a part of this nature. Usually he blended in, never noticed by anyone. He always played an indispensable part but he had never been the distraction. Even though he would never admit it, it was exhilarating.

“The pit boss is paging your dad right now,” Scott commented, seeing the pit boss speak into the microphone pinned on his collar.

“I’m going to be getting the car ready for when they bounce him. Just be sure that my sister gets out without anyone noticing.” Donovan whispered before standing up to leave.

In Clifford’s office, he was speaking angrily into his phone. Mackenzie was sitting across from him with a straight face. He was too caught up in his phone call to notice Mackenzie’s eyes scouting the office.

Slamming the phone down, he said, “Business calls. This shouldn’t take long.”

She stayed seated until the door had clicked closed. As she jumped up from the chair, she silently rejoiced that there would never be any cameras in this office. It made her job that much easier.

Carefully, she pulled back the edge of the rug located behind the desk. Underneath it was a safe, which she knew contained what they needed. She quickly entered the combination that would open the door, holding back a sigh of relief when it worked.

Pulling the purse that she had brought along closer, she place the documents into it. As soon as the safe was empty she closed the door. With a glance towards the door, she replaced the rug to it’s previous position.

With a smug grin, she zipped the purse and stood up. Knowing that it was only a few minutes before her father would return, she fled the room.

Scott was waiting for her at the end of the hallway. He knew that she had accomplished her task the second he saw her face. There was no anger or tension on her face and that told the whole story.

“Lets get out of here.” He tossed an arm around her shoulder with a smile, making them look like just another couple.

Kurt looked nervously between the pit boss, Clifford, and the large security guard in front of him. Each of them looked very angry and very large. He had known that they were going to kick him out from the beginning, but now he had certain worries. Judging by the look on the guard’s face he had physically tossed people out before.

“Get him out of my casino. I never want to see your face here again. If you are stupid enough to return there will be dire consequences.” Clifford’s voice was low and rough, he wanted to make sure everyone knew he was serious.

That evening, everyone in the house was seated at the dinning room table. The stolen blue prints were spread open so they could be examined.

“It is a good thing that safe is so small. If it was any bigger these would be rolled up and I wouldn’t have gotten them through the front door.” Mackenzie’s eyes stayed locked on the vault, she had to figure out how to open it.

“How did you know where the safe was?” Kurt asked, unable to resist any longer.

“I know that office like the back of my hand. He is my father. If you guys want to go enjoy the evening that is fine with me. I’m sure that Scott, Donovan, and I can handle this part.” Mackenzie’s voice signaled that this was all she was going to say on the matter for now. After they had a real plan she would willingly discuss the situation with her father.