Bells rung, lights glimmered, and women sung. Every corner of the station beeped and buzzed and sparkled. For most, it was sensory overload. For me, it was just enough to be entertaining.

We were in Las Platillo, the grandest casino in all the outer systems, and so close to Dualis that we didn’t even need to take a railship to get there. The floors were blindingly red, the walls were plastered with ‘tasteful’ murals, and the ceiling was a glowing image of a sunny sky.

Logan was walking ahead of me, wearing something nicer for once. He wore his old inner system suit as he strode closer to the counter. Just past a few velvety gates were singers, gambling tables, and all the alcohol you could drink. It was enough to almost make me forget what terms really brought us there.

Logan walked up to the desk. In situations like this, we agreed that he buys us both in and keeps my savings. Normally I’d complain, but there have been trends proving that it was the wise choice. He pulled out a stack of cash and talked to the woman behind the counter. He nodded to me, “For me and my brother. We won’t stay long enough to need a room.”

The woman beamed a smile and gladly accepted the cash. “Two day passes, no room! Got it! Would either of you be interested in donating blood to charity? You’ll get extra chips if you do!”

Free money for a bit of blood sounded like a good deal. Hell, any other day I’d be spilling it over the dirt for free, so why not make a buck off it? In this one situation, though, I knew better. Meadows had said not to donate blood, and while he was a bastard, I knew that with whatever he had planned, it needed to be done right.

Logan nodded his head and took our little velvet sack of chips. The woman began to pipe up and try selling the blood donations even more, but my brother simply walked away. I followed him, quickly catching up as we entered through the gates. “What’s up with that anyway? I’m confused at both why a casino would be so intent on blood donations, and why it’s such a bad idea to do it?”

Logan sighed as he looked around the enormous parlor “If you had read the info packet that was attached with the job, you would know.” We began to move past the blinking machines and gambling tables. As much as I wanted to stop and start having fun, we needed to get ourselves situated before ‘blending in’ as it were. Logan nodded his head toward a person sitting at a slots machine. There sat a glossy-eyed old man gazing up at the flashing lights. His skin was pale yellow like he had jaundice, and he looked so absent-minded I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a Skinwalker. Logan commented, “The reason we don’t donate is because you turn into grandpa over there. When you give here blood, you give all of it.”

Moving from behind Logan to beside him, I finished his thought. “Then they pump you full of the artificial stuff, filled with sedatives to keep you playing for as long as possible. That much makes sense, but what about when you run out of money?” Now that Logan had mentioned it, I noticed the bloodbags sauntering around like they were lost all over the place. We had artificial blood in the war, but I’d never thought I’d see people take it voluntarily.

“Even when they run out of money, they still have blood to give.” Logan said, “Not sure how that’s so profitable for them, but it certainly keeps the lights on.”

“That’s for sure…” I replied, looking up at the vaulted ceiling above us. Screens stretched throughout the entire sky, shining bright blue with puffy white clouds lazily drifting by. Las Platillo cycled around a little desert planet near the sun, and by its route should be night time by then. I guess if people are sleeping they aren’t spending, so you keep them thinking it’s day for as long as possible.

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Psychology parlor tricks aside, I still kinda liked the place. It hit that perfect middle ground between classy and sleazy, with an endless mimosa bar to boot. A little buzzer was ringing in the back of my head, though. As much as I wanted to ignore it, I had a bad feeling brewing in the back of my mind and in the pit of my stomach. Something was wrong with the place, more than all the drugged up old people walking around.

As much as the metaphysical ick felt just like Meadows, I had the feeling this wasn’t him. He wouldn’t bring us here if he was the one causing trouble. Somebody or something else also knew how to do magic, and it hung in the air like secondhand smoke.

Logan stopped dead in his tracks, looking between the endless rows of machines and tables before turning back to me. “Do you see Meadows? He should have been waiting for us.”

I shrugged. To be frank, I wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to what was going on, but I wouldn’t be the one to say that out loud. “Haven’t seen him either.”

My brother sighed as he grimaced. “Alright… I’ll go look for him, and you stay here in case he shows up.” For emphasis, he leaned in. “Do not leave this spot, alright? He should be around this area.”

“I got ya.” I said, “You know, there’s a poker table right over there. If you really want to make sure I stay put why not toss me a few chips?”

Logan rolled his eyes and pulled three plastic coins from the bag we got. “Don’t get caught counting cards.”

As he handed me the money, I scoffed. “Never been caught before, don’t plan on starting now.” With that, he went his separate way while I waltzed toward the poker table. There was no one at the table except the dealer, which was just the way I liked it. Lets you get real nice and personal with the fella; learn all his tells nice and quick.

As soon as I took my seat and sat my chips on the table, though, a woman sat beside me. It was either a freak coincidence, or this lady was waiting to get me alone. I could see why she would want to, me being such a stunner and all. Speaking of, this lady gave me a run for my money. She was wearing a perfectly cliché red dress with long near-grey hair hanging loose. She had a pale face with bright blue eyes and a sharp chin, making her gaze all the more intense. Her ankles were even showing. How uncouth.

I opened my mouth, ready to put on all the charm I had, but the woman got the first word in. She spoke softly while she sat her chips on the table. “Jesse Burrows, right?”

The fact she knew who I was caught me off guard. Rather than any of my scripted pickup lines, I was left off-guard “Yeah. That’s me… Do I know you?”

“No,” she said, picking up the cards she was just dealt. I barely paid attention to what I had. “I just heard about you in the papers. Good thing you did, saving that little mining town.”

I glanced to my cards, but I barely looked long enough to tell I had a shitty hand. “Oh, yes. That was me alright.”

She smiled at me as she looked through her cards and increased the bet. “Very brave thing you did. I wouldn’t expect a bounty hunter to be so noble.”

Something seemed off. I was aware of the mesmerizing effect I had on women, but this girl was too head over heels. Too perfect. “I do what I can.” Was all I said.

She won the round and took the pot. The dealer started throwing out more cards as she looked at me. “And humble to boot? Aren’t you just a regular hero.” She giggled to herself and turned to look at her cards.

Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it. “Ahh, it’s only to impress the girls, really.” Dammit.

She stifled a laugh “And how is that working out for you?” She placed her cards down and played with the little stack of chips on her side of the table.

Now, I want to set the record straight. I knew something was up. I knew flirting back was a bad idea. Would that stop me from making such a bad decision? Not in the slightest. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

She smiled and looked away. “I’d say you’re doing pretty well.” She increased the bet again, leaving me between going all in or saving my last chip. “How long are you staying here? You here for business, or leisure?”

Alright, yep. That was bait. I needed to get out of there fast. I shoved my cards away and picked up the single chip I had left. “You know what? It’s been good talking to you but I’m thirsty. I’m going to go get a drink.”

She stood up just as soon as I did. Even though I knew something fishy was up, I stuck around to hear her say. “Oh yeah? Why don’t you come back to my room with me and have a few drinks there? The bar is so busy around this time.”

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and said a prayer.

God, why do you have to do these things to me?