The Evolutionite Chronicles Book Two: Dagger and Shadow Ninja in: Welcome to Las Vegas

by Timothy P. Callahan

  Walking through the shopping area toward the casino, Tanaka had to stop a few times to look what they were selling. Shops selling various kinds of smokes. Vapor cigarettes were the big thing and most places sold them along with different flavors to vaporize. Most places sold alcohol of some sort, while other sold the junk Tanaka hated. The kids seemed to enjoy running up and down the hallways, being chased by parents who looked as if they had a very long day.

  Several attractive women walked up to him, asking if he wanted to buy a timeshare. He nodded no politely then laughed as they continued to follow him, still trying to sell their pitch.

  He followed the signs to the ground floor where he found the casino itself. Hundreds of slot machines blinked and flashed their games. People of all shapes, sizes, colors, and age sat at the machines, absentmindedly pressing the buttons to get the computer graphics to spin. Some looked like they had won, but most didn’t. Tanaka walked down the row upon row of games, hoping one of them might stand out. None did so he walked over to the table games.

  Tanaka didn’t know how to play most of them. He’d tried to play craps on his computer because he heard it was a game that the house didn’t have a huge advantage with, but no matter how many games he played or how many tutors he watched on YouTube, he could never figure that game out. Roulette was easy to play but very hard to win. He liked card games, so he when he found an empty blackjack table with a low minimum he walked over, placed his five hundred down, and got a stack of chips.

  The male dealer smiled at him in a very friendly manner. He looked as Tanaka placed his ten-dollar chip on the table and asked, “You sure you don’t want to wait for others?”

  “Why?”

  “Company. Someone to help you if you need it. It’s fun to play with others at the table.”

  “Nah,” Tanaka replied. “I’m fine. I’m sure once people start seeing me win they’ll show up.”

  From the dealer’s shoe, the man placed a king and a five in front of Tanaka. He then placed a card face up—an ace—and another card face down. He looked at Tanaka. “Do you want insurance?”

  “For what?”

  “If the dealer gets an ace, you can get insurance in case I get a face card. You still lose some money, but not as much.”

  “Hmmmm,” Tanaka said. He didn’t remember reading about that in the book he glanced at briefly at the bookstore a few months ago. “No, I think that’s fine.”

  The dealer looked at his card, then flipped it over. It was a queen. He took Tanaka’s money. “Sorry, blackjack.”

  Tanaka slapped the table. “Damn it.” He placed another ten-dollar chip down. “Come on, let’s try this again.”

  The dealer laughed. “I can tell you’re going to be a fun one.”

  Tanaka looked at the name tag on the dealer. “All right, Mitch. It’s just you and me, right?”

  “I just work here,” Mitch replied with a laugh. “I don’t get any satisfaction if you lose. To tell you the truth, I want you to win.”

  “But you’ll do what you can to make me lose? I mean, you could hit on a nineteen.”

  “No, I can’t,” Mitch said, pointing up. “They watch me all the time. And they don’t make money when we talk, so...” He dealt Tanaka his cards again, a five and a nine, while he put down a seven.

  “Fourteen,” Mitch said.

  “Hit me.”

  He pulled out another card, a six. “Stay!” Tanaka yelled.

  Mitch dealt himself another card, a ten. He smiled, “You won.”

  “Whoo hoo! Back to even!”

  Mitch quickly dealt the next hand. “Where are you from?”

  “Haven,” Tanaka said looking at his six and five. “Double down.”

  Mitch dealt Tanaka another card, a five. “Haven? Isn’t that where all the Evos live?”

  “Damn it,” Tanaka said looking at his cards. “Sixteen and you have a ten. Should have just hit. And yeah, most of the Evo population moved to Haven. It’s a fun town, you should visit.”

  Mitch flipped his card over, it was a three. He hit and got another ten. “You win again.”

  “All right!” Tanaka yelled. “Keep the money coming.”

  ,Mitch dealt another set of cards giving Tanaka a ten and a five while he showed a three. “I don’t think I’d like it too much. I saw the news; it’s a mess to live there.”

  “I’m going to stay. And yeah, it can be.”

  Mitch flipped his card over, another three. He then hit until he reached seventeen, then took Tanaka’s money again. “Are you an Evo?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Tanaka said, watching as Mitch dealt him another hand. “It’s actually nice to gamble. Evos aren’t allowed in any casinos on the East Coast. They could have powers which could help them win. Hell, my brother’s powers could help him, but he refuses to use them.”

  “What are your powers?” Mitch asked, taking Tanaka’s money when his hand added up to twenty-one.

  “Teleportation. Not much chance of me using that to help me. My brother has heightened senses; he could easily use that in a tournament or something.”

  Mitch continued dealing hands, not even looking at the cards as he spoke. “Wouldn’t take long for others to notice.”

  “Yeah, true.” Tanaka watched as Mitch dealt him ten, busting his hand. “Damn it!”

  “Sorry,” Mitch said taking Tanaka’s money. “What brings you to Vegas?”

  “Vacation,” Tanaka said, paying more attention to his hand than to Mitch. “Just having some fun.”

  “Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay.”

  Tanaka looked up and into Mitch’s face. He was an older man, maybe his mid-forties with graying temples. His face was clean shaven except for a small gray soul patch centered under his bottom lip. “Well, no. Haven’t really had time to do the vacation part. Work always seems to get in the way. But, that’s not your concern, right?”

  “I guess not,” Mitch said dealing Tanaka a Jack and an Ace. “Blackjack, sir. Congrats.”

  “Ha!” Tanaka yelled. “My luck’s changing even as we speak.”

  Daniel opened his eyes when he felt a stirring in the bed. He saw Grace as she slipped out from under the sheets, sit up, then take her shirt off. He closed his eyes, mindful of her modesty. He felt her slip back under the sheets. He didn’t need his enhanced senses to know her body was warmer now that her shirt wasn’t blocking the heat.

  “Hey, I know you’re awake,” she said.

  He opened his eyes and the two of them were face to face, a smile on her lips. She laid her hand on his chest. “Now I can feel your heart beating.”

  “I can feel yours from here,” he said. “It’s beating fast. I can smell the phenoms coming off your body and—”

  “You’re not good at this, are you?” she asked with a laugh.

  He shook his head. “No, I am not.”

  “You’re not still, you know—”

  “No, I have been with a woman before. Just one. A long time ago. But I thought we were going to marry so it seemed right.”

  “So, you only have sex with woman you think you are going to marry?”

  His heart beat faster and his own skin grew warm. “No. Well. I really don’t know. To be honest, I don’t have that many chances to be with a woman. My jobs keep me busy and those I do meet tend to want to kill me or want me to help them. It seems wrong to make a pass at a woman who’s vulnerable enough to ask for your help.”

  “Your brother did tell me that you were all about honor.”

  “You talked to Tanaka about this?”

  “No, no. Not directly. Wasn’t even sure this was something to talk about. I mean, we just met. I’m not normally like this. But with you... I don’t know. I kind of feel it, you know?”

  “Probably because we were mentally linked.”

  “Give yourself some credit. You’re very cute and very square. There’s lots of girls who like that. Including me.”

  She propped herself up on her elbow leaned in and kissed Dani
el. It was a gentle kiss at first but as the passion between them grew, the kiss became more aggressive and less playful.

  Daniel placed his hands on her hips and lead her to straddle him. The two-continued kissing, probing each other with their tongues when they heard a loud pop. Both looked over to see Tanaka standing there, his eyes wide and his mouth open. A word seemed stuck in his throat. A speechless Tanaka. Daniel never thought he’d see the day. Finally he said, “Okay, um. Bye.” He then teleported away.

  Daniel and Grace looked at each other, laughed, then continued on their journey of exploration.

  # # #

  Tanaka stood in line for a good ten minutes, shaking his head, trying to get the image of his brother and Grace in bed just about ready to... Ugh.

  After grabbing his coffee from Starbucks, he walked over to a wall and leaned against it. All the tables were taken and he had no place to sit. It didn’t matter, he didn’t want to sit. He sat for too long at the blackjack table, should have got up when he was down four hundred. Instead he kept going until he lost all his gambling money. He came back to the room to get his ATM card to get more money but then he saw... No, don’t think about it.

  He kept looking at his watch as he drank his coffee. He wanted to give his brother at least twenty minutes. Maybe more. Maybe even wait until the cleaning lady changed the sheets. It wasn’t that Tanaka wasn’t happy for his brother; he just liked it better when he thought his brother was chaste. A pang of guilt hit his stomach when he thought about it. He and Nancy didn’t have time for that. He wasn’t even sure she wanted to. The thought angered him and he squeezed his coffee cup a little hard. Coffee exploded all over the place, staining his shirt and making a mess of the floor.

  He looked around for a janitor when he spotted Mitch. He waved but Mitch didn’t wave back and simply walked by. His eyes focused forward, barely even noticing the people he passed. Odd, Tanaka thought, getting in step behind his dealer friend.

  He followed him through the midway, past the amusement park, past all the restaurants and toward the employee area. Wasn’t too hard to figure he was probably off his shift and heading for a break. That wasn’t odd at all, yet the way he moved, the way he didn’t interact with his surroundings worried Tanaka. He’d seen it before. Seen it when someone had their minds taken over. He liked Mitch. He was friendly and seemed to actually feel bad about taking Tanaka’s money. Tanaka didn’t want to get caught up in another adventure, not with Nancy missing, but if Mitch was in trouble it was his duty to do all he could to help.

  He continued following until Mitch opened a door marked “Employees only” then walked in. Tanaka ran up to the door just before it closed and peeked in. He saw Mitch continue down a long, dimly lit hallway. Tanaka stepped through and yelled, “Hey Mitch! Are you okay?”

  Mitch turned around slowly, his eyes looking oddly unfocused. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, his face relaxed and his eyes focused on Tanaka. “Yes, I’m okay. You really shouldn’t be here, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know. Saw you walking by, I waved but you didn’t wave back. Thought you might be in trouble.”

  “Oh, yeah. Got a lot on my mind.” Mitch replied.

  “Anything I can help you with?”

  “No, I don’t need any help. But, thank you for offering.”

  “Sure, it’s what we do as Protectors.” Tanaka replied. “But, you still seem off. Mind if we hang for a bit longer?”

  “I do,” Mitch replied, his body tensing. “If you don’t leave now, I will be forced to call security. I think I’ve been more than clear that I don’t need your help.”

  “Right,” Tanaka replied walking toward Mitch. “I’m not leaving. I’m really stubborn that way, you know.”

  “You sure are,” Mitch replied. “You don’t want me to call security on you. I assure you they are very tough.”

  “Dude, listen, I fought a god, so security guards don’t really scare me all that much. I’m going to stay with you until I’m sure you’re okay.”

  Mitch struck out with his hand faster than Tanaka could react and wrapped his fingers around Tanaka’s throat. His eye glowed bright red and Tanaka heard the whirl of gears from Mitch’s arm as he slowly lifted Tanaka off the ground. A robot, Tanaka thought, another god damn robot.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Daniel’s naked body rolled off Grace. Both of them glistened with sweat, both were out of breath and smiling. Daniel turned his face and looked at her. “That was good.”

  She laughed. “Just good?”

  “Well, yeah, okay. That was really pretty great.”

  “I’ll take great,” she replied, pulling the covers up to her neck. “Um, look, this doesn’t mean it has to mean anything. Whatever happens in Vegas, right?”

  “Are you dumping me?” Daniel asked. He wanted it to sound light and playful but he knew it came out needy. He could quip with the best of the them, but when it came to talking to a real person about real issues, he felt like an awkward fourteen-year-old on his first date.

  She placed her hand on his cheek. “Don’t worry. I’m just saying. I don’t know what’s going on with you back in Haven. Heck, you probably have groupies and other women throwing themselves at your feet.”

  “Ha!” Daniel laughed. “No. That never happened.”

  “Daniel, I like you but... Well, this is my home and I don’t want to leave.”

  “And I can’t stay.”

  “Hey, we had fun though? Right?”

  “Yeah,” Daniel said quietly. “Fun.”

  A loud pop drew both their attention. Annoyed, Daniel wished Tanaka had knocked so he could at least get changed. When he looked, he saw Tanaka there, a man dressed as a card dealer holding him in the air by his throat with one arm. Daniel heard the grinding of gears, the steady fake heartbeat, and smelled the very faint plastic scent of fake skin. Tanaka looked over and, in a raspy barely audible voice, said, “Little help?”

  Daniel threw the covers off and jumped from the bed. Naked, he felt the cool air from the rooms air conditioning on his skin. He jumped on the robot’s back, wrapping his legs around the robot’s waist. Tanaka struggled, his legs dangling off the ground. His face turned red as he tightened the muscles in his neck to prevent the robot from snapping it. Daniel knew he could only keep that up for so long before he lost the battle to an opponent that didn’t tire.

  Daniel placed his hand on the robot’s head and gave it a hard twist, hoping to rip his head off. The head barely moved but he tried again. Something inside the neck of the robot gave just a little so he pressed on using all his enhanced Evo strength to twist. The head moved to the left, gears inside the neck trying to keep it still, but Daniel’s action was too much for them to compensate. One of the gears slipped and the head twisted almost all the way around.

  Daniel looked into the face of the robot now pointing the wrong way. Its face was impassive, its eyes so lifelike that it was too easy to confuse them for real eyes. Daniel continued to twist, struggling to keep his own strength up.

  With a sudden jerk, the head made its final journey around to its starting position. The robot let go of Tanaka as sparks flew from its eyes and ears. The robot fell to its knees, then onto its face.

  Tanaka laid on the ground coughing, trying to catch his breath. Daniel stood over the robot, sweating and breathing hard. He placed his hands on his knees and opened his mouth to say something when the wall leading to the hallway exploded in dust and debris.

  Grace screamed as she held the blankets up to cover herself. Daniel turned to see four more robots, each dressed as casino dealers, step into the holes they created. Daniel jumped back to stand next to Tanaka. The robots zeroed in on both of them, then charged.

  “Get Grace out of here!” Daniel yelled, ducking under a punch.

  “Put on some pants!” Tanaka yelled, teleporting over to Grace. He grabbed her shoulders, looked her in the eyes and said, “I just want to apologize for where I have to send you.” Then, he teleported her
away.

  Two robot arms wrapped themselves around Tanaka’s body. Tanaka jumped, put his feet against the wall, then started climbing it. The robot’s grip dropped. Tanaka sprang off the wall, over the robot’s head. He did a flip, landing on his feet, facing the back of his opponent. He then wrapped his own arms around the robot and lifted, carrying him to the window. Letting go, he stepped back and kicked the robot in the back, sending him crashing through the window. Tanaka ran over and watched as it fell and landed on the concrete surface of a parking garage. The robot’s body exploded apart, arms, legs, and a head flying in different directions.

  “Hey, they can’t fly!” Tanaka yelled.

  Daniel blocked a punch from one robot then quickly ducked under another. A third robot charged toward him. He brought his knee up, hitting the one in face sending him off balance. “Good to know! Now help me, please! Teleport these guys out of here or something!”

  Tanaka stepped forward to attack when an incredibly fast backhand from one of the ‘bots hit him square in the jaw, knocking three more teeth out and sending him to the ground. He spit out blood and teeth onto floor. He looked up to see a foot coming toward his head. He reached out and grabbed the foot, then stood and tossed the robot into the television.

  Daniel, who was still engaged with two of the robots, had managed to grab one by his arm. He ducked under the arm, positioned his hips into the robot’s stomach, then flipped it. The robot sailed over Daniel’s head, shattering another window on its way down to the parking garage below.

  The robot Tanaka tossed tried to stand, but instead was pushed by a flying kick to the chest, sending it through another wall into another room. A startled family—two small kids, a man and woman—ran away from the robot as it landed on their bed. Tanaka stepped into the hole and jumped, hoping to land on top of the robot. Instead it rolled off the bed and landed with a loud thump onto the floor.