ALEC

That night, the casino was just as alive and bustling as it had been the night before; men and women dressed in rich clothing, lights flashing from every direction, loud bells followed by a round of cheering to announce when a winner was declared. Everyone in the place seemed to have nothing but careless smiles—and of course, the occasional flash of disappointment. But such was gambling.

Everything seemed—in this environment anyway—normal. But he could still feel a knot of apprehension that bloomed in the pit of his stomach.

Alec felt unease as he looked over the crowd for the hundredth time since the night began. More than a few times, he had gotten the sense that he was being watched. Once, he even locked eyes with a hispanic man dressed in black, but the guy had glared and turned away immediately. Alec had then lost him in the mass. Strange. But then again, Maize had explained how cops stood out in a crowd like this. If you knew how to look properly that was. She made it a point to tell him that his habit of 'casing' every corner of a room before he walked in was a noticeable cop habit, and that he might as well wear a bright red headband with the glowing lit words 'law enforcement' on the forehead. He had declined that idea, obviously.

Was he simply on edge for no reason?

Maybe.

Alec wanted a quiet night to process his thoughts and the nervous fang biting at him from the inside, but that wouldn't happen, not tonight. Cassandra had insisted they enjoy themselves while they were here, and that meant coming down to revel in the fun and lights.

He had managed to find a less crowded spot near the mini bar, leaning back against the marble wall. However, that didn't stop Maize from finding him.

"You could stand to relax a bit," was the first thing she said when she saw him. Her clothes were different tonight. Seems she got tired with the dress and switched it out for something more mobile; an eloquent jumpsuit outfit, in black, with her arms threaded through the sleeves of her leather jacket. "Maybe you should have a drink, take the edge off. You look like a cop you know," she said, not unkindly, but as more of an honest observation. It was alright, he didn't care anymore.

"A drink is the last thing I need right now," he answered.

"Everything alright?"

"I hope so." The weight of his answer was cause for them both to rest in several beats of tense silence. Alec then closed his eyes and shook his head, "Nevermind, it's probably nothing..."

"It's not." Maize went suddenly tense.

"What?"

"Listen."

Alec's eyes suddenly flashed open with a new sense of trouble s split second before either of them heard it. One moment and everything was normal. Then the next everything blew into chaos. From where Alec and Maize stood, they weren't anywhere near the entrance, but even then they could see the doors to the Casino fall inward as they were kicked down. The sound of guns and screaming was instant as a horde of armed men in masks stormed through.

"Shit!" Maize hissed as rounds were fired at the ceiling, gaining the attention over the strew panic. Alec watched with alert filled eyes as civilians were roughly tossed to the floor, but before he could move, Maize grabbed his shirt sleeve. "Now is not the time to play hero, West, there's too many." Maize pulled him around the corner of the wall just in time before they were seen.

She forced his back to the wall as she ducked low and peered out. Alec couldn't see, but he could hear the screams as the men continued firing shots in the air and ordering people down.

"On the floor!"

"Shut up!"

Multiple different voices were shouting out vicious commands as the screams began to cease and fear filled the air.

"What's going on?" Alec directed at Maize, keeping his voice low.

Maize did not take her eyes off the scene around the corner. "They're spreading around, all armed—and it isn't the baby stuff either, these guys are packing heavy..." she said quietly. "They're walking through the crowd...checking faces...they're looking for someone," she concluded with a knowing glance back at him.

Alec mentally cursed. "Bet you a million I know who," he muttered.

"I'll take that bet too."

"We need to get to Kishan, now."

"He's with Cassandra, he'll be fine. I'm more worried about us at the moment," Maize muttered. "The hall behind us is a dead end, and the only other way out is through the hall currently filled with bad guys."

"Great. So what's the plan?" Alec inquired.

Maize was quite for several beats, which he assumed were used to try and think of a plan. She obviously knew the layout of this casino better than he did, so he was relying on her. But after a few passing moments, she answered, "I don't know." Her eyes were tense. "I left most of my knives upstairs..." she then threw a look up at Alec.

He frowned at her, "Hey don't look at me—you're the one who said I couldn't bring my gun with me."

"I regret that now if it helps."

"Not really no!" He hissed.

Maize turned back and watched. "Thirty-two," she said.

"What?"

"There are thirty-two of them, as far as I can see."

Alec had no idea what she was seeing, but he nodded and noted the number of her count.

Thirty-two guys, all armed. Two of them, not armed.

Not great odds.

That could prove to be a problem if they were going to find Kishan and make it out of there without trouble.

Great...now what?

"Psst, testy one!"

What the hell?

Alec snapped his gaze up, eyes shifting from side to side. He looked at Maize but she hadn't moved, she hadn't heard anything.

But he could have sworn...

Alec narrowed his eyes across from them, a few paces down against the wall. There, the only thing in sight was a 5 by 4-foot portrait hanging off the wall, a medical styled painting of a coiled serpent along the hilt of a blade. He figured that made enough sense, this place was named the Den of Serpents. What didn't make sense though, was the fact that a second ago, he almost too sure it had talked.

Alec shifted away from the wall and walked up to it with confusion.

"West? The hell you doing? This isn't the time to be admiring the artwork!" Maize hissed at him.

"I know that," he snapped back.

He was about to touch the surface when suddenly it moved on its own. Alec took a startled step back as the frame was slide to the side, revealing an all too familiar face.

"What the hell...?" Alec murmured.

"Nice to see how appreciative you are to see me," and impatient looking casino owner answered as she peered out from behind the painting.

"C?" Maize startled to see her friend and rose to her feet.

"Yes. Now what, do you two need a bloody invitation?" The woman inquired with a wild gesture to the passage behind her. "Vaminos!"

Alec and Maize didn't have to be told twice as they scrambled into the entrance, sliding the back of the frame back in place to cover their escape as they made their movements quick. The passage was narrow, only wide enough for them to walk single file. Kishan was there with them, and he gave a brief nod to each of them, seeing that they too were alright before they all followed Cassandra's lead. She was the only one who knew where she was going.

Alec wanted to ask why she happened to have a secret escape route within the walls of her casino—but he was afraid he would find the answer not something his job would have him approve of, so he refrained.

"I assume this little situation going on outside is you guys?" Cassandra inquired, not spitefully but as if stating facts.

"Well unless gunmen make a habit of knocking down your doors guns blazing," Maize retorted sarcastically.

"That was a local cartel gang. And no, they do not," Cassandra emphasized.

"These guys didn't get the memo then," Kishan said with a roll of his eyes.

"They're hired guns. Undoubtedly by you know who..." Maize noted with a theatric expression of emphasis at the end.

"Now I see you were not over exaggerating when you told me the members of Zmeya were keen on finding you three if they went to the length to hire a local cartel gang," Cassandra expressed.

"We don't know anything for sure," Alec pointed out tersely. "But best guess says that's probably the case."

"How fantastic for us," Maize muttered as they continued at a quick pace.

Alec looked over his shoulder when he thought he could hear the sound of heavy running boots on the other side of the wall, but when he turned back he had to stop abruptly to keep from bumping into Maize. She glanced at him and he gave her a look as though to ask 'why did we stop?'. The answer came from Cassandra herself.

"There's a wall."

Alec looked ahead, over the heads of the others, and sure enough, a wall blocked their path. It made the already small passage feel more claustrophobic than it had already felt. And Alec had never been fond of enclosed spaces.

He narrowed his eyes and glared at the back of the casino owner's head. "Well, this was a great plan." He was met with a look from Cassandra herself. "Do you expect us to walk through it?"

"So impatient..." the woman said, shaking her head. He gave her a less than amused look in return. "I think you'll find that not everything is as it appears at first glance, Detective," she said.

Alec paused for a moment. "You've got a door behind there don't you."

"I have a door behind there, yes," the casino owner responded with a sly smile as she fumbled with a latch they hadn't seen before at first.

She pulled, then turned it at a ninety-degree angle clockwise until it locked into a new place. The wall before them slid upwards, disappearing as it showed what revealed to be a rectangular box attached to a cord, an elevator.

"Detective, I think you'll find that going through the wall will be no problem at all."