"Okay, here's my genius plan," Nova said, clapping his hands once with mock excitement. "And by the end of it, we'll be out of here without a single hiccup."
Nova pointed at Cyrus, who was still unconscious and being awkwardly dressed in the manager's spare suit. "Step one: we give our dear friend here a glow-up. Clean him up, suit him up to make him look like he just spent a hundred grand on poker and three overpriced bottles of wine."
Joel tilted his head. "So... a rich, drunk idiot?"
"Exactly," Nova nodded, pleased. "The kind of man who doesn't walk out on his own legs. He gets carried, wheels in his head turned to mush by liquor and luxury."
Mari smirked. "We're making him a VIP."
"Bingo," Nova pointed at her. "Now, step two: we splash some whiskey or whatever strong stuff we can find on him. Not too much though, just enough that he smells like he got into a fight with a bottle and lost. Add a little smear on his collar, and muss the hair a bit."
"He doesn't have hair," Luca reminded flatly, holding up Cyrus' crooked wig.
Nova paused. "Right. Reapply the hairpiece badly. Like he was too drunk to notice it was slipping."
They all exchanged looks and snorted.
"Now," Nova continued, pacing a little as he built momentum, "we are his highly-trained, no-nonsense personal assistants, bodyguards, security detail or whatever, just to make a believable scene."
"Trev will have to carry him all the way." Nova turned to Trev who nodded, he who was still standing beside the knocked-out Cyrus.
"One of you will walk ahead, scoping out where we will move." Nova said,
Luca nodded. "On it."
"Like a diamond shining in a jewelry store. Mr. Vane will be in the center, Mari and I will be at his sides, Luca is in front and Joel will be at the rear.
Stepping out of the room, we will see the casino as a whole.
Walking in the middle of the crowd will be a hassle, but it is the best choice we have. Those rich pricks won't even care even if they see us, thinking just another day in the casino.
One of the pit bosses will probably glance at us, raise an eyebrow or whatever, but that's it.
He sees the suit, the entourage, the limp walk of wealthy man and he will probably just let us go but that's why we have a look out, we just weave in between tables, try our best to avoid any interaction, Joel will be our distraction if they really insist."
"What about the cameras?" asked Joel,
"It's good that you asked, cause you will be the one to deal with that." Nova smirked.
"Consider it done." Joel said confidently.
Nova nodded then continued, "We go through the doors where we entered, leading to the hallway upstairs to the restaurant, there will be guards standing there."
Mari raised her hand. "What happens if the guard notices, and tries to stop us?"
"Just say: 'Apologies, Mr. Vane is indisposed.', then keep walking, no more talking, keep it clean, keep it cool." Nova's tone sharpened. "The more confident we look, the less likely anyone will try to stop us. These kinds of people are used to big spenders making a mess and disappearing quickly."
Trev adjusted his gloves, nodding slowly.
Nova smirked. "Then we're parading out of those doors in no time. Heads high," Nova glanced at the sleeping Cyrus, "And… heads low, but it will look like we own the place. Aura is the best repellant.
Then with restaurant door opens, we will pass by people noticing our entourage. No matter what happens, even if someone say something, do not look back. Our goal is to keep our heads straight, beeline to the exit.
Then, before we know it, it's done."
When Nova completed his explanation of the plan, a heavy silence lingered.
Then the group glanced at each other, face hanging between disbelief and quiet relief. They took in the surroundings, it was already dark outside.
A couple of streetlights and the building's exterior lights lit up the parking lot, casting long shadows across the asphalt like fingers reaching out from under the cars.
"We made it," Mari muttered.
Joel let out a low whistle. "Okay, that actually is a good plan."
Nova gave a mock bow. "I know." Then he smiled, swiping off his imaginary sweat from his forehead. "Well, that wasn't so bad."
The group got out of the casino easily. As Nova said, without a hiccup.
…..
As they made their way across the parking lot, the group let themselves breathe for the first time that night.
They were joking with each other, they could feel their shoulders lighter, celebrating the absurd ease of their escape.
The plan had been ridiculously simple, not really a genius plan like Nova stated. Of course, nobody has the courage to say that out loud, and yet it had worked.
But as they neared the car…
"Wait, something's wrong," Mari said, her tone cutting through the chatter like a knife.
"Oh, come on Mari," Joel chuckled, nudging her arm playfully. "Don't start with the cliché horror movie lines."
He laughed, expecting her to smirk or roll her eyes, maybe even crack a joke back. But she didn't, and Joel noticed that no one else did either.
The group fell silent.
The air around them felt… wrong. The faint noise of the casino behind them was gone, like the world had suddenly been placed under a glass dome.
Joel's smile faltered. "Fuck… is there really something wrong?" he asked, this time not joking around anymore.
Mari didn't answer at first. She just pointed at the car.
All eyes followed.
The tires of the car were flat. A thick knife jutted from the front right tire, buried to the hilt, like it was meant for them to see.
Joel's face paled. "Shit. Shit! I shouldn't have jinxed it!"