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“Gold, get this jackoff out of here!” he yelled.
“Why don’t you just lower the weapon, man?” Mikhail said, taking a step toward him.
“Don’t come any closer or I swear I’ll shoot your face off!” he railed back, his hand gripping the gun so tightly that his whole arm shook.
“Come on, Faraday. This is crazy. I know you don’t want to do this,” said Gold.
“Whose side are you on?” the crazed cop shouted. “And who the hell is this guy?”
“Like he said, I’m just a patron,” Mikhail repeated.
“He’s only here for slots and cocktails,” Gold insisted.
Faraday snarled, “I don’t believe you! Prove it! You got any cash on you to play games? Huh? Or are you lying to my face?”
“Oh, sweetheart, there you are!” chimed a jovial female voice from behind them all.
Mikhail’s stomach dropped as he whipped around and saw Annika stroll right into the VIP lounge with a big smile on her face. But now, instead of her bare face and braided hair, she had applied a layer of glamorous makeup, and taken down her hair so that it fell in luscious, shiny waves. She was even carrying a plastic cup from the bar downstairs, looking for all the world like a random casino patron. Everyone was so stunned to see her that she just strutted right up to Mikhail and draped herself around him like she was tipsy.
“Slipped away to the VIP lounge without me?” she pouted, poking out her lower lip.
“What the hell is going on?” Officer Faraday barked.
Annika gasped dramatically when she saw his gun. “My goodness! What’s all this? Honey, why is that man holding a gun?” she asked, feigning total innocence.
It was such a convincing act that even Faraday looked stumped. He stared at her with utter confusion, like he was rethinking his paranoid assumption that Mikhail was more than a casino patron. The two women behind him clung to each other, probably even more befuddled than anyone else there. But Annika’s ruse was working, and Faraday’s chaotic impulse was temporarily distracted by her appearance. Mikhail watched with rapt attention, time slowing down as he saw Faraday lower his gun. Ever so slightly. His eyes went to Gold, questioning silently. Mikhail saw his opportunity.
In an instant, he darted across the room and dove for Faraday. The rogue cop screeched and tried to fire at him, but he was a millisecond too slow. Mikhail tackled him to the casino carpet and pinned him easily, kicking his gun across the floor for Officer Gold to confiscate.
“No! Fuck! I knew it, I knew it!” Faraday was wailing, but Mikhail had him immobilized.
“If it’s a break from doing your job that you’re after, then you’re in luck,” Mikhail growled at him. “You are going to take a very long vacation.”
“No, no! Gold! Stop him! Help me!” he squalled.
“Sorry, buddy. You know I can’t help you now,” his partner said sadly.
Annika stood back while Mikhail and Gold made quick work of Faraday. They tied and gagged him and stowed him away in a back room to await his punishment. There was more dirty work to come, but Mikhail was finished for the time being. He left Gold to babysit the culprit while awaiting reinforcements. Right now, he was much more focused on Annika.
“Come here,” he snarled at her, grabbing her by the arm and leading her down the staircase as she struggled to keep up.
“Mikhail, ouch! You’re hurting me!” she complained.
“You almost fell into a whole fucking world of hurt back there,” he hissed.
They broke through the crowds of blissfully ignorant casino patrons and burst out the door onto the street.
“But I helped you!” she blurted out.
“You have no idea how dangerous that was, do you?” he rounded on her.
“It worked, didn’t it? I was careful! I listened at the door before I went in. I played my part. You got the bad guy. Where’s the issue?” she questioned.
“If that crazy motherfucker had shot you…” he trailed off, shaking his head.
“What?” Annika prompted.
“Never mind. Just get in the car,” he ordered, all but throwing her into the passenger seat.
