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“Nah. I'm hiring you on name alone, Lawrence. I don't need a piece of paper to tell me what you've done or not done. I'm a people person. Got a good read on you back on the force and pegged you as a straight arrow. Then that shit went down with the Sovereign Hotel and the shooting last year. I tell you, no one would’ve been more shocked than me when your name was mentioned.”
“Yet you’re still giving me a job.” It’s not a question, it’s more of a statement. I make a note in my head to look into Justin later, but the fact I already have an in is definitely making this part of the care a lot easier.
“So, what do you think of the place? Pretty wow, right?” he says, looking out over the club.
“It’s something for sure. A lot bigger than I expected.”
“Let me guess. You tried doing your research and came up empty? That’ll be cause patrons aren’t allowed their phones inside.”
My head jerks back as I stare at him in surprise. “Really?” I pat my pocket out of habit, finding my cell still there. Justin catches the movement.
“You’re fine, Lawrence. I don’t see you snapping pics and posting them online,” he replies with a snicker. “The coat check is also a phone check. There are also individual lockers for every person who pays the door charge and steps through those doors. Outside, Hawk and the guys are the first line of defense, their job is to make sure the right kind of people get in. Then in the lobby we’ve also got scanners.”
“Scanners?” I think back to when we walked in and I can’t recall walking through any type of monitoring equipment. “Are we talking visual scanning or…”
Justin's smile turns devilish. “Nope. Scanners up in the arch everyone has to walk through. Gives us a full body view which is then fed to the monitors at the front desk and the control room. I can show you all of that tomorrow night.”
I school my expression because this ‘easy’ case just got a hell of a lot harder and intriguing all at the same time. Why would a club need such a high level of security?
“So why didn't they take my phone away from me?”
“Cause you're with me. I'd already flagged you as being safe before I came and got you.”
“Guess it pays to be old cops who were lucky to escape the force.” The words pain me to say but I remind myself that this is a role, a ruse, a mask I'm wearing. And it’s true, I am an ex-cop. A disgraced one who was lucky to keep his pension at that.
It's the right thing to say because Justin lifts his tumbler, taps it against my still-untouched water bottle, and downs the rest of his glass before checking his watch and looking over his shoulder and up. Following his gaze, I catch the camera he’s jerking his chin up at.
“Hate to cut this short but I've got another meeting I must get to. You're welcome to stay and soak all of this in if you're so inclined, or I can take you to the staff locker room and get you fitted for a suit and then we'll catch up tomorrow night for your first shift.”
Why does this all seem a little too straightforward? Almost easy?
As Justin leads me through the club, I can't help but feel a sense of unease as I see the place a little differently now. The dim lighting and thumping bass of the music make me feel like I'm walking through a different world. Everywhere I turn, people are dancing, drinking, and laughing, but I can't ignore that there's also a sense of purpose to the allure of the club.
It's that thought that plagues me as I’m given a suit that looks like it costs more than the annual salary they’re paying me, and a staff app is set up on my phone. Then I’m sent on my way with promises to catch up with me before my first shift the next night.
It's not until I'm back at the apartment and sitting on the couch with a beer in hand that Harry messages me.
Harry: You all set?
Aiden: Yep. And something tells me this isn't going to be as easy as we think.
Harry: These kinds of cases never are.
That's exactly what I'm afraid of.
Chapter 3
Aiden
After a week of working at Marquis, I’ve realized that this case won't be a quick one. If anything, seeing the sheer amount of money invested in security and the surveillance equipment on site makes me more sure than ever that something more could be going on--either at the club, or through the business like my client suspects. I can't think of a business that's completely on the up and up that would ever need government-level security measures. That’s not to say it isn’t nice working with this level of technology.
The first two shifts last weekend were spent shadowing Justin. He showed me everything I needed to know and everywhere I could go—basically anywhere except the two offices at the end of the second-floor hallway. From monitoring the scanners in the lobby to working the front door with Hawk as well as spending hours in the control room upstairs with its eagle-eye view of the entire club, I've done it all and seen almost all of the operations at the club.
It's been easy to get the lay of the land in such a short period of time because the club is always busy. From the moment the doors open at nine to when they finally close at four a.m., it’s pumping. There is always something happening in the club from what I can only assume comes from the instinctive freedom that comes just from being in Vegas. Add in free-flowing liquor, men and women crammed together in a hot, sweaty, decadent atmosphere that oozes sin and sex, and everything that happens in a town that never sleeps, and there's never a dull moment.
Harry has given me free rein to run this case however I see fit but talking it through with him before I left, he approved of my intention to lay low and work my way in slowly. The ultimate goal is to get inside the inner circle of Marquis and close to Decker because that’s the only way I can see me finding whatever dirt there is to be found.
I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary so far, but that's not to say there isn't anything there. It’s been two days. Even my most optimistic estimate of how long this job might take was a month, most likely longer. That’s why I’m sticking to my initial plan, it’s just a hell of a lot clearer now than it was before I got here.
