“It is a suitable dress for a party on Christmas Eve,” she says. “You will blend with the crowd.”
“I hope you’re right,” I say, tugging on the clingy fabric. “With any luck, no one will ever see me in this dress.”
She then hands me a flowing red dress with long sleeves to slip on over the bodycon. The red fabric covers the white bodycon completely.
If we run into trouble, our plan is to strip off the outer dresses and change wigs before we hit the next casino. That is a worst-case scenario and not something we expect to happen.
I stand up and move closer to the mirror. “I’m much more comfortable in this one,” I say, turning to view the red dress from all sides. “This is my favorite. I hope it can stay on.”
“I prefer the white one on you,” she says. “What do you think of mine?”
She’s wearing a black cocktail gown, hiding a tight blue dress underneath. Her blonde hair is tucked underneath a long, dark, curly wig.
“You’re stunning. With you around, I never have to worry about drawing attention. All eyes will be on you.”
“For tonight, that is the plan,” she replies. “I will watch your back and you will play. Are you ready?”
Taking a deep breath, I say, “Let’s do it.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later,we’re riding in the back seat of Eva’s SUV while her assistant, King, drives us to the Vegas strip. He dropped off Eva earlier at the Imperial Hotel and Casino, where she has booked a suite.
King glances back at me in the rearview mirror. “Are you ladies prepared to do this?” he asks.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I reply, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves.
Natasha pulls a cigarette out of her purse and flicks on a lighter.
“I need one last cigarette,” she tells King firmly.
“Hell no!” he yells back at her in a panic. “Not in Eva’s car, you don’t. Put those cigarettes away. If you must smoke, do it after I let you out. Eva can smell smoke a mile away; then we’ll both be in trouble.”
She lets out a long sigh and crams the pack of cigarettes back into her handbag.
“Why don’t you quit smoking?” I ask her.
“I will…tomorrow.”
“We can do this.” I lean over to touch her arm. “Don’t worry.”
“I’ve waited a long time for tonight,” she says. “This is important.”
For the first time, I realize Natasha hasn’t been truthful with me. She’d said it was all about the money.
It’s not.
Pulling off this scam with the Peggy Penguin slot machine code is personal to her. She’s doing this to send Dimitri a big ‘fuck you’.
I’m happy to help her do it.
“Putting our plan into action will be easy,” I reassure her. “The plan is simple, yet perfect. We’ve thought of everything. The holiday crowds are huge tonight. It won’t be hard to blend in.”
Since the night of our practice test run at the Bora Bora, we’ve discussed every detail and possible problem that might arise. We’ve worked nonstop and planned for every contingency.
Instead of setting up the laptop and Eva in the basement of Platinum again, we decided our headquarters should be in a hotel suite closer to the action. If something goes wrong, we need everyone close by.
Natasha and I will work together on foot in the casinos. I’ll be playing the slot machines and sending video footage to my laptop while she watches my back.
