Chapter 20:  The Calling In Of A Few Favors

The Main Office, The Silverwire Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada....

Channon Duko Lovell made his way back up to the main floor of the casino leaving his slumbering young wife behind as he had not wished to awaken her nor did he wish for her to know much about his shady history with the likes of Dan Costa. His dealings in the past included shady practices including gun running, extortion, intimidation, and of course fighting for money in underground fist tournaments. Duko's self destructive phase was met via resistance and the need to dominate which made him a very successful asset in the underworld. Dan had discovered him after he trashed another casino where Costa was a mere card dealer and together they made the millions that were used to fund The Silverwire Casino which Duko later wanted no part of as he was done being used as muscle for the loud mouthed arsehole.

Dan smiled when he saw Duko approach another cigar was in his mouth and he seemed to delight in the fact that his old friend was back in town. He'd been having quite a few troubles since establishing his place and needed someone capable of seeing to the unwanted contention coming to an end. While he'd been vastly wealthy due to Duke's previous efforts and could hire a team if needed, he'd been much more pleased with the fact that Duko was the one to deliver the message to his enemies.

"Duko...it's truly lovely to see you again." said Dan in a charming tone. "How's the little lady, comfortable I take it...not that I'm suggesting anything just want to make sure she's well looked after."

Duko smirked knowing full well that he would rip Dan in half and the rest of his so called guards if he wanted to for even a supposed murmur against his new wife's life.

"Cut the shit Danny boy, who is shaking you down and why do you need me to crack a few skulls?" he said taking a moment to occupy one of the leather chairs that were in front of Dan's large desk.

Dan sighed before motioning for his men to clear out so that he could speak frankly. He was truly feeling the heat from his opposition on all sides. The casino was robbed twice since he built it by high rolling card sharks that attempted to frequent the place backed by deep pockets and a lethal family name.

"You know The Caballero family?" asked Dan with a somber expression on his face.

Duke appeared to have been acquainted with them at one time of another. It was possibly the family who's casino he trashed during one of his drunken benders following his return to American soil after his honorable discharge.

He drifter through various places before ending up in Las Vegas and meeting up with Lt. McCormick's family.

The Caballeros were the known owners of a lot of business that cropped up in recent years, but their foothold in this town was short lived, as their family name didn't mean anything to the local powerful families that were already established here in Nevada.

Duko spent a lot of time in the underground fighter's world and had seen quite a few Caballeros throwing their money into the ring usually for an opponent to finally do him in. He and Dan made a lot of money off those fights and always mostly at the expense of the Callaberos it wasn't too much of a surprise that they would want to sabotage The Silverwire due to having mostly funded it.

Dan seemed to stress more about the situation than he let on as Duko noted his increased heart rate and nervous ticks. He stood to lose his shirt if there wasn't something done about the arseholes trying to destroy his business as fledgling as it was. He had put everything he had into getting the casino off the ground and despite issues and building regulations being thrown in to stop the grand opening, he had managed to not only pull it off, but to bring in a lot of people once the doors finally opened.

"Who's the next one on the list?" asked Duko changing the subject.

"A known cheater always coming into the casino counting cards and stealing chips when he thinks we're not looking." replied Dan having more control over himself with the shift in topics. "Break his legs and send him a massage as well as anyone else who thinks that they can scam this place into a fortune."

Duko slicked back his messy black hair and stood up.

"I'll take care of the cheater and the high rollers, but I'm gonna need five grand in cash for this little service." he said with a serious expression spread across his handsome face.

Dan looked at him for a few moments without saying a word then nodded in agreement. Any money was worth it if it got Duke to handle his unwanted problems and clear the way for him to run his casino properly again.

"My wife is not to know anything about this or our prior association, am I clear Danny boy?" warned Duke with a flicker of malice behind his dark blue eyes.

Dan knew all too well what Duke was capable of when angered and relentless when pursuing someone who had wronged him.

"I won't say a word Duko." replied Dan before turning his attention back to smoking his cigar. "We'll treat the Mrs. like family while you are both in town, whatever she needs put it on my tab."

Duko took his leave of Dan heading back to the elevator and with more information on his first target courtesy of a guard delivering a manilla envelope to him on his way out. He took it and read a bit of the information including targeted routes to various places the target would often linger. The photo was of a man dressed much too flashy for his own good with a tendency to get overly drunk and chase women whom had not been interested in him.

The Cheater was an easy mark to find and more careless about his personal safety. The Highroller on the other hand would be difficult to track due to affiliation but not impossible. These were only the first two targets in a list of five but, the pay was quite lucrative for both of them.

Duko exited the casino after throwing the envelope into the nearest trash bin and made his way toward his bike. He put on his sunglasses and started the engine. With one last look up at the second to last floor of the casino where he knew Rae was still sleeping, he took off down the road determined to earn that five grand he was owed from Dan Costa. He normally would have ignored the request of his "old friend" but being strapped for cash when trying to start a new life with his young wife forced his hand.

She didn't say much about it, nor did she question his choices up till that point but he knew sooner or later being on the road would be difficult for her no matter how much of a sense of adventure she had.

With the start up cash, he could take her anywhere she wanted and they'd start their new life wherever she chose.

Duko sped down the highway with his mind focused on the task at hand selecting the first stop on his mission to "talk some sense into the cheater."