Heartstrings and Handcuffs

Chapter One

"Get ready to unload all cargo, we're nearing the docks"

"Can't we get lunch first. It's not like these things will dissapear"

Ethan slowly opened his eyes. They felt tired and heavy, his back also felt sore from laying on something hard throughout the whole ride but as realization dawned on him that the ship he boarded was no longer on the move, his instincts kicked in and he pressed his ear against the walls, listening to the voices outside. Seagulls chirping and muffled voices, those were the first thing he noticed. He pressed his ears further to gather more information as to what's going on outside when the container he snuck himself in was suddenly opened. Ethan instantly ducked down, hand covering his mouth as his heart rate picked up. It was so sudden, he didn't hear any warning that he could only hope he doesn't get found out and if worse comes to worse, arrested.

"What's in this?" A man's voice asked.

"Shipment from Atlanta" another man answered. Ethan heard their footsteps getting closer to where he was. He began looking around frantically until he saw a gap between two heavy crates. He sneakily crawled towards it and forced his body in between, right as he managed to wedge himself in that tiny space, a pair of boots came to view. Ethan held his breath as he watched them open the crates with a crowbar, checking each cargo for any illegal items that may have been secretly loaded.

"Nothing suspicious here, shouldn't we stop doing all this checks it's not like we can find anything interesting here" the man checking the crates complained, his foot coming out of view. Another voice cleared their throat and then there was some shuffling before the container was shut close, plunging everything back to darkness with the only light coming from small holes around it. Ethan waited patiently, not moving a single inch from his spot. Five minutes came by and when nothing else happened he heaved a deep relieved sigh. What he pulled was extremely risky and he couldn't believe it actually worked, well for the most part, he still needed to get out of the container without getting caught and figure out where exactly he was. Ethan painstakingly took his time getting out of that cramped space he crawled to, it took a deliberate amount of effort and lots of groaning and complaints. After managing to get past that he searched through the dark for his backpack. It was deeply hidden inside one of the loosely sealed crates and it happened to be his lucky day that the workers were a bunch of slack and didn't check everything, they were the reason he managed to get where he was. He grabbed his bag and made his way towards the opening hatch. As he stood infront of it, his nerves were all on edge. If it was locked he would have to wait until people swarmed the place and find a chance to sneak out,. something he doesn't want to take risk of. Now was his chance as no one seemed to be around.

"It's all or nothing. You've already came this far" Ethan muttered to himself, steeling his resolve as he placed his hands on the hatch and pushed with all his strength. His luck seemed to not have ran out yet as the container opened with ease that Ethan found himself tilting and slamming face first against wet, hard pavement. He cussed under his breath as he rolled onto his back and touched his nose. It didn't seem broken, something he was thankful for. Ethan stared into the bright cloudy skies, a frown working upon his face as he got up. It was still broad daylight, he was hoping it may have been near sunset but that wasn't the case. He looked around, scanning his surroundings and he was met with a sense of unfamiliarity. Ethan had certainly travelled, albeit legally with his parents as a kid but he may have arrived somewhere he hasn't been to yet. He didn't have any phones with him and his bag only contained cash, a questionable amount of cash.

Ethan came from Atlanta. After his parents died in an unfortunate car crash, relatives who attended his parent's funeral handed him to his grandmother somewhere in the suburbs. His grandmother barely got by selling newspaper that he got involved into some shady business. Police had knocked too many times at their home that they had to move, his education also stopped after his grandmother could barely make enough to send him to college. Life was extremely difficult on him and that's where he picked up gambling. He became obsessed with easy money, how fast he learnt and how quicked he could won but of course his luck wasn't infinite, after suffering a big lost he sold his parent's personal belongings that he was left with, still it wasn't enough, he started drowning in debts but his gambling never stopped. Ethan digged his hole too deep until he couldn't claw his way out. Loan sharks appeared on their door everyday , taking everything of value they have to pay for his accumulated debt, it came to a point where Ethan's grandmother regretted taking him in. At 21 he was kicked out of home and had to roam the streets, stealing by day and gambling by night. A life of crime wasn't something he had imagined he would have, he lived a decent life when his parents were still alive. Now, Ethan doesn't even remember their faces nor their voices but he was sure they were extremely dissapointed. Series of misfortunes followed his life, but so did loan sharks and they were hungry for blood. When Ethan couldn't come up with payment he was almost sold to a pleasure house and the thought of that wasn't something he wanted and so he ran. They were tailing hot on him when he found himself in the docks where cargo containers were being loaded, he got lucky to sneak himself inside a poorly sealed one and he stayed their for a long time till now.

Ethan was glad he got those people off his back but his peace would be short lived. He didn't have any ID's with him and the cash he had could land him into trouble if he were caught. It wasn't exactly stolen, it was his winnings, something that was enough to pay off everything but it was too big for him to just lose.

"You got this, you've come so far" he took a deep breath, clutching the straps of his bag tightly as he made his way out of the docks and into the busy streets.

It didn't take him long to figure his way out, a little asking here and there and Ethan found out that he had arrived at Sin City, he couldn't believe he was actually in Las Vegas, a little down south. How ironic that a gambling addict on-the-run like him found their way into the city known for its casinos and entertainment. As Ethan clutched his clubhouse sandwich that he purchased while roaming he could already feel it. The adrenaline rushing through his blood, voices in the back of his mind coaxing him to engange in a few games but would the establishments let him in. Ethan paused to look at his reflection on a puddle of water. He looked a little rugged but his vibe didn't exactly scream homeless, yet would it be enough. He glanced around and spotted a vintage thrift shop.

"Now we're talking" he smirked, throwing his remaining sandwich on a sleeping homeless man's lap. Ethan entered the vicinity wearing his run down t-shirt, jeans and beat up converse to coming out in khaki pants, mint loafers and a slightly crinkled white button up shirt. He even picked up a gold wristwatch that no longer worked just to finish off the look. He looked like he belonged for the most part and he was ready to lose some money and make it multiply, or so he thought.

Ethan was shooed away more than 6 times on every establishment he tried to enter. Most asked him for an ID as he looked too young while the rest didn't even glance at him. He felt bummed as he kicked a rock off the curb. Darkness was beginning to settle, he hasn't realized so much time had already passed since he arrived and all that's happened was him walking around. Ethan found himself around the heart of downtown Las Vegas, it wasn't as crowded as the boulevard but he still found it to be as beautiful, rustic even. As he was about to take a sharp turn on a street a drunk man bumped into him, catching him off guard and making him slam against a street lamp.

"What the fuck Man? Watch it" Ethan cursed, scratching the back of his nape. The man didn't look back and kept running. Curious, he checked where the man was coming from and he was met with the large sign that reads 'Golden Nugget'. In awe, he couldn't help but approach the entrance, like a moth attracted to the light. To Ethan's surprise, he wasn't shooed away by the person at the door, it only nodded to him to which he returned. He clutched his backpack tightly as he found his way into the gambling pit where people cheered and played. He swallowed a thick lump from his throat as he watched the inside scenery. There were tables filled with people playing poker, the sound of cards being shuffled by hand, the heavy scent of liquor and cigarettes. As he kept walking, his feet guided him towards a table with one empty seats, a round of blackjack was about to start.

"Are you going to participate, mate?" A man in black suit asked, sitting across where he was. Ethan stuttered with words before finally nodding, taking the empty seat. A patron approached him and offered chips to which he took some cash out and bought a thousand.

"How much..?" Ethan asked, unsure. Everyone chuckled and pointed at their bets. Each player had a hundred infront of them. Ethan followed and so the game began. Amongst all the games, Ethan was most familiar with this one. It was easy, strategy and luck, that's all you needed to play. You could easily win some, but the you also could lose as easily as you could won. He loved playing it, it was his first ever gamble, he considers himself a master of this game.

The first round came like a flash, he won and people cheered for his beginners luck. The second and third round came. He kept winning. By the 6th round, stakes were high and so were the bets. He was winning big and the greed to win more was eating at his rationality. Ethan suffered his first lost on that round but he still has money, he experienced his second lost and lose most his chips. He purchased more and kept going and by the tenth round, there was only two remaining players on the table. He faced his opponent who flashed him a toothy smirked. It was a middle aged man, he was littered in gold chains and rings, a fedora hat hiding half of his face. He looked to be on his sixties base from the amount of wrinkles on his face but Ethan could be wrong. Cards were shuffled and he recieved his.

"Hit it" Ethan mentioned, watching the dealer face another card up. He held his breath when his cards reached 19. It was a safe number, a guaranteed win, it was too small of a chance someone could get a 20 or an exact 21. He just needed to stand and wait for his win.

Ethan repeated the word stand in his mind as he watched the dealer open his cards until, there it was. It went past 21 and he won. He threw his fist in the air in joy and the other player across from him tipped his hat down.

"I had an amazing time, I hope we get to play another round again" the player stood and left, leaving Ethan to collect his money. He scooped his money aggressively and stuffed them in his backpack earning a raised brow from the dealer but he didn't say anything. As Ethan was about to leave the vicinity he felt a hand on his shoulder and his blood ran cold.

"Wait, it seems you've won quite a lot—"

Ethan didn't let whoever it was finish their sentence, he bolted right towards the doors and he heard the person behind him scream for him to halt. He didn't listen and went straight out the doors. As he took a sharp turn he bumped into someone quite hard. Both him and the person he bumped into fell onto the pavement. He could still feel his blood rushing through his veins, he picked everything that fell off the ground and ran again, mumbling a small apology to whoever he bumped into.

The man on the ground watched him run, an annoyed look on his face that was soon changed into an amused smirk as he noticed a missing brooch from his suite.

"Boss should we go after him?" The man's body guard asked, helping him up. He shook his head and glanced at the Golden Nugget sign then back to the direction of the man that sprinted off.

"No need, I'm sure we'll stumble into him again" he chuckled, a glint of interest twinkling across his mismatched black and green eyes.