Chapter 21: The Force Of A Brute

The Back Alley, The Elgen Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada....

Dark blue eyes narrowed behind the thick blackness of Duko's sunglasses as he scanned the area for the bumbling idiot whom had tried his hand at robbing several casinos in the past several weeks. He sat on his bike with the engine off glaring at the first target on his list that Dan Costa had given him of his opposition when it came to continuing the success of his newly minted casino The Silverwire, This cheater was a known pain in the arse as he was sloppy with his crimes and spent all of what he had managed to earn attempting to impress women whom were never interested in him or his money which was easily lost after a few hours of bravado. Duke had no love for card sharks and he could care even less about the casinos, his motivation for this little errand of force was his young wife and the cash needed to fund their future together.

In the past, Duko was well known around these parts as an enforcer for several businesses and an elite special forces veteran whom had fallen into the bottom of a bottle more times than he could count but managed to beat every challenger that came his way when it came to underground fighters clubs and personal betting brawls. His mind had been a mix of hate, regret, and survivor's guilt following his return from Iraq and the subsequent survival of the two explosions that should have killed him were the driving force behind his violent tendencies. He believed his affliction started with the second explosion and had no way to explain it since.

Sleepless nights, endless wandering, and the urge to screw anything with two sets of lips as well as to dominate anything he participated in was difficult to endure and navigate at the time. He had spoken to his father after dropping off his uniform and medals on his front steps, the old man had told him about his attempts to locate him after his mistake in throwing him out into the street when he realized he'd been wrong.

Duko met the old man in a bar and gave him a piece of his mind only to find out he'd been diagnosed with cancer due to issues with his prostate. Charles Lovell was the only father Duko had known and even with the animosity between them, it was a severe blow to hear the man that raised him to a point had been seriously ill and could possibly die as a result.

He didn't see much of Charles after that, but he had gotten word the cancer was in remission after a while. It didn't stop the other things that plagued Duko following his return but it was at least some good news. He spoke to the old man every now and again over the phone when he bothered to call him and sent letters to the house.

Duko wandered for a while before ending up in Las Vegas by chance. He had one of his notorious blackouts and awoke in a desert area unsure of how or why he'd been there. He started traveling naked into town where he was taken in by a lonely woman in need of decent company. He showered and slept at her place for a month before he awoke to find her throat torn out and her naked body sprawled all over the bedroom floor. She was the first he'd remembered since his return from the war. Although her name was long forgotten.

From her place he ventured down to the strip drawn by the bright lights and loud noise. If the founders were going for an oasis in the desert feel they had definitely nailed it as it was how he felt when stumbling into the glitzy town five years prior to his recent return. He had a little cash and the need for drink which lead him to one of the casinos. The Elgen was one of them and after drinking his fill and bedding a good deal of the women patrons whom had paid for whatever he wanted, Duko was still angry at the world and began trashing one of the places in order to provoke a fight while drunk or the very death he avoided in Iraq.

He'd beaten about twelve security guards and nearly killed one before he ran into Dan Costa a local dealer whom had taken it upon himself to invite him back to his apartment and keep him out of trouble until he could find him a real challenge. Duko wasn't in the least impressed by the gesture as Dan saw him as a prized fighting dog and he merely supplied the cash and booze to keep him occupied and if that didn't work he scored some hookers to sweeten the deal. At the time Duko could care less about himself or Dan's unwanted friendship, but he liked the fighting so he stayed racking up wins and cash like there was no tomorrow.

Duko followed his prey as it were into the alley where he attempted to shake to pursuers whom were looking to get their hands on him for trying to come at their women it seemed. This seemed to amuse Duko whom would have done the same had this prick gotten anywhere near his wife.

The target was fool enough to rush down the blind alleyway carrying a yellow and black duffle bag he had just rounded the corner when he found himself running right into a waiting Duko's fist. It was a shock to the senses to be blindsided but there were other matters that needed to be addressed. The Cheater seemed horrified at Duke's presence, it appeared he heard the stories of Dan Costa running with a well known and hard to kill army vet and that he'd eventually send for him due to all the cheating being done at The Silverwire.

"Oh shit...!" he exclaimed not at all attempting to hid his terror as he came around and Duko lifted him off the dirty ground via his collar. "I'm sorry....tell Dan it wasn't personal...you can have my winnings from tonight if you want them please...I'll never enter your casino again just let me live."

Duko was annoyed the weasel was sniveling this much and decided to break his legs for the fun of it and still take his winnings in exchange for the life he wasn't there to take in the first place.

The shocked gasp that left his lips filled Duko's ears as the cheater crumbled to the ground after being punched so hard in one of his legs the femur snapped. He screamed bloody murder following the second being done and passed out from the pain. It was a clean and precise hit, nothing too messy and nothing to draw too much attention.

Once he concluded his business with little to no effort, Duko took the yellow duffle bag the idiot had planned to stash when he entered the alley before being cornered, and took off down the road via his motorcycle. He left the fool to his pain in the alley and didn't look back.

One target was done and there were four more to go before he'd get his due at Dan Costa's expense and then he and Rae would be off to start their new life together.