Chapter Text
The glow of a thousand slot machines lights the way as Theo moves dejectedly from the bar, a drink in hand. He might be down, but the bartender is definitely up.
The rushing, robotic noises of the casino floor fills his ears - the soft murmur of crowds, the clanking of levers being pulled, the jingling of quarters, the whirring of the roulette wheel as the ball jumps from red to black.
He sways slightly as he ambles around the bodies in his path, lifting his head to take note of the security dotted around the floor, vigilantly watching for any funny business. His lifts his gaze a little higher still, silently counting the number of CCTV cameras. Whatever the guards miss, the eyes in the sky will be able to catch.
Theo’s careful to keep up his tipsy out of towner charade as he approaches the high rollers poker table. Bypassing a man in the corner sobbing about losing everything, he drops onto the red velvet stool. He slides his chips across the table to the dealer, paying to be dealt in.
Five cards are placed face down in front of him. He carefully bends them back, looking at his hand for the first time. Two aces and a couple of face cards, it’s not a bad start but a Three of a Kind won’t cut it here, not at this table.
One by one the other people around the table call and raise, Theo uses his werecoyote abilities to pick up on who actually has the cards they need and who is full of shit. The man next to Theo throws some chips onto the table, raising the pot. Theo inhales through his nose, subtle notes of smokey amber tickles at the back of his nostrils. The man is lying, he doesn’t have a hand that warrants a raise.
Theo picks up his stack, counting out enough to match the raise, he places them down onto the green felt tabletop. Asking to swap one card.
They go around the table a further twice until the woman across from him puckers her lips before folding. The man next to her, calls. The two after him both fold, so that leaves Theo and the burly man beside him.
Theo can smell the bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck, he’s going to fold. This just won’t do, Theo needs his money to increase the pot and make this whole thing worth while. He picks up his drink, sighing as he sways gently in his seat before downing the rest of the whisky, adding a hiccup for good measure.
A hopeful vanilla scent breaks through the smoky amber anxiety. It worked, Theo’s got him on the hook. The man taps his cards on the table, considering his options before throwing all of his chips in. Theo is careful to hide his smile.
Sniffing, he looks down at his own cards. If his calculations are correct, then his four of a kind should be enough to win the entire $300,000 pot. He goes all in. In his peripherals he can see the man’s confusion but he still smells that lingering scent of hope. Poor bastard.
One by one they flip their cards over. The man across the table with prominent cheekbones and sallow skin goes first, showing a five-high straight. Theo scoffs, he never stood a chance. The burly man, whose moustache is sweating now, turns his cards over displaying an ace-high flush. It’s good.. just not good enough.
Theo smirks as he turns over his own. His Four of a Kind is shining on the table like a beacon under the artificial casino lights.
“And the Four of a Kind has it” the dealer announces, shovelling the chips in Theo’s direction. He gathers them up, ignoring the sounds of profanity echoing around the table. Glancing at his watch and then up at the camera, now following his every move, he decides it’s quitting time and heads to the cash desk.
Theo shivers as he steps out into the cool night, pausing long enough to slip his arms into the sleeves of his coat.
He gasps as he’s pulled into a darkened alleyway and pushed forcefully against the brick wall. “Look, I won that money fair and square” Theo hisses, thinking a disgruntled gambler has followed him along the street.
“No, you didn’t” the gruff voice says. “But, that’s exactly why we’re interested in you, Theo.” The man drops his arms, allowing Theo to turn around.
“Who the fuck are you?” Theo demands, finally getting a good look at them. The five people are wearing all black, with antiquated masks covering their faces. “And how do you know my name?”
“All will be explained in due time” The gruff voice says ominously as the others continue to silently stare.
“You know what, Fuck y-” Theo’s words are muffled by the woven sack that is placed over his head. He can’t see a damn thing. He feels something sliding around his wrists, scratching at his skin. It burns. He can hear the screeching tires of a van close by, struggling against the men, he tries to free himself but he can’t seem to make himself shift. Whatever they’ve put around him, it must contain blue ash. The only thing on earth that can keep a chimera in place.
Darkness cloaks Liam’s movements as he scales the stone exterior of the building. The jagged ridges cut into his skin but he pushes on, he doesn’t have time to worry about a few cuts and bruises. Besides, his werewolf healing will take care of it by the time he reaches the top.
The guard will be back around within forty minutes and he needs to be ready to make his descent as soon as he passes by. If he misses his window, it means waiting for another hour. That’s an extra sixty minutes where he could be caught. His stomach clenches, he really needs the money to help his parents out.
He reaches up, slotting his hand into the groove of the next stone. Using his toe-hold on a lower stone to push himself up. He’s mid-way when a chunk of the stone crumbles causing his hand to slip.
Time slows as the thought of an impending fall flashes through his mind, he grasps wildly for place to steady himself. He lets the small fragments of stone in his hand fall to the ground, allowing himself a better grip. The lump won’t leave his throat as he presses his cheek flat against the wall, clinging on for dear life. He takes a moment to catch his breath and calm his nerves.
Time is not a luxury he has a lot of though, so it’s not long until he’s moving further up the wall towards the window. The one he’d deactivated the security alarm for, during his visit, earlier in the day.
Three well placed moves later and he’s perched on the window sill with a lock pick in his hands. He makes quick work of the lock, sliding the glass panel inwards to open it.
Liam glances around the upper floor, taking note of his surroundings. There’s nothing of importance up here, his real prize is one floor down.
He checks his watch. Twenty seconds until the coast is clear and he can leave this dark alcove. When the second hand hits the nine exactly, he moves cautiously towards the door. If he’s timed everything perfectly then the camera feed has just switched from the northwest corner to the northeast. It gives Liam about forty-six seconds until it loops back around, he should only need five to get out the door.
He tiptoes silently across the floor, ducking out of the door and moving swiftly to the staircase. Growing more confident with each step.
He pauses outside the room. Pressing his ear against the heavy wooden door, making sure there are no guards are inside. They should be far away from this wing of the building by now, but he doesn’t want to take any chances. When he decides the coast is clear, he slips into the lightless room.
Liam’s eyes adjust quickly as he heads towards the case of antique rings, his eyes scanning for one in particular - a pear shaped Goldcana diamond ring that has an estimated value of one million dollars. Clicking a button on the side of his watch, the time illuminates the darkness. He has sixteen minutes to disarm the case, take the ring, replace it with a cheap decoy and get the hell out of dodge.
He slips his tools from his back pocket, inspecting the glass for a tiny sensor module. It’s trickier to get around than he’d anticipated, as the pressure mounts he starts to sweat. Taking a deep breath, he jiggles his tools once more and it clicks off. Cool as a cucumber , he thinks to himself.
Once the case is open, he uses one hand to carefully snatch the real Goldcana and the other, to slot the fake back in its place. Gently he lowers the glass lid, making sure everything is lined up perfectly before resetting the sensor.
Just as he sets a foot onto the upper floor, a security alarm goes off. He throws his hands up in an attempt to cover his sensitive ears from the deafening wail. As he rushes towards his only means of escape, he senses movement further behind him. Whoever it is, is too far back to spot him but they’re still too close for comfort.
Liam attaches a grappling hook to the edge of the window, throwing the nylon rope down. He gives it a quick tug, he’s not entirely convinced it’s secure but at this point, he has no other choice. Within seconds he’s rappelling towards the ground. The chill in the air nips at his skin but he hardly feels it, too pumped up from the adrenaline.
He sprints for the coverage of the trees, he’s half-way to safety when he notices a man lurking, partially covered by the shadows. At least he thinks it’s a man, he seems to be wearing a creepy old mask.
“Liam Dunbar” a monotonous voice calls out to him.
His stomach feels like it’s in his throat as he stumbles backwards, hitting into something solid. Glancing over his shoulder he sees four more people in the same style of mask. “Who the hell are you people?” He asks, his voice low and breathless.
“We need you to come with us” one of them says from behind. “We have a business proposition for you.”
Before he has a chance to say anything, a cotton sack is placed over his head and something is slipped over his wrists. He kicks out, trying to break free but he can’t seem to shift. Mountain ash. Every muscle in Liam’s body tenses up. Where are they taking him?
Theo blinks rapidly as the bag is pulled from his head, forcing his eyes to adjust to the bright light. He thinks he’s in some sort of warehouse judging by the damp, high walls and the amount of crates stacked up across the floor.
The same people from before, still dressed in black with their masks on, are standing in front of him. Except there are more of them now, a lot more. He’s sat in a chair but he quickly realises he’s not actually secured to it, staring down at the ground he sees why, a ring of midnight coloured ash surrounds the chair.
A groan to his right draws his attention, looking over he sees a face that makes his upper lip curl. Liam fucking Dunbar. “ You ” he snarls.
The boy looks dazed for a second before he turns his head, narrowing his eyes in a glare. “ You” he yells, rocking his chair. “Are you behind all of this?”
“Oh yeah, Liam” he says bitingly. “I just wanted us to spend some quality time together. I knew you’d never go for it though, so I orchestrated your kidnapping and then stuck myself inside a circle of blue ash so neither of us can ever leave ” he says, his voice growing louder.
“Wait, really?” Liam asks frowning.
“ No you idiot” he rolls his eyes. “They-”
An irritated cough interrupts them. “Gentlemen, if you’re quite finished” a plummy voice proclaims from in front of them. A tall, slender man steps forward.
“We-” he says gesturing to the row of people behind him. “-Are The Black Phantoms.”
Theo snorts. “That-that’s what you call yourselves?”
A frustrated sigh echoes around the huge open space. Theo notices Liam glaring at him again, mouthing that he’s going to kill him.
“Right, sorry. The Black Phantoms . Okay, that’s a choice you’ve made. Carry on” Theo snickers, shaking his head.
“We are one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the world. We have over 39,000 members worldwide. You name it, we’ve been involved in it-”
“So, what do you need us for?” Liam asks, biting at his bottom lip. The woody coconut smell of worry seeping from his pores. Theo scoots his chair closer to the right side of the circle, the metal legs scraping against the concrete floor. He’s still a fair distance from the other boy but Liam must appreciate the thought because he throws a shy smile in Theo’s direction.
“We’ve been watching you and we’re impressed” the man states. “We think we could really use your particular set of skills. We’d like to offer you a job. ”
The two boys look at one another, unsure. “Woah, no. I’m small time, I scam casino tables” Theo shrugs. “Count me out.”
Liam nods in agreement. “Yeah, I can’t risk getting caught. Surely there are other supernaturals out there..”
“Of course but none with your logistics, ideas and casino insight-” he points a finger at Theo. “-and your tech knowledge and ability to break into absolutely anything , no matter how big or small.” He looks at Liam.
Theo stands up from his chair. “This is all very flattering but I have somewhere to be. So if you don’t mind” he says gesturing to the circle of ash. From the corner of his eye, he sees Liam stand up too, his shoulders tense like he’s ready to fight his way out.
The man simply nods once and two of his minions walk over to break the circles. “ Oh I should probably mention, you’d each get ten million dollars up front..”
Liam freezes, turning his head to face Theo. “Did he just say ten million? ” He whispers under his breath.
Theo nods. “I think so”
They both turn slowly to face the strangest group of criminals that Liam has ever encountered.
“I’ll hear you out” Theo says confidently. “What would we have to do?”
“Another organisation has stolen something that belong to us. Something very important. They keep it locked within a secret bunker underneath their casino vault. A bunker we can’t access because we lack certain appendages-” He says wiggling his fingers.
“Right” Theo says impatiently. “You don’t have claws, we get it . What else?” Liam’s eye twitches at his blasé attitude. If he dies because of Theo Raeken , he swears he’s going to come back and haunt his ass for eternity.
The man stifles a laugh. “You, Theo, can break the mountain ash barrier allowing Liam access to crack the vault and then you both need to open the secret bunker.” He pauses briefly, allowing them time to soak up the information. “Everything inside the vault and the bunker is yours. Whatever you can carry but you must get your hands on the book of deeds. That is all we ask.” He tilts his head to the side, like it’s no big deal. “We can’t be seen concerning ourselves with petty crime”
“You call a casino heist, petty crime ?” Liam gapes. “We could get twenty-five years for that, if we’re caught.”
“Then don’t get caught” a nasal voice says from the row of masks.
“Easy for you to say” Liam huffs. “I-I need some time to think about this.”
“Of course” the man nods. “You have sixty seconds and then our offer expires.”
What? How is Liam supposed to decide something so completely life changing, in a single minute? There’s so much to consider. He-
“I’m in” he hears Theo say. Liam’s jaw drops as he stares at him with wide eyes. Has Theo lost his mind? Doesn’t he know how dangerous this could be?
“Y-yeah. Okay. Me too” Liam mumbles. He’s not sure why but the thought of Theo doing this alone makes him feel uneasy.
“Fantastic” the man says. “You two can begin planning the job together first thing in the morning then. Inferno will show you to your rooms.”
“Uh. Mr..Phantom?” Liam asks. A hot flush creeps up his neck as Theo stares blankly at him. “We’re not allowed to go home?”
“Once you’ve come up with a foolproof plan, you may leave” He smiles, at least Liam thinks he’s smiling it’s super hard to tell with the mask on.
They walk wordlessly down a narrow corridor, traipsing behind ‘Inferno’ what kind of name is that anyway?
“It’s just a fun little nickname, I’m a demolition expert. I deal with a lot of fire” she chuckles. Shit he must’ve been thinking out loud. “Here you are” she says coming to a stop outside of two red, metal doors. She unlocks the doors before leaving them alone.
“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Liam asks in a hurried whisper.
“A violent crime organisation that gives each other cheesy supervillain names. Clearly.” Theo says matter of factly, raising his eyebrows.
Liam barks out a laugh before he can stop himself. How can someone he hates, make him feel so completely at ease.
“Well..goodnight” Theo says pushing his door open.
“Theo, wait” Liam calls out. “Do you think..could I maybe-” he growls frustratedly at himself.
“You better not snore. And, I get the wall side.” Is all Theo says, holding the door open for Liam to walk through. He rushes into the room, diving onto the bed before Theo has a chance to change his mind.
Tomorrow the hard work begins.