Garett brushed his buzz-cut hair, while fixing his bright purple tie in front of the bathroom mirror. The diagonal black stripes on the tie stood out among the clear white suit, which he then buttoned up the gold engraved buttons.

[Make sure to dress appropriately. This is a special opportunity I was able to receive through some business contacts, and it isn't some game for kids. As far as I know- the rewards are relatively high for a single gamble, but the risk is just as high. If you think you can live up to the challenge, meet me at "..." street on the corner of "..." block, at 8 p.m. tomorrow. ]

Fishy

That was all Garett could think as he prepared to leave.

However...

"If you think you can live up to the challenge."

Daniel didn't know Garett for long, nor were they particularly good friends in the time they knew each other, however he sure knew how to grind a mans gears.

"As expected of a business major. He has people wrapped around his fingers."

Garett was never someone to make a rash decision. He was always accustomed to making the logical choice, even if it meant giving up his pride. However, if someone were to insult his skill when it came to his specialty, he couldn't just go down without a fight.

"If things seem too off once I arrive, I'll bail. Its as simple as that. Surely they won't hold me to play before the game has even started. If they refuse to tell me the conditions of the gamble, I won't hesitate to leave. "

He was ready to defend his pride as a gambler, yet ready to throw it away in an instant if that meant he would risk losing something that was greater than the reward.

And what was the greatest risk to mankind?

The unknown.

There was nothing more scary or more unpredictable than the unknown.

Well, one could say that the unknown was the very manifestation of the unpredictable.

And this was an enemy that Garett refused to face. Should he come face to face with the unknown, he would take one of two actions. He would either investigate what he didn't know, or he would run away.

Running was not an issue for Garett. It was the logical choice when faced with danger. A natural instinct, built into humans to increase their rate of survival.

Pride, on the other hand, was merely a foolish gimmick. Pride would only ever lead to irrational decisions- which Garett despised.

That didn't mean Garett did not have any pride, but rather that he was willing to throw it away if it was the logical decision. After all, he took the most pride in being able to calmly analyze what the right action was at all times.

Garett grabbed his wallet and phone and stuffed them into his pocket. He put on his white fedora, with a black stripe across it before leaving his apartment swiftly.

----

At the corner of a quiet intersection. One or two cars would pass every few minutes, but it was a relatively low density area for the city.

Nobody walked outside openly in the streets. The buildings of the ghetto were made of nothing more than concrete that had been littered with graffiti.

No windows displayed themselves on any of the high rise apartment buildings surrounding the area. It was almost a testament in of itself as if to say "We don't even want to look at the scene outside."

However, one man stood patiently at the intersection. He wore a black tuxedo, with a bright orange tie that was speckled with green spots.

This man tipped his top hat, revealing his long dark red hair, and waved his cane in an elegant way over to the man across the crosswalk.

Garett strutted across the crosswalk, and he too tipped his hat towards Daniel.

This was a scene that would look as if two nobles met at a cocktail party, if one were to ignore the scene behind them.

"Its been a while, twitch-eye", Garett commented sarcastically

Daniel let out a friendly chuckle, before putting on a serious face.

"It seems you took up my offer. I'd like to thank you for coming all this way to help me out. Let me fill you in on some of the details that I've been informed of before we head over to the casino."

Garett looked at Daniel, interested, and urged him to continue.

"You see, from what I know- this event is going to be a team based event. 2 on 2. As I said before, the rewards are excessive compared to the amount of effort it would take to obtain them. That being said, I'm no idiot. I've done my research, and it seems that the rewards top out at 1000 dollars."

"1000 dollars?"

This was... Garett wasn't sure how to interpret this.

1000 dollars was enough money so that it wasn't a simple gamble. However, it wasn't a ridiculous sum that could be a get rich quick scheme either. It was enough for a nice bonus at best.

This actually might be considered a good thing though, from Garrett's perspective, and put him at ease.

"If were talking about 1000 dollars, I shouldn't have to worry too much about the risk of going deep in debt should I lose... a few weeks of working part time should be able to pay that off no problem in a worst case scenario."

Of course, Dubs had not brought any money to gamble. Why was this? Because of the line that Daniel had stated in the text messages.

[The casino were going to doesn't require you to have any money to gamble. When someone loses a gamble, they will work at the casino for a given amount of time in order to pay off the debt they've incurred. As a result, the casino pays off the money lost in the gamble. Only a select few people are allowed to get into this type of low risk high reward gamble, so I suggest you take me up on the offer. It took a lot of influence to convince them to allow me to bring my own partner with me.]

Casino work didn't seem like it would be all that bad. At the worst, he would become a gopher who would serve drinks, set up the games and assist in calming down angry customers.

With this, Garett's suspicions flew away. Even if it was rigged, there wasn't a huge loss here for trying.

"They probably make tons of money off gambling addicts who don't know when to quit. I am different than that rabble. I know when to quit when I'm ahead, and I know when to cut my losses and run."

Daniel walked along, tapping his cane along the ground, leading Garett into an alleyway nearby.

The alleyway started off as nothing but high concrete walls, but when they turned a corner, Dubs began to hear the sound of music playing.

A saxophone played a grand solo, and this was followed by the accompaniment of a bass with some drums providing a mellow beat.

"Do do dooo do dopiityy da. Ow!"

The jazz singer slurred off a number.

Upon turning the corner, Garett saw in the distance the neon lights that surrounded a large wooden door, with a flaring "open" sign on it. A neon arrow with the word "Casino" pointed towards the door, lighting up each letter of the word in order as it flickered.

and a stairway lead up to the door with a red carpet. This place was quite literally the only lively area in the entire part of the town.

"I suppose that's just how the money flows here."

A bouncer wearing a tuxedo, who was bald with a trim mustache stood with one hand over the other in front of him. As the two approached, Daniel pulled out a white envelope with a symbol on it that matched the one that was on one of the neon lights.

The bouncer took the letter and read it thoroughly, before handing it back and stepping out of the way politely. He bowed, and holding out one hand towards the door said

"Right this way, Mr. Arez and guest."

The two gracefully entered, and the music blared once the door was opened.

Trumpets, jazz, blues, rhythm. An entourage filled the ears of the two men.

Lights flared all over, and machines made beeping noises as people gambled on them. Slot machines were played, roulette tables were spun, casino dealers slyly passed out cards to poker players. Everyone in the casino was dressed with the look of the rich, and not a single crazed gambler was to be seen.

There was a sense of elegance about this casino that put it apart from others. It was almost as if everyone present were veterans, and there were barely any amateurs to be seen.

"As long as nobody is cheating that wont matter... at the end of the day, it all depends on whether you can work probability to be in your favor."

A man wearing a red vest with a black jacket underneath and a bowtie waltzed over to Daniel.

"Mr. Arez, we've been waiting your arrival! I see that your partner is with you! The team you two will be playing are currently in the waiting room. I will lead you over to where the gamble will take place, and I will have them meet you there. We will then discuss the rules, and after a short strategy proposal time, you all will begin the game. Is this alright with you?"

Daniel nodded, and the host looked towards Garett, who also agreed.

They were then led through the crowds of people to an inner room where the doors were closed off. It was a plain room, unlike the previous scene of the casino. Almost too plain, if you asked Garett. A foldout card table with 4 foldout chairs was in the center of the room, and there were no windows or anywhere. Even the ventilation was on the floors to prevent any sort of cheating in that manner.

"Forgive the plain appearance of the room, kind Sirs. These types of rooms are where the real gambles take place- and as such we have done everything within our power so that cheating can be strictly regulated and eliminated."

"So the outside gambling was merely an appetizer..." Garett whispered a little too loudly.

"Eh.. if that is what you wish to refer to it as then... yes, I suppose."

Garett apologized for his rudeness.

"No need to apologize good Sir! You are a valued customer, and at the Pierce casino we take customer opinions very seriously!"

There was a knock at the door shortly after the host had said this.