The Devil’s After Both Of Us
Benny and Rivers made a promise in Fortification Hill, we all have our regrets
The air of chatter, the bubbly spins of slot machines, the gentle clicks of roulette wheels, the shuffle of cards, it was all familiar to Benny. Frank Sinatra played softly in the background only competing with sounds bleeding through from the Aces Theater. It was safety to the gambler, safety that nobody could take from him. He ran his fingers over the scuffed revolver he carried, a show of his loyalty to the courier. A sign of trust from Rivers that he didn’t deserve in the slightest.
Twenty notches were cut into the barrel along with “buena suerte” messily scratched into the grip. Benny wondered just how long it’d been in Rivers’ possession, it looked like it’d been years. The courier seemed to love it a lot, as janky as it was. He’d given it in turn for Maria, but more importantly for a promise. The trade wouldn’t last forever, but for now this was it. It was the same gun carried by the courier in Goodsprings, the same one they had tossed mindlessly to the side as they left the cemetery. It had served both of them well, though Benny hadn’t used it much since Fortification Hill.
A dull guilt panged through his heart, it almost made him angry. Six was nothing but an inconvenience to him throughout it all. Though at the same time he’d surrendered so much to Benny over just a few weeks, everything he could remember about himself was told over caravan games and stale alcohol. He helped people who never deserved it but still he was no better than Benny himself, really. Or at least that’s how Benny wanted to see it. They both had blood on their hands they could never wash away and crimes that would never be forgiven. Nobody should give a shit about either of them, but there was so much on the line it was hard not to give a shit.
Benny silently placed the revolver in his jacket, he wasn’t meant to open carry in the casino and he knew that. He replaced the revolver with a cigarette and lighter, placing the cigarette in his mouth and lighting it. The smoke swirled in the air gently before settling. This was all stupid, so very stupid.