The 'Wildly Illogical' Collection

On the ride over to the casino, Nicholas could feel the unrest. They should be aware he wasn't going to just roll over. He already expected them to assign him a handler.

And yet, when they arrived at the casino, Nicholas was dropped off, with only a final confirmation of his role. It felt extremely wrong to him. They were going to rob the place, right?

He stood there wondering for a moment what kept him from walking away. His car was still.. Somewhere out there. He knew the road, but it'd take awhile to get back. They'd know where it was, too. They'd know he would go back.

Everyone in this operation were just lackeys. Expendable henchmen. Even if he had unique skills, Nicholas knew that included him, too. So everything felt extremely off.

He was already trapped, and yet it wasn't until now that he felt like he was walking into one. A trap that could potentially kill him.. That was almost the result of their last attempt.

And yet.. Nicholas entered the casino, knowing full well he had no other option right now. He began scoping out the place. It didn't take long to find a dealer that seemed to be new to the job.

So Nicholas sat down. Blackjack. A fairly easy game for him. He tested the dealer.. Purposely took high hits, and dropped out low. Nicholas noted the dealer was plenty skilled, but he still walked off with triple his initial budget.

This began a spiral of self destruction for Nicholas. He knew to stick to card games, that was his territory.. But he got too close to the dice tables, and.. Like a true addict, his gambling spirit took over.

But.. In one way, it helped Nicholas stay under the radar. If the casino personnel found his card winnings suspicious, his loss at this game made up for it. Of course, with the cartel intending to use Nicholas as a distraction, he was still not in the clear.

And it was that thought that had him clear away from the dice. He still had plenty of money, but he has forgotten what kind of situation he was in. He realized that at any time, someone could come in and ruin his evening.

But then it hit him. It was never about him being a distraction. Perhaps in the previous heist, but.. They thought he was a dumb kid back then and they were right! But now they would've known he was planning something...

It made most sense to him if he was meant to be the fall guy. The sacrifice. They would probably shoot him and leave evidence on his corpse. A man who's been in this situation before? A gambler?

... Nicholas got up and walked to the exit. His mind was in a state of conflict, but if he was truly meant to be killed then it'd be on his terms.

Alas.. The Kestrel luck was an awful one. Just as he walked through the exit, an explosion sounded. It had already begun. He looked back, to see the damage, but that only caused him to be faced with a familiar face.

"Going somewhere, Nicholas?" The same guy who shot him years ago. He had been waiting outside.. Just like last time..? "Seems like we're going to have a repeat performance. I'm a better aim now, though."