"This is a rare treat! A once in a lifetime opportunity to win a car of this caliber, and all you have to do is what you already love to do...gamble!" Tony said, standing in front of a beautiful sports car on a rotating round display, adding, "so come on down to Card Shark and you could win big big big! But you gotta hurry, cause this thing is about to speed on outta here at the hands of the first lucky son a gun who manages to snag it!"

With that the camera cut and Tony relaxed. He turned and looked at the car, wiping his face down with a handtowel as someone approached him from behind. It was the guy who cut all his commercial footage together for the various casinos, a man by the name of Ricky. Tall, lanky, a fluff of dark black hair and a constant five o' clock shadow, he looked like what a video editor is expected to look like if central casting had sent him.

"What'd you think?" Tony asked, and Ricky nodded.

"It was ace, man," he replied, "Short, sweet, direct. Exactly enough to capture the fractured attention span of the people gambling."

Tony laughed and patted Ricky on the back as he turned and headed for the bar. He sat down and ordered a drink, before he noticed a woman sitting beside him and smirked.

"Hello Allie," he said. Allie slowly turned her head to face him, looking as though she'd seen a ghost; Tony looked surprised at her appearance, and asked, "you doing okay? You're not drinking, are you?"

"No, not at all," Allie replied, "I just didn't sleep well last night."

The bartender dropped Tony's drink in front of him and he picked it up and left, wishing Allie a better nights sleep. But the thing was, Allie hadn't slept well in weeks now. Not since the incident. Allie eventually got her food and left the bar, heading back up to her suite and settling into her couch with the giant TV on mute. She'd been self isolating lately, wanting to be as uninvolved with anything but work as much as possible. She flipped through the channels until she landed on a nature program about tigers, and her eyes swelled with tears. Domino. She wanted to see Domino so bad. The door opened and Nick entered, tossing his jacket onto the couch before realizing Allie was sitting there with her basket of wings in her lap. He laughed as he sat down next to her and picked one of them out of the basket and bit into it.

"Sorry, didn't know you'd be right there," Nick said, before looking at Allie while chewing and narrowing his eyes in a concerned manner, asking, "...hey, babe, you okay?"

"...I have done terrible things," Allie whispered.

"So you've been involved in a few unsavory things, they were accidents. Jenny doesn't blame you. Tony has given you so many chances. And I'll never judge you. Come here."

Nick pulled the basket of wings from her lap and set them on the ottoman in front of them, then pulled Allie into his chest and held her close, stroking her hair. Allie started to weep, as Nick whispered sweet nothings in her ear. She knew so much of it wasn't her fault directly, but there was so much more Nick didn't know. She'd killed two people now, and she didn't care about whether others would ever forgive her...she cared about whether she could ever forgive herself.

                                                                           ***

"You know what I'll never understand?" Benny asked, "who arbitrarily decided what counts as breakfast food? Like, why are eggs considered a breakfast food, but not, say, lobster?"

"People eat eggs with lobster all the time," Molly replied, "what are you talking about?"

"Yeah but those people are rich and live in their own fantasy world, they don't count," Benny said, making Molly chuckle as she stabbed more scrambled eggs onto the end of her fork, lifting it to her mouth and eating as Benny added, "but you know what I mean, right? Why one thing and not another, and who was the person who made these calls? Were they a self appointed party of were they given the responsibility at, like, the start of more modern civilization to come up with what exactly we eat in the morning."

"I'd wager it's nutrition based," Molly said, tossing her curly bangs from her face, adding, as she chewed, "they probably pooled the nutrition of many foods and decided these were what gave us the most energy or whatever throughout the day."

Benny laughed as he picked up some bacon and bit into it, nodding in agreement. The two of them were sitting in a diner called Angie's right next door to the casino, but wasn't owned by the casino, a place the group went often. It was actually the early evening, but Benny and Molly often had breakfast for dinner, it had become somewhat of a tradition. Molly picked up her coffee cup and took a sip before looking up at Benny and smirking.

"What?" she asked, "why are you staring at me?"

"Well, you're in my immediate view, the hell else am I gonna look at?" Benny asked, making her laugh before adding, "but also, cause you're absolutely beautiful, and it makes me happy to see you happy."

Molly stopped eating, bit her lip and sniffled. She still wasn't used to this. This kind of kindness and love that Benny gave her. She felt so very very lucky. After a few moments, she looked up and smiled back at him as he reached across the table and squeezed her hand. Truthfully, they weren't just here for the food though...they were here because, in about an hour down the street, Jackson Strange would be doing an impromptu performance on the street, and they still needed as much recon work on his magic as possible if they were going to pull off their heist. Molly set her mug down and pushed her glasses up her face, blushing.

"You think Allie will be there?" she asked, and Benny grimaced, shrugging.

"Hard to say, ain't seen her really since that night," he replied.

Allie had been keeping a low profile, it was true, but not as low as Zoe.

                                                                          ***

Zoe was standing in the stage room, looking at the plans for her and Allie's next show - where to place props for easiest and quickest access, those types of details - when she heard the doors open and turned to see Tony and a woman walking into the room. Zoe put her papers down and turned to face them.

"Don't mind us," Tony said, "we're just doing some detailing of the area for insurance purposes."

"Expecting a fire?" Zoe asked.

"With magic? You never know," Tony said, chuckling, making Zoe laugh a little. The woman he was with was well dressed, tight fitting suit jacket, starched collar button down shirt and a pencil skirt, her shoes sensible but fashionable, her hair perfectly cut and clean down to her shoulders with fringe bangs. She stopped and jotted something down on a little notepad in her hand before turning to face Zoe.

"You must be one of the resident performers," she said, reaching her hand out, "I'm Raindrop Mullens."

"Your name is Raindrop?" Zoe asked, trying not to laugh.

"My parents were hippies, blame them, not me," Raindrop replied, "I had contemplated getting it changed for many years but...at this point, I'll just wait until they're dead so as not to disappoint them for their awful life choices that actively impact me every day."

Raindrop turned and continued walking, taking more notes as Tony stopped beside Zoe, arms folded, the two of them watching her.

"She seems fun," Zoe said, making Tony chuckle.

"Yeah, well, lawyers are lawyers," Tony replied, "listen, I saw Allie at the bar earlier, she's not drinking right? She told me she isn't, but I figured I'd ask you since you're like her partner and best friend."

"She's not, believe me, I'd know," Zoe said.

"Good, good. We need that girl to remain sober," Tony remarked, "getting her on the wagon was almost impossible, and I just...I can't bear to watch her do that to herself again. To those around her. I grew up with a father who was a crippling alcoholic, so I know what it can take from you firsthand, you know what I mean?"

Zoe nodded, watching Raindrop inspect and investigate things, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Tony, why do you need a lawyer?" she asked again.

"I told you, insurance purposes," Tony said, "it's umbrella insurance, Zoe. It isn't for one particular thing. Running an entertainment venue, multiple as well, can be a tricky business. It isn't just about violence or theft, there's people getting sick from the food, accidents, things of that nature. I just needed better coverage. Plus, what with the casinos cash earnings, I need to be protected as well. For god sakes, girl, I'm offering a car in the front room! What if someone were to steal it?"

He laughed again, patted her on the back and started following Raindrop once more as they moved on through the venue. Zoe watched, tapping her pen on her clipboard and chewing her lip. She hadn't expected the fact that the car might be a liability as a win. Zoe would hit the internet after this. She needed to do some research.

                                                                                ***

The crowd had gathered, though not as big as Molly and Benny had expected, to see Jackson Strange's public performance. Standing amongst the other people, Molly couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. Crowds made her anxious, and she started to physically shrink into herself, until she felt Benny come up behind her, wrap his arms around her and rest his head on her shoulder. She smiled, blushed and untensed, relaxing.

"This guy is a goddamn enigma," Benny said, "why continue to do street shows if you're already a well known performer in a large venue?"

"Gotta keep driving buzz somehow, I figure," Molly replied, and Benny nodded.

"I guess that makes sense," Benny said, "there is something admirable about an artist who stays true to the origins of their craft long after attaining fame and fortune. Like when a big name director still goes and makes indie films. That's always cool, to know they don't forget where they came from, how they got to where they are now."

"I wouldn't call Jackson Strange an artist, but the metaphor lands regardless," Molly said, making Benny chuckle and kiss her cheek. Just then, Allie sidled up beside Molly, who looked genuinely happy to see her. Allie was wearing a windbreaker, her hair messy around her face - as though it had been days since she'd showered - and her entire demeanor was reminiscent of someone in mourning.

"Good to see you out of the suite," Molly said, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I ate nothing but wings this afternoon," Allie said glumly, "and then Nick came home and I cried all over him. Does it sound like I'm okay?"

"Not really, no, we're just being polite and asking," Benny remarked, making Allie smirk. She appreciated Benny's sense of humor, always capable of taking a situation and making light of it, regardless of how grim it is. Allie turned her focus back to the focal point and sighed.

"So," Allie said, "he isn't here yet?"

"If he were here, we'd be watching a magic show," Benny said, checking his watch, "but at this point I'm starting to doubt his ability to show up on time. What kind of magician is late to his own performance? That's just unprofessional is what that is."

Allie chuckled, then felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned and saw Zoe there, who motioned with Allie to follow her. Allie glanced back at Molly and Benny - the latter of which was nuzzling his face into Molly's neck, making her laugh - and decided she could slip away rather undetected. She joined Zoe a bit away from the crowd and around the corner of a nearby building.

"What's going on?" Allie asked.

"Tony brought a lawyer by the casino," Zoe said.

"Not unsurprising, Zoe, casinos are a hotbed for stuff that lawyers are involved in," Allie replied, shrugging.

"No, but he said that with the new promotion, the car in the front, if someone steals it, he could be at a loss," Zoe said, "so I started to wonder...what happens when someone wins a car in a casino?"

Just then Benny and Molly joined them.

"What are we talking about?" Molly asked.

"Say Benny wins the car," Zoe said.

"I won a car? Sweet," Benny said, making Molly laugh.

"He'll have to pay the income tax. He'll get a 1099 for misc income, not w2-g. So it can't be deducted by gambling loss. Don't know the exact amount, but theoretically it could be the MSRP of the car, meaning if he took the $30K cash, it would be $30K. There is a value for the car and there are taxes on that value. Just like winning on the price is right or some other merchandise focused game show, there's no sales tax as it wasn't sold, it was won. Other fees may also apply as in purchase to make it road legal."

"What kind of car did I win?" Benny asked.

"Zoe, why are you so invested in this?" Allie asked, shrugging, confused.

"Any earnings of $600 or more require the winner to fill out unique tax forms, typically a 1099-MISC. This almost guarantees that the car you win will be subjected to payments to the IRS. Cars won as prizes are subject to taxes calculated on their fair market value," Zoe continued, "do you see what I'm getting at? Tony is being watched by the IRS, right? So what's he do? He puts a car up as a prize in the casino. Something that's deductable by loss, you know, in case someone steals it."

"...go on," Allie mumbled, now curious where she was headed with this.

"Say Benny wins a drawing for a car and was offered 40k cash or the car," Zoe said.

"Dude, this is my lucky day," Benny interjected, making them all laugh.

"Let's just say it's 55k msrp," Zoe continued, "and say he wanted to avoid the car tax situation, so he chose cash. Then they asked about free play and or cash, he can go with half and half, so he ended up with 20k 1099. Then he's liable for federal and state taxes, minus any applicable gambling losses. Let's say 22% fed, and 9% state.....approx 31%, all based on average tax bracket of course...could go up if you make a lot more, but I'm just using this bracket just as an example. That's if he takes the cash option. The car option, however, 1099....taxes paid fully by him, and no using gambling losses to soften. What percentage of the car's value are you looking at tax-wise on 1099? Plus or minus the approximate 31% you'd pay on W2? If the car is 61k....what percentage of that 61k car value would you be liable for?"

"This is a lot of math and it's hurting my head," Benny said.

"Well then stop being so damn successful in the casino," Molly said, hitting him playfully in the arm.

"What if Tony hires someone to win the car, rigs the game so this person can win it," Zoe said, "suddenly the car is taxable to the IRS because, let's face it, the car option is worth far more than the cash option. Suddenly his business gets a write off and he's in the clear, financially. Why else would he hire a lawyer all of a sudden? Why else would he put a car as a prize option when that's never been a thing before that he's done? He's gaining the system by exploitining it from within thanks to his own power over the situation, being capable of manipulating it to his will."

"He's preparing to cover his ass," Allie muttered under her breath, before looking back at Zoe and adding, "goddamn, Zoe, good job. I never would've suspect that as something to be worth investigating."

"The whole thing just struck me as so weird," Zoe said as they started to head back to the crowd around the corner, "you know, like..."

The group stopped and stared from afar, watching as Jackson Strange made his appearance finally before the crowd.

"Like him," Zoe finally finished, "he's also weird."

"There's no argument about that," Benny replied.

Standing there, Allie chewed on her lip and thought about why Strange would be getting residency in the casino. Tony already had enough entertainment, why bring one more onto the scene? But she knew she could use him, either as a scapegoat, or as a means to get into the vault. Whatever the case may be, Strange would prove to be useful to her in the end, she knew. But first she had to figure out how his invisible box trick worked.

                                                                            ***

Agent Siskel was sitting in her desk chair, legs up on the desktop, head craned back as she stared at the ceiling. The door to her office opened and Agent Tropper stepped inside. He shut the door behind him, then jammed his hands into his pants pockets and stopped in front of her desk. After a moment, he looked up and noticed Agent Siskel had thrown a dozen sticky hands up onto the ceiling and he chuckled.

"Seems like you've been putting your time to good use," he said.

"The whole thing's a wash," Agent Siskel remarked, shrugging, "why bother anymore. No matter how close I get, I can't get close enough. I'm like a runner who can't reach the finish line because it keeps fucking moving. Everytime I think I see the end of the race, it gets shifted back another five feet. So why bother trying."

"Well, somebody's optimistic," Agent Tropper said, "listen, you might be bummed now, but I'm about to bring you information that is going to cheer you right up. Are you prepared for that?"

"I don't think there's any level of information that could return the joy to my career," Agent Siskel mumbled.

"That's where you're wrong, my depressed friend," Agent Tropper said, "because pop your peepers on this."

With that, he reached into his coat and pulled out a folded pile of papers from the pocket, tossing them onto her desk. Agent Siskel eyeballed him weirdly, then leaned forward and took the papers into her hands, unfolding them and reading through them, her entire expression and demeanor changing as she did. After a minute, she looked up at him in stunned silence.

"Yeah, thought you'd like that," Agent Tropper said, grinning.

"Where...where did you get this?" Agent Siskel asked.

"From my friend in forensics, from his girlfriend who's a mortician," Agent Tropper said.

"That's..." Agent Siskel said, pointing at the papers, glossy and floppy.

"Yep. That's her body," Agent Tropper replied, "so I think we have a lead."

                                                                         ***

Megan picked up the landline hanging on the wall of her kitchen and raised the receiver to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked, sounding exasperated, "...Allie? Well this is a surprise. What are you calling me for?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to take a trip home," Allie said.