The casino was so out of the way that performing there felt like a high school play in upstate New York being billed as off-Broadway. The worn carpet, the dull ding of slot machines, and the aged, yellowed lighting reflected off the old machines. Even though smoking was prohibited, the air remained thick with a fog that made him wonder if the air conditioner was on fire. Still, a gig was a gig, and this one promised more than just an audience.
Eddie strolled through the casino, top hat in hand, carefully noting the security cameras placed around the room. He knew only a third of them worked, but which ones? Eyeing them carefully, he could just see the glow of the working cameras. He made a mental note to himself in case they had to change their exit plans.
He knew the two security guards by name. He also knew they lacked the motivation to be there. Both were on the upper side of sixty, past retirement age. They were only working to watch people and to get away from their wives for a while. No immediate worries here, but Eddie never trusted a place that was so careless in its security. The less security, the more chaos. But this weekend, chaos was his ally.
He had it on good authority that during his Saturday night show, there would be a very large cash-only money exchange. Some wannabe modern-day mobsters wanted to bring back the Bugsy Seigel era. This casino was the starting point. 20 million in non-sequential bills, hard, cold cash scheduled to change hands at midnight. He planned to have it change into his hands and do a real life, non magical disappearing act.
“Gina,” he called to the dishy redhead on the stage. ”Let’s rehearse that big finale.”
Gina grinned and handed him the top hat. A little pink nose and great big furry ears peeked out of it.
“Okay, Larry, stay in the hat.” Eddie nudged him back down.
Friday’s show went well. The combination of sleight of hand, misdirection, corny, old-fashioned jokes, and Larry popping up in the most unexpected places made the audience laugh, ooh and ah, and generally enjoy the show. Larry was the best, with the agility of a cat, the loyalty of a dog, and an intelligence behind those big brown eyes that was almost human. He never failed to hit his mark and disappear up Eddie’s pant leg with the stealth of a panther. Every trick meticulously planned and timed so that the finale would be at midnight on the dot.
Saturday tickets were sold out, which Eddie thought was good. More noise, more crowds; the louder, the better.
He and Gina were below the stage, setting up for the late-night show. All around them were cages of white rabbits looking hungrily from behind the bars. Gina had a giant bag of treats, and their little noses twitched. Over fifty cash purchased, cash only rabbits in their rabbit army. Eddie hoped it was enough.
“How will I know which one is Larry?” Gina asked as she began strategically placing the rabbit treats in a line toward the stage door.
“He will have on his black bow tie. It has a reflective strip so we can find him in the dark.” Eddie replied, pulling out several of the bow ties and brandishing them like a sword. He secured one of them around Larry’s neck and shoved the others into his pocket. “Besides, he will just slip up my pant leg and hold on like usual. Larry never misses his cue.”
“Well, the hotel shuttle is parked in the garage next to the exit door. I finished filing the fake flight plan, which should give us time to disappear.” Gina said, running her fingers through her hair. Her green eyes narrowed in thought. “If everything goes as planned, we should be out of here in 5 minutes, at the airfield in 10 minutes, and in the air within 20.”
Eddie nodded his head in agreement. He followed Gina into the narrow, dimly lit hallway. He glanced towards the end of the hall at the closed office door. “X” marks the spot, he thought to himself. Gina continued to lay out treats. Eddie paced the area, calculating bodies, rabbits, and the path he and Gina would have to travel after grabbing the loot. He counted steps to the exit, timing the walk with thoughts to all the possibilities. This just might work if prayers were answered.
On stage in the spotlight, Eddie was giving the best performance of his life. The heat from the lights, the weight of the wand in his hand, and the familiar smells of metal, chalk, and rabbit made the magic flow. Gina looked ravishing as she moved with confidence and precision through the act. They performed every trick flawlessly. The cards snapped into place; items appeared and vanished like clockwork. The rhythm of the show lent itself to easing the tension in Eddie’s shoulders. Of course, as always, Larry stole the show.
Larry charmed a woman in the front row when he disappeared from the top hat to appear on the back of her chair. Nose wriggled, whiskers twitched, and a perfectly timed kiss landed on her cheek. The woman blushed as the audience laughed. Larry hopped back into the hat in Gina’s hand, always the flirt.
Suddenly the hairs on Eddie’s arm stood up as he felt the subtle shift in the air. Dimly, a rumble beneath him. The vibration and weight of people gathering where they shouldn’t be, not at this time of night. The countdown began.
Eddie launched into the final routine. Anticipation came from the crowd as the slot machines seemed to hush their incessant clanging. Eddie kept his hands moving as his pulse ticked faster. Thirty seconds. Midnight was almost here. Eddie raised his wand and lowered his voice. Slower now. This was the kind of magic that demanded full attention from the audience.
“And now for our final act,” Eddie embellished with a slight bow, “we shall all disappear!” He waved his wand over Larry in the top hat and tilted it to show that it was now empty. The crowd gasped. Walking over to Gina, a slight smoke began to fill the stage, lights flickered wildly as he mumbled magical words, and Gina slowly vanished before their very eyes. With an intake of breath, Eddie waved the wand over himself and melted into the floor.
The lights went out. Eddie’s disembodied voice assured the audience that all was well as a pyrotechnic light display, with noise and music, showered the stage. The audience erupted into applause. The perfect cover. In the darkness below the stage, Eddie hit the floor hard, stumbled into Gina as she opened the rabbit cages and lunged for the fuse box on the wall. With a “snap” the lights in the hallway went out, leaving only the faint glow of the infrared markers. The rabbits began their trained march like a river of white fur, obedient and unstoppable.
Several angry voices are heard shouting, grumbling in the chaos. Eddie handed a pair of infrared glasses to Gina as he put his on. The floor was alive with wriggling bodies following the trail of treats out the stage door and into the narrow hallway.
A man squealed, “What is it? Get it off me!”
Through the green haze of the goggle lens, Eddie saw a man in a knockoff Armani suit dancing around, shaking his pant leg. Larry must have mistaken the man for him and was attempting to climb up a very tight dress pant. It was comical to see him kick out at the other mobsters, who grunted with pain. Rabbits poured through the hallway, ears flattened, feet thumping, fur flying, all following the breadcrumbs of the irresistible treats.
Larry realized his mistake and pushed off Mr. Armani with his powerful back legs. As he launched himself, Armani collapsed to the floor, howling in pain. Using the next man’s chest as a springboard, Larry landed on Eddie. Eddie sighed at the welcome weight on his leg.
They slipped through the crowded hallway, carefully picking up discarded bags of money. Pressed close to the wall, they moved with practiced ease, reaching the garage door as Eddie continued to count in his head. Right on time. Shouts, cursing, and the rhythmic thumping of paws echoed behind them.
The van waited like a partner in crime, the engine humming softly as Gina threw the doors open. Before they chucked the bags in the back, Eddie unzipped one. Cash, lovely and green. Enough for a lifetime where they were headed.
Eddie jumped in the passenger seat as Gina, driving slowly, began their ascent to the street. One minute later they passed the front of the casino, four men, tattered and torn suits, ran in front of them, pursued by rabbits. Two wore rabbits on their heads like hats. The other two were flinging rabbits off as the furry little creatures attempted to get inside their clothes.
One of them flung a rabbit so far, it landed on the neon sign above the entrance to the casino, the lights flickered dangerously. The two security guards, slipped on rabbits and spilled drinks, tried to contain the fur-coated agents of chaos.
Gina screamed with hysterical laughter, “I put the rest of the rabbit treats in their pockets as we slipped by.” Giggling and gasping for air, she continued, “The guys on the floor even got handfuls on their heads.” Gina grinned. “Rabbit fur hats. Priceless.”
The van turned the corner, and the casino fell away behind them, its neon sign flashing like it had just woken from a bad dream. Eddie didn’t look back. He never did. Looking back was for amateurs and ghosts. Larry shifted inside his pant leg, climbing up to Eddie’s lap with an indignant little huff, his black bow tie askew. Eddie scratched behind his ears.
“Good save back there, buddy,” he murmured.
Larry twitched his nose and thumped once, proud.
“Three minutes,” she said. “Then we ditch the van.”
“Any tails?” Eddie asked.
“Not yet,” she replied. “But that doesn’t mean anything.”
The city thinned quickly, casino lights gave way to warehouses and long stretches of industrial nothing. Gina eased the van into a shadowed lot next to a beat up nondescript Ford. The engine died. Silence rushed in.
They worked fast. Bags were transferred to the car. The van’s plates came off, replaced with a different set from the trunk of the car. Larry went into his carrier without complaint and nibbled on a treat like he hadn’t just dismantled a small criminal enterprise with his hind legs.
The car rolled out as sirens began to blare in the distance.
The airfield was barely more than a runway with a squat hangar that smelled like oil and old coffee. They boarded the waiting plane. Gina started the engines and did a quick check. Eddie buckled in, feeling the familiar vibration beneath his feet. As the plane lifted, Gina finally let herself smile and relax.
Then her phone buzzed. Once. Twice.
“That’s not good,” Gina murmured.
“What is it?” Eddie asked quietly.
Gina turned the phone so he could see. A single text message, no number attached.
Cute trick with the rabbits. Bugsy would have approved. We would like our money back.
Under it, a photo loaded. It was grainy. Night vision. A hallway. And in the center of the image, looking straight up at the camera, was Larry, bow tie and all.
Eddie’s stomach dropped.
“That’s impossible,” he said. He looked down, hands shaking slightly as he reached for the carrier beside his seat. There was Larry with his bow tie, looking as pleased as punch. Eddie reached into his left jacket pocket, pulling out nothing but air. “You clever little devil.” Eddie whispered. “The perfect finishing touch.”