Post by CJ Phoenix on Mar 29, 2021 21:07:43 GMT -5
Date: March 25th, 2020
Time: 1:40AM
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
We find ourselves in the basement of a rather beautiful home. There's a large man in a business suit on the ground as a gun is pointed at his head. Four other men lay in pools of their own blood. The man in the center is terrified as he fears these are his last moments.
Boss: Look, we can talk this out. You can keep your money. I'll even give you this house. Just don't kill me, please!
He trembles in sweat, fear, and tears. The camera cuts away. A few agonizing moments pass before a shot is fired.
90 minutes earlier.
A man in a mask walks through the Vegas streets with a briefcase in hand. Considering the circumstances going on with the world and the fact that it's Vegas, this is just another weirdness that has become normal to see. He comes across a group of five men in suits who invite him over. Those guys have been taking advantage of tourists by luring them in and scamming them in various ways, specifically those who are drunk and/or alone. When slick talking and tricks don't work, they lure their victims away from the public eye and attack them. They notice the masked man with a briefcase. The large man steps forward.
Boss: Hey. Looks like you did pretty good at the casinos.
The masked man nods.
Boss: Interested in winning some more?
The man tilts his head and then nods.
Boss: You got a name, kid?
The guy shakes his head.
Boss: Do you talk?
Again, he shakes his head.
The boss looks back at the other four guys. They shrug amongst themselves in confusion. The big dude turns back to the silent gentleman and smiles.
Boss: I get it. You just won a bunch of cash, so you're trying to keep a low profile. Is that it?
The man nods quietly. The boss pulls out a coin, showing both sides to verify its fairness.
Boss: Thousand bucks. Heads, I win. Tails, you win. What do you say?
The silent person nods. The boss and his buddies clap their hands in applause.
Boss: Haha! Finally! Somebody with guts. I respect that.
The boss smirks as he flips the coin high into the air. However, the masked man catches it on the way down.
Boss: What the-
The quiet guy observes the coin, quickly noticing that it was different than before. This one had heads on both sides, meaning that the boss had swapped coins while he was applauding, using the second coin that was hidden in his other hand.
Boss: Wow. That's never happened before. How about we roll dice instead?
The man shakes his head and pulls out a gun. However, instead of shooting them, he opens up the briefcase. It contains quite a bit of cash as well as a message written on a sheet of paper.
"Russian Roulette for all of the money in here."
Boss: Huh? Are you nuts? You trying to get yourself killed?
The man finally breaks his silence with a distorted voice.
Masked man: We'll play a modified version. Your lives aren't worth my bullets anyway.
Boss: Oh? So you DO talk. Fine. How does this modified version work?
Masked man: We aim for the kneecap instead of the skull. Still a painful incapacitation if you lose, but nothing you can't recover from if treated properly. Of course, we don't want any unwanted attention, so I advise we go somewhere out of the eyes of the public so that our game doesn't get interrupted.
Boss: And why should we agree to this?
The man takes out his phone and shows them footage of their cons from earlier in the day.
Boss: You were recording us!?
Masked man: If you win, not only do you get the money, I'll also erase every bit of evidence like this that I have against you. No one would know it ever existed.
Boss: Alright. What's in it for you then?
The man chuckles.
Masked man: Oh, nothing more than victory and despair. That's all.
The boss looks confused.
Boss: Fine, whatever. Where are we going?
Masked man: To your place. I'm sure someone like you lives in a secluded enough area. So, what do you say? You've already taken a lot of money today. Interested in making some more?
The boss mulls it over and then laughs.
Boss: Fine. You're on, kid.
The boss and his men take the masked man to a large house away from the Vegas strip. They go inside and head to the basement.
Boss: You sure this is what you wanna do? No one can hear you out here, you know.
Masked man: That's fine. Now. Who wants to go first?
Boss: I do.
The man tosses the gun over to the boss. The latter laughs and points the gun at the masked man.
Boss: You're a bold one, I'll give you that, but you just made a fatal mistake, kid. Get him, boys!
The other four guys move towards the outnumbered man until he pulls out a second gun and starts shooting. Four shots, one to the leg of each of the would-be attackers. They all fall to the ground, holding their legs in agony. The boss pulls the trigger repeatedly at the masked man, but no bullets come out. The gun was empty. The boss trips over himself and falls backwards. The other man points the gun at the downed one and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens.
Boss: Look, we can talk this out. You can keep your money. I'll even give you this house. Just don't kill me, please!
Masked man: I have now fired five shots from this gun. Consider our game in overtime now. You saw the fifth shot was a blank, which means there's one left.
He tosses the gun to the boss.
Masked man: Now, pick it up. You're gonna point that gun at one of us, and you'll pull the trigger. If you point it at yourself and nothing happens, or you point it at me and a bullet comes out, then you win. However, if you point and shoot and a bullet rips through your skull, or you point at me and nothing happens, then I win. Four outcomes. Two favorable. Two unfavorable. A true 50/50 chance. Choose wisely.
The boss thinks out loud.
Boss: If I point the gun at you, then I survive regardless of the outcome. You walk away and my boys get medical attention. I just miss out on a big payday. No biggie, but that's what you want me to do. You want me to point the gun at you because you know it's empty. Why else would anyone do that? Not a bad trick, but not good enough! You're banking on me being too afraid to pull the trigger on myself, but you're wrong!
He points the gun at himself and laughs.
Boss: It's over, kid! I win!
He pulls the trigger and a bullet rips through his skull, killing him almost instantly. The other four guys could only watch in horror as their boss killed himself. The masked man doesn't say anything else as he injects them a serum that puts them to sleep before putting the vile in the boss's other hand. Finally, he grabs the briefcase and walks away, exiting the house and disappearing into the night.
Ultimate Despair Development Tracker
People imprisoned: 1
Death count: 1
Injury count: 5
Time: 1:40AM
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
We find ourselves in the basement of a rather beautiful home. There's a large man in a business suit on the ground as a gun is pointed at his head. Four other men lay in pools of their own blood. The man in the center is terrified as he fears these are his last moments.
Boss: Look, we can talk this out. You can keep your money. I'll even give you this house. Just don't kill me, please!
He trembles in sweat, fear, and tears. The camera cuts away. A few agonizing moments pass before a shot is fired.
90 minutes earlier.
A man in a mask walks through the Vegas streets with a briefcase in hand. Considering the circumstances going on with the world and the fact that it's Vegas, this is just another weirdness that has become normal to see. He comes across a group of five men in suits who invite him over. Those guys have been taking advantage of tourists by luring them in and scamming them in various ways, specifically those who are drunk and/or alone. When slick talking and tricks don't work, they lure their victims away from the public eye and attack them. They notice the masked man with a briefcase. The large man steps forward.
Boss: Hey. Looks like you did pretty good at the casinos.
The masked man nods.
Boss: Interested in winning some more?
The man tilts his head and then nods.
Boss: You got a name, kid?
The guy shakes his head.
Boss: Do you talk?
Again, he shakes his head.
The boss looks back at the other four guys. They shrug amongst themselves in confusion. The big dude turns back to the silent gentleman and smiles.
Boss: I get it. You just won a bunch of cash, so you're trying to keep a low profile. Is that it?
The man nods quietly. The boss pulls out a coin, showing both sides to verify its fairness.
Boss: Thousand bucks. Heads, I win. Tails, you win. What do you say?
The silent person nods. The boss and his buddies clap their hands in applause.
Boss: Haha! Finally! Somebody with guts. I respect that.
The boss smirks as he flips the coin high into the air. However, the masked man catches it on the way down.
Boss: What the-
The quiet guy observes the coin, quickly noticing that it was different than before. This one had heads on both sides, meaning that the boss had swapped coins while he was applauding, using the second coin that was hidden in his other hand.
Boss: Wow. That's never happened before. How about we roll dice instead?
The man shakes his head and pulls out a gun. However, instead of shooting them, he opens up the briefcase. It contains quite a bit of cash as well as a message written on a sheet of paper.
"Russian Roulette for all of the money in here."
Boss: Huh? Are you nuts? You trying to get yourself killed?
The man finally breaks his silence with a distorted voice.
Masked man: We'll play a modified version. Your lives aren't worth my bullets anyway.
Boss: Oh? So you DO talk. Fine. How does this modified version work?
Masked man: We aim for the kneecap instead of the skull. Still a painful incapacitation if you lose, but nothing you can't recover from if treated properly. Of course, we don't want any unwanted attention, so I advise we go somewhere out of the eyes of the public so that our game doesn't get interrupted.
Boss: And why should we agree to this?
The man takes out his phone and shows them footage of their cons from earlier in the day.
Boss: You were recording us!?
Masked man: If you win, not only do you get the money, I'll also erase every bit of evidence like this that I have against you. No one would know it ever existed.
Boss: Alright. What's in it for you then?
The man chuckles.
Masked man: Oh, nothing more than victory and despair. That's all.
The boss looks confused.
Boss: Fine, whatever. Where are we going?
Masked man: To your place. I'm sure someone like you lives in a secluded enough area. So, what do you say? You've already taken a lot of money today. Interested in making some more?
The boss mulls it over and then laughs.
Boss: Fine. You're on, kid.
The boss and his men take the masked man to a large house away from the Vegas strip. They go inside and head to the basement.
Boss: You sure this is what you wanna do? No one can hear you out here, you know.
Masked man: That's fine. Now. Who wants to go first?
Boss: I do.
The man tosses the gun over to the boss. The latter laughs and points the gun at the masked man.
Boss: You're a bold one, I'll give you that, but you just made a fatal mistake, kid. Get him, boys!
The other four guys move towards the outnumbered man until he pulls out a second gun and starts shooting. Four shots, one to the leg of each of the would-be attackers. They all fall to the ground, holding their legs in agony. The boss pulls the trigger repeatedly at the masked man, but no bullets come out. The gun was empty. The boss trips over himself and falls backwards. The other man points the gun at the downed one and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens.
Boss: Look, we can talk this out. You can keep your money. I'll even give you this house. Just don't kill me, please!
Masked man: I have now fired five shots from this gun. Consider our game in overtime now. You saw the fifth shot was a blank, which means there's one left.
He tosses the gun to the boss.
Masked man: Now, pick it up. You're gonna point that gun at one of us, and you'll pull the trigger. If you point it at yourself and nothing happens, or you point it at me and a bullet comes out, then you win. However, if you point and shoot and a bullet rips through your skull, or you point at me and nothing happens, then I win. Four outcomes. Two favorable. Two unfavorable. A true 50/50 chance. Choose wisely.
The boss thinks out loud.
Boss: If I point the gun at you, then I survive regardless of the outcome. You walk away and my boys get medical attention. I just miss out on a big payday. No biggie, but that's what you want me to do. You want me to point the gun at you because you know it's empty. Why else would anyone do that? Not a bad trick, but not good enough! You're banking on me being too afraid to pull the trigger on myself, but you're wrong!
He points the gun at himself and laughs.
Boss: It's over, kid! I win!
He pulls the trigger and a bullet rips through his skull, killing him almost instantly. The other four guys could only watch in horror as their boss killed himself. The masked man doesn't say anything else as he injects them a serum that puts them to sleep before putting the vile in the boss's other hand. Finally, he grabs the briefcase and walks away, exiting the house and disappearing into the night.
Ultimate Despair Development Tracker
People imprisoned: 1
Death count: 1
Injury count: 5