The room had an aromatic smell, like smoked sherry and a lit, expensive cigar. In the back were two burly men, tall, and dressed in dark suits with leather, tight fit gloves. On the right, there were freshly dressed women, injecting what seems to be heroin in their veins. In the middle was a table, a closed pack of playing cards, top-shelf quality, and sitting at the table were a few middle-aged men, and one young man, mid-20's at the oldest. His prestigiousness radiated around the room, even these middle aged men who seemed to have racked up years of work under their experience seemed like servants to this man. It was clear, this was the Minister of Finance, Renji.
The dealer walked into the room, with black plastic gloves and a black and silver case, nobody could see his face, his black mask prevented any hope of identification, all you could see was his straight black hair which moved along with the air in the room. He locked the door behind him, and as soon as he reached the table, he placed the case down, and grabbed the pack of cards. As the dealer with the most authority within the Casino's organization he has the right to pick the game that is to be played, to bring a sense of mystery and surprise to the gamble.
The man in the black mask spoke with a raspy voice; "Good evening to every member present, the game will now commence."
The talking in the room stopped, every man at the table stopped their current activities and sat respectfully at the table, to play in the highest regard, and at the most well-known underground casino in all of Japan, it was an honour to make it there, and they would not let their chance go to waste.
The man spoke again, "For confirmation, the current 'players' are the Minister of Finance, the Head of the HaltViolence Charity Committee, and the CEO of the Manufacturing Company for the SNLF. Correct?"
All members, in unison, announced their name and respective positions, confirming their identities to the dealer.
"The game we will be playing is a special one, it will thrill you, it will scare you, it will excite you and so forth. I specifically created this game just for you, Kaito Renji, with you in mind, this game became fully possible and executable, and so I thank you." Spoke the man in black, staring directly at the Minister of Finance, giving him an odd glance.
"The game is called Death to the Bastard, the rules go as such:
• This game will have each and every aspect of the popular game; Blackjack, however it will include special aspects as I have said so previously.
• At the start of each round, the player will be given one card faced downwards, and one faced upwards. The player may glance at their card face down. If they are not satisfied with their pair given, they may ask for ONE card and one card only to increase the value of your hand.
• If you either go OVER 21, or your hand has the smallest value among the three of you, you will be given ONE strike.
• Each and every player has a maximum of TWO strikes. If the player goes over the strike limit, there will be a great debt paid to the DEALER.
• The DEALER is crowned 'FATHER', this title cannot be revoked, but really has no authority in this game other than a standing figure.
• The LOSER, as in the person who goes over, or reaches TWO strikes, is named the 'BASTARD'. Hence the game name, 'Death to the Bastard'. Again, this title has no significance here other than symbolism to make the game more interesting.
And one more thing." Exclaimed the dealer.
He opens up the black and silver case he had placed on the table earlier, inside the case was a CZ P-09 pistol, alongside it was a perfectly fitting silencer, and a mag filled with hollow points, which assures the death of the victim upon fire.
The dealer then grabbed the pistol, fitted the silencer at top speed and took out both the bodyguards in the back, one each to the frontal lobe, instant death. The girls in the room were passed out from overdose, they couldn't make a noise if they wanted to.
The middle-aged men felt frigid sweat run down their fat backs, they shouted and screamed, but the room was built to trap sound for the 'full-party experience".
"WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT KIND OF SICKENING GAME IS THIS, PUT DOWN THE GUN PLEASE, LET US ESCAPE WITH OUR LIVES." Screamed the CEO of the Manufacturing Company, how ironic.
"Nothing will change if you scream, you sit down or I shoot your limbs and let you bleed out in pain instead of putting you down quickly like I did your hires." Said the dealer, ordering the man, the other two men were petrified, one was almost crying. But the Minister of Finance was smart, calculating, manipulative, although scared he wouldn't show it, he instead told the man to sit down, and that everything was assured and in their favour. Somehow calming down both men, the dealer was almost amused at how he can lie through his teeth so easily. The outcome would not change, no matter how much they prayed to their Gods, or calculated the ratio of escape.
"As I was so rudely interrupted, the final rule of this game is that if you are named the BASTARD, you will be slaughtered by the FATHER, that is the 'price you must pay'. These rules are never to be explained again, there is nothing you can do to change the outcome, the only way you can escape is with your wits and with your luck, so you better have both or a bullet will be engraved between your eyes." Said the dealer, who so quickly changed the environment from friendly to menacing.
Tonight, these three men will be sent into an inferno of panic, dread, and betrayal, commandeered by this Apostle of Death, the wrath of the Wraith has come for the greedy.