Champagne-glasses clinked together, the large hall of the Magario manor alive with the buzz of conviviality. Wall to wall, the room was packed with the rich and clueless, merrily chattering away as waiters nimbly manoeuvred themselves through the crowd.

Lifting a glass from a passing tray, Neveah Brooklyn Poppette suppressed a slight sneer at the gathering before her. The vaporous and vapid elite of Las Vegas, all gathered before her, ready to have the skin pulled over their eyes once more. Ready to celebrate the newest exciting announcement her step-father, Richard Magario, owner of the MGM, had to make. Off course, for Neveah, the announcement would be no surprise. It had been in the works for many months, and the smug casino-owner had been boasting about his grand plans every evening since. He was, perhaps one of the most self-absorbed people she had ever had the displeasure of meeting. He was vain, cocky and arrogant. Self-absorbed and self-obsessed. He cared for nothing but himself- and the money and status he could acquire.

Of course, tonight's celebration was in his honor. He loved to throw lavish parties for the masses, to have them worship his generosity. Of course, his “generosity” was nothing more than marketing, sneaky underhanded tactics to ensure people would keep coming back to him. And of course, the “underground” betting at those events were a nice little earner, too. There was nothing the man ever did that would not actually benefit him in the long run.

Suddenly, the elegant classical music playing in the background dimmed to a silence, a hush falling through the crowds as the lights turned low. Upon the staircase, Davis called for attention, announcing the arrival of “the man of the hour, Richard Magario!”, to the cheering of many.

“Friends, friends, call me Richie.” Richard bellowed upon his entry, with that loud, obnoxious laugh of his, that self-congratulating sound so grating to her ears. He was the world's best comedian. At least in his own eyes.

“Dick's more suited.” Neveah muttered under her breath,an unimpressed expression upon her features. Somehow, that odd shortening of Richard was much more apt for the man that called himself her father. She refused to do so herself, much to his and her mother's chagrin. She still refused to use the man's name as her own.

Once again, she lifted the champagne-glass to her lips, surprised to find she had already finished it. Her eyes flicked to the side, scouting out the nearest waiter for another refill of the expensive beverage.

Aesa moved through the crowd of the manor, disguised as lowly waiter, scouting through the various figures. Old rich men which smug smiles and wives who's faces were stuck with the same Botox induced smiles. Aesa was here for one reason and one reason only, Richard Magario.

Aesa was called upon by a stunning young woman who clearly needed another drink, obviously not entertained by the lavish party. "Would you like another drink, ma'am?" He said in the nicest manor possible. She grabbed a drink from the tray he carefully balanced upon his right hand without a word. He took notice to her, who she was, what she was. She was Richard Magario's step-daughter.

He quickly moved him self away from the large room into the kitchen. Chefs carefully preparing meals and other waiters moving hastily through the kitchen, like ants. Aesa grabbed his phone from the inside pocket of his vest, this was no ordinary phone, it was heavily modified to gain access to various electronic systems. With a couple of taps and swipes the whole manor was reduced to darkness. Faint screams and panic could be heard from the large ball room where everyone was gathered. Aesa quickly moved through the kitchen and found a large fridge, inside he grabbed a cleverly hidden Colt 1911 pistol equipped with a silencer.

As he moved quietly through the panic you could hear various voices instructing the rich fools to remain calm. Little did they know as Aesa moved passed each and every one of them, their bank accounts were being reduced to nothing.

Aesa continued to move, gaining riches as various shadowy figures moved passed him. He saw the man, Richard Magario, and followed close behind. Bodyguards protected him, all adorned in bullet proof vests and equipped with high caliber weapons.

He could make the shot, but it would only lead to his own death. With that he moved down a staircase, removed his silencer, and popped off a couple shots to make the crowd panic more. The manor now on high alert Aesa moved quickly through the crowd and found him self in the front yard in no time. He removed his phone from his pocket and unlocked a car near him, a brand new all black Porsche. "This should work." He said impressed. As he got in a figure he knew approached the vehicle, did he take the wrong car? Does he drive off? He quickly thought over his options.

He rolled down the window, "Hello Neveah."

As she took the offered glass of champagne, Neveah's eyes scanned over the man ever so briefly. With a brief nod of thanks and the faintest hint of a polite smile, she dismissed the man, the look upon her features as bored and blank as it had been all evening.

Still, the man had not gone unnoticed. Much unlike her step father, the young woman was quite well acquainted with the waiting staff. Quite intimately so. And the man she had just encountered was not one of their regular waiters. Something rather unusual, given her step-father's deep-rooted paranoia. He always did insist upon the same staff for all of his parties. There was no loyalty behind it on his part – it was merely the fact they had been vetted, and proven trustworthy time and again. Not that the man would recognise the staff on sight – unlike Neveah, he had no interest in the people that catered to him, unless the flesh was young and the legs nice and long.

From the corner of her eyes, she followed the back of the newcomer's head as he moved through the crowd, her curiosity piqued.

“my darling wife, Vanessa. And of course, my precious little rascal, Neveah.” Her father's speech prompted, his wife already at his sight. His hand beckoned for Neveah to join him, the crowd parting slightly to make way for her. It took a moment for the girl to catch on, her attention far from the speech.

After a moment of reluctance, the girl obliged, forcing a smile upon her features for the crowd as her father's hand snaked around her waist, pulling her slightly too close. She grimaced slightly, teeth gritting slightly as she forced that bland smile, wishing for the man beside her to release her already.

He was cut short by the sudden exclamation of a hundred guests, gasping in unison as the power to the mansion cut out. Instantly, the guards on duty started ushering the usual words of crowd control. Her father instantly barked commands for him to be taken to safety, Vanessa clutching to him. Within the chaos of it all, Neveah slipped away, trying to break through the crowd.

It was in the front yard that she caught sight of the strange waiter again, moving through the crowd with a rather calm stride. Confident, in fact. Without even a second thought, she moved for him, reaching the car as the man prepared to take off. Almost to her surprise, he rolled the window down, greeting her upon sight. Really, his wisest move would've been to drive off. After all, how easy would it be fore her to call the guards on him?

“That was... sloppy.” She spoke, eyes crossing over the man once more.

Aesa chuckled at her comment. "It went semi-right. Besides, Richard has upgraded his security quite a bit since the last time I was around."

Aesa started the car and revved the engine. People continued to pour out of the mansion, moving to various cars and limousines. "Listen close Neveah, your step-father isn't going to be very happy for the next few weeks, because frankly, I'm not done tryin to ruin his life. Get out of town, or hide."

Aesa sped off leaving behind tire scuffs on the lavish driveway. He drove through the city until he reached a run down warehouse on the outskirts of town. With a press of a button, the garage door opened. As Aesa drove in, the lights began to illuminate the room. Computers and files lined the tables around the room. Aesa exited the vehicle and walked towards a rather bland wall. The wall began to rotate and with the full rotation revealed a large cache of weapons. After placing the pistol and silencer he used on the wall he moved to a computer. Plugging his phone into the computer, files upon files, filled the screen. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the desk.

'Sloppy... Ha! I know everything I needed to know!' As the computer continued to decode the various files Aesa moved to a small bed in the corner of the warehouse. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.

Bemused, Neveah watched as the man drove away, seemingly entirely unconcerned with the fact that he had left the scene of the crime with at the very least one witness who could identify him. The man was cocky. Or perhaps just very, very foolish. She wasn't sure which one it was. She was more inclined to believe the latter – he had virtually admitted to her that he had indeed been the culprit behind the chaos.

The man was odd indeed.

Still, what jarred her the most, had been his closing words. His warning that her father would be mad. And would continue to be for the next few weeks, as he had the intention to ruin the man's life.
Much as part of her wanted to see it happen, she knew the wiser step to take would be to testify to the police. To give a detailed description of the man responsible for the chaos.

If she didn't get him turned in, she knew she would be in trouble.

She didn't know what the man had done, or why he had done it. She didn't know what it was that he was planning to do. All that she knew, was that her stepfather had a vile temper, and any sabotage towards him, would eventually land on her. And much as the man had suggested she'd run or hide, the fact was that she couldn't. It wasn't that easy. It never had been.

She had tried.

It always ended badly.

So why didn't she contact the police?