Just Another Night at the Lucky 38

Posted on Sun Jan 18th, 2026 @ 6:19pm by Black Market Arturo Rosso

Mission: Tis the Season...
Location: Lucky 38 Casino
Timeline: Evening

Arturo Rosso walked through the Lucky 38 casino, scanning the floor with his eyes. Dressed in the dapper clothing of the Osiris gentleman he'd been before coming to Greenleaf, the gentleman he still considered himself to be, allowed him to move among the gamblers at the tables almost unnoticed. Most of the regulars, when only glancing around, often dismissed him as another fancy patron, a 'wannabe' gentleman, or perhaps even a real one. They were too busy gambling away their hopes and dreams and often, sadly, the food out of their families' mouths.

Arturo had once had pity in his heart for the gamblers at the table. But that was while Song Xiulan had been in his life. When his heart grew so large that it had love and compassion for everyone in the 'verse. Or at least that's what being with her had felt like. Then Xiulan left. She deserted him. She knew he couldn't leave, that he was effectively indentured to Brigadir Nikolai Udinov of the Bratva. If he had gone with her, the Bratva would have put a price on his head and would have put her in danger.

A better man would have let his lover go without complaint, putting her safety first. Arturo once thought he was, or at least Xiulan made him feel, like he was that better man. But when the time came, he wasn't. He was angry. They were perfectly safe on Greenleaf. They had a life here, such as it was. But Xiulan felt trapped. Arturo tried reason. When that didn't work, he pleaded compassion. When that didn't work, things got a bit nasty, until Arturo resigned himself to his fate, allowing the end to come amicably... sort of.

Arturo had been a happy, almost a comical parody of a proper gentleman before Xiulan left. But over the last six months... had it only been six months?!? It had. Over the last six months, Arturo had become harder, colder. He was still fair, but less compassionate. He tried to keep from becoming cruel. He was, sadly, not always successful.

Arturo's sharp eyes narrowed when he noticed someone at the blackjack table who was on a watchlist. The man was suspected of dealing in less-than-legal recreational pharmaceuticals, without Nikolai Udinov's blessing and without giving the Brigadir a cut of the profits. Worse, he wasn't careful about choosing a supplier or cutting the drugs. His stuff was often too strong or mixed badly with something toxic. Just as often, it was weak, which is the only reason a stack of bodies hadn't been tied to the Lucky 38.

Mack, Marshal Johanna Mackensie Shepard, had politely warned Arturo that there had been some questionable overdoses, some of them fatal, that 'evidence suggested' might be linked to drugs purchased at the Lucky 38. Mack didn't want to have to start scrutinizing the Lucky 38 or any part of Udinov's operation. She wasn't afraid, but she did have a good working relationship with Sasha Petrovich, the Bravta Pakhan, and that relationship kept the peace, or at least the status quo, fairly well. Mack didn't want to change that. Neither did Petrovich, and therefore neither did Udinov, and therefore neither did Arturo.

Arturo approached the man. He was Chinese, possibly a member of the Triads, but Arturo wasn't sure. If he was, that would be bad. Petrovich, and therefore Udinov, left the Triads to their business, as long as the Triads stayed in their lane. If he was a Triad, it meant that either the Triads were stepping out of their lane. If he was a Triad, the best possible outcome would be that he was acting alone. Otherwise... Arturo decided that was above his pay grade and he would leave it to his Brigadir to figure out unless asked to do otherwise.

"我相信有人已经告诉你不要靠近这里." he said. (I believe you have been told to stay away.) "So why are you here? And, for that matter, how did you get in?"

The man didn't even bother to try and talk his way out of the situation. Instead, he pulled a knife, which he shouldn't have been able to get through the door with. It was ceramic, but the scanner at the door should have caught the outline. Some one at the door was careless... or taking a pay off to let this idiot in. Arturo would probably be asked to look into that.

Arturo easily deflected the knife strike with his swordcane before he even unsheathed his sword. That came next, and his opponent soon found the point of Arturo's blade at his throat.

"One flick of my wrist," Arturo said. "And I'll kill you. Drop the blade."

The man complied but said nothing. A cool customer, then, Arturo thought to himself. Two associates had noticed Arturo approach the man and saw the attack. They immediately laid hands on Arturo's assailant, restraining him.

"Let's take him to see the Brigadir," Arturo said. "He'll figure out what to do next."

The two associates nodded and followed Arturo to Nikolai's office. Arturo stifled a sigh. Just another night at the Lucky 38.