'Holy shit, that nearly hit me in the head.' Sebastian had almost fired the wrist-mounted gun he was carrying. It was the prototype he'd been working on for the past few days.
It wasn't finished yet. Firing it burned his skin, but with his regeneration, that wasn't much of a problem. Just a painful one. He'd brought it to the casino as a little insurance. In the worst-case scenario, he could buy weapons from the system, something like a grenade. He could just throw it and kill everyone in the room. He'd regenerate afterward.
He felt Emma guide his hand farther up her thigh. He squeezed it, partly to settle his nerves. Sebastian Shaw had entered the room. Was this supposed to be good luck?
Fortunately, when he'd entered the room, Sebastian had managed to touch Emma before she could read his mind. That had allowed him to copy her telepathy and shield his thoughts. And Vinny, the idiot, had kept her close to him, giving Sebastian a real chance to copy her ability permanently.
An Omega-level mutant ability. He wanted to kiss Domino on the forehead. She'd probably ask for a slap instead.
But why had Shaw shown up here? Out of all the casinos in the world, he had to walk into the one owned by a Marvel supervillain. Well, finding Emma Frost made up for it somewhat.
Sebastian White felt his mutant-detection ability again as he looked at Shaw.
"Now, I was told that you, Mr. White, have been cheating in my casino." Shaw paid no attention to Vinny's claim that he had unfinished business with him.
"That's a lie," White replied. "They're just sore losers."
"He's a mutant," Vinny said from his chair. He was caught between two enemies who, curiously enough, were both named Sebastian.
"How interesting." White squeezed Emma's thigh. She'd been quiet ever since everything went to hell, although whenever she got the chance, she guided his hand farther and farther up her leg. It was now only inches from her crotch.
"Interesting?" Vinny repeated. He seemed to think White had some sort of complex.
"I can serve as a witness," Shaw said, interrupting them. His gaze was fixed on White, deep and penetrating. "We have ways of identifying mutants." He glanced at Emma.
She squeezed Sebastian's hand tightly.
"Am I one?" White asked.
"No."
"And how would you identify mutants?" Vinny demanded of Shaw. It was more an accusation than a question.
"That's none of your concern. But if you need proof, I know you brought one here today," Shaw told him. Vinny went pale.
"And you're saying he's not one?" Get faster updates on novelping.com.
"He isn't."
"How do I know the two of you aren't working together?"
"Mr. White won millions in my casino," Shaw said slowly. "Believe me, if he'd cheated, I wouldn't let him walk away with the money."
That seemed to take the wind out of Vinny's argument.
"Mr. Shaw," White spoke up. "One more bet. I'd like you to witness it, in case anyone claims there's cheating."
Sebastian Shaw studied the black-haired young man. He was young and, in his own way, rather interesting. When White had started winning money at the casino, Shaw had ordered someone to investigate his background.
An arms dealer selling unconventional weapons. Surprisingly, Shaw had already heard of those weapons, but he'd been unable to connect them to anyone. He'd been looking into major corporations. Who would have thought the source was a small shop in Queens?
This was a man he could use. Those weapons could be sold on a much larger scale. Not just a little store, but an arms-manufacturing giant. A giant beneath his feet.
He'd had Tessa look for the X-gene in him. She hadn't found an active one, at least. She said it was there, buried deep, latent, not yet awakened. That made White even more interesting.
"Very well, Mr. White. That should put Mr. Lavecchia's mind at ease."
Shaw had no interest in Vinny. He was just a gangster who'd tried to make Shaw pay protection money for his casino in Las Vegas. As though a human could offer him any kind of protection.
Humans were as fragile as paper.
"You're out of chips, Vinny," Sebastian White pointed out. "What about her?" He gestured toward the woman beside him. "I'll bet everything I've won today. Not just from you, but from the casino too. Around thirty million dollars."
She was a mutant as well, and a powerful one, according to Tessa. Shaw wanted her too.
White seemed to want her as well. How unpleasant. Did Shaw have to choose between the two? No. If he made White his man, the other mutant would be his too. He'd let White have her for now. Eventually, she'd be in Shaw's hands.
Shaw waited for Vinny's answer. The man looked at the woman as though she were his greatest treasure. But greed for the thirty million appeared to win out, and he accepted the wager.
"But... poker would be boring," Vinny said. "Marcus," he called to a man beside him, one of his lackeys, "give me your revolver." You are reading on g.com, the official source.
"Russian roulette?" White asked with an amused smile.
"That's right. Unless you're too much of a coward," Vinny said, grinning from ear to ear. He was thoroughly unpleasant.
'White isn't afraid. He'd certainly be a valuable asset. Although if he dies here, he'll have only his own stupidity to blame.'
"Very well, kid," Vinny said, though his confidence wavered. He'd probably expected Sebastian to run. "After this, I'll settle my business with you."
"Business with me?" Sebastian Shaw smiled mockingly, looking at Vinny as if he were a cockroach. "What business?"
"Your casino in Las Vegas. You don't pay for protection."
'And I never will. If you don't die here, you'll die the moment you leave the casino.' Shaw regarded him like a cockroach before speaking. "We'll settle that later. Begin."
Vinny took the gun, emptied the revolver, and picked up a single bullet. He showed it to White.
"Take a good look," Vinny said. "It'll be inside your head in a few minutes."
"You'll be the only one touching it today." Sebastian White sounded confident.
White wasn't afraid. It was a weapon, so Divine Insight would tell him exactly how it worked and what was inside it, including where the bullet was. The only immediate way he could lose was if the bullet ended up in the second chamber.
If that happened... well, that was what Deadpool's abilities were for. And with Domino's luck, it was practically impossible anyway.
Vinny pressed the gun beneath his chin and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
Sebastian took the revolver Vinny handed him. The moment he touched it, he sensed the bullet's position. It would take five more pulls of the trigger for the gun to fire.
"What's the matter, kid? Scared?" Vinny asked. "You can back out, but the thirty million will be mine."
'It's rigged,' Sebastian thought, taking a peek inside Vinny's mind. The revolver had a special mechanism that always made the bullet end up in the final chamber. That way, Vinny would take the first, third, and fifth turns, while his opponent took the second, fourth, and sixth.
That way, Vinny always won.
'I think I'll keep it.'