Chapter 1

   "Amy, you are working travel plaza tonight."

I was overjoyed to hear this as it was a Friday night in November. Getting closer to Thanksgiving and the Casino gets crazier and crazier. Normally I wouldn't have minded the hustle of the weekend in security at one of the biggest casinos in Oklahoma, but tonight after I got off, I was picking up my kids from my toxic ex, and heading to Missouri. The family ranch was in Missouri and I was going to work cows before the holiday. I wouldn't have to deal with all the annoying chatter on the radio and the drunken guests forgetting how to act in public. TP (travel plaza) tonight was just what I needed before the 8 hour drive north. I gathered my stuff that I would need for my shift and checked out the keys for the Tahoe I would be driving to the TP. When I arrived I checked in with the cashier.

   "Hey Stacy," I greeted one of my favorite cashiers. She was a lot like me, and we spent our work time together talking shit about men and guests. She was working on some paperwork and greeted me with a distracted smirk. I went to check the office to see if there were any notes left, or reports of any incidents from the previous shift, nothing. This is a good start to my shift! I walked out onto the mini casino floor that is attached to the travel plaza. I spoke to a few guest along the way wishing them luck and letting my presence be known. I walked back to the cashier window, Stacy looked up to me already looking bored and half asleep.

   "I'm going to go grab some coffee, do you need anything?" I asked her.

RING! RING! RING! a bell blasted a few machines away from us. A loud cry of excitement came from the woman sitting at the game. I turned to Stacy as the lights and bells continued to alert, a smile on my face. She rolled her eyes, and gathered her keys and clipboard,

   "A salted caramel latte sounds amazing after you assist me with this payout." she said looking at me annoyed and grateful.

I walked over to the machine with the crying woman. She grabbed my hand telling me this was her first time to hit a jackpot. I shared in her excitement with her the best I could as this was an everyday occurrence for me. Removing my hand from hers I radio surveillance.

   "144 to surveillance."

   "Go ahead 144"

144 was my number, it's how dispatch and everyone else on our frequency identified who we were talking to, no names just numbers.

   "I have a payout with cashier326 at machine z-751 for $10,000.00"

   "We have eyes on you go ahead with the payout."

Stacy paid the customer and dealt with the paperwork and I cleared the call with surveillance. I made sure the guest was ok with that amount of money on her. She asked me if I could walk her out to the car so she could put the bulk of her money away. I took her out and waited until she had it locked away and she felt secure again. I then walked with her back inside and slipped out the side door for my coffee fix.

I returned with Stacy's latte and she greedily took it from me with a thank you evident on her face. The rest of the night followed about the same routine. Paying out jackpots of various sizes, retrieving jammed tickets, walking around and talking to various guests, and checking in with the ever present eye in the sky. As my shift neared the end I made my way back into the office to give a brief rundown of the shift for the next officer. I put my stuff in the back of the Tahoe and went back to the security suite, my mind already on the long drive ahead of me tonight.

I got to the security suite and turned my gun in. I was heading back out the doors when I hear,

"Who is 144?" someone shouted behind me.

I turn around to look and my heart stopped. My brain froze and I just stared. It was him.