Double Reverse

 277.

"Its the oldest trick in the book," Sharkey notes, "They call it RPO these days, run-pass option, but since the Lombardi days it was common strategy to run first and pass only when the run option fails."

Bess is listening with one ear as she keeps a vigilant scan on the crowd, now peaked at house capacity, and then some. The game is a score away from being over midway through the final quarter, Rams getting roasted. Under normal circumstances Sharkey might feel a bit depressed, especially in light of losing a substantial amount of money on his prediction. Contrary, he is elated that The Queen has created this no-lose scenario. All he has to do now is run his ticket to the cashiers cage and collect. His math tells him that the payout should be well over two million.

Bess appears to need a shot of WD-40 on her neck as she twists to surveil the crowd with concern and frequency. The gift bottle of expensive champagne rests table-side in a bucket of fresh ice, almost empty from her regular trips to the ladies room to empty her glass.

Sharkey notices that the crowd is now reduced to fans of the winning team, the losing folks evidently gone for greener pastures and either more depressant intake or sleep. Either way a hangover from the embarrassing loss and the booze overfill is almost certain when the sun rises in the morning.

Sharkey scans the cashiers cage and sees a surprising number of gamblers already queued up despite the fact that there is over three minutes remaining in the game. The cashier sits patiently with a disinterested visage, two security guards flaking on either side looking equally grim.

The clock tics down its final seconds with those in line singing along, always faster and faster as they go. Sharkey pours them each a glass and holds his in the high gesture of the winning toast. They sip once and he is off to collect the booty, Bess watching with a focus bordering on parental.

Sharkey is joined almost immediately by a portly man in a cheap suit. He is carrying a newspaper and his folded overcoat draped over his left forearm and what appears to be a wager ticker in his right hand. He stands immediately behind Sharkey, perhaps, she thinks, a little too close. They are fourth in line.

As they arrive at the cashier's cage two men she had been watching for almost four hours move past her in a hurried gait towards the cashier. Her internal alarm sounds loudly and clearly. She stands and follows them at a close but safe distance, reaching into her purse for the brass.

Sharkey is next in line but before he can move into the lead spot another man moving from the opposite direction, and appearing intoxicated, bumps into Sharkey. The portly man behind reaches for - and grabs - the million dollar ticket from Sharkey's unsuspecting hand. He makes an immediate hard left and walks towards the two men Bess is tailing. She recognizes it in a nano-second and screams: "Double reverse," in Sharkey's general direction.

The portly man, in a well rehearsed and almost invisible move, hands off the ticket to one of the two men walking in the other direction, back towards the cashier's cage. Bess, her right hand adorned with a five finger ring of brass, takes the portly perp down with one perfectly placed punch. Sharkey, hearing Bess' warning call sees the two men approaching and steps in to meet them as they try to hurry past.

"That's far enough, gentlemen, game over. Cough up the ticket."

One on the men reaches inside his jacket pocket. He is met half-way by six of Goldson's security guards, two of which have weapons drawn and pointed at the pair of perps.

In the heat of the skirmish neither Bess nor Sharkey noticed Goldson himself entering from behind the cashier's cage. He stands between Sharkey and the two perps, both with their hands over their heads. A security guard pats them down finding the ticket easily and handing it to Goldson with a solemn nod of security success.

Goldson smiles. It is the grin of a fox as the chickens realize their fate. He turns to Sharkey and simply says, "My office in ten minutes, please." He then turns back and shakes his head in disbelief at the ineptitude of the foiled plan and its executors, reminding them that their play was, "The oldest trick in the book."

They are escorted away by the security posse but not before stopping to scrape the portly perp from the carpet on their way.

Sharkey asks Bess if she is OK as they turn to make their way towards Goldson's office.

"Double reverse, how'd you know?"

"Oldest trick in the books."

"Riiiight," he says with complete respect and total admiration.