2007-04-27: Vegas Heat

Starring:

Desmond_icon.gif Pamela_icon.gif

Summary:

On the run from the Company, Pamela makes it to Vegas with Joey and Julie in tow and stops by a casino to secure some airfare for herself and her niece and nephew. While there, she meets Desmond, who is more than happy to help her relax and enjoy Nevada's hottest city.

Date It Happened: April 27th, 2007

Vegas Heat


A Casino in Las Vegas

The desert of Las Vegas. Pamela and her neice and nephew, Julie and Joey, have finally arrived, after several days of hitch-hiking across the U.S. Pam's car ran out of gas long ago, so they had to walk and rely on the transportation of others to help them. Not having her wallet, Pamela didn't have any money to spend on food or water or hotels. She had to either rely on hand-outs, or earn money doing random jobs for people.
At times, when she was unable to find either generous individuals, or work, she had had to do things she was not proud of to be able to keep Julie, Joey, and herself fed. Stealing was the least of those, and the worst will be left unsaid, though probably has already been guessed.
And the entire trip, she kept on being asked, 'Why?' Why were they doing this? Why were they running? Why had the house caught fire like that? And all Pamela could tell them was that there were bad people after them, but that once the two kids were safe, they wouldn't come after Julie or Joey anymore. But all that was behind them. They were in Las Vegas now, and Pamela could drop off her neice and nephew and the house of a friend that lived here, and then figure out what to do next.
The sun beating down on the tall blonde, and the dry, hot air, do nothing to make her feel cleaner, as sweat runs all over her body. She's wearing the same clothes she was when she left the house a week or so ago—a small red t-shirt that hangs open at the bottom, and some blue shorts. She hasn't had a bath since a hotel three days ago, and the dust and dirt of the desert are all over her and the two kids.
But they're in the city now, assaulted by the noise and the distracting sights, and generally just overwhelmed and exhausted. There's a man that works at a Casino owned by someone named 'Linderman' who has always had a crush on Pam. She hopes that will be enough to get him to buy tickets for the three of them to Japan. Pamela has more friends over there, people who will help her find work, and get back on her feet, and shelter and care for them. She just has to try to remember which casino it was…

That's easy: it's the casino in which Desmond now sits. He came here for a business meeting — but it's Vegas! Who doesn't take a few extra days in Vegas? His business meeting was yesterday evening (a fine dinner in a sushi restaurant during which he charmed his investor to near-death), but the actor's plane doesn't leave until early tomorrow. Desmond is currently playing at a blackjack table and doing quite well for himself, considering. Unlike the unfortunate soul searching for a savior, he's dressed neatly and cleanly in a suit, however it lacks a tie and the collar is unbuttoned. Here in Vegas, his celebrity status is much more subdued than it would be in New York, and it's quite a relief for him. Sometimes, the fans are just harrowing.

Having poked into a number of casinos so far, to ask if a 'Chet Muir' was working there, and being booted out of a number of them based on the condition of her clothes, before she could find out the answer, Pamela finally arrives in the right casino. She meets up with Chet, who is appalled to see and hear Pamela's condition and story, respectively. He gets permission for her to stay in the casino's hotel, especially after he learns she has her sister's kids to take care of, who Pamela describes as being even worse off than her (then again, the two kids aren't gorgeous blondes, and in Chet's eyes, even all dirty, Pam is smoking hot). He'll pay for the room himself, even!
So Pamela thanks him, making sure to be >extra nice< because this guy is her only chance of getting out of the country at this point, and then heads up to the hotel room. After a shower, and having her outfit washed, and brought back to her, she is headed out into the casino proper to wait for Chet's shift to end. She stops nearby one of the blackjack tables, just to watch. She has no money to gamble, and wouldn't be dumb enough to do so if she did. She doesn't need to draw attention to herself. She just happens to be standing next to Desmond (because, there's no such thing as coincidence in Heroes. Duh. ;> ), and leans on the edge of the table, with her hands. She's tall, so this means her rear is sticking out pretty far behind her. Someone at another table chokes on his drink seeing her, and a dealer shuffles a deck of cards into a woman's face when he notices as well. There are various shouts from the table at the dealer's clumsiness, but Pam just glances back, then returns to watching.
Hair clean, and still shiny with moisture, Pam flips it over her shoulder and smiles at Desmond. "Doing good tonight?" she asks.
This is after Pamela dropped off Julie and Joey at her friend's place, to clarify. The house was found fairly quickly.

Being male and being, well, himself, it would take some doing for Desmond to not notice when Pamela comes over to stand next to him at the table. He offers her a genial, faint smile after taking in his eye's fill, then peeling up the corners of his cards to glimpse his hand. A jack of spades, a queen of hearts, dealer showing a seven of clubs; he splits the cards and taps each one once with his index finger. The dealer promptly slides him two more cards, one for each face card. "Quite," the actor intones as he sets another pile of chips on the split. "Are you looking to be dealt in?"

Pamela watches the cards, and then shakes her head in response. Rather than reveal she is broke, she says, "No, I feel my luck has almost run out. A long string of losses, and nothing to show for it. Think I'll just watch for now. Maybe you'll rub off on me." She tilts her head and grins. "Your luck, I mean." She then sets about watching, straightening up and crossing her arms under her chest.
She has time to kill, and she wants to relax after all the stress of the past week. Hanging around people having fun, even if she can't participate, is one way to get that relaxation. This guy is easy on the eyes, too. Maybe she'll invite him to join her in the hot tub later. That would be awesome for unkinking all her sore muscles.

"Mm, that is a pity," intones Desmond in an almost absent sort of way as he again looks at his cards. Blackjack on one, an eight of diamonds on the other. This seems to be his night. He waves a hand flatly over the cards, signalling that he's good with what he has, then turns his attention fully to Pamela as the other players make their moves. "Pull up a chair anyway. Studies show that the success of rubbing off is directly related to proximity." The smile grows briefly, wryly when he adds, "Luck, that is."

Grinning, Pamela does as asked, and pulls up a chair, sitting down by Desmond. "My name is Pamela. You can call me Pam, though." She offers her hand, incase Desmond wants to shake hands. "Staying in Vegas long?" she asks, as she absently checks her pocket with her other hand to make sure she has the hotel room key there. She does, and turns in her seat so that her full attention is on Desmond. For some reason, she feels refreshed, energetic, and is actually having fun just talking to this guy. Amazing what a difference a shower and being several hundred miles away from a crazy electro-bitch can make. She almost feels like she can forget about the entire trip she has been on, and all the things that happened during it.
That energy, and fun attitude may be evident in her voice and body language. Maybe Pam is just looking for something to get her mind off her troubles, but that's hardly a crime, is it?
GAME: Save complete.

If it is, Desmond could be arrested a few times. As the dealer flips over his cards to reveal an even 17, the actor smiles wider as his chips are passed back to him with the added amounts attached. It's a good night for him. He's on a roll. Pamela's offered hand is taken, but instead of being shaken, Desmond lifts it to place a small, chaste kiss on the back of it. "Desmond," he responds. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Pam. I am in Vegas until tomorrow. My flight leaves at 9:00AM." He sets out another small pile of chips and is dealt another pair of cards: eight and two.

Pam smiles broadly at the kiss on the back of her hand, fighting back the urge to giggle like a little girl. Instead she says, "I don't expect to be here much longer either… I have a room for the night, but whether I stay around depends on some other things." Pamela considers, and decides to tack on a little white lie. "I'm taking my sister's kids on vacation." Then with a cheery voice, she says, "Next stop: Japan!"
Then she looks down at the table for a moment, looking over the colored chips, before raising her eyes back up and saying, "Well, if neither of us is going to be here that long, I suppose we should make the most of what time we have…"
Pamela isn't a genius, but she's also not dumb. She knows she looks good, she knows that she's flirting, and she knows that she has to try to convince someone she hasn't seen in years to shell out for three tickets to Japan, and if she doesn't keep that someone happy… Well, Chet may decide not to help her any further. She already expects she'll have to do either owe Chet a favor, or reward him physically for his assistance.
But she doesn't want to. She never asked to be saddled with these kids. She has grown closer to them during the trip here, but they still aren't her own children, and she wants to live her own life. Deciding, as she is wont to do, that she comes first, and she'll figure something out for the kids, she plows ahead and makes her tone light and innocent, while her eyes are anything but, as she says, "When you're done mopping up here, maybe you can join me at the hot tubs." She arches her back and raises her arms over her head, crossing them, and streeeetching, thrusting her chest out, as she says, "The trip here was awful, and I'd love to just be able to relax… Unwind… Mmmm… And have some fun." She lowers her arms again as she opens her eyes and looks back at Desmond.
Someone across the table shoves his entire stack of chips forward, when he has a two and a three, because he's so… Distracted by that display.

Meanwhile, Desmond still seems to be quite in control of his faculties in light of such a display, though this hardly means he's not /looking/. Oh no, he is looking, and his smile grows. "I was considering this my last hand anyway," he notes with a soft chuckle as he taps the table again with one finger and is passed a card. A nine of hearts. He holds there, eyeing the dealer's upturned king a bit incredulously. "Lugging two children to Vegas can be harrowing, I'm sure. Lugging them all the way to Japan will be even more so. If you are looking for a little relaxation, you've certainly come to the right place." The dealer flips his card — an eight — and Desmond gathers his winning chips with a contented smile. It's always nice to end on a winning note. His gaze goes to Pamela, along with a slightly lifted eyebrow. "That's my cue to cash out."

Pam nods and grins, pushing her chair back and getting to her feet. "I'll give you some time to get your swimming shorts, and I'll meet you at the pool. Sound good?" She turns to walk away, but keeps looking over her shoulder at Desmond, waiting for his response. She has a coy look on her face, and if she receives a 'Yes' to her question, she saunters off, keeping the fact she has no clue what she's going to wear in the hot tub out of her expression. She didn't bring a swimsuit after all.

Desmond picks up the bucket sitting beside his chair and gathers his chips into it. It's Vegas: of course he brought trunks. Swimming is one of his favorite things to do. "Sounds good," he responds agreeably, sending a smirk Pamela's way before he sets off for the teller. All-in-all, it was a good haul for him. Blackjack is really just his game.

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