Edgar nodded without taking his eyes off either of the guards.

"Been knocked around worse Miss. I'm sure I'll get knocked around again."

He took one small step to the side to give her a wide berth so she could have a clear line of sight on all three of the men in the room.

"So. We aren't just going to leave are we? You're going to want some kind of retaliation against him I'm guessing. I don't blame you, but I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

He let his eyes flick back and forth across the room to keep an eye on everyone as best he could.

"Me? Getting myself into? This could have been an easy problem to solve, all this jackass over here had to do was follow my three simple steps. But no, instead he finds the best solution was to strike me." Melanie smirked, which cause a slight pain the go up the side of her face.

"You, yeah you're the jackass. Come here!"

The two guards took a step towards each other to guard the pit boss. It was a valiant effort on their parts to protect their boss but they chose the wrong person to protect.

"Step aside guys."

She raised her gun up from her side and aimed it in the middle of the guards. Though the sight of the gun was a bit frightening the two men held their ground. The one even mocking her slightly. "Do you even know how to use that?" 

"Is that a dare?"

Melanie looked over at Edgar. "That almost sounded like a dare, didn't it?"

Edgar nodded.

"It sounded like a dumbass comment is what it sounded like. You know, like the big man thinks the little girl can't shoot a gun." He smirked back toward the guard himself then and silently said a prayer that the woman next to him really did know how to use that damned thing.

"I figure at least two of these guys are dead now, after that comment? Yeah, at least two."

He slipped his knife from his boot then.

"Although the longer we wait, the more they have a chance to get antsy out there and bring help."

"Yeah you're right!"

Melanie turned her head towards the guards once more, aimed the gun towards the guard in question. "Oh I'm soo sca..." Before he could finish that thought Melanie squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew straight and hit the guard square between the eyes, causing a splatter of blood to hit the other guard and pit boss.

Both men both instantly screamed, it was a blood curdling. Made her ears ring even more then they already were.

"Shut up! I thought you two were men."

She directed the gun towards the other guard who immediately dropped to the ground, pleading for his life. She looked at him and then the pit boss. "Any question on my gun accuracy or my craziness?" Both men shook their heads from side to side.

"So, my money. Where is it?" Neither of the men answered.

Melanie took in a deep breath and asked again, this time a bit louder. "I'm going to ask again, WHERE IS MY MONEY?"

Melanie pointed the gun towards the other guard, causing him to spill the location. "It's in his office, all of it." Melanie motioned to Edgar. "You want to take him to the office and grab it, while I keep our good friend the pit boss company?"

Edgar shrugged and motioned with his knife for the other man to stand. The bigger man did, but did not take his eyes off of the woman in the room. As the two exited, Edgar was less afraid of the pit boss, or the woman than he was of the man in front of him. After all, he only had a knife.

Thankfully the man was so shaken by the events of what happened in that back room that he didn't even look back toward Edgar as they made their way to the office. Edgar watched as the big man opened the door, and took a step inside. That's when he made his own move. He stepped fast, and slashed with the knife at the back of the man's knee so he would drop. He yelped in pain, but he did drop to his knee and Edgar used all of the force of his coming down to jam his knife upward into his chin and skull.

Instantly the man fell over as his blood started to pool beneath his head. Edgar closed the door, and then scattered about the room grabbing everything, not just the brown bag of money on the desk. He grabbed books, he grabbed cigars, he grabbed the bottle of whiskey in the drawer. As soon as he had an armful, he opened the window and started tossing things out. Everything that wasn't nailed down for about one full minute went out that window except the bag of cash. That bag he stuffed into his jacket and took his knife back and cleaning it off on one of the spare jackets left in the room.

Then he made his way calmly back to the interrogation room and let himself in.

The door opened to the room with only Edgar stepping in. She didn't even have to ask, she knew what happened but he did have the bag of cash.

"Close the door please." She politely asked him, he was rather prompt in closing it. 

Edgar walked over to the table and placed the bag down. "I'm not sure if it's all there but it's all the money in his office I could find." Melanie nodded, she wasn't overly worried about the cash at this point. Hell she had no idea how much was actually in there but it didn't matter it was the principle of it all.

She glanced over to the pit boss then over to Edgar.

"Remember when I asked you if you wanted to make some real money?"

He nodded.

"Well here is your first opportunity, that bag of money on that table is yours." His eyes lite up a bit. "It's yours if you teach this man a lesson."

Melanie flipped the gun around in her hand and reached it towards Edgar.

"What do you say?"

Edgar took a deep breath and nodded.

"I suppose we can't leave without him also not being able to talk right?" He shook his head. "Damn."

He reached out and took the gun from the woman in front of him, then spun held it against the man's brow and watched as the beads of sweat filtered around the cold steel.

"I think I quit."

He pulled the trigger and jumped ever so slightly. He had never shot a gun before. The kick back from the beast in his hand was more than he expected, and the spray was something he was never going to forget again. But on the other end of things, the power behind it was something to behold. There was no tactic to it, as long as you hit, it was dead pretty much. No thinking about how to do it like he did with the other guy, just pull, bang, dead.

He felt a hand on his then and looked in the direction of the woman in the room. She was next to him, clearly she wanted her gun back. Edgar nodded and release his grip on it.

"Yeah, uh, sorry."

He could still smell the powder from the gun, but he could also swear he could smell a sweet perfume too. He took another deep breath and stood up a bit straighter and smiled.

"So, I came into some extra cash recently, you want to maybe get some dinner with me? I'd really like to learn your name miss."

For a slight moment Melanie wasn’t sure he was gonna be able to go through with it but she quickly stopped thinking that when the blast of the gun went off, causing brain matter and little pieces of bone to splatter against the wall. She smirked then made her way over to Edgar, placing her hand on his shoulder and motioning for the gun with the other. 
 

Once in her possession, Melanie tucked the gun back onto her waist. She didn’t even clean it off, what was the point. She was already bloody and dirty, no sense doing it proper now. Though she did straighten herself out a bit, just enough to at least feel presentable. That’s when Edgar spoke up, his comment made her smile. 
 

“As great as an idea that sounds like, it might be time to exit Las Vegas. I think I’m gonna try and catch the next flight back to Philadelphia.”

Melanie stepped over the pooling blood and reached for the door before looking back. 
 

“I’m about to start up a little business venture out there, could use a good man such as yourself. That is if you’re willing to relocate, I’d make it worth your while. What do you say?”

Edgar shook his head as he too stepped over the man.

"I thought I was supposed to sweep the damsel off her feet, not the other way around." He reached back toward the table and grabbed the bag, taking it with them as they left the room.

"Could be worse though I suppose. I mean, getting out of Vegas is probably a good idea, and I don't have family anywhere else. How soon are we talking here? Should I stop by my folks' or should I drop them a line when I get to Philly?"

“Well, that’s up to you. If you have things to sort out then by all means sort them out.”

Melanie peered back into the room, the room now with the two bodies in it. There was so much blood it was starting to run into the hallway. 

”If you stay, I’d just maybe lay low for a little while. Conduct your business at night type of thing, they’re gonna be looking for people responsible and I’m sure they’re gonna look into every employee on the books this evening.”

She motioned with a head nod to follow her down the hallway towards the back door. 

”If you can’t come now but decide to come later, just ask around for me in the Callowhill neighborhood.”

She went to open the door but couldn’t remember if she had ever told him her name. 

”By the way, the is Melanie Thomas.” She said with a wink before pushing the door opened.

Edgar followed Melanie out into the street and then reached out to take her hand.

"Not that way, follow me, there's something else I need to show you."

He pulled her along, not aggressively, but trying at least to get her to follow willingly until they came to the back alley where he had tossed all the items from the office.

"I knew I couldn't very well walk through the hallways with all this stuff, but maybe you want some of it. Books, Ledgers, bottle of whiskey. You have a gun, and you're from the East coast. I'm guessing you're into some stuff I'm not supposed to know about." He put his hands up defensively. "Not asking, don't want to know, but I gotta pay you back for doing me a favor. That's how this works right? So. This what all I could think to do."

He picked up the ledger from the manager's office, and handed it over to Melanie.

"And you can call me Edgar, or Eddie, or just Ed, whatever you want, Melanie." He smiled then as he gathered the loose papers on the ground.

Melanie took a step to the right when she felt the gentle but stern pull towards the left. It was Edgar, he apparently had something he needed to show her, what she had the slightest idea. It wasn’t until they hooked the corner of the building down the back that she saw the mess of things laying all about. 

It wasn’t just your normal junk but in fact, some nice high quality stuff. A couple full bottles of fine whiskey, one of which was cracked and leaking. Some books, some papers and a ledger. Her eyes lit up. She didn’t want to seem over excited but this ledger was worth a fortune in the right hands and hers were those hands. 

She watched as he bent over to pick it up and then hold it out in her direction. Taking it from his hands she opened it up and skimmed through a couple pages before closing it up and tucking it under her arm. 

”This is brilliant! It’s like holding the keys to the kingdom.” Melanie smiled then bent down to pick up one of the non broken bottles. “Just when I didn’t think you could impress me anymore, you went and did this. We can definitely get out of here now, unless there is something else in that pile you specifically want.” 

She could here a scream come from inside the building. 

”Eddie.... Ed... EDGAR! Let’s roll.”