Prologue - Welcome to Gambit Island
“There he is!!! The Lucky Dragon Prince!!!
“He touched my hand… HE TOUCHED MY HAND!!!”
“Sign my chest!!!”
“You… you really are a legend…”
“Damn, he won again.”
“You are AWESOME!!!”
“My, my. Mister Drake, you're quite the gentlemen.”
“Spike, I… I love you.”
“OH! Harder Spike! HARDER!!!”
“Sweety, Your aunt and I are starting to get very worried about you.”
“Sooner or later, that luck of your’s is going to run out.”
“Just because you’re on top of the world, doesn’t mean you can act like a jackass!”
“YOU WOMANIZING PIECE OF SHIT!!!!!!!”
“You can’t buy love Spike.”
“Uh, dude. I think you’ve had enough.”
“Well, well Mr. Drake, looks like I won…”
KABOOOOOM
Spike suddenly jolted awake, springing right up and panted heavily, covered in cold sweat. After catching his breath, Spike lets out a loud sigh before plopping back down on his bed.
It’s been three years since he had everything and then lost everything. Almost everyone he knew back then are either dead or want nothing to do with him now. Now twenty-five years old, he lives in a decent-sized cottage with the remaining family he didn’t know he had until after the… incident.
Spike could hear the crashing of waves outside his window and the sound of seagulls. He looks out and sees that the sun is starting to rise.
Spike sighed once again and decided to make coffee for everyone before they woke up. So he got up, stretched his arms a little, put some clothes on and went down stairs.
Fly Me to the Moon - Frank Sinatra
Gambit Island. A tropical island resort that’s located near the Bahamas and boasts almost a dozen casinos, luxurious hotels, a colossal mega mall, a massive movie theater that rivals the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in L.A., a pool house that has over thirty pools, and over a hundred stores, cafes, and restaurants.
The whole island was run by casino mongol Albert Gladmane the third. He doesn’t run the whole place on his own, however, Gladmane’s seconds-in-command are twin brothers, Flim and Flam, who also act as his chief advisors. With the duo’s sense of showmanship and business, Gladmane is able to run his island with top efficiency.
However, Gladmane is not without controversy. Rumor has it that he does shady deals with criminal organizations and has committed multiple white collar crimes but there hasn’t been any hard evidence to prove this. Flim and Flam are also rather infamous as well as they are well known to be sleazy con men who take shortcuts and try to make quick get rich schemes that, more often than not, results in the injuries of many. It’s because of these that both the FBI and Interpol are keeping a very close eye on Gladmane and the brothers.
Regardless, Gladmane is a rather competent business man who knows how to keep the gears turning and the guests coming, and his island is a fine testament to that.
At the resort’s airport, a young woman of eighteen years has just stepped out of one of the planes that had recently landed and is now making her way to the lobby to pick up her bags.
In appearance, the young woman has a long-ruffled pale light grayish olive with streaks of light tangelo hair, tied in a ponytail by a red band, fiery brilliant gamboge eyes, and wore a light cerise jacket over a black belly shirt that showed off her soft stomach, gray jeans, and yellow go-go boots.
This was Luster Dawn, she recently graduated from highschool and is going to be spending her summer vacation at this island resort. Another reason is that both of her half-sisters have applied for jobs here. One has gotten a job as a chef at a Japanese restaurant, while the other was hired for the assistant manager position.
Neither of them won’t be here till the end of the week, so Luster can enjoy the island by herself until then. They also managed to reserve one of the ocean view beach huts just for her during her stay on the island.
Luster was now outside of the airport until she saw a small tour bus pull up. Grabbing her luggage, Luster made a dash to the bus. Once she got inside the vehicle, she was greeted by the bus driver.
In appearance, the driver was a tall man with brilliant green eyes, wavy, dark brown hair. For attire, he wore a yellow Hawaiian shirt, brown shorts and a pair of sandals.
“Welcome to Gambit Island, M’lady!” The man said in a cheery tone, “Anywhere in particular you want me to take you?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, can you take me to Bungalow 32? I have a reservation there.” Luster replied.
“Ooooh, that one has some of the best views on the island. I’ll take you there likity split.” The driver replied as he put the pedal to the metal, causing Luster to nearly fall on the floor in which she glared at the driver.
After dropping her things off at the bungalow, Luster Dawn then took the tour to the District where most of the buildings are located.
On the way there, the driver decided to bring up some idle chit-chat, “Name’s Cheese Sandwich. Yours?”
“Luster Dawn.” She replied.
“So Luster, first time here on Gambit Island?”
“Yeah, both of my older sisters got jobs here but they sort of got held up a bit, so they won’t be here for a few days.” Luster answered.
“That’s good to hear. You gonna go to the slots and try to win some moolah?” Cheese asked, making a money gesture with his hand.
Luster shook her head and answered, “I don’t gamble. Big waste of time in my opinion. I rather spend my money on the arcades then blow it all in the casinos.”
Cheese just shrugged, “Eh, I can understand that. Gambling’s not for everyone. As my older brother, BLT, used to say; The only winning move is not to play.”
They soon arrived at the District and Luster hopped off the bus.
“Have fun out there, Miss Dawn.” Cheese said to her, “Oh, and be careful. This place also attracts… desperate folks too.” He warned.
“Don’t worry Mister Sandwich, I’ll watch my back.” Luster assured him before the driver took off, leaving her at her own devices.
Just then, Luster’s stomach made a loud rumble which made blush. ‘I haven’t eaten anything since I got off that plane.’ She said inwardly to herself, ‘I should probably get a bite before I start checking the place out.’
Luster looked around and spotted something that piqued her interest. It was a small building that looked like a small deli with a sign that said, Williams’ Deli.
“Perfect.” Luster said as she made her way over there.
Chainsaw — Cowboy's Last Ride | The Gunstringer OST (Soundtrack)
When Luster got inside, she saw how lively it was. Customers were looking through the deli’s menu and there were chairs and seats inside where they could eat and drink.
Luster went up to the register and rang a little bell next to it.
“Coming.” A female voice called out. Stepping out was a woman in her mid-twenties. In appearance she has blue eyes and thick blonde hair tied in a ponytail which flows down her back and just past her waist, to the seat of her jeans. For attire, she wears blue jeans and an orange short-sleeved shirt, with brown boots plus a matching vest and belt. She also wore a white apron.
“Welcome to Williams’ Deli. How can I help?” The woman asked.
Luster looked at the menu for a good minute before answering, “I would like to have a patty melt with a side of seasoned fries and a large drink, please.”
The woman smiled and nodded, “Coming right up. It’s probably going to take a few minutes, so why don’t you take a seat.” She said as she gave Luster her cup.
Luster nodded as she grabbed the cup and made her way to the fountain. She filled her cup with some ice and then Mountain Dew Baja Blast before finding an empty chair and table.
After finding her seat, Luster looked around. This place certainly had a sort of southern-western vibe to it with many decorations that looked like they were from the Wild West.
As Luster continued to look around however, She noticed a door that said Spike Drake, P.I. and next to it was a large window where she could see the back of someone sitting down.
Not long after, the person got up and Luster got a better look at them. It was a man in his mid-twenties with green hair and eyes. From what she could tell from the guy’s physique, he was built like a middle-weight boxer. For attire, he wore a purple shirt with the image of a dragon on it, black jeans, and purple shoes. He also wore a light brown trench coat which almost made him look like one of those detectives from tv.
The man went over to a mini fridge that was next to him, opened it up, and grabbed a bottle of soda.
Luster also noticed a burnt scar on the right side of his neck. Even at a young age, Luster could be able to read people pretty well and she could tell from the burnt scar and serious demeanor that this guy has been through quite a lot.
Luster soon realized that the man was glaring at her. Nervously, she just waved at him but the guy continued to glare at her before opening his drink and taking a swig. He then went back to his seat, drink in hand.
‘Yep, definitely been through quite a lot.’ She said in her mind.
Just then, Luster noticed a middle aged woman came into the establishment and had a frantic look on her face. The woman looked around before spotting the door with the sign on it.
Running over there, the woman knocked the door a few times before the man inside got up and answered it.
“Yes?” The man asked.
“Y-Your Spike Drake right?” The woman asked nervously.
“Yes I am.” Spike replied. “Step into my office and we’ll talk.”
And the woman did just that. Luster watches on as the woman talked to Spike. From what she could tell, the woman was obviously upset about something and on the verge of tears. Spike seems to be listening as he nodded a couple times and while Luster couldn’t see his face, from his movement she can tell that he was talking as well.
After a few good minutes, both Spike and the woman went out of the office.
“Oh thank you Mister Drake, thank you!” The woman said happily.
Spike gave a small smile, “Don’t you worry Miss Shirley, I’ll get to the bottom of this. Just go back to your room and I’ll sort this out, ok?”
The woman nodded and made her leave. Spike then turned to the blonde haired woman who was getting some orders from a couple of customers.
“Hey Meg, I just got a job. Probably going to be gone for several hours and most likely won’t be back for dinner.” Spike said to her.
“Okay Spike,” The woman said before she remembered something, “Oh, by the way Spike. I made you this not too long ago.” She said as she brought out a paper plate wrapped in tinfoil from underneath the counter and handed it to him.
“Thanks cuz.” Spike said as he grabbed the plate and made his leave with Luster looking on.
She doesn’t know why but Luster has a funny feeling that this summer vacation was going to be very interesting.
