"25.000" " Sure I remember "The Alamo"." " Told you." "Laurence Harvey, John Wayne as Davy Crockett." "Great battle scenes, nice sets, but way too long." " Not the movie." " We mean our holosuite program." "Oh, that Alamo." "What about it?" "We've booked a holosuite." "Like to join us?" "I'm touched by the offer, but I don't know." " We can transfer your matrix." " You gotta leave Vegas sometimes." " True, but I'm afraid I have to say no." " Why?" "I don't look good in buckskin." "I'll tell you what, though." "How about a little tune to get you into a Texas state of mind?" "Fellas..." "Alamo." "Get him off!" "Come on!" "Step down!" "Oh, honey!" "Show me!" " What the hell...?" " What is all this?" "Maybe it's a fault in the holosuite parameter file." "Well, look who's here." "The pretty boy singer himself." "Frankie Eyes." "What are you doing in Vegas?" "What happened to "Hello, Frankie, long time no see." "Can I get you anything?"" " You believe this guy?" " No manners." "You born in a barn?" " ls he a friend of yours?" " We know each other." "We're a long way from South Philly, ain't we Vic?" "You here on business or pleasure?" "Let's just say I'm here to stay." "While you are about to take a powder." " l'm going nowhere." " l got news for you." "I just bought this hotel." "You're history." " You can't fire me. I have a contract." " Paper your walls with it." " You're finished." " You're blackballing me?" "As of now, you couldn't get a job as a singing busboy." "Now do you walk out of here, or do you have to be carried out?" " Makes no difference to me." " Let me handle this." "Computer." "Delete characters Frankie Eyes and..." " Sorry, I didn't catch your name." " Cicci." "...and Cicci from the holosuite's program." " What's a holosuites?" " Beats me." " They're still here, Chief." " Computer, freeze program." " A little problem in the character..." " l'll show you the door." "Make that a big problem." " What's it going to be?" " l guess I start packing." "Smart boy." "All right, Cicci, let's check out my casino." " What do we do now?" " Nothing we can do." "Frankie's a made man." "I'm talking about fixing the program." "We could shut it down manually and reset it." "But that would wipe Vic's memory." "He'd forget everything." "Hold on, no one's wiping my memory." "Of course not." " There must be another way." " l wish I knew." "Better talk to Felix." "He designed this program." "You do that." "You stay clear of Frankie Eyes." "You'll get no argument from me." "I'll tell you one thing, if Frankie Eyes hurts Vic, he'll have to answer to me." "I don't understand how you can feel loyalty to a hologram." "He's not just a hologram." "He's my friend." " Don't you like Vic?" " As a singer, I find him entertaining." "But I neither like him nor dislike him." "He is a hologram and therefore he does not exist." " He does for me." " l just talked to Felix." "I know what's affecting Vic's program. lt's a jack-in-the-box." "It's a children's toy." "You wind it up and a figure jumps out and goes "Boo!"" " Except this one is different." " lt doesn't go "Boo"?" "No, this surprise is buried deep in the program." " lt's meant to make things interesting." " l wasn't bored." "Were you?" "Not at all. I liked Vic's the way it was." "If we get rid of Frankie Eyes, the game resets to the way it was." " That's good to know." " How do we get rid of him?" "It's up to us." "But Felix says the program is period-specific." "So if we shoot him, we have to use a .45, not a phaser." "That's too dangerous." " The mob could retaliate against Vic." " Then Vic's matrix will be eliminated." " The news just keeps getting better." " What news?" "Nothing, sir." "We're talking about a holosuite program." "Vic's hotel has been bought by gangsters." "I see." "When do you plan on going back to work?" "Right away, sir." "Whatever you decide to do, I'm in." "I owe Vic. I thought losing my leg was the end of my career." " He taught me otherwise." " He changed my life, too." "And Odo's." "Now...all we need is a plan." " Mm." "Your daddy would be proud." " He taught me everything I know." " How nice." " So, how was your day?" " lt's getting better." " Something happen?" " lt's Vic." " Vic?" "Vic Fontaine." "A gangster took over his lounge." "The whole place has changed." " What?" " Nothing." " l guess this sounds pretty silly to you." " A little." "You have to understand, Vic isn't just another holosuite program." "He's more like a friend." " Can we talk about something else?" " Sure." " Why have you never been to Vic's?" " Does it matter?" "You like it there, I don't." "Let's leave it at that." " l was only asking." " And I gave you my answer." "There are times when I just can't figure you out." "Well." "Maybe that's part of the attraction." "Believe that if you want to." " Who is it?" " Miles and Julian." "Just a minute." "You wouldn't happen to have an ice pack on you, would you?" "Hey, whose side are you on?" "Sorry." "You have three bruised ribs and a sprained left wrist." "The good news is your skull is still in one piece." "I feel better already." "I can't believe Felix would do this to me." "Don't take it personally." "He was just trying to stop things getting boring." " l thought that was my job." " And you're great at it." "We love ya." " So, what happened?" " l slipped in the bathtub." " And knocked over the furniture?" " Something like that." "Tony Cicci paid me a visit." "He wanted to remind me not to take too long packing." " What is it with you and Frankie?" " lt goes back to when we were kids." " l used to beat him at stickball." " And?" "And...nothing." "We've been rivals ever since." "When Felix designs a holosuite program, he doesn't fool around." "Tell me about it." " Maybe, you should take a vacation." " A vacation?" "Did you take a vacation when the Dominion took over DS9?" " lt's not the same." " lt is to me." "This is my life." " l don't run at the first sign of trouble." " We're not asking you to run." "Just stay out of sight while we make a plan." " What plan?" " To get rid of Frankie Eyes." "Odo and Kira are in the lounge right now." "They're checking up on Frankie." "We must find his weak spot." "I hope you know what you're getting me into." "If you screw up, I'll end up buried in the desert." "Let me guess, you'll look around here while I check out the casino?" "Oh." "Uh...if you'd prefer, I'll go..." "Enjoy yourself." "Just remember, we have a job to do." "Of course." "Then I drive him out to the woods." "Three shots in the head, that's the end of Little Paulie." "What do you think Frankie says when I get back?" ""Little Paulie?" "No, I told you to pop Big Paulie!"" "That's the problem with our business - too many guys named Paulie!" "Hit me." " l'm done." " Not so fast." "What kind of card is that to give a pretty lady?" "Hit her again." " lsn't that against the rules?" " Don't worry." "Double your bet." "26." "What's wrong with you?" "Again." "You're starting to aggravate me." " 21." "Finally." "Pay the lady." " Yes, sir." "If I were you, I'd quit while I was ahead." "I'm Frank Chalmers." "People call me Frankie Eyes." " Why?" " Because I don't miss a trick." " You're very sure of yourself." " Doubt is for losers." " And quite a philosopher." " l'm writing a book." " What's the title?" " Maybe you can help me think one up." "My talents lie in other directions." " Good title." "Mind if I use it?" " You already paid for it." "Let's hit the roulette table, see if I can't buy Chapter One." "Hey, Max, come here." "I want you to see this." "Can you believe it?" "He did it again." "I ain't never seen a stunt like that." "There's nothing to it, really." "Hear that?" "Guy's the eighth wonder of the world." "Says there's nothing to it." " So where you from again?" " Bajor." " That's in Jersey, right?" " Right." "Max, another round for my friend here." "Turns out Frankie Eyes was sent to Vegas by a man named Carl Zeemo." "Frankie's moving up in the world." " You know Mr Zeemo?" " Been around forever." "Likes to pretend he's a sweet old man, but he's meaner than a junkyard dog." "It's starting to make sense." "Frankie doesn't have the money to buy a hotel..." " But Zeemo does." " More than enough." "This will be a pretty sweet deal for him." "The casino's bringing in about a million bucks a month." "Cash." "And out of that, Zeemo expects to be sent a couple of hundred grand." " That would be the "skim"." " Right off the top." "Tax free." "Frankie's OK, as long as he sends Mr Zeemo his cut." "Frankie says Mr Zeemo's coming here in six days to pick up his first payment." "He's never been to Vegas." "He wants to see his acquisition." "What would happen to Frankie if he didn't give Zeemo his skim?" "Frankie's not that dumb." " Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" " Depends on what you're thinking." "We have to see to it that Mr Zeemo doesn't see a penny of that money." "Are you talking about robbing the casino?" " That's what I was thinking." " lsn't that dangerous?" "Stealing from the mob?" "You bet it is." "You get caught and I die." "Then the trick is not to get caught." "You guys are nuts." " Besides, the money's kept in a safe." " What kind?" "I don't know, it's in the count room." "There's a guard outside 24 hours a day." "And even if you did get past him, there's still two count men inside." " l'll get a look at the safe." " We'll figure how to take out the guard." " And the count men." " And anything else." " Then we're agreed?" " Absolutely." " l'm in." " Me, too." " Sure." " OK." "Let's do it." "Wait a minute." "Let me get this straight." "You're going to knock over the casino and swipe a million from the mob?" "Vic, you want your lounge back or not?" "Deal me in." " Ever seen a prettier shade of green?" " Looks like you had a good night." "And the night's not over." "is that for me?" " Or am I just keeping it warm for you?" " lt's all yours, baby." " There's more where that came from." " l'll take your word for it." " What are you looking at?" " Nothing." "Just keep counting." "After you, sweetheart." "You're sure you didn't go to high school in Asheville, North Carolina?" " Positive." " That's funny." "You look just like the captain of our football team. I had a crush on him." "Well, actually, I did play a little football." "I knew it." "You have the body of an athlete." "You call this a cheese steak?" "I wouldn't feed this to my parole officer." "Cicci, can I have a word with you?" "Just a second, please." "Now I want a real cheese steak, and I don't care if you gotta fly to Philadelphia to get it." "A guy can starve to death in this town." " Ezri, this is Tony Cicci." " Nice to meet you." "The pleasure is all mine." " Ezri's new in town, she needs a job." " l'm a very good waitress." "Ah." "You wouldn't happen to have a slice of pizza on you?" "No, but I could go to the kitchen and get you one." "That chef wouldn't know a good pizza if it hit him right in the face." " Consider yourself gainfully employed." " Really?" "That's wonderful." " Thanks, I owe you one." " Don't mention it, Stretch." "Maybe one of these days you'll show me the... I don't believe it." "Take it easy. I'm not looking for trouble." " That's a relief." " l'm here to see Frankie." "I want to try to work things out with him." "Let bygones be bygones." "Frankie, I'm dying here." "The Sands, the Dunes, the Dl, no one will even return my call." "Tell me something I don't know." " Surely we can bury the hatchet." " l already did. ln your head." "Frankie, you want me to beg?" "I'll beg." "Give me a chance to make things right." "I know people with dough." "I could bring 'em into the casino." "What?" "You want to be my shill?" "I'm talking about people who can drop 30 big ones a night." "Give him what he wants." "I can't take much more of his whining." " Bring in some players, then we'll talk." " That's all I ask." " Let me buy you a drink." " l don't drink with losers." "Come on, dollface." "Let's warm up the poker table." "Welcome back." " You're in charge of what?" " Distracting the count room guard." "I can't believe you're involved in this thing." " lt's ridiculous." " So you won't wish me luck?" "And virtually my entire senior staff is part of this nonsense?" "You help friends when they're in trouble and Vic, hologram or not, is in trouble." " This is not about Vic." " Then what's your problem?" "You really want to know what my problem is?" "I'll tell you." "Las Vegas, 1962." "That's my problem." "In 1962, black people weren't welcome there." "Sure they could be performers, but customers?" "Never." "Maybe in the real Vegas, but that's not how it is at Vic's." "I've never felt uncomfortable there, neither has Jake." "But don't you see?" "That's the lie." "In 1962, the civil rights movement was in its infancy." "It wasn't an easy time for our people and I won't pretend that it was." "Baby... I know Vic's isn't a totally accurate representation of the way things were." "But it isn't meant to be." "It shows us how things could've been." "How they should've been." "We cannot ignore the truth about the past." "Going to Vic's won't make us forget who we are or where we came from." "What it does is remind us we're no longer bound by any limitations... except the ones we impose on ourselves." " What about Worf?" " He'll never agree to it." "There's always Quark." "I'm not sure he'd help." "He thinks of you as his competition." " l'll get it." " Better get this out of sight." " We're still one man short." " We need a high roller with Vic." "Someone to keep attention away from the count room." " Otherwise the whole plan falls apart." " And we can't let that happen." "Now, exactly what do you need me to do?" " Let's go over it one more time." " We all know what we have to do." "It's pretty simple." "Far be it from me to tell Starfleet officers how to do their jobs." "Robbing casinos isn't part of any Starfleet job description I know." " We can't afford to make mistakes." " And we're not going to." " Take us through it again." " You got it." "It begins with you, keeping Frankie away from the casino and the count room." "The Captain and I will be laying down heavy bread at the craps table." "Enough to draw a crowd." " Where do we get the money?" " l put it away for a rainy day." "Now each night, at precisely 1145..." "Al, one of the count men, takes a break to call home." "He never varies his routine." "He's gone for eight minutes every night." "In that time, Howard, the other count man, has a martini brought in." "That's where l come in." "But first, I make a stop at poker table 3, where l hand a drink to Julian." "And I slip a few drops of ipecac into Howard's." "After which, I continue on to the count room." "I set the tray down and leave." "Once Ezri's out of the count room... I run up to the guard and tell him Chief O'Brien has stolen my chips." "Do what you need to do to distract him." "Don't be afraid to turn on the waterworks." "And Chief, you play innocent." "I am innocent!" "I've never seen her before." "That's it." "Keep the guard away from the door for at least two minutes." "Once he takes a sip, Howard will fly out of that count room." "Which is where l come in." "You and those fabulous Ferengi ears of yours." "And once I've opened the safe you'll need someplace to put all that money." "You'll be surprised how much a million bucks weighs." "I think I can handle it." "When you walk out, don't talk or look at anyone." "And whatever you do, don't run." "Just head for the exit and dump the cash in the garbage cans outside." "With no money, there's no skim for Mr Zeemo, and Frankie is history." "Everything returns to normal." "Time for champagne." "Music to my ears." "Eight minutes to get into the count room, open the safe, grab the money and get out." " l bet we do it in five." " When do we pull off the caper?" " The sooner, the better." " Zeemo's due in two days." "Then we have no choice." "We go tomorrow night." "Hey." "Crazy!" " That was fast." " lt has to be." " 2 minutes, 14 seconds." " l've got to do better." "Right." "Go!" "Better finish getting dressed." "It's almost time." "I'm telling you, Morn, something's going on at Vic's that we don't know about." " Looking good, as usual." " l'm glad you like what you see." "I only wish I could see more." "You know what they say - good things come to those who wait." "Who are "they", and how much have they seen?" " l never kiss and tell." " l bet you don't." "Ooh, 19!" "Let's see if you can beat that." "23, you're busted!" " Vodka martini." "Stirred, not shaken." " Right away, sir." "Winner 17, black." " 10,000." " Good luck, sir." "Make your bets." "High-low bets." " 100 dollars?" " Too much?" "You're supposed to be a high roller, so start rolling." "Make it 2,000." "2,000." "Let's blow some money at the crap tables." "Maybe later." "Right now, I want you to buy me a drink." "We can play footsies under the table." "Footsies?" "I guess it's a start." "We have lift-off." "Oh!" "I'm so sorry." "Don't worry about it." "You're too kind." "Coming out, now." "New shooter." "Here's where things get interesting." "Come on...seven!" " You're not Howard." " He has the flu." " This drink must be yours, then." " l'm not thirsty." " But..." " Hey!" "You're making me lose count." "Sorry." "You mind if I drink that?" "I've been on my feet for hours." "That's about the saddest story I ever heard." "You have to help me!" "That man stole a stack of my chips!" " Hey, you!" "Stop right there!" " Who, me?" " She says you stole her chips." " l did no such thing." "I'm telling you he took them." "Thief!" " You're drunk." " l am not." " Let's just calm down." " Not until I get my money." " What money?" " The money you stole." " l told you, I never touched it." " Liar." "Uh-oh." "We don't have time for "uh-oh"." "The safe has an auto-relock tumbler." "Kira didn't mention anything about that." "She obviously didn't know about it." " We're not going to have enough time." " Keep working." "This hand shook the hand of Bugsy Siegel, the man that built Las Vegas." "I'm telling you, he was a visionary." "And is there even one statue of the guy in this town?" " There's no justice." " You can say that again!" "Sure you don't want to play the tables?" "I'm perfectly content right here." "Who am I to argue with a lady?" "Why are you standing around?" "Arrest him!" "He took $200 from me." " l've only got $5." " Don't believe him." " She ain't playing with the full deck." " What is that supposed to mean?" "Beginner's luck." "For the dealers." "Six minutes." "I wonder what's taking them so long." "I've got to go. I'm running late." " You in some kind of hurry?" " Me?" " You keep staring at that watch." " Really?" "I hadn't noticed." " You haven't touched your drink." " The night is young." "Gotta pace myself." "Pace yourself?" "For what?" "Frankie, there's someone here for you." " l'm busy." " You don't look busy." "Mr Zeemo." "We were expecting you tomorrow." " Any problem?" " No, not at all." " Sit down." "Have a drink." " We'll have a drink later." "Where's the...where's the count room?" " Follow me." " Mr Zeemo..." " lt's a great honour to meet you." " l know." "Frankie has told me so much about you." " Frankie..." " Yeah?" "The money, Frankie." " Right this way." " Let's go." "Come on." "Nog, it's been eight minutes." "We're running out of time." "I fold." " You're Al, right?" " Who wants to know?" "Frankie Eyes." "He's waiting for you out back." " For what?" "I didn't do nothing." " Then you have nothing to worry about." " You gotta be kidding me." " Now what?" "Zeemo!" "He's a day early." "Keep playing, I'll try to stall him." "Nina, is that you?" " Who's this?" " Nobody." "Hey, Vic, take a walk." " Where you been keeping yourself?" " Do I know you?" "Don't you remember that week in Miami?" "Have you ever seen her in a bikini?" "Oh, mama mia!" " When were you in Miami?" " l don't know what he's talking about." " Who's this, your grandpa?" " Frankie..." "Cicci." " Now you've done it." " Bury him." " So long, sucker." " Frankie, I'm waiting for the money." " Right this way..." " Tonight everybody's a winner!" "What's this?" "What's going on?" "Piece of cake." " Can I go now?" " You aren't going anywhere." "Don't let him leave." "Charlie, over here." "Take this...gentleman to Security." " l wanted you to handle this." " l can't leave my post." "Charlie." "Strip search." "Strip search?" "There, there. lt's not worth all that." "I needed that money to buy a gift for my mother." "Funny way to run a casino." "What are you waiting for?" "Show Mr Zeemo the count room." "You heard the lady." "Buying this casino is the smartest move you ever made." "It'll make you money hand over fist." "I just hope you brought a big enough briefcase." "Where's my money?" "Now, that's more like it." "Say goodbye to Frankie Eyes." "Tell Felix we shut the lid on his jack-in-the-box." " With pleasure." " Ladies and gents, the bubbly's on me!" " Thanks, Vic." " Hear, hear." " Where have you been?" " l don't want to talk about it." "Next time you play "The Alamo", count me in." " Coonskin cap and all." " You got it." "To the best friends a hologram ever had." " l owe you, big time." " Cheers, Vic." "OK, fellas, let's do it." "Captain..." "You'll join me?" "What?"