Chapter 2

The first time Augustus Caine's invention actually worked, he was not even in his laboratory. Instead, he was down the street in another warehouse, losing even more of his inheritance in one of the Morello Family's poker games. He was sure a winning streak was on its way, so he'd put up the deed to his laboratory, as well as all of its contents, as collateral.

Allegra Gallo was the name of the girl handling the chips. Augustus found her beautiful, an olive-skinned busty angel with brown hair. He'd been winning pretty regularly until she'd started coming to the games. She was apparently a cousin of one of the Morellos, and as such was completely off limits. That didn't stop Augustus from pining after her. He let his fingers linger on her hands as she handed him the value of his warehouse in chips.

The rest of the table was uglier.

Of course, they were the ones that kept taking his money, so he was maybe a little biased. Dealing at the moment was Edoardo Morello; everyone simply called him 'E.' Augustus watched his scarred hands stumble through the shuffle and deal, imagining them smashing his face if he ever managed to talk Allegra into bed. E glared at Augustus as he kept staring at his hands.

Next to him was Hurley Finn, the only man Augustus had ever met whose hair was redder than his. Finn's face was boyish and handsome, almost inscrutable, full of freckles and shiny with oil, and his accent was such a thick brogue it was difficult to understand him. Still, it felt like Allegra was always laughing at Finn's jokes. Augustus saw the way she looked at him, and it cut him to the heart.

Then there was the Pole, whose name was some conglomeration of consonants. His face was scarred with acne, and a cigar hung between his swollen lips. Everyone called him Lucky, a nom de guerre Augustus felt was cruel and inaccurate. He was a police officer and always wore his uniform at the table, 'just in case.' Augustus figured the Nimrod just liked the power trip. It was obvious Lucky was only allowed to play because he could keep the rest of the pigs away from the game.

The rest of the table was a bunch of nobodies, faces that had drifted in for the night. By the time the hand was over, they'd all folded, leaving him to stare at the faces that had been taking his money over the past couple of months.

Augustus looked down at his hand, and selected two to exchange. The cards he got in return weren't what he was hoping for, but at least they turned the pair he'd kept into two. He won the hand. A few more hands and he'd recoup his losses...

Finn collected the cards for the next deal. “So, what're ye working on over at your lab, Gus?” He asked, idly shuffling the cards. Finn handed the deck to Lucky, who wordlessly cut the deck and slid it back.

Augustus knew Finn was trying to distract him. Still, he couldn't help but talk about his inventions. “I finally completed one of my inventions." He paused.

"Aye? Do tell." Finn started distributing the cards around the table.

Augustus gestured at the Nullifier, crackling in the corner of the room. "You guys know about the Nullifier? What it does, how it works?"

Lucky rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. You have uskarżaÅ'em enough about your time with Tesla, and your involvements in its invention."

Augustus grumbled; that case was still tied up in court, he deserved to earn something off that patent. He shoved that bile down as he picked up his cards. "Well, I'm working on something I call a Directed Nullifier." He looked at Allegra, who looked decidedly unimpressed. "I got the idea when I finished my other invention, the crystal triode. I'm thinking of calling it a transistor, because it's kind of like a resistor, and kind of like a transformer." He looked at the confused faces at the table, and had to remind himself he wasn't talking to people who had worked under Tesla or Edison. "The Directed Nullifier should be of more interest to anyone who's not an engineer."