Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

Dominique and Carlos met at "Rolando", a small gym not far from the city center, informal and rough.The owner, Rolando, is an African-Caribbean with a similar build to Dominic.He had won the heavyweight boxing title a decade earlier, and Las Vegas was particularly fond of him.After retiring, he opened this gym. Under the pressure, he insisted on not engaging in fancy tricks and streamlining first.

Carlos was waiting for him by the door, his slender frame wrapped tightly in sweatpants and a top-zip jacket despite the suffocating heat.These days, he's sporting a dapper stubble and recently cut his dark brown hair short.

Dominique knew that Carlos would not be happy to use the locker room, so he changed into his sportswear long before leaving his mother's house.He bumped fists with Carlos and walked into the gym together.

They passed the aerobic equipment area and the boxing practice area. Rolando was in the boxing area and patiently guiding the two young men.He gave Dominic a friendly nod, and Dominic nodded back.God knows, when he first came here, he was crazy about Rolando.It's a pity that this man has a straight steel pipe.

He and Carlos went to the weight training room.There are a few people here who are training hard, lifting heavy weights and sweating profusely, humming from time to time.The gym is particularly popular with veterans and bounty hunters — many of whom are also bounty hunters — and that’s how Dominic found it in the first place.People come here to push themselves to the next level.

"Are you going to take off your coat?" Dominique asked softly as they settled down next to the weight training chair.

Carlos hesitated, and he looked around the gym.No one is paying attention to them.

A few months ago, Carlos had upper body surgery to remove and reshape her breasts.Over the past six weeks, he has gradually returned to his previous training program, and now, his surgeon not only approves upper-body weightlifting exercises, but even strongly recommends them.

"You're safe here," Dominique said.Even if there are fitness people who see that Carlos is a transgender person, they have to keep their mouths shut, or they will be beaten with teeth and blood by Rolando.

"I know, it's just..."

Carlos shook his head, unzipped it, and took off his jacket and set it aside.After that, he wanted to wrap his arms around his chest, but he could tell he was trying to hold back the movement.

He looked down at his flat chest under his T-shirt, and said, "It still feels weird to go out like this without a corset."

"It looks good." Dominique said the truth.The surgeon did a great job in this operation—of course he had to be good, otherwise it would not be worth the huge sum of money that Carlos and Jasmin invested in the operation. "Also, remember what the doctor said: Only by exercising your chest muscles can you shape your body."

"Yes. But I don't want your monster muscles, okay?" Carlos patted Dominique's chest muscles.

Dominic grinned. "receive."

He took Carlos to do his exclusive upper limb muscle circuit training. The rhythm of the two was the same, and the only difference was in the load.About halfway through, the two were doing a quick set of horizontal dumbbell rows when Carlos said, "Jasmine told me she met Levi coming out of your house early in the morning."

"Huh?" Dominic stepped on the stool with one foot as a support, and leaned forward. He snorted, and raised his hand holding the huge dumbbell until his arm was at right angles to his shoulder.When lowering the load, he slowly inhaled a breath through his nasal cavity.

"We're also relieved, okay, just the movement last night, we are all worried that you killed him."

Dominic gasped and laughed. "That's a pity, he's a real jerk sometimes." Reflecting on the distraction, it wasn't until they switched hands to the other side of the lean-over row that Dominique suddenly thought of adding: "But Don't ever mention that to him. He's going to be so embarrassing — just remember to breathe out when you lift the dumbbells, dude."

Carlos's face was red and sweaty. He stopped his hands and adjusted his posture and breathing. "So you two get on well?"

"I think so," Dominique said with a smile.

Because of the concentration training, they didn't talk much for a while.Later, as the two stood side by side in front of a mirror doing upright barbell curls, Carlos asked, "Would you like to bring him to the Anderson family reunion on Saturday?"

Dominic raised an eyebrow.Jasmine's parents had arranged a Saturday afternoon cookout, a family reunion, something less formal, and they'd invited him weeks earlier. "Are you sure? I didn't know if you would want him to go."

"Of course we did. He's your boyfriend, right?"

"We haven't formally talked about it yet."

Carlos rolled his eyes. "He's your boyfriend, trust me." He spoke intermittently, jumping out words one by one in a hurry. "I said, Jasmin and I weren't sure at first, because he doesn't seem like your type. He's kind of..."

"Standard?" Dominique continued.He tightened his biceps and curled the bar toward his shoulders, reveling in the thrill of the sore muscles.

"Yes. But he relaxes a lot when he talks to you or touches you. And the expression when you talk about him... Anyone who can make you show this expression can pass our test."

"Thank you." Dominic was a little moved. "I'll pass it on to him to see if he's free that day."

They're done with the muscle group targeting and they're back at the barbell.Dominique gulped down the water, only to hear Carlos say, "I'm going to propose to Jiasmin at the party."

Dominic coughed from the water, wiped the back of his hand and said, "Really? How long have you been thinking about this?

Carlos wrung the towel with both hands and said, "I've wanted to ask for it for a long time, but just after the operation, I really couldn't afford the money to buy the ring, so I thought it would take a long time. Finally, I told her mother about it. She gave me Jiasmin's great-grandmother's ring."

"My God." Dominic patted him on the shoulder. "Congratulations, brother."

"Thanks," Carlos said, "but I'm in a panic right now."

"You know she will say yes."

"So on the surface, it seems that there is no need to worry about it, but it really isn't."

Spending the night with Levi last night, having dinner with the family at noon, and now the great news from Carlos - today is a day full of good things.Back at the apartment, Dominique was in high spirits. He took the rebel girl for a walk, then took a shower and changed clothes before heading to practice.

After "The Bloody Seven of Spades," Levy suggested he consider a career as a private eye.Dominique was slowly realizing that he didn't want to be a bounty hunter and bartender for the rest of his life, even if he had the best time doing it, so he jumped at Levi's idea and got to work.He had already arranged it: to go to the certification exam in a few months, and at the same time start to learn some skills at the "McBride Investigative Agency".

Although McBride was not the largest investigative firm in Las Vegas, it was definitely the most prestigious, with a mile-long list of high-paying clients.Dominique's years as a bounty hunter set him apart; in the weeks that followed, he proved his worth using tricks and shortcuts honed in the past, as well as his network of contacts in the city, to settle a series of assets in record speed. Investigations and other investigation-intensive cases.Tonight, he was about to perform his first field mission—supervised, of course.

The office is close to Long Street, occupying the tenth and eleventh floors of a sleek high-rise building.Dominic was ushered into Kate McBride's office as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.

McBride inherited the business from her father, who inherited it from his father.She was stocky and muscular, with a tanned complexion and short hair.As an old smoker who has smoked for decades, she has a rough voice, but at the insistence of her wife - the young wife who is much younger than her is an amazingly beautiful song and dance actress - , She has gradually changed to smoking electronic cigarettes recently.Dominique had never seen McBride without an e-cigarette in hand.

She had one in her hand as she waved Dominique down from behind her oversized desk. "The first task, we will arrange a simple one for you, take your time." She said, pushing a thin folder towards him. "Household chores, spouse cheating—this kind of crap is our bread and butter."

Dominique listened as he flipped through the files.

"Anxious Summerlin housewife suspects rich husband is having an affair, and she's probably right. All the signs are there - staying late at the office, surreptitiously answering the phone, a lot less libido, for no reason Buy her flowers and jewelry. Now this kind of case has a probability of 90.00% and can be classified as cheating."

He didn't need to hear that; as a bounty hunter, he'd picked up countless married escapees who were hiding in lovers' homes. "A brief surveillance?" he asked.

"That's right. For a case like this, we just need to keep monitoring the target during the time period set by the client, record all the activities, and take videos as long as it is legal." McBride took a deep breath of the cigarette and let it out slowly. "I want to emphasize the word 'legal'. All of our evidence must be able to be used as evidence in court if necessary. You are a bounty hunter, so I am not too worried about this. You know how the law deals with illegal Trespassing and covert recording."

This is true, but when he encounters an opportunity to take advantage of the loophole, he just violates it.

Pointing at Dominic with her cigarette, McBride said, "You have a difficulty doing surveillance work. With your size, you look like an elephant, and there are not many environments where you can blend in and be inconspicuous."

"Thanks for the compliment," Dominique said, but he wasn't offended.

"How did you deal with it when you were chasing escapees?"

“I generally stay out of sight as much as possible – I drive if I can. Or I do something else: make up an excuse and contact them directly so I can keep an eye on the target and they won’t be suspicious.”

"Hmm." McBride looked at him as he tapped the finger of his free hand on the table. "Okay, it's not a big problem anyway. Justine Aubrey is the detective in charge of this case. If you're too conspicuous, you can replace her with the target."

Aubrey is a surveillance expert and the most mass-looking person Dominique has ever met.He felt that his eyes were sharp enough, but he really couldn't say anything useful to describe her.

"She's gone downstairs to find Isaiah to get her equipment. You hurry down and meet her and ask her to give you the details."

"Thank you." Dominic put the documents back on the table and walked towards the door.

"Russo," McBride called as soon as he reached the doorknob.He turned around to watch her disassemble the atomizer, and added some e-liquid into it. "So far, your performance has been very good, and the bail agency company has said good things about you. Just keep at it, and when you pass the test, there will be a detective position waiting for you." She squinted her eyes. "So don't screw up the job, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Dominique.When he left the office, he suddenly had the urge to salute. He hadn't given a military salute for many years.