Luck changes

Connors couldn't believe his luck. In another 3 spins of the wheel, he had netted another £30,000 and he now had a huge pile of chips in front of him. He knew he could stop anytime he wanted, but something about the spin of the wheel, the way the light refracted from it and the sound of the ball bouncing into the numbered sectors kept him playing. The other players grinned as they watched his eyes glaze and his bets increase.

Connors pushed several stacks of chips forward, covering Red and several sectors of the roulette wheel. He looked eagerly over at the croupier as the wheel started to slow and the ball bounced, slowed and finally settled. Connors sighed - he had finally lost a bet. No matter he still had lots of chips to gamble with.

Two of the other gamblers moved to stand either side of him. He looked up "Give me some room, fellas. One loss isn't stopping me."

The men grinned and the croupier chuckled. "Ah, Sir, I fear you do not understand. As I stated earlier, the rewards are higher than normal on this table -- and so are the stakes when you lose." He nodded at the men "Take him." Before Connors could react, the two men grabbed one arm each and bent them up painfully behind his back. As he yelled and struggled, the croupier stepped in front of him and using a small atomiser sprayed something into Connors' face. Everything instantly went black and he slumped in the arms of the two men.

Connors woke up and sat up with a start. He looked around - he was still in the games room and sat in a chair close to the roulette wheel. The croupier noticed the movement and nodded to him.

"Ah you're awake. Welcome back, Sir. Time for your next bet."

Connors struggled to his feet and looked down "What the fuck?"

His uniform was gone - as was his belt kit and radio. In its place, he was wearing a pair of bleacher jeans, heavy black Dr Marten boots and a grubby T-Shirt with "OI!" written on it.

"Where the hell is my uniform?"

He looked across to see that one of the other gamblers was now wearing it. "Give that back -- NOW!" He started to stride towards the other man and got pulled up short as something around his neck held him back. He put his hands up to find a thick band of metal around his neck. As he looked behind him, he could see a thick chain that allowed him to get as far as the roulette table and no further.

"Now, now, Sir, play the game. You do want to play the game, don't you?"

Connors started to complain, then looked at the twinkling wheel. He nodded and stepped forward.

"Excellent. Place your bets gentlemen."