The Magic of Vegas ('The Hangover' fanfic)

11

Even though everyone was exhausted, their excitement and senses were high enough to keep them alert as they drove to Big Rock in Mojave Desert under the light purple sky as the sun crept into the sky. Meanwhile in the back seat, Stu was finishing counting the stacks of money. Phil and Ari occasionally peaked at one another, admiring the outfits they wore.

"And one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred. With all this... we have eighty two thousand four hundred dollars!"

Phil pumped his fist into the air. "Oh, goddamn! I can't fucking believe it!" Ari turned her head to see Phil's wide smile she absolutely adored.

"Woohoo!" Ari cheered as well.

"Alan, you're the man." Phil said as he glanced in the rear view mirror.

"You are too, Phil."

"We should come back next week and take the whole city down." Ari joked.

"Oh, I'm free next week." Alan exclaimed, thinking she is serious.

"Or we can focus on getting Doug back right now." said Stu.

Alan's excitement deflated when he remembered something. "Actually, next week isn't good for me. The Jonas Brothers are in town. But any week after that is totally fine."

"I think it's safe to say that our luck has officially turned around, guys. We are back, baby. We are fucking back!" Phil exclaimed and slammed his fist on the dash.

"Oh my goddd! Watch it falling for us, we love the way it feels. Dollars, dollars, dropping on us todayyyy!" Ari sang, causing everyone to turn their heads in surprise.

"Wow! You can really sing. One day, I want to hear a full song." Phil's compliment made Ari smile and feel warm.

"We're back!" Stu cheered and began to sing. "We are baaaaaaack! We are baaaaaaaaaack! We are getting Doug baaaaaack!"

"And we're the four best friends that anybody could have. We're the four best friends that anybody could have. We're the four best friends that anybody could have. And we'll never, ever, ever, ever, ever leave each other. We're the four best friends that anybody could have. I mean, the four best friends that anybody could have!" Alan joined the singing with a smile.

********

The sun has fully risen over head as Phil drove through the desert and parked a reasonable distance from a black vehicle they assumed belonged to the Asian man.

"Now what?" Phil asked.

"Give him the signal." Alan suggested.

"What signal?"

"Flash your lights. Let him know the deal is on."

"Of course it's on. We just drove thirty miles into the desert. He knows it's on." said Ari as she stared down the vehicle ahead of them. She hoped nothing else bad would happen.

"Phil, just do something!" Stu urged, anxiety lining his voice. As soon as Phil flicked the headlights on and off, three men exited the vehicle with the Asian man being in the lead.

"Here we go." Phil mumbled and looked at Ari through his red aviators. "It's going to be ok, Ari. I promise. For your safety, I want you to stay in the car and stay low, ok?" With the passenger side doors still damaged, Stu climbed out the window first with the bag of money and Alan followed suit but ended up falling onto his stomach.

"Ha ha ha! Funny fat guy fall on face!" the Asian man and his henchman laughed for a moment and then the Asian man's smile fell. "Hold on, you bring your girl out here so I know she won't try and pull something on me."

"That's not going to happen. She's not going to do anything." Phil snarled.

"Alright." The leader snapped his fingers and his friend opened his black jacket, revealing a gun that's in a leather holster. "Your choice. I took it easy on her once." Phil truly didn't want Ari over here, let alone this situation, but he didn't want her to die. Phil made his back to the Mercedes without turning his back and opened the driver's door. Ari's eyes widened with fear and her stomach dropped but felt relieved when she learned it was Phil.

"What's happening?" she asked as she shifted in her crouch.

"The leader wants you over there with us because he thinks you'll pull something or ambush him." Phil answered.

"For fucks sake." Ari cursed under her breath and then proceeded to take his hand to help her scooch over the glovebox in her short dress. The friends slowly walked across the dusty ground to join the others, meanwhile Phil made sure to keep Ari behind him. Disgust became present in their minds as the Asian man's eyes slowly scanned her up and down.

"Alright. We got the eighty thousand dollars in cash." said Phil.

"Throw it over. Then I'll give you Doug." said the leader.

Stu decided to interrupt with his politeness. "Um, I'm sorry. First of all, good morning. And second, we didn't catch your name last night."

"Mister Chow. Leslie Chow."

"Mister Chow, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Stu and we would appreciate an opportunity if we could see Doug before giving you the money. Just to verify that he's ok. Is that cool?"

Chow took the wide sunglasses off of his face and placed them in the pocket of his yellow jacket. "Of course, Stu. That's ok." He turned around and spoke something in his native language to one of his men. The man opened the back door and removed a man with a bag on his head. "See? He's totally fine. Now give me the money or I'll shoot him and all of you." The friends felt scared again when the other man revealed his gun again and placed his hand on it. Even though Ari's mind was racing, her observations of the man with the bag over his face made something click and her nails clawed into Phil's forearm. The masked person was too tall to be passed as Doug.

"No! Wait!" Ari was too late as the bag landed in the bodyguard's hands and checked to see if there was eighty grand inside and showed Chow. "What is wrong with you, Stu?!" she hissed as she started moving towards him.

Chow's smirk resembled the Devil. "Let him go." One of his men pulled the bag off the man's head, revealing a man with dark skin and a piece of tape covering his mouth.

"Who the hell is this? Is this some of joke?" Phil seethed as he caught Ari by her waist and pulled her against him so she couldn't hurt Stu but also to protect her. He couldn't imagine how it would feel if she round housed Stu while wearing high heels.

"That's not Doug!" Alan cried.

"What are you talking about? That's him!" Chow countered.

"No, Mr. Chow. Our friend is white." Stu spoke as one of the men ripped the tape off of the black man's mouth.

"I told you that you got the wrong guy, little boy." Now, he turned to Alan. "What have you gotten me into, Alan?!"

"Alan, you know this guy?!" Ari asked as she tensed in Phil's grip again.

"Yeah, this is the guy that sold me the drugs. How are you doing?"

"You're the guy that sold him the ruphylin?!" Stu shrieked.

Phil turned his head towards his friends and back to Chow. "Who cares?! Where is Doug?!"

"I am Doug." the black man's answer made Alan chuckle for some strange reason.

"Ha! His name is Doug too. Classic mix up."

Phil's anger rose even more as he saw Chow start to walk away. "Chow! You gave us the wrong Doug!"

"Not my problem."

"Fuck that shit! Give us the eighty grand back and take him with you!" Ari yelled.

"No, come on. I'll be your Doug." the black man pleaded.

"I'll take him back if you give me your girlfriend. I would gladly have her. Or after you suck on these Chinese nuts." Chow stated as he made a gross gesture and the others cringed. "So long gay boys and sexy lady." Then him and his henchmen got into their vehicle and sped away.

Phil let go of Ari and kicked up a cloud of sand. "GOD DAMN IT!"

"FUCK!" yelled Ari as Alan also kicked the sand to mimic Phil.