But that was a long time ago.
It's been years since Rusty was anyone's shill when he sees Danny again, when he enters his back room and sees Danny sitting there, at his poker table with his clients, his marks, and it takes a moment to remember that Danny's not here to scam them, but to scam him, the way Danny's always done and Rusty's always allowed.
It makes Rusty uncomfortable this time, too, but he thinks that might be for another reason entirely.
Topher and the rest of them are easy marks, and it's not like Rusty needs Danny's help separating them from their money, but it's familiar, and despite his unease, it feels good to have Danny again, to scam with him and to be scammed by him.
Rusty knows what Danny's going to say before they've even left the club.
*
Early in the game, Danny never asked him if he wanted to play. Danny ran his cons on a series of assumptions that usually started with: "Rusty's in," and the fact that this was never wrong meant that Danny's games had never failed.
It was only when Rusty went his own way that Danny's plans started to fall apart.
That's why Danny thinks he needs to do some convincing, when he gets back to Rusty. That's why he prepares his text and memorizes his lines, and if he rushes them a bit, that's okay. It's been nearly five years since he last saw Rusty, since Rusty took one look at him and said, "I'm not going to get implicated in this," and left Danny to get caught.
Not that Danny can blame him. Given the circumstances, he might have left too.
*
Rusty always was the better gambler. He knew how to play the games, how to lure people in-- how to get them to raise the stakes, how to get them to back down. What he didn't know how to do was back off, to admit he'd lost-- and that was a weakness. A flaw, a defect of character in a con man.
It was something Danny could use.
Rusty would risk it.