Dead Man's Hand (5 page)

“Yes, he is crazy. 
But aside from that he’s mostly a good person.”  The man replied while
still watching Nicholai’s back.  Before I could respond to this apparent
contradiction, he moved off and quickly followed Nicholai’s retreating
form.  Finally left alone, I turned my back on the bar and continued to
scan the room.  Once again taking in the room and its occupants my eyes
fell upon the mystery man speaking with Nicholai and I thought of something
that I
should have thought of before.

A majority of these
people were self-centered, spoiled millionaires, which made them
entitled.  And that entitlement certainly made them dangerous.  Just
like a shark in a feeding frenzy these children would never see past their
entitlement if their money was stripped away from them.  I was going to
have to be even more cautious then I thought.  That or Dempsey had
arrangements to keep their baser desires at bay.  That certainly made
sense, I just wish I knew what it was.

The spoiled children and scattered
professionals could wait, I needed to know about the room I was in.  Armed
with the knowledge that there had to be at least one door if not a pair I
started walking along the wall searching for them.  As I walked along the
edge of the wall I thought about the way the room was shaped and filled
out.  There was another reason there had to be a door along this wall and
that was because the room was quite simply a lounge.  There was no
possible way to rearrange the tables here so we could play.  Which left me
asking a couple of questions. 
First, where are we going to play? 
And second, where is that door?

By the time I had given
the wall a cursory exam I had found nothing useful so I could do one of two
things.  Either I could keep looking for the door and announce to everyone
that I was up to something.  Or I could sit down at one of the tables and
study my competition.  It was not that difficult of a decision to make, I
looked for a place where I could study the competition in relative privacy. 
Apparently I wasn’t the first one to choose that path.

With plenty of open
tables to choose from I found one that allowed me to see a majority of the
room, the occupants, and most importantly the entrance.  Within moments a
waitress came up and asked me if I needed anything.  Looking at my glass I
saw that it was mostly empty so I told her that I would need another martini
from Simon.  It took me another moment to convince her that it would be
very beneficial for her to take the time to find Simon.  I was pretty sure
I didn’t actually threaten her, but I may have let her imagination do the work
for me, the things I had to do in character.

I didn’t like how I
treated her, but I couldn’t afford to make exceptions at least not with the staff. 
I finished my martini and started to examine the people more closely.  I
could spot the professionals in an instant.  They were the ones drinking
as little as possible and what they were drinking was either soda or water.
 They also blatantly didn’t care what the elite thought of them.  In
fact the only thing they did care about was collecting the money from the rich
patsies.  I could tell that a few of them were lumping me into that
category, so I made no effort to dissuade them of the misconception.  As
far as I was concerned it would just make it easier for me to take them out of
the game.

The room was just large
enough that people would feel they had ample room, even when it was fully
packed.  That feeling would encourage everyone, or most everyone to spread
out, which in turn would keep me from getting a reliable read on them. 
Fortunately, I was a jack-of-all-trades, I always knew something about most
everything, especially if it had the potential to be useful.  But just
before I could start another trick the waitress returned with my fresh
martini.  Taking it I touched the surface of the drink in order to collect
a taste.  Though that was just for show, scrubbing the intoxicants out of
the drink was just too important to forget.

I thanked her for her
diligence with a fifty-dollar bill.  It is amazing how easily cash can buy
forgiveness, she departed with a smile.  With my drink in hand I reached
into my pocket and withdrew the monocle I kept there.  As I poured a
little bit of my body heat through a mental image and then into the glass I
heard one of the chairs
beside
being pulled out. 
While I began to move my head to examine the intruder, I finished the slight
transformation.

As far as intruders go I
could have done much worse.  The woman standing above me was quite
striking.  She was looking down at me with a very warm smile and before I
could say anything she spoke with a silken voice and that contained just a
splash of sweetness.  “Would you mind some company?”

Looking up into her grey
eyes, I wanted to say no.  I needed to use the modified monocle before the
transformation dissipated, I had only poured enough heat into it for a little
while.  I never trusted people’s hands, especially in a place like this,
where a single stray hand could broadcast my abilities to the wrong
people.  So I usually played things close to the chest in these
circumstances.  But as I took a moment to study those beautiful grey eyes
I found my hand sliding the monocle back into its pocket.  I didn’t stop
the motion, not when the modification would last for only a few minutes. 
So why not talk to one of the players, especially one so beautiful.

With a genuine smile I
answered, “You would be a very pleasant addition to my table.”

As she began to sit down
in the chair across from me I widened my field of vision to take her in
completely.  Her beauty wasn’t limited to her eyes, in fact it was
accentuated by them.  She was dressed simply so I guessed she was one of
the professional gamblers.  Definitely not one of the elite crowded into
the room with us.  The sleeveless teal shirt she wore emphasized just how
pale her skin was.  She had strawberry blond hair that cascaded down over
her right shoulder and with her hair landing across her bare skin I was able to
pick up on the very slight coloring.  It had just the barest touch of
honey.

With an effort I tore my
eyes from her exposed shoulder and was amazed when I realized she was wearing
almost no makeup.  And yet she still managed to look stunning.  Her
ruby red lips were widened with a warm smile and I was able to see her
glisteningly white teeth.  She was quite simply gorgeous and by the way
she carried herself, she seemed to know it.

As she settled in her
chair I really wanted to say something smart, something clever.  Instead,
my idiot mouth blurted out, “Though I do hope we won’t start at the same table
when the tournament begins.”

By the time I finished
speaking, her smile had been replaced by an ugly grimace full of an intense
contempt for my words.  While keeping that glare upon me she somehow
managed to keep her pleasant tone, “So you’re one of those types of players.”

As she started to back
her chair from the table I rushed in to try and fix my stupidity, “I think you
misunderstood what I was saying…”

But she didn’t seem to be
all that interested in letting me finish.  As she interrupted me she
managed to keep that pleasant tone in her voice, which was in complete
contradiction to the angry look in her eyes.  “No I understood perfectly,
you don’t like women intruding into your precious game.”

Forcing my body to relax
I shook my head and clarified what I had meant, “No that’s not it at all. 
I love playing with women.  I just don’t like the thought of separating a
beautiful woman from her money.”  For whatever reason I was actually
attempting to keep her from leaving, and it certainly helped that I was being
very sincere, though perhaps a bit too specific.  Matt and I would run
scams on just about anyone, but I did have one guiding rule when selecting our
marks.  I never targeted women or children, in fact sometime I would
typically enlist random women or children and let them in on the take.

Early on I had had to
enforce the rule with Matt, he believed that everyone was fair game.  Who
they were didn’t matter to him.  I certainly had to reign in his
enthusiasm from time to time.  Now-a-days he mostly lived by the same
rule, though I could tell when he thought about going after the occasional rich
woman.  When those thoughts started creeping in, I took steps to present
him with a better alternative, which usually worked.

My words must have
registered with her because she froze halfway out of her chair.  And her
scowl had eased itself into more of a neutral line.  She must have been
flattered by what I had said, though still a little wary.  After another
moment of consideration her smile reappeared.  She then guessed at what I
had left unsaid.  “I’ll assume you don’t have the same sentiment when it
comes to men.”  She paused, pursed her lips a bit and asked, “Or ugly
women?”

Nodding I told her the
rule that I, more or less lived my life by.  “My dear lady, men are easily
parted from their money.  But should anyone dare to try and part a woman
from hers; that poor fool will suffer for a lifetime.”

This time she laughed as
she eased herself back into her chair, “Should I take your flattery as a way to
put me off balance.”

“No, the flattery was
sincere.  You truly are a beautiful woman.”

Ducking her head down
ever so slightly she attempted to hide blushing checks.  Since she had
been trying to hide them I decided to be nice enough to oblige her and
pretended not to notice the rosy coloring.  Once her embarrassment had
subsided a bit, she tilted her head back and asked, “Why not pick on women? 
Men can be even more vindictive than us.”

Her words held a little
bit of fire, she must love arguing with people.  But I could tell from her
tone that she was only half-heartedly fighting her point.  “For the most
part a man will be singular in his vengeance.  But a woman, well now, she
has the imagination to truly put the fear of God into any heart.  As we
all know, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.’”

She smiled and lifted her
finger in a chiding motion, “You have a point sir.”  Ignoring the finger I
did return a smile of my own as she asked, “So does that mean when the two of
us meet at the tables that you will willingly surrender your chips to me?”

I was surprised that she
had taken my words and thrown them back so deftly.  She was
quick-witted.  That was not the best thing for potential opponents to
possess.  I hesitated a moment, looking for an appropriate response. 
“Just because I don’t like to separate a woman from her money doesn’t mean I’ll
hesitate to do so if she’s insistent.”  I leaned back and spread my arms
out as I finished my train of thought.  “And I can only assume that since
every woman here came willingly, they are insisting that their money should be
taken away.”

 “Smooth recovery
sir, very smooth.  I applaud you.”

“Well thank you…

For a moment I felt her
eyes examining me, trying to decide if I was worth anymore of her time or if I
deserved to know her name.  But then the moment passed and with that
beautiful smile she said, “Bella.  And you are?”

“Marcus.”

“Marcus, the name suits
you.”

“Thank you, Bella. 
And I do have to say it’s a pleasure to share some time with you before we get
started.”

“Thank you Marcus, but so
far the pleasure has been entirely mine.”

So far the pleasure had
been hers?
Well that was good to hear.  But it seemed to be
my day for saying stupid things.  “That’s unfortunate.”

I could see the annoyance
building in her eyes.  Two words, with two simple words I had undone some
of the friendship I had managed to build.  Two stupid words!  Wait a
second, was I really gathering information for the tournament when this
conversation began? 
Focus, Marcus.  Focus.
  I was just
about to explain my comment when she straightened her head and seemed to size
me up with those flashing, grey eyes. “Why is that?”

She could slip between emotions
about as easily as I could breathe, good to know.  But that calmness was
more distracting than any kind of emotion would have been. 
Wait a
second, could this all be an act?  Could she be probing me for my
reactions?
Or is she just very particular? 
If she was playing
me she was good, and at that moment I preferred to think of her as that good,
which meant I needed to pretend like she really was offended. 
So what
to say to pull my foot out of my mouth?
  “To me, a simple name like
Bella does nothing to signify or enhance your beauty.”

Well if she was trying to
play me she certainly knew enough to get all of the details right. 
Because the storm that had been brewing in her eyes began to die down bit by
bit.  Raising an eyebrow she leaned towards me, whispering so I had to
strain to make out the comment.  “You do know that my name actually means
beautiful, right?”

Well that was a news to
me, so I shook my head and her eyes bulged out just enough to let me know that
she was dubious about my convenient lack of knowledge.  But she went on,
“You’re either a brilliant flirt…”

“Or?”

“Or the luckiest man
alive that those were the words that came out of your mouth.”

As if I was offended I
asked, “Did you think I was going to say something else?”

With a wry smile she
waved that finger in front of my face as she answered.  “Marcus, Marcus,
Marcus.  We’ve only just met.  So please tell me what I was supposed
to think you were going to say.”  After inhaling with deliberate slowness
she sighed heavily and said with a wink, “Though you had been making the most
pleasant contradictions, so I guess I should have had some clue. But do you
know what you’ve shown yourself to be very good at?”  She asked. 
When I shook my head she told me.  “You’ve shown yourself to be quite good
at provoking strong emotions in me.”

“Well that could be good
or bad.”

“Good?”  She asked
with incredulity in her eyes.

“I managed to capture
your attention, haven’t I?”  Smiling back at me I could tell that she was
on the verge of blushing again. 
Or was she
?  Well even if she
was playing me I really was good at evoking strong emotions from people.

With a wry smile she
replied quickly.  “That you did, but what makes you think it’s a good
impression?”

“The fact that you’re
still here.”  I replied flatly.  She was just starting to scrunch up
her eyebrows when I explained my logic.  “You don’t seem unwilling to just
get up and leave if I offend you.  In fact you’ve tried to do just that a
couple of time so far.”

“But that…”

“Granted you could be
sitting here just to listen to me prattle on in the hopes that you’ll find
something that you can use against me in the tournament.”  She offered me
a very playful grin as if to ask me, so which one is it?  “In truth, I
don’t know.  But I have a gut feeling that you’re mostly a good person.”

“Mostly?”

Shrugging my shoulders I
offered the first response that leapt to my mind.  “No one is ever wholly
good.”

“Is that so?”

“Okay almost no
one.  Is that more accurate for you?”

“What makes you think
that I’m not one of the good ones?”

“Personal experience.”

“Personal experience?”

“Yes, personal
experience.  If you go about in life expecting the worst of everything
then when things don’t go the way you expect, you’ll only ever be unpleasantly
surprised.”

“Okay, but…”

“Now as for why you’re
here, if I’m going to assume that you’re mostly good then you wouldn’t stoop to
just scoping me out before the tournament.  So if that’s not the reason
why you’re here then you must enjoy the company.”

Laughing she looked at me
and shook her head.  Her laughter seemed to flow naturally from her, like
she did it a lot.  “Well despite your measuring stick.  You are a
good person, Marcus.  It would be nice if we could become friends.”

“I’d certainly like
that.”  I replied as she started to lean toward me.

But she rocked back when
one of the other chairs was pulled out from under the table as someone asked,
“Would I be able to join you two?”  The voice was slightly raspy as if he
had been sick just a few days ago, or was that how he always sounded? 
Either way that voice sent a shiver down my spine.

Without waiting for an
answer the man sat down and made himself at home, which made me instantly
dislike him.  And it was not just because he had interrupted a very
private conversation or that he had been rude enough not to wait for a reply.
 There was just something that I couldn’t stand about his bearing. 
So when I answered him I may have used more sarcasm than I should have. 
“By all means join us…” I paused and started to spin my fingers in his
direction, silently prompting him for his name.

“
Ohhh
…
that’s right.  My name’s Patrick Wallace.  Now I know Bella here but
I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet.”

“Marcus.”  I replied
curtly.  Like I said, I really didn’t like the man.

Placing his beer back on
the table the man clapped his hands together with evident cheer, “Now that
we’re all introduced, hopefully we can become friends.”

“Well isn’t it my lucky
day.”  I said as I shifted my martini just to make sure that my dripping
sarcasm wouldn’t fall into it.

“Feel free to ignore his
sarcasm.  And you already know the limits of our friendship.”  Bella
said as she flashed me a look that I guessed meant, please play nice.

“Me, not playing
nice?  Bella you wound me.”  I said with perfect sincerity. 
While still addressing her I turned my head just enough to look at them both
easily enough.  “I’m always eager to make new friends.  With that
said I prefer to make friends with those who are polite.”