That left me and Faye with Harry, which should have been overwhelming odds had Harry been anything less than a savant at the game. What was supposed to be a cakewalk turned into a tense, evenly matched battle of wits and cons. Time ticked by, but no one cared. It was like Faye said. The moment was the only thing that mattered.
I'd lost count of the rounds. The night had been swallowed by bourbon shots, gasper smoke, and the clack of shuffling cards. I had a pair of twos in the pocket, but the flop was a four, a Jack and a Queen. That odds of me winning that particular hand were pretty much zilch unless another two card showed up. But I'd won three straight hands on solid cards after drastically upping the bet in the final round. I figured I'd established a pattern of behavior that would fool Harry into buying my bluff.
Felix dealt a nine card. I upped the ante by a mere five large. Faye and Harry matched the bet. Felix dealt the river card: another Jack.
I pushed seventy large on the table, leaned back, and took a nonchalant swallow of bourbon. Just like I figured, Harry folded right on schedule.
Faye didn't.
I tried to contain my shock when she raised the bet with her entire bankroll. "All in." She looked at me with one her small, secretive smiles.
I couldn't figure out what she was trying to do. She had to know either I had a high hand or I was bluffing. With her betting the farm, I had to either fold or match. Either way I was screwed.
I shrugged it off and pushed the rest of my chips forward. Whatever it was, I had to trust her. At that point, I didn't have much of a choice anyhow.
Faye beat me with a lousy pair of fours to combine with the twin Jacks on the board. She didn't glance up when my large pile of chips were added to hers. I was dismissed from her mind, just a ghost in a game that continued while I slowly stood up and shakily made my way to the exit. The room blurred as though all the alcohol I'd ingested through the night hit me right between the eyes like a hollow-point slug. I caught the smug look on Harry's face as I passed her. Like she knew exactly how it would end. The realization dawned, too late as always. I'd been completely outwitted, gut-punched from the blind side. Faye had played me like Fats the Jazz Man on freestyle sax.
I was finished. Gambler's regret settled in, greeting me like an old friend. My entire body throbbed from whiplash cuts, phantom pain from the shame of walking away in defeat while the mocking ring of silent laughter rang in the air. I was left with nothing.
Nothing except the rage.
Part 4: Gone For Broke
I must have had a look of a man about to do murder, because four security bulls shadowed me all the way to the casino exit doors. I staggered out into the pouring rain, my mind still trying to piece together what happened. It's funny. I had no problem conning the system, no thought for tiptoeing around the questionable side of legality. Came with the game.
But being conned was another thing entirely. The feeling of sheer helplessness only fed the flames of rage that burned in my chest. I lifted a half-crushed gasper to my lips. The lighter quivered in my trembling fingers. I took a deep drag and let the poison seep into my lungs and calm the adrenaline that rushed through my veins.
I had to figure out my next move. Going back into the casino was a bunny act — I was a marked man now, and the bulls would be on my keister faster than you could say blackjack. Nix the parking garage for the same reason. Had go figure Faye had an out already planned to exit the building undetected. I would have to catch up to her on the street. Figured she was too smart to go back to her apartment. Which on second thought probably wasn't her apartment to begin with. There had to be something, though. Everyone slips up sooner or later, even a smooth operator like Faye.
My holoband beeped.
I lifted my wrist and took the call. Frankie Newman's profile flickered onto the holographic display. I glared at him. "Whatever you got, it's too late."
"Yeah, I bet it is. She took you for a ride, didn't she?" Newman's mug looked so self-satisfied that I wanted to punch him right through the holographic display. "I tried to warn you. It's always the beautiful ones that break you. Anyway, you want the wire or not?"
"May as well."
"Obviously Faye is an alias. Real name is Sue Li. Don't have much record of her being here long, but she still managed to run a small but profitable gambling ring, mostly in underground or extremely private locales. Known for her unpredictability, particularly with temporary alliances with unexpected partners."
"Yeah, no kidding. Like Harry Gutierrez, for one."
"So it seems. And you, of course." He followed the statement with a sardonic grin.
"I'm not her partner anymore."
"Like I said — temporary."
"Yeah, I get it. Bad thing is I'm in for fifty large with Goryachevas, and I just lost it in their casino."
"Not the best idea."
"Thanks. They have to know I blew their stacks with nothing to show. They're gonna be breathing down my neck to get those dibs back. Figure it can't be too long before they unleash the hounds to encourage me with a broken leg or two."
"So you want me to find Sue Li? I can try, but she's not a ghost for nothing."
"Don't bother. I need you to find her boss."
"Her boss?"
"Yeah. He caught her up last night, talked her down like she was nothing. That's gotta be the reason she double-crossed me like that. She's has to owe him something big, and this score was the only way to level up."
"Okay, so how do I find this boss of hers?"
"He was nabbed by the coppers in Chinatown last night after I introduced the back of his egg to the Mean Ol' Broad. He was sporting a black market holoband, which I kindly relieved him of. The brass had to take him in after that."
"Unauthorized holoband removal arrest in Chinatown." Frankie tapped a keyboard off-screen. "Yeah, I got the rap sheet. Errand boy for a small gang related to the Jade Dragon Triad organization. Name is Joe Smith."
"'Joe Smith?' C'mon, the guy is Chinese."
"Shame on you, Mick. Not every Chinese person has a distinctly ethnic name, you know."
"Yeah, but 'Joe Smith?'"
"Guy's a criminal. Goes to say he'd have an alias. Anyway, he posted bail this morning. Has to report to his probo, so he's been secured with a police monitored holoband. Duck soup to trace."
I exhaled a cloud of gasper smoke. "Finally. Figure if I put the squeeze on him, I can take care of whatever he's got over Faye. She shouldn't have a problem squaring up with me after that."
"I don't think that's gonna happen, Mick."
"Whaddya mean? I'm pretty sure I can handle this guy with no problem, even if he is Triad. Not like I got a choice, anyhow."
"No doubts on your hurt skills, brother. It's your guy. According to my data, he isn't Sue Li's boss."
"No? Who is, then?"
"That's the point. Sue Li runs the whole operation. Joey boy works for her."
My jaw clenched. "Where is he?"
