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"I must have applied the wrong makeup."
We wandered through the drugstore, picking up the necessary contraband. As long as we were in Auberge, we could buy and do pretty much what we wished.
Once we left the complex, we were subject to the drearier laws of the City and County of Los Angeles, State of California, United States of America. Which would mean we'd be about as safe as we were in Auberge, but we'd have to handle our own bribes.
A
I lugged the attachй out of the store. "All we need now is a spaceship."
"I've been checking into that," A
"Well, we can't do it from the ground. The direct broadcast satellites can only be modified in orbit."
She smiled. "There is a way. A company called StratoDyne has filed Chapter Eleven bankruptcy."
I snorted. "I don't think even Zacharias has enough dough to buy a shuttle manufacturer."
"He won't have to. The owner will give us the company and its one working shuttle for practically nothing."
That puzzled me a tad. "Why do you think that?"
She smiled wickedly. "He draws to inside straights."
It was all she had to say.
16
Poker
The first blast of autumn cold blew through Old Downtown the next night. Twilight colored the sky a deep, somber red as A
We passed through the security entrance to head for the Casino of the Angels. I wore a tux for one of the rare times in my life. Basic black with a light blue shirt that lacked all the effeminate ruffles that seemed currently in fashion. If I was a sore thumb, I was proud of it.
A
A slit in the dress traveled up her left thigh to where it had no business being. A slender blue garter peeked out with every graceful step she took.
I expected half the casino to suffer myocardial infarction when she entered. No one gave her as much as a mild glance.
Eunuchs. Or worse.
She took a seat at the no-limit poker table. Familiar faces haunted that patch of green felt. Big time gamblers. She was ready to slaughter them in her own lovely way.
"The one in the grey sharkskin suit with the pink shirt is George," she whispered back to me without turning her eyes from the action.
I made a noncommittal sound and left the table. It might take a while for her to up the stakes. I sauntered over to the dining area.
I returned an hour or so later. The first words I heard from the table were, "Jesus Fucking Christ!"
The ski
"One more," he muttered, "one more."
George was a born target.
A
The other five gentlemen at the table held divided opinions. Two of them looked as happy as Shriners at a hookers' convention, while the other three exuded all the warmth and personality of stale cigar smoke. One of the happy ones-a chubby old man with a prominent nosedealt the next hand of five card draw.
A
The betting proceeded calmly, except in the case of George. He bet nervously and thoughtlessly. He was a plunger, all right, and a desperate one at that.
The pile of chips near A
I lit a cigarette and stepped toward the table to kibitz.
A
George stayed in, tossing his chips in angrily. His dark, tousled hair hung down in his eyes-eyes as furious as a cat cornered in an alley.
"Call," he said after the second round of raises. The chips skittered across the table to land in the center with the rest.
A
The plunger ground his teeth together and threw down his hand. Two pair with an ace kicker.
The other two players shook their heads at him and laid their cards face down.
"Lady Luck is certainly with you tonight, my dear." The fat man leaned back in his chair.
A
The ski
A
The owner of StratoDyne dealt a round of five-card draw. A
One of the three little guys at the far end brightened visibly when he won the round.
George nearly bent the remainder of the deck in his fist. His right hand slid back toward the edge of the table, stayed there just long enough to tremble hesitantly, and safely returned to shuffle the cards.
I didn't like the looks of that particular motion.
"Stud," George muttered through thi
A
"Fold," she said, sliding her cards forward.
George's knuckles popped.
Her face card had been a jack. To me, that meant that her hole card had been a king or lower. She didn't gamble-she played poker.
The kibitzers muttered among themselves as the rest of the hand played through. No one could help noticing that, while she wasn't wi
He shouldn't have.
The fat man had four diamonds showing. Possible flush. The young man had a pair of black queens.
The fat man gri
"Looks like I couldn't fool you, my boy! You won!"
The plunger flipped his hole card over to expose a third queen. "Three of a kind!" he shouted with sudden exuberance. His hands trembled toward the pile of chips.