21(S2E11)-The Last Hand

Episode 22

(Season 2 Episode 11)

The Last Hand

Markov was done.

He stared as Savannah dragged the chips across the table to her pool.  Sidney had opened the door with her all-in play and, since then, Markov had slowly been pulled apart by the two women.

Markov stared for a long time as the audience clapped and cheered for the final two.  He seemed to quietly boil for some time when he finally pulled himself together.  He ran his hand through his hair and with a heavy accent, said three words.

“Good game, ladies.” He then stood and quietly walked out.

Sidney’s eyes then went to the casino owner, Harrison Foote stood in a hot blooded rage and walked away.

Just like that it was all about Sidney and Savannah again.  For the most part, Savannah’s goals had been realized.  Markov had been broken, and with him Foote’s hype scam.  The only thing left was to preserve her good name and finish the job by losing it all to Sidney while she pretended to be Savannah.

They shuffled through a couple of hands trying to find the right hand, reading each other and looking for the signs that it was time to make the final play.

Then it came.  The last hand.

Savannah gave no real hint, not that anyone in the crowd would have seen, but Sidney picked up on it and fed the vibe back to her like an unconscious bond to finish the con.

Sidney called Savannah’s first bluff and turned her attention to Tobias who watched from the crowd intently.  Their eyes met and Tobias nodded once, slowly and subtly to let her know she could play this any way she wanted.

Sidney grinned.

“Funny thing about poker,” Sidney began in the high chirpy southern accent twang as she called Savannah’s sizable bet.  “It’s all about information.”

A hush fell over the crowd as they were on the edge of their seats.  None of them had seen such an eventful game of poker and weren’t likely to see it ever again.  Sidney continued to monologue and with the room as quiet as it was, the words seemed to echo.

The flop was a two of clubs, a four of clubs, and a five of clubs.

The crowd gasped at the obvious hand on the board.  None of them were privy to the information that Sidney and Savannah shared.

 Sidney, still doing her best impression of Savannah, continued un-phased by the cards on the table.  “You try to gather as much information on what the other person has in their hand.  You look at their motivations, their actions, and if you’re truly perceptive, their intentions.”

Savannah, doing her best impression of Sidney, bet high again making the crowd think she had the straight, telling Sidney that she had nothing.  “Well, you have a lot to say, don’t you?”

Savannah’s question was rhetorical and snide while still maintaining a fake air of mannerly.  Sidney just smiled back.  “Most southerners do, dear.”

Sidney called the bet and continued.  “Once you have all the information you can gather, you make a decision and hope that you have made the right call.”

The turn was an eight of diamonds.

Savannah bet high again and Sidney called without batting an eye.

Sidney smiled and dropped the accent for just a second.  “So did you?”

Savannah looked up, frustrated while maintaining her own accent.  “Did I, what?”

The river was a nine of hearts.

“Make the right call?” Sidney asked with a grin.

Savannah Burton as Sidney Thomas went all in.

Sidney Thomas as Savannah Burton called.

Savannah flipped her cards.  “Well, damn it all.  I was bluffing.”

Savannah’s cards were a two of spades, and a jack of diamonds.

“Pair of twos.”  The dealer called out her hand.

Sidney had to just flip a hand better then a pair of twos and the game was over.  Savannah would beat the hype scam and look like a poker God.

Sidney grinned and flipped her cards.  A six and seven of diamonds.

The crowd was speechless.

“Nine of spades, high card.”  The dealer said, “Winner is Sidney Thomas with a pair of twos.”

Savannah’s eyes went to the cards, then to the dealer, then to Sidney.

Sidney was smiling, the crowd had yet to react, confused as to what had just happened.

“Well, that’s just too bad,” Sidney broke the silence.  “I guess today, Sidney Thomas is just too good for Savannah Burton.”

The crowd began to react.  Claps and hollers went up as they cheered the no-named winner.

Savannah knew better.

Instead of helping Savannah beat the hype scam, Sidney had hijacked it.  Savannah Burton had just won the game as Sidney Thomas.

Sidney stood and Savannah stood grabbing Sidney’s collar and dragging her close, her voice disguised by the noise.  “You fuckin’ bitch!”

Savannah’s voice had reverted back to homicidal redneck.  “You will never have the information about your father now!”

Sidney slapped her hand away.  “Fenton Sanoma is dead to me and I want to keep him that way.”

Sidney then pointed to the crowd and Savannah followed her finger to see Tobias, Linda and Hank standing in the crowd.  Tobias waved.  “If you really did your research, then you know what they do.  Particularly, the man with the slicked back hair in the middle.”

Savannah’s nostrils flared.  “They followed you, but what does the thief have to do with it?”

“I want you do think of all the sensitive materials you have hidden in your life, because at least one of them, a big one, is now missing.  I die and the wrong people will get the sensitive items.  Understand?”  Sidney finished her explanation.  She and Tobias had worked together too long for her to not know what he had been up to the last couple of days.

“You fucking bitch!” Savannah yelled, realizing that Sidney had beaten her.

Sidney had beaten her by losing.

“Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go celebrate.  I just beat Savannah Burton at poker.” Sidney turned and walked through the crowd toward her friends…

…toward her family.

****

The Tease

One week later.

Hank entered the bar and found Tobias sitting at a table.  He already had a beer waiting for him.  Hank smiled and walked over before sitting at the table and taking the beer.

“Thanks for coming.” Tobias said as he raised his own half-empty glass to his mouth.

“No problem.”  Hank said, “How’s Sidney?”

Tobias shrugged.  “Trouble as usual, but she’s alright.  No backlash from Savannah so it looks like our blackmail is working.”

“That’s good.” Hank replied without emotion.

“That’s not why I called you out here, brother.”  Tobias said, fixing his eyes on him.

Hank raised an eyebrow and took a swig of the cold beer.  “You’re retired now, so this better not be about a job.”

Tobias shook his head.  “One more, I know the wedding is coming but this has to happen.”

Hank shook his head.  “No, I’m putting a stop to this.  Linda loves you.  You are tempting fate with this and I can’t be part of anything that ends in her being alone.”

Tobias frowned hard at the potential betrayal of his future wife.  He seemed to take a long time to think about it long and hard.  “We have to.”

“What’s worth that?!”  Hank asked, starting to get angry.

Tobias pulled a packet of papers out of his inner coat pocket and tossed it on the table.

Hank looked at it confused.  “What’s this?”

“Fenton Sanoma, “Tobias answered without looking at him.

“Sid’s dad?” Hank asked.

Tobias nodded and Hank looked at the top sheet then back to Tobias.  “Sidney wants to go after him?”

Tobias shook his head.  “She wants nothing to do with him.  She wants to forget about him.”

“After what he did, I don’t get it?” Hank asked.

“She doesn’t want to lose to him again, that’s why we have to.”  Tobias said and looked hard at Hank.

“We have to bring him down.  For Sidney.”

END SEASON 2