18(S2E7)-The Show

18

(Season 2 Episode 7)

The Show

Sidney, in her Savannah outfit, watched as the small group of spectators found their seats, getting ready to watch the second round of the illegal poker super bowl.

Harrison Foote took his seat as well, an ear to ear smile on the face of the small toad-like man.  He had everything to be happy about.

This man was high stacked and primed to win the whole thing.

Sidney had a mind to agree.  She had plenty of time to watch the other players during the prior day’s fold fest.  No one, including Savannah, had the real ability to take down Markov.  The man was a rock and Sidney was getting one bad hand after another.

Sidney wasn’t sure if she could beat Markov, even if she wasn’t being cheated.

The pale Asian woman, Lilly, and the well rounded black man, Theodore, remained in the game.  The cowboy had been sent packing the day before.  After Sidney had bluffed out the cowboy, Savannah had smelled blood and went in for the kill, taking the man out while he was on tilt.

Sidney had not bothered to learn his name.

Things looked bleak for Savannah’s scam and, in turn, Sidney’s well being.  If it continued this way it would be a matter of time before Markov picked them off one by one.  Sidney had yet to find a tell or even see him flinch.  They had bitten off more than they could chew.

It was at that point that the day’s dealer entered the room and walked nervously to his chair at the center of the table.  He had a light sheen of sweat on his skin and his hands shook lightly.  Sidney also noted a small bruise on his right cheek.

Sidney looked to see Mr. Foote’s reaction and she could tell he noticed the bruise too because, at that moment, the casino owner’s smile faded and he suddenly leaned forward.

Sidney thought Hank couldn’t have done a better job.  He had put the fear into the dealer without hurting him too badly to make it obvious.  This did wonders for her confidence because this also confirmed that she was not alone in this terrible situation and that Tobias and Hank were out there running the game.

Sidney snuck a glance at Savannah who was in her Sidney outfit across the table. Savannah stared at the dealer then snapped a harsh glance at Sidney.

Sidney couldn’t resist and winked at her.

The dealer announced the rules of the game and the current chip amounts of each player.  He then burned a card and dealt the first hand of the day.

Pair of nines in the pocket.

Sidney smiled as the bet came to her.  “I do believe, I’m going to have to get serious.  I raise.”

All of the players snapped attention to Sidney.  Even Markov eyed her.  She had been a dead fish through the whole game the night before, but now, in the open hand she raised.

The game had changed.

****

“What the fuck happened?” Harrison muttered under his breath, trying not to attract attention.

His assistant, the scantily clad dark haired woman named Stephanie stepped up.  “I’m sorry, sir.  What are you speaking about?”

“Somebody got to the dealer, you stupid bitch!” Harrison’s voice rose and this attracted attention.

Harrison saw the looks and calmed himself.  Stephanie shook her head.  “Sir, how can you tell?”

Harrison took a deep hard sigh.  “How much do I fucking pay you?”

“Before or after taxes?” She responded as if the question was not rhetorical nor an insult.

“Don’t answer that,” Harrison almost growled.  “He has a bruise under his eye and he’s so nervous his hands are shaking.”

She shook her head.  “Sir, I believe you may be overreacting.”

The moment she had finished speaking, the dealer spoke up loudly from the floor.  “Three queens beats two pair.  Pot to Ms. Burton.”

Harrison turned around frowning, to watch the flighty blonde woman clap happily.  “Well look at that!  Appears my luck is changing!”

The audience clapped for the hand and Harrison wanted to beat someone to death.

“Who is tomorrow’s dealer?” Harrison asked.

“Sam Peters, sir.” The assistant replied undaunted by the little man’s rage.

“Call up Silas.  Double his normal fee, and set him up to watch Sam.  No one gets to him.”  Harrison barked the order with frustration in his voice.

“Of course, sir.” The assistant responded then took her leave to make the calls she needed to.

Harrison seethed but took solace in the fact that Silas would take care of it.

Whoever flipped his dealer was going to pay.

****

“Too rich for me,” Savannah said in her best northern accent, dropping her cards to the table.

Savannah stared at Sidney and seethed.

Sidney grinned back at her.  “Well, so sorry to hear that, sweetie.  That’s what you get for voting for Obama.”

Savannah narrowed her eyes at the mockery of the south.

Lilly and Theodore stared at the amount before them.  It was enough to put them both all-in.

The Asian woman gave a wry smile.  “That’s not going to work on me, dear.”

She pushed her chips in.  She was very obviously referencing the move Sidney had pulled on the Cowboy.

The joke was on her.  Sidney had pocket kings, with a king on the table.  She had been watching the two very closely and she knew that Lilly was only going in because she believed Sidney to be bluffing.

Sidney shook her head.  “You’re just too smart for me, sugar pie.”

The over the top tone and accent was awarded with another dark look from Savannah.

Sidney had to admit she was having too much fun with this.

The bet was to Theodore and he was taking his time sizing up the competition.  He wasn’t so sure Sidney was bluffing, thanks to her recent roll.  She had climbed back to third very obviously, now just behind Savannah but still a long way off from the mountain that was Demtri Markov.

“All in,” he said in a deep booming voice, but Sidney heard the fear in it.  The dealer went about splitting up the side pots, making sure if one of the lower stacked players won, the correct amount would go to each person.

Sidney knew this would not matter.

It was at this point that a quiet buzzer sounded.

“This will be the last hand of today’s game,” the dealer announced and the crowd clapped.

The showdown had become all the more dramatic.  The spectators couldn’t be happier with the epic setting as two people played to stay in the game.

Sidney decided to give them a show.  “So, you both are in?”

Sidney never gave them a chance to respond and continued speaking to the crowd. “Would anyone who doesn’t like spoilers please close their ears now?”

No one did but she had their full attention.  She turned back to Lilly.  “You think I’m bluffing, but you were sure the big man here wouldn’t go all in so you called.  Now, you are sitting on a low pair, praying that he has a crap hand and I am bluffing.  I’m not bluffing.  But that wouldn’t matter because you are also wrong about Teddy, here.”

She turned toward Theodore.  “You have a five and a king, which is giving you two pair. That gives you a decent hand with two cards to try to land the full house.  You need the king, which I can guarantee you don’t have, or the five, which I’m guessing makes up Lilly’s low pair.”

The two looked at each other and both frowned, knowing she was right.

“Bless my stars, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the only chance anyone has is a five.  The last five.” Sidney said with a grin.

Lilly scuffed, half in disdain for the performance and half out of frustration for losing to the performer.  She stood, knowing she was done, and walked out angrily.

The dealer adjusted his collar and dealt the last two cards.

An ace of clubs and an ace of spades.

The crowd erupted in applause as Theodore hurled is cards across the room in anger.

“Round two concluded,” The dealer spoke over the applause.  “We conclude with Mr. Markov in the lead with $2.5 Million.  Savannah Burton now in second with $500,000, and finally, Sidney Thomas with $450,000.  We will resume tomorrow at the same time.”

The applause continued as the large brick house that was Demtri Markov stood, eyeing Sidney emotionlessly.

Sidney as Savannah put a hand on her hip and winked at the big Russian.  “We got a date tomorrow, sugar.”

The Russian gave her nothing, simply turning and walking out.

Deep inside, Sidney was still worried.  At the end of the day, no matter what Tobias and Hank did on the outside, she still had to find a way to topple the Russian.

Sidney was not sure it was possible.

END EPISODE 18

17(S2E6)-The Case

17

The Case

(Season 2 Episode 6)

“What the fuck was that?” Savannah’s accent became a harsh threatening tone as both she and Sidney entered the limo after Friday’s round of poker.

It was clear to Sidney that Savannah was mad at her for her move on the cowboy fellow mid-way through the game.  “What did you want me to do?  I have to make some kind of move or I will bleed out.”

Savannah scowled back at her as she pulled off the brunette wig.  “Of course you did, but not all in, you could have put us out in on the first day!  All that idiot had to do was call and it would have been over.”

“Did I lose it for us?” Sidney said unable to keep the smirk off her face.  “Honestly, you wouldn’t have had to worry about me so much if you had dealt with Markov.”

Savannah didn’t answer that but her face became flushed.  Sidney was getting to her. Savannah had probably hoped to have this over on the first day and had not expected Demtri to be as good as he was.

So good, in fact, he was currently high stacked.

“Better than you thought, isn’t he?” Sidney said finally, after a long, tense silence.

Savannah took a deep breath and brought her cheerleader persona back to the forefront.  “Don’t you worry, sweet heart.  I will take him tomorrow.”

 Sidney raised an eyebrow.  “He’s a wall Savannah.  How are you planning to-”

“Don’t you worry about how, just keep your head on straight and keep yourself in the game.” Savannah cut her off, her voice still a high accented cheerleader but it was wrapped in threat.

Sidney weighed her reactions and decided she would back off, having taken Savannah to her limit.

Having taken Savannah to where she wanted her.

The longer the game continued, the more time Tobias and Hank had to even the odds. Very rarely had Sidney and Tobias had to work on the fly like this, but she had faith he would know what to do.  She also had faith that Tobias would be thinking like her right now.

If Tobias had listened long enough to hear Savannah talk about the hype scam, then he would know how to turn the tables.  He would put Hank to the task of flipping the dealers, putting Sidney back into the game.  He would know that they would also need leverage to barter with Savannah, so he would go about acquiring some.

This was, of course, all banking on the fact that Tobias had heard that one small piece of information through the phone when it was tucked in Sydney’s pocket.  Whether or not he heard, it really didn’t matter at this point.

If Sidney was going to get out of this, she would have to assume that he had heard every word.

****

“So that’s the place?” Linda asked from the passenger side of the car as she and Tobias watched a building from across the street.

“That is the place,” Tobias answered, not turning toward her.

He felt a serious unease with her in the car.  She was seeing a part of his life he had never intended for her to witness.  He had thought he was done with this, but yet again, he was sitting across from someone else’s building trying to find a way to illegally gain access to it.  To make matters worse, he was doing it in front of his soon-to-be wife.  A woman he had promised that he would never to do this kind of thing again.

“Why this place?” Linda asked, surprisingly without judgment but with more of an honest curiosity.

“We have to find a way to turn the tables on Savannah.  It’s the only way to get Sidney back,” Tobias began to explain.  “To do that, I have to acquire something to hold over Savannah’s head as well as whatever she is holding over Sidney’s.”

“You know it’s in there?” Linda questioned.

“Savannah Burton makes almost all of her money from playing in illegal poker games, but she also has a real estate business.  So, my guess is that it’s some kind of cover to assist with explaining her fortune.  In there is her company.” Tobias again answered.

“So you are going to break in, in hopes of finding something you’re not even sure exists?” Linda asked.

Tobias shrugged.  “I’m a good thief babe.  I know that’s not exactly the kind of words you want to hear, but I am. This kinda stuff, however, was never my bag.  Sidney’s the one that figured this stuff out, but I think it’s my best bet.”

Linda looked at her soon-to-be husband for a long time and Tobias felt her eyes on him.  He turned back to face her.

She seemed to look for the right words, then spoke.  “Who is this woman to you? Really?”

Tobias knew this question had been coming but didn’t expect it now.  He took a long deep breath and placed his hands gently on either side of her face.  “She’s more than a friend, but not more than you and never will be.”

Linda spoke softly.  “But why all this?”

Tobias kissed her gently.  “Because I owe her my life.  I can’t give up on her because she never gave up on me.”

Linda smiled, reassured.  Tobias knew that was all she needed.  Linda was a smart practical woman who had the ability to cut right to the heart of a matter.  She saw through bullshit and knew Tobias wasn’t lying.  She took his words at face value and trusted him.

It was just one of the reasons he loved her.

“So, what’s the next move mister cat burglar?” Linda asked sarcastically and Tobias turned to look back at the five-story, premier office building.

This was a nice place and had the most updated security.  “Well, we have to case the place but I don’t like what I see.  There are four armed guards at the front.  I can see two at the door to the lobby and another two inside the lobby, which has a security check point with a metal detector.”

Linda frowned at Tobias’s lack of options.  “What about the back?”

Tobias shook his head.  “Key pad and key card entrance and exit only.”

Tobias suddenly cracked a smile and Linda looked at him slyly.  “What?”

“I got an idea.  Does that smart phone of yours still have GPS?” Tobias asked.

Linda nodded and Tobias looked around the busy city street.  Eyeing a super market, he opened the car door.  “I’ll be right back.”

Tobias went inside and bought a pre-paid Boost Mobile phone.  He then went back to the car and had Linda key the phone’s number into her GPS tracking system.

They then waited until someone exited the front door and crossed the street to a nearby Starbucks.

Tobias smiled.  “Want to ruin someone’s day?”

Linda starred at him suspiciously…

****

Mark Devin was an I.T. guy who was having the worst Saturday of his life.

First he was woken up on what was supposed to be his day off to find out that the entire network had gone down for Creative Solutions, one of the many businesses he tended to in the building.  He was the only one who picked up the phone so he was the one who had to come in.

Most of the time, all the computer needed was a quick reboot, something the common and usually computer illiterate office worker never understood.

Mark had hoped it would be a quick fix.

It wasn’t.

One of the many severs had just up and died, something Mark had been warning Tom Gardner, Creative Solutions boss, about for months.

 “It’s just not in the budget.” Had always been Tom’s response.

It would have to be now.  If only they had listened, but nobody listened to the I.T. guy it was just-

Mark’s internal rant was cut short when an average height man bumped into him while he waited in line at the Starbucks for his coffee.  The man had a hawk-like nose, slicked back hair, and Mark noticed that he was overdressed for the coffee house.

“Hey!” Mark hollered as he stumbled.  “Watch where you are going!”

The man frowned.  “Jeez, I’m sorry buddy.  Are you okay?”

Mark could tell from the accent that he was a northerner.  The bastards thought they owned everything.  “Yes, I’m fine just be more careful.”

The man nodded.  “Sorry again man.  Did you see the bathroom in this place?”

Mark shook his head and pointed.  “Over there.”

“Thanks, sorry again.” The northerner said and headed for the bathroom.

Mark took a deep breath.  Could it get worse?

Mark had no idea that it could.

He crossed the street and caught his eye on a beauty walking down the sidewalk toward his building.

She had short layered blonde hair and wore tight form fitting jeans that showed off her hippy figure.  She wore an orange top will frills around the edges and large designer sunglasses.

Mark couldn’t help but watch as she approached.  He then sped up at the last second to beat her to the door then opened it for her with a grin.  “Beautiful whether we’re having, huh?”

His comment about the beautiful North Carolina sun on the spring afternoon seemed to have very little effect on her.  She gave an uneasy smile and passed into the building.

Mark let the door shut and followed her in, suddenly and without warning, the woman in front of him stopped.  Mark, unable to do the same in the small distance bumped into her.

“Oh my God, get off me!” The woman screamed loudly.

Mark’s eyes went wide as she yelled loud enough to get all the security guards attention.  “What?”

“I will not and I don’t appreciate the advances!” The woman continued to scream.  “And if you touch me again I’ll scream!”

Mark looked confused.  “Lady, you’re already screaming.”

“You want to do what?!” She screamed.  “That is disgusting!”

Mark reached out a hand to her shoulder as he saw the guards start to approach.  “Lady, please calm down!”

“Knife!  He’s got a Knife!” The woman screamed before Mark was full-on tackled by one of the guards and driven to the floor.

“What the fuck?!” Mark screamed as the guard flipped him and zip tied his hands.

The other guard went to the insane woman.  “Are you okay, ma’am?”

The woman smiled and seemed to swoon at the guard’s attention.  “I am indeed.  Thank you so much.”

Mark was dragged to his feet and through the gate.  “I didn’t do anything!”

“Shut up!” The guard yelled.

 Mark was having a bad day.

****

Linda crossed the street and got back in the car.  “How’d I do?”

Tobias mocked anger.  “Little too flirty with the guard for my taste.”

Linda grinned.  “Well, you’re a criminal who could be headed to prison at any time, so I have to keep my options open.”

Tobias gave her a sullen look.  “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“No,” Linda countered.  “You’re lucky I’m cute.

Tobias was trying to think of a good response when two cop cars pulled up to the front gate to acquire Mark.  Tobias had Linda check the GPS to see that Mark seemed to be being held in a back room on the first floor.

“Fast response time, six minutes.” Tobias said.

Linda watched with him.  “So can you do it?”

Tobias smiled.  “Like I said babe, I am a good thief.”

END EPISODE 17.

16(S2E5)-The Fear

16

(Season 2 Episode 5)

The Fear

Hank watched the man at the bar from his vantage point at the table.  He slowly took out his chew tin, flicked it twice, and then placed a large wad in his bottom lip.

Tobias’ friend Skeever had gotten the information on the dealers for the game and Hank had marveled at the amount of information that the informant could acquire there.  Hank used the internet, it was hard not to in this day and age.  He used it for all sorts of things like tips on fixing cars as well as his guilty pleasure, reading comic books.

This Skeever however, was something else entirely.

By the time they got into town it was too late to get at the first dealer so Sidney would have to make it through, of her own volition.  It would be hard but Hank and Tobias had watched her play before and knew she could handle herself.

Hank’s job now was to find Saturday and Sunday’s dealers and change their minds. They would be already getting large bonuses from the casino owner to deal Sidney (posing as Savannah) bad hands and make sure Markov got good ones.  This meant paying them off was out of the question, since neither Hank nor Tobias would have the money to out pay an illegal casino owner.

This left only one alternative.  Hank would have to put the fear into them.

Saturday’s dealer was a small, squirrely looking man named Matt Clamp.  He was dressed in a light tan suit with teased hair and bleach blonde tips.  He was drinking with two friends.  Both looked like they would put up a fight for Matt but neither looked like they had ever really thrown a punch.

Hank smiled at the situation.  This would make things easy for him.

****

Two cards slid Sidney’s way and she almost didn’t even have to look at them, another two-seven, off-suit.

One hour had passed on the first night and Sidney had gotten nothing but this hand, low pairs and cards six or higher, away from each other.  She had taken the first hour of folding to watch the table and gather info.  At one end of the half moon table and to her direct left sat Markov.  On her right side as a very fat black guy dressed like Biggy Smalls.  On his right was Savannah, doing her best impersonation of Sidney.  Then, to her right, was a very stringy, pale, Asian woman and finally at the other end was a white older gentleman in a cowboy hat.

The bet came to Sidney and in her sweet southern bell accent she folded again.  “Oh dear me, I just can’t seem to get any luck today, not like this big fella.”

Sidney again got flirty with Markov but the wall of Russian muscle was just that.  He had shown no emotion and made no sound except to bet or fold.  At first Sidney thought that he didn’t speak English, but she knew better now.

Most of the best players play one of two ways, loud or quiet.  Loud players are just that. They talk a lot, hoot and holler, make conversation and generally annoy every other player at the table.  They do this with strategic reason.  The constant movement hides their ‘tell’ in white noise.  On top of that, they irritate the other players, putting them on tilt, causing them to make careless decisions.  Quiet players, the debatably more dangerous of the two, play with as little noise or movement as they can.  They define the term Poker Face, letting the other players make their own mistakes.  They put all of their own effort into watching the other players and learning their habits and mistakes.  Quiet players let you eat yourself.

Markov had redefined the quiet player.  He literally reacted to nothing.  Sidney had been watching him more than anyone else.  He had no twitches to say he had a bad hand, no ticks to say he had a good one.  Markov was a poker robot.

This made him good, possibly the best at the table.  She didn’t think he needed a scam to help him win.

Sidney decided she might be in trouble later.

****

Hank had a long wait, but he was in no rush.  He watched from the table ordering a drink whenever the waitress got too irritated with him.  He watched as Matt and his small group drank, hit on women and yelled at the bartender.

He watched until 2:00 in the morning when Matt and his friends, good and tipsy, decided to call it a night.  The three of them paid their tabs and made their way to the door. Hank pulled out cash and put it on the table for the check with a fifty percent tip for the waitress.  He took his last empty bottle with him and followed the three out into the parking lot.

They were singing and loudly making jokes and had no idea of the hell that was about to reign down on them.  Hank decided it was time to put the fear into them.

Hank stepped in behind the three and put his foot into Matt’s back with force.  Matt fell forward into the front end of a car and crashed into the hood.  Hank stepped in between the two others and brought his hand in a big swinging back hand arc.  The friend to the right was completely taken off guard.  A sober man might have been able to defend himself, but these three were far from sober and the bottle crashed into the man’s face, shattering on his cheekbone.

The man screamed and fell backward, grabbing his face as he hit the asphalt.  Matt’s other friend’s surprise twisted to rage as Hank turned toward him.  The friend crinkled his fingers into a ball and proceeded to throw the worse punch that Hank had ever seen.

Hank stepped under the wild haymaker and gave the man a shove, sending him staggering to his knees.  Hank stepped forward as Matt started to stand up straight.

“What the Fu-” Matt began to say, but was cut off as Hank grabbed his head with his free hand and slammed Matt’s face onto the hood with a loud thud.

Hank could have destroyed Matt’s face with the blow but he restrained himself.  If Matt was too banged up, the casino manager would get suspicious and that could cause problems.  The hit was enough to make Matt’s knees go weak in his drunken state.

Hank turned back to deal with Matt’s friends when the standing member of the entourage struck him in the face.

It is widely believed that punching someone in the face happens naturally.  It doesn’t. There are loads of small, very breakable bones in someone’s hand.  If someone is un-trained, or un-tested in a fight, they can do much more damage to their own hand than their opponent’s face.

This is one such situation.

The blow hurt, sure, but Hank barley felt it.  The friend, on the other hand, just started screaming and cradling his hand to his abdomen.  He dropped to his knees, screaming in pain.  Hank turned back toward Matt.

Matt was fumbling with his keys in a panic to try to get into the car.  Hank grabbed him by the back of the neck, pushed his head into the top of the car and placed the broken bottle to the back of his neck.  This last part got a whimper from Matt.

“Hey Matt,” Hank said and then spit some tobacco.  “My name’s Hank.  Say my name, Matt.”

“What?” Matt asked confused.

Hank slammed Matt’s face on the metal car top and yelled.  “Say my name!”

“Hank!  Holy shit, it’s Hank!” Matt said, almost crying now.

“Better.”  Hank began to calm and spit again.  “Tomorrow you’re going to deal a clean game of poker.  You’re not going to tell your boss I came to see you.  Do you understand?”

Matt nodded.

“Gonna need to hear you say it, Matt.” Hank said.

“I understand!  Clean game!  I got it, I swear!” Matt blubbered.

Hank smiled.  “Good to hear.”

Hank dropped the bottle and left the three men to lick their wounds.

****

Halfway through the Friday session, Sidney had about half of the chips that she had when she started.

The cowboy and the rapper were low stacked, having made some bad bets against either Markov or Savannah.  Markov was in the lead and Savannah was close behind with the Asian woman in between.

Sidney had spent the entire day folding and she could tell that most of the people at the table were getting irritated that she wasn’t making any moves.  This was the plan and exactly what Savannah wanted.  She wanted her to keep folding and keep herself just barely in the game.

Sidney had other ideas.  She had one more move and decided to make it.

The dealer shuffled the cards and dealt them around the table.  Sidney received a two of spades and a three of hearts.  The betting came to her and she limped in.

The table’s energy shifted, this was a change and everyone was looking now.  Savannah was glaring, again Sidney was playing out of bounds and she didn’t like it. Sidney didn’t much care what she thought.

Sidney had all the power now, the table had watched her fold hand after hand but now she had bet, meaning she must have something.  Everyone folded except for the cowboy.

Sidney smiled at the chance to make some money.

The dealer dealt the flop.  It was a nine of clubs, a ten of hearts and a jack of spades.

The bet was to Sidney and she had one move.  She would have to try to convince the cowboy that her pocket cards finished the strait on the table and that his didn’t.

Sidney bet the minimum.

The cowboy gave her a hard look then re-raised her, putting in twice the bet.  He was calling the perceived bluff, which meant that Sidney had two ways to go; she could fold out and cut her losses or she could try to convince the cowboy that he was doing exactly what she wanted him to.

“Well sweetheart, I’m just gonna have to go all in.” Sidney’s perfect fake accent broke the silence.  Gasps and sighs from around the room followed.

Savannah’s eyes could have carved holes in the side of Sidney’s head.  She was one step away from ruining everything.  All the cowboy had to do was call and the scam was a success, and Savannah would have Sidney murdered in some gruesome way.

Sidney knew better.

With a scowl on his face, the cowboy folded the hand after almost a minute of staring. Sidney grinned.  “Sorry to see that happen dear, I like the hat but I prefer a man with big stones.”

The Asian woman cracked a smile and the fat black guy howled in laughter.

End episode 16

 Hy

15(S2E4)-The Flip

15

The Flip

(Season 2 Episode 4)

It was the fastest sixteen hours of Sidney’s life.  The driver took an inhumanly small amount of breaks and multiple times they were forced to stop based on the bladder of the two women in the back, both of which had consumed quite a few drinks while they mentally dueled for control of the situation.

Any time Sidney left the car she was accompanied by a guard who seemed to be more about keeping her from making any contact with anyone else than stopping her from escaping.

Savannah had already decided that what she had was enough to keep Sidney on board.

The change of scenery, circumstance aside, was welcomed.  It was beautiful in North Carolina and Sidney couldn’t help but stare out the window as they crossed the long bridge onto Emerald Island.

After five or so more minutes they arrived at a house on the beach.  It was small, only two bedrooms, and raised off the ground on wooden stilts.  They walked up the stairs arriving at the first floor deck and the ocean stretched out before the rag tag group.

By the time they arrived it was morning of the next day and the water looked inviting. Sidney had never been much of a swimmer but she was suddenly called to it like never before.

“We are not here to swim, honey, we’re here to work.  Remember that.”  Savannah’s sweet southern voice ripped apart Sidney’s feeling of awe.

“I’m sure if I forget, you’ll be here to remind me.”  Sidney replied with no small amount of spite.

Savannah’s guards gone in first to check the place over.  When they gave the okay, Savannah lead Sidney to her room.  “Here’s where you will be staying, sweetie.”

Savannah then snapped her fingers like the villain in an old James Bond movie and one of her big lumbering men walked in with a large suit case.

“That is everything you need to be me,” Savannah explained.  “Seeing as how it is Friday, the first game is tonight, so I would get to it.”

“So who are you?” Sidney asked with a raised eyebrow.

Savannah suddenly dropped her own accent as easily as Sidney was going to put it on, “I’m going to be a brunette named Kate Rothchild.  When we go in tonight you will introduce me as such.  Kate will be playing on Savannah’s dime.”

Sidney was impressed with her northern accent.  She knew it was harder for a southerner to drop their accent then it was for a northerner to fake a southern accent.  “Well done.”

Savannah’s chimey southern bell returned.  “What dear?  Did you think you were the only one with talent?”  With that, Savannah made her exit shutting the door behind her.

Sidney opened the case in front of her.  Staring at the contents within, she couldn’t help but smile.  “Time to go to work.”

****

Linda stared at the two as they drove.

“So, what’s the first move?” Hank asked Tobias.

“Get to North Carolina as fast as possible, then you’re going to have to work the dealers.” Tobias answered.

“How?  Do we have that information?”  Hank asked before picking up his bottle and spitting some of the chew into it.

“I have Skeever working on it.  Once we flip the dealers, Sidney will start getting good cards and she’ll be able to work the table.” Tobias answered.

Linda had heard enough.  “So let me get this straight, you got my brother in on this?”

Both Tobias and Hank sat ridged for a second, having gotten too involved in the job they had forgotten Linda was in the car.

Neither one of them could answer.  She watched as each of them scrambled to come up with a lie.  “Not to mention the fact, it appears that Hank is familiar with Sidney, which would imply he’s been in on jobs before, which is really interesting since I introduced you after you promised me you were done with all this criminal stuff.”

Tobias sighed and scratched his head.  He was caught red handed.  Hank got defensive.  “I can take care of myself.”

 “If you could, you wouldn’t be in the car right now,” she said sarcastically to Hank before turning back to Tobias. “So my brother was in on whatever you pulled to get the restaurant then?”

Tobias was taken aback.  “How did you know about that?”

Linda raised an eyebrow.  “One day out of the blue all your problems with your crappy boss are gone and you suddenly own the place? You’re not as slick as you think you are.”

Hank scowled at Tobias.  “You let her come along.”

Tobias sighed and decided to come clean… with everything.

****

The limo pulled into a large driveway in front of a huge beachfront house.  Sidney was in the back dressed in her best Savannah get-up.  Across from her sat the real Savannah, her hair brown and her blue eyes obscured by heavy glasses.  Savannah now wore jeans and a long sleeve top, while Sidney was dressed in the business skirt attire.

It was as if they had traded places.

“Remember what you are doing?” Savannah said one more time as the car pulled to a halt in front of the front door to the beach house.

Sidney sighed with frustration.  This had been the fourth time they had gone over it. “The password to get past the door man is ‘absent’.  Once inside a clerk will find me at the door, I tell them I am Savannah Burton here for the Heartland game, and you are Kate Rothchild, my guest player.  They will then take me upstairs to the game and then we play.  They will cheat against me so I fold a lot and stay in the game at all costs while you work the table.”

Savannah nodded.  “Good, good.  No tricks or we’ll have problems.”

The driver opened the door and Sidney stepped out, almost losing her balance on the high heeled shoes she once again donned to fit the bill of Savannah Burton.

Savannah gave her a quick and hard look when she did and Sidney shrugged before whispering.  “I hate high heels.”

They approached the door.  The doorman stopped them.  “I’m sorry, this is a private residence.”

Sidney’s voice morphed into that of a southern belle.  Her attitude switched to flirtatious and teasing.  “Oh dear me, I thought the owners of this house were absent?”

The guard smiled as Sidney batted her eyes.  “Of course I can make an exception for you.”

He opened the door and let the two women in.  Inside the house had been transformed into a casino of epic proportions.  Craps and roulette tables, complete with women scantily clad delivering drinks, everything except slots, since they were too hard to move on short notice.

They had stepped out of North Carolina and into Las Vegas.

“I don’t recall being that flirty,” Savannah grumbled into Sidney’s ear.

“Well you’re not, but Savannah is.”  Sidney whispered back before a small pear shaped man walked over.

He bared a striking resemblance to the porn star Ron Jeremy, squat with more rings on his fingers than skin.  Sidney knew he was from the way he carried himself around the place, like a man who was king of his own world.

Harrison Foote.

“Savannah Burton!  Your reputation precedes you.  Welcome to my humble little slice of paradise.”  Harrison had a heavy accent, and everything he said sounded like a lie.

“Well hello Harry, I do declare it is much more amazing in person.  I love what you have done with the place!” Sidney poured it on thick.

Harrison smiled the smile of a snake about to feast.  “Glad to hear it, my dear.  The poker game is upstairs, you just have to register with my clerk here.”

He snapped his stubby little fingers and called over the clerk.  As the clerk walked over he turned back to the ladies.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to make my rounds. Drinks are on the house for you and your friend, and good luck.  You’ll need it, there’s a young gun up there by the name of Demtri Markov, and I hear he’s a sleeper.”

Sidney had to bite back the rage at how armature a move that was.  The brazen little shit had basically just told them it was a hype scam.

Bush league.

The scantily clad female clerk came over.  “Hello, you must be Savannah Burton?”

Sidney nodded.  “The one and only.”

The clerk smiled and nodded, “Of Course, of course.  So this must be your guest player, Kate Rothchild?”

Sidney saw her first opportunity to flip the situation and she took it.  As Savannah began to extend her hand to introduce herself, Sidney pushed it back down.

“I’m sorry but Kate just couldn’t make it, poor girl has pneumonia.” Sidney said with a smile.

Savannah’s eye twitched as she fought not to blow her cover out of anger.  The clerk looked sympathetic.  “Well that has been going around, who is this then?”

Savannah smiled.  “Well it was short notice but I found a replacement player.  This is Sidney Thomas.”

Savannah took a second then extended her hand deciding to play along.  “Nice to meet you.”

The clerk looked bothered.  “Oh, this is highly irregular.  We aren’t supposed to let replacement players in at the last minute.”

Sidney smiled at the girl.  “Well I understand, so if she can’t play we’ll both have to just head home now.”

The clerk frowned.  “Well let me ask Mr. Foote.  Maybe he’ll okay it.”

She walked off toward Harrison and Savannah stepped up close to Sidney and whispered angrily.  “What the hell are you doing?!”

Sidney never dropped her smile.  “I have to pretend to be you, it’s only fair you have to pretend to be me.”

In the distance, Sidney watched as the clerk explained what was going on to Harrison. Foote turned and eyeballed Sidney suspiciously, trying to figure out if she was running an angle.

Sidney poured on the sunshine and waved at him.

“You’re going to get us thrown out!” Savannah seethed behind Sidney.

Sidney never stopped smiling.  “Relax, he needs Savannah at the table for the scam to work.  He’d kill a kitten in front of me if I asked.”

“He probably kills kittens anyway.” Savannah said sarcastically.

Sidney shrugged.  She wouldn’t have put it past him.

The clerk returned.  “Alright ladies, let me show you upstairs.”

End Episode 15

14(S2E3)-The Hype

14

(Season 2 Episode 3)

The Hype

Tobias walked out the front door in dress pants, a button down shirt and a grey blazer. Hank watched him walk down the sidewalk toward his car with a suitcase in hand.  Hank was leaning on his car waiting on Tobias for their impromptu road trip.

“Why, the fuck, are you dressed like that?” Hank asked shaking his head.

Tobias paused and looked confused.  “Dressed like what?”

Hank shook his head.  “We’re about to spend sixteen hours in a car, I’m not taking you ballroom dancing.”

Hank, as usual was wore a tee shirt and jeans with his camouflage ball cap.  Tobias frowned and walked to the open trunk to put his suitcase away.  “It’s called professionalism.”

Hank shook his head.  “You’re a cook.”

Tobias slammed the trunk shut.  “I am a business owner.”

Hank rolled his eyes. “It’s a restaurant.”

“For the next seventy-two hours I am a professional cat burglar.” Tobias said as he walked around to the passenger side.

Hank shook his head.  “Alright, just gonna be a long drive.”

The two got into Hank’s car and pulled out.  Hank was driving first.  “So, who the hell is Skeever and what did you find out?”

“Skeever is a data guy.”  Tobias answered.

Hank raised an eyebrow.  “You mean a hacker?”

Tobias shook his head.  “Hackers break codes.  While Skeever is also a hacker, he finds things for me.  It’s the information age for criminals as well.”

Hank frowned.  “Sounds like a hacker to me.”

Tobias ignored him.  “I had Skeever look for possible hype scams that might involve Savannah Burton, as well as anything else he could find on her.”

“So that’s why we are headed to North Carolina?  That’s where this hype scam is happening?” Hank asked.

“Yep.  Emerald Island, to be precise.” Tobias answered.

“Alright,” Hank said.  “So, what’s a hype scam?”

****

 “His name is Demtri Markov.” Savannah explained as they drove on.  “He is obviously new to the states, but I did some research and from what I hear, he’s pretty good.”

“Not better than you though, right?” Sidney asked the question with an edge.

Savannah grinned.  “That depends on how good you are.  A man named Harrison Foote is backing him in the scam.  Harrison runs a rotating casino on the island using the rental houses.”

Sidney nodded at the idea.  It was a good one, he had probably worked out a deal with someone at one of the rental agencies, setting up shop in an empty house for a week, then clearing out before a rental family got there, moving to another empty house.

“The game is going to be one high-profile table, fifty thousand dollar buy in.  We will be playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday and Sunday anyone who got knocked out can buy back in for another fifty large.  Sunday, it’s winner take all.”  Savannah explained the game in her heavy accent and Sidney felt like Savannah was selling her something.

“I get it,” Sidney said, just to get Savannah to stop.  “You want me to be you, and you go in as a no name, right?”

Savannah smiled.  “I knew you were clever, sweetie.  I need you to just stay in the game until Sunday, while I take out Markov.”

Sidney nodded, almost bored with the description.  “Then you throw the game to me on Sunday to make you look even better.”

Savannah nodded.  “Yep, just stay in the game.  Fold on every hand and drop only the blinds.”

“Then you give me the name?” Sidney asked, her eyes becoming stern.

Savannah responded quickly.  “I’m a woman of my word, darling.”

****

“The hype scam,” Tobias began to explain.  “In the game of underground poker, much like in real poker, you need money to play.  This requires you to be either rich to begin with or have some sort of backer.  A lot of times, an illegal racketeer man or casino owner will notice a player of promise.  The owner will make a deal with the newcomer, offering him start up cash so he can buy into bigger games in return the player will pay the owner a high percentage of the winnings.”

“Makes sense,” Hank said.

Tobias nodded.  “The thing is, the owner wants to protect his investment.  To do that, the new player needs to get noticed.  He needs to be recognized to get into the big games.  So the owner sets up a poker game and invites a bunch of low level players and one big-namer.  He also has his new player put into the game.  Then he rigs the game somehow so that the big name player loses their shirt to his new player.”

“So the pro loses to the rookie and the rookie looks like a pro.”  Hank simplified the explanation.

“Basically, and when the rookie becomes a pro, he makes the sponsor a whole crap ton of money.”  Tobias finished.

“So, why don’t we just walk in there and take Sidney out?” Hank asked, skeptical.

Tobias shook his head.  “Slow down Billy Bad Ass.  I’m sure there are plenty of very big, highly trained guys waiting to stop us.  On top of that, we have to let this one play out.”

“Why?” Hank said frustrated.

“Because if we rob Sid of her chance to find her father, it’ll be worse than if we let her die.”

Hank sighed but stopped arguing.  He didn’t understand it but he respected the decision.  Hank reached into his center console and pulled out his chew.

Tobias grimaced as he watched his soon to be brother-in-law stick an oversized wad of chew between his lip and bottom teeth.  Hank turned and caught Tobias staring at him.  “What?”

“And you had a problem with my suit.” Tobias said sarcastically.

“Fuck you.”  Hank said in response through a mouth full of chew.  “So what did Linda say when you told her we were leaving town?”

Tobias’s face curled into a look of irritation.  “Funny you should ask that…”

**** 

Before, with Linda.

“So let me get this straight,” Linda said as she watched Tobias pack.  “This woman is going to be your best man at our wedding, she is your best friend and I have never met her.  Then, seconds before I get to meet her, she gets kidnapped?!”

Tobias sighed.  “It’s a complicated relationship.”

“Is it a relationship?  Does she even exist?” Linda shot back, more than frustrated.

Tobias stopped and turned.  “She is real.  She is my best friend, and she is in trouble.  Big trouble.”

Linda had a hurt look in her eyes which made Tobias feel two feet tall.  “You and I have talked about what she and I used to do.  This is a loose end coming back to get us.”

Linda’s hurt look turned to anger.  “You promised you wouldn’t go back to that.”

“That is a promise I am going to have to break.”  Tobias’s words were hard and filled with sadness.

Linda took a deep breath then walked over to him, placing both hands on his cheeks, “Who is this woman to you?  Is she the one that got away?  Are you rescuing a friend or chasing a woman you have always wanted?”

Tobias touched his hand to hers after dropping the clothes he was holding.  He looked deep into her eyes.  “I wanted her, years ago, before I knew what a wanted.  Now I want you, and kids, and a house, and a real life.  But I can’t do that over her dead body.”

Linda smiled.  She knew Tobias was many things, but not a liar.  Not to her.  “Alright. Then there is only one solution to this.”

Tobias’s face turned skeptical.  “We can’t call the cops.  Hank and I have to handle this, if we bring in-”

Linda shook her head cutting her off.  “No, I’m not talking about bringing in the cops.  I’m not letting you vanish on me again.”

Tobias’ eyebrow raised.  “What do you mean?”

****

Present, with Hank.

“Are you fucking, nuts?!” Hank asked angrily as he spat into an empty plastic bottle of Brisk Iced Tea.

They pulled up to the curb into front of Hank’s parents house where Linda had gone to have her car watched by her parents as well as to have them get the mail while she was out of town.

“You ever try saying no to your sister?” Tobias said as he watched her walk out of the front door with a suitcase.

“Pop the trunk,” Linda yelled from the lawn, and Hank did so before turning his hateful eyes back to Tobias.

Tobias just took a deep breath and shrugged.  “This is officially a family affair.”

End episode 14

Hy

13(S2E2)- The Negotiations

13

(Season 2 Episode 2)

The Negotiations

Sidney feigned confusion.  “Savannah Burton?  Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

Savannah smiled like a ray of sunshine.  “Well now, deary, I haven’t treated you like you’re stupid.  Please, extend me the same courtesy.”

Sidney considered this.  She could tell playing stupid wasn’t going to work with this one. Sidney didn’t know how Savannah had gotten her information but she could tell the woman wasn’t the type to make mistakes.

“Alright.” Sidney began cautiously.  “Then let’s get down to it,.  What do you want with me?”

“A sense of humor and a sense of business.  I do declare, I fancy that.” Savannah said with a grin.

Sidney frowned.  “Good God, I’ve been kidnapped by an evil cheerleader.”

Savannah’s eyes narrowed.  “Watch yourself, Yankee bitch.  I can just as easy cut your throat and find another useless whore.”

Sidney grinned.  “There we go.  I like the real you better.”

Savannah’s smile and bright disposition returned.  “Most poker players are men, sweet thing.  Men like cheerleaders.”

Sidney shrugged.  There wasn’t much she could say to disagree with that.  “So, how did you find out about my Savannah act?  It was a small time con.  I didn’t think it would attract your attention.”

Savannah nodded.  “Normally it wouldn’t, but about three months ago I played some poker against a man who didn’t have the money to pay me.”

Sidney had to force herself not to grit her teeth in pain.  Of all the people and places, how had Bob Stanoski bumped into Savannah Burton?  Damn the Gods.  Sidney and Tobias had never been especially lucky but this was ridiculous.

“Let me guess,” Sidney said.  “He told you the story?”

Savannah chuckled.  “Indeed.  Told me quite a whopper.  Although I’m smart enough to know that story doesn’t end with you dead.”

Savannah sighed and continued.  “I was a bit disappointed to know you used your real name in the last step of the con.  That was bush league.”

Sidney frowned at her, her professional pride wounded.  “And you could have done it better?”

Savannah smiled.  “Sweet heart, a little research and you could have used a real gunshot victim’s name, maybe from the day prior.  Would have saved you a lot of potential grief.”

Sidney worked her tongue along her teeth.  She was insulted and pissed, and it only made it worse that it was a good idea.  “So, what do you want?”

Savannah could see she had gotten to Sidney.  “No more small talk.  Alright?  I need you to help me break a hype scam.”

“Really?” Sidney was interested, no doubt.  “Well that is something.  Why should I?”

Savannah raised her eyebrow and gestured at the large man sitting next to Sidney.  “Because if you don’t, I could have Chuck there, kill you.”

Sidney grinned.  “Thought you weren’t going to treat me like an idiot?  Look, sunshine, the fact remains that killing me right now is actually more work, money and effort than making a deal.  You need to pay me or let me out or kill me.”

Savannah grinned playfully.  “Chuck, make the girl a drink, double shot of scotch I believe.  It’s going to be a long drive.”

Chuck went about it.  Sidney raised her eyebrow.  “You’ve done your research.  You should know, scotch makes me mean.”

“I don’t think I much need to worry about that.”  Savannah quipped as Chuck handed her a drink.  “Fenton Sonoma.”

Sidney almost dropped the drink, her poker face dropped and her eyes widened.  She hadn’t heard the name in more than ten years and just its mention sucked the air out of her chest.

“What do you know about him?” Sidney asked, low and concerned.

Savannah winked at her playfully.  “You should drink your scotch.”

“What could you possibly have on him?”  Sidney ignored her.  “The man’s a ghost.”

Savannah nodded to the glass.  “Drink it.”

Sidney did the glass in one drink like a shot and handed it back to Chuck.  Even he looked impressed.  “What do you have?”

“His real name.” Savannah said matter-of-factly.

Sidney leaned back and eyed her, trying to figure out if she was for real.  They both worked in businesses built on lies and deception.  This made it hard to have any real trust and even harder to work with a stranger.  If Sidney were to consult her own personal rulebook, it would prohibit such behavior.  Two things changed her mind…

1.      She didn’t have a rulebook.

2.      What if Savannah was telling the truth?

Chuck handed her a second drink, she looked at it, then back to Savannah.

“Are you in?” The southern belle inquired.

****

Tobias paced back and forth as Hank pulled his tin of chew out of his pocket, snapped it against his leg a couple of times and then proceeded to jab a large gob of the stuff into the inside of his lip.

“What are they talking about?” He asked, muffled through the chew.

Tobias looked at him angrily.  “There just going back and forth, Sidney’s trying to get info out of her.”

Hank nodded and took a seat calmly on the steps of the porch as Tobias marched back and forth in his suit.  “Why don’t you stop pacing, might be able to hear them better.”

Tobias glared.  “Might be able to hear them better without my asshole brother-in-law babbling in my ear.”

Hank frowned, “Suit yourself, jack ass.”

“Wait, they are finally getting down to business.” Tobias said, stopping in his tracks to focus on the phone as if a lack of movement would allow him to hear the conversation better.

Hank stepped up closer, concerned.

“It’s a hype scam.  Savannah needs her help on a hype scam.” Tobias said to Hank in a whisper.

Hank looked confused.  “A hype scam?  What the hell is that?”

Tobias shook his head.  “It’s a card hustle, and I’ll tell you about it later.  Sidney just refused without payment.”

Hank looked surprised.  “Ballsy.”

Tobias shook his head.  “They went through too much to kill her without using her, they’ll offer something, even if it’s fake.”

“What are they offering?” Hank asked.

“I don’t know yet.  She wants her to drink and… Mother fucker.”  Tobias trailed off into the curse words.

Tobias took the phone from his ear and closed it.  “Sidney’s going to do it.  Damn it, she’s going to do it.”

Hank was lost.  “What, why?  What is going on?  Why’d you close the phone?”

“She hung up the other side.”  Tobias said and turned and began to walk back towards the restaurant.  “We have to get going.  I need to see the Skeever.  If you want to come, head home, pack light and meet me at my house in an hour.”

Hank spit a hunk of chew onto the side walk.  “Who the fuck is the Skeever?  Where are we going?”

“Skeever is a computer guy me and Sidney worked with before.  He’ll know where the hype scam is and where we have to go.  We are going after her.”

Hank grabbed Tobias’s thin arm and turned him around.  “Why is Sidney going along with this?  What did Burton offer her?”

“Fenton Sonoma.” Tobias said.

“Who the hell is Fenton Sonoma?” Hank asked, frustrated.

Tobias sighed.  “It’s her dad.  Fenton Sonoma was the alias her father used.”

****

“We should have trust then.”  Sidney said finally with a serious tone.  “Have Chuck over here check his inside pocket.  I slipped an open phone into it with back up on the other end.”

Savannah raised her eyebrow at Chuck who frowned and went into his pocket.  He was shocked to find the phone.  He suddenly looked embarrassed.  He closed the phone and handed it to Savannah who did not look happy.

“Can’t find good help these days.” Savannah said as she frowned.  “So I take it then, that you are on board?”

Sidney nodded.  “You had better be able to produce.”

Savannah smiled.  “Don’t you worry, I can produce.”

“Then yeah,” Sidney said as she downed the second glass of Scotch, “I’m in.”

End Episode 13