by Thom J Poore
Chapter 4: The Game
Emilio makes his way towards the poker table. As he waits patiently for a seat a beautiful blonde waitress walks by with a tray of empties. Emilio places his glass on the tray, making eye contact with the blonde, who carries on her way, immune to drunk admirers. He watches her sashay across the floor until his gaze is met by another blonde; the crazy old woman from the elevator, who is already seated at the poker table.
“Over here, sweetheart!” She yells, following up with a wolf whistle, and gesturing towards the seat next to hers that has just become available. Emilio begrudgingly slides in beside her. The game is No-Limit Texas Hold’em, with a one hundred dollar buy-in.
“So, we meet again” Says Emilio, with a fake smile and lack of enthusiasm.
“Oh the pleasure is all mine honey, all mine!” Replies the crazy old blonde, running her eyes over his athletic frame slowly while sensually biting into the liquor soaked cherry from her cocktail glass.
“Well, that’s for sure” Counters Emilio slyly.
She smiles, slightly confused by the condescending remark, eventually taking it as a compliment. After a couple of insignificant rounds, Emilio is dealt a pair of queens and raises the pot, throwing ten dollars worth of chips out in front of him. A man who has just joined the game calls the raise. The man is a rough diamond with a distinctive scar beside his eye shaped like a vagina. Emilio stares at the man, trying to get a read, and feels a slight pang of paranoia as it slowly dawns on him that it’s the man from the airport. The first three community cards are dealt; the ace of hearts, the queen of hearts, and the two of clubs. This gives Emilio three queens. Feeling confident with his hand he bets another ten dollars. Scarface calls again. The fourth community card is the seven of hearts, completing a potential flush. Emilio bets a further ten hoping his opponent hasn’t made a flush and that his three queens are still good. Scarface puts his thumb to his chin to rest his face as he slouches, considering his next move. Out of nowhere he raises one hundred dollars, making the pot one hundred and fifty dollars in total. Emilio is faced with a very difficult decision. There is still one more community card to be dealt, the fifth and final river card. To see this card will cost him seventy dollars, the rest of the one hundred dollars he brought into the game. Emilio’s knows he may already be beat if Scarface has a flush. Emilio starts to perspire under the pressure, but drunk on the booze and the atmosphere, he pushes the rest of his chips into the pot and calls. The final card is the two of hearts, giving him a full house. Scarface proudly shows an ace high flush and reaches out prematurely for all the chips in the middle. The dealer puts his croupier stick across Scarface’s outstretched arm, blocking him from drawing in the chips.
“We haven’t seen your opponent's hand yet, sir.” Says the croupier, instilling order.
With that, Emilio coolly turns over his cards to reveal a full house.
“Full house. Queens over deuces beats an ace high flush.” The croupier casually announces.
“Must be my lucky day. Think I’ll quit while I’m ahead.” Emilio looks over at Scarface, who is fuming with rage.
Emilio stands up, gathering all the chips from the centre of the table, leaning across the crazy old blonde, who takes the opportunity to stare directly at his toned backside.
“Where do you think your going, kid?” Says Scarface menacingly. “You must give me a chance to win my money back. That is good manners.”
“Yeah, sweet cheeks, you’ve only been here for ten minutes! You can’t leave so soon!” Adds the crazy blonde, as she squeezes Emilio’s thigh.
“Good manners are to be gracious in defeat, kind sir.” Says Emilio in a patronizing tone. "And thanks for the seat, lady, I’ll see you around.”
“You can see me anytime you like!” She replies, slapping Emilio’s ass abruptly.
Emilio turns away, and gratefully makes a beeline for Karl, who is heading toward him with a cocktail in each hand. The boys convene beside a baccarat table.
“Emilio, sorry about that, the bar was busy and the good looking women were all getting priority. Come on, let’s play some poker.”
“Already did, and I’m finished.”
“Man, that’s just our luck tonight, we better make these drinks last.”
Emilio presents the chips he’s holding to Karl, as if they were gold.
“Here’s your money back, bruv.” He smiles, counting out and handing over $50 dollars worth of chips.
“Wow, where’d you get that from! I thought you were broke.”
“You assumed I was broke. Take it, it’s cool, I won it.”
“But I was gone like fifteen minutes.”
“I know, I just got lucky.”
“Man, you are epic! You never fail to amaze me. I just don’t know how you do it.”
“Listen Karl, do you remember that dodgy guy who got stopped at the airport?”
“You mean the dude with the freaky scar? ”
“Yeah, that guy.”
“What of it?”
“Well, he’s here.”
“Holy shit, what, in Lima.”
“Yeah, in Lima. In this fucking casino in Lima.”
“What the fuck, is he following us?”
“No, I don’t think so, although he’s kind of pissed off with us, you see that fifty dollars worth of chips you’re holding used to be his.”
“Well fuckin say sorry and give it back to him then, you freak.”
“No fuckin way, I won that money fair and square at the poker table! He’s a bad fuckin loser though Karl. Worse than you! Look, it was only one hundred and twenty dollars, it’s not like it was thousands. It’s nothing to worry about, I just thought you’d want to know”
“Yeah, it’s not that much I guess, I’m just getting tired. It’s been a long day and these drinks are going straight to my head.”
“Your right. It’s nearly 11 now, and we have a big trip in the morning, so we need to get our heads down”
“What big trip?” Karl looks bewildered.
Emilio tries to downplay his careless remark.
“Oh, it’s nothing, just thought we’d go on a little trip tomorrow, you know, see the sights, that kind of thing!”
“You said big trip!”
“Well, it’s a big city!”
Karl nods and thinks nothing more of it. They quickly finish their cocktails and head back to their room. The crazy old blonde has been keeping a close eye on Emilio since he left the poker table, and starts slyly following the boys to the elevator. As the doors start to open she gathers pace, stepping in just behind them.
“Well, my my, we just have to stop meeting like this, boys.” She coos excitedly, wedging herself in between them.
“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Mutters Emilio with a despondent look.
“Now, how about you boys join me for a nice little night cap at my apartment, so we can get better acquainted!” She slurs.
“Karl and I think that’s a really nice gesture, don’t we, Karl?” Karl nods on cue. “But we’ve had a long day and have another tomorrow, so I’m sorry, but we’ll have to have a drink some other time. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Now come on, boys! You two are young, you have bags of energy, I should imagine. One little drink isn’t gonna hurt now, is it!”
The lift doors open and the boys are keen to exit.
“Oh, here’s our stop! Sorry, we gotta go.” Emilio replies abruptly.
The boys rush out of the lift and stop dead halfway between their room and the lift. Standing outside the room next to theirs is the Mammoth having an argument with Scarface of all people. Scarface notices Emilio mid argument and turns towards him.
“Ah, my young friend with the manners, we need to talk also.” Says Scarface in a slow, sinister voice.<
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Emilio, not wanting to talk or let Scarface know which room they are staying in, turns back to the old blonde.
“So, how about that drink!”
“Well, I just knew you boys would see sense, now follow me, my room’s right along here.” She smiles warmly. “I’m Marilyn, by the way.” She giggles.
“Of course you are.” Emilio replies wryly.
Marilyn’s room is at the opposite end of the corridor, and Scarface has turned back to the Mammoth by the time they reach her door. Not taking any chances, Emilio grabs the keys as she pulls them out of her bag and hurriedly lets them in.
“Oh my my, you are keen!” She gurgles, pressing up against him and breathing in the cologne on his neck.
They enter a virtually identical room to their own, except this one smells of vanilla and has fresh flowers arranged throughout.
“Now, I’m going to fix us some drinks, so you just get yourselves nice and comfy, you hear.”
She winks at Karl, who smiles back half-heartedly, before she disappears into the adjoining room.
“You know what, Emilio? She’s not that bad looking.”
“Spare me, Karl.”
Karl sinks into the black leather sofa while Emilio mans the hotel door, opening it and peering out into the corridor to see if it’s empty.
“Scarface has gone. One drink and then we get back to our room, ok?”
“No problem.”
Marilyn reappears, wearing a black lace nightdress and holding a tray of drinks. The boys are speechless as she sits down next to Karl on the two-seater black leather sofa.
“Try these boys, they're my own special recipe. I do hope you don’t mind me making myself at home like this. I just love to get cosy.”
“That’s fine with me, do whatever the hell you like.” Declares Karl, with one eye on her ample cleavage.
“Why thank you, I just knew we’d all get along just fine.” She replies coquettishly.
“So, what are you two handsome young men doing out here in Lima anyway, I’m just fascinated with you boys right now.”
“We're here to visit some of the ancient locations in Peru, do some research, take some pictures, learn some history, you know, that sort of thing.” Says Emilio, suspiciously sniffing the drink he’s just been handed.
“Oh, Peru is just packed with history, there is just so much out here that hasn’t been discovered yet, it’s all so interesting. I love it!”
“This drink is pretty good, what’s in it?” Emilio starts warming to their hostess, and gives her a chance to show a different side to her personality, which he was so quick to judge.
“Vodka, white rum, sweet vermouth, a drop of cranberry juice and a twist of lime.”
“So why are you here, what’s your story, Marilyn?” Asks Emilio with a relaxed demeanor.
She sits back in her seat and adopts a melancholy, introspective expression.
“Well, I'm divorced, thank God! He was a wealthy businessman and I was a housewife. I would cook for him and keep the house as clean as a pin. Not that he ever noticed. Twenty-five loyal years went by before he started seeing some fancy piece at the office. God knows how long he was playing away. I had my suspicions. I put up with it at first thinking it was a phase, a mid life crisis, you know, that kind of thing. I thought he’d think better of it, but the more I put up with, the more he took me for granted. I just couldn’t continue living in a loveless marriage. So I filed for divorce and hit him where it hurt him the most; his wallet!”
Marilyn pauses, her mind trapped in negative reflection. The room goes silent. Snapping out of her sombre mood, she continues. “But that was then and this is now. I’m going to make the most of my time and his money. It wasn’t all that long ago, so I thought I’d take a break and get away. I’ve always wanted to explore and see the wonders of the world, so here I am!”
“I hear there’s a trip from this hotel to the Museo Pedro de Osma tomorrow, are you going on it?” Enquires Emilio.
“What the hell’s the Museo Pedro?” Enquires Karl, confused.
“Why, bless you! It’s a famous old art museum displaying sculptures, silverware, and paintings. It dates back as far as the seventeenth century, I believe. And yes, I will be going on that trip. Will you boys be joining me?” Asks Marilyn hopefully.
“Yeah, Emilio, that sounds cool, just the kind of thing we came here for. That’s the trip you were talking about isn’t it?”
“Yeah, kind of, Karl! Look, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. You know I’m doing some important research on a rare species of plant?”
“Yeah, you said it could cure cancer or something.”
“That’s right. Well, I think I know where it could be found. And to find it, it might be necessary for us to take a flight over to Iquitos.”
“Where the hell is Iquitos and why do we have to fly there?”
“Well, Iquitos is the city that backs onto the Amazon rainforest. And we may need to take a quick detour through the rainforest to find the plant.”
Karl immediately springs to his feet in protest, carelessly spilling his drink in his lap. Marilyn quickly withdraws her foot, which she’d been slowly nestling into Karl’s groin, and blots at the spill with a cushion. Unconcerned with the spillage, Karl gets up and heads across the room to Emilio, his voice growing louder with each question.
“Amazon rainforest? What the hell you are talking about Emilio? Where’s all this suddenly come from? Your dad told us to stick to the tourist excursions and that’s it! Those were the rules, remember? You said it yourself!”
“He’ll never know, Karl. Come on, help me out, bro! I need my wingman, I can’t do this without you!”
Karl is right up in Emilio’s face. Emilio calmly stands his ground until Karl backs down and begins nervously pacing the room.
“I knew there was something else. You could have studied back home. Why didn’t you tell me about this back in New York, Emilio, why did you lie to me?”
“Hey, I never lied to you, Karl, but I knew if I told you about my detour you’d pussy out and not wanna come.”
“Your damn right I’m gonna pussy out, and that’s why I’m staying right here at the hotel until it’s time to fly home. Man, we know nothing about Peru and you’re on about a detour across the Amazon fuckin jungle. There are killer fuckin monkeys, killer snakes, man-eating spiders; even the plants can kill you! I thought it was weird when you packed that fold up tent, knowing we were staying at a hotel, and there you were, saying it was in case we wanted to camp out at the beach.” Karl spits angrily.
“That is the reason I brought it! We are gonna do that. Come on, Karl, look! Most of the medicines used in the world today were first discovered in the rainforests. Only about two percent of the rainforest plants have been studied for their medicinal properties. The best chance we have of finding the plant I’m looking for is by actually going there!”
“Now, calm down boys, we’ll just have our drinks and relax as friends.” Says Marilyn, getting in-between them, loving the tension between the two young men.
“Come on, Karl, let’s get going. Let’s get some rest.” Pleads Emilio.
“No fuckin way, I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“That’s fine, Karl can stay right here with me tonight, I’ll look after him.” Says Marilyn, sensing an opportunity as she looks towards Karl, sultry eyed.
"You're more than welcome.”
“I’m off, Karl! Goodnight Marilyn.” Says Emilio, figuring Karl is probably bluffing. He walks back to their room, hesitating briefly before entering, half expecting to see Karl puffing along behind him, but the corridor is empty. Emilio shrugs and heads straight to bed, focused on getting some much needed rest before the trip he is determined to make the next day.<
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