Gambler

by S. J. Bryant

  "I need all the bank records for a Mister Theodore Granite."

  "Gee, Nova, that sounds a little illegal," Tanguin said, yawning.

  "Please, Tanguin. I'm nearly there, I'm sure of it. I can't get off this planet soon enough."

  "Get on it, Delta," Tanguin said.

  Silence filled both their rooms, broken only by the whirring of Delta's cooling fan.

  "All known bank history recovered," Delta's voice was smoother than Crusader's, more human.

  "Send it to Crusader," Tanguin instructed. A moment later the documents appeared on Crusader's monitor.

  "Thank you," Nova said, locking eyes with Tanguin. The two stared at each other, their expressions saying more than words ever could.

  "Be careful," Tanguin said, more awake.

  Nova sighed. "You too."

  Tanguin's face disappeared.

  "What do the bank statements tell us?" Nova asked.

  "There is a significant quantity of money. At this point in time, one million five hundred and twenty-three thousand credits. A deposit of ten thousand credits was just made."

  "That would be the money he just won," Nova pondered. A part of her wished for a logical explanation, that the man was innocent and just eccentric, but in her heart she didn't believe it.

  "Where does he withdraw credit?" Nova asked.

  "No withdrawals," Crusader replied.

  "What do you mean?"

  "There have been no withdrawals."

  "Before that then, where did he last take money out?"

  "No money has been withdrawn from this account."

  Nova's eyebrows bunched together as she stared at the statements. Crusader wasn't wrong; down the page was a line of credits made every night from the casino, but nowhere was there a sign of the credit being withdrawn.

  "He must use a different account to get the chips," Nova said. "What other bank accounts did Delta find?"

  "No other bank accounts found for Theodore Granite."

  "Dammit!" Nova said. "He must have another name."

  Her eyes moved about the command pod as her mind raced with the possibilities.

  "Where is he now?" she asked.

  The image flickered and showed the view from the exterior casino cameras. Ted strolled out of the casino with his ragged coat and a slight skip in his step. Nova watched him with narrowed eyes all the way down the street until his silhouette disappeared outside of the camera's frame. Only then did she turn away.

  "Nothing," she said. "We still have nothing."

  "We have a suspect at least," Cal piped up.

  "Yes, but I wish it wasn't him."

  Both Crusader and Cal were silent at that last statement and made no comment.

  "I'm going back to bed."

  ***

  Nova slept through the day and awoke feeling refreshed. As soon as she sat up, the lights returned to her pod and she stretched. Her body felt oddly out of sync with the rest of the world. It was getting towards night time and yet she was only just waking up. As a bounty hunter she was often running on a different time zone to the planets she visited, but she still hadn't got used to the feeling. It made her body confused and she hesitated at the food generator for some time. Should she be having breakfast or dinner?

  In the end, Nova sighed in frustration and all but yelled at the food generator. "Cereal!"

  The food generator complied and Nova stumbled through the ship with a bowl in her hands. After eating a few mouthfuls she felt more human; the out of step feeling receded and her hunger quieted.

  "Cal!" she called. She heard banging from the store room and a little time later Cal hovered into view. "I need a tracker," she said.

  Cal disappeared. Nova could have sworn she heard him grumble as he floated off. She narrowed her eyes after him, but he didn't turn around.

  He returned with the tiny device held between his thin pincers. She took hold and lifted it to the light. It was about the size of her fingernail and just as thin. The technology was available to make them smaller of course, but keeping track of the tiny objects was nearly impossible.

  "You'll be going back to the casino?" Cal asked.

  "Yeah."

  "Let the records show I advise against it for medical reasons."

  "Yes, Cal, I know. You're released from all legal obligation, etcetera, etcetera," Nova said while waving her hand.

  He nodded and floated off down the ship. As he disappeared, his voice echoed off the metal walls. "I suppose you'll want a new dress?"

  "Yes," Nova said. "Something I can run in." She wouldn't let herself be caught out again, this time she would be ready if Cracos tried anything.

  Half an hour later, Nova disembarked from her ship in a short black dress that allowed her legs full movement. Her usual coat covered most of her body and concealed the multiple weapons she had stashed about her person. Stuck to her left hand, partially hidden beneath a ring, she carried the tracker.

  She strode with her head held high past the guards; one of whom was the same man who had tossed her into the Hole. He opened his mouth as if to jeer at her, but one glance at her hard eyes as she walked past and his lips froze.

  The tide of people instinctively moved out of her way. Nova ignored the sideways glances and the following eyes. She made her way directly for the card tables. Just as she'd suspected, Ted sat bent over his cards.

  "We meet again," Nova said, flashing a smile at the man.

  "Hello," Ted said with a wink. "I hope you're doing better than I am every night, otherwise you should really be somewhere else."

  "I could say the same to you!" Nova said, her tone light. The last thing she wanted to do was put him on edge. The elderly man chuckled and shook his head as he returned to his cards.

  She studied the man's clothes; they were much the same as every other night, simple and worn. He wore the same jacket as the previous night and no jewellery adorned his body that she could use to hide the tracer.

  She pretended to gaze at her cards as her mind ticked over the possibilities. Then, as if on command, a drunken man stumbled over his own feet as he hobbled past. He fell onto Nova and she used the momentum to fall into Ted. She dropped the tracer from her jewelled finger into his pocket.

  She let out a cry as her shoulder collided with the older man and pushed the drunkard from her. She scowled at the intoxicated man and he held up his hands in surrender. A small crowd gathered around the commotion and Nova was sure to look pointedly at the few guards who had seen the sequence of events. As if at her mental command, two of them strode to the table and clamped their hands over the drunkard's wrists, leading him to the main exit.

  "Sorry," Nova said to the elderly man who had almost been knocked from his stool. She batted her eyelids and was sure to cast an angry glare at the retreating figure.

  "No harm done," said Ted. He smiled back at her as he brushed some of his spilled drink from the tattered sleeve of his jacket.

  "Right." Nova nodded and turned back to the game. She played a couple of hands before letting out a deep sigh.

  "I don't think I can play any more of this tonight." The way she said the words one would think that having someone trip into her had been the worst thing to ever happen in her life.

  "Probably a good idea. I won't be far behind," the elderly man said, nodding at Nova as she rose from her seat.

  She strolled away from the table, sure to keep her pace steady. She moved her head about the room as if taking in the wonder of the casino. Really, she was looking for Cracos and his men. Nova's mind was already racing with the many ways she could pay Cracos and Vicki back.

  Once out in the night air, Nova dropped her air of wonder and marched to her ship. Safe inside its metal walls, she let out a sigh of relief.

  "Get that tracker online. I want to know as soon as he leaves the casino."

  Nova peeled off the dress and exchanged it for a loose pair of pants and a black long-sleeved shirt. She tossed on her trench-coat and checked that her weapons w
ere still in place. She pulled on a pair of thick boots and flicked the collar of the trench-coat up so that it covered most of her face.

  "He's on the move," Cal announced as he watched Crusader's main screen.

  "Wonderful," Nova said, pulling a portable tracker from its place in the ship's wall.

  She waited on the inside of Crusader's door as she watched the small red dot move across the satellite image of Tabryn. The red dot moved out of the casino and paused just outside the doors. Nova tapped her foot as she watched the dot refuse to move. It stayed still so long that she felt the need to rip open the ship's door and make sure the old man was still there.

  Her hand rested on the door's activator when the red dot came back to life and moved up the street. She gave it a few seconds head start before she opened the door and stepped down onto the sidewalk.

  She hunched her shoulders in her large coat and hurried down the street after the red dot. The sea of people parted before her and she walked with relative ease. Every few moments she glanced down at the screen in her hand. She kept a steady pace, she didn't want to catch up to Ted but she also didn't want to let him escape.

  The device clutched in her right hand picked up sound from the tracker but it was difficult to distinguish from the general sounds of the street. It wasn't until the red dot turned off the street and into an adjacent building that the noise from the device quietened.

  Nova's pace slowed as she approached the building. It turned out to be a large hotel of a prestigious chain. It serviced many of the wealthier travellers, while also providing hundreds of jobs to the residents of Tabryn.

  Nova stood to the side of the door, facing out towards the street as if waiting for a friend. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she watched the hotel like a hawk.

  Ted did not re-emerge and so after five minutes Nova pushed herself off from the wall and marched purposefully through the glass entranceway. Inside, the hotel was nothing short of glamorous. Gold lining adorned most of the furniture, and classic pieces of art hung on the walls. Men and women in fine clothing strolled about the room, staring at Nova with scorn. She ignored their stares and instead watched the tracker. The red dot had moved to the side of the building and had stopped.

  Her brows furrowed as she watched the stationary dot. She moved her eyes from the screen to the wall where Ted should have been standing. Instead, there was a set of elevators.

  Nova rolled her eyes at herself, of course it looked like he was standing still; he was moving vertically. She walked to the side of the lobby and took a seat on a luscious chair. She sunk into the cushioning and couldn't prevent a small sigh of comfort.

  "It's working."

  She jumped when the voice emanated from the device in her hand. There was another voice but she couldn't make out the words, they were probably too far away from the tracker.

  "About forty thousand credits," the first voice replied, no doubt that of Ted.

  The second voice spoke again, this time slightly louder. Nova only caught a few of the words. "Total… People… Suspicious."

  "What do you suggest?" Ted asked.

  "It would be easier if you actually won a few games," the second voice said, ringing with frustration.

  "Why don't you go in then?"

  "You know I don't do that," said the second voice. "But it's getting too risky. I say we do one more, bigger than ever."

  "How big?"

  "I've got about one hundred thousand in chips."

  "That's a lot of money," Ted said. "The casino is going to notice."

  "Exactly! That's why we make this the last one; we're in and out. Then off this pathetic rock."

  "I don't know if it's a good idea. I have a bad feeling."

  "Don't be pathetic. They have no idea what's going on. Who would suspect the chips? They're too busy looking at the staff or examining their books."

  "Okay, fine. One more, but then we get out of here," Ted said, a tremor in his voice.

  "Done."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The following night Nova draped her trench-coat over her shoulders, her mouth dry. She'd never deliberately gone against an employer before, but Cracos had crossed a line. She clenched her fists as she contemplated revenge. She had a weapon in every pocket in case things didn't go to plan.

  "You are going against the prime directive," Cal said as Nova prepared to leave the ship.

  "I know," she replied, grabbing her familiar bag.

  "It is advised that you abort current mission and instead report to the paying client."

  She rolled her eyes at Cal. While sometimes the robot could be unsettlingly human, other times he was nothing but robotic.

  "I have to give him a chance," she said, marching out of Crusader.

  The tracker had stopped transmitting not long after Nova overheard Ted's conversation the night before. It was possible that it had malfunctioned, or been exposed to heat or water. She refused to think of the other possibility; that it had been discovered. Even without the tracker she walked through the casino with sure steps, knowing exactly where to find Ted.

  "Ah, if it isn't my fellow gambler," he said, as she approached.

  "I know what you've done," she whispered, sitting next to him.

  His brows furrowed as he looked at her. "I beg your pardon?"

  "I know what you've done and I know what you plan to do," she said under her breath, pretending to study her cards.

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  He fidgeted on his chair and his eyes darted around the room, his face flushing red.

  She felt sorry for the man. He'd been nice to her, and on Tabryn you never knew why someone needed money. Maybe a loved one of his had been kidnapped too? Nova didn't think so. One thing she did know for sure; she didn't like Cracos and the man could probably stand to lose a few hundred thousand. Despite the bounty hunter's code, Nova felt no ethical debt towards Cracos; the man could be thrown in his own Hole for all she cared. On the other hand, Nova needed the credits and what Ted was doing was wrong.

  "I don't want to turn you in. Cracos tried to have me killed, so as far as I'm concerned he can choke on a crabstick. But, I do want to get paid, and I do want revenge."

  "What are you suggesting?" Ted said, a bead of sweat sliding down his forehead.

  "I've got a plan. All it'll cost you is two thousand credits and a few of those special chips you've been collecting."

  Ted stared at her out of the corner of his eye. "I feel like a drink."

  "Me too," Nova said.

  They folded their hands and walked away from the cards to a secluded table in the shadow of the bar. There, Nova explained her plan. As she spoke, the sweat disappeared from Ted's forehead and he nodded along with her.

  "You can't come back here," Nova warned, once she had finished. "There are lots of Hunters on this case and it won't take them long to work it out."

  "I know. I'm done with this."

  "Good."

  ***

  Nova tucked the cred-stick into her jacket as she strode towards the main exit. Just as she reached the door a grating voice called out.

  "Oh, Nova. So good to see you're still alive."

  Nova glanced back to see Vicki sneering at her, wearing a low-cut red dress that matched her blood-coloured lipstick.

  Nova's teeth clenched and her hands balled into fists inside her pockets. "No thanks to you."

  "Oh, don't tell me you're upset about that," Vicki said, pouting and batting her shadowed eyelids.

  "Why don't we settle this?" Nova said, anger boiling in her chest. "You and me, blackjack, alternate banking."

  Vicki threw back her head and her red hair bounced as she laughed. "I don't think you'd be able to handle it."

  "Try me."

  Vicki shrugged. "Your money."

  She turned and strutted to the private tables, her eight-inch heels shining in the neon lights. Nova stormed after her.

  They sat across from one another. A new de
ck of cards sat to the left and Vicki snatched them up, ripping the plastic wrapping with the sharp edge of her nail. The cards were smooth and shiny as she shuffled them.

  Nova plunged her hand into her pocket and drew out a fistful of chips that she dumped onto her side of the table. Vicki placed hers in neat towers and dealt the first hand.

  They played without talking, barely glancing at their cards as they glared at each other across the table. Vicki's face was plastered with a condescending sneer, while Nova settled with a glower of contempt. No one tried to join them, no doubt sensing the waves of animosity pouring off the table.

  They were both good, but Nova was better. As play continued the pile of tokens in front of her grew and Vicki's smile slipped.

  "I guess I could handle it," Nova said as Vicki dealt another hand.

  "Luck," Vicki said.

  "Then let's make it interesting," Nova said. "All in, this hand."

  She clutched her cards close to her chest and kept a steady gaze on Vicki. The other woman glanced at her cards and her pupils dilated.

  Nova's stomach clenched. Vicki had good cards, whereas she'd been bluffing; her ten and six weren't going to do her any good.

  "All in," Vicki said, her sneer returning.

  Nova bit her lip, considering another card, but that would be a sure way to lose. She took a deep breath and revealed her cards.

  Vicki's sneer turned triumphant as she lay down two queens. She hugged the pile of chips and pulled them to her chest, licking her lips.

  "Grishnak!" Nova slammed her palm onto the table and stood up.

  "I guess the best player won after all," Vicki said.

  Nova didn't bother responding. She marched away from the private tables and stormed out of the casino, all the way back to Crusader. Once inside, she let her shoulders relax and a grin spread across her face.

  "Did she buy it?" Cal asked.

  "Hook, line, and sinker," Nova replied. "Time for phase two."

  She dropped into the pilot's chair and composed her face.

  "Cracos," she said.

  A moment later the screen flickered and Cracos's chubby face appeared, complete with a fat cigar that hung out of the corner of his mouth.