A/N: A day late but better than a month late.
Ch. 25
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done."
Kenny Rogers, The Gambler
"You alright Will?" Garrus asks. I look around the shuttle and both of them are still staring at me.
"Sorry I don't know what came over me… I probably screwed up…" I look down and sigh. "I shouldn't have lost my cool but…" I spot movement out of the corner of my eye and Shepard's sitting next to me.
"Don't apologize you stood up for the both of us," she kisses me on the cheek and I enter the dopey zone where I sort of lose focus and smile dumbly. "You did screw up but at least you screwed up in a sweet way."
"You said a few things down there…" Garrus cuts in, "that didn't just apply to Ashley…"
"Garrus you took a missile for me you're in my good books." I respond really I doubt I could be mad for a while. "Plus you didn't treat me like a traitor to morality."
We grow silent for the rest of the shuttle ride. I keep thinking back to what I said, and how I was torn… I shouldn't have gone so far, don't get me wrong I'm not saying I shouldn't have shouted but I basically placed the blame for all of my pain on her shoulders and while… while I did feel that disappointment I voiced… every time I began to drift off to sleep... Dozens of dreams about being saved...
We docked and disembarked from the shuttle, the pilot grabs my attention, "Hey Will I'm off to a game of Skyllian five with Ken and Gabby, want to come along?" I sometimes forget the pilot can hear everything we say in the back.
"I've got to get to the debriefing with Shepard and everyone but save me a seat." Then my mind blanks… I hate it when this happens. "Sorry brainfart, what's your name again."
"Guillaume Biche, call me Guile." He reaches out to shake. Caucasian, one blue eye one green eye, military cut, short trimmed sides, he's as big as me but looks twice my age. Not much of a threat. "Guile you know like the guy from Street Fighter." He takes a faux fighting stance and laughs.
I shake back not realizing I'd put my geth arm out… it happens and it's always awk… he shakes my geth arm… most of the time my arm makes people uncomfortable. Ok this guys got an extra points in my book. I glance down and notice something… I should have sooner… he's missing his pinkies... I can see the scarring, long sealed.
I shake my head and walk towards the elevator, I spin but keep moving towards the elevator, "Remember save me a seat, so I can clean all of you out." I laugh as I enter the elevator.
"They have an SR-1." I walk in on that. "How can they have an SR-1?" Garrus, Mordin, Jack, Miranda, Kasumi and Shepard were all standing around the conference room table. Garrus the one who asked the question.
"The Owner's shown that he has contacts in high places and resources equal to or greater than that of Cerberus." Miranda chimes in, "I'm only surprised it's just an SR-1."
"On the outside," I remark before I can stop myself.
"Will?"
"We'd be stupid to believe all he did was make a replica, of the old one," I add, "who knows what it's hiding behind that black armor." I cross my arms and something occurs to me. "What about the missiles?"
"Right when the fake-Normandy dropped in and attacked it fired a trio of missiles that didn't have the impact missiles of that size should."
Shepard taps a button on the table and three view points of the ship swinging in and firing off the missiles holographically appear above it. It freezes at the moment of ignition and the image zooms in rapidly.
"EDI get rid of everything else but the missiles."
"Yes commander," EDI responds everything else fades out of the trio of images with the exception of the blurs that were the missiles. "The objects are 5 feet in diameter."
"Hm, flaps along sides for steering, strange…"
"What?"
"There was a burst of data from the objects prior to being fired, and then stealthed, not much data but Eezo readings similar to high-grade inertial dampeners." He adds as technical readings pop up in thin air, I'm assuming they support his claims.
"Why put inertial dampeners on missiles?" Garrus asks.
"Can think of reasons, chief amongst them, fragile payload." Mordin responds, "they aren't missiles, they are transports, designed to break the outer shell of ship." A boarding craft?
"What would they have to gain by boarding a collector cruiser."
"Sabotage, information, resources, motives uncertain, what is certain is that over these three missiles can carry a dozen average sized human beings, in full combat gear." If Mordin is right… and it's Mordin so he likely is, why?
"It would be a suicide mission," Garrus remarks, "12 against hundreds of collectors."
"Is that any different than what we're doing?" Miranda asks, I turn away.
"Will?" Shepard asks.
"I don't want to think about this any more…" I grin weakly. "I'm sorry I've got a poker game to get to." I head for the door. "I'm just… tired." I respond before Shepard can ask what's wrong again.
I walk over to the armory and clear out my clothes from my locker. I take off my shirt, and flinch… I should probably get checked out. I slide off my boots… oops forgot, and the injury to my foot wasn't as bad as I'd thought. Only the top half of my pinky toe is gone… woo hoo?
I gingerly slide my pants off and I'm left sitting there in my boxers… as the door opens and the entirety of the crew in the conference room excluding Mordin walks in…
"We've got to get better locks," I remark. I put my pants back on.
"Or you could change in designated areas." Miranda remarks.
"Normally I'd spend half an hour making jokes but… I'm tired and I've got a poker game to get to." I slide my pants on and throw on a shirt and go barefoot the cold metal floor barely registering the… er frigidity of it. With all my adrenaline gone completely I can feel the ache in my foot more pronounced. So it comes out in a limp… So I limp my way to the elevator and then it hits me… Where is the poker game being played?
Screw it I'm going to med-bay. I hit the button and limp out gingerly, and eying anyone who even came close to walking by me. I open the door to the med-bay and Chakwas is checking up Guile… I thought he was at the game?
"Hey Will," He looks… nervous… sort of.
"Chakwas I got shot in the foot… it hurts." I hold up my foot.
"Why didn't you come straight here?" Chakwas asks… "Please tell me you were shot down on the planet."
"I was shot on the planet… it's just it didn't hurt that much." I respond.
"For future reference, getting shot is serious business." She sighs, "Sit over there and when I'm done with Mr. Biche I'll take a look." She's scanning his hands repeatedly, she hushes down to a whisper, but that's never stopped me from hearing. "I'm sorry but I can't do much about the pain… according to the scans you are fine… have you considered…"
"That it's psychological?" He whispers back… "That's what my other doctor's have said before." He smiles weakly, "Thank you for looking at it anyway, thank you Dr. Chakwas."
"It's my job," She replies smiling calmly. "And please call me Karen."
"Thank you Karen." He winks with a smile. Wait is Chakwas blushing? He gets up and walks out rubbing his pinky-nubs.
I smile at her as she turns toward me, "Someone's got a crush."
"Oh be quiet," She smiles warmly. "Now then shot in the foot."
"Yes aliens shot my foot." I can't stop grinning, "So you've got a boyfriend."
"Well there are worse places to be shot," she shares my smile, "He's not, he just comes in every couple of days."
"What was wrong with him… if I can ask."
"Ask him he makes no real secret of it…" A sad look starts to come over her face, "and how it happened." She runs several quick scans on my foot.
Now I'm curious… well more curious. "So how bad am I?"
"The wound was treated well enough, and there are no signs of infection, I'd suggest coming in once a day over the next week so I can check on it but you should be fine." She turns away from me.
"Thanks doc," I lower my feet to the floor, "you wouldn't happen to know where a poker game was being played?"
"I believe it's going on down in engineering." She responds, "Now remember you have to come by each day so I can check your progress."
"Understood," I leave the med-bay behind. I pass through the mess hall, I ignore glares from a few of the crew… I killed her, I deserve their looks…
I reach the elevator and hit the button for engineering. I see her lying on the table again covered from view, the smell of death and it's silence permeating the room. I didn't want to kill her… and truth be told I wouldn't be as torn up about this if it was a guy. I know it's sexist but I was raised to respect women and while I may make a bad joke every now and then I do… you don't cave in the chest of people you respect.
I shake my head as the door opens… I've already brooded over this enough; I shove it to the back of my mind and decide to ignore it. I glance over towards the cargo bay at the Kodiak… I wonder if we'll pick up the Hammerhead?
I turn left towards where Ken and Gabby are always at when they're on duty. I walk in and see a fold out table in the middle of engineering. Guile, Ken, Gabby and… one of the many crew who glare at me whenever I walk by… this is going to be a fun game.
"Deal Will in," Guile says. Ken tosses me five cards…
"Hey Ken, Gabby," I give each a nod in turn.
"Will this is Michael," Gabby introduces him.
He's glaring at me, so much so that I really want to pull out one of his brown eyes. "Nice to meet you," I reach out my hand… my human hand… and… he makes no move to shake. Well I tried to be polite.
I drag up a chair and we start playing, straight off Ken goes all in. "I've got this hand." He says smugly.
"All in," Guile responds immediatly. The rest of us fold.
"Dammit," Ken reveals a pair of 2s. "How'd you know I was bluffing?"
"I've been around alot of liars," He drops his hand... pair of 3s. "You aren't good at it," he says with a laugh. We continue playing for two hours and no one comes out that far ahead... except for guile who loses the least and gains the most of any of us. Throughout it though Michael across from me has stayed practically dead even with me, and I want to crush him...
"I'm about to call it a night," Guile informs us, "old and tired go hand in hand a lot," he grins. He throws a glance at Ken, "Plus I'll need all the energy I can get carrying all of Ken's money away." We all share a laugh… so I need to win the next hand… if only to put Michael in his place.
"Deal 'em."
Ken passes five cards around, and… the air gets very tense… and now Final Countdown is playing in my head and it's very distracting. I stare at my cards one by one…
First Queen of Hearts… then Jack of Hearts… King of Hearts… Ace of Hearts… and… Queen of Spades… two queens… heh story of my life…
"All in," Michael says immediately and scratches his black hair. A tell… I've never been good at tells… then again he doesn't know that so he could be faking a tell to confuse me… well the jokes on him I don't have any idea what I'm thinking anymore.
"Getting rid of any Will?" I pause, at Ken's question. I glance at my hand again, at the two queens… do I stay or do I go? Great now that song is stuck in my head.
I thumb both of the queens… I have to choose...I can stay with the queens and have a fair hand dealt to me... but if I get rid of one I can end up with the best hand... or the worst hand...
I let out a sigh, "I'm out," I drop the cards, face down.
I catch a glance from Guile, "One," wait a minute that's… the queen of spades? Wait I have… I let a grin show on my face. He catches my grin and returns it. I like this old man. "All in," he says the moment he gets the card.
And the look on Michael's face, as he revealed the exact same hand I had, minus the Queen of Spades, plus a 10 of Hearts… Straight Flush
"You gotta know when to hold and when to fold em," He pats me on the shoulder. "Cash me out," he says to Ken.
"I want to be like him when I grow up." I laugh, and it's exactly what I needed today. You gotta know when to hold em know when to fold em... I actually don't mind getting this song stuck in my head.
A/N: Now there are symbolism in the cards, and I'd like to hear your guesses on which cards stand for which people... Next chapter I'll tell you whom I had in mind for them.