Chapter 3: Counting on the Cards

7:42 a.m.

Las Vegas Crime Lab

Las Vegas, Nevada

–

Grissom leaned back in his chair. "That's a complaint we hear occasionally," he said. "Casino security abuse, I'm afraid, is rather common in this city."

"Well, I certainly didn't think it would happen to me," Solomon huffed. "All I was doing was winning money."

"Which casinos hate," Grissom responded smoothly. "They'll kick people out if they think their customers are winning too much money. The house doesn't like to lose."

"I don't believe that was the real reason I was taken into the back."

Grissom raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Solomon looked to Yugi, who shrugged. "I guess that's where I come in. I was with Joey in the arcade..."

Two Days Earlier

Ground Level Arcade, Luxor Hotel

–

Atop his perch on the red dueling pedestal of the elevated holographic platform, Joey drew his next card and grinned. On his field were Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) in defense mode and The Fiend Megacyber (2200/1200) in attack mode, whereas Yugi's field carried a defending Queen's Knight (1500/1600) and Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800). Joey's Life Points were only at 500, as opposed to Yugi's 2300 – but he'd just pulled what quite possibly was the play of the game.

"Check this out, bud," he declared. "I play Polymerization, to fuse together the Baby Dragon and Alligator's Sword monsters in my hand..."

On the field, the two monsters Joey was fusing manifested next to each other. Their forms began warping and twisting around each other, and what re-emerged from the fusion was the sight of Alligator's Sword astride a more powerful-looking version of Baby Dragon.

"...so now you can say hello to my Alligator's Sword Dragon (1700/1500)!"

Onlookers stared up at the two duelists in awe. Joey could hear the accolades being poured on both him and Yugi – "Wow, look at them duel!" "I wish I could play at their level!" "I wonder if I can get cards like those?"

"Next, I sacrifice my Swordsman of Landstar to summon The Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600) in attack mode!"

The monster card that Joey had won from Mako Tsunami in the Battle City tournament manifested next to his Alligator's Sword Dragon – it was a powerful-looking warrior astride a great shark, a spear his weapon of choice.

"Finally, I place one card face-down, and have my Fiend Megacyber attack your Queen's Knight!"

Fiend Megacyber's attack power was much stronger than Queen's Knight's defense, and they both knew it. A single well-placed punch was all it took for Queen's Knight to shatter and vanish.

"Next, Legendary Fisherman, attack Gamma the Magnet Warrior!"

All the warrior had to do was hurl his spear across the distance – a rope attached to its bottom end was his method of retrieving it without having to leave his perch on the hovering shark. Gamma exploded on the spot.

"An' finally, Alligator's Sword Dragon, attack Yugi's Life Points directly!"

A bolt of energy lanced from Alligator's Sword Dragon's weapon of choice, a scimitar borne by the rider, and speared into Yugi's Life Point counter. His Life Points sank to 600.

"And dat'll end my turn," Joey announced, feeling particularly proud of himself.

Yugi nodded and drew his next card. "Good play. But I've got one for you, too. First, I play Offerings to the Doomed, which lets me destroy one face-up monster on the field – and the only price is that I can't draw a card next turn."

Joey winced at the sight of his Fiend Megacyber, the target of Yugi's magic card, exploding quite spectacularly.

"Next, I play the magic card Dark Magic Curtain, which lets me special summon a Dark Magician from my hand or deck at the cost of half my Life Points. So come forth, Dark Magician (2500/2100), in attack mode!"

As Yugi's Life Points dropped to 300, the familiar sight of his favorite monster shimmered into existence on his side of the field, resplendent in its purple robes and armor and surrounded by bands of rainbow energy.

"Now, Dark Magician, attack Alligator's Sword Dragon!" Yugi ordered.

But even as the spellcaster raised its magic-imbued staff to finish the duel, Joey countered. "Not so fast, Yugi. I activate the trap card Kunai with Chain!"

A deadly metal boomerang attached to a thick silver chain appeared and attached its chain to the riding alligator's left wrist. The rider took the opportunity, then, to toss the boomerang at its attacker – the chain wrapped about Dark Magician and pinned its arms to its sides, effectively stopping its attack.

"This card equips to an attacked monster and raises its attack power by 500 points," Joey announced, "and as a bonus, it switches the attacker to defense mode!"

Yugi frowned. I should have realized his trap would keep him from losing that easily. If my field stays like this, Alligator's Sword Dragon will destroy Dark Magician next turn, and Legendary Fisherman will have a clear path to my Life Points. "Fine, then I place one card face-down and end my turn."

There was an expression of unmitigated joy on Joey's face. It was a look Yugi was familiar with. The last time he'd seen it was when the two of them dueled each other in the final match of the Duelist Kingdom tournament. It was the look that said, "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna beat Yugi!"

Some part of Yugi couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for Joey. His trap card was a Waboku, and it would both prevent his Dark Magician from being destroyed, and keep him from taking any Life Point damage. Next turn he would switch Dark Magician back to attack mode and destroy Alligator's Sword Dragon – he wouldn't be able to finish the duel by destroying Legendary Fisherman, since that monster' special effect made it immune to attacks, but at least he could humble Joey a little bit.

But that wasn't the only reason he felt sorry. At times like these, Joey was just centimeters away from becoming like so many other hotshot duelists who tried to challenge Yugi on a daily basis for rights to the Egyptian god cards or the title of King of Games. Sometimes he would realize his folly and apologize profusely for being so shallow.

Times like those are when Joey's light truly shines, Yami commented. He had not taken part in the duel, as Yugi had insisted it was just a friendly spar. Yugi had even removed the Egyptian god cards from his deck – their power wasn't needed here, and if anything, they would probably overload the circuits on the outdated systems.

Yugi agreed with his dark half... indeed, Joey's friendship was most obvious when he showed regret over any misunderstanding between himself and Yugi. Joey could sometimes be a pity-mongerer, but for the most part, he was a man of honor and dedication, and there was not a single person Yugi could feel more privileged to call a friend.

Joey tapped his Alligator's Sword Dragon card twice, indicating to the touch-sensitive field paneling on his pedestal that he intended that monster to attack. Now all it needed was a target. His hand reached out to the opposing field panels on his pedestal, meant to represent Yugi's field. "Alligator's Sword Dragon, attack–"

"Yugi!"

Both players frowned and looked in the direction the voice had come from. Yugi had to turn around, because the voice was behind him. Tristan and Téa were pushing desperately through the throngs of onlookers ogling the duel. It was Téa who had called out Yugi's name, and she had a look on her face that Yugi recognized instantly.

"What's wrong, Téa?" Yugi asked.

"It's your grandpa," Tristan said.

A cold rock formed in the pit of Yugi's stomach; somewhere in the darkness of Yami's soul room, he could hear the spirit's fury stirring. Neither of them liked hearing anything about his grandfather in voices such as those... and enough had happened to him already, hadn't it? "What is it?"

"The guys at the casino said they've taken him to security for cheating," Téa said, her tone incredulous. "They say he wants to see you."

Yugi felt a small measure of relief at knowing Grandpa had managed to get someone to let them know what had happened – but Yami's rage was beginning to rise. Cheating? Your grandfather never cheats, Yugi. Something foul is afoot here.

Before Yami's mental message had even completed itself, Joey had tapped his deck twice – a signal and confirmation that he was surrendering the match to Yugi, much to the consternation of spectators who had fully expected Joey to follow through with his attack – and was gathering his cards off the pedestal. "C'mon, Yugi, let's go find out what's going on."

Yugi smiled at his friend. Ah, Joey... I can always count on him to have a heart of gold.

Auxiliary Security Control, Luxor Hotel

–

Solomon shifted his jaw this way and that as he stared at the security guard blocking the exit – and with it, the path to his freedom from this place. "I'm telling you, I do not cheat."

"Not my problem, sir," the guard replied. The comment sounded automated. "You'll have to take that up with the manager."

"And where is the manager, if I may be so bold?"

"On his way."

Solomon's teeth were grinding, but what could he do? The guard must have been at least twice his height and weight... and that was saying something, as Solomon's girth had increased considerably since his 50's.

There was a knock on the door. The guard stood aside and opened it, to reveal none other than Simon Henstridge. The young businessman entered the room and draped his arms behind his back. "Mr. Motou. How nice to see you again."

"I'm sure you're wishing we could have met under better circumstances, hm?" Solomon inquired, crossing his arms.

"Something like that. My security cameras were observing some rather... questionable behavior on your part at the blackjack tables."

"Such as?"

"My experts believe you were counting cards."

Solomon scoffed. "Preposterous."

"It's not something we can prove without a doubt, of course, but the sight of your lips moving as the dealer shuffled the deck, your minimum bets on bad hands, and your high bets on good ones led them to conclude you were memorizing the positions of the cards and counting them to yourself."

"I beg your pardon!"

"Well, if you weren't memorizing the cards, what were you doing?"

"Thinking of my grandson, thank you very much, and going over the speech I gave you," the older man sneered. "I was wondering to myself if there were any more points I could have made while I was at it. I obviously didn't make it clear that my purpose here is entertainment. Not theft."

"Well, now, that's a matter of some debate, isn't it?"

"No, sir, it is not," Solomon returned. "And you can consult..." He stopped short.

"Consult who?" Henstridge asked. His hairless brow rose. "Your grandson, perhaps?"

"What is it you want?"

"I'm given to understand you won a 1500 bet just before my security brought you in. The rest of your winnings, you can keep, but I'd like you to return that money."

"And what do you intend to do if I don't agree to hand it over?"

Henstridge sat down on the bench next to Solomon. "I was giving some thought to that. I could have you barred from the casino, of course... I could even look into evicting you from the hotel's guest quarters."

Solomon stared. "Hotel law forbids you to oust your guests on a whim, and I haven't broken any rules."

"That can't be proven," said Henstridge. "You have our money, we want it back. Simple as that."

"Simple as extortion," Solomon charged, "which is a crime and a disgraceful tactic to use. Especially against the elderly."

"Do you have an alternative? A compromise, perhaps?"

Solomon knew what the young hustler was trying to goad him into. He knew it exactly. He supposed it was only a matter of time before Henstridge figured out a way to do it... and now it didn't look like they were going to have much choice in the matter.

His shoulders sagged. "I want to see my grandson and his friends before I make any decisions. I told him I would find a way to let him know if I was in trouble, and this is as good a time as any."

Henstridge nodded once, then approached a control panel and grabbed up a microphone. "Jake, Zander, I need you to go to the arcade and look for four kids – Yugi Motou, Téa Gardner, Tristan Taylor, and Joey Wheeler. You'll probably find Gardner on a dancing machine, Taylor playing a shooter game, and Motou and Wheeler on a Duel Monsters platform. Round all four up and bring them to auxiliary control."

Solomon glared at Henstridge. "Stalker," he accused.

Henstridge chuckled. "Hardly. But I do make it a policy to know people who stand out, as well as their friends – your grandson and company certainly qualify. The Duel Monsters champion of the world, two times over! How exciting that must have been for him. And for you."

Solomon scowled and kept his mouth shut.

"Ah. I see. The silent treatment. Well, I can certainly understand your grandson's desire to be left alone. So, the less time we take going around in circles over this matter, the faster you can get out of here and enjoy yourself."

"You just want me to start losing money to you."

"I'm a businessman, Mr. Motou. I have to turn a profit somehow."

"Surely you earn that profit through all your other unlucky customers. I very much doubt 5500 is more than a drop in the ocean of a day's earnings."

Henstridge didn't respond to that, but instead simply smiled and paced back and forth across the room. Moments later, there was another knock on the door – the guard opened it again, and this time there were four children standing alongside a pair of other guards.

Yugi rushed to his grandfather, practically throwing himself in the older man's arms. "Grandpa! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, my boy," Solomon responded, and he couldn't help but chuckle. "There just seems to be... a bit of a misunderstanding regarding some money I won."

"You didn't cheat, right? I know you couldn't have cheated..."

"I didn't, Yugi." Solomon scowled back up at Henstridge. "But somebody in this room claims otherwise."

"Yugi Motou?" Henstridge shamelessly extended his gloved hand to the teen. "My name is Simon Henstridge, I'm co-manager of the Luxor's facilities. It's an honor to meet you in person."

Yugi ignored the outstretched hand. "Why are you saying my grandfather cheats?" he demanded, voice trembling slightly. "He's the most honorable man I've ever known! How dare you!"

Henstridge dropped his arm and sighed. "I'm sorry, Yugi, but the fact of the matter is that certain experts who watch the security cameras in this facility say Mr. Motou was counting the cards at a blackjack table. He was putting minimum wagers on bad hands, and betting nearly half of his earnings on good ones."

"So? That means he's good, right?"

"Yes," Henstridge admitted. "But we think he's too good. We think he was trying to memorize the positions of the cards in the deck as it was being shuffled. You see, the corners of the deck of cards are raised high enough that someone with a good eye can see the numbers and–"

"My grandfather isn't a cheater!" Yugi blurted. "He's a good man. The Heart Of The Cards is with him. The cards give him the money he needs. They tell him what's going to happen before it happens."

"That's exactly my point, Yugi."

"No, it isn't, Mr. Henstridge," Solomon interrupted. "You don't understand the Heart Of The Cards. If you did, you would know what my grandson means."

"Mr. Motou, with all due respect, I can't simply take you at your word on this."

"Then what is it you will take?" Téa asked.

"Well, I've made the choice rather clear to Mr. Motou. When my security found him, he was making a large bet which he ended up winning – right after the cards were shuffled in front of him. I want him to give back the money he won from that bet. I've told him he can keep the rest."

"How much money did he win?" Tristan asked.

"1500 dollars."

"1500 dollars!" Joey spluttered. "Dat's a pretty good hourly wage, I say."

Solomon turned to the teens. "He's threatened to kick us out of the hotel entirely if I don't give him the money he wants."

"What!" was the collective response from Yugi and his friends. Téa was the first to recover. "Over 1500 dollars? That's not fair at all! It's no better than calling Mr. Motou a cheater!"

"You people earn ten times that much in a single hand of poker in any given VIP room," Tristan supplemented angrily.

Henstridge spread his hands wide. "Well, I'm sorry, but unless there's an alternative you'd like to propose..."

Solomon turned his gaze back upon Henstridge and glowered at him. "I know what you want. I'd wager you've wanted it since you first saw our names on the guest list. But I'm not going to propose it. I cannot ask such a thing of him."

"What? What is it, Grandpa?" Yugi asked. He looked among the room's occupants; Tristan, Téa, and Joey seemed to bear no comprehension of what Henstridge and Solomon both seemed to know. Henstridge, on the other hand, looked almost manic in his anticipation of... well, whatever it was he wanted.

"Very well, then I'll propose it," he finally said. "Yugi, your grandfather holds contested money. At this moment, neither the casino nor your grandfather can solidly lay claim to it. I propose that one of us attempts to win that money."

"Win it? How?"

"Through a duel."

Everyone turned to Joey; it was he who had provided that answer, he who had understood it first. He was now scowling at Henstridge as fiercely as Solomon was. "He wants you to duel him, Yugi."

Yugi looked back at Henstridge, who nodded once in affirmation. "It would be a great honor to duel the King of Games, Yugi. If you win, I'll release the house's claim on the money, and it's yours to keep, no questions asked. If I win, your grandfather returns the money to the house, and nothing further is said on the subject."

"Hold on a minute!" Joey interjected. "Now, I can understand you wantin' to duel Yugi an' all. Half the world wants a piece'a him. But he can't duel half the world."

"I'm not half the world, Mr. Wheeler," Henstridge responded, amusement in his tone.

"Dat's not my point. My point is, Yugi shouldn't hafta keep provin' he's the King'a Games to people like you who're beggin' to get their butts kicked, just to say they got their butts kicked by the world champ."

"Are you suggesting I'm asking to get my butt kicked?"

"By none other than the finest. Dat's an honor in itself, to some people. Personally, I think you know there's no way you can win against Yugi. You just wanna have the honor'a duelin' him an' sayin' you did it." Joey stepped forward. "Yugi doesn't hafta defend his title to the likes'a you."

Henstridge's smug look had disappeared. Now he looked irritated. Patches of his head were turning slightly pink – he was blushing, and it looked awful. "Do you have another alternative, Mr. Wheeler, or are you simply trying to blow smoke in my face?"

"I'll do both at once," Joey shot back. "I'll duel you. I'm the one who won the tournament dat brought everyone here in the first place. If it weren't for me, Yugi and his Gramps wouldn't even be here, and we wouldn't be havin' this conversation. If someone in here is gonna duel you, I'm the one it should be."

At that, Solomon actually chuckled. "You know, Mr. Henstridge, he's correct. We wouldn't be here, having this conversation, if it wasn't for him."

"But... but..." Henstridge sounded positively whiny. "What about Yugi?"

"What about him?" Téa countered. "Joey's right. Yugi doesn't have to defend himself to you. He's already defeated the former world favorite – twice. And last I heard, you weren't even in the top 100 list for favorite duelists. You can't force him to duel you. Joey's offering to duel."

Henstridge reached a hand out to Yugi, looking desperate for the boy's opinion. "Yugi... tell me, what is it you want?"

Yugi looked up at Henstridge. "I want my grandpa to keep the money he won," he answered. "And if you won't let him have it without a duel, I think you should duel Joey."

"And there's something else to consider," Tristan added. "Yugi has three Egyptian god cards at his disposal. You wouldn't last two seconds against them. Joey, on the other hand, doesn't have any god cards to his credit. You actually have more of a chance against him."

"Gee, thanks," Joey muttered.

That fact had apparently not registered with Henstridge before. His fury visibly lessened upon Tristan's comment. He stroked his chin. "You know... that's true. Hm." After a few moments of silent consideration, he looked at the blond and nodded once. "Very well. I accept your challenge."

"An' I accept yours," Joey responded.

"Our match will take place in the arcade. Let's get going."

Yugi suddenly realized how much detail he was pouring into the story, and blushed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Grissom," he said. "I'm sure all this isn't quite as helpful as you might like..."

Grissom smiled, leaned forward, and laced his fingers. "I'll tell you what, Yugi: every little bit helps. Now, by all means, go on. What happened next?"