Author's Note:
I have NO idea what poker rules are. I have never played the game, nor do I know how it is played. However, I once heard that there is such a thing as strip poker, and from what I gather, the game is played liked this: You lose a round, you lose a piece of clothing. The winner is the one who keeps the most clothes on.
So.
This just asks for a story. LOL
Summary:
All good agents know how to put on a good poker face. It's an essential skill they need in order to survive out in the field. But what happens when it's just for fun? Whose nerves will give first, when faced with the risk of losing not only the game, but – piece by piece – their clothes as well?
It's Poker Time
It was late.
But that was no excuse.
The successfully completed mission and the resulting celebration, however, could be considered an explanation.
Maybe.
But the truth was: none of them could actually remember who had come up with the idea.
It didn't matter.
They were having a great time. They were all alive. And they had managed to get Benji drunk.
That was all the reason any of them required to go ahead with the sudden inspiration to give their monthly poker round a little twist this time.
Tonight, the rules were gonna be more stringent.
Tonight, the rest of the world could take care of itself.
They were gonna have some fun.
-o-
The round table had been set up in the middle of Ethan's living room.
They all agreed on the rules. Two pieces of clothing per lost round.
Around the table, there were four chairs.
Brandt was facing Ethan. Benji was facing Jane.
In the middle of the table lay a deck of cards.
That was all they needed.
"Everybody ready?" Brandt asked with a sly smile.
"You bet." Benji giggled drunkenly.
Ethan nodded confidently.
Jane just smiled.
-o-
Jane was still fairly sober. That was her advantage.
With Ethan you couldn't tell – but whatever he had drunk so far, he obviously could hold his liquor exceptionally well, because his expression certainly didn't give any clues away.
Benji, too, played a good first round. In fact, to everyone's amazement, Benji played much better drunk than he ever did sober.
It actually surprised Brandt so much, that he made the mistake of underestimating Benji's poker hand.
And it cost Brandt his shirt and tie.
-o-
The second round was a short one. Benji thought he knew what hand Ethan was gonna play.
Benji didn't even argue when he lost his socks and shoes.
-o-
Round three took a little longer. And it saw a novelty: Brandt and Jane teamed up against Ethan.
It cost Ethan his shirt and socks.
-o-
They really shouldn't have done that. Ethan may not have been entirely sober anymore, but he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Right in the next round, Jane paid for that insight with her blouse and shoes.
-o-
As the game went on, they all lost a few more garments.
Benji was the first to eventually put down his cards, announcing his defeat. It wasn't just because he was now down to his shorts, but mostly because he simply couldn't keep his eyes open much longer. The alcohol was showing its effect. As he moved over to the couch across the room, he was asleep before his head even touched the decorating pillow.
So they were down to three.
Jane was the next to throw in the towel. Keeping her bra and her underwear as her last line of defense, she admitted her defeat by folding her cards with a conceding smile. Brandt and Ethan accepted her surrender with polite nods. They were gentlemen, after all.
The game was now down to Brandt and Ethan.
Jane for her part, quickly picked up a thin blanket from the nearby couch, careful not to disturb Benji, and moved herself over into a lazy chair just off the side, to watch what would happen next.
She might have lost, but she was perfectly aware that losing had its advantages as well. It gave her a chance to fully appreciate the view before her, without having to keep looking at her own cards. And the view sure wasn't bad.
Brandt's shirt was long gone. He was down to his suit pants and whatever he was wearing underneath them.
Ethan, too, had lost his shirt along the way, with pretty much the rest of his other clothing. Only as far as pants went, he still had his jeans on.
It was in that moment that Jane realized something interesting.
There now seemed to be a new level of concentration on Ethan's face.
And Jane suddenly realized that those jeans might be ALL Ethan had left, clothing-wise. He certainly looked like he intended to defend them to the death, with whatever cards he had left in his hands.
-o-
Brandt obviously noticed Ethan's momentary tension, as well.
At least the shark-like grin on Brandt's face said as much.
But Ethan refused to be baited. Within seconds, his poker-face was once more fully in place.
The last game was on.
And something told Jane that it was gonna be a fight to the finish.
-o-
It was a game to be remembered.
When Benji woke up the next morning, he just knew he had missed something. But nobody would tell him, what it was.
When Benji asked Brandt which one of them had eventually won the game after he had dozed off, all Benji got was a mysterious smirk.
The same question put towards Ethan didn't get him an answer either. Ethan simply chuckled confidently. Then he patted Benji on the back with a dubious smile, telling Benji 'don't worry, you didn't miss much.'
Somehow Benji doubted it.
In the end, Benji went to track down Jane.
He was curious now. Very curious.
And since Ethan and Brandt weren't talking, he thought maybe Jane would.
As he knocked on Jane's door, Benji noticed Jane was working at her laptop.
"Whatcha doing?" Benji asked conversationally, as he walked in with his hands casually in his pockets.
"Preparing the next mission." Jane answered him joyfully over her shoulder, her eyes still on the laptop screen, and her body language speaking of complete ease.
"Didn't Ethan want to do that? I thought that mission was his baby…one he didn't want anyone else to handle?" Benji asked surprised.
"Oh, he let me take charge."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that.
Oh. Okay.
Then Benji noticed something else. Resting on the table beside Jane was a brand-new Beretta, the latest model. That thing cost a fortune. Benji knew. He'd heard Brandt talk about it the other day when Brandt got himself-
Wait a minute.
"Isn't that Brandt's?" Benji asked in sudden realization, now really starting to think he had stepped into some kind of twilight zone.
"That thing?" Jane glanced at the new gun beside her, before concentrating back on her laptop screen with an easy smile, "Sure…that was Brandt's."
"He gave that you? I thought he loved that gun?"
"Oh, he did. He sure did."
Silence reigned for a moment, as Benji tried to wrap his head around what he was hearing.
"And he still gave it to you." Benji asked completely dumbfounded.
Jane nodded.
"Just like Ethan gave you that mission."
Again, Jane simply nodded, completely at ease with the world.
"Uhm…why?" Benji asked slowly. He wasn't really sure that he actually wanted to know the answer. But he just had to ask.
Finally, Jane fully turned around in her chair, to look at Benji.
And then she simply smiled knowingly.
"Let's just say that the ability to keep secrets in this line of work pays well. It pays really well…" Jane chuckled, as she glanced once more at her new gun and the new mission plan on her laptop screen.
And then she gave Benji a suggestively raised eyebrow, letting him know that this was all she was gonna say.
THE END
P.S. No, I'm not gonna say who won, or who was wearing what under their pants, or if Ethan and/or Brandt actually chickened out in the end. It's like Jane said. The secret is well-kept with her. And neither Benji nor anyone else ever needs to know. :o)