Chapter 3: Found At Last
The door to the only bar and casino in a peculiar little South American town, with a name Rael could pronounce or even spell, banged closed behind him. The loud sound didn't seem to bother the bar's patrons. No one turned around to see who had come in. They just sat there and continued their drinking and gambling.
Rael's quick eyes darted around the place in search of a familiar face. The unsettling thought that perhaps after so many years, nineteen to be precise, he might not even recognize his brother, suddenly occurred to him. Maybe he'd missed him back in some other little village and never knew it. He swallowed hard at the thought. He'd broken his parole and wasted far too much time and energy in these damn jungles to not find him!
Then as Rael's eyes scanned the card tables one last time his gaze came to rest on one man in particular. He looked a little older than Kess by not by much. His eyes were brown and burned with an intensity Rael had seldom seen equaled. His hair was a funny color that was something between blonde and light brown. It stuck up in weird shapes and was completely unruly. He had a lean frame and was quite a bit taller than Rael. What really made Rael notice him, however, were his teeth. They were pointed like a shark's. That looked familiar. Then of course there was the way he was screaming at the man across the table.
"You cheating son of a bitch, what are you trying to pull?"
Rael watched with interest as a fight then broke out. Knives were thrown, guns were fired and above it all the roar of a chainsaw could be heard. There was no doubt about it. This was the man he'd been looking for. It was him. This was Giriko!
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Rael said in his smoothest voice as he stepped into the fray, "Let's not fight. We're all adults here, ain't we? Let's settle our disputes with a friendly game. I came to win, not watch people chop each other apart." As he spoke he shot a look at Giriko. "Come one boys. Put your money where your mouth is and let's play."
"Just who are you?" barked a large man with a mustache.
"They call me Ace," Rael said with a confident smile.
"Pretty cocky if you ask me," piped up an old bald man. "You some hot shot card player then, junior?"
Rael wrinkled his nose with distaste at being referred to as "junior". All the same it wouldn't do to start a fight now when he'd just broken one up. Besides there could be plenty of fighting later. He might need to save his strength. So he ignored it and kept his response short and sweet. "I never lose."
"Let's see you prove that," Giriko snarled.
"Nothin' I'd like better." His smile this time was directed right at Giriko and it really was cocky. "But first I'm buyin' a round of drinks for everybody."