This is Prompt No. 11-Cheating

Mitchie pretended to be quite involved in thinking through her strategy, but in actuality, cards were beginning to creep up and down her sleeve as she replaced the ones dealt to her for the ones Caitlyn had supplied her with. She tried not to groan as her head began to pound even as her vision became less clear. "Uh," she moaned.

"Everything alright?" Nigel asked cheerfully, far too cheerfully.

"I'm fine," Mitchie assured him. "My cards aren't, though."

Nigel seemed pleased and he failed miserably at wiping the smirk off his face. "Should you perhaps call it a night?"

Mitchie glanced back down at her cards and looked back up, forcing herself not to shrink away from all the pairs of eyes focusing on her, waiting for her decision. "I think I just might," she told him, and then added, "after I finish this game."

Nigel fought back a scowl and nodded. "Then let's continue," he said, and the game went on.

Mitchie began to worry as the pile of notes grew higher and higher. Two of Nigel's men folded, wiping their brows. Four others remained and Mitchie knew that it only took each one of them to "check" (not giving a bet) before she could lay her cards down, go home, and sleep off the most horrible headache of the century. "Check," she said, setting things into motion.

"Check," said one beefy man next to her.

"Check," added another.

The third man paused, fingering his cards and contemplating whether or not he wanted to raise. "Uh," he stuttered, unsure.

"Do something, man!" Nigel snapped, breaking his smooth façade.

The man shrank slightly from the smaller man and said, "I'm trying to!"

"Well try harder!"

By now, other tables had quite their games and were gathering around Nigel's table, curious about the game that was becoming louder and louder. Mitchie glanced from one person to the other, blinking each time in order to try and clear her vision. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Caitlyn join the crowd and make her way to the front of it.

"Check," the nervous man finally said, as everyone knew he would.

All eyes then turned to Nigel and some people started muttering words like "cheater" and "liar." Mitchie tried not to smile. This could actually work in her favor. The crowd might actually favor her when she pulled off her little stunt.

"Check," he said, bluffing bravado. Mitchie knew that he thought he could win, and she had to force herself not to smile. She blinked again, but her vision refused to clear and she was beginning to feel sick.

The men began laying down their cards, and Mitchie's blood started pulsing with excitement. The first man hand two pairs, but they were no match for the second man's low run. The third man had a high card, but nothing substantial, and Mitchie almost felt sorry for him as he placed his cards down on the table amidst snickering from Nigel and the other ruffians in the group. Nigel, on the other hand, was greeted with a hushed silence as he triumphantly placed his flush, five cards in order and in the same suit, down on the table.

He turned towards Mitchie and said smugly, "Your turn."

Mitchie looked blearily at the cards he had put down and shook her head. "That's wonderful," she said, "absolutely wonderful." Then, she placed her royal flush, from ten to ace in the same suit, down on the table and sat back.

Nigel leapt up from the table. "That's impossible!" he roared as he stared at the cards. He turned to Mitchie, his face almost purple with his rage, and his eyes narrowed so that he barely looked like he had eyes. "You cheated!" he accused, pointing a stubby finger right at Mitchie's nose.

The crowd began to grumble at the comment, giving Mitchie the courage to sit back in her chair easily and say, "That's a tough accusation coming from a man whom I've heard regularly cheats at this very game." The crowd murmured its approval at this statement, so Mitchie went on. "One of us is obviously cheating since there are too many cards from the same suit, but which one is it?"

The crowd began to mutter, and Mitchie heard several people say, "Nigel."

"Shut up!" Nigel shouted to the crowd. Mitchie saw his hands clench at his sides and he grinned, straightening his vest authoritatively. "You picked the wrong game to join, boy," he said. His face gave off an air of mock sadness. "Poor Shania," he said. "She'll be so upset."

Then, faster than Mitchie could even comprehend, Nigel's hand flew to his gun belt. The next thing she knew, she was staring down the barrel of his gun with no way to reach for hers. Without warning, he pulled the trigger and the sound ricocheted around the saloon. Mitchie tumbled backwards, falling out of her chair and rolling under table that was close by, just as another gun went off and she heard a gurgled cry.

A/N: Uh oh! By the way, did anyone recognize the correlation between "Shane" and "Shania"? Just curious. Let me know what you think!