Blinds
Hope balanced a tray with drinks in one hand as she weaved between the people and tables in the crowded bar. With the top two buttons of her blouse undone to show a hint of generous cleavage, and her brown bushy tail swaying behind her in rhythm with her hips wrapped in tight jeans, she drew looks from men and some women alike. She didn't mind. If you have it, flaunt it, was her motto. Anything to help keep the patrons in a good mood was good for business.
She stopped by a booth occupied by two older ladies involved in a conversation. Hope picked up a few words of Arctos, although she didn't understand the language well. Being a polar fox, she assumed her own ancestry was from the Arctos System, although she had grown up on planet Kew here in the Quango System.
"A gin and tonic for Lady Bianca," said Hope and put one glass in front of the polar bear, who she recognised as the matriarch of Midway Station, an outpost along a popular smuggling route in and out of Quango.
"Thank you, my dear," said Bianca. "Bruce did go easy on the tonic, didn't he?"
"As always." Hope winked and turned her attention to the booth's other occupant. "And a ginger beer for you, M'am."
The red vixen accepted the beverage without a word, smiling back at Hope from behind round mirrored spectacles. Despite the dim light, Hope didn't give the unusual eyewear a second thought. People often wanted to be anonymous in the bar.
"Are you here for the poker tournament, Lady Bianca?" Hope inquired.
"I wouldn't want to miss my annual chance of getting away from the station," the polar bear answered, "nor the entertainment."
Hope followed her gaze towards a stage, where a tall and topless maned wolf danced around a pole, briefly pausing to unclasp his belt.
"I wouldn't mind going sixteen toes with him." Bianca chuckled and turned to Hope. "Do you ever have a turn on the pole?"
"It happens," said Hope with a wry smirk.
She left the ladies to their conversation and continued her rounds, taking orders and delivering drinks with an ever-present smile. The atmosphere was lively, people drinking and talking, while smoke from cigarettes rose up towards the domed glass ceiling above. Hope's sensitive vulpine nose picked up on other scents too. The Primordial Pub was a popular hangout for all sorts of people, regardless of which side of the law they were on: traders, smugglers, mercenaries, space pirates, and those who just wanted to escape the more populated planets. Travellers from systems near and far also met here to exchange information and make shady business deals. Bruce the Barkeep was happy to serve anyone, no questions asked, as long as they paid and didn't cause trouble.
Some still did, though. An arm wrapped itself around her waist and dragged her into a booth.
"Hello, gorgeous!" A cheetah's grinning face looked down upon her.
"Vince, you shouldn't be doing this." She tried to wriggle free, but he held her tight. She looked across the table, but the two hyenas-the cheetah's bodyguards she assumed-turned their heads the other way, eyes hidden behind dark shades. One of them fidgeted with a coaster.
"How about coming to my quarters after your shift." Vince's hand slid under Hope's blouse, dangerously close to her bosom. "I'll pay you well."
"I don't do that anymore," she spat and broke free from his embrace. She glanced over towards the bar, where an old kangaroo conversed with Bianca's vixen friend, while looking back towards Hope. Bruce the Barkeep didn't miss a trick. With one arm he reached down under the bar top, where Hope knew his old shotgun was hidden.
"Yeah, you run to the old pouch," said Vince to Hope's back as she walked off, brazenly using a slur for marsupials. "You know that The Merchant's got a new favourite girl, don't you?"
The last comment stung more than it should. Hope had tried hard to leave that part of her life behind.
She had been raised in the immigrant ghettos of Richmond on Kew by a single and drug-addicted mother who sold her body on the streets, and had passed away when Hope was still young. How, she still didn't know. With no education, it seemed Hope's only path was to follow in her mother's footsteps, starting as a waitress in a topless bar, until she realised she had a particularly attractive body. The Merchant, an influential underworld figure, had picked her up, and she had worked with his wealthiest clients.
She sneered at the term. 'Escort': a fancy name for an ancient but less than honourable profession, only dressed up in luxury. But who was worse: she or her 'clients'? She shouldn't complain though. Life had been good-fast money, fast ships-until she met... her.
A door closed behind her, and she looked around the kitchen. Several kangaroos and wallabies were busy preparing meals and snacks, the air thick with the smell of grease and spices. Something had happened after the incidents with the visitors from the Lylat System. If The Merchant had suspected Hope's involvement, he hadn't said anything, but he had frozen her out. Luckily, when she was desperate to leave her old life behind, Bruce had offered her a job. It was hard work and long hours, and the pay wasn't great, but she knew it was what Bruce could afford.
"Are you orright, luv?" A female grey kangaroo hopped over to Hope, her bulging belly bouncing with every step.
"Yeah, thanks Sharon, I'm good," said Hope, but the roo didn't seem to buy it, locking on to Hope's gaze.
"Vince giving you trouble?" said a gruff voice behind Hope, who turned around to see Bruce standing there, shotgun in hand.
"No, he won't dare," she replied, knowing she didn't sound convincing because she wasn't sure herself. Vince Vitesse was the nephew of the Mayor of Richmount on Kew after all, and had too much money and influence. Of course, she could marry a rich guy like him and be set for life, but she just wasn't into guys.
"If that flaming cheetah tries anything," said Bruce and patted his rifle before continuing, "we'll see if he can outrun a salvo from old Betty Double-Barrel here."
"I saw you talking to that old vixen," said Hope, eager to change the subject, "Bianca's companion."
"Just smalltalk." Bruce shrugged but looked away for a brief moment.
"You know you're a bad liar, right?" Hope couldn't explain why, but she had a knack for knowing when people were not telling the whole truth.
Bruce sighed. "She asked about Kursed and Lylat."
"Okay, so what?" A shiver ran up Hope's spine.
"Strewth, I saw the two of yous 'happen' to meet here often enough." Bruce made quotation marks in the air with two fingers. "I don't know what you had going on with each other, and it's none of my business anyway."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sharon tilted her head and locked on to Hope's gaze with her big hazel eyes.
"I guess... Vince unsettled me a bit after all."
"Take a break if ya wanna," said Bruce.
"I'll cover for her, Dad." Sharon turned to Hope, pushing a strand of purple-coloured hair out of her eyes. "If you take care of Shane for a bit."
She pulled up her blouse, and a little head poked out from her pouch, long ears swivelling.
"Auntie Hope!" The joey somersaulted out of Sharon's pouch, and with one great leap, he launched himself into Hope's arms. She yelped as she caught the toddler, who scrambled further up, until he sat perched on the vixen's shoulders, holding on to her ears like reins.
She smiled at Bruce and Sharon, an honest and grateful smile. Marsupials were second-class citizens in the Quango System, so they understood what Hope had gone through growing up, and had taken her in with open arms and hearts. They were the first family Hope ever had.
"Left!" Shane tugged on Hope's ears, using them as levers. She obeyed.
"Right?" He pushed her ears the other way and she made a sharp turn, drawing a delighted squeal from the toddler.
"Left!" He pulled back on her left ear and pushed the right forward. Hope turned around on the spot. "More!"
"That's enough, Shane," said Hope after three turns. "I'm getting dizzy."
"Full warp ahead." The little 'roo pushed his 'flight controls' forwards.
Their breaths made clouds of vapour in the cold air, as Hope walked across the bitumen with the giggling joey on her shoulders. Helios, the system's sun, tried to rise above the mountains on the horizon. The rim around the enormous crater, which surrounded the complex, was also what held the atmosphere in place. The first rays of light did little to chase the darkness away and sunrise would take hours. Even so, the burning sphere was far away and provided little warmth. Days lasted weeks on the Primordial Shard, remnants of a planetoid that orbited a primordial black hole in the outer regions of the Quango System. Gravity anomalies kept the shard and its atmosphere in place, offering a fragile haven away from the system's other planets.
Hope gazed towards what looked like a bright star above the horizon: planet Kew, where she had grown up and which, for better or worse, until recently had been her home. Gazing further up, she wondered where Kursed had gone. Where was the Lylat System, out there among the myriads of stars?
They reached Hope's quarters, barely more than a furnished container some distance from the pub, just far enough away from the airfield to keep the noise level down. There was no day or night as such on the Shard. All facilities, including Bruce's establishment, were open all the time. Ships came and went at any time. Decades ago, an overambitious developer had the idea to turn the Shard into an exclusive retreat. It bombed because the main attraction, that tiny but powerful black hole, couldn't even be seen. The enterprise had folded and slowly been taken over by Quango's underworld. Apart from a control tower and the hotel, where Bruce's bar was located, the Primordial Station was a hotchpotch of half-finished annexes, complemented with what could be built with scrap that had been shipped in.
"Moulting?" The joey had dug his little paws into Hope's long and thick head hair, and had spotted the white growing out under the brown.
"Not yet," she said with a sigh. While her white winter coat kept her warm on the freezing planetoid, and if anything made her look even curvier, she hated moulting weeks. Sharon told her not to worry, but Hope was too self-conscious to venture outside her room when her pelt was a shedding mosaic of brown and white.
She punched in her code on the keypad, only to have a feeling of being watched. Turning around, the old vixen from the pub stood before her, a gentle smile on the red fox's muzzle. Hope had a feeling of déjà vu, remembering how Kursed had snuck up on her sometimes.
"I Kayuq," said the red vixen and put her hands together in front of her face, then tilting them forwards, palms up, like an open book. "My mind... open."
Hope looked at Kayuq's clothing, confident that the robes with the geometrical patterns were not from the Quango System. "Excuse me, but... Are you lost?"
"I not lost," said Kayuq in a thick accent, still smiling. She fingered the communicator on her wrist until it beeped. The translator was a simple model with a monotone electronic voice, but it fulfilled its function. "I know where I am and where I need to go, but not how to get there."
"I'm not sure how I can help you." Hope tried to use her gift, her unique ability to tell people's mood. It had served her well in her... previous occupation... instinctively knowing what her clients liked and how to please them. Sometimes her intuition had helped her avoid danger as well, but she could not pick up any vibes form the old vixen. Behind that friendly smile, there was a completely neutral expression, and her eyes were hidden behind the shades.
"I am searching for a friend named Krystal," said Kayuq, and when Hope gave her a blank face added, "Although she may have called herself Kursed."
"Sorry, I don't know her." Hope could feel the hairs raising on the back of her neck.
"According to Bruce you do." Kayuq nodded, her smile widening. "Can we talk?"
Hope started to feel uneasy, but still noticed the old vixen shivering in the cold. "Would you like to come inside?"
Kayuq nodded again. Hope pushed the door open and bent down so that Shane would fit under the door frame. Once inside, the joey hopped down and skipped over to a box of toys that Hope kept in a corner. She helped Kayuq to a worn old couch, before making her way to the kitchenette, taking a moment to reflect while waiting for the kettle to boil. Hope couldn't believe that Bruce would have said anything to the red vixen. Integrity was everything to the old kangaroo. His business relied on it.
She put tea bags in two mismatched mugs and poured the hot water. She handed one mug to Kayuq, who fumbled with it a little, before wrapping her hands around the warm container. Hope sat down on a small stool opposite the red vixen, studying her while she drank. Kayuq looked drawn, her pelt matte and the skin hanging somewhat loose on her lithe frame.
"Thank you," said Kayuq and took another sip of the hot beverage, sighing with content. "I'm tired. It's been a long journey."
Hope raised an eyebrow in surprise. She had just been about to ask where Kayuq was from. Again, she was reminded of Kursed, who sometimes had done the same-answered questions before Hope could ask them.
"Were you good friends with Kursed?" Kayuq's ears turned forwards, ready to hear Hope's reply.
"We had a business arrangement." Hope had a sip of her own tea, bland as it was, while thinking of how to word a neutral reply. "I had contacts. She could offer protection."
In reality, she had been smitten by Kursed the first time she had laid eyes on her at Bruce's bar. She had been attracted by the other woman's strength, confidence and independence, qualities Hope felt she lacked herself. Of course she liked the other vixen's looks as well, her slender yet toned body, that amazing soft blue pelt Hope loved running her hands through, and... a naughty memory surfaced, Kursed's head of purple hair between her own white thighs.
"Oh my..." Kayuq put a hand to her mouth, but then chuckled and cracked up in a wide smile. "You were quite good friends."
Confusion and embarrassment fought in Hope's mind. Was it so obvious that she had the hots for Kursed?
"You see, we were both from a planet called Cerinia." Kayuq's use of past tense wasn't lost on Hope, and she recalled Kursed mentioning the name. "Our race has a special ability to know what's on people's mind."
Kayuq tapped her temple. Hope frowned. What, like telepathy or something? But there's no such thing as mind readers, she thought.
Yes, we are telepaths, said Kayuq.
The voice froze Hope to the core. She had heard it clearly, but it had come from no distinct direction, and Kayuq's muzzle had not moved. Hope's thoughts spiralled out of control for a moment, until a penny dropped. If Kursed was a mind reader, it explained a lot: how she always seemed to know too much about her marks and clients, how she seemed to know when there was going to be trouble, and how she always knew the codes to Hope's apartment. She realised that Kayuq must've read Bruce's mind and found out about her own connections to Kursed that way. She wondered how much Kayuq could read, whether it was just words, or visions as well.
"It's obvious you love her," said Kayuq. Hope blushed, feeling like she had been caught in the act with that intimate memory, but there was nothing accusing about the old vixen's tone. Her expression and body language seemed friendly, content. "Normally, I do not read minds without explicit permission, but these are extraordinary circumstances."
"Have you met her? Is she okay?" Questions toppled over each other in Hope's mind, but one pushed itself to the front. "She's with that guy, that pilot, isn't she?"
"She was... the last time I saw her." Kayuq scratched her chin. "You know about Fox McCloud?"
"Not until he arrived at Kew." Hope closed her eyes, trying to push the pain away. If Kayuq only knew how it felt to be heart broken, she thought, before realising that of course Kayuq could sense her pain if she wanted to. Kayuq nodded in reply.
"First of all, her real name is Krystal. They were lovers, but young and foolish, they had a falling out. When a ship with survivors from Cerinia arrived at his home world, he went in search of her." Kayuq paused and grimaced, wringing her hands. "We were not particularly nice visitors, trying to take what was not ours. It's a long story. May I show you?"
Reluctantly, Hope nodded, and visions that were not her own appeared in her mind's eye. There was a spectacular city with mile-high skyscrapers of metal and glass, surrounded by smoke and erupting volcanoes. A vixen with fur as blue as Kursed's, but older, watched the carnage with a wicked smile on her muzzle. The memories shifted to one showing Krystal swinging a gilded battle staff, fighting her way through a crowd of foxes. A red fox followed her, providing backup with his blaster: Fox McCloud. Next vision, Fox was running, carrying Krystal in her arms, both covered in blood. A red orb of light grew in size, blinding her, exploding in a flash of pain.
"That's the last I saw of them before I was knocked out." Kayuq exhaled a deep breath. "Our ship fled their system. I've spent over three years trying to get back."
Hope's ears flattened. She had known the blue vixen was in pain and had hidden something under her hard shell. There was a scar that Kursed never wanted to talk about. "She never told me about her background." Something in Kayuq's story piqued Hope's interest. "You said, 'survivors'."
"Honestly, I don't think she remembers, and for good reasons." Kayuq took a deep breath. "Cerinia was a fragile world, protected by a device, a shield... may I?"
The old vixen tapped her temple again and pointed to Hope, who nodded in reply. Kayuq shared an image of a star, not too dissimilar from Helios of the Quango System. Prominences rose from the surface, but they were massive, the size of the star itself as its luminosity increased. The flare reached a planet coloured in shades of green, brown, blue and white from forests, mountains, water and clouds; a planet where life would be thriving. Planet-wide auroras erupted, seemingly setting the atmosphere ablaze.
As frightening as the visions were, even worse were the sounds. At first they were few and faint, far off whispers and whimpers, but soon the voices increased in volume. They called for help, begged for mercy, screams multiplying, until thousands of people wailed in her head, shrieking in anguish. Surrounding her, they tore at her heart, clawed at her soul. Panicked, Hope let out a yelp.
"STOP!"
She was brought back to reality by a kangaroo joey jumping onto her lap. Shane held up an action figure in his hand, waving it at Kayuq. "Don't worry, Kombat Koala will save you!" He turned around and looked up with his innocent young eyes. "Are you right, Auntie Hope?"
"I..." How could Hope possibly explain what just had happened to her? "I just had a fright. I'll be fine." The joey didn't seem convinced, glaring at the old vixen.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to give you a glimpse, but it's hard to control. It was... awful." Kayuq clasped her shaking hands together in front of her muzzle. "Billions perished, mere thousands survived." She took several deep breaths before continuing, "We helped each other, relying on our best telepaths to heal, telling ourselves that we had to ensure the survival of our race. Still... why me?"
"Did Kursed, I mean Krystal, go through the same?"
"Somehow, she escaped all on her own, but she has no-one to help her." Kayuq shook her head. "I'm honestly afraid what would happen to her if she remembers. It could be... the end of her."
Tears welled up in Hope's eyes as she hugged the kangaroo in her lap, too tightly, because Shane wriggled out of her grip and skipped back to his toys. Hope's heart ached, but if she couldn't be with the amazing blue vixen, she at least wanted her to be safe. If there was just something she could do, anything.
"She needs help," said Kayuq in a blunt tone. "But I am exhausted and need help getting to Corneria."
"There are diplomatic relations between Kew and Corneria, or at least there were," said Hope, remembering an encounter with a feline ambassador from Lylat. "But I don't actually know where Lylat is."
"I can help with that," said Kayuq flatly.
"I don't have enough money to buy us a ride on a ship that far anyway." Hope shrugged. "Unless you can use those psychic powers of yours to win the poker tournament."
"Now, there's a thought." Kayuq had a wicked smile on her muzzle. "I cannot... but you can."
"Oh, no, no way!"
"Oh, yes, yes!"
Hope put her cards down on the table, the straight beating her remaining opponent's three kings, and raked in her winnings. The pile of chips was worth many thousands of credits, more money than she'd ever held in her hands. She picked up a high denomination chip and inspected it. Years ago, she had walked the streets of Kew at night for less than that. Surely, this is enough money, she thought.
Not by far, answered a voice in Hope's mind. She glanced towards the bar, where Kayuq sat on a stool with her back turned to Hope. A drink in her hand, she conversed with her neighbour at the same time as keeping a tab on the poker players and instructing Hope. With no regular trade with Lylat, we need much more to hire a pilot or even buy our own ship, and it's nearly three parsec away. Dejected, Hope looked at the pile again, knowing what it meant. You have a place at the finals table now. We need to take it.
Hope sighed, counting the chips as she put them away in the large purse she had acquired for the occasion, before leaving the table.
"Crikey, I didn't know you had a knack for poker, Hope." A young and muscly kangaroo stood in front of her, looking down on her with a happy grin on his face.
"Thanks, Russell." She smiled back at him. "I've seen enough poker games organised by The Merchant, so I know how it works."
Indeed, she had attended many such games, providing visual entertainment. The difference was that while The Merchant's games were set up, using all sorts of cheats to make someone lose or put them in a compromising situation, the Primordial Pirate Poker tournament was completely fair. Bruce organised it annually with his usual high level of integrity, even flying in a professional dealer from Wellbourne on Quango. But here Hope was, cheating, but all is fair in love and war, she told herself.
"Well, good luck to ya!" Russell winked and hopped off. Bouncer by nature not by profession, the middle of Bruce's five children usually worked in the kitchen, but had come out into the bar to watch some of the tournament.
You have half an hour until the final round, said Kayuq. Get something to eat and some rest.
Hope knew she should, but she was too worked up to be able to eat anything. After a quick toilet break, she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, not liking the nervous face staring back at her. She checked her body instead, the one thing she was mostly confident about. Wearing long black pants and a black jacket over a white blouse, she was dressed more formally than the patrons as well as herself were used to. The garments fit her snugly while not being too revealing, but still showing some of her generous cleavage, which was sure to distract at least half her opponents somewhat.
She made a beeline to the bar to get a glass of water, before finding an empty booth where she could get a few moments to herself. Opening the purse, she checked her winnings again. Kursed had left her a parting gift, a cyber-coin account with credits the bounty hunter had saved. It had taken tremendous effort, more willpower than Hope thought she had, not to spend it on something dumb. Every time Hope had felt in need of drugs, the blue vixen's hard voice had rung in her mind. 'Use them wisely.'
Now, Hope had spent it all on stupid poker chips. Part of her felt bad about it, but if it was for a chance to help Krystal-it felt odd using that name-then it was worth it. After all, Kursed's last words had been, 'Get out of this place!'
With trepidation, she approached the poker table, surrounded by spectators. With animated gestures, they discussed the strengths and tactics of each player, placing bets on who would win. She received a few intrigued looks as she pushed through the crowd, a newcomer to the game as she was.
Without a word, the dealer pointed her towards the second seat clockwise on the octagonal table, next to a pilot named Looper. She knew the badger well, a frequent visitor to the bar and a particularly troublesome man as he was. To her left were a gibbon, a mountain goat and a boar she didn't recognise, but she winced as a cheetah sat down opposite her. Vince Vitesse locked onto her gaze, a shit-eating grin on his face. Rounding off the table was Bianca from Midway Station, the polar bear dwarfing the other six players.
"Pleased to meet you all," she said in a rumbling yet gentle voice, a genuine smile on her muzzle. The ice cubes clinked in her drink as she took a sip. "Let's get started, shall we?"
With lightning-fast fingers, the chimpanzee dealt each player two cards face down. Hope pulled them towards her and had a look. King and three of clubs. In suit and not bad. Looper placed the small blind on the table: one hundred credits. Hope gulped. The stakes were high. With slightly trembling fingers she placed two hundred-credit chips down for the second mandatory bet, the big blind. The first round of betting was eventless, the gibbon folding, Vince still grinning and raising a hundred credits, while everyone else called.
"The flop," said the dealer and put three cards face up in the middle of the table: seven of hearts, jack of spades and king of diamonds. To her delight, Hope noted that when combining her two cards with the three on the table, she had a pair of kings already. Looper called, while she raised two hundred credits.
Sly strategy, said Kayuq. Lure them in instead of scaring them off with large bets.
The goat and Vince folded, while the others called.
"The turn," said the chimpanzee and placed a fourth card face up on the table. Hope frowned. The eight of diamonds did not combine with anything in her own hand. Some players made small bets, still feeling each other out, while the boar folded.
The dealer placed the fifth and final community card on the table, the ace of hearts. "The river!"
"I raise two thousand," said Looper and put down a stack of chips with a flamboyant motion.
Fold, said Kayuq. He's bluffing but Bianca has a pair of aces and no intention of backing down.
Hope complied, while the goat also folded, and Bianca raised another two thousand credits. The badger stared the smiling polar bear down for a few seconds, before also folding.
"Oh my, how lucky I am." Bianca fluttered her eyelids before raising her glass. "Cheers!"
She's a good actor. The amusement coming over the mind-link from Kayuq was contagious, making Hope smile herself. I like her a lot. Hope agreed. The polar was 'good value' as the marsupials expressed it, but Hope appreciated the generous tips from Bianca on her yearly visits to the bar as much.
The second round started. Even though she knew exactly what the other players had in their hands thanks to Kayuq, there was still a lot of chance involved. None of them knew how good their hand was until the community cards were revealed, so Hope stuck to a good old poker tactic; Only betting when her two hole cards were good, folding more often than not. Still, Kayuq's powers gave them her definite edge, minimising her losses, which were often none unless she had to place a blind.
Looper continued his reckless style, losing his last chips to Hope's winning hand, three queens as it were, adding a few thousand credit's worth of chips to Hope's pile. Her confidence grew, and she began betting more boldly. The boar was the next to run out of chips, followed by the mountain goat, who excused herself and left the table with half her credits left.
To her frustration, Hope made little headway with Vince and Bianca, her opponents folding whenever Hope had good hole cards. On one round, Hope found herself holding two aces. The betting got nowhere, the others calling after Hope making small raises. The dealer put the river on the table, adding another ace in addition to the eight, ten, jack and queen already from the flop and turn. Three aces and queen high, surely that would be a winning hand, she thought.
Excellent, said Kayuq. Time for an aggressive bet.
"Ten thousand," said Hope in a confident voice and pushed a stack of chips to the middle of the table. The gibbon glanced sideways at Hope as the vixen tried putting on her best poker face.
"I call," said the gibbon, using her long arm to drop several of her own chips onto the pot.
Vince and Bianca folded again, so Hope started the showdown, putting down her aces with a triumphant smile. The gibbon followed suit, revealing a king and a nine.
"King-high straight beats three aces," said the dealer in a flat voice.
In despair, Hope watched the significant sum of money being added to the gibbon's pile. But why?
You were getting too confident, said Kayuq. Your opponents might not be psychic, but they can read your body language. But how can I trust you now? Hope thought. That's the point! You'll just have to wait and see.
Hope pulled her head in, folding in the next game, then betting defensively unless Kayuq told her otherwise. Her luck soon turned, getting some of her hard-won chips back, but it gave her little comfort. What if the sly old vixen pulled another stunt on her? The gibbon was the next to lose after an aggressive round of betting against Vince. Hope won a considerable sum back from Bianca, who took her time to count the chips in her diminishing piles.
"Welp, I think I'm back where I started," said the polar bear, still smiling. "If you excuse me, I will leave the table now." She did, but only after leaving a thousand-credit chip as tip to the dealer.
She's smart, Kayuq remarked. She hasn't lost a credit and has enjoyed every moment of the tournament.
That left two players in a head-to-head game. It had to be Vince, didn't it? A shiver ran down Hope's spine watching the cheetah, who stared back at her with a hungry look in his eyes.
"How about I take you out for dinner," he said with a confident smirk on his muzzle. Winning or losing, his grin didn't change, a perfect poker face. "When I've won."
"New small blind, a thousand credits," said the chimpanzee and placed the dealer button in front of Hope.
With trembling fingers, Hope placed the mandatory bet and peeked at her two private cards. Just great, she thought, fighting hard not to sigh out loud. She had the so-called 'computer hand', getting its name from the 50% probability of winning. Vince placed the big blind, two thousand credits, and checked his cards without raising an eyebrow. He studied Hope like a predator watching its prey, while she decided what to do. Kayuq was unsettlingly quiet. Hope took a gander over the shoulder, but the old vixen still had her back turned, conversing with hyena on her left. Don't look at me. It seems suspicious.
Still, considering all the chips on the table, the bets so far were small.
"Call," she said and added a thousand-credit chip to match the big blind.
Vince only nodded at the chimpanzee, who placed the first three community cards face up: jack of hearts, seven of spaces and ten of hearts. "The gentleman goes first after the flop."
"I raise a thousand," said the cheetah, hungry eyes still locked onto Hope.
What's he got? Kayuq remained silent. Hope could combine the seven in her hand to make a very weak pair, whereas if Vince had an eight and a nine, he could already combine with the seven, ten and jack in the flop for a straight. Or with two hearts on the table, if he had another two, he would have a good chance of a flush. He's just testing you, Kayuq cautioned.
Hope called. The next card was the seven of clubs. Her heart thumped in her chest, when she realised she now had three sevens. Three of a kind was not bad, not bad at all. Vince raised a thousand, nonchalantly tossing the chips onto the pile. Go easy, Kayuq cautioned. But don't back down.
She raised another two thousand. Vince called. Hope watched in excitement as the last community card was turned over, the queen of hearts, until she realised there were three hearts on the table. If Vince had another two, there was his flush. Heck, with a ten, jack and queen, he even had a small chance of the highest hand: a straight flush.
"Five thousand!"
Despite her own good hand, Vince's raise unsettled Hope. What are his cards? The king of hearts, but I couldn't quite see the other one.
That doesn't help me at all, thought Hope. The straight flush was a possibility. Can't you see his memories or something? No, only what he's currently thinking, and he's thinking of you... pole dancing it seems. Was that your job? For goodness sake, please concentrate, Kayuq! Oh my... You are very flexible. I wish I had half the body you have.
Hope glanced over towards the bar again, where Kayuq was chatting to another hyena on her right, the vixen's bushy tail swaying merrily behind her. Stop looking at me and place a big bet instead!
Hope wondered if the old vixen had lost the plot, or even worse. Paranoid thoughts raced through her mind as she counted her chips, such as if Kayuq was teamed up with Vince. The cheetah's family might have enough money to even buy a telepath, if they came across one. But surely that was ridiculous? She closed her eyes and pushed half her remaining chips forwards.
Vince studied her with intent, but without raising an eyebrow. He even wore a skivvy, concealing the arteries on his neck. Hope was certain her own pulse was clearly visible, so hard was her heart pounding in her chest. He thinks you are 'tilting' whatever that is. Hope knew the poker term for playing poorly because when being overly emotional or confused. She felt called out.
The cheetah's gaze went back and forth between Hope and his chips, else his face muscles didn't move as he slowly organised his chips in two neat piles, one matching Hope's bet. The bar had fallen completely silent, apart from Kayuq's muted chattering. All eyes were on the poker table, but Hope didn't even notice. Vince put one hand behind each pile and pushed them forward.
"All in," he said, followed by a collective gasp from the audience.
Hope froze, waiting for instructions. She felt like she could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
Well, what are you waiting for? We've come too far to back down now.
Shaking, Hope pushed her remaining chips forwards, toppling a pile over in the process. Someone laughed. It was time for the showdown.
"You first, Sir," said the chimp. Vince turned his cards over, but with one placed on top of the other, so Hope could only see the top card: the king of hearts, to add to the queen, jack and ten of hearts in the community cards. Hope panicked as fear grasped her heart. It was one card away from a straight flush, possibly even an unbeatable royal flush.
She shrieked in despair as Vince moved her finger and she saw the symbol in the card's corner: A for Ace. Then she realised her mistake. It wasn't an ace but the 4 of hearts.
"Flush with king high," said the ape. Hope clasped her hands over her muzzle as she stared at the cards. "A-hum... It's our turn, M'am."
She had completely forgotten to reveal her own cards, and turned them over, unable to control a childish whine. It was the seven of clubs and the queen of diamonds. A cacophony erupted around the table: gasps, cheers, curses and laughter.
"Full house of queens and sevens," said the chimpanzee, his voice as flat as ever. "Full house beats flush, the lady wins."
Hope laughed like a giddy school girl and clapped her hands before reaching for the enticing pile of chips.
"Not so fast, cheater!" Vince grasped her wrists, pinning her hands to the table. She could feel his claws extending, razor sharp points pushing against her skin. He stared at her, still with that grin on his face. "I've seen you looking at Old Red there over by the bar. Get her boys!"
Hope followed his gaze, realising too late that it was Vince's sidekicks that Kayuq had been conversing with. One of the hyenas spun the stool around, making the vixen yelp and spill her drink, while the other snatched the coloured spectacles off her muzzle.
"I bet there's a built-in HUD in these." The hyena held them up and inspected the lenses. "Where's the camera? Hang on..."
"Cameras would be pretty pointless." Kayuq smiled softly. The hyena waved a hand in front of her eyes, but they didn't move, pale blue irises and cloudy pupils staring somewhere over the man's left shoulder. "You see, I'm blind."
Bruce appeared on cue, shotgun in his hands.
"Sir..." The chimpanzee, sounding unimpressed, looked at Vince while flexing his own muscular arms ever so slightly. "The lady won fair and square."