by Jake Bible
“I have two daughters,” Ben said. “I agree one hundred percent on that.”
“The problem is, Mr. Clow,” Ashley continued, “is that you are pissing Mr. Giraldi off so much that I’m afraid you are going to blow this entire operation. He’s either going to abort what he has come to do or he’s going to shoot you between the eyes which means I am forced to get involved. As much as I want to arrest him for what he has planned, I will have to arrest him for homicide if he kills you. That’s just how the law works.”
“International law,” Ben said. “Because you are INTERPOL? Why should I believe you? A laser printer and a laminator can make the ID you showed me. Easy enough to buy fake badges on the internet.”
“Feel free to talk to Nicholas about this,” Ashley said. “Discreetly, of course.” She leaned back and relaxed into the chair. “You will quickly find that my partner and I are legitimate.”
“Your partner?” Ben frowned then nodded. “Manny.”
Ashley smiled. “What I need from you, Mr. Clow, is to pull back on the irritation level. I need you to stop pushing Mr. Giraldi’s buttons and start making him feel confident. I want him relaxed, at ease, thinking he is in total control at the table. If he thinks he’s in control at the table then he will assume he is in control of everything else. Pissing off a man like Giraldi is never a good idea, Mr. Clow, regardless of whether there is an INTERPOL operation in place or not.”
“You know who I am, so I assume you know my background,” Ben said. “Then you also know I’ve been at tables with way scarier men than Giraldi.”
“No, you have not,” Ashley stated.
“Actually—”
“No, you have not,” Ashley repeated. “Do not kid yourself, Mr. Clow. Yes, you have played against some very, very bad men and women while you were a rounder with Nicholas, but at no point have you been in the presence of a monster like Giraldi. This is a man that blinds children in front of their parents with a cocktail fork just to make a point. Giraldi is not, and let me be very clear as I repeat this, Giraldi is not a man you piss off. Not unless you want your daughter and her girlfriend to be raped and dismembered, left on the wet Olympia streets to be found by some yuppie walking her labrodoodle tomorrow morning.”
Ashley showed him her phone again and it was an image of Tanni and some girl laughing at a party. Ben’s eyes took in the entire scene and he gasped when he realized there was a young man passing as a teen standing only a few feet behind the two teenage girls, his eyes locked on to them. And those eyes were deep, dead pools of violence. Ben kept the gorge from rising in his throat, but only barely.
“The good news is that I am seeing this video because one of my people is at that party,” Ashley said. “I also have people watching your ex-wife’s house while she and your youngest daughter sleep.”
“The bad news?” Ben asked. “Because I know there has to be some of that.”
“There is,” Ashley said. “The bad news is that the guy Giraldi has sent to watch your daughter Tanni is known as the Guillotine. He is very good at his job and very fast. No guns, just one deadly sharp blade. Even with my agent in place, there is the risk that the Guillotine will be too fast and kill either Tanni or her girlfriend before he can be stopped.”
“Then stop him now!” Ben shouted. “Put a bullet between his eyes and keep my girl safe!”
“The second we make a move on him then we risk Giraldi being contacted,” Ashley said. “I’m sorry, but as much as I want to make sure your daughter stays alive, I have to take Giraldi down. Whatever he has planned probably has to do with illegal arms, since he rarely involves himself with the other parts of his business. If it is arms then it has to be missiles or worse in order for him to go to all the trouble of using Nicholas as a front. Mr. Giraldi has put a lot of work into this deal and so have I. I can’t jeopardize it all to save your daughter.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Ben said and stood up. “Then I’m getting her out of there. I’m going to text her right now and tell her she needs to get her ass home.”
“How?” Ashley asked. “No one there is sober enough to drive and she’s too young to call a cab. Even Uber would probably balk at giving an intoxicated teen and her girlfriend a ride. Liability insurance is a bitch.”
“Have you been listening to me and Maggie talk?” Ben asked.
“Of course we have,” Ashley said, wiggling her phone. “I have access to this entire ship.”
“You suck,” Ben said. He was about to say more, but Nick came hurrying into the lounge.
“There you are,” Nick said. Then he saw Ashley. “Oh, uh, hello, Ashley. The game is starting back up. Could you maybe have the chef set up a buffet of snacks? That would be great.”
“I know,” Ben said.
“You know what?” Nick asked. “That snacks are a good idea when poker players get hungry?”
“I know who Ashley is,” Ben said.
“Oh, that,” Nick said. He grinned then frowned then settled on an expression half way between the two which made him look constipated and confused. “I was going to tell you about that.”
“No, you weren’t,” Ben responded.
“No, I wasn’t,” Nick admitted. “But, how exciting, right?”
“Giraldi has a killer watching Tanni and her girlfriend right now,” Ben stated. “How excited about that do you think I am, Nicky? On a scale of one to ten, tell me how excited I am that my baby girl could have her throat slit open because you got your ass busted and now have to be INTERPOL’s bitch.”
“I never said he got busted,” Ashley said.
“You didn’t have to,” Ben replied. “I’ve known this man my whole life. No way he’d get involved and risk his rep as a playboy that can weave in and out of legitimate and illegitimate circles just to do the right thing. What was it, Nicky? What crime are they wiping away so you could get Giraldi onto this boat?”
“Yacht,” Nick said. “And it was heroin.”
“What?” Ben nearly shouted. “Smack? Since when did you start dealing smack?”
“I don’t!” Nick exclaimed. “I hate that shit, you know that.”
“Not sure what I know,” Ben scowled.
“It was a girlfriend of mine,” Nick said. “I had no idea she was a junkie. I just thought she liked to take naps in public at strange times.”
“Seriously?” Ben grumbled.
“Dude, if you saw how hot she was you’d have been happy to let her nap wherever and whenever she wanted,” Nick said. “Plus, she didn’t have tracks in her arms or anything. She shot up in that vein in her upper thigh. I’d noticed the marks when I went down on her, but it’s not like my mind was exactly putting two and two together at those moments, man.”
“So she got busted?” Ben asked.
“She died,” Ashley said. “She was a mule for her dealer and had seventeen balloons inserted in her rectum. Five burst at once and she overdosed just as Mr. Sheeran and her were crossing the border from Germany to Austria last year.”
“So you nabbed him and turned him for good,” Ben said. He waved his hands around. “So this yacht isn’t even yours, is it? It’s all a front.”
“Uh, no, the yacht is mine,” Nick said. “That’s all true. It’s why INTERPOL decided I was worth making a deal with. They knew I had been trying to unload it for a while and they knew Giraldi was in the market for a yacht as a front to conduct some business. One thing led to another and now we are all here. Yay…”
Things clicked into place for Ben at that moment and he looked at Ashley.
“Giraldi suggested the route we’re taking tonight, right?” Ben asked. “It was part of his security terms to agree to play cards. He decided where the yacht would be and where it would go while we’re at the table. Use someone else for transportation and if his deal goes bad he can walk away like he had nothing to do with it. Am I right?”
“You are right,” Ashley said. “We have let him run things from the very beginning. All we had to do
was be ready for tonight.”
“And along comes the ex-poker pro with the mid-list blog to ruin it all,” Ben said.
“Almost ruin it all,” Ashley said. “Now that you know what’s going on, you can switch your strategy from pushing him off his game by getting him riled up to making him feel like he’s a winner and kicking your butt. Can you handle that, Mr. Clow?”
“Yeah, I can handle that,” Ben said. “I’ve run harder cons with Nicky. At least this one is for the good guys.”
“And maybe I can still sell this yacht,” Nick said. “Yeah? You’re busting Giraldi, not the others, right? Leaving me out of it so no one suspects?”
“Yes, Nicholas,” Ashley sighed. “You get to sell your boat.”
“Yacht,” Nick corrected. He clapped his hands and grinned. “Alright. Let’s get back to the cards, shall we?”
Ben studied his friend for a brief second. Alarm bells went off in his head. Nick was too agreeable. He was rolling over and letting Ashley push him around like he didn’t have a care in the world. That wasn’t how Nick had acted around authority when they’d worked together. Ben had always had to shut the man up and keep him from making things worse.
“Yeah, let’s get back to the cards,” Ben said as he saw a brief flicker in Nick’s eye. A dangerous, secret flicker that no one but him would have ever seen.
There was more going on, but Ben didn’t know what. He shoved the suspicion aside as Nick gestured for him to follow. The two head back to the game room and Ben had to restrain himself from grabbing Nick and pounding him in the face until he told the truth. Because Ben believed at that moment that the real truth Nick was hiding was key to getting Tanni to safety, not relying on the INTERPOL agents.
It may have been a hunch, but Ben had been at the game long enough to know when a hunch should be relied on.
22.
Ben checked his two cards again then mucked them, sighing heavily as he turned a harsh glare on Tony.
“I know you’re bluffing,” Ben grumbled.
“But you didn’t call,” Tony said as he raked in the chips. “If you were so sure, you should have called.”
Ben mumbled something and Tony stopped what he was doing. He turned his full attention on Ben and the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.
“What was that?” Tony asked. “Did you just call me a cheater?”
“No,” Ben replied. “All I said was the last time someone took me like that, they’d been cheating off the deal.”
“I dealt,” Niya said, her eyes watching the two men carefully. “Are you saying I am in league with this man?”
“I have to say, Nicky,” Lane said as he held up his empty glass. “Your poker blogger isn’t exactly living up to his reputation.”
“You promised a top notch game, Nick,” Carlos added. “This is just another boring game on some spoiled brat’s boat.”
“Yacht,” Nick said, his face red. “And you guys know how cards can be. They turn on ya in a heartbeat.”
“So do I,” Tony said. “How about we talk less and play more?”
“You got somewhere to be, Tony?” Carlos asked.
“Yes, Mr. Giraldi, do you?” Niya asked. “You keep whispering to your men and checking your watch. Do you have a big date?”
“I’m a very important business man,” Tony said. “The world doesn’t stop because I’m playing cards. If the world don’t stop then neither do I. Gotta keep the wheels greased and motor running.”
“We fixing an old Mustang or playing poker?” Ben snapped. “Who’s deal is it?”
“Yours, smart ass,” Tony said, grinning. “But maybe you should pass the deal until you calm down. I know how emotional this game can get when things aren’t going your way.”
“I’m cool,” Ben said as he shuffled and dealt. “You’ll see.”
It was Tony’s turn to bet. He looked at his two cards, fingered the small blind in front of him, then went back to his rows of chips and fished out a single black chip in addition to the two white chips needed to call the big blind.
“I raise twenty-five,” he said as he threw out the black chip. “Twenty-seven to you, sweetheart?”
“What was that?” Jessica growled. “Call me sweetheart again and you’ll be finding out what those cards taste like as I jam them down your throat.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Nick exclaimed. “Everyone calm down! No one needs to get offended at a little trash talk.”
“Only talk he knows,” Jessica said as she grabbed two white chips and a black. She started to throw them in the pot then held back, looked at her cards, and instead threw her hand away, tucking the chips back into their rows. “Fold.”
“Fold,” Carlos said.
“Fold,” Nick said and held up his glass as Manny brought Lane his fresh cocktail. Manny took the glass from Nick and moved quickly to the bar. “Anyone else need a fresh drink?”
No one replied as they focused on the game.
Niya folded and stood up. “I need to use the restroom. Deal me out if I’m not back in time for the next hand.”
Ben watched her go then looked down at his cards. Eight and nine of clubs. Decent cards to make a play if the bet wasn’t twenty-seven thousand. A ten thousand raise would be worth chasing a straight flush for. Maybe even a straight. But twenty-seven? Stupid move with the dwindling rows of chips in front of him.
“Call,” he said as he threw his chips in the pot.
“You sure?” Tony grinned. “You hesitated there, Blogger Boy.”
“I’m sure,” Ben said. “I tossed in my chips, didn’t I?
“Raise,” Lane announced. “Another twenty-five.”
Tony bristled at the raise. He started to look at his hand, but held back, his thumb flicking at the corners of the cards. His entire body turned to regard Lane, not just his eyes.
“You trying to play me?” Tony asked. “Catch me off guard because I’ve been focusing on the weak one to your right?”
“Hey,” Ben said. “Not cool, man.”
“If you’ve got a strong hand then I can’t catch you off guard, can I, mate?” Lane asked. “Unless you’re full of shit and just trying to bully the table.”
“Guess we’ll find out,” Tony said. “Call.”
He threw in another black chip and all eyes turned to Ben.
“Might as well,” Ben said and added his second black chip to the pile.
“Good strategy,” Carlos laughed. “Might as well.”
Ben burned three cards then dealt out the flop in the middle of the table. Seven of clubs, ten of clubs, ace of hearts.
Ben kept himself calm. His hopes of a straight flush increased exponentially with the arrival of the two clubs. If he wasn’t forced out of the hand by huge bets then he had two chances to draw to an outside straight flush. He’d even take a regular flush, but the odds of someone having a higher club than him were pretty good, so that would be a risky hand to play.
Unless he didn’t play the hand at all and let the cards decide the risk for him…
“All in,” he said and counted out his remaining chips. “Eighty-four thousand.”
“Only eighty-four?” Tony asked. “Kinda sad. I guess I’ll have to—”
“My bet, Guido,” Lane said.
Tony’s chair hit the ground hard as the man leapt to his feet, his right fist connecting with Lane’s jaw before the man knew what was happening.
“Whoa! Hold on!” Nick yelled as he got up.
Everyone was up on their feet and yelling as Ben got between Tony and Lane.
“Chill, man!” Ben shouted in Tony’s face. “He’s just messing with you to see if you’re gonna break! Pushing buttons just like you do, okay? No need to get all gangster on him!”
“Gangster? Guido? That what all of you think?” Tony asked, his fists shaking with rage as he held them to his sides. “The Italian guy is here so he must be some pasta eating, Chianti drinking, tracksuit wearing stereotype, right? You think I’m some stupid wap
right out of The Godfather?”
“Are we back on The Godfather again?” Jessica sighed.
“Love that movie!” Maggie announced from the bar. She raised her drink over her head and Manny took it from her before she could spill it. She gave him a wet raspberry then laughed.
“Nice right hook,” Lane said to Tony, picking himself up off the floor. “And I was just fucking with you, mate. All good.” He took his seat and counted out eighty-four thousand in chips. “Call.”
Tony looked around the room as the others turned their attention from him to Lane, back and forth, until they all sat down. Ben was the last to sit and he glanced over at Nick, but the man wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“I call,” Tony said before he was fully back in his seat. “Never say this guido hesitates.”
“Alright,” Ben said as he burned a card and turned the next one over.
Jack of clubs.
Ben barely glanced at the card before turning to Lane.
“Your bet,” he said.
“Check,” Lane said.
“Check,” Tony echoed.
“Last card,” Ben responded.
He burned and flipped. Ace of spades.
“Check,” Lane said automatically.
“All in,” Tony said, his eyes locked onto Lane.
“Yeah,” Lane nodded. “I had a feeling.” He threw his two cards into the muck and leaned back. “You two have fun.”
Ben turned over his hand to show the straight flush he’d drawn to. Tony stared at the eight and nine of clubs for a while before he threw his own hand into the muck.
“Let’s see them,” Jessica said.
“I lost,” Tony replied. “That’s all you need to know.”
“Actually, we need to see your cards,” Jessica insisted. “As soon as Lane folded both of you should have shown your hands, not just Ben. You flip ‘em over in a showdown.”
