“All right,” said Cameron. “Let’s take a look.”
They all laid their cards down on the table. Alonzo, always one for the flash, waited until everyone else was done before putting his down, and after he did, the reason was perfectly clear.
From Cameron’s right, Danziger made a rude noise. “Straight flush. Figures.” He pushed his three of a kind away from him. “Last time I’m dealing. Someone else can feed these things to Solace.”
Gathering the markers from the middle of the table, Alonzo responded with a wicked smile. “Still got it, kid. Never lost it.”
“Right.” Walman shoved his chair back. “I’m out. Lost enough already.”
“Oh, come on, buddy. Don’t be such a pain.” He gathered the cards. “One more hand. I’ll deal.”
“Look, you’ve already gotten out of chores all the way between here and New Pacifica. Isn’t that good enough?”
Alonzo threw his markers back into the middle of the table. Paper was far too precious to be used for chore poker, so they were using notched twigs. They clattered and rattled in the bio-dome’s evening silence.
“Pot’s full,” he announced. “Opening bet, one. Who’s in?”
Muttering under his breath, Walman sat back down. They played quickly, not speaking beyond what was necessary to keep the game moving. This time, it was Danziger who called the look.
“Damn you, Solace!” Walman’s face flushed. “Where’d you get that ace? Don’t tell me it just came out of nowhere?”
“That’s what they call me, man. Ace.” Alonzo laughed as he gathered the pot back up.
“That’s what you had up your sleeve, too,” said Cameron.
Shocked silence fell. Baines, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this evening, was the first to break it. “Is that so?”
“He’s been hiding it since the deal before last.”
“And you know this because?” Alonzo’s tone was tight, almost angry.
“Because I saw you do it. Then I saw you switch it out with something else during the last hand.”
Baines shoved the twigs back into the middle of the table. “Count the cards. Not you,” he snapped when Alonzo reached out. He pointed at Walman. “You’re the one he fleeced. You do it.”
He counted them quickly, sorting by suit. “Fifty. Two of spades and ten of diamonds missing. Where are they?”
Sheepish now, Alonzo tugged the two out of his sleeve. “You must have dropped the ten, though, because I don’t have it.”
“Right.” Walman stood up. “Cough it up, Solace.”
“I don’t have it! I swear!” Alonzo pulled his jacket off, dropping it onto the floor. He was wearing short sleeves underneath. “There, no sleeves. And no cards either!”
With daggers in his eyes, Walman picked up the coat and turned it inside out, searching the pockets as well. Then he blinked, startled, and the angry expression gave way to confusion. “He’s telling the truth.”
“Stand up ’Lonz,” said Danziger. “It could be under his leg.”
“It isn’t—” seeing the expressions around the table, he stood up, stepping back and raising his arms. “Fine. See for yourself.”
There were no cards anywhere except on the table.
“Huh,” said Danziger. “Maybe it really did get lost somewhere.”
“Maybe.” Walman sat back down. “But he had the two. Which means it’s time to settle up.” He swept up the twigs. “Now hand over the rest of yours.”
“Oh, come on, it was just in fun—”
“Markers. All of them. Now.”
With an injured look, he dug them out and threw them on the table. Walman distributed them as quickly as he had sorted the cards. Nobody else moved while he did it.
“I think that’s fair,” he concluded when he was finished. “Gather ’em up, guys. And I’m not playing again as long as Solace is at the table.”
“Neither am I.” Baines collected his share of the twigs and stood up. “Fair play’s common courtesy.”
“I’ll say.” Danziger and Cameron reached for their markers at the same time, and the table was small enough that their arms bumped as they drew the piles back. Nobody noticed, though, until there was a soft clack and the ten of diamonds tumbled out from another sleeve.
Cameron froze as all eyes turned to him.
“Well now.” Alonzo, who’d also stood up to leave, sat back down and glared. “And you’re the one who accused me. Guess it takes one to know one, doesn’t it?”