The security at this place is as intense as Danny had warned us it would be. Not only do we have to walk through the full-body scanner, but we're also searched again by their security team.
"You weren't joking when you said they were thorough," I mutter to Danny as we finally step out of the security check-in and into the hallway.
"Let's just hope the security isn't as strict for staff," Danny mutters. "Or Sun's going to run into issues."
My heartbeat thumps against my eardrums. "You think she'll be okay?"
"Don't worry about her." He pats my arm as he escorts me across the gleaming golden floor into a huge ballroom. Then he grins. "She's gotten away with murder her whole life."
Massive chandeliers dangle from a bright blue ceiling. Golden sheets engraved with ornate geometric designs plate the walls. A haze of cigarette smoke fills the grand ballroom along with the smell of alcohol. Slot machines are lined up in neat rows, nearly all occupied.
In my ear, I hear Tony's voice, "I'm in. Heading to the security wing."
"Copy that," Jake says.
Meanwhile, I cling to Danny's arm as we enter a room where a poker game has just finished. The tray ceiling is lower here, making the room feel more constricting. I glance about nervously. My nerves scream to hide in case someone suspects me for the fraud that I am.
One of the men at the table pushes out of his padded chair and storms out of the room. I stiffen as he nearly shoves me aside to get out. My first instinct is to slide into the corner of the room and study the situation, but tonight that's not my role.
Unlike in our Dreamscape, I need to be noticed. My fingers shake as I reach for the chain where Dad's watch hangs. I can do this.
"Gosh!" I practically yell. My voice sounds a bit shaky. I clear my throat, forcing confidence into it. "This looks like gobs of fun. I bet it's super easy."
Then I charge through the few bystanders and plop down into one of the chairs at the table. This earns me a couple of glances and whispers. My back stiffens at the looks, but I pretend not to notice. Instead, I drum my fingers on the table.
"Let's get the party started." I whip out my lipstick and slather on another layer of red. "What's taking y'all so long? I'm ready to win!"
"If anyone can do it, it's you." Danny rushes to my side like a dotting boyfriend, patting my shoulder. Then he switches to Mandarin and says something to the two Chinese men sitting at my table. The man with a blue tie man laughs while the other with a mustache frowns, a look of annoyance crossing his face.
Danny pats my hand encouragingly again and backs away from the table, but his eye is twitching. Great. My heart sinks. He's nervous.
Another man joins us. He looks Middle Eastern with deep dark eyes. He gives me a tight nod. I, in turn, flash him a smirk and then pop a piece of gum in my mouth and start chomping loudly. This awards me a few disgusted looks, but no one says anything as the dealer moves to the table and reviews the rules of the game. I'm hoping that to them I'm just an annoying American girl.
"This is going to be such fun," I say loudly while twirling a blonde curl. Might as well take the blonde hair girl stereotype to the extreme. "I'm feeling lucky tonight!"
"Madame," the dealer says gravely. "Please keep your voice down should you not wish to be disqualified."
"Sure." I smack my gun, batting my lashes at him. "Not a problem, handsome."
The dealer deals the deck, flicking them to each of us with perfect ease. Even still, it's hard to concentrate on anything other than the pounding of my heart. As I pick up my cards, I try to remember how I'm supposed to play this game. Jake reviewed the basics with me back at the hotel room. I lost to him every time.
Tony's voice pops into my ear. "Echo, the device is rock solid. You should be able to hack into their surveillance system. Holler if you have any problems, bro."
"Copy that," Jake says.
Suddenly it's my turn, and I freeze. I study my cards. A pair of eights stare back at me, but are those good? I remember Jake said two of the same cards are good, but he also said don't bid on anything less than a face card. Luckily, a server waltzes into the room, interrupting my thoughts.
"Excuse me, miss," the lady says in a thick Mandarin accent. "I have a gift for you from a man in the next room."
I look up to find Sun staring down at me wearing the waiting staff's uniforms and a cute blue wig. Leave it to her to look gorgeous even in a uniform. One of her eyebrows lifts expectantly as if challenging me to do a better job performing my role. On her tray rests a thick braided silver rope and hanging from its end is a giant blue gem.
She did it! She got through security.
"Oh!" I shriek, snatching up the piece of jewelry. "It's gor-gee-ous!" I lean back and call Danny. "Darlin', did you see this gift I got? This is exactly what I was talking about earlier. Being treated like a lay-dee, that's what."
Danny frowns and crosses his arms as I secure the necklace around my neck, beaming. A smirk crosses Sun's face as she follows my gaze to Danny. He glares at Sun, which only makes her smirk grow wider. Then she spins on her heels and vanishes out the door.
Her voice pops over the com. "Package delivered."
"Accessing," Jake says.
"Your turn to bid, Madame," the dealer tells me, clearly annoyed that the game has stopped because of me.
I swallow and stare back at my cards. Was I supposed to try to get a flush? Or was it a house? I can't even remember the terms. What should I bid? My head hurts. Why couldn't this be a game on brain development or an analysis of human response systems? I'd totally nail that.
I pull up the corners of each of my cards again like Jake said to do so he could see them through the hacked tournament cameras that were installed in the table.
"My bid is," I pause, waiting for Jake to speak into the com. Where is he? Did our com system go down?
Finally, a crackle of noise comes through followed by, "Your cards aren't great," Jake says. "Raise ten."
I shift in my seat, trying to figure out which chips I should throw out. Some have dollar amounts on them, but the gold ones don't. I decide the dollar amounts are too scary so I choose the unmarked ones.
"How about ten of these cute little yellow chips?" I finally throw out the figure to the table, hoping my mic is working so the team can hear me. Then I push ten of the solid gold chips out in front of me. "What do you say, boys?"
Blue Tie leans back in his seat, clearly distressed by my announcement. Mustache Guy appears unfazed while the Middle Easterner really looks at me for the first time.
Well, I think smugly. At least I've gotten everyone's attention.
"Are you out of your mind?" It's Jake's voice, emerging through the crackle. I jerk and nearly fall out of my chair, surprised by his urgency. "You just put out 100,000 dollars. I meant 10 hundred dollar chips! We haven't even seen the flop yet."
"Madame, are you okay?" the dealer asks me.
"Oh, yes, sweetums," I say. "Just excited, that's all. This game is so thrill-ee-ng, isn't it?"
The only responses I get are a few dark looks. Most of the table folds and mutters under their breath, but the Middle Easterner calls my bet, glaring at me the whole time. The dealer lays three cards in the middle of the table. Two sevens and a four. I have no clue if those are good or not.
"Okay," Jake says. "I'm finally in their system and I can see everyone else's cards now, too."
"Finally," I mutter.
"Excuse me?" the dealer asks.
"Finally." I clear my throat. "I get my chance to win."
"Aria, you've got nothing. The Middle Easterner has the hand to win. A full house, sevens over fours. The only way you can win is if another eight pops up or you get four of a kind, which you probably won't get. Just tap the table to check unless someone else bids. If he does, fold, and next time I'll walk you through the rest of the hands. We can still win that money back."
Okay, I can do that. Except I need to win and win big, don't I? The Middle Easterner bets another $1000. Ouch!
The dealer looks at me and politely asks me for my play. Jake says I'm supposed to fold, but a niggling tickles the back corner of my mind. It's the twitch of the Middle Easterner's right eye as if he's not sure what to do. Maybe this game isn't as much about skill, but more about reading people.
"I'll raise five more." I lift my head and give the Middle Easterner a knowing look. Then I push five more gold into the center.
Just as I suspected, his face blanches and he loosens the top button on his collared shirt. I stare hard at him, daring him to fold. His eye twitches again, and he tosses his cards down, saying, "Fold. Stupid American. Why don't you go play the slots?"
I look around. My competitors groan and sigh.
"Take your winnings," the dealer says. "You've won this round. Two hundred thousand plus change."
Two hundred thousand dollars? The giant pit in my stomach opens and all my emotions drop into it. That was way more than I can handle. I thought it would be a hundred, or even a few thousand. But hundreds of thousands? That's insane! What had I been thinking? What if I had lost? No wonder Jake was freaking out.
"I won?" I croak. I'm so shocked that I drop my pretenses for a moment. Somehow I recover, lift my chin and glance over at Danny. "Whoopee! See, sugar cakes? I told you this game was easy."
Danny doesn't look so good. His face is a bit green as if this game is more than he had gambled for. After all, I'm playing with his money, but kudos to him because he nods and tries to give me a shaky smile.
"That's my girl," he says.
I remain in my seat for the next round. This time, I rely on Jake to lead me through each hand, since he's able to see everyone's cards thanks to his access to the security system. By the end of the hour, I've got a massive pile acquired. I do a little jig in my chair, waving my hands.
"Look at me!" I say. "I'm win-ee-ng. Can you believe how lucky I am?"
"This is ridiculous!" Mustache guy throws his cards on the table. "There is no way this bimbo could possibly win so many rounds. It's almost as if she's cheating!"
A murmur from the spectators around us fills the air. The Middle Easterner nods as does Blue Tie.