"Lady in Red"
(previous post the concerning"Nothing Is Ever Easy")
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Stardate: 60320.1900
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, 2nd floor
The poker tables were not difficult to find. Nor were they very busy.
If it hadn't been for Susan's 'interesting' outfit, she would have been more
than comfortable to spend the night there waiting for some sign of whether
she'd interpreted the message correctly. As it was, she felt slightly
uncomfortable. It was one thing to look so daring when she was alone in
her room... it was quite another to be sitting in public with men - of all
races - eyeing you as if you were dinner.
In addition, the outfit offered very little protection and made Susan
feel incredibly vulnerable. She was starting to regret her rash decision to
follow her curiosity.
**Oh, well. Too late now.**
She folded her legs gracefully and settled down at one of the poker
tables. She chose one at random... or almost at random... it was in the center
of the poker area so she assumed that anyone who happened to be passing by
looking for Sol would see her. Soon the table filled and she was handed
a hand of cards. She'd never been a big card player, but she'd played
poker on occasion with some friends at the academy... gambling for peanuts.
Literally. As a result, she knew the game well. So well, in fact, that
she didn't even concentrate on playing or on those she was playing with.
Her eyes kept straying to other tables. Other areas. Looking for some sign
of Matt or the Cardassian.
Her attention was brought abruptly back to the table when there was a
loud gasp from the other players. Susan jumped inwardly. Had she done
something wrong? She looked down at the cards she'd laid on the table, expecting to see that there were six of them or that one of them was bent at the corner... but saw to her immense surprise that she had laid down a full
house. Looking at the rest of the player's cards, she saw that she'd
won. Fancy that.
"My." a man sitting at the opposite side of the table said, "I thought
you was clearly bluffing. The way you was distracted an all..." His eyes
narrowed, "are you a telepath by any chance?"
"Now, now." a gruff voice behind her made Susan swing her head around.
"Surely you know that Bajorans are not telepathic?"
The Cardassian. He rested cold hands on Susan's shoulders in a
possessive way she didn't like at all.
The dealer pushed Susan's chips towards her. "You in or you out?"
He could have been speaking to either the Cardassian or Susan but the
Cardassian answered for both of them, "In." and sat down next to her.
They placed their bets and the first hand of cards was dealt out. "Been
looking for you." the Cardassian said to Susan, ignoring the other
players completely. "Thought you'd gone to the wrong place."
Susan wasn't sure how to respond in front of the other players, "You
weren't exactly clear about where you wanted me to be."
She had a a 10, 4, 9, Queen and King. She discarded the first three
automatically. Drat. Two 8s and a 5.
"Now, now." The Cardassian said in a paternal tone, "When I say that I
want to play poker in an hour, I expect that you'll understand that I want
to play poker in an hour, not in three hours time." he looked at the rest
of the table with a look that said plainly, "Bajorans, what can you do?"
With a hand that was almost useless and a mind that was trying to
figure out what message lay behind the Cardassian's words, Susan folded.
"You didn't say, 'an hour'." Susan stated plainly, two could play at
this game. "You said you wanted to play after you'd had a 'shower'. Since
that is usually safely an occupation that takes you two hours or more...
what with all your singing... I decided to have a little fun on my own
first."
The corner of the Cardassian's mouth twitched, but he soon got full
control out of it. "You're going deaf, woman. Deaf and stupid. How am I going
to put up with you now?"
Susan thought he was over playing the part. Something old Stanislavsky
would have definitely not tolerated. Unlike the great director of EARTH
history, Susan found it entertaining. She pouted, "That's better than ugly and
stupid."
There was a low whistle from across the table and a human man - the
same one who had asked her if she was a telepath - shrugged, "She's got you
there, I'm afraid."
"Stay out of this, Starfleet." The Cardassian spat. The human raised
his eyebrows and Susan's heart gave another leap. Starfleet? How had the
Cardassian recognized the man as a Starfleet officer? Susan certainly
wouldn't have. The Cardassian turned back to her, "You'll pay for that,
but first you're gonna win me more money."
He reached over and pulled her winnings towards him.
The Starfleet man stood up, "Now, now, I don't think that's fair..."
The Cardassian sighed, "Are we going to go through this again Colonel
Tuckett or are you going to place your bet for the next round?"
Tucket's eyes moved from Susan to the towering Cardassian then said
with a sigh, "500 credits."
Susan allowed her eyes to take in the other players for the first time.
There was the colonel, a slight human female and an Talarian warrior
who was watching the scene with a silence that suggested more than mere
politeness. The Cardassian eyed the colonel before saying in a bold voice, "I see that bid and raise you 100 credits."
The Talarian raised an eyebrow, "Only 100?" he asked before shoving 10
times that amount into the center of the table, "see that and raise 1000."
The slight woman gasped and promptly folded. The Cardassian glared at
the Talarian. This was no longer just about cards. It was some sort of
pride thing. And Susan certainly wasn't going to get in the way of it. She
folded. As did the colonel.
"See and raise..." The Cardassian looked at his credits and suddenly
seemed to realize that he didn't have enough. The Talarian, who had obviously
noted this before putting in the bid said quietly, "You could fold... but
then again... maybe we can come to some arrangement."
"I'm all ears." The Cardassian said, not breaking eye-contact. The
dealer seemed about to protest, but then thought the better of it and went
back to shuffling cards.
The Talarian inclined his head towards Susan. "The Bajoran."
Before Susan could draw another breath, the Cardassian said "Done."
The slight female gave a kind of squeak and the colonel got to his feet
again in indignation, "Retired or not, I simply cannot allow
trafficking of sentient..."
"Then get out of the game -"
"I will call the authorities!"
"It is not trafficking if the lady agrees."
Suddenly all eyes were on Susan. She gulped. She wondered briefly what
would happen if she refused. "I need a drink" was what she said to give her
time to think. She turned to gesture for one of the waiters. As she called
the waiter over, she noticed another Cardassian.
A female...
Maya.
The relief of seeing another operative - of knowing that she wasn't in
this alone - was all the reassurance Susan needed.
"Gentlemen," she said, "You have yourselves a deal."
She then glared at the Cardassian and said pointedly, "I trust that you
wouldn't simply sell me off to the highest bidder without cause."
The Cardassian smiled at her over his cards, "Of course not. And when I
win this game, you'll thank me."
And of course, he lost.
Susan didn't think she'd ever been so frightened in her life. The
Talarian grinned and the Cardassian stuttered helplessly, "Can't we come to some sort of deal..."
The Talarian stood up, "I believe this was our deal. My lady?"
He offered Susan his arm in mock chivalry. She had no choice. With a
large, white smile, Susan joined him and they walked off together leaving a
very flustered Cardassian behind.
----------------------
"So, my dear." The Talarian said as they moved out of the poker area,
"Tell me, what is a pretty little thing like you doing with a burte like
that?"
Susan smiled slyly to hide her racing brain and then said simply, "A
lady has to eat."
"Ahh..." the Talarian said, "Well then we shall have no problem."
Suddenly realizing that this could be an opportunity to gather intel,
Susan asked, "So, my knight in shining armour, what can I call you?"
The Talarian was obviously familiar with the human phrase and smiled,
"Well, I go by the name of Arten... but knight in shining armour sounds fine
to me."
Susan was beginning to wonder where they were going. They were heading
up another escalator and had just passed the forth floor. With sudden
clarity, Susan remembered what was on the 5th floor... the only thing on the
fifth floor. The accommodation. Her temporary quarters and probably his.
----------------------
"And," Arten was saying as they stepped off the escalator, and made
their way over the bright carpet to the dim corridors that linked up the
various living quarters of TANGIERS ORBITAL, "my dazzling lady in red, what can I call you?"
Suddenly a dark figure sprung out of the shadowy corridor they were
passing and struck Arten such a blow to the head that he collapsed,
unconscious.
"You can call her a fleeting memory." The figure said.
Matt tossed the raktajino bottle he'd used to knock out Arten aside and
stared down at his crumpled form, "They always say that Talarians have
problems handling raktajino."
Susan sighed with relief and wiped her hand across her eyes, "Took you
long enough. I thought I was about to become hors d'ouevres."
Matt smiled wanly, "I'm sorry, I should have met you myself... but that
Starfleet man... Well, you know the story."
No, she didn't. But she wished she did. It sounded interesting. Matt
started strolling casually away from the scene of the crime and Susan followed
suite.
----------------------
"I'm afraid," Matt said, "Griko still gets a little carried away with
his gambling... Can you believe it? After what happened last time... and
now this."
He sighed. Susan was really beginning to wish that she was a better
operative. Now she had the Cardassian's name... but someone else would
have had the whole story behind these people by now.
Matt was still talking, "I think it's something to do with the ego." he
tapped his head, "Has a problem losing. Luckily, he isn't stupid and
called me as soon as he'd sold you so I could bail you out."
Thinking of how useless she was as an operative, Susan decided it was
time to start asking more questions, "You still haven't given me any more
details about... you know."
She gestured for him to continue, hoping that her trailing sentence
would be assumed to be because there were so many other people around.
"business?" Matt asked.
Damn.
Susan nodded.
Matt grinned like a cat with an ingenious plan on how to catch a mouse
and get cream for it, "I told you in my message that it wasn't something I
could discuss over subspace. I was afraid it would get intercepted. Same
applies here. Too many people... but not enough to confuse anything I say the
second it leaves my mouth..."
Matt turned to Susan as they climbed off the escalator on the third
floor, "I don't believe we've been clubbing before?"
Susan's eyes narrowed, "What does that have to do with..."
The cat-smile returned and Matt took her hand. "I think I know just the
place."
--------------- 2005 post #173
Stardate: 60320.2000
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, in motion
Stardate: 60320.2005
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, 5th floor
Stardate: 60320.2010
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, in motion
Tallulah Habib {thabib@eject.co.za}
Ensign Susan Mei
Head Counselor
USS ANUBIS
---------------
"Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own." - Adam Lindsay Gordon
