Gambler (4 page)

"Hamburger and chips."

At her command the device whirred into
action and she could see the nozzle moving back and forth as it
created her meal from the bottom up. It took only a few moments
before the machine dinged and the door popped open. Sitting within
was a fresh burger with crispy lettuce, surrounded by warm
chips.

She grabbed the meal, and carried it back to
her command centre, taking a seat and watching the content flick
over the main screen.

"Anything?" she said around a mouthful of
chips.

"There have been many casino heists, however
it appears that in almost all cases the how was known, it was the
who which could not be determined."

"Cracos said he could see no errors in the
books. The money wasn't 'missing' from anywhere, just that their
totals were decreasing. They used to bring in two hundred million a
week. Now they're down to one ninety, but nothing else has
changed."

"Searches suggest someone could be altering
their books, to make the money disappear," said Crusader.

"Yeah, I'll start with the staff. Keep
scanning. I'll get ready for some scouting," Nova said.

She went to the storage area where a large
compartment overflowed with all manner of clothing. Thick coats for
the frozen wastes of Asthar rustled against wetsuits for the ocean
planets of Rabcron and many other disguises, most of which she had
had cause to use at one time or another.

Nova pushed past the jackets and coats to
the back where a series of dresses hung. She ran her hand over the
fabric before settling on a long black gown. She stripped off her
singlet and long black pants, pulling the dress over her head. It
hugged her body and stopped at her ankles.

She picked up a pair of silver heels with
thin silver straps from the row of shoes at the bottom of the
closet. She leant against the doorframe and lifted each of her feet
in turn, pulling on the shoes and doing up the straps with one
hand.

"Cal!" she called as she slammed the
cupboard door behind her and stomped her way through the storage
area. Her heels banged against the floor with each step.

"Yes?" Cal asked as he floated into view
from the command pod. When he saw her he stopped mid-air. "What are
you wearing?"

Nova scowled. "I have to blend in, remember?
Makeup please. Keep it simple, just the usual," she said, standing
still with her eyes closed.

Cal's interior clicked and robotic arms
unfolded from beneath his metal casing. He went to work painting
Nova's face, outlining her eyes with black and colouring her
cheeks. She rarely wore makeup, but when she did it was more
convenient to have Cal do all of the work.

"Will this suffice?" Cal asked as his arms
retracted into the metal casing to be replaced by a mirror.

Nova glanced at her reflection. "It'll do,"
she said as she ran a brush through her hair.

She grabbed her trench-coat from a bench as
she hurried to the main door. She placed a small stun device in her
pocket as she pulled the coat over her shoulders.

"Check remote contact," she said.

Cal flew from the storage room and out of
site. Nova heard his voice within her head, "Testing remote
contact."

Nova projected her thoughts, "Received."

Cal floated back into the room at her reply.
The technology was old, but Nova had upgraded their system to
extend its radio distance. This way she could keep in contact with
Cal and Crusader without talking out loud. Cal could also perceive
her visual input, effectively seeing everything she could see.

Casinos used to block all radio
communication but as technology progressed it got harder, so now
they dissuaded cheating through more direct means and left radio
contact unimpeded.

"Wish me luck," she said, opening the door
to the crowded street and the flashing lights beyond.

She strode to the casino's door and nodded
at Brick as she went past. He nodded back, but his eyes moved past
her to the other patrons. This time she walked past the marble
stairs and through to the main casino floor. Here the sounds of the
slot machines and other gadgets pounded against her eardrums.
Beyond the machines were the tables. Blackjack and poker had
persisted for centuries and were still a favourite at casinos. No
matter how hard the casinos tried, the newer tech-based games
simply didn't catch on and could never replace the classics.

There were some out-worlders, or aliens as
they were sometimes known, dotted amongst the tables. Tabryn had a
reputation as a very humanist colony. Few out-worlders would be
welcome on the planet, let alone in the most prestigious casino.
Although, Nova reflected, there weren't that many out-worlders to
speak of. Of course when the space revolution began, there had been
talk of the millions of alien species they would find, but it had
been harder than first thought. Then there were the problems with
the alien-rights movement. In the end, wars had torn up most of the
galaxy and there were very few places that remained where
out-worlders and humans intermixed. Instead, humans had spread out
further and further, colonising more planets, like Tabryn, which
resulted in planetoid sects and interplanetary warfare.

Nova's eyes swept over the tables, counting
dealers and players, analysing. There were so many alternative
humanoid sub-species that they could practically be called aliens
anyway. Whilst Nova retained the 'traditional' look, many of those
electing for cosmetic alteration also took on some 'alien
qualities' in a desperate attempt for individuality. There were
mandates on certain planets that genetic alterations be made so
that people originating from that planet would carry a particular
marker. The Gremath humans insisted on blue-hued skin. The Rabcron
humans insisted on gills, although they were an advantage on the
water planet.

With all of the modifications and the
ever-advancing field of genetics, biologists were continually
pulling their hair out as they tried to define species boundaries.
Was a Rabcron human really still human if it could breathe
underwater? Nova shook her head to dispel the thoughts which had
taken her mind on a tangent and returned her attention to the poker
tables.

There were at least ten tables running
continuous games. She walked to the nearby bar and ordered a Blue
Sun. The vibrant drink came in a tall glass, the liquid glowing
blue and a faint smoke drifting across its surface. She sat on a
nearby stool where she could keep an eye on the poker tables
without drawing too much attention to herself.

The drink was good, with the perfect amount
of blue lemon and soda. A cool tang spread over her tongue as she
sipped and watched the tables over the top of her glass. The
dealers seemed intent on their games. She couldn't see any of them
glancing away or performing other suspicious behaviour, but then
this was a professional job; she wasn't likely to pick up someone
straight away.

Next, she turned to the people at the
tables. Most of them were what she had expected, well-dressed men
and women of the upper classes. Some threw their heads back in
laughter, enjoying the game for what it was. Others studied their
cards and their fellow players, calculating.

As Nova scanned the faces she saw one which
made her groan. Vicki.

Her gaze locked onto the other woman and her
eyes burned. A hot flush spread over her neck and her fingers
clenched her glass. An unpleasant taste settled over Nova's mouth
that even the Blue Sun couldn't wash away.

Vicki sat in her low-cut scarlet dress, a
glass of champagne in hand. She obviously felt Nova's gaze because
her head turned, and the two women stared at each other across the
crowded casino floor.

Vicki's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed as
she saw Nova and she put her drink down by her side. She glared for
a few moments before flicking her hair and turning her attention to
the man at her side. Vicki's red hair shimmered in the neon lights
and her eyes glinted as they turned away from Nova. Her
high-pitched laugh cut through the crowd to grate at Nova's
ears.

Nova threw back her head and drank down the
rest of the Blue Sun. She slammed the glass onto the high table
hard enough that a crack raced up the stem, before stomping to the
blackjack table where Vicki was seated. Without saying a word to
the red-head Nova sat down and nodded to the dealer who was just
about to start a new hand.

"Three hundred," Nova said, holding up her
cred-stick. The numbers counted down and the dealer handed her a
pile of chips.

"Oh, Nova, how will you buy dinner tonight?"
Vicki asked, her expression one of pity and false concern. Nova
turned towards the other girl with a glare, but refused to
reply.

Instead, she took in the other players.
Immediately to Nova's right an old man sat hunched over his cards.
He was one of the less well-dressed attendees; however his suit
could still have paid for half of Outer Tabryn's food. He was down
to his last few chips and his head hung low to the table.

Beside the older man sat two young men, both
completely enraptured by Vicki, their minds barely in the game at
all. They laughed as she told yet another joke and Vicki threw back
her head to join them.

Nova turned away from the scene. Obviously
Vicki was here as a bounty hunter as well. Nova gazed around the
casino and nodded as she saw other familiar faces.

"Haven't seen you at The Jagged Maw for a
while, Nova," Vicki said, batting her eyelids.

Nova kept her eyes on the dealer as she
placed a chip on the table. "Busy. You know, working. You should
try it some time."

"That sounds dreadfully boring," Vicki said,
winking at the young men on her left who grinned back.

"You're here too," Nova pointed out. Vicki
waved her hand as if it was of no consequence.

"I didn't see your rust-bucket outside,"
Vicki said. "I'm surprised they let you park it here."

"Interesting. I did see your new 3000, it
would be a shame if it got scratched," Nova said, turning from her
cards to stare at Vicki. She clenched her jaw and locked her feet
behind the legs of her stool to stop herself from kicking Vicki
under the table.

Vicki's face fell and her eyebrows drew
together. "You wouldn't dare," she said. Her eyes darted for the
door and the parked ships beyond.

"Just saying it would be a shame," Nova
said, shrugging and turning back to her cards.

Vicki stared at Nova, as if judging whether
her ship was indeed in danger of being scratched. She was broken
out of her thoughts by the dealer gesturing for her to have her
turn. Vicki blinked and waved for another card. She went bust and
shoved her chips at the dealer, slumping back into her seat to
glare at Nova.

CHAPTER SIX

Nova and Vicki had hated each other since
the first moment they laid eyes on each other. As far as Nova was
concerned Vicki was a shallow, conniving, talentless bitch whose
only skill was using her fake boobs to distract men, whereas Vicki
thought Nova was a brutish, rough, lower-class citizen who should
have been male, and had said as much on more than one occasion.
Their enmity went back years. Nova still couldn't believe that
Vicki had been accepted into The Jagged Maw. She thought they had
better standards than that.

Nova shook her head and turned her
concentration back to the game, winning more money as play
continued. The dealer was a young woman who barely seemed to notice
the people she was dealing to. She looked like a de-emo, a person
who elected to have their emotional centres removed. It was common
in people who had suffered extreme loss or traumatic stress
syndrome. They were often hired for jobs such as this where
emotions could run high if they weren't kept in check.

Nova bit her lip; at least she could be
pretty sure this one wasn't stealing the money from the casino.
De-emos saw no value in money, much as they saw no value in almost
all other aspects of life.

The young men left the table not long after
Nova arrived, and Vicki's prior carefree mood turned to sullen
brooding. The older man to Nova's right kept bleeding chips. After
three more rounds he had none left and was forced to leave the
table.

"Hard luck," Nova said as he got up and
walked away. The man turned to her and nodded; his eyes downcast as
he shuffled from the table.

That left just Nova, Vicki, and the dealer.
Nova bit her lip as she looked at her cards, resolving to leave the
game the next round. She would learn nothing more from this table
and it would mean having to endure more of Vicki's thinly veiled
attacks.

"You know Kero is here," Vicki said with a
cruel smile.

"Oh really?" asked Nova, her jaw clenching.
"Ask him how his racer's doing."

Vicki scowled. She was Kero's private
cheer-leader. It must have hurt her pride almost as much as his
when Nova had smashed him in the most recent bounty hunter
space-race.

Nova nodded to the dealer and pushed herself
from the table.

"Oh, but we were having so much fun," Vicki
said, pouting her lips up at Nova.

"Ah yes; but sadly I have a job to do," Nova
responded, striding away.

"You needn't bother, I think I've got it
covered," said Vicki, giggling as she finished her champagne.

Nova let herself become lost in the crowds.
She clenched her teeth but did her best to keep her expression
neutral. The last thing she wanted was to give herself away to the
thief.

She studied the rest of the casino. As part
of her investigation she visited all twenty-seven bars, three
pools, eighteen gambling floors, the gym, all sixteen massage
rooms, both brothels, and the cybernetic upgrade clinic. She even
spent half the night posing as a casino worker to gain access to
the high roller room, and yet she found nothing. She was no closer
to finding the thief than the moment she arrived.