A Galaxy Apart

All In

Jack's visit in New Vegas was obviously not his first one. Yes, he already had a lot of fun in this city. All the gambling and drinking. And it was the best place to make contacts with criminals. A few hours before Ianto arrived at this place he is already sitting at the Casino table and looks around, a bit distracted from his game.
"Sir? Sir" says the dealer as Jack doesn't pay attention.
"What? Ah yes of course. Ten chips. 21, black "
The dealer nods and turns the Roulette plate and Jack looks at what he's actually doing. However, his thoughts are somewhere else, still holding out for a certain player.
"Oh...Look at that. You've won" the other man says with a calm face. He was tall, wearing the usual clothes which the casino employees wear, about 27 and blue skinned and white eyed.
"Must be your lucky day sir. Another round?"
"No thanks...at least not at this game" Jack shakes his head and takes his won chips. He looks at the man and smirks hafly at him...
"Hey uhm...can I ask you something?"
"Sure"
"do you know a certain player...A James Lanister?"
"You know... I'm not allowed to tell you that" he sighs.
"And...what if I found a way to convince you?" Jack smirks and looks him up and down.
The man blushes slightly "Uhm...no"
"You sure?" Jack leans closer and lowers his voice "the amount of money I won is not the only big thing I have"
The man swallows hard "Sir, please stop" he tries to sound convinced.
Jack can't stop smirking and slides three coins over the table to him.
"You know.. You should try to make your tone more convincing."
The man blushes slightly "but I..."
Jack raises an eyebrow and looks at the name tag at his chest "you what, Mister Galloway?"
He looks down at Jack's coins and takes them with a sigh. "fine. He was here not long ago."
"How long?"
"Half an hour. Arrived here two hours before. Lost here but I saw him winning over there" he nods at a skat table.
"Right. How did he look like?"
"Middle high. About 43 or so. Black hair. Thin lips, mischievous smirk. Black shirt and brown leather jacket. I'm sure you'll notice him because he was damn handsome" the man says a bit lost in thoughts while Jack tries not to laugh. He clears his throat immediately as he notices what he just said.
"thank you, sir. You were a great help. Maybe I could visit you after your shift" Jack winks and heads away while the dealer blushes deep purple.
'Where could this man possibly be?' Jack asks himself and looks around. Not at the skat game. Not an automat.
Of course.
Poker. If Jack had the ability to read someone else's mind...definitely Poker. And yes there it was, exiting screams and laughter at the poker table. Jack heads over and watches the players from the side. A blowfish, a two headed green Centauri guy. Red skinned, pretty, young lady and...Look at that. Probably James Lanister. He wears exactly what the man just told him a moment ago. However, most of the players don't look very excited, except from this man. A girl was sitting in his lap kissing along his neck while he has a pile of chips in front of him and obviously he doesn't really pay attention to his game as like it meant nothing to him. After a few minutes the game was over and the quite annoyed blowfish throws his glass through the room. Of course the security guys come and pull him away, meaning...one more place for a player. Jack's chance.
"May I?" Jack asks out of respect but already sits down while the other players sigh without protesting.
"Of course" Lanister smirks. He is indeed handsome 'damn, Jack focuse' he thinks to himself while the man smirks slightly.
Jack clears his throat "So... Let's play"
The dealer nods and hands everyone his cards. Jack takes a look and hides his disappointment. Two bad cards. But what does it matter, all he wants is that...pretty necklace the man is obviously wearing.
"So...what's your bet?" the dealer asks while all the others put in a bit and Jack starts with a low bet.
First round and...he feels something crawling up his mind. As like it was breaking in and feeling as like someone was hammering his way inside his brain. He shakes his head and...well of course he lost the first round. 'Don't think about it Jack. All that counts right now is the game. Don't think about it. Don't make it obvious'.
"You alright over there?" the black haired man smirks "Yes, thanks. I'm fine" Jack replies trying to smile.
"Just a little headache"
"I'm sorry" he says with a mischievous smile.
Second round. This time Jack has good cards but feels how his headache gets worse and worse. How can it be that the other players don't feel the same? Does he not read them or...James keeps his eyes fixed on Jack and tilts his head.
"Twenty" Jack says and puts his chips in the middle of the table. The dealer nods and they show their cards. Jack smiles. He won. He won this round but how was it possible? The Lanister guy looks at him with gloomy eyes.
"Am I that handsome or why can't you stop looking at me?" Jack smirks.
"Sorry, I'm just surprised you are a good player. Nice poker face." Jack winks "Natural talent."
"Hm"
Why can't he read his thoughts? Or can he and it's just a game? But what if...what if Jack is immune. Tosh couldn't read his mind. He still doesn't know why. But this time it's different. He definitely feels James' tries to get into his thoughts. And it hurts, however his little psychic abilities keep him still away for a while but how long can Jack resist?
"You're good" Lanister says with a calm face.
"or maybe sorta psychic" Jack winks.
The man tilts his head and the game goes on, while the man's mood seems to fade. Not even the girl in his lap can cheer up his mood and he even sends her away after a while. The more they play the more Jack seems to win. He can't believe it himself until James announces that it will be his last round even though he won a lot before.
"All in"
Once again there was this headache again, heavier than ever.
"All in" Jack repeats while the other players already give up.
Final round and...James wins. He smiles a bit and looks over at Jack.
"Was nice to play with you, Mister Harkness." he takes all his money and gets up.
"Can I invite you for a drink?"
"No" he already has all of his chips together "leave them in my safe, will you Geffry?" he says to the dealer who nods immediately. James gets up.
"Was a nice game. Adeau" he says snobbishly and heads away. Jack sighs and thanks the other players before he gets up and tries to follow James unnoticeable. The odd feeling in his mind is gone but suddenly he stops. A voice. Yes a voice inside his head.
'Jaaack' it sings. 'I know who you are Captain. And I know what you want'
"Stop it" he says out loud making others look at him in confusion.
'No dear...but you can meet me...'
'Where?' Jack thinks.
'At the roof top. For a final showdown' it says and vanishes.
Jack gets back into his reality and catches his breath. He stands there for another moment. Just breathing. He never liked people being in his mind. Even his psychic barriers didn't stop James. It just hit him. He sighs heavily and heads over to the high speed elevators. For one moment he just forgot everything, there was just him in the darkness. Nothing. Until the elevator arrives. And with a sudden his stomach starts to hurt. Almost cramping he leans forward in pain. With a Bing tone the elevator doors open and the people inside look at him a bit worried asking him whether he's alright, but Jack doesn't answer. He stumbles inside. At least he is alone in the lift. He presses the button which will bring him to the rooftop. Jack almost crunches down in pain and hears a distant voice shouting his name. A voice he already knows but it fades away as the doors close and the elevator heads fastly upwards...