SERAPHIC BLISS

35. Gamblers

Victoria examines the cards in her hands , the unsmiling mouth of the queen , tainted red lips , her crown shaded blue and her dress littered in miniature hearts. The king regards her with pin prick eyes , staff raised as if to ward off her gaze accompanied by a pair of sharp aces and soft lobed cubs. Victoria does not need to look up to know that people are watching her , its different than hacking , she could topple industries from the comfort of her home. But here people thrive for reaction , she refrains from looking at Ace from fear of cracking under his pressure.

Slowly , she places the stack of roubles in front of her and pushes the poker chips forwards , she takes a deep breath and spreads her cards.

There is a moment of silence as people observe the impossible.

And then there is an uproar.

She is at the center of chaos , everyone is on their feet , shouting . Cheering , and she is slapped across the back multiple times , one of them is so...brutally celebratory that she almost looses a tooth against the edge of the pool table. Ace shouts something in triumph , then takes her head in his hands , giving her a full mouthed kiss , rapturously gleeful.

Betting money is exchanged , Those who snorted at the prospect of the American women when black hair , Ace lavitsky's shocking substitute-beating Pyotor Kekenov hand over lost money, bitter-faced and unsmiling. Vodka is being poured , she has three to five pre-paid drinks passed to her , someone hammers a countdown on the table and the alcohol is swallowed by Victoria. She is lifted to her feet , strangers shake her hands , others kiss her cheeks , she is spun around , clapped , shouted at , robles are passed into her palm.

"Спасибо" she says , as she is congratulated again and again "Спасибо"

Ace forces his way through the crowd , coming to a halt at her side.

"You see" He says taking her arm "You are every bit a gambler "

"I'll let you have some credit. You are not a bad teacher"

He laughs and after detangling them from the clutches of their company , he says they make quiet the team. As they move to walk way she finds herself in a state of numb speculation ; she can't comprehend that it's been three months since her arrival in Russia , English existence almost seems intangible , she does occasionally miss tea's but vodka is a stronger substitute. Lucas as a name only makes his way into the back of her mind , every time there is sexual tension between Ace and Victoria.

And when this happens she seeks out to her only probable comfort , Vodka.

It is a very effective system.

After they left the street dance in red square some fifteen weeks ago , she threw herself back into hacking , with a good energy. From Ace's room they picked apart the city, she leaked information , sold peoples secrecy , transferred the non-transferable into hands of those with deeply questionable intentions. Basic things than she did for Lucas , this compared to the time she has worked with him ,was child's play. She did wander off sometimes , accidently picking apart military defences and government databases , in a fit of boredom as her work was never thrilling enough . Ace told her not to worry about the government interference , he had said Russia law enforcement was hardly a priority.

In hindsight , she knew he had some difficulty , keeping her in radar as she was far from subtle in her destruction. She began to get a better idea of what exactly he did for a living about one month into her stay. It's not that he was secretive , but he never brought it into friendly conversation and that too with good reasons. To say his methods were controversial would be gross understatement.

Ace had a good formula , when it comes to business , so it would seem. He arranges private meetings , often one to one in a place of familiarity-be it the casino or the suite itself-and from watching him liaise with his clients , she started to pick up on the process.