A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapter 22

The rest of the players are arranging their chips in front of them into different colored piles, as I pick up the glass of water and bring it to my nose while pretending to take a drink. I can tell right away with my now acute sense of smell that there is more to it than simple water. I wet my lips with the liquid as I lift it the rest of the way, before returning it to the table. I can feel Walters' eyes on me as I do this.

"Well, I think someone is out to win this game, and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish that. But which one is it?" I wonder.

The rough young man sits up quickly. "OK, we are all here, so let's get this game underway," as he reaches for the deck of cards in the middle of the table.

The rest move forward to begin the game without saying a word. I look around the table and try to get a feel for who might be paying the house to put the odds in their favor. The two women and the young man are the hardest to read, but the rest are open and relaxed.

The game starts, and I lose the first few hands as I study each person. I soon have them all figured out and start playing the game like I did at Sam's. They are much harder to read though, probably because of the seriousness of the stakes, but I soon get the upper hand and start to build my pile of chips.

The young man is quick to lose his pile, because he plays each hand like he has the best hand or will bluff his way through to a win. The rest of the players easily see through his brash exterior, and just wait till his money is all gone so they can be rid of him.

The next to go is one of the women, who played a serious game, but it was just not her night. After about three hours of play it is down to four of us. The other woman, the older of the two that looked like she had done this many times before. The gentleman beside her was down to his last few chips, and if he did not start winning soon he would be out of the game also. That left the smiling man to my right who is the easiest for me to read. He seems so open and receptive that it makes me wonder if he is not playing me as much as I am playing him.

The next hour sees the gentleman beside the woman leave the room, and then the woman, through gritted teeth, throws in her pile of chips and storms out. The smiling man and myself are the only two left now. I have the largest pile of chips in front of me, but it does not make me feel secure in winning the night.

The smiling man lets out a deep breath and relaxes back in his chair, as the door closes behind the woman. "Well, that felt good. She does not like losing and will go to any lengths to insure a win. I noticed that the ice cubes in your water have melted, maybe you would like some plain tap water instead of the fountain water." He turns to Walter and motions him over. "I think Mr. Stronge is thirsty and some tap water would help soothe that dry throat of his."

"Thank you. I must admit that I was getting dry. Was the last woman the one who tried to fix the game in her favor?"

"Yes, she is the wife of a famous actor, and feels that she should be given special treatment wherever she goes," states the man, as he leans forward in his chair to consider me. "Now, you are someone very interesting. It is obvious that you have not played much poker, and the rest of the table believed you to be an easy mark. Although you played like you knew what everybody had in their hands. How did you do that?"

Walter returns to the table with my glass of clean water, which I take a deep drink from. I lower the glass and smile back at him. "I didn't have any idea what they had in their hands, but they gave away what they thought they had in their emotions."

The smiling man nods his head. "I must admit that I could sense that in you. I tried desperately to feed you incorrect information, but you saw right through it almost every time. I admit that I can't beat you in poker, so I think it is time to take my leave of you, while I still have a little more than I came with."

He gets up from the table and I follow his example. He extends his hand to me, with a card that he had just pulled from his breast pocket. "My name is Will Struss, and there are some people I know that would love to meet with you if you are ever in Hollywood."

I look down at the card and see the picture of a castle lit up by lights all around it at night. There is no writing on the front and when I turn the card around, there is only his name on the back. I flip it back and forth a couple of times trying to get an idea of what it means, before turning back to look at him, but he is gone. I swing around to find him in the room but there is only Walter and the young woman at the bar. Walter points to the door smiling. "He is already gone. He loves to do that."

"How does he do it?" I ask, stunned that he could move that fast.

Walter shrugs his shoulders. "He is a magician. He was doing some shows at Caesar's Palace, but last night was his last performance. He is probably heading home now."

I shake my head at the strangeness of it but move back to my winnings on the table. Walter steps up beside me. "I will look after yours and Mr. Struss's money. The front desk will have your winnings when you want to withdraw them."

"Thank you," I say, as I straighten my jacket and head for the door. The guard is standing there waiting for me, and escorts me to the elevator.

The door opens, and I step in as he nods his head and says, "have a good evening sir."

The elevator drops to my floor and I make my way to my room. I am suddenly hungry again as I flop down on the comfy couch. A quick call for room service and a change of clothes before it arrives sets me up for a good night's sleep.