Front Lines| Spencer Reid + Anne Grey

twenty

Anne Grey and Spencer Reid were searching for an available poker table, quickly finding one to play at. It was almost 8 p.m. and both of them were eager to add to their profits.

"Space for two, right?" Grey asks, though she knew the answer. They were paying customers, there would always be room.

"Yeah, we have space," a dealer assures, motioning towards the empty seats.

Anne sits on the left side of the half table, while Reid chooses the right.

"Not sitting with your friend?" a man asks Grey. He looked to be about ten years older than her, and his breath smelled of beer and, somehow, plaque. Maybe it was just Anne's imagination, due to the unknown food that was clearly stuck in his teeth.

She gives a fake smile, easily responding, "I don't want anyone to think that I'm cheating when I win."

"When?" the man questions back.

"Sorry, if I win." Her voice was loud enough for the other five players to hear, including Spencer. That was the point. She was there purely to intimidate the other players, unless she happened to actually get good cards.

The dealer quickly interrupts them, suggesting that everyone places their bets.

Most of the players bet five dollars, including Reid. Grey, however, laughed slightly, and flicked a ten dollar chip onto the table.

"Do you know how to play poker?" the man next to her sardonically asks, and she simply giggles.

The dealer disperses the cards, giving each player two cards and setting a jack of hearts, king of hearts, and ace of spades face up in the center of the table.

Glancing at her cards, Anne keeps her expression solid. Her cards were pretty garbage, so there was no way she would win. Everything was depending on Spencer's deal.

Giving everyone a split second to acknowledge the cards, the dealer starts around the table, figuring out what moves everyone wanted to make.

Spencer decided to call, which meant he would double his original bet. Everyone else after that either raises or calls, with the exception of the only woman at the table, besides Grey. She folds, rolling her eyes and leaving.

"Well, shit," the man that formerly sat next to her mumbles, pushing three white chips into the pot, equal to three dollars. "I'll raise."

The player next to Anne repeats the procedure, but with only two white chips. "Raise." He looks to Grey after, waiting to see what she would do.

"Call." She slides a $10 chip across the table, smiling. Feeling the eyes of a drunk man on her, she snaps her gaze toward him, asking, "What?"

"Nothing," he answers, shaking his head. He thought she was overconfident, and maybe stupid.

As it changes back to Reid's turn, he takes a quick look at Grey, pretending her choice had some sort of impact on his gameplay. He acts as though he was questioning it, then sighs, putting two five dollar chips in the pot, simultaneously confirming, "I'll raise."

The point was to make everyone around him bet more. If he went along with Anne's stake-raising antics, the other players were more likely to follow suit.