Tunnel Rat

Mako stared at the off-suit queen and felt like she'd taken a cannonball in the gut. Her dealer, Abigail, was white and sweating. Whale's mocking laughter hurt far worse than her twice-busted hand. From the floor of the casino came heated shouting from irate Engineers and Scavengers wanting to cash in their chips. The Sharks tried to pacify them until people higher in command could produce the gold, vainly trying to outshout the people who took up the chanting, pounding their mugs in time. All it would take was a small spark and they'd have a riot on their hands. Amidst all of this, two Sharks were vainly trying to hand out coupons for the buffet and promising half-priced drinks on next Wednesday.

Captains Annie, Goldtooth, and Cuda were slamming together their mugs of rum, drinking and laughing. They hadn't seen anything so funny in years, and they'd be retelling the story for decades. It was rare to be so close to another Captain's downfall. They usually happened from clingfire and cannonballs during ship-to-ship fighting. Here, not a drop of blood had been spilled, and yet Mako had lost nearly everything, and on her own deck.

Mako knew she didn't have the gold on hand. All their hoard was in a water-tight hammer steel vault in the stern of the Silver Shark, sitting at the bottom of the ocean. They were overdrawn in the casino. The damned Engineers with their slide-rule minds had managed to win more than they lost, and she'd thrown tens of thousands of gold into the Captain's game, always expecting to win it back. But now it sat in front of the little ratkin who was smiling at her and sipping his coffee. It shouldn't have been possible, not on this table. She glared at Abigail who was pale and shaking, both from fear and her need for alcohol.

The Professor sat down his coffee cup, preparing to leave, "A very enjoyable night, Captain Mako. Thank you so much for inviting me to your table. But I believe that I will be cashing in my chips now. While the luck was strange tonight, I am reminded of Rule 231: When the System showers you with wealth, it is only karma rewarding you for your good deeds. I will enjoy spreading this wealth around in my Hollow. I've always wanted a Hot Tub and Personal Chef."

He turned to his terrified helper. "Sassy, be so good as to summon the dear lady who will exchange my chips for shiny gold bars. I'm sure that's a prerogative of a captain, even an honorary one." He began separating his chips from the gold coins and small slabs that the other captains had thrown into the pot, carefully stacking the gold in 100-count stacks. Mako stared at the gold. A glimmer of a plan penetrated her mind.

Whale looked down at where two Deep Rock Engineers were standing at the main door, and two more at the back door. All of them were holding weapons and wearing full sets of Magi-tech armor. She might give Sledgemonkey and his boys a hard time, but they knew how to read the room, and when to pull out the big guns. BoomBoom was juggling grenades to the applause of his wife and the rest of her crew. Two-Screws had a Pit Boss in each hand, shouting at them and knocking their heads together.

Whale turned the big winner, "Good luck getting any gold out of this bunch, Professor. I think the well has run dry."

Professor Tallsqueak looked at her quizzically, "Are you implying that this fine business exchanged gold for chips, but somehow does not have enough gold to now redeem their debts? That is a terrible state of affairs. Does this happen often when dealing with Scavenger Clans? Is this what was meant by 'Captain's Honor'? I should probably warn my business partners." He sighed. "This is my fault, I failed to heed Rule 321: Never Gamble with someone who can't pay their debts, including yourself."

All of the Captains present, including Captain Squint, went silent for a moment at the implications. Whale turned to Mako, furious. "You need to make good on this! Do you have any idea of what could happen if the story got out that someone sat at a Captain's table and was cheated in front of all of us? You're spitting on our honor, not just yours!"

Squint had a very long, sharp dagger in his hands and was cleaning his nails. "I am so upset when my honor is tarnished. I have so little of it left and need to keep it shiny." The lord of the Kulags had gone from jovial to serious, and the shadowy cats flanking him on either side of his chair were baring their fangs.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Mako held up her hands. "I'm good for it, I promise. I own property! Nearly all of the docks and this casino, plus land around it. It's a minor setback. And more gold that I can get my hands on. I'll have hard cash in my hand in two days, three at the most! You just have to be patient."

Tallsqueak stood up. "I see. This is so sad, but I'm not understanding how your inability to do simple accounting should become my problem. The people of the Hollows love to help each other in times of trouble, but it's not only I who is owed but those poor people down on the main floor. Some of them are desperate enough to be juggling high explosives. I simply don't see this ending well."

Mako looked at the pile of gold in front of the Professor. "Loan me that pile. I'll use it to pay off those poor engineers and keep Whale's daughter from being a widow. You said your people like to help, that would be helping."

Cuda, Goldtooth, and Annie started giggling uncontrollably as Mako asked for a loan. 'Loaning a shark money.' was slang on every ship for throwing something valuable overboard with no chance of getting it back.

The Professor looked dubious. "My people also have a distaste for loaning money. But I can see that if this impasse is not somehow solved, there will be bloodshed tonight. That would be a shame, wouldn't it? I do hate it when a proper discussion is ruined by violence. I will propose a solution, and I hope these fine Captains will act as witnesses."

The Captains gathered around, curious. Whale spoke for them, "We're here, we'll witness, and we'll enforce the agreement. Good by you Mako?"

Mako was happy for any solution that didn't get her spitted on Whale's cutlass, an outcome that was looking likely. She wasn't afraid of anyone in a fair fight, but this wasn't going to be fair. Some of those people down on the floor were her crew, if violence started, they didn't have a chance either, and she needed them for the rest of her plans for Shadowport. "If it keeps people from getting hurt, I'll listen. What do you propose?"

The professor pushed his pile to the center of the table again. "I don't want to break the rules of my people and make you a loan. So I suggest a simple game of cards. Captain Whale will shuffle the deck and deal us one card each. The winner takes all. If you win, you keep my pile and pay off the people below."

Mako raised an eyebrow in sheer surprise. "And if you win?"

"You said you have property? Docks and this building? You will wager them. If I win, I get ownership of the portions of the docks that you own, and this building with everything in it. I will also pay off your debt to those Engineers in exchange for their chips. I will refrain from cashing in my chips for three days and expect you to provide gold to cash me out. After that, I give your names to a clan of Shadowstalkers who like to play Surprise for keeps."

Squint raised his hand excitedly, "I love that game! Can I play Surprise, too?"

The Professor nodded to him. "And Captain Squint will also be playing."

Mako nodded. "Let's do it." Whale began shuffling cards and Mako went to a sea chest and pulled out the deeds to the building they were in and many portions of the docks. She tossed them on the table and looked pointedly at Abigail who nodded back.

Captain Whale shuffled the cards, drawing out the affair, and adding to the tension at the table. She placed two cards on the table, Mako and Tallsqueak each picked one up, Mako choosing first. Mako didn't try to read either card, she knew what they would be. Behind her, Abigail was sweating and gripping the table hard but nodded to her.

Mako tossed down the Queen of Diamonds. "My favorite card."

Tallsqueak tossed down his card, Mako felt the world fall out from beneath her.

"As my friend Lemmi says, The pleasure is to play. Makes no difference what you say. I don't share your greed. The only card I need. Is the Ace of Spades."

He stared hard at the Leader of the Sharks, and she saw no mercy in his eyes, "Three days, Captain Mako."