Mardock Scramble полностью

Balot succeeded because of the intense training she’d had from the Doctor and of course because she had Oeufcoque in hand. It took her less than an hour and less than ten grand in bets. With this minimal outlay of time and funds, Balot had learned all the biases of the wheel, the unconscious habits of the croupier, and even the nature of the house orders—the fiat from on high that compelled croupiers to mix things up a little.

Balot felt all this through her skin.

Step by step she raised the stakes and started betting on longer and longer odds.

She bet on the line—placing her chips over one of the lines on the layout, signifying a bet on all six numbers down the line, with a payout of 5:1 when she won.

She placed a five-number bet on 0, 00, and numbers 1-3, payout 6:1.

She placed a corner bet; her chips down where four numbers intersected. Payout 8:1.

She bet on the street: three numbers—payout 11:1.

She went further, betting on longer and longer odds even if she didn’t win.

Split: betting on two numbers, payout 17:1.

Then back to the straight bet, the single number, payout 35:1.

She didn’t win these bets—they were reliant more on luck than skill at this stage. They were feints, for the benefit of the croupier and the other punters.

On top of that there were other ways of betting. Regional variations to the rules, as seen in some Continental casinos. Within Eggnog Blue, however, this particular table was the only place the variations were seen—Bell Wing had no doubt persuaded the house to permit them at her table.

The permitted variations were threefold. One was finaal—a bet on the last digit. So, if the player called “finaal plein three,” informing one of the dealers of his intentions, he’d be betting a hundred dollars on numbers 3, 13, 23, and 33. This bet had a payout of between 8:1 and 11:1.

There was also the jeu zero. Playing on and around the 0, as the name suggested, this bet involved the three numbers, totaling six, on either side: 35-14-2-0-28-9-26. Four hundred-dollar chips would pay out thirty of the same if the ball landed on the 26, or if it landed on any of the other numbers. This bet, though, was much more relevant on the Continental wheel layout and not much use here unless you were particularly paranoid about the dealer aiming for the 0.

The third variation on standard rules was the en prison rule on evens bets, where a 0 would cause all evens bets to be frozen rather than simply lost. The player would then have the option of either having half their original bet back or letting it ride through to the next spin.

Balot exploited this rule to the fullest, and whenever she aimed for the 0 she also placed an evens bet at the same time.

She did so to keep her losses to a minimum even as she moved to a more aggressive style of play, but more importantly, to get some real clues as to the croupier’s mindset.

–Really impressive.

Suddenly, and for the first time since they had sat down at the table, Oeufcoque communicated in words other than simple instructions.

–What is?

–You are.

–I am?

–I do believe we really have a chance. We could even end up with the money we need to move on to the next level.

–That’s what I was aiming for all along. Was that wrong of me?

Balot felt rather insecure all of a sudden, but Oeufcoque assuaged her feelings.

–No, just carry on the best you can. There’s not much I can do either way, at this stage.

Balot felt somewhat happier and snarced him again.

–I just have this feeling that I know where the ball is going to land.

–You can predict it?

–More of a gut feeling.

Just then: “Is this your first time at roulette, young lady?” The voice came as one of the dealers was distributing the table’s winnings after a spin.

Balot looked up at the speaker.

This time Bell Wing stared at her intently.

–Yes, ma’am, Balot answered truthfully. If Bell Wing glanced at Balot’s electronic voicebox around her neck, she said nothing about it.

Instead, Bell Wing continued in a different vein. “Your eyes are sparkling. As if everything is new to you. I can see that you’re enjoying watching the ball as it spins around.”

Balot nodded. This was how she actually felt, after all. She was genuinely getting into the game. But there was another factor.

–I’m enjoying the game because you’re the croupier.

Bell Wing gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Thank you, she seemed to say. A generous gesture.

“Still, you’re planning something big, aren’t you?” said Bell Wing. “Have you got something against this casino? A grudge?”