Mardock Scramble полностью

Balot tried to sound as plausibly petulant as she could. The Doctor looked over at her indulgently, turning to the dealer as he dealt the cards. I’ll humor the child, he seemed to say.

The dealer continued to deal, his expression as serious as ever.

Suddenly Balot felt somewhat embarrassed. Instinctively she turned to Oeufcoque to see if she had done something wrong.

–Was there a point to that?

–Of course.

–What, then?

–To manipulate the dealer.

–How?

–We show him just what a mysterious creature woman is.

That didn’t really satisfy Balot—she still wanted to know how—but then it was her turn.

Balot hit on thirteen and bust. The card that should have helped her as a player was now sticking its oar in, getting in her way. Don’t rely on the cards to help you out, even the good ones. The key to playing a steady game was never to hope for too much. Unless you expected fully to lose at any moment and could cultivate that sense of detachment, you were doomed to be led around by the nose. She had been taught this by the Doctor prematch, and she ruminated deeply on its meaning. Suddenly it came to her: was this what Oeufcoque wanted?

–I’m supposed to try and confuse him? The dealer?

–Exactly. I’ll tell you when and how. Be as innocent as you can. Oeufcoque spoke as if he were casually ordering her to shoot him with a gun that she held in her hand.

Balot realized the enormity of what Oeufcoque was asking of her.

The cards came. A queen and 6, making sixteen. The dealer’s upcard was a 10. The odds of winning at this point were severely stacked against her. The chips that she had placed—the chips she should have placed—were added to the tables on her hands, chalked up as additional losses. This was costing her dearly. But was she gaining something valuable in return?

Certainly Oeufcoque seemed to think so—he seemed totally unconcerned by what was actually on the cards. Indeed, he actually asked Balot:

–What sort of cards did you get?

Oeufcoque should have known this for himself, of course, but Balot snarced the full images of the cards directly to Oeufcoque, giving him an accurate facsimile of what she saw.

–I was actually asking for your impression of the cards, your gut reaction. Like what you wrote about the fossils in your personal dictionary.

Balot’s mind went back to the time they were in the café together, way back before the trial.

–The pictures are pretty. I like the black queen. The six of diamonds seems like an accessory for her to wear.

–I want you to tell the Doctor what you’ve just told me.

–Is that all? Anything else?

–If you can think of anything else good to say then go for it, sure.

The Doctor hit, and though it was a close call he was still in the game. It was Balot’s turn.

Balot nudged the Doctor.

–Hey, Uncle? Don’t you think the picture on this card here is really cute?

The Doctor leaned over to inspect the queen in detail, almost as if Balot had drawn the picture on it herself. “I see what you’re talking about. Just your sort of thing, isn’t it?”

–It goes really well with the other card. I’m not sure I want to change it.

“I see. I think you’re right.”

–I thought so.

Then Oeufcoque cued her at exactly the right moment.

–Still—

–Still—I’d like to hit.

The dealer was completely unprepared for this. He hadn’t spent years training for nothing, though, and he was ready with the next card, smooth as ever.

It was a 5. Her total was twenty-one. Was this the something valuable she was getting in return for her patience? The small card that was normally so advantageous to the house had now saved the player.

This was the pattern she had read—it was all coming together. But before she had time to react, Oeufcoque gave Balot her next instructions.

–Look at the pictures and show that you’re unsatisfied with the card you’ve just been given. As if the drawings on the cards are all that matter.