Mardock Scramble полностью

Balot didn’t even leave a hair’s breadth before calling out her move. The dealer’s reaction was delayed again. As if he were doing everything he could to force himself not to ask her to repeat herself because he hadn’t caught it the first time.

The card came. A 6 on top of her thirteen. The suit was diamonds.

The dealer was staring intently at Balot, trying to work out what was going through her mind.

–Just as I thought, Uncle!

That was all she had to say.

The Doctor didn’t even seem to be paying attention to Balot’s cards at this point; he was, by all appearances, focused intently on his own game. As a result of this further misdirection, the dealer had even less to go on.

Now Balot would take plenty of time to mull over her next hand before choosing to stay, and the dealer would flip over his hidden card with relief, as if he had finally been permitted his turn. Both his hidden card and his upcard were face cards, and the dealer won that hand. Furthermore, both his cards were clubs.

“So close, madamoiselle, my commiserations.”

–Oh, not to worry. My suit just took a little wander over your way, that’s all. They’ll be back in my hand before long, and in greater numbers too.

Sure enough, that was exactly what happened in the next hand. Not that Balot had any way of planning it exactly like that, of course, but when the 2 of clubs appeared in her hand along with the ace of spades, Balot smiled as if to show her theory had been proven right. The dealer nodded in surprise but then seemed to accept her theory that clubs were just “her” suit, and appeared to relax a little. Balot decided to throw him off the scent further. She didn’t even have to wait for an instruction from Oeufcoque.

–Then again, looking at this hand it seems that it’s spades that are coming to my rescue.

Balot said this out loud, deliberately, as the Doctor hesitated over his choice. Then, when it was her turn,

–Sorry to mess you around, clubs, but I think I’m going to have to hit after all.

She drew a face card—clubs.

–As I thought—you did come to my rescue, after all.

She hit again, still speaking apparently to herself. This time she received a 5. Hearts.

–Ah, finally! Thanks for dropping by.

Still prattling inanely to herself, she chose to stay.

–I’ve always bet on hearts, all along, but I think that this heart is particularly worth betting on.

“Well, there’s a stroke of luck for you,” said the Doctor, ever the Doctor, as he stared intently at the dealer’s upcard.

The dealer had a 5 and 7. He drew a picture card and bust.

“You know, you’re exceptionally gifted at predicting the cards. Your uncle never would have guessed that one, you know,” continued the Doctor.

–Yeah. The spade seemed to want to stick his oar in, but the heart went well with the club, so I thought it was worth betting on them to see if it would work out.

“Hmm, I see. You’re having a conversation with the cards, you could say? Talking to them?”

The dealer handed over her winnings with an expression that seemed to suggest that he’d rather Balot kept her conversation for people and let the cards sort themselves out.

The game progressed along similar lines for another few hands, and then Balot had a jack and 10 appear in front of her.

Balot now put on a triumphant air, pointing at her cards.

–I was waiting for these! See! I knew my clubs would come crawling back to me before too long. A little too late, though, don’t you think, Uncle? I don’t really need them anymore.

The Doctor just nodded, somewhat carelessly.

Balot was the only one to win that hand.

She received her winnings but pushed them over to one side, apparently uninterested by the chips—bored by them, almost.

She could almost hear the dealer’s state of confusion cranking up a notch.