"Now, now, boys." Raking her chips together, she prepares to make a stylish and almost hasty exit. "Some of us are just lucky, hmm?"
She's not in the habit of calling herself lucky with a straight face unless it's in a situation like this. She has been pretty lucky: the cards here aren't quite the same as she's used to, and she's gotten an unexpected crash course in the differences and similarities in the deck and the game that would throw a casual player for a loop. But she didn't draw Gordon's comparisons to Poker Alice for nothing, thank you, and this is what she enjoys. It's what she does.
What she did.
It started as a low accusation, but by the time she spots Gren again and catches his eye, it's nearing more of a dull roar.
She doesn't see any sign of casino security -- yet, anyway -- but the guy who started everything stands and very deliberately reaches into the long coat he hasn't taken off all night and...
A hand wraps around her wrist and forcibly tugs her away. Chips scatter, a gunshot rings out, and people start shouting and ducking for cover.
"Mister Saxophone!"
It's Gren again, playing the knight in shining armor, and at the same time it's surprising and anything but, and his dark hair flies out behind him as he weaves them down an aisle of shiny slot machines, not even letting on that he's heard her.
"My chips," she can't help mourning, casting a disappointed look back toward the reacting crowd. The three she's clutching so tightly in her hand that they'll leave imprints are all she has left.
Damn it.
When Gren takes a sudden left through the casino, she spies the reason: two well-dressed men -- one with a headset -- who must be security. Gunshots break out again not too far behind them, and it sounds like Mister I-Take-Poker-Too-Personally has friends.
A bullet hits the chandelier over their head, and they both, his hand still grasping her wrist, practically dive out from underneath it, but not before glass shards have a chance to rain down on them. Adrenaline takes over like wildfire. They're only still for a heartbeat or two, but another bullet ricochets off the slot machine behind her, level with her chest and narrowly missing.
"Watch it!" Bitter, she sticks her hand into one of the hip-high slits on her dress to finally draw her gun, and as she's urged along again, she takes a moment to return fire.
In a minute it becomes clear that Gren's angling for a side exit, and she goes from being tugged along and sending a few choice shots back behind them to running alongside him, gun in one hand and chips in the other, and shooting to clear their way out.
The night air has a very slight chill to it, and stepping out into it is almost like surfacing after holding her breath underwater. She needs to reload, but they're not in the clear and don't have the time yet to stop for a second.
Still, she lets out a sudden laugh.
It's about a block away that they duck down an alley and she reloads, and it's a lot more than that before she gets the impression that they've managed to lose anybody who followed them out of the casino. By the time they find their way back to the Serenity, they're breathless and furtive and looking elegantly guilty.
"Now, now, boys." Raking her chips together, she prepares to make a stylish and almost hasty exit. "Some of us are just lucky, hmm?"
She's not in the habit of calling herself lucky with a straight face unless it's in a situation like this. She has been pretty lucky: the cards here aren't quite the same as she's used to, and she's gotten an unexpected crash course in the differences and similarities in the deck and the game that would throw a casual player for a loop. But she didn't draw Gordon's comparisons to Poker Alice for nothing, thank you, and this is what she enjoys. It's what she does.
What she did.
It started as a low accusation, but by the time she spots Gren again and catches his eye, it's nearing more of a dull roar.
She doesn't see any sign of casino security -- yet, anyway -- but the guy who started everything stands and very deliberately reaches into the long coat he hasn't taken off all night and...
A hand wraps around her wrist and forcibly tugs her away. Chips scatter, a gunshot rings out, and people start shouting and ducking for cover.
"Mister Saxophone!"
It's Gren again, playing the knight in shining armor, and at the same time it's surprising and anything but, and his dark hair flies out behind him as he weaves them down an aisle of shiny slot machines, not even letting on that he's heard her.
"My chips," she can't help mourning, casting a disappointed look back toward the reacting crowd. The three she's clutching so tightly in her hand that they'll leave imprints are all she has left.
Damn it.
When Gren takes a sudden left through the casino, she spies the reason: two well-dressed men -- one with a headset -- who must be security. Gunshots break out again not too far behind them, and it sounds like Mister I-Take-Poker-Too-Personally has friends.
A bullet hits the chandelier over their head, and they both, his hand still grasping her wrist, practically dive out from underneath it, but not before glass shards have a chance to rain down on them. Adrenaline takes over like wildfire. They're only still for a heartbeat or two, but another bullet ricochets off the slot machine behind her, level with her chest and narrowly missing.
"Watch it!" Bitter, she sticks her hand into one of the hip-high slits on her dress to finally draw her gun, and as she's urged along again, she takes a moment to return fire.
In a minute it becomes clear that Gren's angling for a side exit, and she goes from being tugged along and sending a few choice shots back behind them to running alongside him, gun in one hand and chips in the other, and shooting to clear their way out.
The night air has a very slight chill to it, and stepping out into it is almost like surfacing after holding her breath underwater. She needs to reload, but they're not in the clear and don't have the time yet to stop for a second.
Still, she lets out a sudden laugh.
It's about a block away that they duck down an alley and she reloads, and it's a lot more than that before she gets the impression that they've managed to lose anybody who followed them out of the casino. By the time they find their way back to the Serenity, they're breathless and furtive and looking elegantly guilty.
And her laughter's proven itself contagious.
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