"I'm in. "Me too" "Fold" "Too rich for my blood"
Other similar statements are issued around the table.
10 men and women sit in a well lit, clean room, the only scent permeating the air is delivered through an incense burner on the far wall. A painting of a pregnant woman adorn's one wall, highlighting the electric fireplace.
"Well?" rumbles one man and ten pairs of eyes turn to the lone child in the room.
"Not. Gonna. PLAY!" he yells at the adults around him.
The man stands up and grabs the child off the floor, placing him in the center of the table, "I gave you a chance little one." he says, with a voice like stones being ground to dust.
"What a cute little child, my girls will love having an older brother." A woman coos as she tickles the bottom of his feet.
Quick as a snake, the child lashes out, kicking the womans hand away and missing her nose by a handsbreadth.
"You little bitch! I'll show you some respect!" She reaches out and slaps the boy hard enough to make his head snap.
"You fold." The gravel box rumbles. The woman's mouth drops open, "But he hit me!" The man shook his head, "And why does that give you the right to hit him back? You fold."
Glaring, the woman throws down her cards. As she reaches for the money on the table, the man reaches out and grabs her hand in a firm grip. She opens her mouth to argue, but shut's it quickly at the look in his eye. Grabbing her personal effects, she leaves the room.
After the door closes with a boom, the man looks around for a moment, daring anyone else to try him, then sit's back down to resume the game.
"Last hand of the night." The man announces.
At that statement two more people fold and leave quietly. The only remaining are the man with the gravelly voice, a woman who has spent too much time in a jewelry store, and two more men, one of which could have called the police at a moment's notice to shut this little game down. The commissioner looked at his cards one more time before pushing everything he had into the pot. "I'm all in," he announces, seemingly pleased with himself
"How much?" The other man asks.
"$12 mil."
The remainging lady ponder's for a moment, then looks at her winnings and at her cards. Without a word she removes all her jewelry and pushes it in with her money as well.
"Also all in for 12."
The 3rd man, without thinking about it, pushes most of his winnings in. "Call"
Finally, the host's turn is here, he also pushes in $12 million. "Call"
The Commissioner lays his hand out: Ace, Ace, Queen, Queen, Queen. "Full House, queen high"
The woman throws her hand down in disgust but doesn't leave, her curiosity getting the best of her.
The third man lays his hand out: 4 Jacks. "Four of a kind, Jacks."
The commissioner grumbles something about cheaters.
Finally the host, who lays his hand out: 6,7,8,9,10 of hearts. "Straight flush 10 high."
The commissioner turn's red faced. "You f***ing cheated!" He exclaims and reaches into his jacket. The room explodes into chaos.
Quick as a thought, the child lashes out with his barefoot again, this time hitting what he aimed for, the Commissioner's throat. As the commissioner stagger's back, gasping for breath through a crushed larynx, the third man stands up, pulling a gun out of a shoulder holster just as the woman pulls one from her purse. Instead of aiming at the host as she does, the man turns his gun on the woman and open's fire, splattering blood and gray matter over the now gurgling commissioner.
The door open's and in walks the woman who slapped the boy. "Well, now didn't that become quite the messy performance."
The boy sticks his tongue at the woman. "It's not my fault the man was stupid mom." He looks over at the host. "Did I do good?"
The man smiles, his voice getting lighter and less rough, "You did excellent son." Looking over at his brother. "Well?"
"Not quite the way I would have done it, but effective nevertheless." He responds, "Now let's get the hell out of here."
