Chapter 12

The two had battled for twenty minutes now, exchanging small amounts of chips back and forth, neither one of them wanting to gamble too much. The Sheriff was the chip leader, but Doc was whittling away a little bit.

Neither of them knew that the other had cut a deal with the Ambassador. Neither of them had the initial $100,000 to get into the game, so they were staked by the Ambassador with a caveat; if either won, they would get to keep the winning, $200,000, but, they would turn over rights to deflower the girl to him. But, they had to keep their mouths shut, and both of them had plenty of experience doing just that.

Miss Ellie, who was seated next to the Ambassador, looked on with growing interest. This poker tournament coincided with her weekly visit by the Sheriff. She looked forward to having him for dinner tonight, and she smiled at her little pun. She saw the Ambassador turn towards her, and she blushed, wondering if he was reading her thoughts.

“The sheriff ... he’s a good man.” It wasn’t a question aimed at her, more of an observation. She replied anyway.

“Yes, he certainly is. A good man is hard to find.”

“Indeed. And a hard man...” He let the rest of it trail off, smiling.

She blushed again.

“He’d make someone a nice husband, I think. Even more so when he wins.”

Miss Ellie looked a little more sharply at her boss.

“You didn’t...”

“I didn’t do a thing, Ellen. But watch. The Sheriff is setting a trap, making himself seem unsure.”

Miss Ellie returned her gaze to the game, and the large flatscreen above, where the cards were easily seen. Over the next few hands, Doc Tails became more aggressive, winning some hands and now the chips were almost even, Doc just a couple hundred behind, which was nothing when there were $800,000 worth of chips in play.

A new hand was dealt and Doc looked at his cards. An ace of clubs and a four of diamonds. He made his bet. The flop produced a two of hearts, four of hearts, and an ace of hearts. That gave Doc two pairs on the flop. He looked up at Sheriff Don as he made a fairly large bet, half his stack. The Sheriff pondered for a few seconds and then called. Doc was thrilled ... he had the Sheriff on the run now, and could possibly put him down this hand. That would gain him not only two hundred grand, but score him a big favor with the boss.

The next card was an ace of spades. Doc almost pissed himself. He had a full house! Even if the Sheriff drew into a flush, which would normally be a great hand, he had him beat.

“All in.”

Sheriff Don looked over at his buddy and just shook his head.

“Call.”

Doc launched himself up in his wheelchair and flipped over his cards triumphantly, showing all present that he was King of the World with an Aces-up full boat.

Sheriff Don just looked at the flipped cards. He knew his friend wasn’t gloating in a mean way, just in the competitive way that friends get with each other.