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Beka vs the Port AUthority - Chapter 7
As any experienced space traveler could attest to, there were three things that could be found on any planet or drift occupied by humans, spiders, roaches, and....roulette wheels. From where Trance was standing see couldn't see any of the first two but the third was, if the crowd around it was an indicator, one of the casino's main attractions.
The casino itself was no different from any of the others she had seen in her travels with the Maru. During the days before she and Harper had become an item she had accompanied him to numerous gambling halls and casinos, usually under orders from Beka to keep Harper out of trouble. The lights were bright, the rooms crowded with gamblers, most of them spacers from the ships that were in port, dealers, security guards, and waiters and waitresses offering the gamblers low priced drinks as an incentive to keep them at the tables, and to cloud their judgment. She noticed a pair of crew men from the Sakaemasu and nodded a greeting as she passed them. The air was filled with the sounds of chips being stacked, the roulette ball rattling around the wheel and people cheering or groaning depending on the fortunes of the gamblers, while the scents of, sweat, liquor and perfume assailed her nose. Kelso was at the roulette table, just as Beka had told her he would be, still wearing his spaceport security guard uniform. She clutched her purse with its handful of chips, put on her best confused and helpless look and walked up to the roulette table. It was time for her to go to work.
Trance maneuvered her way through the crowd of gamblers until she was standing adjacent to Kelso. She was wearing a red, form fitting, sleeveless dress with a high color and a slit along the right side of the dress which exposed a generous section of leg as she moved. The dress was heavily embroidered with gold thread in an intricate floral design. Beka had helped her pick it out saying it made her look smaller and emphasized her exoticness. She stood quietly beside him for a while studying the table and allowing him time to become aware of her presence. After a few moments she brought her hip into contact with his. He turned and looked down at her taking in her face and figure.
"I remember you," he said. "You and your friend were in the wrong section of the building and I had to ask you to leave. This has to be your first time here at Donner's. If you'd been here before I would remember you."
"I just arrived in today, off the Eureka Maru," she explained trying to sound just a bit lost and out of her depth. There was no reason to lie about when she had arrived and what ship she was off of. The security cameras in the port administration office had her image, and the name of the ship she was attached to was on the crew manifest Beka had submitted when the Maru had arrived on planet. "This game looks so complicated. All the squares and people putting money down on them. Could you explain to me how I'm supposed to bet?" She reached into her purse and removed a one throne chip piece. The minimum bet allowed.
"Of course," said the off duty security guard undressing her with his eyes as he spoke . "Why don't we try something simple and just bet on if the ball will land on a red or black slot."
"I like red," said Trance. "Lets bet on red then."
Kelso placed the chip on the red square at the side of the table and smiled confidentially as the croupier spun the wheel and dropped the ball. The ball clattered around the wheel and settled on red 23
"We won!" cried Trance as the croupier passed her her the single chip her bet won. She began to jump up and down in excitement, then turned and hugged Kelso, and in the process began to check which pocket held the pass card. "Lets do it again. What else can I bet on?"
A little over an hour later Trance had a small pile of chips in front of her while her companion had a somewhat larger pile. His uniform was thoroughly rumpled by Trance's hugs, and his pass card was now residing securely in her purse.
"I need to use the little girls room" said Trance knowing that by now Beka would be in the room waiting for her to turn over the card. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."
"It took you long enough," grumped Beka when Trance entered the room. She got up from her seat before the makeup mirror. "Do you have any idea how many times I've touched up my lipstick waiting for you? And if I hear one more catty comment about my purse there's going to be blood spilled. Do you have the pass card?"
Trance handed over the rectangular plastic card. "Here it is," she said a worried look on her face. "But be as quick as you can. He keeps telling me we should leave the casino and go to his house and have fun. I don't know what I should to." Her face abruptly brightened the worried look disappearing. "I know," she said. "I'll tell him we should have dinner first and then go back to the games for a while Thats a good idea. Thanks, Beka.
You sure you can handle this?" asked Beka concerned that the girl might be in over her head when it came to dealing with the guard.
Trance bit her lower lip nervously, a small frown crossed her face but quickly disappeared.
"I handled Harper for nearly a year, didn't I?" she asked back, but there was a small trace of doubt in her voice.
"Yes, but..."
Trance interrupted, her tone firmer now, "...that was Harper" she said completing Beka's thought. "Still, I handled him, and we were sharing the same berthing compartment at the time."
For moment both women were silent considering the situation. Beka had just about decided to call off the caper when Trance straightened up, a determined look on her face.
"It's OK, I'll be fine." She paused then continued with all the enthusiasm of a condemned man choosing between the gallows or beheading "How long do you need me to keep him occupied?" "Beka glanced at her watch and thought for a moment "It's 2138 now. Harper said he was going to trigger the spike at 0023. If his assessment of the security system is correct, maybe an hour tops to do the job. Add in some time in case I have to wait for a guard to finish his rounds another twenty minutes to get from the spaceport back to here. So maybe two and a half hours. If I'm not back in three hours I wont be coming back at all."
"What do I do then, Beka?" asked Trance the uncertain look reappearing on her face.
"Go back to the Maru. Harper and I have discussed what to do in this type of situation. We have contingency plans set up." Seeing the worried look on the younger woman's face Beka put her hands on Trance's shoulders and changed to a more reassuring tone of voice. "Don't worry about it, Trance, I'll be fine. The most likely thing that can go wrong is that I won't be able to hack into the system. In which case I'll come back here, you put the card back in Kelso's pocket and we leave on schedule with the Sakaemasu's cargo. Now get out of here before that lecher starts wondering why you're taking so long. I'll be back soon."
"If you say so, Beka," said Trance. "But be careful." Then with one last look in the mirror to make an adjustment to her dress she left the woman's room.
"Ah, there you are," said Kelso as Trance returned to the roulette table. "I was wondering if I had lost my good luck charm. Are you ready to call it a night?"
"Why don't we have dinner first," suggested Trance. "I've been told the food here is really really good and I'm really really hungry."
"Well of course, my sweet. Whatever your heart desires is my command. Let us go to the dining area. He placed his arm around Trance's shoulder and began to steer her towards the dining area. As they walked his hand left her shoulder and moved towards her buttock where it came to rest just below her tail. With an effort of will Trance controlled the shiver of revulsion that threatened to pass through her.
The restaurant was only half full and to Trance's dismay they were quickly seated in the dining facility. Kelso made a production of seating her, using the procedure as an excuse to run his hand down the back of her neck. A bored looking waiter handed her a menu and she buried her nose in it deliberately taking her time choosing her meal.
As Trance studied the menu Kelso began to speak. "My wife doesn't understand a man's needs," he began.
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