Jack Stratton: Jacks Are Wild Part 41

Replacement held up her cup and winked at Kiku.

"She's old enough." Kiku picked up her cards, and her smile vanished when she looked at them.

She can't be that obvious.

Replacement huffed.

She can. What a poker face.

Jack kept the slightest smirk on his face.

"Ante is two cents. Max bet is a dime raise, or it'll be a fast game." Kiku wiggled her eyebrows.

Jennifer tossed her cards down. "Fold." She looked over at Jack. "Is there any chance you're wrong?"

Jack shook his head. "No."

Jennifer turned her hands flat on the table and looked at the ceiling. "Why would Walter do it? Money?"

"Money makes people switch loyalties." Kiku tossed in a nickel. "Raise."

Jack tossed in a nickel. "It's more. Prescott spent years trying to catch these guys. He's about to retire. It was his whole life's work and not one conviction stuck. That can drive you over the edge."

"I think it's for revenge." Replacement rolled a nickel in.

"For what?" Jennifer downed her shot.

"One of the Mancinis put his first partner in a wheelchair," Replacement said.

"That has to be it," Kiku added.

Jennifer muttered, "Karl Weaver."

"That was his partner," Replacement pointed out.

"He's dead. He died last year. They had a ceremony for him at the Bureau. They dedicated some conference room to him." Jennifer searched their faces. "Walter wants revenge."

Jack cracked his neck. "Now we know why."

"I wonder who else is involved?" Jack tapped his cards and tossed in a nickel.

"Have you ever kidnapped anyone?" Replacement asked Kiku.

She nodded, but didn't look up from her cards.

"How many people did you bring?" Replacement tossed in a dime.

"She goes first." Jennifer pointed at Kiku.

Replacement rolled her eyes and took the dime out.

"Four." Kiku threw her dime in. "Not including me."

Replacement looked at Jennifer as she tossed her dime back in. "Is that typical?" She looked around the table.

Jack thought for a second. "I was guessing four, not including Walter." He tossed his dime in. "Two guys grabbed her. Paolo kills one. Three guys at the apartment, though...and I wouldn't figure they'd leave Marisa alone. I'm thinking there were five, and there are four now."

"How do you get three guys at the apartment?" Jennifer asked. "I thought it was only two."

"Two shooters," Jack explained. "They split so fast they had to have a driver waiting."

Kiku nodded. "They did."

"So it might be four guys and Walter." Jennifer exhaled and looked at the ceiling. "I started to think you weren't crazy, Jack, but now I'm not sure. It sounds like you're planning on taking them all on by yourself."

Kiku tossed out another dime.

Replacement's dime landed at almost the same time.

Jack grinned and tossed his dime in.

Kiku frowned. She flipped her cards over, and Jack laughed.

"A pair of nines? And you said I shouldn't play poker." He turned over his three queens. "Come to Daddy." He reached out for the pot, and Replacement swatted his hand.

"Read 'em and weep." Replacement put down her cards and clapped her hands together. "Full house." She fanned her cards out. Black aces and eights with a jack of hearts. "Jacks are wild, right?" She giggled. "I bet it means you'll be lucky tomorrow, Jack." She held up the jack of hearts. "See? That's you."

Kiku looked at Jack but didn't say anything. She didn't have to. Jack knew the cards-it was the dead man's hand.

Face-sucking vampire They played poker for another two hours. Jack cut everyone off at one shot, but the damage was done to Replacement. She made a huge deal out of every round and bet wildly, but she only won the first hand. Jack was sure Kiku even tried to throw a few her way, and so did he, but she still ended up losing-badly.

Suddenly, she got up and stumbled. "Jack, I just thought of something. I need to talk to you...privately."

"I think it's time for bed, kid."

She shook her head, took him by the hand, and headed for the bathroom. He had to steady her twice, afraid she was about to take a header into the wall.

Jack shut the door, and she leaned heavily against the sink. "I'm not second-guessing you...because you're always right." She slurred a few of her words. "But, shouldn't you call for backup?" She wrinkled her nose.

He smiled. She was even cuter when she was a little tipsy. "I have it covered. We'll get the proof, and then I'll call backup. Okay?"

"On cop shows they always call for backup before they go in." She waved her finger.

"If I call anyone, they're going to arrest me."

Replacement frowned and looked at the floor.

Jack lifted her chin and smiled. "Trust me."

She looked up at him and started to grin, but then her eyes zeroed in on him. Her hand shot out, grabbed his head, and tilted it to the side. "What's that?" She snapped as she peered at his cheek.

No...

"Uh...paint?"

Replacement's eyes blazed. She was clearly ripped with him. "Red black cherry lipstick?"

d.a.m.n.

"It was Kiku?"

"No..."

Replacement yanked open the door. Jack tried to block the opening but she ducked under his arm.

"Seriously?" she yelled as she charged into the room, her anger overriding the alcohol.

Kiku jumped up from her chair.

"Listen, you little face-sucking vampire. Keep your stinking hands and lips off my guy." She stuck her finger right in Kiku's face.

Kiku didn't blink. She nodded slightly. "My apologies. I did kiss Jack on the cheek and I'm sorry it has upset you."

The formal apology seemed to bring Replacement up short. She scratched her head and looked back and forth between Kiku and Jack.

It's like she's playing eeny, meeny, miny , d.a.m.n it, I'm moe.

Replacement stopped to glare at Jack. "It's his fault. He does that to you. Gets you all-" She moved her hands rapidly in front of herself. Her head swung back to eye Kiku suspiciously. "On the cheek? Nothing else?"

"Nothing. But again, Alice, you are right. It was his fault, but I apologize to you." Kiku winked quickly at Jack when Replacement looked away.

He rolled his eyes and mouthed, "thanks."

Jennifer walked over to Replacement. "Why don't you and I take the first s.h.i.+ft?"

"Yeah." Replacement snarled at Jack. "We'll take the first s.h.i.+ft."

Jennifer smiled and led her over to the bed. Replacement looked at her, confused.

"That means that we sleep first." Jennifer helped Replacement lay down and pulled the blanket over her.

Replacement nodded and wrapped herself up in the blanket. She huffed once or twice but slowly the alcohol began to win the war again. She was asleep in minutes Kiku headed over to the couch and whispered, "If no one has an objection, I need some sleep, too."

Jack looked at her and noticed the circles under her eyes. He nodded and moved over to the chair.

"I got first watch." Jack picked up the deck and shuffled.

He dealt out a game of solitaire, but before he started, Jennifer propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him. Jack nodded over to the chair, and she slipped out of bed.

"You wanna play?" he asked, but she shook her head as she sat down.

"What're we going to do?" Her forehead creased with worry.

She has a job and she needs to keep it.

"I planted a GPS device on Walter's car. I have an idea to get him to take us to Marisa, but it has to wait until the Mancinis get a call."

"What if they don't call?"

Then Marisa's dead.

"They'll call. Then we'll follow Walter. Once we get our proof, we call for backup."

Jennifer inhaled deeply. "There are a lot of loose ends."

Jack sat back. "It's all I got. You can write up that I came to you with the information on Walter."

"Your career is done then."

"It's done anyway. That email killed me."

"She wrote it?" Jennifer pointed at Replacement sleeping.

Jack nodded and smiled.

"You're pretty laid-back considering she cost you your job."

Jack shrugged. "Collins could use anything. It's my att.i.tude that cost me my job."

"You can't follow the rules?"

He shook his head. "I follow rules fine until I don't anymore. I'd rather be wrong and look stupid than do nothing and have someone get hurt." Jack looked down at the cards. "I remember I heard this story when I was in the Academy. Some guy took this little kid from a shopping mall. All these people saw it, but no one stepped up and confronted the guy. The kid was calling for help, but no one did anything. Officers interviewed them afterward and they all said they didn't want to get embarra.s.sed if they were wrong, and maybe it was just the kid throwing a temper tantrum."

"This isn't about getting embarra.s.sed. Now it's not even about your job. You could get killed, Jack."

He shrugged. "None of us make it out of here alive. Besides, there are worse things than dying."

"Like what?" Jennifer sat back in the chair.

"That guy killed the little kid. Before the kid went through h.e.l.l, he begged for help, and everyone turned his back on him. I'd rather die than live with myself if I did nothing."

"Would you trade your life for hers?"

"I don't think the Reaper offers deals." Jack smirked and tapped the deck of cards on the table. "But if he did, it would be a fool's bargain, trading me for Marisa."

Jennifer's lips pressed together in a thin smile. "I trust you, Jack." She patted his shoulder and got up. "I didn't expect you to back down."

She walked back over and slipped into bed as Jack started his game.