Brent comes walking through the door carrying a large bag of groceries. He glances at me and grimaces.

“For someone who has a body like yours, you sure do eat a lot,” he says.

“Only a few more days and I will be out of your hair. The money should be available today, and the last card game is tomorrow,” I say.

“Thank God it will all be over. It is a real pain in the ass. And I feel uncomfortable with that car sitting outside all the time.” Brent replies.

I hold out my hand to Brent. He nervously holds his hand out to me. I drop some notes into his grasp. “I told you I would have some cash for you,” I say.

“There is a thousand here, that is way too much.”

“Don’t worry about it, I still have some spare,” I say.

“You had this added to your debt?”

“No, you won’t believe what Mikey had me do yesterday,” I say, now grinning.

“I will believe it if you are concerned,” Brent replies, laughing.

I sit at the table. “Well, one of the Russian’s brought his wife, and she wanted me,” I say.

“You had to fuck a Russian mobster’s wife?”

“No, she gave me an incredible blowjob, and I had to eat out her pussy,” I explain.

“And she gave you cash for that?”

I shrug my shoulders. “She gave me three-grand.”

“She must have been ugly and hairy,” Brent adds.

I shake my head. “Nowhere near, she was actually rather stunning,” I reply.

“I don’t know how you manage to do it, even when you are covered in crap, you come up smelling of flowers.”

“Either you have it, or you don’t have it,” I reply. I make a mock movie star pose.

“Well you certainly have it,” Brent says.

“Did you find out who the dealer is for the last night?” I ask.

“Damn, you spoiled my surprise. I did.”

“Come on. Tell me who it is.”

“It is none other than Jenny,” Brent says.

“Jenny for the last game?” I ask.

“I know, it seems stupid, but this is no ordinary game,” Brent says.

“Did you mention about changing places with her?”

“She will, but she wants a fair chunk of change to do it.”

“How much?” I ask.

“Five-grand to change, and fifty if you win,” Brent replies.

“She has us over a barrel, tell her it is a deal,” I say.

“So, you are serious about this, huh?”

I nod. “Of course I’m serious, if we pull this off, we can all walk away,” I say, holding onto a breath.

Brent walks away and starts putting the groceries into the cupboards. “I don’t know how you manage to come up with these ideas, but you always seem to be able to pull them off.”

“Balls. That is what it takes. Huge balls to try it.” I grin. I miss Brooke but I have to stay focused.

“Now all you have to do is somehow find a player who can fill one of the spots,” Brent says.

“Not just that, I have to get the money first,” I reply.

“I am sure Mikey is going to want to get his hands on it straight away, even before you have finished.”

“I will have to tell him there is a delay, he owes me an extra twelve hours,” I explain.

“I will leave everything up to you. I will just concentrate on Jenny,” Brent says.

“You know… I feel like getting out of here for an hour or two.”

“How the hell are you going to do that with the car outside?” Brent asks.

“What time are you going to work?” I ask.

“I start at two,” Brent says.

“How do you feel about having a relaxing morning at home?” I smile at him, hoping he’s keen.

“Geez, you want to go out dressed like me?” Brent says.

“Sure, as long as I get into the car quickly, he will never notice.”

“You have done it again, how can I say no,” Brent answers.

“You’re a good friend, you do know that?”

“I am fucking gullible and stupid more like,” Brent replies.

“I just need some of your clothes… work clothes,” I say.

“Help yourself, I have a clean uniform in my closet.” Brent dials his work number to call in sick.

I change into one of Brent’s uniforms and grab hold of his car keys. I peek through the window to see where Mikey’s guy is sitting.

I open the door and walk to the car with my head down. I quickly slip inside and pull out of the parking lot. I see in the rear-view. The car has not moved, they guy must think I am still inside.

Now, where shall I go?

It’s still too early for any contact with Shona, and her number is on my dead cell phone that is sitting on Mikey’s desk. I can’t actually go to The Real Deal; that would be nice, but I owe a few grand to the boss there.

I drive around. No real destination, my mind is full of thoughts about the games… and of Brooke. How will it all end?

I head back to Brent’s apartment. For some reason, I no longer want to be outside. I prefer the comfort and solitude of his place.

“What are you doing back so soon?” Brent asks.

“I couldn’t think of anywhere to go,” I reply. “All the places I know are to do with poker, and if I get recognized, Mikey is going to hammer both my hands for sure,” I explain. I go to sit on the couch.

“Hey, take my uniform off first, it’s a real bitch to iron,” Brent says.

I remove his uniform and fold it neatly. “Are you satisfied,” I ask sarcastically.

“Yeah, I might wear that one tomorrow,” he says frowning, knowing he lost a shift. “You do remember all the signals between us, don’t you?” Brent asks.

“Off course, they are burned into me,” I reply.

“Good, I don’t want to be waving my hand at you to get your attention while I am dealing,” Brent says.

“Don’t worry about that, that’s not a problem,” I say.

Brent looks at me from the table as he plays with a pack of cards. He cuts the pack in two and holds one to face me.

“Ace of clubs,” he says.

“Wrong.”

Brent flicks the card. “Ace of clubs,” he says.

“Correct,” I say.

“See, that is something you can’t do,” he says smiling.

“You should have been a magician,” I reply.

“Hell no, everyone always watches to see how you do it. I prefer to do it, so no one knows I am doing it.”

“Just make sure you can do it the day after tomorrow,” I reply.

“If the worst comes to the worst, and we have no player,” Brent says, “we are going to have to cheat our asses off.”

“I had already thought about that, but one whiff of cheating and the Russians will not be happy at all,” I reply.

“You better think of something fast, you have only until tomorrow lunchtime to sort it all out,” Brent says.

“Don’t keep reminding me,” I say, “I just need my cell phone.”

“Swap it with another,” Brent says.

“I don’t have another the same.”

“Yes, you do,” he says.

“Where?” I ask.

Brent holds his phone up. “Remember you got them in that two for one sale.”

“Fuck me, I forgot all about that,” I reply.

“I have my old one, I only have to change the sim,” Brent replies.

“Do it now, I will ask this guy outside to take me to the warehouse.” I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner.

Brent removes his sim card from his phone. I take it and slip it into my pant pocket. “You just need an excuse for going so early,” Brent says.

“That’s easy, I am going to take some clean clothes and better deodorant,” I reply.

I put some clothes into a carrier bag. I head to the door. “Wish me luck,” I say.

“You don’t fucken need it, you were born lucky,” Brent says. “Well, most of the time.”

“I can give a few hundred thousand reasons why I am not lucky.”

“I don’t have time, I have to get to work. A new shift just came up,” Brent says.

I walk across the parking lot. I see the guy fold his newspaper as he looks at me. I stand at the side of his car and knock on the window.

“What do you want?” he asks.

“Take me to Mikey’s.”

“I’m not a freakin’ taxi service,” he replies.

“You will only follow me, so you may as well take me,” I say plainly.

“Fucking freeloader.” He rolls his eyes. “You better get in.”

The driver makes his way to the “office.” This is the first real step that I have in putting an idiotic plan together. I just hope Mikey is not there.

“Sometimes it is better to have no plan, than a plan that has flaws.”