Daily Prompt; The Perfect Game

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/daily-prompt-game/, DP, Daily Post

You’re set to play poker (or Scrabble or something else . . .) with a group of four. Write a story set during this game. Or, describe the ideal match: the players, the relationships — and the hidden rivalries.

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The air was filled with haze. Cigars being lipped and inhaled. Eyes narrowed, all eyes on red and black. The bartender wiping glasses. Girls lined up on the stairs; ready to take your money.

Big Buck walks in through the swinging doors. Eyes raise, brows come together. Everyone hated Big Buck.

He had a reputation of being a low-down dirty dog. Didn’t give a hoot about anyone but himself. Usually everyone took off when they saw him coming he stunk so bad. Scraggly beard, rumor was he didn’t bathe but once a month. Even then I heard it said he took his bath in the pig trough.

Big Buck walked over behind one of the players. Scratching his beard and rubbing his nose, he squinted as he looked at the player’s hand. Slowly he made it past each player, checking out who had what.

Then he saw it. He saw one of the players had a card peeking out from his sleeve.

” Cheater. You all got a cheater playing here. I seen it. He has a card hidden up his sleeve. What ya all gonna do about it? I say kick him out and kick him down.”

The one being accused scooted down in his chair. Pulling his hat down to cover his eyes, the other players stood up. Putting down their cigars one of them walked over to the accused. ” Are you trying to cheat us Morty? Roll up those sleeves and show us that hidden card.”

All but one gal quit bringing in the bait and scurried up the stairs. She wanted a piece of the action.  One by one you could hear the doors slam. The bartender stopped wiping and reached for his gun on the shelf below.

” I said it once and I ain’t a saying it again. Roll those sleeves up. No one here wants to play with a cheater.”

Cheater didn’t say a word, he just pulled his hat farther down and kept quiet. One of the other players got up and snarled, ” Yeah boss, he must be cheating. Look at the coward. He can’t even prove himself. I say let’s get him.”

Everyone took cover as the cheater was picked up by the back of the neck. A punch to the right jaw and then the left. The nose was instantly swelling and blood was dripping but not a word came from  his mouth.

Another player was getting down right pissed at his lack of words and picked up a chair and cold-cocked him right over the head. Down went Cheater,  hit the floor hard. The other players started using their grubby boots and kicked him in the ribs.

The bartender let out a thunder of bullets. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at him. ” Not in my bar, you all get out of here and take that mongrel with you. You gonna fight, take it outside.”

Old, Big Buck let out the biggest god awful sound. He was laughing so hard he started choking on his own spit. ” You fools, you listen to everything. If I told you the chief was coming would you believe it? You all just give me some good entertainment. I was bored and you all filled the bill.” Laughing so hard he didn’t see the chair coming at him.

Knocked him to the ground and started beating him up. Didn’t even bother taking it outside. Just let him have a dose of his own medicine right here and now. By the time the players got done with him blood was everywhere. Chairs were busted. The ladies came down to see what was happening when all got quiet.

” Get out of here you old ornery cuss. We don’t like the likes of your kind here. Don’t you ever show your ass back here again, you hear?”

They drug him to his feet and kicked him all the way to the door. Big Buck staggered outside the saloon. ” I’ll be back, you’ll see. I’ll be back, just you wait and see. You can’t keep me a way. This is a free country.”

The guys turned their back on him and went in to tend to the innocent Cheater, still knocked out cold.