Poker? I Barely Know Her (Tahira "Miss Popularity" Solo, Burtton Gustah)

[Shaun Spenser]

He did not need a fancy deck to win at a game of pazaak. To Shaun Spenser, everything was about reading your opponent. Okay, and he also had a wicked stacked deck, most of which he had won in shady backroom dealings just like this one. He did not know anyone in the room, and likewise, yet here he sat, not for the game, but he was undercover, and just happened to also be winning.

Flipping his card over, Shaun produced a six. While the other three players were looking at his total of twenty two, he casually took notice of the man standing in the corner with a bulge coming from the side of his pants. Either he was packing, or he was enjoying having a female in the midst of their company. "Oh....geez....I don't know." Shaun shook his head. One man seemed to be enjoying the fact that Shaun may be out of the game. Nonchalantly, he pulled from his deck a -2 card. "Guess I'll just have to play this! Hah, eat it!" He exclaimed to the brunette sitting across from him. She looked like she was young. Possibly 13 going on 30. ( )

One other man at the table had the lowest score of eighteen. He angrily stood, accused Shaun of cheating and just as he was able to pull a blaster, the man in the corner swiftly put a blaster bolt through his head, and casually returned to his position. Shaun was able to hold his composure, although he felt like screaming for the hills at that exact moment. "Hopefully that guy didn't recently buy any green bananas." Shaun quipped. It was the next guy's turn. The man whom Shaun had been investigating. He was wanted for murder. But now he was more suspecting Speedy McShadypants over in the corner for the spree of killings littering the planetside.

@[member="Tahira Solo"]

 

[Tahira Solo]

@[member="Shaun Spenser"]

A single, chestnut brow lofted at the man's quip, across from her. Well, man might've been a stretch by the way he was acting. Reflexes tensed as her signature in the force flared, ready to react to both gunmen. It was more unnerving how quickly things went back to normal after the shooting. Hand gripped the back of her chair as she remained in the half-standing position, myrtle-ellipses zeroing-in on the shooter.

The guy could be her ticket to the sith master she had been tracking.

Forcing herself to relax and realizing her awkward position, she reluctantly lowered herself back in the chair. She was clearly distracted as the other guy made his turn. He folded and sat back with a soured expression, deciding it was better to live than try to shoot the wise-cracking son of a bantha who seemed to be on an unbelievable winning streak.

A loud and obnoxious throat-clearing sound brought the disguised, jedi-master back to the gaming-table. Strands of chestnut-hair dipped across her face as she tilted her head to look down at the cards. She cast another cautious gaze to the corner.

The man was gone.

Standing hastily, the chair screeched on the floor as it pushed back. Placing her cards face-down, totaling 21, her attention remained on everywhere but the game, searching each dark crevice of the room for that man...

"I fold," the murmur left her frowning lips, as she took a step away from the table.

 

[Shaun Spenser]

Shaun too noticed that the dark corner had become even darker as what seemed like the security detail of the room had just disappeared. And speaking of disappearing, the only other female in the room had folded. She hastily and obviously left the table in search of the armed man. As he watched her go, he couldn't help but think that it was too bad they weren't playing strip pazaak. But then again, he had chosen to go commando that day, so perhaps it was for the best.

His attention returned back to the final opponent at the table. The man he had done all of this just to speak with. "So it's just me and you, Gomer."

"Comber." The man curtly corrected him, not taking his eyes off of his cards. There was a large jackpot on the table, and things had clearly gotten intense. Shaun noticed a bead of sweat forming at his temple, yet it wasn't even warm in the room. The man's leg was also shaking, a nervous tendency in some people.

"Hold on there, Toner." Shaun halted the game. "I have to admit something. Something you should know about me. I am a psychic." His had instinctively raised to the side of his head, "I am sensing that you are under a great deal of pressure. Wait...." His head turned slightly as if he were listening to an invisible voice. "I'm also getting that you are in great need of this jackpot. Am I correct?"

Comber's eyes darted to him, and leaned in closer as he whispered. "I should have you shot here and now for cheating!"

Good, he had his attention. "Woah, easy, look, I'm not even here for the credits. My name is Shaun Spenser. I'm actually here because I was told I could get some information from you. And I'm willing to make a deal. I'm willing to give you this jackpot in exchange for some valuable information."

"If you're psychic, why would you even need my help?" Comber asked cautiously.

"It doesn't work that way. I only sense things when I'm around the person or thing I'm looking for." Shaun smiled. "That's where you come in."

Comber's eyes squinted, but his body language seemed to straighten up. He leaned in closer. "I'm listening."

@[member="Tahira Solo"]

 

[Tahira Solo]

@[member="Shaun Spenser"]

While thoughts of seeing a certain undercover jedi master strip remained at the gaming table, the jedi master of the fantasy continued to peruse the outer edges of the room, spotting the slightest mis-match in the wallpaper near the earlier mentioned, dark-corner. Letting her fingers trail along the wall, she confirmed what she thought it was; a hidden door.

Sparing a glance around the room, she was about 87.3 percent confident no one was watching her. Turning back to the peeling wall-paper, she pressed her palms flat against the surface and pushed. Nothing happened. She tried getting her fingertips around the indentation of the wall and pulling, as if it were a sliding-door. To her bemusement, nothing continued to happen.

Stepping back, she crossed her arms, myrtle-ellipses scanning the wall for some sort of access-panel. She had saved planets, fought against a coven of witches, taken out a star destroyer, battled against the best sith-masters, and teleported across the galaxy using knowledge of the Aing-Ti Monks. She'd be darned in a hidden door was going to stop her from getting to her only lead.