Jackpot

18

Teddy removed his Stone Barrington disguise and made it to the room Dale Gai had mentioned to him with five minutes to spare. Dale quickly pulled Teddy into the room and slammed the door shut behind him. She looked tired, and the right side of her face was red and swollen.

A tea service sat on the table in the far corner of the room, and Dale went to pour a cup.

“Would you like jasmine tea?” she asked Teddy.

“Do you have anything with more of a kick?”

They were interrupted by the sound of the lock on the door electronically disengaging. Teddy tensed and spun toward the door. He made a motion with his hand for Dale to remain quiet. She took a step back and picked the teapot up off the table. Teddy silently moved toward the door as it opened.

Dale had engaged the security bar, so the door could only open so far. Teddy was preparing to slam the door shut when a thin black pole with a hook on the end poked through the opening and disengaged the security bar.

Teddy waited until he saw a foot inside the doorway, then he pulled the door back before smashing it forward into whoever was on the other side.

He heard the pole drop and threw the door all the way open. Ziggy Peng was in a crumpled heap halfway in the hallway and halfway in the room. Teddy picked up the pole with one hand and with his other he dragged Peng into the room by his shirt.

Peng quickly regained his composure and hopped to his feet. Dale threw the teapot at Peng’s head with perfect aim and it exploded in a spray of ceramic and liquid. The commotion gave Teddy enough time to get both hands around the pole and take a swing at Peng’s head.

Two handguns and a rifle were locked away securely and unhelpfully in Stone Barrington’s suite, and he was defending them from the rogue chief of casino security with a metal pole and pieces of a broken teapot.

Peng was still down, clawing at his burning skin when Teddy smacked him again in the head with the pole. Peng finally went still, and Teddy stepped back in relief. He started to turn to check on Dale, but Peng twitched, then jumped to his feet and reached for the pole in Teddy’s hand. Teddy’s instincts and training gave him the advantage, and he spun away from Peng and swung the pole backward over his shoulder. When the pole connected with Peng’s head, Teddy heard an explosion.

A small hole appeared in the middle of Peng’s forehead seconds before he fell backward onto the floor. Teddy turned to see Dale Gai holding an ornate derringer in her hand.

Teddy raised his eyebrows but said nothing... for now. Her aim with the gun and the teapot were better than any mere assistant’s should have been, but there was no time for clarifications on her skill set.

“Is that a clean gun or registered to you?”

“Clean.”

“Do you have any sentimental attachment to it?”

“I was going to wipe it down, then throw it away.”

“That’s my girl.”

“We need to get out of here.”