Raiden's Last Hand Part I

Max Payne walked groggily out from his hotel into the local bar, the Hero’s Tavern. It was almost six in the morning, but still too early to see well, yet not late enough for him to recover from last night’s party. He was fighting one of the worst hangovers in a while. Max hoped that his adrenaline would kick in soon and it would his sense would come back alive. It did, most of the time. He’s gone days without any sleep, and go from drinking to dodging bullets in less time to reload a pump-action shotgun.

Tommy Vercetti, the infamous gangster, had stopped by Max’s room earlier to let him know that there was a going to be a high-stake poker game at the Hero’s Tavern in an hour. Today, either Snake or Raiden would be gone, well that was the polite way of putting it. Even Raiden had despairing thoughts of his chances. Raiden will be gone the next day. That’s what their whole group believed, hence he had everything to lose, not reason to hold back. Raiden had called the group earlier for one last poker game, either for Snake or himself. Tommy didn’t know why he wanted one. Maybe it was a way to show himself off, or maybe he was just really bored, like many of the other competitors waiting for their next round match. Who knew? Who cared? All Tommy and Max cared about was the huge pot there was going to be and they weren’t just going to miss out on it.

The Hero’s Tavern loomed in front of Max. He rubbed his eyes and pushed the wooden doors open. Vercetti was already there, waiting for the rest of the party to arrive. Tommy gave him a quick nod as he walked past him. Solid Snake was already at the table shuffling the deck, while Raiden sat at one of the chairs, looking back and forth. Definitely nervous. Payne wondered if he could even put on a poker face after last night.

“Are we ready to go?” Max asked, still trying to pull himself together.

Solid Snake shook his head. “The Chief is coming.”

“Ah, alright.” Max gave a quick nod, and signaled for the bartender. Max mumbled for something that would wake him up. In a few minutes, the bartender came over with an interesting concoction. It was a mix of caffeine, Panax ginseng, raw eggs, vodka, and raw eggs. After his lungs stopped burning, he had to admit that it did the trick. It really got him wondering where the hell did something like that get into the bar scene. From afar, Vercetti was smirking at him.

Max though, “Sure…just let him think I’m still half asleep, probably why he invited me.”

The knotty willow doors rocked open again. The four turned to look, seeing the Chief marching into the room. It was the first time since the tournament that he was wearing his full armor. He scooted a chair from a couple of tables down. He took his spot and acknowledged the other players.

Snake broke the eerie silence. “Good, we’re all here now. Table stake, no limit, dealer’s choice. Any man cheating will be shot, any man bluffing will be called, and any many who’s not prepared to lose it all may leave now.”

Raiden flinched at those words, but the rest kept their cool. Tommy could feel his heart speed up, but with his tricks and shenanigans, he easily kept his expressionless face. The five of them tossed in their antes. This is going to be good.

It was Snake’s deal first. He looked over at Vercetti as he pulled out his SOCOM pistol and pointed it at the deck he had been shuffling earlier. Moments later, he shrugged and put his SOCOM away.

“We’ll count the cards after we’re finished. Five card draw, no wilds.” Snake said coolly.

As he began to deal out his cards, Tommy began to slowly lean back.

“Something wrong, Tommy?”

“No no, not at all.”

Snake pulled out his SOCOM and poked Tommy’s pocket. “What do we have there?”

Tommy shrugged and mumbled out his words, “Just in case we needed a spare.”

Solid Snake nodded and kept dealing. Unless Tommy had blown a whole in his deck with the same SOCOM that he had, he had not doubts that he could tell the difference. The other four wanted a fair game. He hoped that that conversation served a fair warning to the rest of the players.

Snake finished his deal, and picked up his cards. Two tens and rubbish. He began to do the math and weigh his option. The Chief had first bet.

It was only the first round and Master Chief was already doing well. Two aces, a ten, a jack, and a queen. A chance for an inside straight. Cortana, the Chief’s built in AI, whispered softly so the other players wouldn’t hear her.

“I wouldn’t bet on getting that inside straight. It’s much better to keep the aces.”

Master Chief grunted in acknowledgment. The hours he had played with the crew back in Halo had given him plenty of experience to figure that one out. Cortana’s advice occasionally came in handy, but poker was still dominated by the human element.

“I’ll open with twenty.”

Max reached for a couple of chips and tossed it into the pot. “I’ll see that.”

Raiden nervously counted his chips. “I’ll raise you another twenty.”

Tommy raised one eyebrow, but quickly matched the bet. Snake and Master Chief followed right after. There was no way he had something good already. It was back to Max and he finished the round.

“Three cards,” Master Chief breathed out from his helmet, slowly sliding three cards to Snake. Three cards slid right back. His aces found another brother, along with a five and a jack. All the other players requested three cards, even Raiden. Master Chief smiled behind his dark green helmet.

“I’ll bet another 75.”

Max tossed his cards onto the table. “I’m outtie.”

Chief stared right into Raiden’s eyes. “Feel like losing today?”

Raiden called his bet. The Chief doubted he’d be any kind of threat; even his face was showing signs out doubt.

Vercetti folded and Snake matched the seventy-five.

Master Chief flipped his cards over. “Three aces.”

Solid Snake nodded his head, “Queens and tens.”

The four looked back at Raiden. Finally, he tossed his cards into the middle. “A pair of jacks?” Raiden said softly.

The four laughed as Chief scooped his winnings in. “Nice try kid.”