Titans (Outdated)

Chapter Beta

Chapter Beta

Scott Bell heard the rhythmic ring of a small bell above him as he pushed the door to the coffee house open. He stepped in and looked around the room. He noticed a man sitting at a table reading a newspaper. He looked about nineteen or twenty years old and had brownish hair with streaks of blond. He sipped his coffee and licked his thumb to turn the page.

There was woman, about the same age, sitting at a table by the door. She had shoulder length dark red hair. She was bent over a small notebook, chewing on the eraser of a pencil and deep in thought. She reached for her scone on the table before she was struck with an idea and jotted down an idea, the scone now forgotten. She wrote three lines before her pencil slowed to a stop and she resumed chewing on the eraser.

Seated on the corner of the room closest to the counter, was another woman with long dark black hair. She had long fingerless green gloves and large earphones that covered her entire ear and a small portion of her head. Scott could hear loud rock music through the headphones. Scott quickly noticed she was air drumming to the beat and would rotate her wrist whenever a loud downbeat occurred.

There were several other people standing in the shop but Scott couldn't be bothered with them now. He walked in the room, closing the door behind him hearing the soft ring of the bell once again. He walked through the room towards the counter past all the occupied tables. He walked past the manager who eyed him suspiciously but nodded towards a door marked 'Employees Only.'

The door opened to a small set of stairs leading down into darkness. Scott couldn't see the bottom but knew exactly where he was going and what was at the bottom. Besides, the smell of sweat and cigarette smoke guided him to his location. He reached the bottom of the stairs and turned into a small room with a large round table with a single light above it.

Scott saw three people sitting at the table. The first man was an old friend of Scotts, Michael. His father had recently passed and left him the coffee shop and a large inheritance. Scott and Michael had then used the shop to host underground gambling matches, ranging from cock fighting to card tables. He raised his eyebrows at Scott before looking to the empty seat next to him. Scott walked over to it in two steps and sat in it.

A man, Vincent Carson, who Scott had owed a large sum of money to, occupied the other seat. Scott, unable to pay the money back, offered a double or nothing poker match. Victor, who was an extensive gambler, took him up on the offer. Vincent had only accepted because he knew there was no way he could lose. He sneered at Scott as he sat down.

The third man was a stranger to Scott. He had never seen him before but that wasn't uncommon. Michael likes to invite people to these events as to make more money for himself. Scott didn't mind at all but he felt there was something unique about this stranger.

He looked mysterious. His long dark hair covering his dark gray eyes. He had been watching Scott since he walked in the room, sizing him up. Scott quickly sized him up as well, something he always did before a game with an unknown. He was shorter than Scott but not by much. He had a nice jacket and an expensive looking engagement band that Scott figured meant he was pretty wealthy. Scott nodded at him, which the man returned.

"We going to play cards or sit around and talk about our feelings?" Vincent asked impatient. Michael didn't waste any time and grabbed the deck of cards.

"Game is blackjack," He said dealing two cards to each player, one facing up while the other faced down. "I assume we all know how to play. Closest one to 21 with out going over wins."

"Yeah yeah yeah, just deal," Vincent said. Michael quickly dealt the cards around the table. Scott grabbed his cards and pulled them close. He noticed he had a four of diamonds for his top card. He peeled up the corner of the other card and noted that there was an ace of clubs. He slowly lowered the card and hid his emotions, not letting the rest of the table realize his fortune.