Back to the Casino

Eva watched the elevator doors open on Shuuz' overly hot and far too brightly lit outer office. He kept his personal office, and Eva assumed his personal quarters though she had no first hand knowledge, at nearly 100 degrees to keep his circulation up and his body temperature closer to his home world's norm. This made most beings and especially warm-blooded creatures extremely uncomfortable, which was another benefit as far as Shuuz was concerned.

Eva stepped out of the elevator into a stark grey tiled room, which was decorated solely with the heads or skins of numerous monstrous creatures from across the cosmos. It was improbable that Shuuz had killed all of these creatures himself but he had doubtless ordered the demise of many more than this assortment represented. The walls and floor of the office emanated heat and the overhead lights were tuned to mimic the desert sun of Shuuz' home world in both hue and intensity. Eva took long strides across the room to a stone door set opposite the elevator, she reached for the handle and was relieved to find it unlocked. Shuuz seldom skipped an opportunity for drama and could have drug out her misery with more of his yapping. She was already disgusted with herself for having to come to this place and speak to this creature, and his need for pointless gloating was a very large factor in her hesitance to come and see him in the first place. That and the smell.

The minute that she opened the door the savage smell that always surrounded Gepos Shuuz hit her like a force field at three quarter light speed. It was a mixture of decaying vegetable matter and rotting skin all overlaid with a sharp musk which must have been attractive to Gepos' species, either that or he smelled horrible to them too and he was hiding out on this planet because they couldn't bear to be around him either. Eva pushed the door open to reveal another room slightly larger than the outer office but with the same stone floor and walls. In the center of the room there was a desk that seemed to be carved directly from the same material as the walls and floor. Rising behind this was a sort of twelve-foot high basking stone with irregular steps that allowed Shuuz to recline closer to his artificial sun's heat. Shuuz was sprawled out on it in obvious contempt for the woman who had just recycled two of his guards. Gepos Shuuz was a slender reptilian creature with six arm-like appendages and a short, stubby tail. The smell of rotting flesh was caused by his body sloughing off old skin, which hung in wrinkled sheets from random parts of his face and body. Instead of couches there were lower rock formations, like a miniature mountain range sweeping out to the left of Shuuz' plinth, on this range were sprawled two of Shuuz' siblings. They were almost identical to Shuuz except that their tails were nearly as long as their bodies.

Eva calmly walked over to the lone stone couch set in front of Shuuz desk and slouched into it. Shuuz did not bother to slither to his desk; he preferred to look down from his raised stone and always enjoyed having beings look up to him. He filled his air sack and was about speak when Eva interrupted him.

"So, Stumpy, long time, huh?" said Eva.

Shuuz visibly bristled at the reference to his tail, "Yes, Eva, it has been a while. I almost didn't recognize you from the front. It seems all my memories are of you running away."

"Ah you know the deal, Stumpy; some times you just gotta high-tail it out of there." Smirked Eva as she examined her fingernails.

"Well I assume that you are here for more than to gloat over your questionable 'luck' at our last meeting. Get to it Eva, before you try my patience any further."

"'Luck'? Ha! I won that tail fair and square and you know it. Stop being so sore about it. Why, looks like in a couple of decades or so you'll have another one back there worth winning."

"You know that there is nothing 'square' about my tables!" Shuuz hissed. "You cheated me and barely escaped with your thin skin attached. What makes you think I won't add it to my wall now?"

"I got a deal for ya, Stumpy. Something that I know you'll love."

"Unless it's your head on my wall I’m not interested. I have everything on this planet that I could possibly want."

"Oh it's a trophy alright and one that I know you have been missing for a few years..."

"You wouldn't DARE!"

"'Course I still got your tail, Shuuz. I wouldn't let something like that go. Not unless I got a really good offer anyway..."

Shuuz was becoming angrier by the moment. He had abandoned his perch and was crawling down the stone face towards Eva, crouched as though he was preparing to strike. She knew that it wasn't his style, and he knew that it would probably be the last hunt he ever attempted.

"Soooo," Eva continued, "I was thinking about a little wager. I need a good fight and some creds to get off this stinking rock, and you need ever bit of help you can get in the looks department."

"A fight! You have come back here to compete? After all your talk of being done with this life and your need for freedom, you have come back to the only thing that you were ever good for: killing in the pit."

"Eh, girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, Stumpy. Besides I missed your wretched stench and wanted some action. Something a little more entertaining than your goon squad, or was that the best that you can offer?"

Shuuz tasted the air casually, all business now. "What class were you looking for, Eva? Blowfly? Light middle? You don’t look as sprightly as I remember you."

"Unlimited," said Eva flatly.

His eyes lit with anticipation and mild surprise, "Well now, that is the Eva that I remember. Always looking to end her life in some foolish way or another."

"I figure if I am gonna bless this hole with my presence, I may as well make it worth my time. Maybe give me something to break a sweat over. So what do ya say Shuuz? We gotta deal or what?"

"Hmmmm, twenty thousand for the fight, if you survive, and no percentage of the door. This is my place and I make the rules."

"Make it forty, and you can keep the door money, I think you're gonna need new carpeting on the casino floor anyway after today." Eva winked at the giant lizard and added, "and if I lose the tail is yours, it's not like I'll have much use for it then anyway."

Shuuz tasted the air again and rotated one of his eyes towards his assistants, one of which he held with his eye in a disgustingly long slow caress.

"Deal. You will have 5 hours to prepare yourself. Don't bother with instructions for the disposal of your remains, I don't expect there to be much of you left."

"You are as optimistic as ever Stumpy, I'll need a room and a good meal."

"There will be one waiting for you at the front desk, now I need to see to publicizing your imminent dismemberment. I am positive that there are a number of beings on this planet who will be very happy to see you go."

"Just make sure that you use my fighting name, gotta let me fans know I'm back in town."

"Of course, 'Cheyenne'. I wouldn't want anyone to miss this..."