♦ Ten of Diamonds
Blaze raised an eyebrow.
"Opening with diamonds."
He glanced at his hand.
Then casually placed his card.
♦ Queen of Diamonds
Adrian remained silent.
The Queen outranked the Ten.
Blaze leaned back in his chair.
"First trick."
He tapped his earbud.
"Static."
One word.
That was all.
Adrian's earbud buzzed almost instantly.
A whisper from his team.
"Boss… someone's jamming our short-range radios near Theater Seven."
Blaze smirked.
"Just warming up."
He collected the trick and led the next card.
This time he placed down:
♣ King of Clubs
Adrian glanced at his hand.
Then calmly responded.
♣ Ace of Clubs
Blaze laughed quietly.
"Ouch."
The Ace beat the King.
Adrian touched his earbud.
"South."
A reply came immediately.
"Copy. Team repositioning south exit corridor."
Blaze tilted his head.
"So you're securing escape routes."
Adrian simply gathered the cards.
Blaze watched him carefully.
"Interesting strategy."
Adrian said nothing.
Blaze led again.
This time he played a low card.
♥ Four of Hearts
Adrian glanced down at his own hearts.
He placed a card.
♥ Nine of Hearts
Blaze's smile widened.
"Ah."
He slowly placed his next card.
♥ King of Hearts
The trick was his again.
Blaze tapped his earbud lazily.
"Projector."
Adrian's earbud buzzed again.
His subordinate spoke urgently.
"Boss… someone just accessed the projector control system in Theater Seven."
Blaze leaned back.
"Imagine," he said softly, "the movie suddenly glitching mid-scene."
Adrian reshuffled the played cards silently.
Blaze continued watching him.
"You're very calm for someone losing."
Adrian placed the next card.
♠ Three of Spades
Blaze's eyes lit up.
"Oh?"
"Breaking spades already."
Adrian's voice was calm.
"You forced the game."
Blaze chuckled.
"Fair enough."
He responded with:
♠ Seven of Spades
Adrian played his final card of the trick.
♠ Ace of Spades
Blaze froze for half a second.
Then he laughed.
"Alright."
"The Ace wins."
Adrian tapped his earbud.
"Server."
The response came instantly.
"Understood. Cutting external access to the theater control network."
Blaze whistled softly.
"You're blocking my remote options."
Adrian gathered the cards.
Blaze leaned forward slightly.
"Now it's getting interesting."
The next trick began.
Adrian placed a card.
♦ Ace of Diamonds
Blaze responded quickly.
♦ Eight of Diamonds
The Ace held.
Adrian tapped his earbud again.
"Camera."
His team answered.
"We see them, boss. Three suspects moving row twelve."
Blaze's smile faded slightly.
"Already?"
Adrian remained expressionless.
Blaze leaned forward and led the next trick aggressively.
♠ King of Spades
Adrian's eyes flicked toward his hand.
Then he calmly placed:
♠ Nine of Spades
Blaze raised an eyebrow.
"Saving your big cards?"
Adrian didn't reply.
Blaze collected the trick.
"Then let's escalate."
He touched his earbud.
"Stage."
A few seconds later Adrian's team spoke urgently.
"Boss… someone just entered the stage access corridor."
Blaze leaned back again, satisfied.
"You see, Adrian."
His voice softened slightly.
"While we play…"
He tapped the table.
"The movie unfolds."
Adrian slowly reshuffled the remaining cards.
Blaze watched him carefully.
"You're calculating."
Adrian placed another card.
♣ Jack of Clubs
Blaze checked his hand.
Then responded with:
♣ Ten of Clubs
Adrian placed another.
♣ Queen of Clubs
Blaze clicked his tongue.
"Well played."
Adrian tapped his earbud again.
"Lock."
His team responded instantly.
"Stage corridor locked. Targets trapped inside."
Blaze blinked.
Then laughed.
"Oh, that's clever."
He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands.
"So that's your plan."
Adrian's eyes met his calmly.
"Capture everyone."
Blaze nodded slowly.
"Then we'll see who finishes their objective first."
The final trick of the round approached.
Blaze led with confidence.
♠ Queen of Spades
Adrian looked down at his remaining cards.
Then placed one carefully.
♠ Two of Spades
Blaze smiled.
"Not enough."
Then Adrian placed his final card.
♠ Ace of Spades
Blaze blinked.
Then laughed loudly.
"You hid two aces."
Adrian gathered the trick.
"Probability."
Blaze leaned back again.
"Well…"
He said slowly.
"It seems this game might last longer than I thought."
Outside the VIP room, the movie inside Theater Seven continued playing.
But behind the scenes—
Agents moved through corridors.
Systems locked down.
Targets closed in.
And across a small glass table inside a private cinema room…
Two men continued playing cards.
The next round began.
Blaze shuffled the deck again.
His smile had sharpened.
"Adrian."
"Yes."
Blaze placed the deck down.
"Let's see who runs out of moves first."
The cards were dealt again.
And the game continued.