Albert turned around the corner. He was here just a year and a half back, staring down the busy line towards the one man who stayed still amidst the bustling life around him - the beggar who asked for two bucks for a mug of beer.
"Hey you, wise guy." He turned around.
"Yeah, you, wise guy." and he looked down. There he was, lying at the side, unnoticed by all.
"Remember me, wise guy? I met you before, didn't I? Jus' over a year back. Two bucks, right here. Still remember? I even got the dice here. Wanna try your luck at a seven again?" the gambler
"I'll refrain. Have you any other gambles to wrest my money with today?" the gambler shook his head.
"Always do, kid. Up for it?"
"Two bucks."
The gambler took out his pack of cards and began to explain.
"Tell ya a story first, kid. Have you ever learnt what makes a successful kingdom?" Albert shook his head.
"Well, I'll tell ya. It's called a Royal Flush. The strongest 5 in a pack. Any kingdom needs these, kid."
He took out the ten of spades. "First, the masses. No kingdom does well without its citizens. No leader can do without followers. The more, the better for a small group. Not 2, not 7, 10."
He took out the jack of spades. "The jack of all trades. What is a king without the jack of all trades? A team cannot be successful without diversification - without all-rounded capability a team is rendered useless by any rival in the sole area it is competent in."
He took out the queen of spades. "The queen of emotion. Just as every successful man has a devoted woman behind him, every competent king has a devout queen at his right side. The female brings emotion into the life of the team, keeps it from being cold-blooded, and keeps humanity in it."
He took out the king of spades. "The king and lord. The charismatic leader. For without him, there is no one to follow. A jack can do his trade but he will never find himself a leader, for he cannot master the reins of kingship. No group cannot exist without a king and leader to guide the masses.
He took out the ace of spades. "And lastly, the hidden master. A mere number amongst the crowds, but with the skill that none compare to, isolated by his talents. Even for a group of two he is essential for any certainty of success."
He kept the cards, and shuffled them.
"Game's simple. We take 5 cards each, and the one between us who has a better hand. Simple enough? Here's the catch. We choose our cards. I go first. And to be fair, I won't play a Royal Flush. Fine with you?"
"Fine with me," Albert said. It was more than fine. He was going to win with that kind of condition.
The gambler took his five cards and passed the deck to Albert. Even if the gambler wasn't allowed to pick a royal flush, nothing said that he couldn't do it himself. He looked through the cards - ah. He went for the four aces. Now what?
"I hope you have picked your kingdom, boy." Albert smiled.
"Yeah, I have."
"And I know what it is already, wise guy. It's the nine, ten, jack, queen and king of spades, isn't it, boy?" the gambler laughed. Albert showed his hand; exactly the way the gambler had said it.
"I find, Mr. Gambler, that a royalty in mind, in spirit, in synchronization with the masses is more successful a group than the four geniuses which you have picked, is it not? Even in poker, the straight flush bests the four-of-a-kind. Might I have my money, good gambler?"
"Well, then, Mr.Wise Guy, let me ask you a question." the gambler cleared his throat. "Even in poker, the straight flush is but 5 cards being both of a straight and a flush. What then makes the 10-to-Ace a Royal Flush rather than a straight flush?" Albert remained silent.
"Think about it, will you? What about the Ace over a Nine makes a Straight Flush a Royal Flush?" Albert shook his head.
"Well, you're not very bright, then, are ya. King to Ace sure doesn't sound straight to me. You can't call it straight if it isn't, right? So they call it Royal. But that's not the issue. The issue's my cards." and the gambler throws them out, one by one.
"The Ace of Finances." The Ace of Diamonds.
"The Ace of Might." The Ace of Clubs.
"The Ace of Passion." The Ace of Hearts.
"The Ace of Labour." The Ace of Spades.
"The Ace of Humour." The Joker.
"Ah," Albert commented. He took out his two dollars, ready to give them to the gambler.
"And my kingdom is clearly more competent than yours. Have you ever wondered why this hand trumps even the royal flush? There're two reasons. I'll tell you." he laid down the joker on the floor.
"See, there's something special about this joker. Take out this joker and you win. Why? Because the four geniuses are too smart for people - there's an issue of connecting with the crowd, you see. Take a smart man and a dumb man and the latter will never understand the former's thoughts. Well, actually vice versa holds true too. But you see, that's where Yours Truly comes in. Who can't associate with the joker and fool? That's how the story goes, at least. You may have the strongest team on the surface, dude, but I have the strongest team in the shadows." he smiles to himself, and picks the card up.
"It's never the most prominent of governments that changes the life of the world, but the team of scientists and genius researchers working together, isn't it? But I'd suppose no one ever realizes that." the gambler takes the two dollars and puts them in his side pocket.
"What's the second reason, then? Why the Joker and Aces are the strongest hand." Albert asked. The gambler laughed to himself.
"Well, innit obvious? Maybe a Royal Flush IS stronger, but you'd never know! You try finding that many geniuses after they got stolen by the joker." the both of them laughed to themselves, and Albert turned to leave.
"Just one last question, good gambler. Why do you stay here? What's there for you? You're a smart man; I'm sure you could work your way around this city."
"I'm no smart man," the gambler replies, taking a card out of his deck and passing it to Albert.
"I'm just a pretty blessed joker."
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Some buggersome stories just take one whole week to write. Basket. And after that emobout I started to hate the story a bit. But nevermind.
Addendum: In case people weren't aware (I'm sure plenty weren't), this is a sequel.
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