Phase 1: Meet up with Dr. Goldstein

With the guards out of the way and Vaarvel cautiously leading the way, you made it to the meet-up area with Dr. Nora Goldstein, or "Scylla Schultz," as she was calling herself while undercover as a genetic scientist for Adder. This zone seemed to be furnished as though some sort of high stakes, VIP game was intended to be played here, away from the casino with all of the riff-raff. You weren't here for games, though; all you wanted was the Bound Blood 1000 antidote, which you hoped Nora would be able to deliver you expediently. Needless to say, going deep into Adder territory while harboring a genetic curse that would force you to obey all of the orders of high-ranking Adder members had you a little spooked.

That meet-up was supposed to be conducted face-to-face with no one else around, presumably breaking disguise. Once you entered the room, it appeared you'd have no such luck. Seated an extravagant oak card table, decorated with winding snakes at each leg, was not only Nora-- dressed in a backless, black party dress and pearl necklace-- but across from her, a blue-clothed figure. The stranger was wearing a more opulent version of the Adder agent's uniform, including a long, purple cape and a close-fitting helmet with a long, featureless black veil over the face. Even beneath the gear, at that small separation from veil to chest, their body was covered in black cloth, as if to hide even their ethnicity. Their figure suggested they were either a rather flat-chested woman or, more likely, a slender man. Their hands were covered in black, leather gloves and their feet in tall boots, and yet, they looked perfectly comfortable waiting there at the table. A badge on the chest of their uniform indicated the person was of extremely high rank.

Of course, you'd seen this mysterious figure in messages generated from Adder before. This person was their shadowy leader, Adder Adjutant.

If it was just that one person, you would probably still feel at ease. Instead, the whole room was surrounded by other Adder agents. {if Serpentine Sportsman Lived = 1}You even recognized the tan, sunglasses-wearing operative named Serpentine Sportsman, laughing and gabbing with one of the helmeted soldiers. Thankfully, you didn't expect he'd recognize you from the auction. Vaarvel was pretty heavily in costume compared to last time, too.{endif} Every one of the bystanders was armed; their hands strayed to their weapons as soon as they spotted Vaarvel and the rest of you.

"Stand down," the Adjutant commanded; his or her voice was so heavily modulated by some sort of device beneath their mask, it was impossible to make out even their gender. The others all obeyed, wordlessly. You wondered if that was a symptom of Bound Blood 1000 they'd been infected with or if the leader simply demanded that sort of obedience. "Welcome, Goodbye Girls. I've been waiting for this confrontation for such a long time, but it isn't easy to take time away from work."

You assured the Adjutant that the pleasure was all theirs, but you weren't really in much of a joking mood. If Nora had been situated with the others against the wall, like just another Adder agent, it would be a different matter... Your gum explosive could be just the thing to wipe out the entire room. Instead, you felt a sense of dread; her position and her unsmiling, wide frown told you that her status as a double agent had already been found out. This situation had gone south before you even reached the room...

Vaarvel turned her head to watch you over her shoulder, then whispered. "Play it cool, Ciao, Au Revoir. Don't launch the first strike. These thugs are under Adder Adjutant's spell. They won't attack unless he gives the command. There's really only one person in the room we need to watch..." she instructed you, then crossed her arms across the chest of her golden one-piece and smirked at the others. "Adder Adjutant, is it? I do hope you're inviting us to play a game? We haven't officially met yet, but you should know, I'm quite a hand at card games."

To your surprise, it seemed Au Revoir was following instructions; she stood down, hovering behind you as Vaarvel walked forward.

"That is exactly what I offer you. The stakes ought to be very enticing," the mysterious figure chuckled, then gestured across the table towards Nora. "One of our top scientists here-- with whom I believe you're already acquainted-- has succeeded in developing an antidote to our new Bound Blood 1000 formula, despite my specific destructions that it be left incurable. She just so happens to have brought that antidote with her. We are going to play partners for a simple game; you with a partner of your choosing, me with Nora. Strongest hand wins. If Nora or I should win, I'll order my men to execute you. If you win, on the other hand, you'll leave with your lives, along with the antidote. It's a fair game."

You asked: do we get to leave along with Scylla Schultz?

"Why? Do you have a care for her fate, for some reason?" the Adjutant joked, leaning the chin beneath their veil on one fist. "Her fate is sealed one way or another. 'Weep not for a snake;' that's basically CEDIT policy at this point, is it not?"

You grimaced, but said nothing. You'd have to think of some way to extract Nora Goldstein as well as yourselves once this was over... and despite Vaarvel's reassurances, you highly doubted that the Adjutant was going to honor their promises, even if you should win. Still, the first step did appear to be winning this card game.

"I know that you like to be the handler, Ciao, but I am obviously the correct partner for you in this game. Therefore, I'm making that choice for you. Au Revoir, you stand guard," Vaarvel instructed; the blond-haired woman nodded, while keeping her eyes locked on the guards in the back corner of the room. Next, Vaarvel moved around one of the chairs, then took a position between the stone-faced Nora and the Adjutant. You'd be playing across from her. It felt bizarre... you were in such close proximity with the leader of Adder, you could reach out and touch them. Part of you wondered if you should simply pull the strip on your gum explosive after all... but the world might really lose more than it gained from the destruction of one half of the Goodbye Girls, as well as the scientific genius of Nora Goldstein, than it gained from the death of Adder's ringleader.

You'd been given only a few minutes to review the instructions before you began. The game was really quite simple; the trickiest part of it involved the enemy's ability to "block" your attempted discards by playing cards of a higher value, which you then placed back into your hand, along with the one you'd attempted to discard. In the end, you'd lose additional points for the number of cards left in your hand, which you'd have to hope was balanced out by the value of said cards. It was hard to wrap your head around, but much worse was the idea that you were playing on the enemy's home turf. It was hard to imagine that, whatever you did, you'd be allowed to leave with the formula. Even if you could, you still needed to devise a way to rescue Nora.

The game was proceeding at a dizzying pace. Nora's face remained worryingly expressionless, while Vaarvel's, even in this Egyptian mask and this dire situation, held its usual smirk. Adder Adjutant's was unreadable due to the veil, though their body language seemed confident all the same. All of that reading instructions felt almost ridiculous as you headed towards the climax of the game... it had taken you longer to hear the instructions than it was going to take to finish this hand.

One thing was clear: you weren't going to win this fair and square.

At every attempt to discard a lower card, you found your effort blocked by either the Adjutant or even Nora, who, theoretically, should have no reason to play against you. Soon, your hand was full of your original low cards, combined with cards of only slightly higher value... you were running out of opportunities to discard them. Why was Nora assisting the Adjutant? The reason came to you quickly enough, causing you to clench your teeth... the Adjutant must have put the Bound Blood 1000 poison into her system as well and given her commands beforehand. It was worrying to think that even now, the leader of Adder could put you under the same sway with a simple verbal instruction.

The moment of the game's conclusion was close at hand. The Adjutant had discarded a lot of cards by now, but they were all low ones... it was entirely possible their own hand's value was still very, very large, and they'd have few points to pay for the amount in there. By contrast, it seemed that Nora and Vaarvel had very standard hand-sizes.

"Hm hm... It seems you're snake-bit," the Adjutant laughed, before moving to discard a final card. This was it... You watched Vaarvel's face, which was still grinning somehow, even now. Should you bet on her to make the save and stick the Adjutant with a low card? Or did you have some sort of move you could make on your own?