Smith lost the game!

With the game completed, the scene was completely different from how it had started inside the news room. After seeing how the game went, Lyra was sweating. When she'd thrown the intern at Robin, she figured one of two things would happen. First off, Smith might win, in which case, the whole thing would be put to bed. If that didn't happen, she figured that instead, she'd get building security to throw Robin out on her ass, or perhaps she'd play a round, see how it went, and threaten to lawyer up if things went south. She had most certainly not anticipated there would be some invisible, supernatural forces that would ensure that she play the game to completion.

Now, Lyra was coping with the situation as best she could by dressing down her failure of an underling, not that there was much more dressing down she could do.

Over by the big newsroom table, Smith stood still and eerie, but for the first time anyone could remember, she was smiling-- a smile not accompanied by a sarcastic laugh, nor wiped from her face a few seconds later. Lyra kept saying various unsavory thing about her fat tits or the way she hadn't trimmed her bush in a while, but all of it just slid off her like water. She was swept up in a feeling like euphoria, happy as a clam.

"I'm surprised to see you looking so pleased! That's not the face of a woman who just lost a card match," Robin remarked as she set her deck back straight and shuffled the cards. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy you're looking at the sunny side. I should warn you, though: those little tricksters that stripped you a moment ago have some funny punishment ideas in mind!"

"Oh, I want to see it. Do your worst!"

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah, really," Smith chuckled, ignoring the cigarette that had dropped from her mouth earlier and the coffee getting cold on the table. "I want to see what you've got in store! Cause whatever you do to me, Lyra's going to get it even worse when you beat her, right? Heh heh heh heh heh..." she rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Lay it on me, don't hold back! I want to really get a taste for it!"

"Now, just to double check: you sticking around this job for so long isn't because you're actually a masochist, right?"

"Nope. It's because part of their pyramid scheme here is to promise you newsroom, trap you in, block you out from other prospects with a nice cocktail of **** and rumors in the wrong ears. All of this to say: I'll be very happy when Lyra gets what's coming to her. Whatever you and the others have thought up to humiliate me, it's all going to be reversed and just make me happier and happier, because I know Lyra's going to get it worse! You're my guardian angel... no, my vengeful angel! Even better!"

Robin laughed awkwardly. "It's actually really nice to get such direct confirmation that I'm doing some good in this world! It's hard to remember sometimes, ha ha." It really was difficult to convince herself this was a wholly good thing, what with the sinister, devil-like smile resting upon Smith's face. Still, if the karmic counter above Smith's head wasn't going up, Robin assumed that meant one higher power or the other approved of the woman's devotion to vengeance.

The Indian job applicant, forgotten near the front of the room, clapped her hands excitedly. "What an interesting business place this is! Never a dull moment!"

"Miss Lyra, will you be okay with me borrowing Smith for a round of punishment?" Robin asked, wondering if she was going to have to expedite her match with Lyra.

"Huh? Oh! No, no. You see, honey, I plan to win, which means that it's going to be that much funnier when whatever **** hogwash you have planned gets done to just Smithy and not me!" Smith's superior giggled, waving one hand dismissively. "Take your time!"

"Heh heh heh... The more you say that shit, the more I'm looking forward to seeing you get yours," Smith warned her boss, grinning from ear to ear as her shoulders shook with her own barely-contained laughter.