Somehow they had set up the cards. If he had played according to his usual method, he would have lost most of the chips in front of him.

"Ten minutes then?""But she didn't count on Data's ability to access her computer, or his escape," said Tasha. "And she certainly could not have expected her enemies to kidnap me."
"Uh . . . yeah," La Forge said without much conviction. He'd had a friend in the Academy once, Laura Wu, who'd tried to publish several of her short stories, only to meet with rejection. Crushed, she'd abandoned her aspirations.
Instantly, the doctor took a tricorder reading. She peered at the results for a moment.
The session did not run smoothly. D'Amelio appeared unable, at times unwilling, to answer any questions about the alien ship that had attacked the Ferrel. The few answers he supplied gave rise to more questions.
The next thing he knew, he was propped up against the ground car, the taste of metal in his mouth, wondering how long he'd been unconscious. A couple of guards were kneeling beside him; one of them was his driver. Their blasters were in the ready position--for all the good it did. The mob, unstoppable now, was flooding past them on both sides, as a river flows around a great boulder in its path.


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