"So the most important part of the whole mission is finding the right person, Ed. You need a patsy, a chump. Without a good mark, the job is a fucking hassle. You want a nice, easy score. The less work involved, the better! And the bigger the sucker, the bigger the payout if you play your cards right." Faye explained as she shuffled the deck.
"The patsy is more important than knowing how to play the game?" Ed looked puzzled.
"Cheating the chump is the whole point of the game." Faye replied.
"You do need to know the basic rules of the game." Spike told her. "It's best if you know the rules very well but give off the impression that you aren't skilled at all. You want to look like the patsy to other people to draw gullible folks into the game. If they think they'll win against you because they think you're a fool...well, he who laughs last and all that."
Ed frowned. "Ed is even more confused! We aren't supposed to laugh?"
Faye sighed and made a face at Spike. "I told you to join us because I didn't think you'd start spouting proverbs like Jet! Jeez!" She turned her attention back to Ed who was spiralling.
"Ed wants to laugh! Games are supposed to be fun!" The teen cried.
Faye eyed her speculatively. "Maybe you'd do better as a shill."
Ed swayed back and forth on her seat. "Ed wants everyone to win!"
"Well, that's not really how any game works." Spike replied.
"Yeah, you want to win! That's why you play and why you need to know how to spot the-"
"No!" Ed interrupted with a shout. She shot to her feet. "Ed plays for fun. Games are best when everyone is having a good time!" Her shoulders slumped. "Ed does not want to dupe anyone."
Faye and Spike exchanged concerned looks. But before either could try to fix things, Jet appeared in the round doorway with an assortment of paper bags clutched against his chest and plastic bags hanging from his wrists.
"A little help would be nice!"
Ed, grinning, dashed over to offer assistance while the other two remained seated across from each other.
"We got the bounty that afforded all those groceries." Faye replied.
"Yeah, we've helped a bunch today." Spike added, leaning back in the chair.
Grumbling about lazy bums and making idle threats about only feeding the people who gave him aid, Jet disappeared with Ed into the kitchen.
"Well, some folks just aren't made to take advantage of others." Faye remarked a moment later. She was still shuffling the deck. At this point it was mostly a meditative motion. "At least food cheered her up."
"Food would cheer anyone up." Spike noted. He looked at Faye and gave a little smirk. "How about a two person game? Since you got the cards out."
Her lips curled with satisfaction. "War? Or Bullshit?"