“Okay, I will. Thank you,” Lilith said.
“Secondly, I’m guessing that you haven’t figured out what he means, asking you to confirm that he’s being viewed?”
“No idea at all.”
“There are certain papers and television shows that the Eternals have set up to receive messages from us,” Brandon explained. “Most of them are gossip and rumour vehicles. Also songs played in different sequences. Very subtle methods, but effective most of the time. I’ll give you the address to send your message to, where it gets processed and inserted into those avenues to be hidden for them to find. Often this results in silly stories about three headed aliens and that type of thing, but the masses don’t pay attention to the stories and the Eternals get their communication from us.”
“So we can actually communicate with them from outside of the Game?” Lilith couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Yes, in a limited way.”
“I need to communicate with Raphael. Right away,” Lilith said.
“It will take a while to bring you up to speed on how to do that, Lilith. I’m surprised you haven’t come to me sooner.”
“I didn’t know if I could trust you, Brandon.”
“You can. You always can.”
Lilith looked uncomfortable. “Maybe, Brandon. But after what I just viewed, I had no choice.”
Brandon raised his glass of brandy towards his lips. “What did you just view?”
“Raphael caught someone following Danielle. They were going to use a Sever Spike on her.”
Brandon froze mid-sip. His eyes darkened, the gold flecks in them began to swirl. He put the glass down slowly on the table and reached into his pocket for his cell phone. After dialling, he raised the phone to his head and asked Lilith, “How long ago was this?”
“Yesterday, our time.” Lilith could see the fury hidden below the surface of Brandon’s calm appearance. “He asked for confirmation that he was being viewed, which he does often, but this time he was very, very angry. Is there a weapon in the Game that can permanently kill players? I need help, Brandon, Alex is
way
out of her league on this play.”
“Give me a couple of minutes, please,” Brandon said and began to talk into his phone.
“Are you both on the line? Okay, then. Listen very carefully and don’t interrupt me, please. Raphael just stopped an attempt on Danielle’s life. The assassin intended to use a Sever Spike. Raphael has been hanging in the wind since Danielle was born, I need Samantha pulled from her perch and sent to rendezvous with Raphael. He needs assistance. I’ll get her clearer instructions next session but she needs to go to him
now
. ‘A,’ I will get a feed of Raphael sent to you. I want to know who sent that assassin. Now you may talk. ‘A’ first.”
Brandon listened for a few seconds, then he responded, “No, we aren’t playing that game. Yet. Just get me the info and we can decide from there. Michelle, what do you have?”
More silence followed while Brandon listened to Michelle talk on the other line. His eyes darted quickly to Lilith’s, then he answered. “Yes, I think that’s the best strategy too. I’ll ask if we can join Alexandra’s group.” Once again he looked at Lilith. She paused for a brief second then nodded. “Yes, we have permission. Send Nadine over to get fully up to speed on Danielle’s play. We will bring their team into our command centre as soon as possible. Any resource at our disposal is now at
their
disposal. As of now, Danielle is as precious to us as Trew.”
Chapter 34
“Our world seems to be addicted to the easy way of things. Unfortunately, what seems easy at first almost always ends up causing pain, suffering, and loss. Why do I get fat and sick when I eat tasty junk food? Why must I perform painful exercise to stay healthy and in shape? How come I have to sacrifice so much of my time and money studying in order to get a good paying job? These are the types of questions that no school teaches us. The answer is simple; it doesn’t matter why. That’s just the way it is. If you want to breathe air, then you can’t lay on the bottom of a pond. If you desire wealth, you can’t sit in front of your television screen and expect it to find you. If you want to learn how to play a musical instrument, you must pick it up and spend thousands of hours practicing with it. Entitlement is a problem both inside and outside of the Game… all of our lives would be better if we stopped expecting the world to hand us it’s treasures simply because we asked for them…”
Promotional message from “We Can Be Better”
featuring Brandon Strayne
Samantha
I’m not comfortable doing this. It’s too late, this alley is crowded with garbage, rats and homeless men. I check my scribbled note again; yeah, this is the right place. Not the best spot for a top secret meeting, but appropriate. I’ve never understood why some Eternals go bad and join the group that long ago started referring to themselves as ‘Infernals.’ I guess I’m just too sweet to understand a group so sour.
I hear a noise directly to my left and turn, shifting into a combat stance. I see a filthy old man sitting in a pile of torn up cardboard and newspapers; wispy white hair, splotchy balding head, dirty face and ugly, broken-toothed smile grinning up at me.
I start to turn away when he speaks with a strong, bold voice. “Took you long enough to get here, slag.”
I lean in closer to get a better look. The smell of him! It’s horrible. Sure enough, though, I see the red swirling in his dark eyes and realize it must be him. “You’ve sunk low,” I say. “Not where I’d expect my boss to be hanging out.”
The old man chuckles. “That’s because your kind isn’t promoted by killing the boss. If three of your lieutenants were ready to take over and all they had to do was kill you… you’d be hiding safely in a garbage pile, too.”
“Is that true?” I ask. I wonder how the Infernals ever get anything done; they always seem so busy killing and fighting each other.
He shrugs. “It could be true. I know three are ready, even if they don’t realize it. I’ll likely only manage to make two dead before the third figures out what’s going on. It should be a bit of fun and excitement.”
I turn my nose up in disgust. He laughs, then stops suddenly and looks seriously at me. “Why am I even speaking with a baby like you? I speak only with Gabriel; you all know this. Where is he?”
I shake my head, “I have no clue, old man. They said you agreed to meet with one of Brandon’s, and that’s who I am. Are you too drunk to talk? This is serious business.”
The old man turns his head, pushing a finger against the outside of one nostril and blowing snot forcefully out of the other. Most makes it to the ground; some rogue splatter hits his arm, but it’s hard to distinguish from the other garbage sticking to his sleeve. “I’m just fine, thank you very much.” I can hear a slight slur; he’s been drinking. “Let’s just get down to business so you can get out of here and leave me alone.”
I pull up a clean-looking wooden box and set it down in front of him. Then I sit on it and look him directly in the eyes. “Okay. We need you to put a clean mark on Danielle Benton.”
“Hmm.” He scratches his armpit roughly. “That name rings a bell with me. Somebody I know wants her dead, I think.”
“Someone just tried to Sever Spike her a few days ago,” I say.
“Yes, that sounds about right,” he nods. “They sent a moron to do the job. Still, he should have been good enough to get past regular security… so she has an Eternal watching her, does she?”
Damn it! He’s pumping me for information that I shouldn’t give. “I’m not here to talk, just to tell you what Brandon wants.”
“Well, if you’re not here to talk, then you shouldn’t be telling me someone tried to kill her, little girl. You should just walk up to me, give me your best intimidating look, and say ‘Clean Mark the girl,
now
.’”
I stand up and lean in towards him, giving him my best intimidating look. He chuckles and says, “That’s more like it!”
“How long have you been running the Infernals?” I ask.
“I don’t run the Infernals, girl, you should know that. The one who runs the Infernals has been around for over five thousand years.”
“You know what I mean,” I sigh. “You’re the one with the word. You give an order, every other Infernal obeys.”
“Unless my boss gives a different order; yes, yes, you’re right. Okay, then, to answer your question, I’ve been running things for two hundred and twelve years.”
“That’s it?” I ask.
He snorts with disgust. “Don’t you pay attention, girl? We
kill
for the position I hold. I’ve held onto this position longer than almost everyone who ever had it. And, since I like to brag, go check your history books. The past two hundred and twelve years have been
very
productive for us. My boss is pleased. So shut your mouth.”
I think of a comment, but realize that I’m speaking to one of the most evil creatures on the planet, so I say nothing. Best not to have him remember me too well.
“I really find it hard to believe you, girl.” The old man takes a boot off, emptying dirt and stones onto the ground. “Nothing personal, but there’s not a lot of trust between our two packs. Gabriel is the only one who I can believe; it’s a shame he isn’t here. That girl might die by accident, simply because I doubt your words and can’t sell it to my crew.”
I sit down and fold my hands on my lap. “Brandon said you would doubt me, so he had me memorize a message for you, to prove he is involved and this is serious.”
“Did he now? Well, let me hear what my old buddy Brandon has to say.”
I calmly give him the message, repeating it exactly how it was told to me. I don’t understand what half of it means, but apparently this old creepy guy does. His face goes from not interested to extremely serious. Halfway through my message he loses his appearance of being a drunk old homeless man and sits up straight. I finish and he stands up, nodding to me. He’s tall, and underneath all those dirty clothes, I can tell he’s very muscular. He’s definitely in a costume; I bet he looks only 40 or so underneath all that.
He looks me straight in the eyes, but I know he’s looking at the person Firsting me. “Okay, fine, Brandon,” he says. “I will make sure none of ours touch her. You’re going to piss a lot of big names off, both here and on Tygon, Strayne, but you’ve scared even
me
a tiny bit. Count this as one of your favours called in though, boy, and don’t ask me for any others while this one is in play. As of this moment, Danielle Benton is Clean Marked by the Infernals. When she dies, it won’t be at our hand.”
I shiver inside as he smiles and says, “You’ve the Devil’s own word on it.”
Chapter 35
“One thing missing today is old fashioned rivalry. Players of the Game do not compete against each other. Sure, when they are out dancing and enjoying their fame on Tygon, words are exchanged and bold claims thrown out against other players. In the old days a rivalry involved one skilled player going directly against another, squaring off to see who was the best! Players today still build the hype before they compete, but once they enter the Game it’s impossible for one star to directly compete with another. Some say this is disappointing, but I disagree. I find it much more exciting to see two top ranked players interact with each other, not knowing who or what they are in the real world. Some enemies become dear friends, some friends do their best to connect and fail, and others spend no credits on connecting in-Game and somehow spend their whole virtual lives together. If you ask me, the Game provides thousands of possibilities for exciting events and occurrences. You can take your old rivalries and keep them; I’d rather watch a low-ranked player break into the top standings or a high-ranked player sink low, without them even knowing they’re playing the Game that they are!
Excerpt, ‘One Fan’s Opinion’
Popular Game publication
Trew - 17
“Hey, sexy, wait for me!”
Before I can turn around and close my locker I feel a soft warm hand come up from behind and firmly touch my chest. I smile and turn around.
Her name’s Jane and she’s my new girlfriend. Long blonde hair, green eyes, a smile that makes me forget who I am, and a body… well, she’s been a figure skater since she was five. When I tell my friends she’s got a nice body, they laugh at the understatement. She’s just a bit shorter than me, but hey, I’m six foot tall, so that’s understandable, and I like it when she stretches up to kiss me, which she does right now.
“Class is done. Ready to get out of here and go swimming with the gang?” she asks.
I should really be doing some extra research work, but it’s so hard to say no to her. We’ve been dating for just about a month now and I don’t seem to have time to get anything done. It’s fun, having a girlfriend, but Danni’s wondering why I chat with her less and don’t seem to have any new info to share with her on our projects. I wish she didn’t live so far away; it would be much better if we could hang out and work.
“Hey, where did you go, big boy?” Jane asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. Here I am with this hot girl and I’m thinking about Danni. What’s wrong with me? I start to tell myself Danni is one great looking girl too, but I can’t be having conversations with myself about her while I’m standing here. I shake my head and smile.
“I’m right here, babe. Sure, let’s go swimming.”
We go out to the parking lot and I unlock the car, a nice sporty job that my parents let me drive. I have a part-time job working to pay for gas and insurance. They never have to ask me to fill the tank or take care of it. I laugh at my friends who think their parents are such hardcases because they expect their kids to do simple stuff like that. I figure it helps me get the car easier when I need it. Parents aren’t so different from us kids; they just want some help from us when we can give it. I think kids would have better parents if they were better at being kids. Not all, but lots.