So after Flynn and I reached max level, we had a conversation.
“This is taking a bit longer than I expected it to,” Flynn said. “We’ve already reached top level but still haven’t found a trace of those Brits.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It is frustrating.”
“Probably they no longer rob other players because they achieved their goal,” Flynn said.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What goal?”
“I had no idea, Striker. What I mean is I didn’t expect that I would have to play as a cop for so long.”
Figured. Despite reaching max level, Flynn still didn’t enjoy playing as a cop a bit. He couldn’t wait to return to his previous character to play as a heister again. He continued to play as a cop only because he had promised to help me to hunt the British team down. But he was starting to lose his patience. And I couldn’t blame him.
“Okay, listen,” I said to him. “Let’s give it another day. Just one more day, okay? If we don’t find them by the end of tomorrow, then you’ll return to being a heister again. How’s that sound?”
It was obvious that he liked the idea.
“Fine,” he replied.
It was also obvious that he was sure that we would never track the British team down, no matter how long we would’ve looked for them.
“What about you?” Flynn asked. “Are you gonna continue to play as a cop?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Fair enough. Okay, Striker, I gotta go to IRL. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“Okay. I’ll be in the game.”
And Flynn went offline.
Chapter Fourteen
After Flynn left, I just sat in my car and considered my options for a few moments. What should I do? How could I track down the British team? Sure, I could just drive around the city on the off chance that I ran into them, but it was highly unlikely. Over the past several days, there had been no trace of the British players. Probably they no longer played Heist Online. Probably they also weren’t in the game at the moment. But supposing they were online, where would they be?
I thought about it for a moment and an idea occurred to me. Instead of driving around the city on the chance that I might accidentally find them, I decided to try something else.
I deployed my quadcopter. It materialized in the air next to my car. I pulled my cell phone and took control of the quadcopter. The small quadrotor helicopter started to gain altitude. When it was well above buildings, I guided it in the direction of the center of the city, watching the live feed from the drone’s camera on the screen of my cell phone.
Unfortunately, the flying robot wasn’t too fast. It wouldn’t be able to keep up with a car driving at top speed, not to mention extremely fast sports cars. But at least, the drone had unlimited range, so I could direct him wherever I wanted.
After the quadcopter reached the approximate center of the city, I had it just hover above the city. I took a look around. The whole city was in full view. I saw lots of players in various parts of the city. Lots of robberies were going on. I noticed at least five gangs trying to rob armored cash trucks and dozens of car chases and gunfights between cops and heisters.
I just watched the events unfold on the streets for about half an hour. There was no sign of the British gang. At least, none of the players resembled them. Probably they were offline now. Still, I couldn’t think of another way of finding them, so I continued to watch the feed from the quadrotor helicopter’s camera.
A quarter of an hour, I spotted two sports cars in the distance. The two small fast vehicles were barreling down a highway leading toward the city. Such cars were extremely expensive in this game, so the players had to be high-level. Most of the legendary heists took place on the outskirts of the city. So probably the players in the two sports cars were returning from a successful legendary heist.
I didn’t think the players in the two sports cars were the members of the British team for two reasons. First, as far as I knew, they hardly ever did usual missions. They preferred to rob other players instead. And second, they more often than not used big and powerful pickup trucks or SUVs so they could ram the vehicles of the players they wanted to rob.
I was sure that the British players were offline right now. Otherwise, I would have detected them by now. So since I was bored and had nothing else to do, I decided to spy on the two sports cars.
I didn’t even try to follow the two fast vehicles. The flying robot was too slow to keep up with them. Sure, with the quadcopter hovering well above the buildings, I could see the whole city, but there still were lots of side streets hidden from sight. Which was why I could easily lose the two sports cars.
So I gave the quadcopter a command to return to me and mounted my cell phone on the dashboard. I then slammed the car into gear and rolled onto the street. As the car started to gain speed, I opened the Watcher app and started to switch through the street surveillance cameras on my cell phone. I remembered the direction in which the two sports cars had been heading, so I knew where to look.
Soon I found them. The two vehicles appeared on the screen and then they were out of sight again as the fast cars raced out of the camera’s range. I switched to another street camera and the two vehicles appeared on the screen for a moment again.
It was very difficult to drive through the city at top speed, constantly having to distract my attention from the road to the cell phone. I was doing my best not to lose the two fast vehicles. So far, I had been fortunate enough to keep them on the screen of my cell phone, timely switching between various street surveillance cameras. However, there was no telling for how long my luck would hold.
The quadcopter was somewhere behind me. I could’ve given it a command to follow the two vehicles, but to have done so, I would’ve had to close the Watcher app and open the Quadcopter app on my cell phone, which might’ve resulted in my losing the two vehicles.
Then the two sports cars entered a slum area of the city. It was one of the least attractive parts of the city. There was little to no activity in this area because there was nothing to do in this part of the city. There were no banks, no jewelry stores, no other places to rob. Moreover, although players could buy real estate in this game, they preferred to do so in more attractive parts of the city. I wondered what the players in the two sports cars were planning to do in this place.
Since it was the poorest area of the city, there were no outer surveillance cameras, so I could no longer keep the players on the screen of my cell phone. Dang it.
When I reached the area, I pulled over. Sure, I could’ve just driven around the area on the off chance of spotting the two sports cars, but I decided to wait for the quadcopter to get closer instead. It wasn’t too far away, so I wouldn’t have to wait long.
A minute later, the flying robot got to the area. I used my cell phone to take control of the drone. First of all, I used the drone’s cloak ability to make it completely invisible. I then guided the quadcopter around the area, making it fly above the ramshackle building’s roofs.
I was afraid that the players might have left this part of the city. If they had, I wouldn’t be able to find them because I didn’t know which way they had gone. On the other hand, if they were still somewhere in this area, I would find them.
The quadcopter continued to fly around this part of the city. The houses were in extremely bad condition. The streets were very quiet. As far as I could tell, this location was devoid of players.
When I almost lost any hope of finding the two sports cars, I spotted them in the northeastern part of the area. The two small vehicles pulled in the driveway of one building and then two players climbed out, each carrying a duffel bag.
I also noticed that both players wore skull design balaclavas. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean they were the members of the British team. Many players in this game had goofy patterns painted on their masks, including skulls. Moreover, there were only two play
ers while the three British players always played together.
The two players carrying the duffel bags looked around the street but didn’t notice anything suspicious. They strode toward the house but instead of entering it, they turned around the corner and walked the length of the building.
I guided the quadcopter after the players, keeping a safe distance from them. Sure, the flying robot was completely invisible, but they still could hear the sound of the rotor blades if the drone got too close to them.
When in the backyard, the two players stopped. They then pulled their balaclavas off their heads. Their stats instantly become visible for me.
> Name: Chase
> Level: 20
> Name: McDermott
> Level: 20
I recognized the second player at once. It was the same guy whom I had tied like a pig to use him as a bait a few days before. So these two players were the members of the British team after all. I congratulated myself for having decided to follow the two sports cars.
But where was the third member of the team? Why the girl wasn’t playing with them?
Chase stepped up to McDermott and said something, but I didn’t catch it. I had the quadcopter get closer to the players so I could eavesdrop on them. Once the drone got within hearing distance, I made it stop moving so that not to get too close to the players. The quadcopter was now hovering to the right of the players a few feet above them. They didn’t seem to see or hear it.
The two players dumped the contents of their duffel bags on the ground. Bundles of money got piled up before them. So looked like they had robbed some players somewhere on the outskirts of the city.
McDermott lit a match, then touched the flame to the money. The pile of the bundles instantly burst into flames. The two players just stood there looking at the burning money.
It was a surprise to me. Sure, I knew that they couldn’t use the money they stole from heisters, but I sure as hell hadn’t expected them to just burn it. What was the purpose of their attacking and robbing other players if they just set stolen money on fire?
When the money was reduced to a pile of ashes, one of the players said something to the other one, but I again didn’t quite make it out. I was forced to move the quadcopter even closer to the players. The drone was now hovering just a couple of feet above them. I was afraid that they might hear the rumble of the rotors, but the players didn’t seem to hear it.
“What’s taking her so long?” McDermott asked. “She should be here by now.”
“Give her some slack, mate,” Chase said. “We’ve been playing this game for so long. So no wonder she’s starting to lose interest in this game.”
I had no idea what they were talking about. How could they have been playing this game for long if it had come out just a couple of weeks ago?
Then it occurred to me. It was so obvious that I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t grasped it earlier. Just like Flynn, these players had to have been playing Heist Online during the beta test period. This explained why they were so experienced in this game from the very first day.
Suddenly, I saw a girl appear next to the two guys. Since she wasn’t wearing a ski mask, I could see her stats.
> Name: Nina
> Level: 20
“Hey guys,” she said to the two players.
“What took you so long?” McDermott almost yelled at her. “You were supposed to be here an hour ago!”
The girl ignored him. She looked at Chase and asked, “He’s having yet another temper tantrum, huh?”
“You better stop talking about me like that,” McDermott growled.
“Geez, you’re as angry as ever,” Nina said. “You should’ve gotten yourself a tattoo.”
“What tattoo?”
“Tattoo that would read Was Born Pissed Off,” Nine replied.
I saw Chase chuckle. McDermott glared at him and Chase stifled his laughter.
“Okay, guys,” Chase said. “Now that Nina’s finally here, what are we gonna do?”
Nina pointed at the pile of burnt money and said, “I take it you’ve already started playing.”
“Of course, we have,” McDermott snapped at her. “Or you thought we would just sit on our arses, doing nothing, waiting for you to enter the game?”
“Chill out, mate,” Chase said to him. “This is just a game. Don’t freak out over such trifles. I think Nina’s tardy because she must’ve had some important matters to attend in IRL.”
“As a matter of fact, I didn’t,” Nina stated.
“Then why are you late for an hour?” Chase asked, surprised.
“I was playing Galaxy Online,” the girl replied. “This game’s just come out and it’s freaking awesome.”
McDermott glared at her and said, “You’re playing another game? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What’s wrong with me playing another game?” The girl asked. “I’m tired of Heist Online. We’ve been playing this game since the beta test. We’ve been playing this game for, like, three months. No wonder I got bored. I usually don’t play the same game for longer than one month because I got bored pretty quickly.”
So I had been right. Just like Flynn, these guys had been beta testers.
“You didn’t expect me to play this game with you guys all my life, did you?” Nina asked. “I want to try something else. What’s wrong with that?”
“I don’t care that you play another game,” McDermott said rudely. “But aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What?”
“We haven’t finished our goal yet.”
“What goal? What in the world are you talking about?” Nina asked.
“We haven’t found Striker yet. We’ve got to track him down and get even with him. Then you can do whatever you want. If you want to play another game, go ahead. But not before we hunt Striker down. We’ve got a score to settle.”
Nina just eyed him for a few seconds as if she didn’t have the slightest idea what he was talking about.
“Striker?” She finally said. “Who the heck is Striker and why should I find him?”
“You must be kidding me,” McDermott snarled.
“I’m not.”
“Seriously? You don’t even remember who Striker is?”
“No, I don’t.”
“This guy tied and left me in a basement,” McDermott growled. “He used me as bait to kill us all. Don’t you remember?”
Now that he had recalled those events, Nina remembered me.
“Oh my gosh,” she exclaimed. “It was so long ago! Don’t tell me you’re still sulking over it.”
“I can’t believe you forget about it,” McDermott said. “You don’t even want to get even with that wanker?”
“No, I don’t. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have forgotten about him, don’t you think?”
“Of course, you don’t,” McDermott rumbled. “Because it wasn’t you whom he hogtied. It wasn’t you whom he humiliated. It wasn’t you whom he wasted.”
“Hey, he and his friends killed me as well. A few times. So what?”
“And you don’t want to get even with them?”
“It’s just a game, dude. Don’t take it too seriously.”
“We have to find that wanker,” McDermott said stressing every word. “I don’t care about his friends. But I really want to hunt Striker down. We have to.”
“And then what?”
“Then we’ll kill him, duh.”
“And you’ll be satisfied?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“And what if you don’t?”
“I don’t know,” McDermott snapped at the girl. “Then I’ll think of something else.”
“Leave me out of this,” Nina said. “I have no interest in taking part in your little revenge game.”
McDermott glared at her silently for a few seconds and then exploded.
“Get the fuck out of here then,” he yelled at her.
“Fine,” Nina said surprisingly calmly. “I’m going to play Galaxy Online then. I’m sick of you already. Hope this bloke you’re looking for will kill you again. If you’ll be able to ever find him, that is.”
Chase finally decided to say something.
“Hey guys, there’s no need for fighting,” he said. “We’re not enemies.”
However, he was too late. Without even glancing at him, Nina left the game. Chase and McDermott just looked at the empty space where she had stood a second ago.
“Good riddance,” McDermott said.
“I feel kinda sad,” Chase said. “I like the girl. Doesn’t seem she’ll be back anytime soon.”
McDermott just shrugged. He seemed to have already forgotten about the girl.
“Let’s find that wanker,” he said.
Chase looked at him and said slowly, “You know, I kinda agree with Nina. What’s the point in looking for Striker?”
McDermott looked at him and for a second, it seemed as though he was going to start swearing and yelling again. But he didn’t. Instead, he sighed and said bitterly, “Et tu, Brute? Fine. I’m going to find him by myself.”
He started to turn around. Chase stepped up to him and placed his palm on McDermott’s shoulder.
“Wait. If you really want to find Striker, I’ll help you. Like I said, we’re not enemies. We’re a team. More than that, we’re friends.”
McDermott nodded.
“Appreciate it,” he said.
Seeing that he had calmed down a bit, Chase said gingerly, “And Nina’s our friend too. So probably you should apologize to her and––”
McDermott’s friendly disposition changed instantly. “What? Apologize? The hell you talking about? Apologize for what? Bloody hell! It is her who’s got to apologize to me, not the other way round!”
Heist Online Page 33
