Con Game

by Alex Westmore

“Mort.”

  “Mort, can you give us as much information as we’ll need to defeat the Laestrygonians?”

  Dr. Rosenbaum nodded. “You’ll have everything you’ll need to know to face them, I assure you.”

  “Speaking of eating,” Delta said, hearing her stomach growl at her. “Would anyone else care for some dinner?”

  Dr. Rosenbaum patted his stomach. “I would.”

  Turning to the professor, Megan took his hand in hers. “I can’t thank you enough, Dr. Rosenbaum—”

  Mort waved her off. “Think nothing of it. A young woman’s life hangs in the balance. Besides, when’s the last time an old codger like me had the chance to tell his colleagues that he spent the evening with three beautiful women?”

  At that, Megan took his arm and headed toward the kitchen. “Dr. Rosenbaum and I will make dinner. You two just keep your peepers on Dori and let us know if anything happens.”

  As soon as they were out of the room, Delta pulled a chair over and sat next to Connie, whose eyes didn’t move from the screen.

  “He may have just saved her life.”

  “Don’t count your chickens, Del. We have as much now as we did before the professor got here. Only time will tell. Literally.”

  “You okay?”

  Connie shrugged. “Coming apart at the seams. You know that or you wouldn’t have asked.”

  Delta rubbed Connie’s neck. There were golf ball-size knots on either side, and Delta winced as she gently worked them out. “Be strong. She needs your level head now more than she ever has.”

  “I know.” Connie hesitated, as if searching for the right words. “Del, do you think people can sense when their loved one dies?”

  Delta thought back to the instant Miles had been shot. She had felt some-thing spiritual being ripped from her soul in the darkness that surrounded her that night. She remembered the fist of death reaching through her chest and grabbing her heart, tearing from her someone she loved. Yes, she knew he was dead even before his body hit the pavement. She knew, because her heart felt it.

  “Yes, Con, I do.”

  “Then Gina’s still alive.”

  “It’s important that you remember that.”

  Connie turned from the monitor and looked closely at Delta. “I don’t think I have ever loathed anyone as much as I do Elson Zuckerman. And to be honest, I’m a little afraid of what might happen if I catch him before you do.”

  Delta stopped rubbing her neck and held her hand. It was uncharacteristically cold. “Cross that one when you get there, babe. Right now, keep the focus on finding Gina and the rest will follow.”

  “I know. But this fear threatens to incapacitate me, Del. Only the anger and determination to see him dead move me forward.”

  “I understand.”

  “Do you? Do you understand that it feels like the hate and anger are controlling the rest of me, like a boa squeezing the life out of its victim?”

  Now, for the first time, Delta picked up on a different sort of fear in Connie’s voice. A fear that said she knew how much Elson had poisoned her spirit and eroded her gentle nature. A fear that admitted he had won on an emotional level because Consuela Rivera would never truly be the same. It was a fear shared by both women in the room.

  “I won’t let that happen to you, Con. I promise, I won’t.”

  Connie nodded, but her gaze was miles away. “That’s good to know because I don’t trust what I would do or how I would act if I ever see him again.”

  A cold chill ran up Delta’s arms. “Hey, we’re going to bring Gina home, and we’re going to catch this crazy bastard and get our lives back.”

  Slowly, Connie looked up and blinked two large tears down her cheeks. “That’s what I’m afraid of, Del. That he’s tainted us for good, that we’ll never be what we once were. I’m scared to death that no matter how this turns out, he will have destroyed a part of me and my life anyway.”

  Holding Connie as tightly as she could, with her injury and the awkward position of sitting on separate chairs, Delta rocked her.

  “Del, I didn’t get the chance to tell you before all of this insanity broke loose, but—Gina and I were talking about having a baby.”

  Delta’s stomach dropped. “No kidding? I’m going to be an aunt?”

  Connie pulled away and tried to grin. “A baby, Delta. We had just started talking about Gina getting pregnant and moving to a bigger house . . . and now . . . God, I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her.”

  “You won’t lose her.” Delta’s voice was commanding and hard. “And you’ve got to stop thinking that way. Damn it, Connie, you’re going to get Gina back and have a baby, and our lives are going to move forward after this.”

  “I hope so,” Connie said quietly. “Because if they don’t, I’m going to jail for murder.”

  Chapter 43

  “Odysseus and his men were successful at defeating the Laestrygonians, and I’m

  quite sure we will as well.” Dr.Rosenbaum had spent the last two hours expounding on portions of the Odyssey and other interesting tales. He seemed very aware of the need to pass time and did his best to keep the three women occupied. In the middle of the third hour, Connie jumped up.

  “There’s movement on the screen!”

  In a second, the other three were at the computer. “Look!”

  Delta stared at the monitor and saw that, ever so slowly, Poseidon was disappearing from the screen. “It worked! Mort, you were right!”

  Watching the screen, Delta thought about the Cheshire cat and how he faded away and left his smile. Poseidon faded and left only his shadow.

  “He’s leaving!”

  Cheers and hugs all the way around, as Poseidon disappeared completely. Dr. Rosenbaum’s smile went from ear to ear.

  “Okay, Professor, now what?” Connie asked excitedly, grabbing the joystick and moving Dori.

  Delta glanced over at Dr. Rosenbaum and saw elation on his face. He really relished his success. He enjoyed it even more when Dori used the trident to part the water and was whisked to the next level.

  “Here we go.” Connie announced. “You might as well relax for a few hours while I fight my way through the next level.

  “Where we’ll meet and kill the Laestrygonians, right, Mort?”

  Dr. Rosenbaum nodded. “Just let me know when you need me. I am curious about the notes you made and would wish to peruse them further.”

  “Peruse away, Mort.” Turning to Delta, Connie grinned. “Two outs, bottom of the seventh, and we’re still alive. Put a pot of java on, would you?”

  Walking into the kitchen, Delta peered back into the living room and watched Connie move Dori through the next level. “Con?”

  “Yeah?” Connie did not look up.

  “When we find him. I mean, when we meet up with him, we have to bring him in. We have to find out where Gina is. You know that, don’t you?”

  Connie did not reply.

  “I mean, I know what you would like to do to him, and frankly so would I.”

  “But?”

  “But you don’t need that hanging over your life. I know what it feels like to kill a man. Trust me. You don’t want to feel that forever.”

  Connie shrugged. “We’ll see. Right now, let’s just worry about finding him.”

  Right now, Delta thought to herself, let’s just worry about not losing you.

  Chapter 44

  Five hours later, Connie had just finished killing off a Fury when she entered what was known to computer adventure enthusiasts as the “Dragon Room'.” As the final destination of each level, this one held the notorious Laestrygonians.

  Depressing the pause button, Connie turned to find Delta with her head on the table, Megan asleep on the couch, and Dr. Rosenbaum quietly reading one of the two large volumes of mythology that Megan checked out from school.

  “Well, Mort, we’re here.”

  Delta slowly raised her head from the table and glanced up at the large watch hanging in the kitchen
.

  “Seven-thirty? Shit.” Rising gingerly, Delta rubbed her bad leg. It was stiff and sore and itched like crazy. “Whatcha got, Con?”

  “We’re there. I’ve got the trident, and the Laestrygonians are advancing toward Dori licking their lips.”

  Dr. Rosenbaum laid his volume down and took his reading glasses off. “Do they appear as giants?” he asked, rising from the recliner.

  Connie nodded.

  Dr. Rosenbaum clearly suppressed a grin. “The Laestrygonians were known to spear men in the same fashion as we would spear fish. Then, they would pick them up and eat them whole. I would imagine—”

  “Wait!” Connie interrupted, pointing to the screen, which was turning white. “It’s him. He’s leaving us another message.”

  Connie read the message out loud.

  Congratulations, Consuela. I am indeed impressed. Perhaps you are brighter than I gave you credit for. We’ll soon see. Thus far, you have been allowed to use the old trial-and-error technique that got you through college. But no longer. From here on out, once Dori gets killed, your part in the game is over. That means if she dies, so does your lover. Surprised? Don’t be. By now, you know that I am playing for keeps.

  So, try all you want, but when Dori is eliminated from the game, that’s the end and I’ll carve your little sweetie up like Helen Keller trying to slice the Thanksgiving turkey. So, be careful—one wrong move and . . .

  For a moment, all eyes were on Connie, who closed her eyes and did not move. As the screen appeared, and Dori and the Laestrygonians faded back into the picture, Delta lightly touched Connie’s shoulder.

  “Con?” Delta said, barely above a whisper.

  “I’m all right.”

  Dr. Rosenbaum shook his head. “I’m afraid I wasn’t prepared for the enormity of this situation.”

  For two silent, unmoving minutes, the red-eyed group stood staring at the screen, as if waiting for the characters to move themselves. Finally, Connie reached down and took the controls in her hand. Turning to Megan, Connie’s glare was icy, almost maniacal. “Okay, here’s what we need to do. Megan, you watch Dori’s backside for me to make sure we don’t get snuck up on. Put your finger on the pause button in case we get into any trouble; we can pause before anything terrible happens.”

  “You’re really going to play this out?” Dr. Rosenbaum asked.

  “We have no choice. I’m not going to waste time trying to remove the chip.”

  Delta agreed. “We’ve gotten this far.”

  “What can I do?”

  “Mort, you can hang out until we need some answers. Do you mind?”

  “Of course not. It’s just . . .”

  “Scary?” Megan finished for him.

  Mort Rosenbaum nodded. “It’s frightening.”

  “Well, hang on, Mort, because we’re going for broke.”

  For three hours, Connie worked to both kill the Laestrygonians and keep Dori alive. Nothing she tried worked; no data Dr. Rosenbaum gave her seemed to make a difference. She tried harpooning them with the trident, but it only bounced off. She tried throwing things, giving them poison, setting them on fire, bargaining, poking them in the eyes, and even bribery, but nothing worked. Her only consolation after three grueling hours was that Dori still lived.

  “Eight hours, Connie. We have a little over eight hours left.” Connie nodded to

  Megan, who pressed pause. “Unless we missed something back at the ranch, we’ve done everything we can, and still no results.”

  Dr. Rosenbaum approached the computer and rubbed his chin. “At the risk of sounding chancy, there is one more thing we might try.”

  “And that is?”

  “Well, to be quite frank, it would put Dori in a great deal of danger.”

  “Go for it, Mort. We’re running out of time.”

  Mort Rosenbaum nodded wearily. “I’ve been thinking. Poseidon was also called the `Earth Shaker’ because striking the ground with the trident caused earthquakes. There is, of course, the uncertainty that if you cause one, little Dori might be in as much danger as the Laestrygonians. There are no guarantees she’ll survive any falling rocks and opened craters.”

  Delta glanced over at Connie and shrugged. “It’s your call.” Turning back to the computer, Connie rubbed her eyes and fiddled with the joystick. “I think we’re out of choices. We have to take a shot.” Cracking her knuckles, Connie inhaled deeply and slowly. “Okay, Mort, how do we start this earthquake?”

  “Strike the trident on the ground.”

  Delta reached out and took Connie’s hand. “Wait!”

  “What is it?”

  “Do we still have the winged sandals?” Connie nodded.

  “That’s it, Con. Strike the trident on the ground—”

  “And get the hell off of the earth!” Connie finished for her.

  “Yes!” Dr. Rosenbaum added for emphasis. “That’s perfect! What a wonderful idea.”

  “Get as high as possible, Connie,” Megan said, her finger still on the pause button.

  Connie nodded vigorously. “Got it.” Taking the joystick in her right hand, Connie rolled her head from side to side until her neck cracked. Then, she wiped her left hand on her pants. Tiny beads of perspiration dotted her forehead and upper lip. “Okay, baby, here we go.”

  As Megan released the pause button, Connie moved Dori around to avoid the spears being thrown at her. Twice, she was almost stepped on before reaching the clearing between the forest and Olympus.

  “Okay, everyone, here she goes.”

  Striking the ground and immediately taking to the air, Dori hovered inches above the large rocks tumbling off Mount Olympus and crashing to the earth below, smashing into the huge Laestrygonians. One by one, they fell prey to the falling boulders, until finally, there were no Laestrygonians standing.

  “We did it! We did it! We did it!” Delta cried, hugging Megan tightly. “We killed them! We killed those damn things!”

  “Look!” Dr. Rosenbaum said, pointing to the screen where a small, black box had appeared a few feet before the first line of trees to the forest.

  “What in the hell is that?”

  “Don’t open it,” Mort stated calmly. “I’ll bet a year’s salary that that’s Pandora’s Box.”

  Megan pulled away from Delta and nodded. “I remember. Pandora was told not to open it, but she did, and out flew lust, old age, sickness, et cetera.”

  Mort smiled proudly at Megan. “Quite right. But when Pandora was finally able to close the box, she sealed in one gift. That gift was hope. Thus, no matter how futile things may seem, man always has hope. It’s a rather uplifting myth, if you ask me.”

  “What do we do with the chest?” came Megan’s logical question. “The box is

  Elson’s idea of a final trap.”

  “Or a clue.”

  “Or both.”

  Connie looked at the clock on the wall. “We don’t have time to sit around, wondering. Any suggestions?”

  “I vote we open the box.” This from Megan.

  “Ditto.” Delta agreed.

  Connie turned fully around. “Professor?”

  Scratching the top of his head, Dr. Rosenbaum exhaled loudly. “I must concur. But before you do, examine it carefully. Perhaps, the clue is outside.”

  “Try picking it up and taking it with us,” Delta offered, remembering the last box they came across.

  “Pick it up?” Connie mused. “Why not?”

  “It’s as good an idea as opening it. I believe a desperate person would open it. We’re not quite there yet.”

  “Agreed. Well, bottom’s up.” Maneuvering Dori toward the box, Connie had her bend down and pick it up. When she did, a secret opening lay beneath it. “Bingo. Thank God, we didn’t open it straight away.”

  Dr. Rosenbaum studied the screen carefully. “Oh, dear.”

  “What?”

  “It would appear that you have uncovered a portal to the underworld.”

  Connie rubbed her ey
es. “A portal to the underworld? You mean hell?”

  “In a manner of speaking. Hades is Poseidon’s brother. He is the ruler of the underworld.”

  Delta checked her watch. “We don’t have time for too many more levels.”

  “Well, we can’t sit around here doing nothing. We either take the plunge, or we don’t.”

  Tension filled the room. Gina’s life hung on their every decision, by every move they made. Time didn’t move, the screen didn’t blink, and four hearts barely beat, awaiting Connie’s decision.

  “Storm, I need you to close your eyes and think for a moment.”

  Delta cocked her head in question. “About what?”

  “What do you feel? I mean, what do you think Elson would do? Can you get a bead on where he’s going with this?”

  Delta understood what Connie was after and closed her eyes and thought about what she would do in this instance.

  Opening her eyes, she looked back at the dark eyes drilling into her. “I think we should take our box, our trident, and our courage and jump down the blasted hole.”

  Megan and Dr. Rosenbaum agreed.

  Connie hesitated for just a moment before moving Dori to the edge of the hole. The tense seconds that chugged by were weighted like cement shoes, as Connie stared at the black-haired warrior who personified both her and Delta.

  “Okay, Dori,” Connie whispered, “Come on, baby, and stay alive.” Barely moving the joystick, Connie sent Dori plunging into the dark hole.

  Down, down, down she fell, head over heels, trident in one hand, box in the other. Minutes elapsed as Dori tumbled helplessly through the dark shaft.

  “She’s doomed,” Connie muttered, holding her head with her hands.

  “The shoes!” Megan cried. “Use the shoes!”

  Connie tried the joystick. “I’m trying, but it doesn’t work. Lord help her, she’s on her own.”

  Down, down, down Dori fell, until at last, with the bottom rapidly approaching, she landed on her back with a sickening and all-too-realistic thud.

  No one in the room moved.

  No one breathed.

  All eyes were focused on the monitor and the tiny warrior lying still atop the red dirt. For an eternity she lay, unresponsive to the joystick’s movements or Connie’s heartbreaking pleas.