The Bloodlust: (Volume Three of the Virion Series)

by R. L. M. Sanchez

  “Hey, pipe down!” Kimmy shouted. “Every card is scanned in this tournament and the scanners don’t lie!”

  The patrons quieted down as she walked to Arvid and held the card for him to take back. He was pleased to see her stick her neck out for him. He let go of the other patron and gently took his card back. The other players present were more nervous now that they saw what Arvid was fielding, despite the heated situation that transpired. Just then, a message played over the intercom.

  “Semi-finals beginning in five minutes. Contestants, please take your assigned seats. Again, Semi-finals begin in five minutes. The Fate of Sol rests with you.”

  Some of the players shook their heads as they walked away, already in defeat.

  “Well, it looks like we’re playing each other,” Arvid said. “You must believe me when I say it will pain me to defeat you, but perhaps after we could…?”

  “Well, I do play for fun, Mister Berg—” Kimmy said as she caught herself before saying his real name. He didn’t seem to catch it, simply tilting his ear to hear better. “I just like to play, Mister Stenburg.”

  “That’s the spirit. In the end, that’s what the game is, right? We should try not to take it too seriously.”

  Kimmy walked back to the bar to leave her glass, but not before sticking the card under the counter. She looked around to catch Clint staring her down from the far side of the room seated at his assigned dueling table. He simply winked. She let out a deep breath and took seat with Arvid after.

  Kimmy sat in her seat patiently as Arvid took his in front of her. They waited for the timer to finish counting down to begin. Kimmy looked around to see the remaining players, locking eyes with Clint once again as he chewed a piece of gum. His opponent was none other than Peyton McCarthy.

  Several camera crews were around, broadcasting several matches simultaneously, keeping the entire Red Sector Games spectators on the edge of their seats. Suddenly the timer buzzed. The holographic coin appeared on the table.

  “Tails,” Arvid said.

  “Heads,” Kimmy said.

  The coin rolled on the table and revealed heads up. Kimmy happily placed her deck onto the scanner and watched the scan turn blue, a legal deck.

  Arvid then placed his deck on the scanner only to see it turn red. A small message hovered above his deck. Please rescan deck, illegal units detected. Arvid grew alarmed but he knew it must have been a mistake, so sure of it in fact that he simply smiled and rescanned the deck. The scanner recycled but still came out red with a secondary message underneath the previous. Illegal card detected, Auroran faction, Run’Va Revant Leader. Please contact tournament Herald.

  “Ouch, not good, Mr. Stenberg,” Kimmy smiled. “How on Earth did you get that past the check-in scanners?”

  Arvid looked at Kimmy with shock as her tone changed. He looked at his deck in disbelief. He picked up his deck and quickly shuffled through them to inspect his leader card. He put it to his nose and smelled it. After doing so, he became enraged.

  “You!” he said. “You took it!”

  “How dare you, sir!” Unsuspecting to Kimmy, Arvid used a certain cologne that stained his cards, but the damage was done. He stood up quickly, aiming his finger at her face.

  “Hand it over!”

  “Now you listen close, Mister Stenburg, or should I call you by your respected name, Bergstrom?” His face flattened out, knowing he wasn’t dealing with just an ordinary person anymore.

  “How…?! Who do you work for?”

  “I’m freelance and I’m helping out a client for the time being, so if you want your little card back I suggest you sit down, big guy, before I call the Herald over here and they drag your ass off for cheating.”

  “Try it. They won’t believe you. You have the card on you.”

  “You think I’m that dense? I dumped it before we sat down. Besides, do you really want to take that chance, Arvid? This is Red Sector. Cheaters don’t get a slap on the hand, they’re left for judgment by the ruthless degenerates down here. How do you think they’d treat you knowing you made it this far into the tournament with a phony deck? Sit.” Arvid looked around to see there were definitely less-than-desirable people about. He sat back down, grinding his teeth and feeling the utmost hate for Kimmy. “Now, we’re going to talk about a little deal. That’s what you do, right? Make offers? Strike deals?”

  “What do you want, Mysterious Stranger?”

  “Now, there are two ways this can happen, Arvid. Option A: You forfeit this match, go back to your cruise like a normal businessman, and you wait for further instruction from my client. Option B: You get your card back right now and continue the tournament, but not before I leak your presence here all over the InfiNET, including Cold Haven’s board of directors. I don’t think your people or your clients would take too kindly in dealing with a greedy man who blows his money on illegal Red Sector card tournaments.”

  “And just who is this client of yours?” Arvid growled.

  “Look, if you want the card back, talk to Clint.” Arvid crept a smile and then a chuckle.

  “Clint? Ha-ha! I see. Fine then. That little scoundrel has found some big fuckin’ balls.”

  “None of my business, but until you work it all out, you run the risk of riding the lightning and we may just throw your little Run’Va into space.”

  “Oh, we’ll work it out. Don’t you worry about that.” Arvid donned an evil smile. “But I won’t be worked over by some no-good hood bitch. I lose nothing but time here.”

  “So, you’ve made up your mind, yes?” Kimmy said as she waved down a Herald. One from across the room began to walk over.

  “Wait!” Arvid said as Kimmy lowered her hand. “Fine. I’ll withdrawal, no problem for me.” Arvid stood up, about to walk away. “But what’s to stop me from going after Clint with everything I’ve got once I get out of here? What’s to stop me from going after you?”

  “Mister Bergstrom, I’m actually the Mad Black Hatter. Since I eyed you, I’ve already ripped open your OPIaA and copied the entirety of your data logs and whereabouts. Your bank accounts on Europa, your forged sales council votes. I already have enough to shut down Cold Haven for good in the next night. I can turn the entire undercity against you in the bat of an eye. I can convince your own wife to kill you in your sleep from your little sensual escapades last week in Cairo.” Kimmy stood up to bring herself face to face with the large man. “The moment you think this is a bluff, you lose everything.” Kimmy smiled at Arvid. Even he was aware of the legend of The Black Hatter, although he thought the name was just a title to anyone who felt like taking it. She had proved the myth was standing right in front of him. “Do you really want to know why they started to call me Mad?”

  Arvid almost began to whimper, immediately regretting his decision to venture into the undercity. He was out of his league compared to the people around him. He waved his hand over the forfeit panel, tapping it twice to confirm. And just like that, he was eliminated. Just then the Herald approached.

  “Is there a problem?” the Herald asked.

  “I’m through,” Arvid said as he buttoned his coat and proceeded out of the room. Kimmy watched him as he walked out in shame and embarrassment. She saw his name on the board crossed off and saw her own advance. But she also saw Peyton’s name advance on the board with Clint’s eliminated.

  She looked back to Clint who was already on his way out, a close tail on Bergstrom. He was already looking at the rare card in his hand. He stared at it a little more. As he walked passed, he winked at Kimmy. He was nonetheless happy she kept her end of the bargain. He flicked the rare card at her, startling her as she frantically caught it.

  “Keep it.” Clint smiled. “Until next time, Hatter.” He walked out of the room, an agreement fulfilled. She looked down to see the Run’Va card in her hand. She quickly realized a bigger story. Clint paid no mind to the expensive buy-in, whether he lost or not, or that he gave away the rarest Sol-Fate card in existence to a total strang
er. She saw he was clearly after something much grander, at least in his own eyes. She would probably never know the end of that story.

  Mysteries were presented every day. Some answered, some forever lost. It wasn’t her concern anymore as to who Clint really was.

  6

  ONE SOL, TWO FATES

  Almost the entirety of The Games was glued to the terminals above as the finals were about to start. Kimmy had come a long way and she stood an equal chance of winning, just as her opponent did. The two commentators reappeared on screen to announce the final match, the match that would determine the winner of the 2475 Red Sector Games Sol-Fate Tournament.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome back to our coverage of the Sol-Fate tournament here at The Red Sector Games. I’m Arnie Bulwark joined by my lovely co-host Sybil Gretchen. Well, Sybil, the finals. And it couldn’t get here quick enough.”

  “After that brutal slaughter in The Gauntlet before the semi-finals, we had some odd forfeits in our semi-final matchups, leaving us with some unpredicted contenders.”

  “Oh, I’m sure some of our players were passing threats of beheadings and alley mutilations to psych out their opponents. This is Red Sector! But let’s look at our finalists then, Sybil, the final two. First, we have Peyton McCarthy, a Wordkeeper under Hasker but first and foremost a Sol-Fate aficionado. If he’s not patrolling the Hasker territories, he’s taking people for whatever they have in Sol-Fate. Now, Peyton has shown great promise in his time here tonight, having not lost a single round and his ENF deck has proven to be quite the powerhouse tonight, completely smashing his way through the masses. Honestly, I expected nothing less because let’s not forget he was runner-up last year.”

  “And the next finalist was, I thought, somewhat of a wild card if you ask me, Arnie, The Mysterious Stranger. But she’s anything but now. I didn’t expect this young woman to make it as far as she did but, like her next opponent, she’s been undefeated without a single round lost. One of her opponents even got cold feet and bugged out before he even put his deck down. But this match should prove interesting as we’re going to see ENF pitted against ENF, two opponents who are undefeated. And someone will lose.”

  “Well, I don’t think there’s much to talk about now so, without further ado, let’s jump into the Sol-Fate Final!”

  Peyton walked into the large dark room, separate from the main area where the other matches were played. This room was reserved for the finalists, quiet and cold and only a couple of camera drones looking upon the one table in the middle of the large empty room. Peyton walked in with a grin and his unmistakable swagger and kept his smile aimed at Kimmy who was already sitting.

  “Well, well, well… Peyton McDouchebag…” Kimmy said as she crossed her arms. “I guess it was wishful thinking that you’d trip and break your neck walking in here.” Peyton still refused to bring down his smile as he sat down at the small table. The two would take advantage of the table lacking audio broadcasting equipment, both having harsh and psychologically damning words for each other. As far as the viewers were concerned, they only saw the playing table and the moves about to be made. Kimmy could get away with a light jab to Peyton’s face, but she would risk the tournament in the process.

  “Ah, The Mysterious Stranger. I see you’re still running that delicious mouth of yours.”

  “Please, Peyton, would you just shut the hell up? Just looking at you makes me want to vomit. And for Christ’s sake, wipe that ridiculous smirk off your damn face and get ready to scan your deck!”

  “So eager, are you? Eager to blow it all? We are the best here, quite evenly matched.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure, Peyton. I’m pretty sure you only got here because the opponents this year were pathetic.”

  “Ha-ha. Your confidence is still intact, good. Even if you don’t have your prized Dreadnaught card anymore.”

  Kimmy saw Peyton’s grin stretch wider than ever. She kept a cold eye on him, his hidden behind his oval blue sunglasses.

  “Players, call your side,” the synthetic female voice said from above. The holographic coin appeared on the table, spinning.

  “Tails,” Kimmy said.

  “Heads,” Peyton muttered.

  The coin came to a slow spin then finally stopped and landed on tails.

  Kimmy leaned back in her chair, not so much relieved as the toss never mattered much to her. But first strike was always welcome. Kimmy placed her deck on the scanner and the hologram paced over her deck, showing her Leader card, her Level 15 ENF Sergeant Alistair. Peyton smirked as he placed his deck down to scan.

  “I’ve been looking forward to this,” Peyton grinned as his deck began scanning. “These normal people may not know who you are. They all think you’re some rich kid spending Daddy’s money, but every one of Hasker’s men knows. They’re all watching you, but more importantly me. The mighty Mad Black Hatter bested in a card game, outwitted at her game of choice by Peyton. What fun.”

  The deck finished scanning and revealed his leader card, a Level 15 ENF Dreadnaught Spirit. Kimmy looked at the card closely, ready to jump out of her chair and beat Peyton to a pulp.

  “Sonuva bitch!” Kimmy shouted. “You lifted it!”

  “You think you’re the only one with magic fingers, Hatter? We were both Wordhunters once, stealing information of all kinds, however we could, even if that meant getting a little touchy with you just to get my hand close enough to that deck of yours. Cost me my nose.” Kimmy scolded herself. She should have known better.

  “And just what are the Heralds going to think of you stealing a player’s card?” Kimmy said.

  “Haven’t thought this through, have you? I walked in with that card, scanned and passed, just like now. Once your cards are locked, any other circumstances are your own. The Heralds don’t give a damn if you misplaced your card before you scanned in.”

  “You little shit!”

  “Players, please draw your hand.”

  Kimmy bit her tongue with no choice but to proceed. She would have to play smart, her only viable strategy as of now was to stay calm and let Peyton’s overconfidence overtake him.

  Both drew their ten cards and prepared to battle. Kimmy looked at Peyton, curious as to what his hand could consist of. Such was the anticipation of the game, but first strike gave her the choice of how to set the pace as she picked and placed her first card on the field.

  Meanwhile, Arnie and Sybil called the game as they saw it. McKenna and the team only had the commentators to rely on, no idea what Kimmy and Peyton could be thinking.

  “Here we go, Arnie. First card down and it’s a Level 8 Assault Marine. Simple, but that puts a nice score of eight on The Stranger’s board. Remember people, the player’s score is reflective of the accumulative points of the units fielded. We’re just waiting on Peyton’s move.”

  “Starting slow, Hatter?” Peyton said.

  “I’m just hoping you’ll make it interesting, Peyton…” Kimmy sighed. Peyton slowly looked over his cards, smile still present.

  “Peyton seems to be taking his time on his first move here, Arnie,” Sybil said.

  “Either he’s a little dim or he’s lining up his entire strategy for the match right in front of us.”

  Peyton pulled his card of choice and laid it on the table.

  “Ah, a rare one, Arnie. Peyton retaliates with a Level 9 Raiju-Two Fighter. Nice to see an Air unit. That puts Peyton one point over The Stranger but it’s still early and we’ve yet to see any Force cards to knock those scores lower, or raise them.”

  “Next card by The Stranger. Not wasting any time, Sybil! We have another Air unit, Level 8 Raiju, putting her tall at a healthy score of sixteen.”

  “And Peyton seems to be picking up his pace, throwing down another card, and it’s yet another Level 9 Raiju-Two! Peyton’s sure acting quick, using the brute rush method, trying to get that score as high as possible, now sitting at eighteen!”

  “They’re going to need to calm down. T
his is turning into a pissing match,” Arnie said. “Each player only has their ten allotted cards for ALL rounds, so if they use them up in the first, they’ll have nothing left to fight with!”

  “Eight cards left for each of them. They’re still very much able and ready for a fight, Arnie, and it looks like we’re going to get just that as The Stranger lays down another Air unit, a Level 9 Griffin X, but there’s Peyton quick to throw down another Air unit! Level 9 Zhue-Que Auxiliary Fighter! They are not letting up, Arnie, both powering their way through their hands! Is it really going to come down to whoever’s deck is stronger?!”

  “Oh, it seems that way, Sybil! The Stranger at twenty-five and Peyton at twenty-seven, a small lead, but it’s enough to end the round if The Stranger doesn’t pull ahead. Peyton’s cards are simply overpowering hers! In a normal round with normal players, someone would have given it up at this point to save their strength, but it seems both players want to shut this down now!”

  Kimmy looked at Peyton and then to his cards, noticing an obvious pattern developing. It was a small flaw, but it might be enough.

  “Never thought you favored those Air units so much, Peyton.”

  “Your own methods against you, Hatter. Or maybe you simply arrived here without the proper tools!”

  Kimmy was well aware her cards were being overpowered, but her risky strategy of powering through cards was acceptable in order to feel out what Peyton’s hand was strengthened in and lacking. It was becoming clear that he favored his Air units, very well counting on the fact that he’d swipe her card. She also couldn’t help but be curious as to how far Peyton’s confidence would take him. She pulled another card from her hand.