Game of Fear

by Robin Perini

  The phone went quiet. “What aren’t you telling me, Gabe?”

  A lot. “We’ll talk later.”

  “Count on it,” Luke said tightly. “I’ll have more than a few probing questions of my own.”

  Gabe ended the call.

  “This entire situation is insane,” Deb said, leaning her head back against the seat.

  Gabe pulled her into his arms. To his surprise, she immediately melted against him as if she’d been waiting for his touch.

  She looked up at him. “I am so scared, Gabe. Ashley has been gone too long.”

  “I’m here to help.” He kissed her forehead, then her lips, gently, giving comfort the only way he knew how. He was worried for her sister, too. “We’ll find Ashley,” he said, then sent up a silent prayer that if they did, she’d still be alive.

  A sudden pounding on Deb’s window had Gabe reaching for his weapon. He pulled the Glock. Mylo saw the gun and fell backward. He hadn’t even stopped to put on a jacket, despite the frigid temperatures.

  Deb slid down her window. “What’s wrong?”

  “Britney’s mom just called to ask her a question, but I said she hadn’t made it here yet.” Mylo’s voice cracked. “Her mom said Britney left two hours ago and their hotel is only ten minutes away.”

  Two stressful hours later, cold bit into Gabe’s face. He shoved his hands into his pockets at the entrance to Luke’s ranch-style house. Deb stood beside him, her hood up, her cheeks red from the icy wind.

  Immediately the door flew open. Gabe couldn’t miss the worry on his brother’s face. He glanced at Deb, then relaxed his expression. “Took you long enough. What did you do? Take a detour to China on your way here?”

  “We had to stop at the Colorado Springs Police Department again. There’s another girl missing. I wanted to reinforce the unlikely coincidence of three teenagers disappearing from the same town in a matter of days.”

  Luke frowned, holding the door open for them to enter. “How long has she been gone?”

  “At least four hours,” Deb said, her voice cracking with emotion. “Justin disappeared Saturday. Ashley on Sunday. Now, Britney on Monday. Even the police have to act on this now. I wish they’d call in the FBI.”

  Luke closed the door behind them. “My wife and daughter will be home soon, so why don’t we go into the den. We can view the video clip in private.”

  Gabe shrugged out of his coat, then helped Deb out of hers. They followed Luke into a wood-paneled room with a computer system and gaming equipment. Once everyone was inside, he shut and locked the door.

  Gabe studied the impressive system. It wasn’t as elaborate as Mylo’s, but his brother was obviously no slouch at gaming, either. “Is this computer used for any of your newspaper work or investigations?”

  “No, that’s in my office. I try to keep the murder and mayhem files there, away from Joy’s curious little eyes. As it is, I have to lock up any games not rated E for Everyone. She saw a few of the covers of M games I left out and was not happy she couldn’t play them. She’s all too eager to move past Hello Kitty and onto the big-kid games.”

  “That girl is four going on fourteen.”

  “Tell me about it. Have a seat.”

  Gabe dropped onto the brown leather couch across from the screen, pulling Deb down beside him. Luke arched his brow, but didn’t say a word. He picked up a remote.

  “Video first or the game?”

  Gabe slipped his hand into Deb’s. “How familiar are you with Point of Entry? You know about Level 88?”

  “Who doesn’t?”

  Gabe and Deb exchanged a look.

  Luke sighed. “Except you two. Level 88 is the Holy Grail in each version of P.O.E. I haven’t made it past Level 60 yet, but then I do have a life and a family who wants to interact with me once in a while. When your wife is a sniper, it’s a good idea not to piss her off.”

  “Better you than me,” Gabe said. “Jazz can be damned scary when she’s in a mood.” He cleared his throat and pulled out his cell. “Let’s look at the video first. The kids wanted to document reaching Level 88. Mylo sent it to my phone. It may be hard to see on the small screen, though.”

  “If you forward it to me, I can put it on the big screen.”

  Gabe looked at the phone for a minute and grimaced. He and technology didn’t always get along. “I’m afraid I’ll blow it away if I try it, and I want to show it to Neil, too.”

  “If you want, I can transfer it. I’m a tech guru, remember?”

  Gabe found the video file, then handed his phone to Luke. “The one marked ‘twelfth attempt.’ It’s dated Friday.”

  A minute later, the electronic magic was done.

  “So what are we watching?” he asked, settling in next to Gabe.

  “A mystery.” Gabe flicked his phone to vibrate and shoved it back into the pocket of his jacket. He didn’t want to be interrupted during the video. He had to stay focused.

  “Sounds compelling. What do you mean by that?”

  “Things happen in this video that I can’t explain. The three kids in it are a team. They’re about to hit Level 88 of Point of Entry. As soon as they do, it gets weird.”

  “Okay, let’s do it.” Luke hit a remote and the lights went off and the screen flickered to life.

  Deb tensed and Gabe slid his arm around her. He knew how hard it was to see her sister on-screen and not know her fate. Deb clutched his other hand, her fingers tight on his. She’d been incredibly strong through all this. She’d fit in well with the other women in this family.

  The idea shocked him, but not as much as it might have a few days ago. Still, it was a jump from being attracted to someone, dreaming of a few long, sweaty nights, to thinking of her as a prospective Montgomery woman. But he’d seen her face trouble with strength, her willingness to fight for her sister—just as he would for his brothers—without hesitation, without fail. She could very well be the first woman he’d wanted who really fit.

  Luke turned to them. “If you think I should know something, jump in. I’ll stop the video.”

  The clip started.

  A pretty blonde sat next to a dark-haired boy on the couch, and their intimate smiles let everyone know the two teenagers were crushing on each other.

  “Hold it,” Deb interjected. “I guess I should give you some background. That’s my sister, Ashley, and her boyfriend, Justin. They met in high school, when she and my dad first moved to Colorado. After she left for the Academy, Justin and two others formed a P.O.E. team. It wasn’t long before he invited her to join them.”

  Luke frowned. “Why her?”

  “She’s a prodigy with computers and encryption,” Gabe said. “She and Justin did the NSA hack job.”

  Luke’s jaw dropped.

  “Anyway,” Deb added quickly, “Britney, the other girl who’s now missing, had been the third member on Justin’s P.O.E. team, but she’d moved away last spring. Ashley was thrilled to fill the opening. Soon, she was playing the game with them every weekend.”

  After Deb identified Mylo as the other frozen image in the background, Luke started the video again.

  An expensive new gaming system held court front and center on the mahogany coffee table in the living room. Mylo handed out sodas and bags of popcorn, then flopped down into a gaming chair. Justin tugged open the bag and passed it over to Ashley. She grabbed a handful, then he dumped the entire contents into the bowl next to the four controllers.

  “This is the coolest game ever,” he said, grinning at her. “I can’t believe you’ve picked it up so fast. You’ve got our levels going up faster than they were before. Being on Level 87 is awesome. It would have taken longer without you.”

  Ashley flushed and reached for a controller.

  Mylo chugged back half his soda and grabbed a fist of popcorn. “Yeah, Blondie, you’re not bad for a brai
niac.”

  Justin scowled at him. “Back off, Romeo.”

  “I’m not hitting on her. Jeez,” Mylo groused, turning to Ashley. “Seriously, it’s a damn good thing you are a genius. Justin’s smart, but these levels are getting too hard. Banks, spies, breaking codes and that kind of crap. Personally, I like the action-adventure stuff at the beginning of the game better. Guns, robots, and aliens are cool. These last ten levels have been frustrating.”

  “That’s because Ashley is only here on weekends. She’s the one that catches the weird numerical patterns and stuff. And she coded that killer password application,” Justin said, pressing the power button and inserting the Point of Entry disk. After everything loaded, all extraneous talk stopped.

  The three players concentrated on the game, following the clues, shooting the bad guys, and breaking through the various obstacles. Then they hit the safe. They tried several different password ideas, all without success.

  Mylo threw down his controller. “I hate this. We’re never going to break the last clue. A twelve-letter account code? Plus a three-digit number? No way. Give me the guns and ammo back.” He fell back into his seat. “There better be something great behind that damn door.”

  “Would you shut up?” Justin growled, as the sequence he’d keyed in was rejected. “We can’t concentrate with all your complaining.”

  Ashley suddenly shifted forward, studying the screen, her face alight. “Oh my God, I think I’ve got it. Justin, I think you were only off by one number. May I?” she asked, nodding at the screen. He handed her the remote and she entered the new sequence.

  Nothing happened.

  “Okay, that number blew it up, too. What a pain in the—” Mylo’s voice trailed off as the large television screen showcasing the computer game went black.

  “Did we do it?” Ashley asked.

  Suddenly, a spinning sound echoed through all the speakers in the room. The noise seemed to explode around them.

  “Congratulations, Eradicators!” a mechanized voice shouted. “You have reached Level 88 of Point of Entry. Please enter your individual e-mail addresses and contact information so you can receive your reward for attaining Point of Entry’s Secret Challenge. The world awaits your brilliance.”

  A cursor blinked on the screen.

  “This is wicked!” Mylo wielded his remote in the air like a sword. “How do they do that? Talk through the TV and all the speakers like that. You didn’t even have the surround sound on. He’s like a MechWarrior, he’s really in the room with us.” Mylo keyed in his e-mail, then tossed the remote to Justin.

  They each entered their e-mail addresses.

  Luke paused the video. “Very easy to track them now. And people enter e-mail addresses on websites and games all the time, so they aren’t suspicious.” He pressed Play.

  “Congratulations, Eradicators.” The tone seemed a bit harsher than before. “You must take the oath. Swear to each other that whatever you do, whatever you see, from this level on, will never be revealed to anyone else. Swear it! The fate of the world depends on you.”

  Justin groaned and settled on one end of the couch, sidling up next to Ashley. “Okay, we are officially part of the geek patrol. I wonder if we get badges and have to do secret handshakes.”

  Ashley laughed and he leaned over to kiss her.

  “Hey, quit fooling around, you two, and pay attention,” Mylo insisted. “I heard we get upgrades and other cool stuff after hitting this level.”

  Ashley just sat there when he turned to her expectantly. “Oh my God, you’re kidding. Right? We’re swearing allegiance to a TV set? It’s not like they can hear us.”

  Justin shrugged. “Well, um, it’s part of the game.”

  “Oh, jeez. You guys really are geeks.” Ashley shook her head, then finally raised her hand. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “I swear.”

  Immediately the screen lit with a familiar icon indicating a new level.

  “Okay, it’s like the game heard us. That’s too Big Brother for me,” Ashley said with a slight shiver.

  “For your first task, you will be asked to identify an access code with four related sets of numbers. They can only be retrieved by finding a way into your nemesis’s secret database. He has stolen a substantial treasure and hidden it in his vault. The code numbers for entry are in the following sequence: first, there are twelve digits, then three digits, and finally five digits.”

  Mylo groaned. “Here we go again. More numbers crap. This will take weeks.”

  The mechanized voice continued, “As always, you will be given hints and prompts along the way, but you will have only thirty minutes to unlock the vault door and attain your prize. If you fail, the bonus round will lock you out of Level 88 for an extended period of time. If you succeed, however, more complex and exciting challenges await you.”

  “Man. We only have one chance?” Mylo protested. “That sucks.”

  “Everyone still in?” Justin asked.

  At their nods, he took control of the computer again. The machine chimed, but the sound was nearly drowned out by the addictive music from the game’s new level.

  “If you are ready, enter the first four digits of pi to start the game.”

  Justin took up his control. “Am I crazy thinking that he didn’t interrupt us when we were talking? Like he knew to wait.”

  Mylo whacked Justin on the head. “You are so paranoid. Maybe they’re just timed blank sections. Or it’s some weird new gaming technology. His voice sounds pretty robotic and there are tons of advances in that field,” Mylo said. “Lighten up.”

  The television blinked an eerie green glow in the darkened room, showing Ashley’s troubled face. “It is a little strange.”

  “Oh for God’s sake,” Justin said. “I’m sorry I brought it up. We only have a half hour. Let’s just play.”

  Ashley grinned. “You’re right. Besides, there aren’t many games that actually require math and brains. I don’t want to get locked out of the most challenging thing I’ve come across yet.” She gathered her calculator and other materials around her. “Let’s do this!”

  Everyone was on an adrenaline rush, but Ashley seemed euphoric. “This is so cool. Math, coding, encryption. All my favorite things.”

  “How come I’m not on the list?” Justin asked.

  “I’m talking technological things, sweetie. Not people.”

  Mylo groaned. “Give me some guys with guns this time. Those I can handle.”

  Justin turned up the volume and looked over at Ashley. “Ready to play?

  “Let’s go, Eradicators.” Ashley patted the controller and gave him a quick grin. “Concentrate hard. We’re breaking into the nemesis’s bank this time. I can’t wait.”

  Luke’s wall screen went black. The video clip was over.

  Deb, Gabe, and Luke just sat there, staring at the blank expanse.

  Finally, Gabe turned to Luke. “This was taken last Friday night. They hit Level 88 at Ashley’s dorm, too. Justin disappeared the next day. Ashley, the following night. What do you think it all means?”

  “Damned if I know, little brother, but we’ll find out.”

  Cayman Islands—Tuesday Morning

  Outside, the humidity hit ninety percent, the temperature nearing ninety-five, but that wasn’t what made the account manager sweat. This couldn’t be happening. He had to meet his client soon and the drinks he had last night must still be screwing up his head.

  The bank was more crowded than usual due to the Monday holiday yesterday. Phones rang and conversations went on around him, but the manager’s entire attention remained on the computer screen in front of him.

  He must have keyed the numbers in wrong.

  Throat tight, he pushed forward in his chair and carefully retyped the twelve-digit account number and the nine-digit code, made up of a zero, a three-digit
bank code, and a five-digit branch/transit code.

  Finally he reached the last digit. Hands sweating, he typed the number seven, sent up a small Hail Mary, and hit “Enter.”

  The screen went dark, flashed white, then black again. The account balance flashed on the screen, the white numbers showing him the same impossible figure.

  His hand trembled. Panicked, he closed his eyes, then opened them again, and blinked twice.

  “It can’t be right.” He reentered the numbers a third time, but nothing changed.

  Oh, dear God in heaven. His chest ached, and he couldn’t stop his panting breaths. He clutched the desk, fighting the urge to run.

  “It’s gotta be a glitch. It has to be.” He paused and stared from the computer to the phone, and back at the monitor. Desperation choked off his breath. The moment he dialed the computer group, everyone would know.

  His boss definitely wouldn’t overlook this screwup.

  The phone rang and he jumped. Quaking, he picked up the receiver. “Sir?”

  “Well, what the hell is taking so long? Our client is waiting.” The president of the bank’s voice boomed through the receiver.

  He swallowed, and his boss had to have heard the gulp. “Um. We might have a problem, sir. I’m missing one hundred twenty-five million US dollars.”

  The guards led Ashley to a new part of the complex down a long hallway. Huge mechanical doors slid open. She braced, ready to run, but a forklift deposited a large box, then a guard keyed in a code on the entry pad and the garagelike door slid closed, blocking out the sun.

  “Wait here,” Niko said. He walked down and met the guard several feet away. Too near to try to bolt, but too far to overhear their conversation.

  She looked around quickly, trying to memorize the area for a possible future escape. She could break keypad entries. She hadn’t noticed a palm print reader or anything more complex.