by Dante Doom
“Perfect!” Sang shouted as she ran as fast as she could toward the mountainous area nearby. A few of the soldiers gave chase, but they weren’t nearly as quick as she was. Dolly had run in a different direction. The orders had been relatively simple. If the attempts to steal the potions failed, just destroy them instead and regroup somewhere else. While she would have preferred that the first plan succeed, she was equally pleased that the back-up plan had worked. When in doubt, set things on fire, right?
Eventually, she made her way back to the rendezvous point, being cautious to make sure that no one else was following her. Once she was clear, she returned to the riverside where Van and the rest of the team were waiting.
“What happened back there?” Sang asked as she grabbed her canteen and began to fill it with water. “Where was Sahara? And Kenwar?”
Van grimaced. “Yeah, well, that sucked. Sahara’s system crashed, and so she was kicked out right as she was casting her Windwall Spell. Those archers made short work of our healer and me. Then Kenwar… well, we had some disagreements and he said he needed to go check something. Ran off in the heat of battle.” Van didn’t say anything else about the matter, but Sang could see that he was worried about Kenwar’s actions. Leaving in the middle of battle was incredibly suspicious. What was he planning?
“At least we destroyed the shipment,” Sang said. “And no one died?”
“Capello died. He respawned somewhere in those rat tunnels,” Van said. “For some reason, that area counts as some kind of a home. So, he’ll be joining us once he finds his way out.”
The rest of the team didn’t say much. They were all sitting around a fire now and were trying to get warm. Kylian looked pissed off, Bidane was just staring forward, and Dolly was whittling a block of wood with her knife.
“The, uh, team doesn’t look so great,” Sang whispered as she pulled Van aside.
“Yeah, they don’t feel like our victory was actually a victory,” Van replied. “I’ve tried to convince them that we won, but they feel that it doesn’t count since we got our asses kicked.”
“That sucks,” Sang said. While she didn’t particularly care about morale, she knew that it would be important for Van to continually motivate them. “What do we do about Kenwar?”
Van shrugged. “He can go anywhere he wants in this game, but he’ll still be at the CIA headquarters. Nothing to do but find out what he was up to outside of the game.”
Sang nodded. “What’s the plan?”
“Well, Sleep Time is right around the corner. Let’s report back to the captain and finish out this quest,” Van suggested with a heavy sigh. He slowly turned around and began to instruct his team to pack up and move back to their new home base. Sang could see just how weary Van had become. She had been pushing him insanely hard, and it was beginning to show. She felt a pang of guilt, but then remembered what was at stake. This wasn’t about some petulant demand to move things along; this was about the safety of the human race. She couldn’t afford to get emotional about the cost.
They returned to the camp to find Captain Edwardson in the process of packing up his entire force.
“Ah! They return!” Edwardson said as he turned to face Van and the team. “That was quick. Was it a success?”
“We destroyed the shipment,” Van said. “The ambush went down well, but we were outgunned, so we just did what we had to do to destroy the supplies and win the day.”
“Smart thinking! It’s a wise man who focuses on mission completion instead of superiority,” Edwardson said, clapping Van on the back. “I shall award you appropriately! Just one second…”
Edwardson fiddled with the air for a moment, and suddenly an experience point screen appeared before Sang.
Sang frowned at the amount of experience. That was hardly a drop in the bucket, considering what she needed to get to the next level. Such a small amount of points for what had amounted to being a total disaster? Now she was the one who was starting to feel demoralized.
“This seems a little low,” she whispered to Van.
“Don’t worry about it. See that wartime bonus? It increases each time we do a war-related quest. So as long as we keep doing quests, no matter how small the initial amount of experience we get is, the wartime bonus will just keep getting fatter and fatter. This is why people love wars in this game. It’s a veritable goldmine of experience!” Van whispered back.
“Now then, we’re moving out. Sleep Time is in ten minutes, so that’s pretty much it for the night. Tomorrow, we’re going to be going on a serious expedition. You are all expected to be there. Have a good one!” Edwardson said. He turned to face his troops and saluted them before logging out.
“Alright, that was a waste of time,” Kylian said. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Later,” Bidane said with a yawn. “Man, you guys are way too hardcore. I’ve never played a game this much before.”
“Bye!” Dolly said.
Sang took a deep breath as she brought up the logout option. Her fingers hovered over the button. She felt a temptation to keep playing, to use a hack to bypass Sleep Time, but she knew it was a bad idea. The official rule was that there should be no hacking unless it was a dire emergency. Draco had changed some security measures, and hacking was far harder to do now. Not only that, but it was far more traceable—meaning that, if she made a mistake, Draco would be aware of her presence. For some reason, they were still unable or unwilling to target her directly, but that could change.
With a sigh, she pressed logout and felt the familiar sensation of real air rushing into her lungs. She blinked for a few moments, realizing that she was back in the pod. It hissed as it slowly opened up, allowing her to get out.
“Ugh, I feel sick!” Van said as he leaned up from his own pod. “My stomach is killing me!”
“You’re fine,” Sang said. “You were probably in there a little too long.”
“No, no, I gotta, I gotta go…” Van said as he scrambled to his feet and hobbled out of the room. That was odd. Sang had never seen him adversely affected by pods like this before. Normally, she was the one who suffered from motion sickness.
She glanced over at Kenwar’s pod. It was still closed, and she could see that all of the vitals were functioning just fine. He was resting quietly within his pod.
“How was the game?” asked a familiar voice. Sang turned around to see the red-haired O’Hara waiting for her. The middle-aged woman’s arms were crossed and she wore a large frown on her face.
“It was okay,” Sang said. “We made some real progress today.”
“And our new friend?” O’Hara asked as she walked over to Kenwar’s pod and banged on it.
“He’s… useful in some ways. He got us into the army we need to be a part of if we’re going to beat Draco. At the same time, he just kind of ran off during a battle. The fact that he hasn’t been kicked out due to Sleep Time is curious, as well.”
“Just to be clear,” O’Hara said. “This whole thing was Neil’s idea. He thought it would be a great idea to send a known enemy into this game with you.”
“I’m still not sure what to think,” Sang said. “We’re getting desperate. Any word on this senator’s actions?”
O’Hara shrugged. “Not really. We’ve got about six days until the hearing. Sang, if you don’t bring us anything by that time, this program will be cut. We’ll probably be fired.”
“I don’t need that kind of pressure, O’Hara,” Sang said as she pressed her hands to her face. “Why can’t you just tell me something encouraging?”
“How’s this for encouragement?” the red-haired woman asked as she pulled out a flask.
Normally, Sang didn’t drink on the job, but she made an exception now. “Give it here,” she said as she grabbed it and took a swig. “Ugh, what is this crap?”
“Only the best rotgut whisky you can find,” the other agent replied as she grabbed the flask back and took a drink.
“Thanks, O’Hara,” Sang said as
she slid down to the floor and leaned against the pod. “I think I’m going to hang out and wait for Kenwar to wake up.”
“I’ll join you,” the agent replied as she sat down next to Sang. They spent a few minutes in silence, passing the flask back and forth. The whiskey truly was foul, but Sang didn’t mind the distraction of booze. Things had grown way out of hand lately, and she needed the brief respite.
“I’m getting worried,” O’Hara said.
“About this job?”
“Nah, I hate this job and every minute of it,” she replied. “Getting fired would be a relief. What I’m worried about is Van.”
“He’s been doing great. You should see him in the field,” Sang said. “This guy is able to motivate people like I have never seen before. I’m honestly very impressed with him.”
“He was puking his guts out in the restroom when I came in here,” O’Hara said. “His heart rate has been extremely high these last few days. Nightmares, too, apparently. Neil heard him screaming something about the pressure a few days ago.”
“Is the pod affecting him? I thought we worked hard to make sure that they were safer to use.”
“Not the pod, Sang. It’s the stress. Tell me—how stressed are you by this whole affair?”
Sang paused to sip from the flask, trying her best to not convulse as she swallowed the foul liquid. “I have to admit that this definitely is one of the more stressful jobs I’ve had in this department. I mean, beforehand, I was fighting cyberterrorists, but this is kind of a bigger deal.”
“Yeah, it is a bigger deal. And yeah, you are stressed. But you aren’t nearly as stressed out as him. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because this isn’t your first time to the rodeo. Yes, the stakes are way higher than you’ve had to deal with before, but you’ve dealt with high pressure scenarios. You’ve had to handle hacking into terrorist cells, you’ve monitored drug deals gone bad, and you’ve dealt with the stress of being a CIA operative.”
“On the other hand,” Sang mused, “Van hasn’t dealt with anything remotely close to what I deal with on a weekly basis. So, while I’m stressed—”
“It’s nowhere near the same as what Van’s feeling,” O’Hara finished. “And this is gonna be a real problem. He’ll crack, before the end of this.”
“I doubt that, he’s been such a strong leader.”
“What makes a leader strong? The ability to present a good image? The ability to hide your doubts and fears, pressing forward endlessly and leading others to greatness? Internal strength is what makes a leader strong. Anything else is just a sign of a poser.”
“Van isn’t a poser!” Sang practically shouted. She quickly lowered her voice. “The guy really knows what he’s doing.”
“He might know what he’s doing,” O’Hara said, “but he doesn’t have the strength to keep leading. The weight of what we’ve asked him to do will crush him.”
Sang frowned. She wanted to argue that Van was tough enough to handle it, but at the same time, she had seen the weary look on his face. She had heard the tone of near exhaustion in his voice. “So… what? What are we supposed to do? He doesn’t really have time for therapy.”
“You’ve got to be the one to keep him going,” O’Hara said as she stood up. “I don’t know how, but I just want you to know that he’s going to crack soon. And when he does, who knows what’ll happen?”
With that, O’Hara wandered off, leaving Sang to her thoughts. How was she supposed to help Van? The guy was a very canny leader and he seemed to be strong enough to keep the team going, so what was she supposed to say? Would he even listen to her? In the gaming world, he was the rock star, not her.
As Sang pondered what her options were, the hissing of the pod behind her caught her attention.
“Urgh,” Kenwar mumbled as he leaned up and stretched his arms out.
“There you are,” Sang said as she leapt to her feet. The booze had thrown off her coordination a little, but she was able to stop herself from stumbling over.
“Oh, um, hi there,” Kenneth said. “I would have figured everyone would be sleeping by now.”
“I’m onto you, you know!” Sang said. She felt incredibly forceful and strong at the moment, and she didn’t know why. It was probably the liquor. “I’m going to figure out your game and I’m gonna see to it that the rest of your life is a living hell.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kenneth said with a grin as he pushed up his glasses. “I’m on your side.”
“Are you? Because you just vanished during a critical fight.”
“Since when is robbing a wagon of healing potions a critical fight? If you must know what I was doing, I was going to try and retrieve those damnable tears we had been fighting so hard for.”
“Sure you were.”
“I can prove it to you. Tomorrow, when we’re in the game, I’ll have them,” Kenneth said, his expression never changing.
Sang frowned. He was clearly up to no good. And besides—if Draco was supporting him, they’d have no problem handing him any item he needed, just to help him keep up his cover. She briefly considered using physical violence against the guy, but realized that she wasn’t the strong, skillful warrior that her character was.
“Look, Sang, I’m just trying to get out of this whole thing alive,” Kenneth said. “That’s all.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. Cowards will do whatever it takes to survive,” Sang hissed. “I’m going to watch you like a hawk. If you leave again, I’m gonna give the go-ahead to Neil. He’ll make sure that your disappearance will be permanent.”
Kenneth chuckled a little as he stepped back. The chuckle seemed to be far more nervous than amused. “Come now, let’s not be rash.”
“Oh, you’re going to find that we are nothing but rash,” Sang whispered as she pressed her face right into his. He winced and tried to back away, but was pressed up against the pod. “You are a dead man if you try anything, you got it?”
“Fine, fine, okay. I’ll tell you the truth!” he squeaked. “I was trying to meet one of my contacts at Draco. We couldn’t make contact, however. I don’t know what happened. My plan was to get some information on the lethal biofeedback, but nothing came of it.”
Sang frowned again. She had no idea if this was true or not. She decided to press a little more. “Why? Why do you think your contact didn’t show up?”
“I have no idea. We were in talks via the private messaging system that I’d rigged. It was unmonitorable for Draco.”
“How? I thought they could access everything except for VOIP chat?”
“Well, they technically can access everything, but they don’t bother to check everything. The sheer amount of information that is constantly being traded online is ridiculous. So, we had a system. We’d trade items that we gave custom names. It was simple enough; I’d use the postmaster option to mail a sentence or two every few hours.”
“Who was your contact?” Sang asked. The way that Kenneth rattled off the information so easily indicated that he might not be lying. She wasn’t sure.
“Her name was Sioal. Sweet girl—joined Draco and freaked out when she was told the truth. She decided to resist internally, however. I thought we were getting somewhere, but she just vanished,” Kenneth explained. He was breathing heavily now, and Sang could see the fear in his eyes.
“Damn… alright, fine,” Sang said as she pulled away from him. “You’re off the hook for now. But don’t think for a second that I’m okay with you slinking off. Keep us informed, alright?”
“Yeah, of course. Sorry,” Kenneth stammered. “I’ve just never worked for a team before…” he trailed off. “Sang, please tell me something.”
“What?”
“Are they going to kill me after this job is done? Even if I help?” he asked. She could hear the desperation in his voice and see that there were tears forming in his eyes. The man looked downright terrified.
“Believe it
or not,” Sang said with a sigh, “it’s not at all like what you see in the movies. We don’t just drag people out into the desert and kill them for no reason. If you cooperate, you’ll be safe.”
“I have no guarantee—all I have is your word,” Kenneth said. “I’m not here to make trouble, but I need to get out of this thing alive. Between you and Draco… I don’t know who’s better for me.”
Sang could see that there indeed was real fear in the man’s heart. He was going to do whatever it would take to survive, even if it meant playing both sides until he got what he wanted. She made a mental note to inform Neil of the trait. It would be good to play on. As long as he was legitimately afraid of dying, there would be little chance of him actively working to screw Sang and Van over.
“Here’s the deal, okay? We’re in this for six days, and then we’ve got some big meeting. If you can give me your everything for six days, I’ll make certain they let you go.,” she said. Of course, Sang had no intention of following up on the promise, but if it would make him cooperate for just a few more days, then it would be worth the lie. If things went well with the meeting and they were allowed to continue investigating, she’d be able to figure out some other way to motivate him.
“Really?” he asked.
“Yeah, I promise. Now, you have no idea if you can trust me, but think about the alternative. If you don’t help us out, and six days pass… well, I hope you’re handy with a shovel.”
“Fine, fine. Six days. No more mysterious stuff,” Kenneth said. He let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Sang. I owe you one.”
“Yeah…” Sang murmured as she looked at the empty pod. “You owe me your life.”
9
Van opened his eyes, smelling the smoke of the game world. It was crisp and stinging, burning his nostrils as if it were the real thing. He glanced over to see that Sang and Kenwar were also connected into the game. He stretched his arms out and yawned.
“Alright, gang,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to get done over the next few days. The rest of the team is already in the game—they’re over at Tower Banesfield. There’s going to be a major push from the Kyrissian forces toward the tower. We’re going to have to prepare fortifications and hold against it.”
