Now, thinking rapidly through several scenarios, she came to the conclusion that she needed to get the rest of the management team’s input in their daily management meeting the next morning. Turning back up herself in Purgatory again tomorrow would be out of character for her—something she never did, even if she and her crew were on the hunt—potentially leading to speculation she didn’t want on the dark web.
At the very least, Blake needed to know another player was looking at Reflex, for whatever the reason. While Drew shoveled an enormous amount of shit Blake’s way, as they all did—payback for the crap Blake subjected the entire management team to on a frequent basis—the fuck Drew wouldeverdo anything that would put Blake’s femme in harm’s way or could hurt Blake. Pulling the band out of her thick hair and shaking it out so the waves fell free, Drew shut down her computer and went to take a shower, her mind still whirling. She had one hell of a lot of questions and not nearly enough answers.
Most importantly—who the fuck wasCyb3rmoon? FBI? Another federal agency like DEA? The CIA usually didn’t operate domestically. Was this woman on the other side of the fence? Drew didn’t think so, although it was apparent she would be waiting for answers for a while.
As she strode into her bedroom, Drew mused out loud, “Okay, little moonchild. I’ll play. My gut instinct tells me you have a vested interest in this money-laundering scam, if not whatever else is behind it, as we have suspected. You had averyspecific reason for approaching me personally, honey. I don’t know who you are or what you’re up to, but I’m sure as fuck going to find out.
“In the meantime…it seems as though the ball is now inyourcourt.”
Chapter 12
“It will take you a few minutes to orient yourself, little sis, when the sim goes hot.” Blair checked the sights on her laser weapon as Brooke did the same. Blake’s team was standing with Brooke in the middle of Utopia, getting ready to guide the graphic artist through her maiden voyage. “Blake decided to stay in the control booth, as much as she’d love to be down here with you for your first time, because she said she can better assess your fighting style and movements if she’s not in the thick of the fighting herself. You’ll be able to communicate with her—as well as us—through your ear protection, which has two-way audio-enabled speakers embedded in it, even as slim as it is.”
The night before, Brooke and Blake had had a similar conversation as they were getting ready for bed. “While the thought of not fighting at your back makes me cranky, tigress, Casey agrees it’s more important I be able to concentrate one hundred percent on evaluating your technique. You slay when it comes to playing RPGs—you and Sabine both—but your girl will be the first one to tell you there is a definite learning curve between playing a video game and adapting to real-time combat in a full-size graphical environment like Utopia.”
Drawing the blankets up over them, Blake had kissed Brooke hard before pulling her woman into her arms. “As much as I would love to take you before we go to sleep, you facing the sim while worn out and half-asleep might not be the best idea, baby. Making up for it tomorrow night will give me something to look forward to.”
Now, Brooke pressed the small button on the outside of her thin behind-the-head ear protection, hearing a faint whirringsound as the speakers came to life. “Can you hear me okay, tigress?” Blake’s voice came through the speakers. Brooke nodded, then verbally confirmed she could.
“Everyone else online?” The rest of the team gave a thumbs-up toward the control booth, also giving verbal confirmation. “Brooke, our first skirmish in the sim isn’t going to be anything outrageous. The goal today is merely to get you comfortable fighting in this type of environment. If you’re struck by enemy fire, you will hear a beep to indicate you’ve been hit. An alarm will sound to signify the strike was mortal.”
“Fabulous,” Brooke muttered dryly as the rest of the team grinned.
Tracey’s voice came through Brooke’s ear protection. “You forget, I’ve watched you game beforeandplayed you, little sis, on more than one occasion. I’ve already bet Blake you’ll be a Utopia expert by the end of our session today. Yeah, there’s a learning curve, but you’ll be all over this as fast as Sabine was.
“The enemy combatants will be set to ‘Evenly Matched’ since both Blake and I are familiar with your style as well as your level of expertise,” she added, adjusting her earpiece. “We can do a tone shift to maybe ‘Challenging’ in future sessions to make it tougher for you. Also, today we’ll stick to short fights that will be over in a round or two. That way, you can assess your own progress as we go. Ready?”
The team spread out as Blake’s voice filled their ears. “Combatants, this sim is going hot.”
Utopia blazed to life in a menacing underworld dystopia, a hazy, dimly lit chamber filled with waste, clutter, and broken machinery surrounding them. Her mouth dropping open in amazement, unable to believe what she was standing in the middle of, Brooke nonetheless got herself together immediately and scanned the room. On a littered, far corner table in the enormous space, she noted a pile of expertly renderedsemi-automatic weapons, as well as other electronics with surprisingly sophisticated technology.
What caused Brooke’s heart to pound and her stomach to drop, however, was the handful of mercenaries who appeared out of nowhere about five seconds later, scattered around the chamber.Fuck. Instinctively checking her six, Brooke spotted two more soldiers in body armor behind her in the rear of the room, already raising their weapons to fire. On instinct, Brooke automatically spun, dropped to one knee, and raised her own weapon.
“Not today, motherfuckers,” she gritted as she shot them both in the face, thankful they were only wearing riot helmets that covered half their heads, in addition to their body armor.
“Yes!” Parker exulted, covering Brooke as the graphic artist watched the mercenaries disappear, then quickly regained her feet. “The rest of those assholes are hunkering down behind the trash and clutter on the far side of the chamber now,” she counseled as the two of them moved back before dropping behind a cluster of 55-gallon oil drums. “Your sight lines are restricted at the moment. These combatants aren’t the most patient of morons, however, so you’ll have a line of sight before you know it.”
Firing as she moved rapidly across the chamber to the oil drums, Quinn dropped down beside them. “The good news is, we don’t have to deal with any inclement weather in this scenario, which can fucking suck.”
Holding her fire, Brooke grabbed a small piece of trash from the floor and lobbed it over the drums in the direction of the enemy. Flashes and beeps indicated the enemy had fired back. “Dumb shits.” Brooke rolled her eyes as she easily settled into the full-size environment, waiting. “Question,” she said, aware the entire team could hear her. “Do you ever allow a scout or enemy to escape the battle when necessary? Misjudging thestrength of your opposition is a common reason for combats to go sideways.”
“And you wonder why I love this woman.” Brooke could hear the heat in Blake’s voice even through her earpiece. “Not during a basic combat like this one, tigress, not one that wasn’t meant to last for very long. Our only purpose today is to get you used to Utopia. We can fancy it up in the future, but we are keeping it simple for now.”
“In the meantime,” Kat’s voice broke in, “I think our friends might want to play.” She was crouched beside a large stack of sheet metal on the other side of the room from where Brooke, Quinn, and Parker were hidden. Because the enemy combatants had been distracted by Brooke and the other two, they had not been paying attention to the whereabouts of Blair, Kat, and Tracey, making it easy for them to escape their attention.
However, Brooke paused, musing, “Kelly and Sabine told the femmes at Seashells one night that Blake had taught them something Sabine had been able to use to take down that fucker Legrand.” Puzzled silence filled their ears. “Blake called Drew ‘smoke’,” Brooke continued, “so, of course, we wanted to know what she meant by that. Blake had told us that if Drew Hollister doesn’t want you to see her, you’re notgoingto see her. She’s a wraith, even in a place like Utopia.”
“True. My cuz is a fucking phantom when she wants to be,” Blake agreed. “But your enemy is on the move, tigress.”
Brooke’s voice lowered. “If Quinn and Parker can create a big disruption, covering each other while rejoining their teammates on the other side of the chamber, bet me that buys a bit of time for me to sneak around these oil drums toward the chamber wall so I can creep toward the mercenaries before dropping down behind that pile of broken furniture up ahead. All I need is for the soldiers to lose focus for a minute or two so they don’t realize I’m moving.
“By the time they regroup, they’ll still expect me to be behind the oil drums. As they advance and fire on the drums—because you know a couple of them will while the rest attempt to take you four out—I’ll wait until they draw parallel to me, andBoom! Bye-bye, bitches.”
“Who else is in love?” The team cracked up when they heard Blake automatically growl at Blair. “Relax, chief, no one has designs on your woman. Jesus. However, it’s time for us to get moving since that’s a damn solid approach. Quinn and Parker, you’re on. Brooke will move when the soldiers are distracted in the confusion. Little sis, the minute you can, take those fuckersout, and we’ll provide backup. Let’s roll, team.”
It went like clockwork. Quinn and Parker laid down gunfire for each other as they came out from behind the oil drums, running rapidly to where Blair, Kat, and Tracey were waiting. When Brooke saw that the soldiers had indeed lost their awareness for a moment, she snuck around the oil drums on the side nearest the wall and, crouching low, made her way to the pile of smashed furniture. Hearing yells, she got down on one knee as she had before, peered between a gap made by two large pieces lying askew, and waited.
When she heard the clump of boots as they ran toward the oil drums, Brooke popped up, took aim, and fired.Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!She wasn’t the shot Kelly or Piper were in real life, but her RPG skills were off the charts. The look of astonishment on the combatants’ faces was priceless, and she grinned—giving a whoop of victory—as Blake’s team finished them off and they disappeared from the sim, like the first two had.
