WILL: No. That’s a bad idea. If we try that we’ll both die.

  Trix frowned.

  TRIX: How will it not work? He’ll be distracted! You’ll do the thing you did to Jagger.

  WILL: First of all—hold on.

  With all the noise we were making, the guard was suddenly looking our way. Trix followed my lead in turning our backs to the guard and walking away.

  WILL: He’s not the only damage dealing part of the building’s defense. The Trust Foundation isn’t leaving their security up to faith. Know what’s under those big cornices?

  TRIX: You and your architecture. I swear.

  WILL: Laser arrays.

  TRIX: Like weapons?

  WILL: Yeah.

  TRIX: I had no idea.

  WILL: I know.

  TRIX: Then we’ve got to find somewhere else to hole up in for the night.

  WILL: Nah, we’re getting into the Trust Foundation.

  TRIX: How?

  WILL: I’ve got a plan.

  TRIX: And the lasers?

  WILL: Already handled.

  We turned back around. The guard was still staring us down and stiffened as we drew near. I walked up as casually as I could and said, “Saturn is in the eighth house.”

  He relaxed, nodded, and let us by. As I walked through the revolving door, a system notification popped up.

  Achievement unlocked! You just gained access to a Quadrant Stronghold. And you made it look easier than smuggling fentanyl across an international border.

  Reward: A bronze loot box. On second thought, entering a Quadrant Stronghold at level 3 is suicidal. Give the guy two silver boxes for the entertainment factor.

  I also got a notification that I’d earned experience points from ferreting out a password using my ring’s Snoop skill. I went into my interface and found a reduced notifications setting and then took stock of the gilded and marble-riddled lobby. The room ran the length of the building but was only about forty feet deep. Between the doors we had come through and an alcove filled with elevators sat an imposing desk manned by a pair of well-dressed and well-coifed women who, from the time we had walked in, were solely concentrated on us.

  WILL: What do you know about quadrant strongholds?

  TRIX: Quadrant strongholds? I didn’t know that was a thing until now.

  Trix’s eyes went blue on my internal screen.

  Muscle was posted all over the lobby—the same matching blue and black uniforms as we’d seen on the guard outside, mirrorshades, controlled movements. I stopped counting at ten. Each one had Level 20 floating over their anabolic-steroid infused heads—and they were keyed on us.

  WILL: Walk slowly. Try to look like you’re not a gang member. We’re headed to that central desk.

  TRIX: Don’t look like a gang member? I’m literally wearing gang colors.

  WILL: Trix, if we find Mukari can you brain bolt him?

  TRIX: I hate to tell you this. I don’t have a brain bolt spell.

  I stopped walking for a second and looked at Trix. “You told me—”

  Trix gave me a “I will kill you” look and then kept walking.

  TRIX: Stay inside the chat.

  WILL: Sorry. What spell do you have? We really should have gone over this before now.

  TRIX: It’s called, uh. Look, it’s just gonna be easier for me to share my screen.

  WILL: Yeah, no kidding. Why didn’t you do it before?

  An achievement tried to pop up, but it didn’t get through the reduced notifications setting. At the same moment, an extra tab slid open under Trix’s portrait and health bar. I kept the Trust Foundation’s conversation in one window and opened one below it to check out Trix’s build. And there it was, the information she didn’t want to share. Her spell was called manipulate.

  WILL: You’ve been casting manipulate on me, haven’t you?

  TRIX: Don’t hate me.

  WILL: Are the rats and crocodiles all level 20?

  TRIX: I don’t know. My game guide told me to do anything to get inside before nightfall.

  WILL: I’m about to die just thinking about this security force. I’m convinced we’d be better off with the rats.

  TRIX: But the rats wouldn’t have stood around this long.

  WILL: I’ll bet my Technocrat’s Ring that the rats are all level 2.

  TRIX: If you lose that bet, you can’t take that ring off.

  WILL: That’s how strongly I feel about being right.

  TRIX: I hate you. Can we leave now?

  I was trying not to look at the guards posted all over the floor, but I wanted to collect as much information as possible. I looked for earpieces, didn’t see any, and then realized that they were likely subvocalizing the same way Trix and I were.

  I pulled the technocrat’s ring window back up and dug through the Trust Foundation Guard’s internal feeds. I found a tab called internal communication and found a conversation taking place that moment.

  MUKARI: What files do we have on the girl?

  NIKKI: Recent local gang activity. No arrest record.

  MUKARI: And the kid?

  NIKKI: Street fighting. Vagrancy. No arrest record. But neither have a considerable history. Everything from the girl is from the last week.

  MUKARI: Same for the kid?

  NIKKI: No, his records begin a few hours ago.

  MUKARI: Then enlighten me. How’d he get in here?

  NIKKI: He used today’s password.

  MUKARI: Then we’re dealing with a professional. Hidden identity. Could be with BioZone. Could be with another security outfit. Prism is the most likely. Don’t let him leave.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  WILL: I think we’re in trouble.

  TRIX: We’re fine.

  I copied and pasted the conversation between Mukari and Nikki and dropped it into Trix’s chat window.

  TRIX: We’re in trouble.

  WILL: Should we make a run for it?

  TRIX: You’re the one that found those laser arrays. We’re not going anywhere until they let us go.

  I flew through my screens to pull up the silver lootboxes, hoping against hope for a miracle, like a Hammer of Instant Kill or a Shield of Infinite Protection. In the first box, I found my likeness as a bobblehead baseball player in mid swing. I dropped it in my inventory and opened the second. It was a bobblehead of Trix standing with her arms on her hips. Since I had access now, I shoved it in Trix’s inventory.

  WILL: I can snoop two more times today. Should I target one of the guards? Or maybe the lady at the desk—Nikki?

  TRIX: Save it in case we have to fight.

  WILL: Let’s talk to the people behind the desk so we look like we’re comfortable in here.

  TRIX: You don’t look comfortable. You look like a homeless person.

  WILL: I hate you right back.

  I checked the Trust Foundation’s internal communication thread.

  NIKKI: We’re watching them.

  MUKARI: Good. I’m almost there.

  As we reached the security desk, an elevator opened and Mukari stepped out, and the Level 35 floating over his head felt like the blade of a guillotine hanging above my own.

  The lady behind the desk—Nikki, level 11—looked up, and said, “State your business” in a no-nonsense tone.

  “We’re here to speak with Mukari.”

  “Wait right here.”

  Trix’s eyes in her tiny portrait had stayed permanently blue since we’d walked in here, so I knew she understood the gravity of this situation.

  TRIX: I’m just remembering something important.

  WILL: You have a teleportation spell?

  Trix looked at me, stunned for a second.

  TRIX: I wish. My game guide said a lot of players don’t even bother trying to get out of the first quadrant.

  WILL: Did he say why?

  TRIX: Yes, he said the quadrant strongholds were basically impossible.

  WILL: Good to know.

  I saw Mukari approach from the elevator lobby. With every step Mukari took toward us, I wished I was back in the station wagon. I wished mom was here to stand in between myself and every big and dark thing casting shadows on me. Barring the mom protection fantasy, I also wished I could float away on a Z cloud.

  Mukari looked us over calmly. “State your business.”

  I thought it might get me killed, but, hands trembling, I snooped Mukari.

  You just hit level 4! Who knew that data piracy could be so good? But you know what they say of ill-gotten goods, don’t you? They lead to ruin.

  And you hit level 5 as a result of the same action. Snoop isn’t supposed to work like this. Enjoy the levels for now, but this skill is under review.

  Reward: We’ll see.

  I didn’t have time to read through a bunch of achievements, but the dopamine shot wasn’t so bad.

  I got the usual fanfare and confetti treatment, and hoped no one else was alerted to my level gain while trying to keep the panic I was feeling from showing up in my face.

  Mukari raised an eyebrow at me while the trumpets sounded and the confetti fell. “You don’t look so good.”

  I gulped. “Long walk to get here. Need a drink.”

  He looked at me and lingered on the black ring for an uncomfortable second. “Help yourself at the table.”

  WILL: I guess he didn’t see that I got a level from Snooping him.

  TRIX: I didn’t even see it. I think you’re okay.

  I wasn’t thirsty. I hadn’t been since appearing in the game. But I filled a glass from a carafe and forced myself to drink.

  TRIX: I found something!

  WILL: Be fast.

  “Now what’s the message?” said Mukari.

  TRIX: Prism is negotiating a surveillance contract with the Trust Foundation. If it goes through, Mukari’s likely out of a job.

  Trix smiled at Mukari. “Thank you for meeting with us. Can we speak somewhere more private?”

  Mukari thought about it for a moment. And looked at us again. He turned and motioned to two of the guards and then turned back to us. “Follow me.” The two security guards followed behind as Mukari led the way to a room adjoining the lobby.

  WILL: Okay, keep going.

  TRIX: Mukari’s been sending private messages to a contact in Prism, but he hasn’t gotten anything definitive from them even as the deal between the two companies is almost complete.

  WILL: So what?

  TRIX: He wants a guaranteed position and the reality is that he’ll be pushed out.

  WILL: Then what do we tell this guy? Hey, we’ve found you a nice little sinecure working as a liaison for the Prism company in Quadrant 17. Head over there and tell them Trix and Will said “Hi”?

  TRIX: No, nothing like that.

  Mukari opened a glass door and we walked into a meeting room. He gestured to a long white marble table flanked by a dozen wooden chairs.

  TRIX: Tell him that–”

  WILL: You do it.

  Mukari sat down and steepled his fingers together. The two guards stood inside the room on either side of the door so that we had our backs to them, which made me want to just die.

  With his piercing grey eyes taking in Trix and then myself, Mukari was unnerving. “Now what do you have to tell me?”

  Trix looked around, making a show of wondering if the room was under surveillance. “Can I speak candidly?”

  Mukari, almost imperceptibly, shook his head no. Then he pulled what looked like a ballpoint pen from his pocket. He clicked the top and set it on the table. “Speak plainly. Be quick.”

  I pulled up Mukari’s stats and saw straight 35s. It was easy to imagine how bad this meeting could go. I had a fleeting mental image of Mukari pulling a razor sharp knife and hacking my arms off. Somehow the cool calm he exuded carried over into the orderliness of his stat sheet. Like the guard outside the door, he had a shield that he could use every 30 seconds, except his shield made him impenetrable for 10 of those seconds. His main skill, Guard Stack, made it make more sense why he wasn’t interested in leaving the Trust Foundation. Based on the number of his followers within range, he got a multiplier to the damage he inflicted and a multiplier to his health. As far as I could tell, all the guards in the building were technically his followers.

  WILL: Whatever, you’re going to tell him, it better involve having a position of authority over a big security force.

  Trix leaned forward and spoke in a quiet voice. “We didn’t dress up, so that no one would get suspicious.”

  Mukari nodded.

  WILL: Good start.

  TRIX: Shh!

  I still didn’t have much confidence in our situation and started looking through my stats, skills, and inventory to find something that could give us an edge here.

  Trix continued, “The Prism/Trust Foundation deal is almost as bad for us as it is for you. But I’ll be honest, no one gets hurt from this worse than you.

  Mukari sucked air through his teeth. He looked up at the two guards and pointed for them to leave the room. They obliged.

  In the meantime, I noticed my ring had been killing my charisma. It was down to 2. It should’ve been 2.5, but the game rounded down. I had eight points to distribute from my level gains, but if I wanted to keep my charisma score from tanking, I’d have to burn points just to break even against the ring’s penalty. Would it take three, four? The friendship bracelet’s multiplier turned the math into an advanced placement test that I was failing.

  “The deal would hollow out your security team, yes, but once Prism gets the Trust Foundation account, they plan to use it to get their own house in order, and I’ve got it from a Prism internal channel that it will put the two of us on the outs along with something approaching a third of their current security team.

  “Who’s behind the takeover? Himmel? Devorak?”

  TRIX: Did you see anything about those two?

  WILL: I saw their names somewhere. Can’t recall specifics.

  TRIX: Blah.

  “We don’t know for sure, but Prism has their eyes on acquring a third party at firesell prices—Unlimited Security—shutting them down, and filling staffing needs with any of Global’s employees that aren’t above begging for bottom-rate work.”

  Mukari frowned. “Unlimited? I’ve never heard of them.”

  “They’re admittedely a small organization,” said Trix.

  Mukari somehow took that in stride.

  “So what do you propose?”

  I found something promising in the Data Pirate class description. Instead of increasing stats, I could buy new abilities. There was one I could buy right away, if I just ignored my wilting charisma. I could get Stab for 6 points, which provided a multiplier to stabs that increased according to level. Since I was level 5, I would have a 1.2x multiplier, but I doubted that would give me enough power to bring down Mukari.

  “We’ve got intel but little sway. You need more time before you respond to Prism,” said Trix.

  Mukari leaned in. “Prism is a pain, but nothing I can’t handle. What benefit would come of waiting?”

  For 175 stat points, I could get Jam Interface, which would lock targeted enemies from using abilities, items, casting, subvocalizing. With Jam Interface, I could keep Mukari from using his shield or his multiplier effect. But that was out of reach. Far, far out of reach.

  Trix really poured it on, and I wondered when she had cast manipulate. “We’ll file a report that we came here to assess the Trust Foundation’s value and felt it was badly overpriced. We’ll recommend delaying recalibration until Prism is getting a much better deal.”

  For 250 points, I could buy Skill Cloning, which would let me transfer any skill or spell from someone I’d hacked to my own abilities for a few minutes. Now if I had that synergizing with stab, I probably could kill this clown. But I had 8 points, which meant I could get stab and have a couple more points to play with later. I selected Stab and imagined trying to use it against Mukari. I was still hopeless.

  “Meanwhile, you make a case for why you’re indispensable here. Create a false emergency and then shut it down if you have to, but we can’t let this move forward.”

  Mukari picked up the pen and clicked it again. He then dropped it back into his pocket and stood up. “We’ll be in touch,” he said, while making a fist and looking first at Trix, then at me. After a few tense seconds passed, he relaxed and walked out of the room. Once he was gone, the two guards came in and saw us out of the room.

  WILL: Wait. Did that work?

  TRIX: Did you see how he made a fist? He was flexing on us.

  WILL: But he didn’t kill us!

  TRIX: Not yet. There’s still those laser arrays.

  I was tense all the way across the lobby, expecting the worst. But nothing came. They walked us to the exit and then let us walk out. Pushing my luck, I snooped one of the level 20 guards on the way out. As a result, fanfare and confetti accompanied my exit.