Page 70 of Down to One
Let’s Get This Over With
Titan
She’s found us. Or the network has. They’ve become the same entity in my mind. Inextricably tied. Seeing her face appear to be looking right at us makes my stomach cramp.
“Surprise!” She’s recovered from her shock at the Resistance’s interruption. She’s on the offensive again. “Did you really think we didn’t know where you were? Your slave collars are chipped.”
One fingernail clicks impatiently on the desk in front of her.
“Our intel didn’t discover you two were part of the resistance. If we had known, we would have tried harder to kill you. Well…” She shrugs. “What’s done is done. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”
Katann Hahn joins her, pulling a chair to sit next to her behind her sleek TMN desk.
“You’ve caused far more trouble than you’re worth,” he sneers. “I should have finished the job in the bathtub the other night. Beating the shit out of you was so much more satisfying than this… fiasco.”
Yes. One thing I know about this male is that he likes his power and control. It must have felt horrible for him to have the network’s signal hijacked by hackers, especially since the impromptu programming showed him in such a bad light.
“We wantThe Gameover with. Our market share is dwindling, and we want to come out on top of the ratings war.”
“Let me translate that for you,” I interrupt. “You want to kill us quickly so you can get on to the sequel with more cooperative lackeys, I mean players.”
He gives my collar a quick shock. It’s excruciating, but feels halfhearted, as if even torturing me isn’t fun anymore.
“You two are going to march out of your hidey-hole in one hour. You’re going to make your way to the flag.”
The screen changes to a map, then live-action video.
“Here’s the route to your goal. Here is where your four opponents are hiding.”
“Trent and Scurge.”
Pictures of the two males, both insectoid-like Frains, in an abandoned building on the seventh floor. The room is littered with food wrappers. They must have gotten to their spot near the goal the first night and have been picking off opponents as they arrived. I have no idea how they finagled it, but they have an ion cannon on a tripod sitting between them as they lounge on a couch.
“Must have been viewer favorites,” I mumble for Blaze to hear.
“I guess they didn’t have all their credits stolen every time they turned around,” her voice is bitter.
“Monteen,” Zedd announces with detachment when the vid feed changes.
He’s in a building directly adjacent to the courtyard where the flag is planted. It’s unclear what weaponry he has.
“And here’s Drezin.”
The vid shows an Anthen male sitting in an armchair in another building ringing the courtyard. He, too, has an ion cannon.
My stomach drops. My balls tighten. Our enemies are ensconced. Just waiting for us to arrive. We’ll be easy to pick off.
“Like shooting fish in a barrel,” Blaze says. She sounds emotionless, revealing her defeat.
“I want this over with by nightfall,” Hahn says. “If you think you can just sit this out and wait for them to kill each other, you’re wrong. If you don’t make your way to the flag within twelve hours, I will personally, and with much enjoyment, turn up your collars to the ‘kill’ level. And trust me. As much trouble as you two have caused both me, the network, and our investors, I will do it as slowly as possible to inflict the most pain.”
For perhaps the first time since we met, I see his lips tip into a smile.
“To review. You will leave your little Resistance hideout within one hour. You will go to the flag. You will follow the only ruleThe Gamehas: you cannot harm civilians. If every hacker on the planet didn’t know where you are, Altair’s place would be bombed off the map. Sadly, that will have to wait until the eyes of the planet are off this disaster.”
The vid goes black, then returns to regular TMN programming.
“We’ve got to get you and Sprout safe,” Blaze says to Altair as she moves to action. “How can we get you out of here? Do you need Titan to carry you up the steps?”
