Previously…
‘Found anything?’ Tyler asked. I shook my head.
‘I’ve copied a few files but this all means nothing. All I know is that it is something big.’
‘Big?’ Tyler repeated.
‘Big enough to need a super computer. Your guess is as good as mine as to what its purpose is.’ I said.
~Dylan, Chapter 9: Trapped as a bird
It was an ordered list of everyone’s picture who attended the camp. Overlayed on top of each photo was either a cross, tick, or a question mark. I couldn’t see my picture, but he anticipated my question.
“You have a tick,” he said, “meaning that you have been accepted into this agency.”
~Forrest, Chapter 10: The Manipulated and the Manipulator
As I lay there, I came face to face with… myself. There was a picture of me under my face, along with the rest of my group members. At first, it looked exactly the same as when I’d last seen it, after Dylan and Tyler had shown it to me earlier. But as I used my elbows to push myself up, I noticed something was very different.
All of our question marks had been replaced with ticks.
~Chloe, Chapter 15: Only Hope
“So, uh…” I made an effort at conversation to keep myself calm. “You look like you know what you’re doing.” Luck looked up briefly before turning his attention back to strapping my arm.
“I’m a med student at Daigo University.”
“Daigo? The suburb just outside of Gotums?”
“That’s the one. My parents managed to escape the worst of the Gotums crash, though my father worked his way back up the ladder through”, he paused, “somewhat questionable means. Means that I didn’t want to be a part of.”
He sighed, then continued as he reached for the clip to hold my bandage on. “So, anyway, long story short, he cut me off and I live on campus working minimum wage at some Italian dive.” Luck laughed, though not happily. “And I’m supposed to be the lucky one.”
~Chloe, Chapter 15: Only Hope
“Ten years ago I was affected by what happened and experienced the same things. However, I’ve learnt to control it. I believe you may be able to speak to other people’s minds as well hear them. All you have to do is learn how.”
I was flabbergasted by what he was saying. Was it true? I didn’t think such things were possible. Is this a joke? We stopped in the middle of the passage and the head counsellor looked at me seriously.
“Do you trust me?” He asked. I looked up into his strong gaze. At that moment I couldn’t think of any reason why I shouldn’t trust him.
~Maria, Chapter 16: Thanks to You Diary
‘If you escape now, and if the Head Councillor has as much control as you say he has, those left behind will be doomed. The number of people that can escape is extremely limited,’ I explained.
‘Even if we do escape, we’re running from an entity which had the power to get us all here in the first place, all of us feeling as if we came here on our own free will. Finding out how he did it is worth staying by itself but if that wasn’t enough, I know that if I leave now, I will be stuck thinking about this stupid camp for the rest of my life.’
And there it was, my reason for staying here. Being able to say it actually made me feel quite energised.
~Dylan, Chapter 17: Cast the Die
The brown haired guy was still glaring at me, unaware that he had just fallen into my trap.
A sleek black gun suddenly appeared in my hand. The guy looked at it in alarm.
“Where did that come from?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I replied, taking aim and shooting him in the chest. He fell to the ground.
I willed the gun away, and it disappeared as I kicked the guy on the ground, making sure he was unconscious. His mind had been convinced that he had been shot, so his whole body acted as if it had. If manipulated correctly, the mind was a very powerful tool.
Diagnostic information appeared in a virtual screen on top of the unconscious body. His name was Jessie, he came from Quintrow, graduated from the same high school as me...Other information appeared as the system trawled his memories, looking for relevant facts.
~Forrest, Chapter 18: Virtuality Continuum
“Luck sought out our organization at Labresci to find some answers. As you would clearly know, Dylan, our city’s primary focus is research and development in the scientific field.” Dylan nodded, I did too, just to look like I even knew what Alice was talking about, and she continued.
“His reports matched the strange data we had recorded, so the powers that be decided we needed to look into this further. If the head counselor could use virtual reality on this scale, it was clear that it wasn’t for the general good of the people, if you know what I mean.”
Luck took up the narrative again. “Their news made me feel like I wasn’t going crazy, though it did raise just as many questions as answers, with the biggest being: why? What was the point of what happened?”
“From examining our data and questioning Luck extensively about what happened ten years ago, we determined that it was nothing more than a failed experiment. Whatever happened ten years ago was clearly not supposed to happen, and left some people with…” Alice hesitated and glanced at Luck. “…unexpected side effects.”...
...After a moment’s hesitation, I asked “So, you told me you were, like, super lucky and everything… but what exactly does that mean? Do you just go out on weekends and spend your time winning bar bets?”
Luck threw his head back and laughed. “Something like that.” He looked at me and said “Specifically? I guess you could say my…” He rolled his hand in a circle, searching for the right word. “…My tactical abilities were enhanced. I can find the solution to any problem, the winning move in a fight, the quickest way to checkmate, whatever. Any situation I’m in, I can see the way out and I know exactly what I have to do to get there.”
~Chloe, Chapter 19: Simultaneously
"…Unfortunately for you, only we Labresci agents are fully protected. Well, as well as we can be.” He turned around and knelt in front of the bed between Dylan and me and pushed up the hair on his neck. A small white scar sat at the base of his skull in the hollow of his neck.
I ran one of my fingers over it and let out a breath. “What is this? The only way you could get a scar here is-”
“Surgery. Yeah, Alice, Sean, Jessie and I all have one.” He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “A computer chip with information similar to that in the glasses was imbedded into our occipital lobe.”
Dylan tapped the back of his head. “That’s this area back here, Chloe.”
“Thank you, Dylan” I replied tightly, not taking my fingers off the scar. “They put a piece of junk in your brain? Why?”
“Well, that piece of junk is all that’s gonna protect me and Alice from the head counselor.” He took my fingers and ran them up through his hair a few centimeters.
“The occipital lobe is where the majority of visual processing takes place in the brain. It’s also the place where dreams come from, ironically enough.”
He took my fingers down back to his scar. “By placing the information chip here, directly into the occipital lobe, it effectively helps the brain sort the virtual images from the real ones, leaving us virtually unaffected.”
~Chloe, Chapter 19: Simultaneously
“When the head counsellor developed the wireless virtual reality we suspect he intended to create it in a way that he could be the master controller as well as not being able to be affected by it. Which means the virtual reality cannot be used against him.
"From what we have uncovered in our research over the past ten years, and especially during the last three days we found something he most probably didn’t intend to create... Those of us who were trying to stop the head counsellor ten years ago and acquired these unusual attributes was what went wrong.
"I believe the worst case for him was Mary, who somehow acquired the same ability as the head counsellor, the same programming. This means in theory that the virtual reality won’t affect Mary and it would be interesting to see if she could control aspects of the virtual reality.”
~Maria, Chapter 20: No Time for My Diary
“It seems he knows all about you, Mary. He’s trying to keep you out of the action. The ability to read into other people’s minds is through the virtual reality system. It would only work on those who have their brain fingerprint registered. Alice is the only one here that hasn’t been registered yet.” Luck paused for moment. “As for the contact stopping outside interference, that’s new to me. It could work in our favour; however it is possible the head counsellor already knows about this.”
~Maria, Chapter 20: No Time for My Diary
‘For this mission you will be divided into two teams,’ Brian commanded, whilst handing out what appeared to be short-wave radios.
‘Team one will consist of Luck, Maria and myself and we will to infiltrate the main control room for the virtual reality. Meanwhile, team two, consisting of Sean, Alice, Dylan and Chloe, will make their way to the super computer and plant charges which are currently located in this bag.’ He gestured to the bag he had brought.
‘The aim is to destroy it in the case of the system being used against us as there is a whole army out there that can be made to believe whatever the Head Councillor wishes. We will be in constant communication using the radios which are encrypted for your convenience. Probably pointless with most of your brains being tapped, but well, at least we try. Any questions?’
‘I request that Chloe comes with team one,’ Luck said, casually putting his arm around her back.
‘…Okay, it doesn’t really matter who she goes with, just don’t let her slow us down,’ he remarked.
‘Hey! I’m not dead weight!’ snapped Chloe.
~Dylan, Chapter 21: Back up
‘What are you doing?’ a familiar voice asked. I turned to see Tyler who had entered through another door. I looked to Sean and Alice for guidance on what to do as they moved into strategic positions. Sean shrugged.
‘We are creating a failsafe to prevent the misuse of the virtual reality,’ I replied.
‘You’re not trying to destroy them are you? You can’t just destroy them like that.’ He seemed a little desperate.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked. ‘You’re not working for the Head Councillor are you?’
‘No,’ he replied strongly. ‘He just showed me what can happen to people if the system is shutdown without following the proper procedure. It wrecks them mentally.’
‘Did he tell you to say that?’ Alice asked.
‘I have seen it,’ he said. ‘He did tell me to warn you about what will happen, and I know this will work to his benefit, but I have seen it. Destroying it is too dangerous, even if it is to your benefit.’
‘You do realize that he could have used VR to show you that,’ Alice explained.
‘I admit that that is a possibility, but isn’t this an experimental technology? Doesn’t it mess directly with people’s minds? Surely this is a real risk,’ he pleaded.
I didn’t like this. It annoyed me that our objective was being undermined, but it did sound like a risk.
‘Look I know this sounds suspicious but I think that the Head Councillor is telling the truth. He has held nothing back from me. He showed me what will happen tonight, he has showed me the effects of the system on me and other people. He is so open with the details because he knows that he is in a position where he has the advantage. He is confident in his set up and knows that you cannot act conventionally without loss. The only way to win is to directly confront him, and even then he has the advantage.’ Tyler was left a little breathless after his tirade.
There was a short silence before Sean made a move and advanced on Tyler, pulling out some plastic handcuffs. Tyler backed away alarmed.
‘You have to listen to me. People are in danger,’ he pleaded.
‘I assure you we will take your information into account, but we will also restrain you as you present a risk,’ Sean said firmly.
Tyler didn’t resist but instead focused on my eyes, pleading to support him. I still had one charge left. Alice was already on the radio.
‘We have a problem. Tyler showed up and is saying that destroying the system may cause psychological damage. Over.’
‘You can’t trust him. Leave the charges set and restrain him. Over.’ Brian replied.
‘Already done. Just keep his warning in mind, Over.’
‘Don’t worry; I have no intention of wrecking this thing. Out.’
‘Out.’
~Dylan, Chapter 21: Back up
...Chapter 22: Friend or Foe?
They were being driven back against the wall of the hallway. Trapped, surrounded by half of our defence team, they had fanned out against the wall to hold us at bay. Chloe had her fists up and was glaring daggers at everyone. Maria was hiding behind Brian, a hand on his shoulder. Jonathon was staring confidently at us, afraid of nothing.
"Give it up," Kari said harshly, stepping forward and flanked by her two subordinates.
"Leave now and nobody gets hurt," I said quietly.
"Lies," Chloe responded. "Lackeys cannot be trusted."
"Do you think you can outwit the head counselor?" I countered.
Jonathon, the guy I thought I would never see again, locked eyes with me. "Can you?"
That glare was just as intense as ten years ago. The same piercing glare when he had been dragged away by two counselors. All because I had betrayed him.
"Enough," Kari said dismissively. "Forrest may be willing to let you go, but if you came here to steal the head counselor’s technology, I can't do that."
"Steal?" Brian said quietly, an incredulous look on his face. "Why would we want illegal technology that violates every human rights law in existence?"
"You want to destroy it then," Kari said. "What you can't steal, you destroy. Typical Labresci arrogance," she spat. She formed a gun in her hand. At her signal, everyone else except me formed one as well.
Jonathon motioned to the gun hanging from his belt. "Don't make me use this." He was talking to Kari, but he meant that comment for me. The way his eyes narrowed whenever his gaze swept my way. He had not forgotten.
"Revenge won't get you anywhere, Jonathon," I said.
His hand went to his gun, still in its holster on his belt. "I go by Luck, now, you know." He sighed, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe he had to explain himself. "And I never said I needed revenge to win. Emotions get you nowhere. I swear by strategy," he paused, smirking, "with a dash of luck."
"Fine, you have a strategy, but you can't win with those," Kari replied, pointing out the guns that Brian and Luck were carrying. "I don't know if they're real or not, but they're useless stuck on your belts." She aimed at his chest. "This won't kill you, of course, but we can't let you any further." They were only a few metres apart.
"Try me," Jonathon replied with a smile.
"We don't have time for this," Brian interjected quickly.
"They need a demonstration," Jonathon replied.
"You're right," Kari said, "a demonstration is definitely needed." She gave the signal.
Gunshots rang out from around the room. My ears were blasted by the sounds. We were firing at them as if this was an execution, them lined up against the wall awaiting their fate.
The bullet storm ended with a hand signal from Kari. She looked expectant of her victory until we saw that they were still standing, still defiant of all the bullets thrown their way.
Luck and Brian were riddled with bullet wounds, blood streaming down their bodies, but they took no notice. Maria was completely unmarked. Chloe was the only one in visible distress, leaning back against the wall in pain.
"How…"
"Due to Labresci regulations, we can't reveal that," Brian said, his calm tones resonating throughout the hallway. "The less time wasted in this pointless battle, the better." He pulled Maria along with him while Luck supported Chloe with one arm.
Kari realised it that same time I did. They had immunity to the virtual reality network. They could shrug off anything we threw at them. Our main weapon had been neutralised.
"Restrain them by hand!" Kari shouted, trying to get everyone moving.
The lights went out at that moment, leaving us in darkness. It was too much of a coincidence to think that wasn't connected to the intruders. There were sounds of a scuffle in the last place I saw Brian and Maria moving through. I heard others crying out in pain and the smacks of bodies colliding. Someone was moving through the ranks with a vengeance.
"Dammit," Kari said. She was close. "Forrest?"
"I'm here," I replied.
"The lighting was controlled by the network, so they must have hacked it. I can't turn it back on."
I was about to reply when I heard a body being slammed into a wall behind me. I stood still. Someone brushed past me.
The lights came on.
The intruders had escaped. Some of the counselors were nursing bruises, while others were leaning against the walls, grimacing in pain. Kari was slumped against the wall.
"They knew exactly where we were," she said.
"They came prepared," I replied. I grabbed her arm and helped her up. "We underestimated them."
"The network had no effect on them though," Kari said, a scowl on her face. Her arm felt tense. "Well, except for Chloe, but her ridiculous glasses must have enabled her to stay conscious. She's never had them before."
"Felix and Chris are guarding the next basement level. I'm sure they've thought of some way to defeat them."
Kari was lost in thought for a moment. "He needs backup though." She motioned to the others to follow. "We need to catch them at the stairs."
There were two entrances to the next basement level so we split into two groups, Kari leading one group, me another. We ran down the hallway that lead to one of the entrances and noticed the doors were ajar.
We rushed down the stairs that led to the next basement level. We weren't far behind them. I could hear their footsteps echoing, the creak of the double doors opening. And Felix shouting. We had to hurry.
I bashed through the double doors first and saw Felix and Chris blocking the hallway.
"We won't let you pass," Felix said. "Your hack has been disabled by the head counselor himself. No more fancy tricks."
"Smart," Brian replied.
My group started filing in behind me.
"You can't go back either," I said. I couldn't give them any more chances.
"It's not as if we wanted to," Chloe shot back. She and Luck were facing us now.
Kari and her group then emerged from a set of doors just behind Felix.
"No escaping this time," Kari said.
"What are you going to try now?" Brian asked. "Your reliance on the network is pretty amusing."
Felix grinned in response. "Its all about the senses."
The virtual reality network worked by altering the information the brain processes. If Felix were to overload their senses completely…
"Since you seem to have some kind of resistance to the network, the head counselor has increased its power…and taught me how to use it," Felix said, slowly stepping forward.
Chloe grabbed Luck's arm for support. She looked shaky on her feet.
"It's overloading your senses. White should be creeping on the edges of your vision. Your brain is having trouble filtering out what it knows shouldn't be there."
Chloe suddenly dropped to the floor. Felix smirked. "She didn't have your protection, obviously. How heartless of you."
"Mary," Brian said. Maria moved so that she could touch both Brian and Luck. Were they trying to use her abilities to shield themselves?
Felix noticed. "That won't work either." Brian looked surprised. "Maria may have immunity, but the head counselor has disabled her shielding ability."
The head counselor had that power?
"Abandoning all pretense of normal battle and attacking the brain directly…how clever of you…" Brian said through gritted teeth. Brian and Luck were having trouble keeping their balance, sweat running down their faces.
"Your brains will eventually have to shut down, to protect itself. Then comes unconsciousness," Felix said. He seemed content to wait for the attack to take its course before advancing.
"We won't last forever," Luck said, eying the counselors blocking all the escape routes.
"If what Tyler said was true…" Brian said.
"We have no choice," Luck replied, crouching next to Chloe, a hand on her forehead.
Brian took out some kind of radio device.
"Alice, blow it up. Over."
"Anything you do is fruitless," Felix said, although he looked unsure of this new development.
Brian ignored him. "That's exactly why we need to take it down," he said heatedly into the radio, "do it now. Over."
"Enough of this. Counselors, get them," Felix commanded.
Felix was the first to move. He was aiming for Brian. Luck blocked him but Felix was able to shove him aside. He was just able to get a hand on Brian's radio when a massive shake of the ground knocked all of us down.
Something big had happened somewhere in the underground base.
Blackness started lining my vision. It felt like there was a huge void in my head. Staying conscious was too difficult. I fell to oblivion.
"Forrest?"
Someone was shaking my shoulder. My head felt heavy. My eyelids were like weights. I struggled to identify the person standing in front of me through the haze of black.
"…Maria?" Even talking was an effort. What was wrong with me?
I felt her hand grasp my shoulder as she sat down next to me. Her presence felt comforting, easing the pain of my head.
"Why aren't you with the others?" I asked. I could see her clearly enough to notice her sheepish look.
"I said I needed the bathroom."
"And Brian just let you go?"
"Well, I did need the bathroom," she said defensively, "and Brian said he didn't need my protection anymore."
"You still haven't answered my question."
She sighed. "We moved Chloe into one of the offices. Brian and Luck were going through some of the documents they found there. They were also discussing what to do with the unconscious bodies. That probably included you…I had to make sure you were safe."
My vision was clear enough for me to notice I wasn't in the same hallway.
"Where am I?"
"I'm surprised you didn't wake up when I dragged you through a few rooms," she said, chuckling. "You're pretty heavy."
I leaned back against the wall. "Thanks, I guess. But was moving me really necessary?"
Maria avoided my stare. "I had to get you away from the other counselors."
"So you just ditched the others to come help me? Is there something you're not telling me, Maria?"
She looked back at me, a tortured look on her face. "Brian thinks that anyone using the virtual reality might have permanent brain damage when the super computer was blown up. I had to make sure..."
"And you didn't want me locked up like the others when Brian and Luck go around tying everyone up," I said. She nodded.
"They didn't believe me when I said you were on our side."
"Maria…I don't care about sides anymore. If the super computer was blown up then virtual reality is finished. I can leave and never come back."
"Forrest…"
"I don't care anymore. You want to help me escape, fine."
I struggled to stand up, but even with Maria's help I was weak on my feet.
"This headache is killing me," I murmured.
"Do you feel alright?" Maria asked, looking closely at my face. "You look pale."
"Let's just go," I said irritably. We walked back through a few laboratories and into the hallway where the confrontation took place.
We stopped, shocked at the sight that unfolded around us.
Blood. Blood that coated the walls, oozed on the floor, stained the windows. Bodies lying around.
Everyone was dead.
"Somebody finished them off," I said.
Maria's eyes grew wide at my implication. "They wouldn't."
"I bet they are the only ones with real guns in this whole camp. What else could do this to them?" I said, gesturing wildly at the bodies. Gun shot wounds to the chest and head. Bodies that had fallen to the ground in awkward angles. Felix and Kari lying lifeless.
"We have to leave," I said.
Luck stepped out from one of the hallway doors. "You're not going anywhere," he said, gun out and pointed at me. "Step away from Mary."
Maria gave an exasperated sigh. "Luck, it's fine. He wants to leave."
"How do you know that?" he replied, moving closer. "Did you read his mind?"
She frowned. "I can't do that anymore, not with the super computer gone—" She gasped. "How?"
"We realised the network was still active while you were in the bathroom. When you didn't come back, we feared the worst." He gave me a pointed look. "And we were right."
"She came to me," I said, glaring at him. "I was actually leaving."
"As if I would believe you. Mary, back me up. He was forcing you to go with him."
But Maria was looking at Luck with dawning horror. "…You want to kill him too."
I looked back at the bodies. So it was no coincidence that we found him so close to the crime scene. I summoned a virtual gun to appear in my hand. "I didn't think you would be so callous, Jonathon. You didn't need to kill them to get back at me."
He laughed. "Are you that self centered? I didn't do it for revenge." A smirk appeared on his face as he took in my weapon. "That won't work."
"No," I gritted my teeth, "but it makes me feel better."
He aimed at his gun at me. "Your little display just confirmed all my suspicions."
This was such an unfair matchup. We both had our guns trained on each other. One real, the other virtual.
And I knew I was going to lose. He could do whatever he wanted and I would still die. My betrayal ten years ago was coming back to haunt me.
All because the head counselor had chosen me over him.
"It's not as if you were better than him," the head counselor had said, "in fact he scored higher than you did. He was just," he had leant close, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight, "too dangerous to be accepted."
I had to betray him, cast him aside like I did my other friends at this camp. But what was one more betrayal in the great scheme of things?
As I stared at the gun pointed at me, I began to regret that decision more and more.
"How is the network still active?" I asked, stalling for time. He was a strategist. Surely he would love to explain the moves he made, knowing he was going to win anyway.
"It needs a power source," he said. "And what better source than the brain power of every person it’s tapped into?"
Of course. That was astonishingly simple.
"So you do the math," he said, "how do we destroy the network now?"
My gaze drifted to the bodies lying on the floor.
No.
A malicious grin appeared on his face. "Those people labeled as 'ticks' on that data sheet? That didn't mean you were accepted into the agency. It meant you could be used as a power source."
Maria took my hand and squeezed. She was probably even more scared than I was. It was either believe the head counselor and his agency tales or believe Luck...
"I figured that out when we were rummaging through some documents we found in that office. Brian was too busy trying to contact Alice…for all his intelligence, he's too soft hearted to do the dirty work."
"We decided to stop the head counselor, not kill innocent people caught up in his mess," Maria said, trying to reason with him. She was trying to put up a confident front but I could feel how hard she was gripping my hand.
"That's just the thing. We can't have one without the other," he argued. "Even you, Maria. Your abilities are the most similar to the head counselors. Therefore, the virtual network relies on you almost as much as him. Do you know what that means?"
She shook her head, cringing away from him.
"As long as you're alive," Luck said, stepping closer to her, his gun still pointed at me, "the head counselor will never lose."
"Gold star for you, Jonathon," the head counselor said, walking through one of the side doors in the hallway.
Luck immediately had his gun trained on the head counselor. He pulled the trigger, shooting a bullet directly at him.
It passed through the head counselor’s chest without leaving any trace. The bullet stuck to the wall behind him.
"Figures," Luck muttered. "Too much of a coward to expose your real body."
The head counselor walked up to Maria and placed his hand on her shoulder. She stiffened. She could feel it?
"Who says this isn't my real body?"
"Real or not, you won't be able to protect them," he replied, his gun wavering between Maria and I.
Fury darkened the head counselor’s eyes. "I should have killed you ten years ago."
A flash of humour crossed Luck's face. "I'm that dangerous?"
"Dangerous, out of control and too clever for your own good. I made the right decision in choosing Forrest," the head counselor said.
"Forrest? What has he done except bumble his way around the camp?" Luck said, his voice dripping with venom. "Who else could have managed to lure you out here by threatening your most treasured pawns?"
"Jealousy has twisted your mind," the head counselor replied, giving Luck a hard, unblinking stare. "You were better than Forrest, yes, but you became arrogant."
"I was always better than Forrest. Better than everyone," Luck said, his voice rising. "And yet you cast me aside for them."
"Do you think we wanted the job?" I interrupted, causing everyone to look at me. "Do you think I wanted to be manipulated by him," I glared at the head counselor, "for the last ten years?"
Maria squeezed my hand in sympathy. She knew what it was like.
Luck was dismissive. "You just failed to see the good points of such an arrangement. It's not my fault if you weren't smart enough to take advantage of that."
"You're impossible," I growled. "You have completely changed."
"I can't have you roaming free anymore," the head counselor said, his trademark smirk appearing on his face, "as amusing as you may have been, plotting secretly against me."
"I did more than just plot," Luck said darkly.
"Regardless, you did well, forming your own strike team to get your revenge. Feeding the Labersci people enough tantalizing information to use them was a genius move," and suddenly the head counselor scowled, his eyes sweeping the area, "and you really caught me off guard with that massacre."
Head counselor people started appearing in the hallway, surrounding Luck from all sides. Each of them had some kind of weapon or gun in hand and had glares fixed upon Luck.
"But your campaign ends here."
"I think you're forgetting about something," Luck replied, his gun pointed at me.
"Your implant?"
Luck turned pale. "How did you know about that?"
"You have Jessie to thank for that."
"What have you done to him?"
"I took apart his head, of course. How else could I examine it?"
The head counselor could be just as ruthless as Luck.
"The implants were definitely Labresci work. But they have their limits. The virtual reality network has access to far more processing power and can easily overwhelm your implants."
The head counselor looked sadly over to where Felix lay, lifeless eyes gazing at the ceiling.
"And so, I can finish what Felix started."
I felt Maria's hand separate from mine, and suddenly I was lost in the sea of head counselor clones.
I heard the sounds of guns being shot, weapons being wielded against the hapless Luck. I imagined that he would be afflicted by other direct attacks on the mind. The relentless assault was sure to overwhelm his implant. I heard distinct gunshots coming from Luck. Then I felt a hot burning sensation in my shoulder and I dropped to the floor. Blood was dripping down. A bullet wound?
My vision started getting hazy. Everyone disappeared except for me and Luck. He had collapsed onto the floor but was still conscious. He saw me with my hand to my shoulder and smirked.
"He wasn't able to save everyone," he said.
My shoulder felt like it was on fire. I groaned and tried to back away.
The head counselor had chosen to save Maria. He had spirited her away. Again.
Luck struggled onto to his knees. He was coming closer, his gun still in hand.
"Why aren't you…unconscious?" It was all I could do not to cry out from the pain.
"Jessie's implant was a decoy. No one but me knew that." He was close. Too close. "I didn't think the head counselor would kill him, but it still did the job."
"How could you just...kill someone?" I was against the wall now. My hand was slick with blood. I felt dizzy.
"I've been doing it for years. Hard not to, as my father's unwilling personal assassin."
He crawled closer. "Every time I killed someone, I always imagined it to be the head counselor. Or you."
He held the gun to my head.
"It's too bad the head counselor couldn't save you as well."
He pulled the trigger.
