SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 2012: UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, LATE NIGHT
For most of the Arthro Taskforce, there was nothing less exciting than a bad view from the cameras. For Monica, quite the opposite was true. It was the bad views that meant trouble was brewing, that represented the greatest potential for something to go disastrously wrong.
Bad views had wrecked the last two iterations of Survival of the Fittest. In Version Three, the loss of overall coverage hadn't been treated nearly as seriously as it required. It had taken days for anyone to become suspicious of the mass of supposed deaths in the same location. The collars had been fundamentally flawed, and so a new designer had been brought in. In Version Four, things had run more smoothly on the whole, excepting the outside influence. However, once again, a student snatching a few moments of time behind a hastily constructed barricade had been enough to see a collar knocked out of commission.
The view now was better than it could have been. There were a few areas around the island that were particularly tough to monitor, but the best cameras were located in places with good angles on them. Zoom technology had advanced a lot in the past few years, and night vision was an acceptable, if flawed, option. They could, at the very least, roughly approximate positions and postures. A combination of multiple flawed technologies could create an adequate composite.
Monica had spent a lot of time reviewing how previous groups had communicated secretly. In V4, writing had been key, and so she had taken a lot of interest when all the surviving students to have encountered Karen Idel's supposed note to her parents just so happened to meet up again. In V4, the island's location had been snuck out through a game of mimicry, and so, when the group began passing a drawing in a circle, Monica had raised her eyebrow. When they had split once again, she had felt it quite likely something was about to go down.
On the laptop were two separate windows, each with a command prompt flashing.
AUTHORIZATION: KZHX87GHS
COLLAR(S): B051, B072, G014, G053
SPEED: I
CONFIRM: █
AUTHORIZATION: KZHX87GHS
COLLAR(S): B037, B039, B045, G060
SPEED: I
CONFIRM: █
She was hoping not to have to confirm. She'd come to view the kids in these groups as just a little more than numbers. It wasn't that she particularly cared about them as people, but they were her opposition at the moment. The bulk of the kids in the game were dull as hell, running and screaming and killing and dying and not even bothering to think things through with any real degree of logic.
But now, she had a really strong hunch they were at their own Endgame, one wholly different from the five or six pathetic stragglers that would be herded together in a week or whatever.
At least she'd gotten some sleep again today.
The speakers were pouring the vocals from the microphones in the collars, but she was only paying half attention. They sounded genuinely panicked, and maybe they were. Maybe they really were dying of whatever it was, but she didn't think that things were quite that simple.
The words on the screen flashed as she picked up the phone and punched a call.
It's funny what a loss of an internet connection does to the creative mind.
In what the lead technician for the Arthro Taksforce called the "off season" between now and the last time he had to perform his job, he had a surprising amount of prep work to perform. More collar fail-safe testing, particularly on those pesky heat sensors that apparently were bunk last time, new hires, team management, team-building exercises... in a sense, it was like having his dream tech job if you ignored the whole "murdering children" thing. It's a thing Lourvey thanked his position in the rear ranks of the organization for; since he didn't have to go out on the island himself, to be truly visceral with the experience, it was easier to detach himself, to decathect himself from everything.
The effort was made easier given that in spite of the surprising amount of work he had to do over the last few years, he also had a surprising amount of free time to kill. A lot of this time was spent playing computer games and generally going on his merry way as if he were still in college. Sure, it was tough to play League of Legends when you had to bounce yourself off a couple proxies in order to hide your IP, but it was still playing the game and that was something. Who cares if you're limited to only playing Master Yi?
Well, now, Lourvey wasn't even afforded that luxury. Because they were now on the job itself, everything was to be treated with the utmost care and sensitivity. Greynolds didn't want any chances taken or any risks afforded. For that, any and all of the Online Adventures of Dennis Lourvey were ended. To combat the wear and tear that the job could take on the mind and body, Lourvey had been forced to come up with a different game all his own. So, some few nervous talks to Greynolds and a few cans of courage later, he had managed to convince his boss to allow him to set up a couple of computers in a two-system network. Lourvey was a hardware engineer but he fancied knowing his way around a network as well, and from what he had been told shortly after joining the force, Greynolds was apparently a hacker too. So, the rules of the game were simple: hack into your opponent's computer to access dummy files, all while setting up walls of your own. The game also had a purpose, allowing Lourvey to keep certain skills sharp that he didn't necessarily use when staring at monitors all day and making sure all the blinky lights on a ring of metal were going "bleep".
It was during one of these moments, with the frazzled technician trying to find peace of mind in a computer screen, that the phone rang. It made him jump, and not without reason; Lourvey hadn't slept properly in a few days, worried about that damned group that threatened his job security. With a job like this one, job security was closely tied to life security. If he nodded off and stopped paying attention at a critical time, they might have another escape incident on his hands and he might be another Achlys.
God knows he still had nightmares about that.
Fishing for the phone through a mesa of red bull and mountain dew, Lourvey picked up the receiver and looked at the small screen. Then, he turned the device on and held it to his head.
"Yeah, Monica? What's up?"
"I think we may have a problem." She kept her voice calm, flat. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. She glanced at the monitor showing the secondary group, but nothing seemed to be amiss there, at least so far. There was no indication of either group synchronizing in any way. She was glad they'd taken watches this game.
"Wha..." Lourvey began. She could hear the exact moment her words sank in. "Oh, wait, what? Problem? Like, a real one? Throw it at me."
"Group A, on the beach. Bad lighting, sounds like one's sick. Could be fake."
Was it fake? She bit her lip.
"That's... the one with, uh... Hunter, right?" In the background , she could hear rummaging, the clinking of some metal. Lourvey was probably digging through the mound of Red Bull cans she'd seen on his desk the last time she passed by his office.
"Yeah," she said. "Idel's hacking up a lung. He says—hang on a sec. He's getting really close. Can't see what's going on."
She squinted at the monitor. Lourvey started to say something, but she cut him off before the first syllable fully passed his lips. "Gun's near her head."
"Okay, slow down," Lourvey said. "Near the head... Group A... ... Ha. Hey, what caliber gun is he using?"
He paused for just a moment, cutting back in before Monica could reply. "Actually, it doesn't matter. If Mr. Hunter... If he shoots the collar, he's going to put Idel away for us. If that happens, I got something for you to do. Ready for this?"
"I a—" Monica began, but she was cut off by a loud beeping from the laptop. It was the noise that signaled a collar detonation, one not prompted by her orders.
Lourvey spoke more quickly now.
"Press the buttons for B72 and G14."
Monica pulled up her prompt, deleted the two extraneous numbers, changed the setting from instant detonation to a fast countdown, confirmed. Somewhere, two collars started to beep.
"Already queued," she said. "What about—"
She didn't usually challenge Lourvey when he wanted something. He was, after all, not the bravest sort, which meant he tended to avoid unnecessary risks. In this instance, though, she couldn't let it go without comment.
"Wait a sec. Wait just..."
On the screen, Hunter raised his gun towards his own neck.
"Now," Lourvey said. "Press it."
"You sure—"
"Yeah, a second after theirs start to go. Now."
AUTHORIZATION: KZHX87GHS
COLLAR(S): B051
SPEED: I
CONFIRM: YES
She slapped the enter key before the boy on the screen could pull the trigger. A split second later, the other two collars finished their countdown and also detonated.
The only sound now coming from the monitors was that of waves breaking against the shore. After a few moments, Lourvey spoke once more.
"So!" he said. "Trust that went smoothly?"
"Done," Monica replied. Her hands were starting to shake, just a little. "Yes. Shit. I'll tell Greynolds. You should wake up anyone who's asleep and make sure everyone else on the list is accounted for. Everyone."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll go and do that," Lourvey said. "Heh... I have to admit, I almost feel a little bad, but... I figured their complex plan involved a bit more than just shooting the damn things, you know?"
"I'll believe that in a week or two," Monica said. "Until then, could be a phase two. Kent pulled something similar, so..."
She trailed off, then just hung up on him. She had a lot to check out, to make sure of. A lot to suggest, too. The whole situation made her very uneasy. Was it a step towards something bigger? Had it just gone wrong? No way to say.
She was going to suggest they hold the announcement of these deaths for a day, though, if at all possible. See what else shook loose, what the kids in Group B said. That would tell them just what they were dealing with.
MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012: UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, 9AM
"Good morning, kids," Tracen said. His coffee mug sat in front of him, but unlike the past few times in the seat, he was already three cups down. He didn't want to be here right now. There were things that felt more important, but that was an illusion. Any hint that anything was out of the ordinary would be damaging, in some form or another.Greynolds had just given him an ironic little nod when they'd talked. This, Tracen suspected, was what V4 had been like all the way through. It gave him more perspective, but, he found, in this case he would have preferred to remain ignorant.
"It was another decent day from you," he continued, "but you're not breaking any records. James isn't particularly impressed.
"But, as always, here's the roll call. First off, Natalia Kowalski got herself caught in a box when the Shipping Yard became a Danger Zone. Bear that in mind in a few minutes, because a lot of you are going to want to get moving when I'm done talking.
"Jaquilyn Locke filleted Grace Faraday, before having her little breakdown. Travis Webster also joined the stabbing club, tearing Matt Masters a new windpipe. Rose Matheson also got the point of the game, or rather, of a knife wielded by Michael Eastmund. Eastmund himself succumbed to a blow to the head he took from Cody Patton shortly thereafter.
"Ray Gilbert found himself on the wrong end of Amaranta Montalvo, who demonstrated the many different ways a gun can be used to kill someone. They aren't all quick or pretty, kids.
"Resident pirate captain Sean Mulcahy executed the insubordinate crew member Aria Samuels. No mutiny aboard this Bounty, eh, matey?
"Sunny Lee brought a little doom and gloom to the life of Katy Warren, who she shot dead. Not to be outdone, Hansel Williams put wannabe undertaker Kyle Fitzpatrick in the ground."
"Alex King thought she was being particularly smart in her attempt to outwit us. She wasn't. You mess around and try to break the system, you lose your head. No exceptions.
"Speaking of trying to rebel against our way of doing things, Steven Salazar tried to talk sense into Katarina Konipaski's MAC-10. It wasn't feeling like being a good listener, though.
"Last, we had quite the chain of events. Max Sawyer was on his way to take a shot at claiming yesterday's prize, when he was ambushed. He managed to take out Emily Rose, but was shot and killed by Harry Hanley, though he fatally wounded him in the process. Gabriel Lee and Arthur Wells then wandered in. Lee shot Wells, but Hanley got off one more shot, killing Lee in the process.
"Don't think you can just walk towards the town and pick up those guns, though. Enter The Woodlands, Lighthouse Point, The Golf Course, The Shopping Center, or The Nuclear Power Plant and you'll be following Kowalski in a quick exit from the game.
"That is, except for Ms. Amaranta Montalvo, who can pick up her weapon, as well as a supreme pizza and a bottle of Fanta, in front of The Shopping Center.
"Do your best, kids. I'll talk to some of you again tomorrow."
DAY FIVE: MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012
Weather: The weather is a little better than yesterday, with the sun peeking through at various points, but towards evening darker clouds can be seen building on the horizon. The wind on the island itself has largely died down, though. It is notably warmer than yesterday, with highs around around 68F, 20C at 4pm. Tonight is the new moon. The fifth announcement will come at 9 AM on June 19.
I actually ended up getting voted for BDA. I'm officially ceding the quote time to Ice for the next month since I like Lauren's quote better and it's only been up for like a week anyways.
The rolls:
1. Lana Torres (KamiKaze)
2. Paulo Abbate (Outfoxd)
3. Jack McDonald (Flare)
4. Brianna Battaglia (Shangela)
5. Edgar Tolstoff (swirlythingy)
6. Iselle Ovaelle-Vandermeer (Betaknight) Bianca Howard (Ascarpi, Hero card used)
7. Michelle Wexler (Ruggahissy)
8. Gwen O'Connor (Espional) - Theodore Fletcher (Espi, Swap Card used)
As always, three days for DZs and cards. While we normally are a bit loose with hopping in and out of DZs for one-shots and stuff during those three days, Tracen's not kidding about the guns being out of feasible reach.