1.1 Reality
Luca took two steps forward, leapt lightly and grabbed the branch overhead. He swung himself onto the branch before he moved back into the deeper foliage and went still. Moments later, a pair in dark grey fatigues slid into view below. Luca allowed himself a faint smile before he dropped down on top of them, rolling forward off the pair of opponents, he left the clean up to the two teammates that came through behind the pair.
“Heh, so average they can’t even outthink a drifter.” One of the pair of teammates muttered as Luca turned and headed out of the field. That would be more convincing if you hadn’t hired said drifter so you could win this match.
He had no real reaction to the continued discussion behind him. As far as Luca was concerned, the job had been done. Now it was time to go. He rolled his shoulders as he bypassed the grandstand with its three large screen projections of the field and its roaring crowd. TacWar games had reached a new high in popularity, since they had been used as a replacement for real wars in resource and territory disputes. Organisers could earn funds from the match and there were no more civilian deaths in the process. Not to mention, the field could be organised by a neutral third party and might include a variety of elements, anything from street fighting to mazes filled with riddles.
Luca stepped into the parking lot with his pack that he’d snagged from the prep van and narrowed his eyes at the suits standing by his car. It was a lowkey dark blue all-terrain SUV. It looked like a family car, but he had had it heavily modified. It was almost equal to a high-grade military tank of the old era in defence capabilities, but was faster and quieter.
One of the suits stepped forward. “Lucky Luca, the man who gives luck to his team, always just happening to avoid trouble. Or the former Olympic gymnast and tactical protégée, son of the last great general, Luca Masters.”
“No one uses last names these days. I’d say you have me at a disadvantage, but the suits and that van behind me say corporate man. The research says you are well-funded with good access. The shoes suggest that you don’t in fact come to these areas much. The only company that pays a great deal of attention to TacWar without any active involvement is WIC Corporation. So what do some suits from WIC want with me?” Luca asked as he stepped past them and tossed his bag into the car before turning to lean back against the door with raised brows.
“Really so astute we visited Zeno before this, and he wasn’t as fast on the identification.” The suit chuckled but there was a blankness in his eyes belying all amusement. Nothing scarier than a businessman. They want to bleed you without a blade. Luca continued to stare calmly back at them. They’d either get to the point or go away. The shady feeling they were giving off was making him lean more towards hoping they would go away. Though since they’d clearly come here specifically to see him, that seemed somewhat unlikely.
“Ah, well, you see our corporation is hosting a very exclusive TacWar game. However we are only inviting elite members, not teams. Thus, a lot of freelancers are in for this.” the suit gave a charming smile as if expecting an excited response.
“That’s nice. I should care because?” Luca dragged out the last word. It wasn’t like he was lacking in work or money. Even if he had to go, they didn’t need to know that.
“The prize is 10 million per person of the winning team.” Suit raised his hand in an inviting gesture while Luca forced his face to remain expressionless. Shady as hell. “We’ll give you a few days to think it over and you can get back to us.” With a last smile and a slight bowl the suits turned and left. Luca slid into his car and headed out.
When he got back to his house, he headed straight to the office and settled in at his computer. Moments later, a secured call came through. “So?” a voice demanded.
“Came in today 10 mil prize.”
“The deal stands half the prize and your freedom if you win.”
“Cold contact. I never see or hear from any of you again.”
“Cold contact. Happy hunting.”
Luca maintained a collected tone throughout the call and only relaxed back into the chair after the call was disconnected. “This wouldn’t have to be so hard if I could just deal with the i***t the easy way. Though even the easy way would be hard work. This would be looking like an easy out if WIC wasn’t so shady for a charity development company. I think the last thing I can say about this competition is that it is going to be easy.” While Luca mused aloud, a ping came through on his game chat group. He hadn’t worn his regular, coms gear to the match today, opting for normal glasses instead to avoid the distraction.
[Ghost: Lucky you get an invite to WIC comp? The shadow claiming a release for a win?]
[Lucky: Yeah, you got the same?]
[Tails: Shady as, even for shadow Rӓv?]
[Rӓv: So shady, they say free teaming we co-oping?]
[Lucky: Yeah, need another, though I think the comp is going to be shadier than the shadow.]
[Ghost: Right this is going to be int..ter…rest…ing. We should do a four line.]
[Rӓv: You crazy Ruski keep your death wish to yourself.]
[Ghost: Nawh, you spoil good times.]
[Rӓv: Speak properly.]
[Tails: Ask Holly?]
[Lucky: Ask] Luca leaned back as he waited for Tails' response. He ignored the continued bickering between Rӓv and Ghost, or rather, Ghost’s taunting and Rӓv’s biting. The two always bickered. They worked well together, but Ghost just liked to fish.
[Holly has joined the server]
[Holly: Ah? Is this a group meeting?]
[Tails: Just ignore them, that’s just how they flirt.]
[Rӓv: Whose flirting with that crazy Ruski?!!]
[Ghost: Really a pity but the Swed vixen hasn’t got the right equipment for me]
[Lucky: Welcome,] Luca sent and then prepared to work through a briefing only to pause mid-type.
[Holly: Ah my god, I’m next to my male god. Let me take a screenshot.]
[Holly: Great god can I get an autograph?]
[Holly: Really looking forward to fighting with my male god. Starryeyed.jpg]
[Tails: If I’d known I could have used Lucky as bait, why did I spend fifteen minutes enticing you?]
[Holly: Yes, I can’t believe you let me waste fifteen minutes when I could have been worshiping my male god?]
Luca supressed a smile. He found it hard to reconcile the astute and cunning young Japanese man that he knew Holly to be from observing his matches with this excitable fan.
[Lucky: I’ll give you an autograph when we win. For now, let’s talk practicalities.]
[Holly: Yes. Sharpsalute.jpg]
[Tails: You said the comp was sus you thinking some prior planning needed before the start]
[Ghost: I’d trust suits the same as a third-hand car salesman.]
[Rӓv: Then we want them thinking this is not prior planned or not certain.]
[Lucky: They specifically said they’d spoken to Zeno when they met me.]
[Tails: Zero is in? Geh that means that Sorceress will likely be in.]
[Ghost: Specifically said Zeno, right? Yeah, I think this is going to be good show.]
[Rӓv: Yeah, I’m beginning to think the under matches are going to be like open fields in comparison]
[Tails: Hopefully not literally. I prefer woods. I don’t want to do underground tunnels again. That was not fun by any measure.]
[Rӓv: Agreed]
[Ghost: Agreed]
[Lucky: Let’s not set ourselves up. For the time being, we agree but go with no planned team, only make an out if they try to slap a team together.]
[Tails: Not playing eager?]
[Lucky: Just play calm.]
[Rӓv: Nothing better to do, is it? Easy easy.]
[Holly: I will give the best performance and definitely let them think that it is only because I’m bored that I’m joining. Reassuringnod.jpg]
[Lucky: Line up team game for co-op practice. New accounts start up see how it goes.] Luca lined up the game. It was just a team towers game. It was good for checking teamwork because once one person is out of sync, it was easy to take a bad turn in the game.
