MMORPG: How a Computer Game Becomes Deadly Serious (16 page)

The Dark Portal was the only connection between Azeroth and Outland, that was added to the game as an expansion. Rebecca had explained how the two continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms had been the entire game until early 2007. The highest level a player could achieve back then had been level sixty. On January fifteen, 2007 the makers of World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment, had added a whole new world. It was situated somewhere else in the Universe and could only be accessed by passing through the Dark Portal, which appeared right there in the Blasted Lands. Outland not only offered many new zones, challenges, and adventures, but also the possibility to progress to level seventy. Nearly two years later, Northrend was added, raising the level cap to eighty
.

In only five weeks Blizzard would be releasing a new expansion again, this time not only adding new territories, but redesigning all of the original areas as well. The level cap would be raised to eighty-five. Rebecca had explained to him that the original game had become technologically outdated over the years and needed a complete makeover. This surprised him, as he’d been playing in exactly those areas until now and hadn’t found them lacking in anything.

She was determined that Robert should be level eighty when the new expansion was released. She’d explained to him how important it would be to start exploring the new zones together with the members of the Hammer of Grimstone.

For now, he put all those thoughts aside and focused on his first steps outside Azeroth.

He stood staring at the enormous portal, which resembled a gigantic open doorway, with bolts and strobes of blue energy skittering and flashing on its circular surface. Stairs led to the entrance. Near the foot of the stairs was a quest giver. He approached the quest giver and received, surprise surprise, orders to go through to the other side.

“Say goodbye to Azeroth!” Killermage yelled. She guided her warhorse up the staircase and made it jump right at the moment she reached the portal. Floating a few feet above the ground, she disappeared as soon as she made contact with the surging energies.

Gunslinger walked up the stairs and hesitated for a moment. After a few seconds he took two more steps and vanished into the Dark Portal as well.

~~~

Chapter XIV

Dawn
was still far away, and it was as silent as it would ever be. It’s often said that sleep is the deepest around five o’clock in the morning. True or not, the stealthy movements in the darkness were so silent that they wouldn’t even have woken the lightest of sleeper.

There were several yachts moored at the long wooden dock that jutted out into the lake, running parallel to a similar slippery boardwalk alongside the quay. Three of the ships were more or less permanently inhabited. The last ship at the dock had a few electrical lights burning at the railing and several more at various places on the deck. The faint humming of the heating system could be heard. It was, after all, early November.

The illumination on the luxurious yacht spilled over onto the dock, creating grotesque figures of light on the otherwise dark black wooden beams. The moving figures were careful to avoid those pools of light. They glided soundlessly in the edges of the darkness toward their positions. Only the faintest shuffle of rubber soles on solid wood could be heard.

When they stopped moving altogether, the silence deepened even more. It remained that way for at least three minutes.

Suddenly, at a signal that no observer could have seen, they came in motion again. Four shadows detached themselves from the utter darkness of the side of a small electricity divider positioned near the edge of the pier. They moved swiftly to the gangway and crossed it, diving left and right for the cover of dark patches as soon as they were on board. A voice whispered, issuing instructions only audible on the earpieces each of the men was wearing.

Right at the moment that the dark shapes had raised themselves, a door swung open. Bright light spilled out of the cabin, chasing away the shadows and revealing the four men on the deck.

The leader of the assault team immediately recognized the danger they were in. If the man raised the alarm, success would hinge on the outcome of the fire fight that was certain to erupt. He didn’t doubt they would win, by numbers and the element of surprise on their side. He also realized that the law would descend on the scene swiftly, making their escape much harder.

He seized the instant during which the surprise of the man in the doorway was even greater than that of the intruders. He acted while all the others were still staring at each other in confusion or trying to look away from the bright light that was blinding them.

Training had taught him to focus on the darkest spot near the light. Experience had taught him that the oblong tool the man was carrying was a gun. Instinct had taught him how to act to survive. Before anyone understood what was happening, he had raised his hand and pulled the trigger. Twice. The muted plopping sounds hardly disturbed the silence of the night, but the clinking of shells on the metal deck did.

Hit in the chest, the man started to sway. It appeared as if he was undecided about whether to fall down or not. It didn’t matter, because the one who had shot him reached him in three fast strides and grabbed him by his oversized coat. He jerked the man roughly out of the light and pushed him against the side of the superstructure, putting a hand over his mouth at the same time. Ignoring the muffled gurgling sounds that tried to escape, he put his gun against the underside of the man’s chin and pulled the trigger again. This time, the tension left the body, and he let it slump to the ground.

“
Hé, wat is dat? Waar is Bart? Wie ben jij?
”

These challenges, voiced in loud Dutch, came from another man, who was standing in the doorway, backlit by the bright light inside. He was squinting in an effort to make some sense of what was happening. It would take his eyes at least thirty seconds to adjust to the darkness outside. That would never happen.

The other three infiltrators shook off their paralysis at the appearance of another target. And what a target it was! He was just standing there, completely blinded, in a halo of helpful light from inside.

A quick look was exchanged between them. A decision was made. One of the men in the dark clothes aimed his silenced gun and fired twice. Both shots hit the target right in his heart, killing him instantly.

The corpse didn’t even hit the ground. Having put the first body neatly out of the way, the killer of the first victim was ready to collect the second one. One second after the two bullets had ended his life, exactly at the moment that the muscles in the legs had gotten the final orders to collapse, the dead man was taken under the armpits and held upright. Shuffling backward, his caretaker laid him next to his former friend in a dark spot on the deck.

The leader signaled with two fingers in the air and pointed at the open door. One of the men stayed on deck, while the other three entered. They closed the door behind them, plunging the deck in near darkness again.

Once inside, they split up. Two went down into the hull, the third made a quick sweep of the small upper cabin. Having established that there was no one hiding there, he took up his post at the upper side of the stairs.

Meanwhile, the team below had located another guard keeping watch in the kitchen area. They could see him sitting at a small table. A television with the sound turned on loud was showing replays of a boxing match. The man had his back to them. It appeared that he was eating a sandwich. On the left side of the table was a gun.

They were concealed behind a blue curtain meant to keep the warmth from escaping the lower cabins. From their position they had a good view of the kitchen area. The leader signaled something with his fingers and the other one nodded. He went into a crouch and shuffled slowly toward the man at the table, careful to keep below the level of the cupboards. When he was no more than two feet away, he looked back and got a nod in confirmation.

Two heartbeats later, he stood and approached the man from behind. He must have made a sound, because the man started to turn around. There was no alarm in his movement, probably because he just expected the return of his companions. He had no chance at all.

The attacker looped a thin cord around his neck and pulled hard. This was done in such a practiced manner that it was almost like a show by an illusionist. The man made no sound at all, having his windpipe closed so suddenly. With the same smooth fluid movement, the attacker conjured a knife from somewhere and moved it upward and sideways just below the ribcage of his victim. He held the man like that for a few seconds before he slowly and carefully lowered the body to the ground. There had been no struggle and no sound. The boat remained totally silent. Brief eye contact and a nod finished this stage. The knife was wiped clean on the clothing of the corpse on the ground and disappeared as magically as it had appeared.

The two men went down a small corridor. There was a door to the right and one in front of them. They ignored the first and focused on the latter. Again, the leader put up his hand, this time showing three outstretched fingers.

Silently, the leader opened the door. He moved it just so much that a small crack appeared. From inside, they could hear the sound of heavy breathing and faint intermittent snoring. The soft light from the bulb in the corridor showed some of the inside of the cabin. Without a sound, the door was opened further. The leader raised his gun and aimed at the immobile lump on the bed, covered by white sheets. He pulled the trigger six times.

Blossoms of bright scarlet appeared on the silken sheets. After the third shot there was a short convulsive movement from the shape on the bed, which lasted only until it was hit by the next shot.

While the leader walked purposefully to a small bench on the opposite site of the room, the other drew away the bed covers. He revealed a man with a short beard of perhaps forty years old. He checked for a pulse. Finding none, he grunted with satisfaction.

He turned upon hearing a click. The leader had revealed a safe hidden under the bench. He must have known the combination to open it so quickly.

The safe was quite large. Inside were several plastic bags with a powdery substance, which the leader threw carelessly aside. He was more interested in what lay underneath. Thick packets of paper money were stacked neatly side by side on the bottom of the safe. He took one out and held it up to the dim light. It was about two inches of hundred Euro bills. Quickly he removed the small bag from his back and started to put the stacks of money inside. When he was finished, the two men climbed back up again and met their partner in the small upper cabin. Together, they went out onto the deck and, taking the fourth one with them, they left the ship.

On the dock they were joined by two more dark clad men who had been keeping watch there. Forty yards away, another two men saw the group emerge, and they, too, left their positions silently. Only minutes later, three separate cars moved away from the small harbor. The small Dutch town on the edge of the IJsselmeer slumbered on, unaware of the horrible discovery that would be made in only a few hours.

~~~

Chapter XV

“
He’s
back,” Robert said as soon as he was out of possible earshot. He was bounding down the stairs while talking on his mobile. “No doubt about it. I heard him in the corridor, and the hair I fixed at the door is gone.”

“When do you think he returned?”

“I don’t know. Anytime last night or early this morning.”

Rebecca calculated. “So he was gone for four days.”

“That’s right.”

“I wonder what these absences mean,” she answered. “The last time he was out for a couple of days, an Israeli banker died.”

Robert grunted as he fixed the phone between his ear and his shoulder because he needed two hands to force open the heavy front door against the strong wind sweeping through the street.

They talked while he hurried to his class. Again, Rebecca stressed that he contacted the police again. Robert was still hesitant.

“Let’s wait and see if anything happens. Only if there was indeed an attack involving a boat, I think we have something conclusive to tell them.”

When class was finished, Robert hurried out of the classroom. He was almost through the main exit of the building when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw it was Andy.

“Oh, man, you’re busy these days! I almost feared you had returned to England without saying goodbye!”

Robert grinned. “Sorry. Yes, I’ve been busy.”

Andy looked at him curiously. “You’re not still on the terrorist thing, are you?”

Looking around at the throng of people pressing against them, trying to get out as soon as possible, Robert took his friend by the arm. He gently led him outside.

“Yes, I am. Rebecca, too. It seems we were right on the mark from the beginning.”

Together, they started to walk toward Robert’s house. Andy was incredulous. “Do you have proof? We should go to the police again!”

Robert made a helpless gesture. “What is proof? What is evidence? There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence. To me, it’s enough. But how do we prove that something that happened in the real world was prepared for in the virtual world?”

“I don’t know. By showing those coincidences and circumstantial evidence to the right people? The question is, how do you know any violence or any attack is connected to your suspects? So many terrible things happen these days. I mean, why shouldn’t yesterday’s attack on that ship be connected?”