Supernatural Games (2 page)

Corbin had been quiet through most of our discussions. And he looked lost in thought.

“Corbin, is something troubling you?”

“I was wondering how we plan to secure the mobile universes. Once they’ve finished constructing them we will need to lock them down. We may move them, but if they’ve been bugged or compromised in any way they are still vulnerable to infiltration.”

He made a valid point. Tokem and Traygen would go over them thoroughly before we moved them. Yet, if they missed anything, the fox would definitely be in the hen house. There were four portable universes and only five on our team. We needed an additional crew. I wanted to insert a minimum of two people in each universe. And it couldn’t be our team. We needed to protect the designers and their families during the games.

“I’ll ask Jason for an additional team so we can place two of our best people inside each universe. Tokem and Traygen, you two will need to sweep the portable creations before we seal them and put our teams in place.”

“No worries, Lauren. Traygen and I will find anything left inside. You can count on it. Those PU’s are safe with us.”

“P.U.’s?”

“Yes, portable universes.”

We all groaned and I think Corbin threw something at him.

“Easy does it, bat boy.”

“If you two are finished, we need to attend to our assignments. You will need to coordinate your sweeps with the teams we’re leaving to guard the P.U.’s. Traygen, you can work it out with Jason.”

“Will do. Do we know when the design team plans to present the portables for inspection? This will likely require us to thoroughly inspect every detail, so the sooner they are ready, the better.”

“I’ll find out, but my guess is in the next forty-eight hours. The opening ceremonies are less than a week away. While you two work out your security issues, Corbin and I will finish the background checks on the design team. Then we’ll look into security at the Four-Courts. We will meet back here at nine PM when Jason will review our plans.”

Corbin and I spent the next couple of hours reviewing and flagging any person on the design team or their families with anything sketchy in their files. The design team consisted of three men and a woman. They were all married; a few had children. All told, there were an additional ten people. It broke down to four spouses and six children. Two people’s files caught my attention and raised my suspicions. The lone woman on the design team had lost a parent to a rogue vampire. The other red flag was the wife of one of the designers. She gambled heavily and her debt threatened to drown her. I could relate to her, because we both like to shop. We decided to interview all the designers and the shopaholic wife. We went to the Four-Courts and told the design team what our plans were, and set up an interview schedule.

“Lauren, how do you want to do this?”

“I think we should ask them all the same questions. When they talk, and believe me they will, nothing will seem out of the ordinary. You read the files more thoroughly than I did. Why don’t you ask the questions and I’ll watch for any unusual responses?”

“I can ask the questions. I thought I might begin by asking how they were chosen for the design team and about their responsibilities to the team. I’ll follow-up by asking if they’ve experienced any negative involvements with any of the sups competing. With the family members, I’ll change the first question and ask if they care that their family member designed the course.”

“Good. I’m going to spell the room so it will tell me if anyone is lying. It should prove helpful, especially with the designer and the shopaholic wife.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, who is first?”

“The lead designer is first. Her name is Tenos.”

We interviewed all fourteen in two and a half hours. Corbin skimmed his notes while I reviewed my spell. I checked to see who if anyone set it off. I scored a hit four times. Our shopaholic was nervous about her debt, which in my opinion made perfect sense. The designer who lost a family member to a vampire definitely didn’t like vampires, but she also didn’t respond differently to Corbin than she did to me. I assumed vengeance wasn’t an issue for her. The other two hits came from the design team. One of them was hiding something in relation to a sup and the other lied or omitted something about why he joined the team. These two required further scrutiny.

Corbin and I compared notes, and he picked up on our two design team members because their responses didn’t line-up with their files. Everyone else’s answers correlated to what we’d found in their personnel files. It wasn’t much to go on, but I thought it might be a good thing. It looked like the fae had assembled a competent team. We thanked the project team and their families. We assured them we would return tomorrow to brief them on our security plans. Finally, we transported back to my house to rejoin Traygen and Tokem. When we arrived, they adding the finishing touches to their security plan.

Traygen ordered pizza, and we’d just finished our dinner when Jason transported in. We filled him in on our plans. He asked a few questions and then he approved our plans and added his support to our plans. Our orders were to report to Tri Na nOg tomorrow morning. Corbin and I shared our concerns with the rest of the team regarding our interviews and our worry concerning two of the fae. For their part, they told us how they planned to search each portable universe and transfer security to our other team. Satisfied, we all turned in early. Tommorow’s responsibilities would cause us all to rise early.

I
transported all of us to the Four-Courts and Tri Na nOg. We commandeered the top floor of the building. Traygen and Tokem commenced their meeting with the fae and our backup teams, while Corbin and I met with the project group to find out what the security planned for their portable universes.

“Good morning. Corbin and I need you to fill us in on your security plans for the games, and more specifically, the portable universes. Yes, Posin, please tell us how you intend to address those two points.”

“Certainly. I’m head of security for the design team. We placed the team and their families in secured rooms on the third floor. No one may leave until after the games are completed. We will use retina scans for entry and exit from this floor. Our operations room is on the third floor and the entrance requires a retina followed by a palm scan. Our security teams already swept the third floor for any surveillance devices, and will continue on a daily basis.”

“It sounds like a good first step. The rest of our team is synchronizing security efforts with your teams. They will implement whatever is necessary to fill any perceived weakness in the plan. What can you tell me regarding the security for the four portable universes?”

“The portable universes coordinates are encrypted; known only by the security team.”

“Yes, it’s a good first step. However, we are suggesting the universes need moving every six hours by the World Council of Wizards. No one in this building will know where they are until minutes before the competitors are introduced to them.”

“Don’t you think you’re going overboard just a little?”

“Maybe, but we’ve seen how easily those same coordinates can be compromised, bought or stolen. Our job is to keep these games secure. Once you are finished with each universe we will send in our teams to sweep them and then seal them.”

“No one can see those sets until the competition.”

“No one who is competing will see them. Our team is above reproach and the integrity of your universes will remain intact. From this point on, your teams and families are restricted to your floor until the games are finished. You will have zero communication with the outside until the games are decided. Are there any more questions? Okay, we all received our assignments. Posin, please let me know when the universes are ready for inspection.”

Posin nodded his agreement and then left the room without speaking.

“They didn’t look happy with our plan.” Corbin observed.

“Yah think? Jason will listen respectfully and then politely insist. Come on; let’s see how Traygen and Tokem are doing.”

We went to our floor and found them in deep conversation with what looked like the team Jason sent to patrol the universes. We waited until they finished, then we joined them.

“How’s it going on your end?”

“Fine. Those are the team members Jason sent to cover the portable universes. They seem up for the task. How did you and Corbin do? Are the design team and their families locked in?”

“Yes, and they’re none too happy with us moving their universes all over the place. They don’t think the universes are susceptible to hacking.”

“Give me five minutes with their security,” Tokem added with a chuckle.

“They’ll try to go over our heads. But I’ve sent Jason a heads up and he’ll make them see our point of view. As soon as he contacts us we need to inspect the interior of those universes.”

“Did I hear my name?”

“Damn it, Jason, quit sneaking up on us. Let me guess - the fae don’t want us moving their universes.”

“No they don’t, but we are in charge of security. You will receive access in an hour. Is everything else on schedule?”

“Yes, the design team secure lockdown is scheduled for less than an hour. And as soon as we receive the all clear, we will check out the four cosmos. Traygen and Tokem will sweep them and then we will transport our men on board. Lastly, we will relocate them.”

“Good. Keep me updated. And Lauren, play nice.”

“Who, me? I always do. I am just misunderstood.”

“I don’t need to remind you, we don’t need an international incident.”

“Jason, don’t worry, we will keep her on a short leash,” Tokem said as he flew up and out of my reach.

We spent the next hour reviewing the schedules of everyone involved in the design team and their portable universes. By the time we reached consensus on our plan, Jason signaled to us the all clear on the pocket universes. We stayed together while we inspected the four competition sites.

Traygen and Tokem focused on finding any bugs or other forms of spyware. Corbin and I searched the portable creations to make sure they remained uninhabited by anything not in the original plans for the games. When we were satisfied the universes weren’t compromised, we’d station our guards onboard, and then our wizards would commence the moving process. But before we got started, I wanted a word with the designers.

We assembled the team and asked them to brief us on the games’ rules and each universe.

“Lauren, as you and your team know, these games occur every fifty years and give teams are entered this year. The teams are made up of four sups from each respective race. The idea is to win. The first team to successfully navigate all four universes, hopefully without losing any team members, wins. As you know, there are penalties for losing team members and no team can advance until they successfully complete each stage. If a team loses all four members, they’re disqualified.”

“That’s cold, harsh, no mourning, just see you later,” Tokem quipped.

“Posin, are you saying the competitors cannot directly attack one another?”

“Corbin, they can and they will. Fortunately, the suits will absorb most hits and record it. Nothing keeps them completely safe. If someone wants them dead, they can slay them. The suits will only tell us what happened, and unfortunately not who committed the deed. We designed the suits so they will protect the players from the natural hazards placed within each stage. Moreover, if they are killed or unable to proceed, the suit will notify us of their location and record the hit. If all the team members are killed or unable to continue, their team is eliminated. The universes grow increasingly more deadly the further into the competition they go.”

“How does a team member enter a specific universe? Do they know anything regarding what they are facing? Do they know what their goals are before they enter?”

“Lauren, once they are in transit they are given a suit which is specially designed for the environment they will enter. All the suits work the same way. Specifically, they are climate sensitive. Once they are in their suits, they’re given a set of coordinates to their first destination. The universes consist of a series of stages and they must find each consecutive stage to receive the coordinates for the next stage. They uniformly include four stages which build into progressively harder challenges until someone wins.”

“Do they all enter at the same place?” Tokem asked.

“No, they are randomly dropped off from the transport. And none is dropped in the same location. They are, however, dropped equidistant from the first stage. If you can’t think of any more questions, I’ll describe each universe for you.”

“So you are saying the sups won’t necessarily square off with each other?”

“Lauren, I am saying if or when they fight, they won’t need to kill each other. They can hinder or slow each other down without any loss of life. Our first universe is a tropical rain forest. It will now appear on the screen and we will scan it for you from our aerial cameras.”

The first universe resembled the Amazon rain forest and my guess is modeled after it. It is a densely packed, thickly forested, lushly verdant, leafy ecosystem teeming with life. The trees towered like skyscrapers into the skies and ascended at least a hundred and fifty feet high or more in some places. Altogether, the trees capped a living miasma under their canopy. The camera zoomed over the area showing us layer upon layer of trees, vines, and blindingly brilliant flashes of exotic flowers and shrubs. The plan included several large rivers looking like they might overflow their banks as they meandered through the densely covered forest. It rained in isolated pockets, flinging sheets of rain down from the sky, while thunder and lightning boomed in the distance. Then I spotted my first animal. The trees in the canopy teemed with monkeys, guerillas, and orangutans. If you asked me, they used and abused steroids, no drug test needed. I was glad I wouldn’t need to set foot down there. As we scanned over the river, I saw the heads of several alligators. I shuddered when I considered what we might be missing. Then Posin clicked off the video clip and stepped back toward the front of the room.

“I hope you enjoyed our rainforest. We made it as accurately as we dared with only a few embellishments. You prudently need to step lightly while you are inspecting the setting. We placed many unfriendly flora and fauna to keep things interesting. The rainforest is home to the Lawyer vine and the stinging tree to name but a few.”

“I hate to ask a dumb question but...”

“It never stopped you before,” Tokem noted as he darted out of reach.

I glared at him and waited for Posin to answer my question.

“The Lawyer vine is a vine covered with tiny hooks to snag anything foolish enough to plunder too close or brush one. The stinging tree is covered with fine poisonous hairs causing a sting and it itches for weeks. They are usually found near clearings and in red soil.”

“What other surprises did you leave for the competitors?”

“Too many to mention now, but you should be wary of the naturally occurring flash floods, heavy downpours and lightning. The rivers swell and overrun their banks on a regular basis. Then there are piranhas and leeches. We enhanced some of the jaguars. Ours are larger and their tracking abilities are boosted. The cassowaries are a real threat, and ours are a foot bigger than most. The enhanced birds are six to eight feet tall. As for snakes, there are anacondas and several poisonous ones. You will need to use caution even with the suits we will supply for you. We cannot control the animals, plants and other hazards within the rainforest.”

“Lauren, how do you want to handle this? Tokem and I can use our electronics to find any bugs. They won’t jam the frequencies until the sups are inside.”

“If I may make a suggestion, we used hovercraft to design and maintain this universe. I’ll make three available for your use.”

“Posin, thank you. We greatly appreciate it.”

We followed the design team, and they outfitted us with suits and three hovercrafts. Once we took off, I turned to speak with the team.

“Traygen, you and Tokem will need to stay together. We will maintain radio contact. Corbin and I will team up in case we find anything dangerous.”

“I think a better question is when, not if. I hope you’re going in there armed and ready to slay cassowary.”

“Tokem, if I was you, I’d be more worried by the B-52 sized mosquitos. You won’t even make a decent snack.”

“Focus, we will need to remain on high alert. This universe is designed to be lethal and challenging to the best the sups can muster. I am glad it’s them and not us facing these four portable universes. Seriously, I don’t know what anyone else thinks, but if this is the warm-up act, I’m not sure I want to see the final one,” Traygen said.

“It looks like our rides are here. Once we are all suited up in our transports and airborne, report in.”

We moved down into the transports cargo hold, and they showed us how to use our hovercrafts. Then we mounted up just before we dropped unceremoniously from the transport. All I had time to think was, holy shit, as I plummeted toward earth atop my hovercraft. I quickly regained my senses and throttled up, shot forward with a blast of air and up over the canopy of the rainforest. This was the closest I’d ever come to flying, at least solo. Okay, riding on Traygen’s back was the best ever, but this might be a close second, pretty freaking amazing. The hovercraft made almost no sound, and I felt like I was riding on a Sea Doo skimming over the waves or more accurately, the treetops. I returned from my reverie by the sound of my team checking in. Everyone piloted their craft safely in a controlled manner. Corbin flew along to my left and Traygen and Tokem jetted ahead to set up their grid. They’d scrutinize and sweep every inch of this place for electronic devices or anything else not included in the original plans. I turned on my headset and called Corbin.

“How do you want to handle this?”

“I read on their description there are five levels. Why don’t we start at the top and work our way down. What should I be looking for?”

“I think we are just looking for anything out of the ordinary, something not included in the original design. Look for any recent digging or construction not on the blueprints. Let’s make our sweeps in a north to south grid pattern. And I’ll look for any magical signatures.”

“I’ll follow you.”

I turned my hovercraft and nosed it up until we climbed well above the tree line. I didn’t expect to see much from this vantage point. However, we needed an idea of the lay of the land. We worked our way back and forth across the small world. There was no activity until I noticed movement in the trees below us. Monkeys of some kind were swinging through the thickly forested ecosystem.