'Not so I could see. I wondered.'
'What can you tell us about working with Bishop?'
She nodded to herself. She said, 'Gen-Dyn forced Stone on Bishop. Second-in-command. Sooner or later Stone had to take the com, and it happened at Ile Ife. If Bishop-if he suckered us, there's no way to blame him.
'He's confident. Unbelievably so. But he's usually dead-on about anything to do with Gaming. One hell of a sexy man.' She grinned at him, a shark's grin. 'If I'd had an opportunity, I was going to make a play.'
'What was he like to work with?'
Holly rolled one long, shapely thigh over the other and stared up at the ceiling. 'Intense. Perfectionist. When the name 'California Voodoo' came down, Bishop set into research like a crazy man. Ancient African myths, Haiti, New Orleans, 'The Last Days of the Late Great State of California.' And yet…'
She seemed to be deciding whether or not to continue. Tony remained silent.
'Just a feeling in the back of my head, like a-a taste? There was a lot of movement, but it never felt directed, focused. It was all logical. It all made sense. But this is the Bishop, right? The Bishop does crazy things. The unexpected. The intuitive leap. The deceptive gambit. And he didn't really come up with any of that. It made me wonder. Either he had lost it-'
'Did you believe that?'
Holly smiled and shook her dark, pretty face. 'The man was on fire. He is so smart it's scary. Hell of a sexy man. No, I thought he must be planning something crazy, something unexpected, something that it would take a genius to guess.
But killing off his whole team? Why?' Her brow furrowed. ''Does he think he can win single-handed?'
'Could he think that?''
She laughed at herself. 'Even Nigel Bishop isn't that crazy.'
'What if he's changed the definitions?'
'Of what?'
'Of winning. Like, oh, suppose he bet on another team, for instance?'
'What, on Acacia? That's who he's with now.' Her face twisted in what might have been grief. 'Damn you, McWhirter.'
Tony only nodded.
'He's risking a perfect reputation if he throws this Game. It's tarnished no matter what happens now. He lost his team!'
'You're looking at this the wrong way. In the context of the Game, winning is important. Bishop quit because winning was too easy. No challenge.'
'What would be more important?'
'Money?'
She shook her head. 'Power. For Bishop it's power.'
To Tony that was a new thought. He suggested, 'Enough money is power…'
Holly was thinking, her eyes closed. 'If Bishop is cheating. If you are seeing him outside the Game, gone rogue, then don't stop at the first easy answer. Bad mistake. He'll leave a false trail. He'll give you an answer you'll buy, and then hit you with something subtler, and bigger.' Again, that predator's smirk. 'Much bigger.'
27
'Knowledge of the Gaming territory is of paramount importance. If the Game is to be played in Dome A or B at Dream Park, you have some idea of the Game Master's limitations and advantages to the Game Master. If it is to be held in another location, failure to acquire proper intelligence is an invitation to disaster.'
Friday, July 22, 2059
Promptly at 6:00 A.M., the combined party of General Dynamics, Apple, and the Universities of California moved out of their comfortable quarters on the thirteenth level and began their descent.
At Griffin/Bobo's insistence, all utensils were cleaned, all beds made, and everything that was possible to place back in its correct position was so replaced.
They had, however, taken every grain of salt in the cupboards. There wasn't a tin of canned meat, a bag of hard candy, or a jar of pudding left behind. Griffin decided that there was no practical way to prevent such petty pilferage.
Once again, Acacia Garcia had slipped completely into Panthesilea mode, a dark and dangerous place, one that fascinated him in spite of his headache and fatigue.
Alex wasn't sure he had gotten any sleep the previous night. He may have slipped off now and then for a few moments, but the least sound, the hint of an approaching footstep, snapped him awake.
It made for a dreadful evening. He pulled himself out of Acacia's bag in the morning feeling as animate as a Yule log.
But the nine Adventurers in the caravan were moving along now, cautiously but steadily. The rate of attrition had been staggering. Doubtless there was worse to come.
Alex kept a sliver of attention reserved for Bishop. The man seemed completely involved in his Game. Absorbed, even-but there was something else, wasn't there? Some dark inner light, the relaxed smugness of the gambler who has rigged the table…
Alex's earpiece buzzed. He cupped it to isolate himself from outside conversation. 'We've got two choices,' Tony McWhirter said. 'Army, or Bishop.'
Alex whispered his reply, the throat mike filtering and amplifying. 'Any link to Sharon?'
'Just that map. Most logical choice for cheater is Army, but they've always been straight arrows. I don't buy it. Sentimental choice for cheater is good old Bishop.'
Griffin thought about that. 'I don't completely trust Acacia. I think she's in trouble.'
'Alex…'
'No, I don't think she knows anything about murder. I just have a bad feeling about the whole thing. Don't worry, I watched out for her last night.'
'Right.'
Griffin knew that wounded tone and the confusion of emotions that hid behind it. 'Tony when this is over, you and I are going to have a long talk.'
The chill was still there. 'Any time.' Then the line went dead.
Griffin caught up with Tammi: tall, blond, physically superb, and in the lead as usual. The halls were deserted, but there were sounds just up ahead.
Just beyond the next corner, electric candles flickered in a storefront window. Above the niche was a sign which said, in extremely neat script: Botica.
The Adventurers gathered around. After a swift huddle, Tammi, Acacia, and Bishop entered the store. After a moment's hesitation, Griffin entered, as well.
The room smelled like incense and peppermint. The walls were papered with glowing black-light posters in psychedelic array. From speakers in every corner of the room, heavily synthesized electric guitars bleated arrhythmically.
'What the hell is this?' Acacia asked.
Tammi examined a necklace of human teeth. 'Looks like a cross between a santeria minimart and a head shop.'
