Everyone except Pollyanna woke to the alarm’s whine. I whispered to the others what had happened, answered a worried call from my parents, and then there was no time to get back to sleep.
Hairo boiled some water, made everyone coffee. Freeze-dried, not exactly tasty, but still better than nothing. Any coffee is good coffee when you can’t remember the last time you slept the night through. Hairo saw me struggling, offered me an orange cardboard pack about as long as my finger. One word was written on it: ‘Booster.’
“Tear off the top and drink. It’ll give you energy and clarity of mind for around six hours, but there’ll be a harsh comedown.”
I downed it and felt better almost right away. While we drank coffee and made plans for the day, Hairo showed me a dossier of the people he wanted to hire.
“I served with them all in the Peacekeepers. We can rely on them.
They’re all free right now and have given preliminary agreement. I haven’t told them the details, of course. Sergei Yuferov, engineer extraordinaire, master of fortifications and defensive structures. Suggested contract: two hundred thousand a year. Yoshihiru Uematsu. I’ve told you about him before. He knows just as much about defenses, only digital instead of physical. He’ll be more expensive than Sergei by around fifty thousand. Maria Saar and Roj van Garderen will be bodyguards. I insist on the last two, and it’s only three hundred thousand for both.”
“Bodyguards? For me?”
I expected jokes from the boys, but none came. My friends were listening carefully and staying serious. Hung even nodded along, agreeing with Hairo, who sighed and began to explain things to me with exaggerated calm as if talking to a grown child.
“You’re one of the most famous people in the world now, Alex. I don’t know if you know it, but not only millions of people are watching you; billions are. You have the power to turn Dis on its head, and everyone is trying to figure out what to expect from you and how all this will affect them. You can destroy entire countries in Dis, or make your own state, bring the noncitizens to the Sleepers, monopolize the markets, not just for ore, but for other resources too. And whatever you do, it’s going to affect everyone; from the bottom to the top of the leaderboard. If you think the Alliance will play fair against you, think again. I know their methods, and they’re dirty. Dirtier than you can imagine. And what the preventer leaders said today is total crap. Just a line to calm down the community. If something happens, Snowstorm won’t be able to prove anything. Your power was in anonymity, but now that’s gone. You’re the most valuable prize on the planet for all kinds of shady characters. And you’re “But the capsule will detect coercion, inform Snowstorm and…” I began, not so much arguing as thinking aloud.
“You’re a pain in the neck for Snowstorm,” Willy interrupted me. Hairo:s partner hadn’t spoken much, but when he did have something to say, we all listened carefully. “Of course, they said what they had to say. People would start to refuse Threat status if they knew how dangerous it could be. Sure, they say the founding fathers don’t appreciate it when Dis matters are decided in real life. You all remember the story of the Honest Vagrants, right? It was a clan that laundered money for slavers. They got too cocky and all their players got banned permanently. All their in-game property was confiscated. But that was just the story the public saw. In reality, something else happened: the Honest Vagrants tried to blackmail one of the devs. Not the biggest fish, but Snowstorm stands up even for its lowliest interns. When it turned out that the clan was also putting pressure on some meager Threat in real life, they loosed the hounds and punished them publicly.”
Everyone was quiet a while, thinking over Willy’s words. I heard only the hum of the generator and Pollyanna’s gentle snoring. Finally, I spoke:
“I’m going to sell something at auction tonight. I’ll be selling it personally, because the goblins won’t deal with anyone but me. As soon as the money is in my account, I’ll contact Kiran, a director at Snowstorm. Our last conversation went poorly, but I doubt they expected me to get out of the Nether. I’ll see if their promises are still valid or not. And if they are… I’ll delete my character and announce that the class-A Threat no longer exists.
My friends’ faces brightened. Hung scratched his forehead hard, ran a hand through his hair and hit his fist against the wall.
“Right! We’ve earned enough money already, and the citizenship tests are coming up… Time to get off this merry-go-round. I’m worried about my loved ones… And what about Ed’s little sister? Alex may have bodyguards, but who’s going to guard her? Anyway, the clan will still be there! And we have plenty of room to grow!”
Hung was hinting at his own Threat status, about which nobody knew but us.
“So it’s decided, then?” Malik asked.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “Hairo?”
“Nothing changes for Willy and me. Corrections will need to be made in the plan for the clan base, but until everything clears up, I suggest we change nothing.” I’m sure I heard disappointment in Hairo’s voice. He fixed me with an unblinking gaze. “You know, you stepped on a lot of feet while running around in Dis. I know for certain that Colonel won’t let that slide so easily. Whether you’re a Threat or not, it’s a matter of honor as far as he’s concerned. Glyph from the Azure Dragons will want compensation from you too. And the rest… Let me put it this way; it’s too
