The Great Game

If you’re new to the Great Game, please have a quick look at the blurb to your left, where you’ll find a short catch-up introduction!

A long moment later, a suited figure shot through the gate ahead, running flat out towards the trees. It was a bit too far to tell for sure, but it looked like a slender red-headed woman.Twin blaster flashes cut through her, and she collapsed, limbs flailing. I winced, crouched down instinctively, and tried not to think about Carrie Ransom being a slim red-head. The suited figures walked up to the corpse, grabbed a leg each, and casually dragged the body back the way they’d come.

This was insane. More importantly, whatever was going on, it was way above my pay grade. I needed to get hold of someone who could give me some sort of perspective. I started carefully picking my way back across the park, away from where the office used to be. A couple of tense minutes later, I was far enough away that I could relax enough to start thinking.

Ransom reported straight to Captain Browne. They were both obvious people to turn to, but I just couldn’t shake the image of that woman collapsing in a bloody heap. I had contacts in the local force, but this was surely out of their league too. Other agencies were unlikely to be much help. The press were obviously being kept out of it. I didn’t know anyone in the region’s military. That left Overlook. Chances are my buddy Don wouldn’t have any idea as to why or who, buthe ought to be able to let me know what had happened, and that had to be a start. I put a call through.

“Don Simmons.”

I sighed with relief. “Don, it’s John Taylor.”

“Hey, John. How are things at the DSP?”

“Uh, that’s why I’m bothering you this time of night.”

“That sounds ominous. What’s the problem?”

I hesitated, trying to think of a good way to put it. “The building has been destroyed. I saw a woman who looked a bit like my boss getting gunned down by a couple of guys in crazy hazmat suits, and I think they may want me too. I really need to know what happened. I’m sorry to dump this on you Don, but I don’t know who else to turn to.”

Don was silent for several seconds, then he took a slow breath. “Man. I don’t suppose you’re joking? Damn. Alright. I’m at home, but give me a couple of minutes and I’ll see what I can get. This is a secure line, right?”

Huh. “Personal encryption, of course.”

“Peachy, John. Just peachy.” Don sounded disgusted, but not panicky, which was something. “I’ll call you back.”

He cut the connection. He was right of course; I should have been more careful. I decided to divert away from the car, towards the far corner of the park, and tried not to feel like an idiot.

Ten minutes later, I was getting seriously jumpy. A call came in, no identifiers, no origin. I froze, but it wasn’t like I had much of an option. I opened the line, but said nothing.

“John.” It was Don. Thank fuck.

“Yeah. Good to hear you.”

“According to the beast, your office is right where it should be.”

“What? That’s impossible. I just saw…”

Don cut over me. “Relax, John. It’s not the whole story.”

“OK. Sorry. I’m just…” I trailed off.

“It’s cool. Like I said, Overlook thinks your office is fine. But raw high-bird imagery shows that it’s been demolished. Someone’s put up a smoke-screen.”

“Christ. I didn’t know that was even possible.”

“Oh, it’s possible, but it’s very, very hard. Whoever they are, they’re really good, or in very deep, or both. I’ve been through the raw files, and about forty-five minutes ago, there was a flash, and the building collapsed. Some sort of implosion, because there’s no damage to adjacent blocks. Less than a minute later, several black APCs pulled up, and a bunch of guys in those white envirosuits piled out and set up a cordon. They’re still there.”

“Any idea who they are or what they’re up to?”

“No.” I could hear Don scowling. “The vehicles are unmarked. I don’t recognise the model, or the suits. But they haven’t made any obvious attempt to search for survivors, tidy up, or do anything else you’d expect. It looks like they took some samples, though. I saw the incident with the woman, too. She arrived on foot, came through the cordon, approached the site, and then bolted.”

“What are they up to now?”

“The same,” Don said. “Poking around, mainly.”

I shook my head. “Alright. Thanks, Don. You’re a life-saver. I owe you, big time.”

“Listen, be careful, OK?”

“Yeah, I will. You too.”

“Always,” said Don. “Call if you need anything else, but do it securely.”

“Thanks. Catch you soon.”

“Luck.”

I tried to make sense of it all.

Today’s photo is Simon Lui, Inc Demolished by threecee.

Sorry for the unscheduled episode break over Christmas, folks. I was planning to do a piece on Christmas Eve as usual, but the day slipped away from me. In retrospect, it was optimistic of me to have ever thought I might get the chance! I’m hoping to do the next installment on New Year’s Eve, but there’s a chance it might not happen, as it’s my birthday. If I don’t get an episode up then, I’ll do it early on New Year’s Day instead, as that ought to be fairly quiet! Anyway, I hope you’ve all had a lovely time over the last week or so