ADEM

Adem slid open the stim capsule. Yet another play-through without getting so much as a scratch. He’d found the perfect hiding place atop the wall surrounding the Square and had taken down Odessa, wounded Vee, and had been about to shoot Hisako when–

Tobey was still laughing his ass off at her bobbled grenade throw. The explosive had bounced back and landed at Hisako’s feet, obliterating both her and Vee. Tina showed up in time to finish what Hisako had started with Tobey, but it had been too late. The missile launched on schedule, blowing apart maybe a sixteenth of La Mur. Score a small win for the common man, subtract all the kids who died serving as a shield. A rare victory over Vee’s Furies. Tobey would be bragging about it for months.

Drinks at Terry’s Place were the post-game ritual. The players would razz each other’s strategies and argue over who’d made the best kill. Adem’s narrow bed was calling loudly, but beer promised a muzzy end to the long day. He finger-combed his hair and followed Tobey and the rest of the team down to the bar.

Adem ordered a beer and helped push several mismatched tables together to form a single big one. He took a seat on the boys’ side and saluted Tobey with his beer. “This is, what, the second time in history you’ve beaten the Furies?”

“Third, if you count the time that nuke went off and wiped out everyone on the map.” Tobey scrubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. He was drinking Dooley’s latest concoction, and it looked like a fast worker.

“You can’t count that one,” Mateo said. “Both sides wiped, and we failed the mission.”

“They failed, too, but we’re the ones who set the bomb off,” Tobey said.

The door slid open. Enter the Furies.

Tobey waved. “Hey, remember that time with the nuke…?” He was already getting mush-mouthed. Adem resolved to stick with the beer.

“You’re not still claiming that as a win, are you?” Vee said.

“At worst it was a draw,” Tobey said.

“How can it be a draw when it was a complete fuck up?” Odessa snorted. “We need to pull that game out of the archives and play it again or put this to rest.”

Vee ordered drinks for her team and sat with them on the other side of the long table. “I can’t believe you went for a human shield, Tob. Kids! That way leads to the dark side, pal.” She sounded unimpressed.

Tobey put his glass down too carefully. “That’s what terrorists do.”

“If it wasn’t for that sniper, we would have stopped you cold.” Vee squinted at Adem. “I didn’t even know you were playing.”

“Tobey caught me on the way back to my suite.”

Odessa was arguing with Mateo. “If we’d had another couple of minutes, Tina could have come around and nailed you both.”

“I had you in my sights when Sako’s grenade went off.” Tina had set the elaborate cocktail aside and, like Adem, was sticking to beer.

Hisako put her head in her hands. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

“A healer against a human shield?” Tobey hooted. “Your accuracy was absolutely blown. I’m surprised you were able to throw.”

“A lot of games don’t have the human shield option,” Vee said. “You can only use it in this one if you play the terrorist side.”

“They’re not terrorists,” Adem and Hiasko spoke simultaneously. Their eyes met for an instant, and they shared a smile.

“That’s not what the game says.” Vee ordered another round of drinks for her side.

“Forget that,” Hisako said. “If the guerrillas – still not terrorists – were really fighting for a better life in La Merde, there’s no way they’d put their kids in danger. However, I could see the EuroD side threatening the Children’s Village as a deterrent.”

Adem nodded agreement.

“Where’d the guerillas even get that missile?” Hisako continued. “I could see guns, maybe, although I’m not sure where those would come from either, but a high-tech missile? No way.”

“They must have bought it,” Vee said.

“With what money? From whom?” Hisako brandished her cocktail. “Someone else had to be involved.”

“The scenario didn’t make a lot of sense,” Adem said. “Arming old ladies and kids and putting them in stairwells? That’s not an attack. That’s a last-ditch defensive measure. The EuroD had to be the aggressor.”

“Ooh, listen to Mr Earth History.” Tobey’s eyelids were drooping. “It’s a game. We played by the rules, and we won.”

“The rules are stupid, then,” Hisako said.

“Stupid or no, Tobey’s right,” Vee said. “They won fair and square. Next time, it will be different.”

“For now though,” Mateo’s smile said it all, “I understand there was a bet made.”

Tobey blushed. “You don’t have to. I mean just because we…”

“I never welsh on a bet. Sets a bad precedent,” Odessa said. “I’ll send Reg over later tonight. Hisako’s idea. It’s very gentle.”

Tobey paled.

Adem risked another smile at Hisako, hoping that she’d appreciated the fact that he saw things her way. “I talked to folks in La Merde when the tower came down. They think the EuroDs did it or paid to have it done.”

Hisako frowned. “How does that make sense? La Mur depends on the elevator.”

“La Mur wasn’t underneath the tower when it fell, though. Only the refugee community lost homes and lives. The elevator was probably back up, business as usual, in a few weeks.”

“My father was part…” She looked down at her drink. “Let’s say he knew some of the angrier people in La Merde. They were always talking about doing something like that.”

“Maybe. But talking is one thing. Makes no sense that they’d bring the tower down on their own people, barely affecting the EuroD, yet giving them the excuse for a crackdown.” He twisted his wedding ring absentmindedly. “I just don’t see it.”

“Bad planning?”

He raised his glass. “To not making bad plans.”

They clinked glasses. Further down the play-by-play continued. Tobey’s head was on the table, and he appeared to be asleep. Odessa was re-enacting the battle in the Square using silverware and salt-and-pepper shakers. Vee was challenging Mateo to an arm wrestle.

Adem drained his beer. “I’m going to turn in.”

“I won’t be far behind you. This project is kicking my ass.” Hisako rested her forehead in the palms of her hands. “Before you go…”

“Yeah?” Adem froze, half-out of his seat.

“I want to apologize.” Hisako lowered her hands. “It’s not your fault I’m here, and I’m going to try acting like I know it.”

“That would be nice. Being married doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”