“MoonCrawler?” I whispered down the alley.

“Shhh,” she - no, he - hushed me. “Don’t say any names.” He looked around frantically, his paranoia clear on his face.

But paranoia or not, this felt like a obvious trap.

I started to type out a message in the Guild’s Officer chat for everyone to come to me now, but Al’s signal flashed again over MoonCrawler - faster and more urgent this time. It was like he was warning me not to summon the others.

Under my breath, I said, “Al, is that you?” I didn’t know what to expect given he wasn’t using the quest or achievement system, but he seemed to be indicating I should trust MoonCrawler. And knowing Al, that was not something he would normally suggest.

More flashing over MoonCrawler, fast and aggressive - I almost imagined he was using Morse code to say ‘Yes, fuckhead.’

I hesitated at the mouth of the alley, looking all around for some sign of a trap. Was I just an absolute idiot to follow MoonCrawler right now?

Yes, I decided. That would be really fucking stupid…except Al was telling me to do it. As far as I knew, no one was aware of our system of communication. But then I remembered something Al had told me last time I had seen him in person. Something about S&S sending a level 5 A.I. to root him out of the System. Was this a play by Al’s big brother?

“What do you want-” I stopped myself from calling him MoonCrawler. “-cat boy?”

He looked around again, peering down the alleys to either side of him. “Can we talk somewhere more private?”

“More private than the deserted back alleyways?” I asked, my suspicion rising again.

“Just-it’s…I mean…” he started backing away. “This was a mistake. Never mind.” He made to flee but I held up my hand to stop him.

“Wait!” His nervousness seemed too genuine to be a ploy. The MoonCrawler I had met would never have the guile to suck me in like that. If this even was MoonCrawler…

“What was the first thing you said to me…in the tower, I mean?” I asked, my eyes narrowing in anticipation.

He looked away, out of embarrassment or because he was listening to an answer being fed to him - I couldn’t say. I snapped my fingers to hurry him along. “Faster, or I’m out of here.”

“I-I’m not proud of how I reacted,” he said.

“But what did you say?” I demanded, my voice hard.

He sighed. “I chastised you for contacting Customer Service as an employee,” he said. “Then I accused you of hacking when my Game Master spells didn’t work on you.”

I pursed my lips in thought. That was right, for the most part, but not exactly conclusive evidence. MoonCrawler could have debriefed Goldman and Holt on everything that happened between then and our meeting in Shadow Vale.

“Mmm, okay, but I guess that doesn’t prove anything,” I said after a moment.

A group of rowdy players passed by the alleyway entrance, spooking MoonCrawler back and out of the light.

“I shouldn’t have come,” he whispered, his voice echoing down the alley. He turned and started to run away.

“Hold on,” I said, but he turned down another alley and out of sight. I hesitated there, wanting to chase after him, but knowing that was a terrible idea.

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Al’s marker flashed near the edge of the alley, and I sighed.

“Okay, Al. At least, I hope it’s you.” I started after MoonCrawler, Al’s signal making it easy for me to track him.

He took a few twists and turns, but we were starting to edge towards another district, and I didn’t want to leave the safety of the Avenue. So I put on a burst of speed and caught up to him, my hand snaking forward to snag his shirt. He tried to pull away, but realized it was useless. This close, I was finally able to read his nameplate:

Name: CatLover9

Race: Shadow Cat (F)

Class: Druid

Level: 1

Now that I had him in my grip, I waited expectantly for an ambush. I scanned the rooftops, the dark alleyways, and the main street that was visible at the end of the alley. But after a few moments, it became clear that no surprise was waiting.

“What the hell, man,” I said once I was satisfied no ambush was coming.

“I-I’m sorry! I just-I wanted…” his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I don’t know. I guess I just thought I could help.”

I examined his face, looking for any subterfuge. “Is it really you?”

He looked up at that, his expression sincere. “Yes,” he said. He held out his hand. “Peter.”

I looked at him with squinted eyes. “I thought you said no names.”

His hand faltered, then he drew it back. “I meant no in-game names. Peter is common enough though.”

“Okay, Peter. Why were you following me? And why were you skulking in the shadows like an assassin?”

A shocked expression filled his face, and he shook his head nervously. “No-That wasn’t-I didn’t mean to…I was just trying to get your attention without anyone noticing,” he eventually managed to say. “You’ve had an entourage around you for weeks and I…I’m sorry. It was stupid of me to come.”

“You said you wanted to help?” I asked. I was convinced now that this was, in fact, MoonCrawler. No one would play the role this hard unless it was genuine. A plant would have already laid the bait once I chased them through the alleys. The fact that he was still trying to back out told me that he really did regret trying to find me.

He perked up at my words, a hopeful expression on his face. “I did, yes,” he said. “I’m a part of the Task Force that’s been hunting you-” My face darkened at that, and his eyes went wide. “-But I’m not with them,” he stammered. “I-I want to help stop them from…” he trailed off.

“Stop them from what?” I asked, my tone humorless.

He hesitated, then finally said, “From killing you…”

I flinched back at that. “What…? Kill me? Why would Goldman and Holt be trying to kill me?”

“They want your code, but they can’t figure out how to get it,” MoonCrawler said, his voice low. He looked around as he talked, his head on a swivel. “They think the System A.I. is helping you, somehow-” Oh, fuck. They knew about Al, then? “-like it’s seeded your code across all the pods connected to the game…” He trailed off like he realized how ridiculous that sounded.

But it wasn’t ridiculous at all, given what Al had told me two weeks ago.

“Fuck me…” I said, my thoughts in turmoil.

So they knew about Al and were actively trying to hunt the both of us. A terrifying thought hit me: did that mean the level 5 A.I. was coming for me, too? I had been feeling overwhelmed when it was just enemy players and Guild drama to contend with. Dealing with a mega-corporation and a military-grade Artificial Intelligence was way outside the scope of what I was prepared to handle.

He seemed to realize from my reaction that I was beginning to believe him. “That ambush this morning,” he said. “That was orchestrated by Goldman and Holt. We were all sitting in a conference room monitoring the whole ambush, man!” He shook his head in disbelief. “I knew after that that I couldn’t be involved. I’ve been trying to get to you ever since.”

I looked hard at him now, pressing right into his space. He backed up, his eyes wide. “To what end?” I asked softly. “Why seek me out?” I had corralled him against the alley wall, his head bumping against the brick.

“I-I just thought-” He shook his head in confusion. “-I don’t know what I thought! Okay?” His tone was suddenly fiery, and he pushed me back. I didn’t budge at first, but eventually let him move me back a step. He seemed to suddenly realize he had been pushing against my breasts and jerked his hands back like he had touched a hot stove. “I have to quit,” he said, turning away. “I can’t watch them kill you…” His voice sounded so sincere, I almost felt bad for him.

“You wanted to help?” I asked.

He turned back, a questioning look on his face. “Yes…?”

I nodded. “Then you’re not going to quit,” I said.

His eyes went wide when he realized the implications of what I was saying. “Oh, no. You don’t mean…?”

I gave him a sympathetic smile, then slowly nodded my head. “You’re gonna be our mole.”

He turned his back to me and faced the wall. “What the hell have I gotten myself into,” he muttered.

I shrugged. “Hey, you said you wanted to help. This is how you help.” I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face me. “But you have to be all the way in, you understand?”

The fear in his eyes was palpable, but I could see a determination there as well. After a moment, he gave me a steady nod. “I understand.”

“Good,” I said, squeezing his shoulders. “Now, this is what you need to do…”