Chapter 22: Ready Up

“Nervous?” I whispered.

Lena, who had spent the last ten minutes fidgeting on a metal park bench that would’ve been freezing if she hadn’t sat on it? Who had spent the five minutes before fidgeting in the seat of Benji’s car? Who had spent most of the day fidgeting while we both tried to work? Who had spent most of the previous night fidgeting, as my bleary eyes attested?

She plastered on a massive grin and said, “Me? Never.”

I smiled, shook my head, and kissed her temple.

“How big a deal is this, anyway?” Benji asked. “For your channel?”

“Not that big,” Lena said. “It’s not like I’m going to kick the ass of somebody important.”

“The guy Lena is matching up with has a resource neither of us have found,” I said. “We’re supposed to do a tutorial on it for our next video.”

“So if she beats this dude,” Benji asks, “she gets to take his, uh, resource?”

We both shook our heads. “We don’t actually know how to give resources to other players yet,” I said. “The match itself is going to serve as the tutorial.”

“Through the magic of editing.” Lena’s fingers traced sparkles through the air. I’m not sure if Benji picked up what she was putting down. “Also, I get Matt back for when he invaded me a couple weeks ago.”

Benji shrugged. “I don’t really follow.”

“You don’t have to stick around, you know,” I said. “Thanks again for driving us over, but we walk to this park all the time.”

“You really did turn into a fitness freak while I wasn’t looking,” he said. “It’s fine. I’ve got nothing else going on. Work is done for the day, and so is calling Sandy.”

He scowled, and Lena and I looked away. Our apartment was too small for us to avoid hearing Benji’s side of those conversations. Did I think insisting he was a class-action lawsuit away from recouping their investment sounded likely to get him back in his wife’s good graces faster? No, but I had at least enough self-awareness to realize I was the last person who should give someone else relationship advice. At least Benji and Sandy were talking. More than I’d managed.

I didn’t want to dwell on it, so the rest of the team arriving was extra welcome. I stood up and waved them over.

Zhizhi, who had her sweats on and her hair tied back in a tight ponytail like when we’d first met her as a jogger in this park, led the way. “Hey, Cam,” she said. “About time you guys got me some more footage. I was starting to think I’d have to go public on you.”

I winced. Benji didn’t seem to have noticed what she said, though. “You weren’t going to do that today, were you?”

To my surprise, she shook her head. “Not gonna do it any time soon, unless somebody beats me to the punch. I’ve got a plan now.”

“Why do people keep telling me they have plans, instead of telling me their plans?” I directed this question more at the universe than at either Zhizhi or Lena.

Lena answered nonetheless. “It’s because you’re extra cute when you’re confused.”

Zhizhi cocked her head. “How would you know? You’ve seen him in some other state?”

Which they, and Benji, found hilarious. For my part, I scratched the back of my neck and tried to smile about it.

“Who’s this?” Zhizhi asked, slipping past Lena and I to size up Benji. “Cam’s older, hotter brother?”

“Got it in one.” He took her offered hand and they shook on it.

More hilarity. At least Lena contented herself with a chuckle this time.

So did Miguel, as he joined us. His button-up linen shirt and tight slacks were like a version of Benji’s outfit, except he actually pulled off his no-collar worker look. He became the recipient of the next handshake. “Good to see you, Benjamin.”

“Looking good yourself,” Benji said. I’d almost forgotten that the two of them had met – and hit it off – when I convinced Miguel to try to keep me sane at Benji’s bachelor party and wedding reception. “I’m surprised you still hang out with these losers.”

“Hey!” Lena cupped her chin, then shrugged. “I resemble that remark.”

“Someone has to keep them sane,” Miguel said. “Though I certainly didn’t expect to see you this evening. I don’t suppose Cam and Lena roped you into the Third Eye Kickstarter?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Not a chance,” Benji said. “I’m no player, I just tagged along to see what all the fuss was about.”

“I’m not sure how much you’re going to see,” I said. “Nobody who’s not in the beta already can get the app, and without it, it won’t be much of a show.”

“You say that,” Miguel said, “but you fail to realize that we’ve made great strides.”

I glanced back and forth between him and Zhizhi. He showed me the portable camera he’d been carrying. It looked a little bigger than the one she’d toted through the construction site with us, though still small enough to work one handed. That, even with a phone strapped to its side and connected by a short USB cable.

“Since the last shoot,” Zhizhi said, “Miguel and ShakeProtocol and I worked out how to get the Third Eye filter to play nice with a camera. Everybody will be able to watch in real time on my laptop screen while we’re filming.”

“That’s awesome!” I clapped both of them on the shoulder.

“After the tournament announcement,” Miguel said, “it seemed obvious there would have to be some way of connecting Third Eye to proper cameras. Were we to think the event would go unbroadcast? Hardly.”

“I suppose,” Matt said as he joined us, “some of us will have the opportunity to examine the tournament equipment firsthand.”

He wore what I expected: dark jeans, a bomber jacket, a pair of smart glasses, and a permanent smirk.

I’d expected him to be the last to arrive, unless Erin overcame her dislike of PVP, which didn’t seem to be the case. Technically, I’d been right. Matt was the last person to join our little gathering.

But that was because he was pushing Donica’s wheelchair.

I hadn’t seen her since that visit to the hospital, when she’d looked gray and doped up on painkillers. She had her color again, and her blonde hair was once more swept back in the hawkish style she seemed to like. Frankly, she seemed healthy enough outside of her elevated and cast-swaddled ankle. When I looked at her now and hesitated, unsure how to act, she raised an eyebrow and glared at me. “Have you never seen someone in a wheelchair before?”

No one I was, in part, responsible for putting there, I thought. But I didn’t want to have to explain that to Benji. I fumbled for a different response.

Lena saved me from having to give one. “Look at you, out and about. No hard feelings?”

“So many,” Donica said. “But that’s nothing new.”

Lena snorted. “I didn’t figure you’d want to stay involved with Third Eye.”

“Yeah, well.” Donica’s eyes dropped for a second. She set her jaw. “Whether the devs want me to play or not, I still intend to get something out of this game.”

“More plans?” I asked.

“Always,” Donica said.

I pinched my nose.

“So much cuter when he’s confused,” Zhizhi said.

“I’m glad I can entertain all of you,” I said. “Here I thought that was Lena and Matt’s job today.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Zhizhi said. “We’ve got a couple of different goals here, and I want to make sure everybody’s on the same page.”

“My goal,” Lena said, “is to kick Matt’s ass. I thought we’d established that.”

“My goal is to see if you can,” Matt said, “and, when you can’t, to collect my winnings with good humor.”

Lena’s fists balled. “Oh, we’ll see, all right.”

“That is the point of the match, isn’t it?” Matt’s smirk widened.

“See,” Zhizhi said, “this is what I’m talking about. Matt can want what he wants, although I am going to need at least some buy-in from him. But Lena, don’t you think your goal should be to make a good video?”

“Oh, it’ll be good,” Lena said. “I can promise you that.”

“Okay.” Zhizhi took her modified camera from Miguel and started checking something on its display. Almost idly, she asked, “Will it be good at showing off Earth?”

Lena’s smile slipped.

“What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“These two are going to have a match,” she said. “And you for some reason want that to be a real contest, not staged. Which, whatever. I can work with that.”

“It is what I agreed to,” Matt said.

“But you also agreed to help with the tutorial, right?” Zhizhi asked.

He nodded. “It’s the cost of doing business. Though fair warning, I’m not sure how well the audience for The Magnificent Ashbird will respond to my teaching style.”

“Better after they’ve seen me rub it in your face,” Lena said.

“Assuming that’s what actually happens,” Zhizhi said. “But either way, we’ve got a problem. Either it’s a weird fit for Lena’s channel because it’s a video of her talking herself up and then losing a match –”

“Never gonna happen,” Lena said.

Zhizhi rolled her eyes. “– or, Matt loses, and he can’t use Third Eye until tomorrow. Are you going to come back to the park for another shoot then?”

“I’m afraid I’d have to reschedule,” Matt said, “but you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Oh for God’s sake, you two,” Donica snapped. “In spite of all the evidence of my senses, I happen to know you’re both grown adults. If I wanted to watch children boast about how amazing they are, I’d just go back to work, shuffling them off to whatever semi-pro teams are bad enough they’ll seem like it.”

Lena and Matt both fell silent.

“It sounds like you’ve got something in mind, Zhizhi,” I said. “I’ll be honest, I figured we’d film the tutorial segments first, so it wouldn’t matter who couldn’t use Third Eye after the match.”

“We can do it that way,” Zhizhi said. “But I think we’d need to film versions for both if Matt won and if Lena did. I don’t love the idea of trying to direct those.”

Before either of them could object, I held my hand up. “That would be workable, but it sounds like you’ve got another idea?”

She nodded. “I’ve got some thoughts on how we can stage the match so it’s easier for viewers to follow, have it be a legit contest, but also not screw anyone over or leave them unable to film the rest of the video.”

“Sounds perfect,” I said. Before either of the contestants could do more than scowl.

“That’s the hope.” Zhizhi turned to Lena and Matt. “First things first, how much HP do each of you have?”