Nigel removed his full immersion gear. It was a great experience being lost in a virtual world, but it was at the cost of being vulnerable to your surroundings. Although Freeman’s impromptu visit was useful, it didn’t yield the results that Nigel was expecting. In fact, it confirmed his suspicions. There was someone else that wanted to play around with their lives. Nigel couldn’t imagine who it might be.

“There he is,” the doctor’s wisecracking bodyguard said.

This guy is getting on my nerves.

Dahlia shot him a look of disapproval. “Were you playing a game?”

“No—I mean yes, but it’s not what it looks like. I met someone who provided more information about the wallet,” Nigel blurted in one breath.

“Wait, slow down, Nigel. Take a moment to collect yourself.”

Nigel took in a deep breath. If Dahlia was annoyed, she didn’t show it. Her calm exterior gave him anxiety. His chest pounded, and there was a tightness in his neck and forehead. An inrush of blood invaded his head and made him woozy. He thought he was going to be sick. The pressure was so intense he thought his head was going to explode. He closed his eyes and took measured breaths. A lightness enveloped him. He opened his eyes to see Dahlia giving him a look of concern.

“Better?”

Nigel nodded. The breathing exercise was more helpful than he thought.

“How is Eva?”

“She’s been through a lot,” the doctor said, “but should make a full recovery. Albeit with a prosthetic arm.”

“I think you mean a top-notch cybernetic arm,” the bodyguard said.

Dahlia shot the man a look of annoyance that Nigel knew well.

“Here is payment for the doctor’s service,” Dahlia said, handing the man a flash drive.

The man nodded, then gave her two bottles. “Be sure she takes the white pill four times a day. The blue can be taken as needed for pain, but don’t give her more than a few a day.”

Dahlia nodded, then the man left the hangar.

“When I was examining the cabal’s servers, I came across a cryptocurrency wallet on a jump server—”

“Were you successful in transferring those funds?” Dahlia interrupted.

“It’s not that simple. It didn’t contain any funds, just a bunch of encrypted messages.”

“I’m confused. How does this lead to you being in a game?”

Nigel relayed the information about Freeman’s accusations and how another attacker beat Nigel to stealing the funds. Dahlia’s jaw clenched as he finished his explanation. He held his breath as the female assassin processed the information.

“So, Freeman doesn’t suspect that you were trying to steal the funds?”

“No, as far as he knows, he recruited me to help.”

“Does the cabal know of your involvement?”

“No, if Freeman told them, he would lose all credibility with the cabal.”

Screams erupted from Eva. She was holding her cybernetic arm. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she convulsed. Dahlia removed a blue pill and shoved it into her mouth. A few moments later she collapsed, taking short ragged breaths.

“Madam, it has started,” Vedrana said.

Dahlia pulled up the news on her cell phone. She called someone and started speaking in some Slavic language. Nigel found a local New York feed on his phone. There was a monster in the middle of Manhattan. Nigel could not believe his eyes. It looked like the creature was stitched together like some giant Frankenstein. Nigel cringed as the creature bit the head off some onlookers who got too close. The camera zoomed in on a group of people fighting the beast. He recognized some of the people fighting the monstrosity, including Treeka, the cyborg he had gone into battle with recently in the underground.

Stolen novel; please report.

“We can’t stay here much longer. We need to prepare Eva for transport. Nigel, you’re coming with us. It’s not safe here.”

“I can’t go to Europe. What about Jet?”

“We don’t have the time to travel that far. The event in the city is causing air traffic to be diverted. Local traffic from this airport is expected to shut down. We need to leave now,” Dahlia said.

“I think I will find another way to Jet on my own. I don’t want to travel to who knows where and be that much farther from her.”

“She will be there,” Dahlia said.

“In the mountains?”

“Yes, but how do you— ”

“We need to get into the air now,” a man in a raincoat said.

The man had suddenly appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Eva was being loaded onto a gurney. Someone attached an IV to her as she was whisked away.

Nigel shoved his computer equipment into a bag, not bothering to organize anything. He found himself running after Dahlia’s team of female assassins, heading toward a small aircraft. Sirens blared and Nigel was blinded by a spotlight. Several black cars slammed their breaks blocking their path. Men in black suits piled out of the vehicles. Dahlia took cover behind an airport maintenance truck and opened fire. Men in the lead car fell, but shot in her direction. Nigel hit the deck and watched in horror as Vedrana ran toward the men that were shooting at Dahlia. With their attention diverted, she removed her Katana, then sliced at the nearest man. As he fell, she switched positions in an instant and was decapitating the other man before he could react. Men from a third vehicle tried to take down Vedrana, but she was fast and kept low.

“Nigel, it’s clear—go!”

He bolted toward the aircraft, but kept his head low. His legs wouldn’t respond. He felt like he was slogging through mud.

“Stand down and surrender, this is your last chance,” an angry voice from the nearby helicopter said.

“I think it is leaking something.” Nigel pointed toward the voice.

Vedrana threw gas masks at everyone. “Put them on.”

Nigel fiddled with the mask for what felt like an eternity. Moments later, the chopper exploded. Nigel’s eyes were drawn to Blanka. She held a portable rocket launcher. The weapon looked heavy, and Blanka was straining to keep it upright. Clouds of smoke billowed around them, making the surreal sight of the mask-wearing assassin even more horrifying. She looked like a character from a horror movie. She dropped the weapon, and it bounced as it landed. Nigel ducked in response.

“Why did you do that?” Nigel asked.

“No time to explain. Come with us,” Blanka said as she held out a hand.

A series of flashing lights approached from the perimeter and headed in their direction.

He took Blanka’s hand, and they ran together toward the airplane. Nigel didn’t remember getting in the plane or taking a seat. But he watched Dahlia command the plane as he would a computer. No hesitation; it was like she’d been born with a flight stick. He watched the police activity below as they were propelled into the dark clouds above, and Nigel checked his seatbelt as the plane ascended. A quick glance about the cabin revealed his companions were preparing for some kind of battle. Vedrana opened a closet and removed a duffle bag and emptied its contents on the floor of the aircraft and started taking inventory. Blanka tapped something on a tablet while speaking to Dahlia. He couldn’t make out any part of the conversation.

“What the hell is going on here?” Nigel said to no one in particular.

“You can take your mask off now,” Blanka said.

“You did good. Deploying the masks was a good call, Vedrana,” Dahlia said.

“After hearing the reports in the city, I wasn’t going to take any chances,” Vedrana replied.

“What happened in the city?” Nigel demanded.

“There was an attack. Just after we got to the airport. Reports of some kind of golem killing people. And they were using gas,” Blanka said.

“This is the work of the cabal. And your failed robbery attempt is a big problem,” Dahlia said.

Nigel instinctively reached for his phone. His newsfeed reader automatically cached local and nation news so he didn’t need an internet connection. Images of an enormous beast made from a kind of meat dominated most of the news feed. It looked like someone sewn together dozens of pieces of meat to form this hellish creature. The pictures of the bloody carnage turned Nigel’s stomach.

“What are we going to do now?” Nigel said.

“We are meeting two important members of Black Iris. Hans and Gretta.

Oh, a meet with Hansel and Gretel in the dark woods. What can go wrong with that?

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“There! Madam, they are pursuing,” Vedrana said.

The plane banked so rapidly, Nigel had to grab the seat in front of him. He was having a difficult time staying seated, seatbelt or not. Nigel snatched a glance, and although the clouds were thick and the visibility poor, he thought he saw a series of rockets—no, men riding rockets.

“I see at least two guys strapped to rockets.”

“Impossible—no, he couldn’t have them ready this quickly, or could—”

Something banged into the plane. Dahlia did her best to keep it together as the plane shook.

“Girls, get into position.”