A Sinister Game Read Online Free Page B

something about his character…. There was a depth to him that went beyond the color of his uniform, and lying was not in it.
    The coin he’d sent her would get her into his private ro om at the TGB. S he had to admire his confidence, arrogant though it was, in expecting her to use it.
    He was right, too.
    She would meet with him. She would hear him out , but not under his terms . If this was going to be a Game in any sense of the word, then she would make her own moves. She would meet with him on safe ground, in neutral territory, and surrounded by her own team members .
    Not in his private room.
    If he wanted to talk to her so badly, he would have to find her himself. At that moment, it was the only means s he possessed of throwing the ball back in to his court.
    When Victoria neared the door to her personal quarters, she stopped and turned to consider the Game band that rested in its glass case on the cabinet against one wall. It wasn’t customary to wear the band s when Game wasn’t in Play, but i t amplified her abilities and made it easier for her to access her powers.
    S he might need that edge tonight.
    Besides , knowing him, Black was most likely wearing his .
    Victoria opened the case, extracted the silver cuff-like band, and touched it to her right wrist. The device immediately ensnared her arm, hugging tightly to her flesh as it melded with her body, sending an electric jolt of energy through the pathway of her nerves and into her brain.
    For an instant she saw lightning. She heard crackling.
    And then it was gone. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing the glass case once more.
    She was used to the sensation by now, a fter all of these years. At this point, donning the device was like brushing her teeth. It was somewhat annoying, but more often than not, necessary.
    With one last glance at her quarters, Victoria stepped through the archway leading into the hall beyond and closed the door behind her.
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    When the transporter slid shut in front of her, Victoria had the fleeting thought that she should have worn something else. At first, the image of a low-cut dress floated before her mind’s eye. It was hurriedly chased away by the much more practical thought of a downtime uniform.
    She was still dressed in her leather Game jacket and pants and, though she’d secretly always loved the way she looked in them, they were a dead giveaway as to the fact that she was a T eam leader.
    It was something she had a feeling she should keep under wraps tonight.
    With a sigh and a building sense of anxiety for the passing time, Victoria waved her hands over the transporter console and the machine shifted, whizzing her back through space to her quarters once more.
    She hurried through the motions of changing, not bothering with anything but the essentials, and when she was finished , she made sure the sleeve of her downtime uniform covered her Game band.
    Moments later , she was back in the transporter and headed toward the TGB.
    I have flutterbies in my stomach , she thought to herself. At least, I think they’re called flutterbies .. . . It was hard to remember such things. Training had wiped away so much of who she once was. But it makes sense, right ? She thought . It’s a n insect that flutters by.
    My mind is wandering, came a harder thought. Time to pull it together, Red.
    Focus.
    The transporter doors slid apart , and Victoria stepped out into the marble foyer of the TGB. Servers bustled by, carrying trays filled with colorful concoctions. Gamers lounged by the indoor wa terfalls or sat at round tables playing cards.
    This was the main room, and had no particular designation. It was where you met your party before you moved on to the more private, numbered rooms beyond.
    There were five halls that led off of the main room. Each hall had three levels, and each level had approximately twenty rooms. In essence, Gamers had their choice of literally hundreds of different gathering