As I leaned against the headboard, my eyes studied the unwavering image emanating from the remote camera I had installed upon my arrival in the city. Despite the very occasional tussle of the debris scattered about the asphalt, this solitary image was the only thing I’d seen since I had begun keeping tabs on the warehouse. When I laid the camcorder down to rub my eyes, my cell shattered the looming silence. With a groan, I pulled it off the nightstand and peeked at the name splashed across its screen. I took great care not to answer the call as I returned the phone and placed my feet on the carpeted floor of the hotel room, waiting for the silence to return.
After the final intrusive tone, a silence wrapped around my shoulders like a comforting blanket. While my hands soothed my weary eyes, another call yanked my attention back to the offending device. Why couldn’t Matt take a hint? Given his immediate follow-up call, it was more likely the sun would rise, revealing a nice verdant color, than for Matt to leave me alone. As a result, I swallowed the curse that leaped to my lips, pinched the bridge of my nose, and answered the call. “How’s it going?”
“Marcus, are you ready for this tournament of yours tomorrow?”
My eyes flicked toward the camera, registering nothing had altered in the last few heartbeats. A few seconds passed before I pulled my attention away from the surveillance. While it was possible he would forgive the recent string of ignored calls since I answered this one, he rarely skipped the pleasantries.
Normally, he’d weave the verbal beating into the conversation. I’d have to remember his metaphorical baton was poised to bludgeon me upon my first misstep in the chat. I knew he’d be marching down this path. The sheer directness of his question was supposed to unsettle me. And truthfully, he’d succeeded. Matt’s known how to wind me up from the day we met. I drew in a deep breath as I wiped my face and forced a smile upon my lips. “More or less.”
“What!? You’re running out of time. How could you not be ready?”
The corner of my lips curled up as I switched the phone to my other ear and rubbed the freed one. What was that tone? Had Matt allowed agitation to seep into his voice? Or was that bit of color because of some slow-burning rage? Frankly, it was too late for him to affect the outcome of the upcoming tournament. I licked my lips as I turned to pat the suitcase lying beside me. “I’ve collected my entrance fee.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
I grabbed a laminated document off the nightstand and placed it on the case. Then I rested my hand on it and drew in a long breath. Why was he prodding? Did he find something out? I felt bad keeping the details from him, but that was only because he didn’t need to know about all the minutiae. As I pulled my hand away from the sheet, it shrank into a paperclip. However, I couldn’t let my guard down. Matt was skilled at eliciting a grin from anyone and then using that moment of pleasure to pry hidden truths out of them. I was certain he’d get me to smile as I stared down at my execution.
I placed my hand on the paperclip and pulled it off a heartbeat later, revealing a small folding knife with a worn wooden handle. At that moment, I needed to keep some secrets from him, specifically what I’d discovered about the tournament. Before the building silence could intensify any more, I cleared my throat. “Yet it’s the only thing that matters right now.”
“Not true.”
Those simple words slapped me across the face. Normally, my response would have been to laugh. However, as my eyes drifted to the camcorder, I found I couldn’t force any mirth from my lips.
“Who’s orchestrating it? Where’s it at? Have you been scoping it out? I can think of even more questions to ask.”
Despite barraging me with a litany of questions, he’d fired them off in such rapid succession that I knew he didn’t really intend for me to answer them right then. “None of that is pertinent to the game,” I said, tapping the blade’s handle with my knuckles. “The only thing that matters is that I finished collecting my fee and I’m ready to sit down and play.”
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