The Life- Illusion

by Lincoln Greene

  “Hey guys.” He sat down at their table, moving Jimmy’s crutches aside slightly.

  “Hey man, what’s up.” It was a statement from Jimmy more than a question. He pointed at the interior of the restaurant. “Ordered you spicy tuna rolls.”

  “Awesome.” Kurt leaned back in his chair and listened to Jimmy finish telling his story; an amusing anecdote of a recent confrontation Jimmy had led against the Ursa. Apparently, they were holding a grudge, along with the reforming Pirates, and every single Goons faction.

  “So yeah, the Pirates kept em distracted enough that I basically just walked up and stole the APC. Almost no resistance. I swear, I hope this wild west thing Illusion is doing never settles, the opportunities are just endless.” He took a break to eat a bite of his meal, smiling at the woman seated across from him.

  “Sweet, new APC. Where’s it parked?” Kurt ginned and snatched a french fry off his friend’s plate.

  “HA! I’m not telling you, not after what you did with the last one.” He shook his head. “Not to be trusted.”

  Kurt brushed off his friends comment as his food arrived. He thanked the waitress and immediately started eating, before seeming to remember something. “Oh hey! You get the appointment??”

  Jimmy nodded, chewing for a moment before answering. “Yeah I’m going in next week actually. Turns out a seventy five percent deposit is plenty, they said they’d bill me for the rest after we’re done.” He paused there, sighing in resignation. “It’s a thirty hour surgery, and I’ll be in recovery for most of a year, but yeah. I get my new muscles.” He pointed at Kurt and Summer, a serious look on his face. “I’ll still owe almost one hundred and fifty thousand for this though. You guys better keep playing The Life with me, that’s a nasty sounding grind for a solo act.”

  “Not to worry, I’m not going anywhere.” Kurt smiled softly at his friend.

  Summer rolled her eyes at him before turning to smile gently at Jimmy. “That’s hardly a big grind for us babe. We take down billion plus heists after all.” The couple chuckled at that, not noticing the slight shiver the memory sent down Kurt’s back.

  Jimmy suddenly stopped laughing, looking over Kurt’s shoulder. “Hey not to make us anymore paranoid than we already are, but…were you followed Kurt?”

  Kurt’s face fell slightly, a concerned frown taking over his features. “Maybe?” He turned to see Jimbo approaching them from the parking lot, followed by a man in a suit Kurt didn’t recognize.

  “Holy shit it’s that guy!” Summer sputtered, setting her milkshake down and standing up. Jimmy beat her to the gate, snatching up his crutches and moving to physically block the entryway to the pavilion.

  Jimbo stopped a few feet away and graced the group with a smile. “Jimmy…Summer. Nice to see you again. Mind if I speak with Kurt for a moment?”

  Jimmy opened the gate and stood in front of it, leaning heavily on his crutches. He whispered to Kurt as his friend moved to slip past. “His friend is armed, you sure about this?”

  Kurt paled slightly at that, whispering back. “Not really.”

  Jimmy started moving down the sidewalk with Kurt, dramatically playing up his need for the crutches as he went. Jimbo’s bodyguard moved to stop him, holding out his arms in a blocking but non-threatening gesture. Jimmy stumbled, falling into the man and allowing the bodyguard to catch him. Once the man had steadied him and stepped back, Jimmy produced the handgun he used to have holstered beneath his jacket.

  “Ohhh, nice piece. A CR-44 if I’m not mistaken.” He waved the matte black weapon around lightly, a wide grin on his face as the glowing ironsights left a small green trail against the night. “Lighter than I’d have thought. Fires a seven millimeter flechette with a heavy ionized tip, right? Not bad.”

  Jimbo sighed as Kurt approached him. The bodyguard’s eyes went wide and he snatched for the compact railgun, being outmaneuvered by Jimmy with a simple pivot. Jimmy pointed the gun directly at the man’s leg and winked, miming a trigger pull and fire reaction.

  When the bodyguard reached for the gun again, Jimmy’s friendly demeanor dropped. “You reach for this thing one more time and I pull the trigger. Unless I’m mistaken, the IFF in this sends a ping directly to local law enforcement if an unauthorized user attempts to fire it. I imagine the local smokeys are pretty bored around this time of night, you guys really want to give them some excitement?”

  “Just let him keep it. We can talk about this later.” Jimbo gave his bodyguard a rather severe look, before turning his attention back to Kurt. “Just a friendly meeting, I swear.” He raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

  Kurt stood in front of Jimbo, a few feet from Jimmy and the abashed bodyguard, doing his level best to remain calm. “What can I do for you Jimbo?”

  The older man looked confused for a moment. “I honestly expected you to ask how I found you first.”

  “Probably through some shady means. Breaking into one of Blacklight’s servers or something. I dunno, it seems more important to me to find out what you want.” Kurt shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets to prevent nervous fidgeting.

  “Fair enough. I actually work for Blacklight Industries, so I didn’t have to break into anything. I’m here with a job offer, point of fact.” He slid out a business card and handed it over to Kurt, who glanced at both sides.

  A phone number was all the slim piece of black plastic held, so Kurt pocketed it and turned his attention back to Jimbo. “What kind of job?”

  The older man ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair with a smile. “Ahh…can’t say really. You’d have to take it first.”

  “…Let me sort this out a little. I steal three billion in game from you, which ends up being worth about three hundred thousand in real world currency, and you offer me a job.” He sighed and turned to look at Jimmy, who was pretending to quick draw his stolen handgun on a nearby tree. “Sounds like that’s on the level.”

  “If we’re being honest here, which I would greatly prefer…that take ended up being closer to five hundred k than three, and I’m pretty sure you know it. You guys crashed the exchange economy and caused the biggest rush for cash packs the Illusion server has ever seen.” He paused, scrutinizing Kurt for a moment before shaking his head and continuing. “You’ve caught my interest. Again. I run the Creative Solutions department for Blacklight, and I’m here to offer you a job working directly under me.”

  “Again, not much to work with there. What exactly does the Creative Solutions department do?” Kurt shifted his stance, studying Jimbo for a reaction. When the man didn’t answer immediately, Kurt waved at Jimmy. “Hey Jimmy, go ahead and pull that trigger.”

  “Really?! Sure!” Jimmy took careful aim at the tree and placed his index finger alongside the trigger guard.

  “No Jimmy, please don’t!” Jimbo looked exasperated for a moment, before turning back to Kurt. “Alright fine. I guess you could call it…Industrial Espionage?” He raised his hands defensively. “Nothing illegal, of course!”

  “Of course.” Kurt injected amicably.

  “Consider the in-game stuff an audition. I’ve thought about it a lot. You played me from the start, the moment I approached you at the weapon shop, didn’t you?” He seemed genuinely concerned for a moment.

  “Played is such a…harsh word.” Kurt stated without denial.

  “Well. That’s what I need. What do you say Kurt?” Jimbo’s eyebrows raised slightly, a tiny smile forming on his face.

  Kurt looked back at his friends for a moment. “Ah hell, why not.”

 

 

 
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