Lion's Quest: Undefeated: A LitRPG Saga

by Michael-Scott Earle

  “Okay. Ummm,” I looked between my friend and the beautiful purple-eyed woman. “Zarra, this is Garf. Garf, this is Zarra,” I said as I gestured between them.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” the woman said as she extended her hand.

  “Likewise.” Garf looked at me, back to the beautiful girl, and then back to me. “Is Zarra coming with us to the reception?”

  “Oh no. I just wanted to--”

  “You’ve gotta come. There is room in our limo. Jax and our girlfriends are there so it will be like a triple date or something. Only to a funeral reception, so… Ummm. Okay, that didn’t sound as weird in my head before I said it,” Garf’s cheeks actually turned red, and he cleared his throat.

  “I don’t want to impose on you all. I didn’t know Sal or his family.”

  “It isn’t a big deal. Right, Leo?” Garf smiled at me. My friend was clever, and I could see what he was doing. He wanted a chance to get to know Zarra better and see if she was good enough for me. I guessed that he also wanted to ask about her game.

  I struggled against conflicted feelings while they both stared at me. I wanted Zarra to come with us. I wanted her to meet my friends and their girlfriends. I wanted to spend the rest of the day with her, partially because I felt incredibly alone, and partially because I was attracted to her. But I knew that if I told her it was okay, our relationship would move past the point of it being professional, and I still didn’t know for sure if I was going to accept her job offer. If I did end up working for her, it would probably be best if we weren’t involved in a relationship.

  But I didn’t know how realistic keeping a professional relationship would be if we ended up working on her game. We had both already admitted that we were interested in each other.

  “Zarra, this isn’t personal, but I think that it would be best if--”

  “It is no problem, Leo. I don’t take it personally at all,” she smiled at me and shook her head. “Like I said earlier, I just wanted to see you briefly and pass you my condolences. Everyone needs to manage their own grief by themselves. Garf, it was great meeting you. I hope we can see each other again,” she said as she reached out her hand.

  “That would be great. Thanks for coming.” Garf shot me the “dude, are you a fucking idiot?” look for half of a second as he shook Zarra's hand again.

  “I’m going to go. Leo, if you want to grab a coffee or talk or whatever. Please give me a call.”

  “Thanks, Zarra. I will.” I smiled at the woman and then watched her walk away from the side of Sal’s grave.

  “Duuuuuude!” Garf smacked my shoulder as soon as Zarra was lost in the crowd. “What is wrong with you?”

  “I just wasn’t feeling it,” I sighed and shrugged.

  “Why not? Damn. I’m a taken man, my girl is SI’s rookie of the year, and I think I forgot to breathe when Zarra shook my hand. Damn dude.”

  “I was thinking about her game.”

  “Oh?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah. I dunno, man. All this shit is making me think that I need to get away from the public eye for a bit. I’ve proved that I’m the best. I’ve done it for ten years. Now Sal and Dale are dead and--”

  “That isn’t your fault, Leo. There are crazy ass people out there. Just because of this cult or whatever wants you to keep playing. It doesn’t mean you caused Sal’s death.”

  “You are right. I keep telling myself that, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  “I know. You’re a good dude, Leo. If your fans knew how nice you really are, they would love you even more. Let’s go to the limo. Jax is probably drinking away his sorrows right now. We need to get some food in him.”

  “Okay,” I said as I walked with my friend toward the distant black cars.

  “Maybe it is good that Zarra didn’t come,” Garf said after half a minute of walking through the graveyard.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. A girl that beautiful is dangerous. And if she is half as smart as you say she is. Well, that is not just dangerous. That is fucking deadly.”

  Chapter 12

  “Rise! Stand from your mourning!” the group of Jewish men and women called out to Garf, Jax and me. The three of us were sitting on the tile floor of Dinah’s kitchen, and we followed their instructions.

  “We bless you for many years,” one of the men in the front said. Then he spoke in Hebrew and nodded at us.

  “Thanks!” Jax said to the man, and then he turned to me. “Holy shit my ass is asleep. Can I rub it now or is that too rude?” he whispered.

  “I think it’s cool,” I said as I rubbed my own ass. Sal’s family had been doing this for seven days straight, and my friends and I had only been sitting with them for a few hours.

  Dinah had told the three of us that we didn’t really need to participate in Shiva, but she also said that ‘Sal thought of you three as his sons, so it would be okay if you wanted to sit,’ so we’d spent the morning as close to the ground as we could in the Jewish tradition.

  The group of visitors to the home moved to the dining room, and I could hear them tell Sal’s brother and his wife to stand from the floor.

  “You guys want to grab some lunch?” Garf asked.

  “Sure,” Jax replied. “A hamburger, or five. I feel like some beef mixed with cheese.”

  “Calic will kill you if he finds out,” I said with a smile.

  “Ehhh. I think he’ll give me a pass. Not like I don’t have a good excuse for sitting on my ass for a few days.” He stretched his long arms overhead and yawned.

  “Dinah and I have a meeting with Zarra and her legal team.”

  “Right now? I thought that was tomorrow?” Garf asked.

  “No, it is today,” Dinah said as she stepped into our circle. “I’m going to go take a shower and change. Leo, you sure they are sending a jet pod?”

  “Yep. I told her you’d be ready about noon. Is that okay?”

  “Yes.” She said as she glanced at the clock on her wall. “They sent me the red-line back. I wasn’t supposed to look at it, but I did a bit before I went to sleep each night.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “We’ll talk about it when I am out of the shower. I don’t want to do it while we are in their pod.”

  “Okay. I’ll wait on the couch in the living room.”

  “Be right back,” Dinah smiled at the three of us and then walked up the stairs to her dressing room. There were still forty or fifty people in the house, but a good chunk of them were my bodyguards, and the guests had gotten used to just avoiding me.

  “So, that is it then?” Garf asked as the three of us sat on the couch.

  “What?”

  “You are quitting Astafar Unlimited.” My Asian friend frowned.

  “I’m not sure. Depends on the contract.”

  “But you want to quit? You want to play this new game?” Jax asked.

  “Dude, we’ve talked about this non-stop for the last five days,” I sighed.

  “Yeah, but I still don’t believe it.”

  “I haven’t decided anything yet. Dinah and I still need to work on the contract with them.”

  “I saw Zarra, dude.” Garf laughed and leaned back into the couch. “You are going to play her game.”

  “Oh come on, it isn’t about her.”

  “Can we play it with you?” Jax asked.

  “I’m going to ask them today. Do you guys even want to? Why?”

  “We’ve been together for sixteen years. If it wasn’t school or basketball, it was video games. Why are you ditching us?”

  “I’m not ditching you two. I’m going to ask if you can play but think about your own careers for a second. Who are the three best players in the world? It is us. Why don’t either one of you want to take my place?”

  “It’s not the same. Long ago I realized you were the lead singer of our band, and I was fine to play drums.” Garf shook his head.

  “And I’m fine to be the sexy guitar player that gets all the gir
ls,” Jax said with a laugh.

  “I love you guys too,” I smiled at them both. “It’s not like I’m going to Mars or something. I’m just playing another game for a year or two. You guys can take over the title, and then come play with me on launch. Then we’ll do it again. Or who knows, one of you will be the champ.”

  “Or, you can get your girlfriend to let us play.” Jax winked.

  “I’ll ask guys, but just so you know. It isn’t a deciding factor for me.”

  “I get it. Kind of. I guess.”

  “Alright, Leo. I’m ready,” Dinah said as she walked down the stairs. She had a gray suit on and was still toweling her dark curly hair.

  “Damn. I think that is the fastest I’ve ever seen a girl shower.”

  “Hon, I haven’t taken a shower in seven days. That was the best shower I’ve ever had. Didn’t need to take a long time.”

  “Seven days, eww--” Jax began to say, but Garf elbowed him in the stomach.

  “We’ll grab some lunch. See you tomorrow, Leo?” my Asian friend asked.

  “Yep. I’ll see you bright and early for training.”

  “Unless you sign today.”

  “He’s probably not signing anything today, boys. Leo, let’s talk in my office before this jet pod gets here.” The woman gestured to the door on the other side of the living room, and I followed her inside. Chip came with me, and he stood by the closed door with his hands folded in front of his stomach.

  “They said no to your martial arts instructor, personal trainer, and bodyguards. They said yes to visiting days on major holidays, but your friends will have to come to their campus to see you. They also changed the terms a bit since Sal isn’t in the picture anymore. You’ll make a bit more Class A stock. They’ve also agreed to my changes with the term length. You’ll still have a six percent interest in the company, even if you don’t complete their testing on time.”

  “Did they give their reasons for not allowing his trainers or guards?” Chip asked.

  “Nope. We can talk about it in a few minutes when their jet pod gets here. They asked that we don’t bring anyone else to the meeting besides Leo and me.”

  “Fuck that,” Chip growled.

  “It will be okay,” I said.

  “Leo, someone is trying to kill you.”

  “But I doubt that they'd have surface to air missiles that can catch a jet pod.” I grinned at him. “The Arnacript complex has a lot of security. We should be fine.”

  “Leo, I’m with your man here. I say we bring him. It might queer the deal a bit, but they aren’t going to pull back the offer if he comes with us. They have to understand the circumstances now.”

  My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket. There was a text message from an Albany number communicating that the jet pod would be landing in front of Dinah’s home in thirty seconds.

  “Alright. Let’s bring Chip then. They are almost here.” I stood from the chair, and my bodyguard opened the door so that we could leave the office. He did the same for the front door of the home, and he had us wait for a few seconds while he spoke to the two guards that stood guard on the sidewalk. Then the jet pod floated out of the sky with a woosh of sonic air. The side of the pod unfolded like a camera shutter, and Chip poked his head inside before he gestured for us to emerge from the house.

  “Never thought I’d ride in one of these,” Dinah smiled when she settled in the leather jet pod seat.

  “This is my third time. Still blows me away. We’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said as Chip stepped inside.

  “Hey, Leo!” a voice came over the speakers inside of the pod.

  “Hey, Renee. Nice to hear your voice again.”

  “Eeeeeee! Okay, sorry. You remembered my name. Oh, my god. Little excited!”

  “That’s fine,” I said as I smiled. I didn’t know if the woman could see me or not.

  “I was told only two passengers, though…” her voice hesitated.

  “Leo and I are bringing his bodyguard. Because of the assassination attempts,” Dinah’s voice had changed from the motherly tone I was used to hearing to the attack dog lawyer tone.

  “Uhhh. Ummm. Okay. Stand by, please.”

  “You’re blocking the road, dear. You might as well just take us to Albany and then check to make sure it is okay with your boss.” Dinah pointed, and sure enough, a taxi was stopped behind us on the street and was honking its horn.

  “Oh. Shit-- I mean. Damn. Uhh. Okay. Please fasten your seatbelts,” Renee instructed, but the three of us had already buckled ourselves into the chairs.

  The pod lifted quickly into the air, and I saw Dinah’s face turn a few shades whiter. Chip leaned over to the window and a shit-eating grin spread across his weathered face. I was sure that the ex-SEAL had been through a bunch of crazy missions, and this was probably bringing him airplane take off memories.

  The three of us didn’t speak during the short flight, and I saw the massive castle-like complex of Arnacript a few seconds before the pod plunged into the roof. Dinah gasped when we descended, but I saw Chip’s smile only broaden.

  Then I felt a slight bump when the aircraft landed, and Renee’s voice came over the speaker.

  “Thank you for flying Air Arnacript. Please remember to unbuckle your seatbelt, and don’t forget any of your belongings.”

  “Thank you, Renee,” I said as I stepped out of the doorway and onto the polished concrete of Arnacript’s hanger.

  Casper was waiting for us when we stepped out. The man wore his usual immaculate business suit and charming smile. He was flanked by two pretty women each carrying briefcases. They also wore expensive looking suits, and the trio walked toward us when we had finished exiting the plane.

  “Leo, great to see you again,” Casper held out his hand, and I shook it.

  “Good to see you too, Casper. This is my lawyer, Dinah Gordon-Feldt.”

  “Pleasure to meet you Ms. Gordon-Feldt,” Casper shook her hand.

  “And this is my bodyguard Chester Smith.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith.”

  “Pleasure is mine,” Chip said as he shook the man’s hand.

  “This is our legal team. Ms. Adams, and Ms. Schwartzman.” We exchanged handshakes with the two women. Ms. Schwartzman was twenty, maybe thirty years older than Ms. Adams, but they looked as if they might be related.

  “We’ve actually met before, Dinah,” the older woman said.

  “You do look familiar.” My friend’s eyes narrowed a bit as she smiled. “Were you at Columbia?”

  “Yes! Ha! You do remember. We had a Torts lecture class together. Dr. White.”

  “Ahh, yes!” Dinah laughed. “I recall you now. Tracey is your name?”

  “Yes,” the woman smiled.

  “Ms. Zerne is finishing up another task. We are going to be in the conference room again for our meeting,” Casper said after he cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

  “Great. Lead the way,” I said.

  “We would like your bodyguard to stay here. If you don’t mind. If you’ll recall, the conference room is in a secure area.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Perhaps you haven’t seen the news, but an attempt on Leo’s life was made ten days ago. His private guard must accompany him at all times.”

  “That is against our policy, Dinah,” Tracey said. “We do not let--”

  “He can sign an NDA if you wish, or you can bring a fold up table and chairs, and we can have our meeting here.” Dinah gestured to the massive hangar and trio of jet pods behind her. “You have plenty of room.”

  Casper and the two women exchanged a look, and then Tracey nodded slightly.

  “I’ll have him sign this NDA.” The woman pulled a datapad out of her briefcase and moved her finger over the screen for a few seconds.

  “I’ll take it. Thank you,” Dinah said when the other woman tried to hand the pad to Chip. My lawyer read the pad for a handful of minutes while the rest of us stood in the ha
nger. Then she nodded and handed the pad to my bodyguard.

  “We also have a firearms policy inside our facility,” Casper said.

  “Do your guards carry firearms?” Dinah asked before Chip could reply.

  “Well yes, but--”

  “Chester Smith has been fully vetted by my team. He is an ex-SEAL with a decorated military record of over twenty years. He’s held a DoD Top Secret security clearance for fifteen of those years, and he has been on Leo’s staff for eight years. I do not wish to insult your own security team, so please, do not insult mine.” Dinah’s voice was almost a growl.

  “It’s fine,” Tracey said as she waved her hand. “We understand what’s been going on with Mr. Lennox. Let’s walk to the conference room. We want our negotiations to be very friendly, and if you would feel better with Mr. Smith in the room, then we would as well.”

  “Thank you for understanding,” Dinah said.

  The three lawyers chit-chatted about school as we walked, but Chip and I didn’t speak to Casper. The man did try to engage me in some light conversation about the weather, and our flight, but I answered simply, and kept my eyes on my bodyguard. The ex-SEAL glanced everywhere around the facility as we walked, and I guessed that my guard was planning an escape in case we were attacked.

  “What do you think about the security?” I asked when we stepped through one of the airlock like hallways guarded by two shotgun wielding goons in suits.

  “It’s pretty standard megacorp stuff. Astafar Unlimited LLC has crazier security shit. You just don’t see it when you go there for meetings,” Chip whispered. “Remember the last time you beat that Russian guy, Ivan Tsatsouline? For that meeting, they brought you in through a lighter security executive tunnel.”

  “So I am just paranoid?” I interrupted.

  “It is good to be paranoid,” he whispered as he nodded to the glass room up ahead. “But that is why you hired me.”

  Zarra was waiting for us in the conference room, and she stood from her seat when we walked through the glass door.

  “Hello, Leo,” she said as she took my hand.