by Kitty Cox
That caught her completely off guard. "Huh?"
Chance shifted, moving his body to angle into hers, begging her to trust him with the intimacy of his posture. "You can sell the story and get your money. When all hell breaks loose – as it will – help me change the discussion. Help me expose the real problem going on."
"The sexism?"
"Yeah." He shifted his hand to caress the hair dangling against her neck. "The same problem that got Dez tortured for liking games, that has the media on a feeding frenzy to find all the dirt on her. The problem that lets us men verbally assault women in these games and call it 'all in good fun.’" He took a deep breath, then let his mask of self-assurance drop. "Claudia, I'm a sex addict. Because I have a dick, it's not seen as a big deal, but it is. My girlfriend doesn't touch anyone – and I'm addicted to it."
"Destiny Pierce," she whispered, understanding completely.
"Yeah." With a sigh, he stepped back, then gestured to the board. "Flawed. We're all flawed. We've all known pain and have been warped and twisted by it. Some of us heal better than others, but we all carry a wound that can't be seen on the outside. Mine's the obsessive need for touch. For Dez, it was a need to not be touched. Even walking down the street was misery to her. People bumped into her, tapped her shoulder, or so many other little touches that most of us don't notice. To tolerate it, she had to be so high she couldn't think straight, and now the news is having a field day with it. Do you know why she's like this?"
"Heard she was raped."
"A lot. Sixteen days, tied up like a slab of meat, cut with a knife or box cutter and abused in every way you can imagine." He glanced up at the ceiling. "Because she dared to be proud of being a geek. They did that to her because she tried to break into a boy's club."
"Is that why you won't fire her?" Claudia asked.
Chance couldn't stop the wry chuckle. "Nah. I won't fire her because even completely fucked up, she's the best coder I've got. First time I met Destiny Pierce in person? She'd just eaten enough Vicodin to knock out an elephant and could still talk networks. They hate her because she's better than all of us combined, and I won't fire her because she deserves to prove it to the world. Warped, broken, and bent all to hell, and she's still better than any of the boys in this club. I want to make sure the whole world knows that I didn't get here because I have a dick. We got Most Anticipated Game because Deviant has a brain."
"Fuck," Claudia muttered, turning in place to sigh. "You were supposed to just write a damned check to shut me up. I thought if I told you I'd sell the story, you'd just pay me off."
"I'm not that dumb – and neither are you."
Ripping the tie from her hair, the girl began to pace. Chance watched her, reading more from the set of her shoulders than she probably knew. With each pass, she was convincing herself to help, even as she tried to talk herself out of it. She knew this was the right thing. Chance never would have asked her to do it, but of all the women he'd ever met, she was strong enough to take it. She was also proud enough to fight back.
When she turned back to face him, he knew he was right. He could see it in her eyes.
"What do you need from me?"
"Give me a week, then sell the story. Tell them you're sure you aren't the only one. If they ask, say someone in the shop was teasing me about it or something. One of the girls, if you want."
"Don't know any of them," she pointed out.
He bit his lips together, thinking. "Sure you do. Dez. She was here, and I'm pretty sure she would have if she hadn't been worried about running you off. Or you can say I let it slip. Don't really care. Just sell the story."
Claudia shook her head, confused. "And just let them trash me?"
"Nope. I'll make a pretty public announcement shortly after that gets you off the hook – for the most part. After that, we'll change the debate."
"To what?" she asked.
The smile that claimed his lips was almost cruel. "We'll start asking why. Why are you a slut and I'm not? Why is it ok for me to use my fame and power, but you can't use yours? Things like that. I can't pay you for the shit you're about to face, but I'll make sure your flaw is in the game."
She laughed softly, mostly at herself, then lifted her head. "Add beta access for every Deviant game, and I'll do it."
"You'd do it anyway," he countered.
Arrogantly, she cocked her head to the side and smiled. "Yeah, but you'll still give me the beta access. Under all your asshole, Chance, you're kinda a nice guy."
"And you," he said, moving a bit closer, "are a very pretty woman. Just don't let me fall off the wagon? I've been clean for almost two months."
She reached up and caressed the side of his face. "Promise. I'm kinda glad you got the girl, you know. Not many guys out there who'd stick around and fight for her like this."
"Should be."
"There aren't."
He had to force himself away from her gentle hand. "More than you know. The problem is that they aren't the arrogant assholes that you women seem to want. Next time, go home with the quiet guy in the corner, not the one playing you."
"We'll see." She flapped her hands at her side. "Seems I lost this fight I picked, huh?"
"Pretty much." He gestured to the door, letting her lead the way.
But Claudia paused before she opened it. "Chance? I'm kinda sorry I was trying to use you."
"You mean today or that night?"
Her answer was soft. "Both."
"I'm not. C'mon, lemme walk you to your car."
His hand found the small curve at the base of her spine as they made their way through the foyer. Amy's eyes hung on him. Her shoulders were too stiff. Just before he stepped outside, she spoke up.
"Leaving for a bit, Chance?"
"Just walking Ms. Watson to her car. I'll be back in five, Amy."
She tapped the counter. "If you're not, I'll be sure to let Braden know."
He gave her a smile. "Thanks."
She shrugged, the anger fading from her pose. "Welcome. When you're done there, I have some stuff I need you to go over."
"Right." He knew she was just making sure he checked in. "And I have a new job for you. Get Dez and meet me in my place in five."
"Sure, boss."
The door swung closed with a well-oiled hiss. This building wasn't the same monstrosity it had been when he found Dez. Just like her, it had grown into something so much better, almost beautiful, if the person looking stopped long enough to appreciate that expectations were just crap. Listening to Claudia's shoes tap on the new asphalt parking lot, he let the tension flow out with a heavy breath. This would be ok. Dez would understand, Claudia was enough woman to take the abuse that was about to come at her, and maybe, just maybe, he could really start to change the world.
"You ok?" Claudia asked, veering to the right, toward her little sedan.
Chance forced the professional smile back into place, shocked at how natural it felt. "Just thinking that it would have been nice to run into you again at a bar instead of the front desk."
"You're not that dumb," she teased.
He knew she was right. "Which is why we kept the video files."
"You and Dez?"
"Yeah. She does a very good job of protecting me from myself." He paused. "I guess all of us. Ever since she showed up, we've become a team, not just a group of developers trying to make a buck. You know Silk was her idea?"
"No." She turned her ass to the car and leaned against it, making no move to climb inside. "Tell me, because I might be able to use it with this story I'm selling."
Oh, yeah. The woman was as smart as she was dangerous. "She wrote a post, long ago, about the atrocities of dental floss armor. I asked why it upset her, and she responded. Eventually, that led to a conversation about her dream game. What she didn't know was that the dork she was talking to like an equal wasn't just one of her numerous geeky fans. I was sitting on a new MMO engine, trying to flesh out a cohesive idea for my new game. Her words were t
he tipping point. What Dez said was what I'd really wanted, so I designed Silk."
"Why'd you name it Silk?" Claudia asked.
For a moment, Chance sucked at his teeth. "She said she wanted her dream game, and she wanted it to be smooth. In my mind, I heard 'as silk,' so that had to be the name. Just like I have to put your flaw into the next."
She reached up and caressed his arm. The touch was familiar, but not overly sensual. "Thanks. It makes me feel kinda important. Sounds silly, but it does – knowing that I made a strong enough impression to be remembered."
"Oh, definitely."
"But," she went on, "I have no intention of living my life as the girl who screwed the gamer guy. If I'm going to do this, I'm doing it my way." The fire was starting to burn in her gaze once more.
"Ok?"
Claudia nodded, mostly to herself. "I graduated a couple of months ago. Do you know what I can do with my degree? Pretty much nothing fun, and none of it has to do with the one thing I love: games." She looked up and met his eyes. "Except journalism. I'm going to sell this story, Chance, and when it breaks, I'm going to use it for more than just pulling your girlfriend out of her shit. I'm going to build a career on this."
Behind him, a car was speeding down the quaint country road. Chance raised his voice as he offered his hand. "You'll always have an exclusive with Deviant. You help me keep my company from falling apart, and I'll make sure – "
The sound of tires squealing cut him off. A split second later, popping sounds filled the air. Claudia pulled, yanking both of them to the ground behind her car, scrambling for her pocket. Just as she got her phone free, aiming it toward the offending vehicle, Chance heard glass shatter and a woman screamed.
"Dez!"
He couldn't stop himself. Chance lunged for the building, but Claudia's arms held him fast. Red splattered across the building, then blue, yellow, orange, and pink.
Chapter 31
Sitting at her desk, Dez heard the back door thunk. She didn't think anything of it, but when no one came in, she started to wonder. Slowly, she pushed her chair back and – as calmly as she could – headed for the development table to count heads. The first one she saw was Braden's, but just before she got there, she heard her name.
"Dez?" Amy called out. "Chance says – "
Glass shattered. Amy screamed, along with a few others, and Dez's lungs closed. In the distance, she could hear tires as a car sped off. She didn't even have time to think. She just lunged for the closest desk, positive that worse was coming. All around her, feet thumped on the rubber tiles, chairs squealed their protest at being shoved out of the way, and someone grunted. Dez struggled to just breathe. Then there was silence. Her ears rang with the volume of it.
"Amy?" That was Braden.
It took her too long to answer. When she did, her voice came back sounding rough. "I'm ok. Dez?"
"Under the desk," she called back, watching dust motes fill the air.
"Tim? Sam? Jeff? Everyone ok?" Amy asked loudly.
One by one, mixed with a few coughs and sighs, the team reported in. After that, Amy started asking the coders. There were almost forty people in the building, and Dez was impressed that Amy could recall all of their names, but she wasn't about to move to check on the damage. With her knees pressed against the cheap fiberboard of someone's desk, she just listened, trying to convince herself that it would be ok. Then she realized who was missing.
"Chance?" Dez asked.
Silence. It started to stretch on before Amy said, "He was outside."
"Fuck!"
Crawling out of her hole like a dog, Dez was running before she was on her feet. All around her was dust and scattered papers. In the rush to take cover, most of the desks had been jostled, but the damage was minimal. Whatever hit them hadn't been bad, just loud. She didn't care. Dez ran to the front of the building, passing into the foyer. Brightly pigmented paint splattered the floor, broken glass, and even the front of Amy's desk. Her mind could barely process the cacophony of colors, but Chance was nowhere to be seen. She kept moving to the shattered opening that led outside just in time to see a shadow turn the corner, eyeing the broken glass. It was a form she'd know anywhere. Without thinking, she ran right to him, wrapping her arms around Chance's waist.
"Are you ok?" she gasped into his chest.
His arms found her back, his head pressing against the top of hers a moment later. "Oh, Sugar," he breathed. "I'm fine. God, I'm so fine, Dez. It was just paintballs."
"Huh?"
He chuckled, then kissed her forehead. "Just a bunch of punks shooting paintballs at the building. I was talking to Claudia when they drove past, but I thought you'd freak out. I see you kinda did."
"Nuh uh."
He looked down and caressed the arm still locked around his waist. "I think hugging counts as freaking, kid."
"Shut up, Dad."
He was right. She wouldn't admit it, but he was right – and she was perfectly ok with that. In her worry over him, she hadn't felt a hint of fear at his touch. She'd just been so glad to see he was ok that all of her fears had faded behind that. A little giggle slipped out.
"Guess I owe those punks, huh?" she teased, looking up at him.
The smile on Chance's face was glowing. "And here I was thinking about how much this is going to cost to fix. If I'd known it was this easy to feel ya up, I would have trashed the place a while ago."
Dez groaned and smacked at him playfully, but the sound of sirens in the distance made her pull away. All around were the remains of what had been floor to ceiling windows. The blue-tinted glass was spiderwebbed in some places, shattered in others. Along the street side, whole panes had been lost, turning to small, angular-shaped confetti across the foyer floor. Outside, the brilliant blue sky was almost blinding. The damage wasn't bad, but it wouldn't be cheap, and there was no way the team would get any work done. Not after that fright.
"You closing the shop for the day?" she asked, wandering toward the broken windows.
He followed. "After the police get what they need. Dez, Claudia's here."
"Mm."
Chance shoved a hand into his hair. "She's going to sell the story."
Dez just nodded, still surveying the damage.
He went on. "And she knows they'll come after her, but she wants to change the subject. Dez, she's putting herself in their sights."
Her feet paused. Her eyes were on the light reflecting off the glass. Her mind was spinning. "I'm tired of hiding, Chance. I'm tired of being scared, of wishing I could be a real person. I thought if I stayed in the shadows, no one would care."
"Dez..."
She turned back to look at him, lifting her chin. "They aren't going to stop, are they?"
His answer was little more than a breath. "No. Dez, we don't know they did this. Could be just random."
"Well, fuck 'em." With that, she stormed through what used to be a window, right into the parking lot. "Fuck all of them! If they want a fight, then I'll fight." She spun, walking backward so she could see her personal fire god. "I'm tired of waiting for the next attack to come. I'm tired of wondering what if everything is some message to scare me off. If they want to prove they're better than me, then I'll show them what they're up against! I don't care if they did this or not. I'm fucking sick of hiding!"
A woman's warm chuckle interrupted the rant. "Can I quote that?"
Dez turned to find Claudia sitting beside the tire of a car. The woman closed her compact, smoothed back her hair, then smiled. She was the same woman Chance had seduced so long ago, but this was a new look. This version wasn't trying to be gentle. She was pissed. Claudia Watson looked like the kind of person Dez had always wanted to be: powerful and in complete control. Dez wasn't sure if she was supposed to like this woman – or hate her.
"Sure. Why are you trying to get all up in my shit?"
Claudia tilted her head and smiled. "It's my shit too, Dez. You really think you're the only one who gets told to get back in the kitch
en? You think you're the only one who's ever been threatened with rape? Yeah, they got you, but what's saying I'm not going to be next? Or your receptionist? Or how many of the other women working here?" Lydia pushed herself up to her feet. "You're right, ok? So is Chance. The only way we can change this is if we make everyone talk about it, and I'm willing to do that."
"I don't even know who they are," Dez said.
Claudia shrugged. "I do. They're boys wishing they were important enough for someone to notice, trying to hurt everyone else to make themselves feel like they matter. The problem is that there's more of them speaking up than us."
"And how do we change that?"
Claudia looked over Dez's shoulder, where Chance was standing. For a moment she pressed her lips together, looking like she wasn't sure she wanted to answer. Eventually, her eyes returned. "We make them show their real colors, then point out how hypocritical it is. We expose them to the world and let public opinion win." The sirens were getting louder. Claudia jerked her head toward the sound. "I also called the cops for the vandalism."
Dez crossed her arms over her chest. "They'll try to ruin you."
"Sticks and stones," Claudia said. "And I'll make damned sure they never get a chance to make it worse than just words. I'm doing this, Dez, and you're going to help me."
Slowly, she nodded. "Sure. You can get all the attention, but I'll make sure that if anyone tries to stalk one of us, they'll never get the chance to do it again."
Claudia smiled. "That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say. Sorry about screwing your boyfriend."
Dez turned back to the building, calling over her shoulder, "I'm not. It was a damned good show."
***
The cops arrived not long after that. Everyone had to give a statement. Chance and Claudia spent almost an hour with the police. Sadly, the officers didn't think potential virtual retaliation was something to consider. Whoever had vandalized the building had been local. They kept saying it was probably just teenagers, but the spray paint across the back of the building said otherwise. In big, bold strokes, someone had written, "Frag the cunt." It was right across the same door Dez heard jostle before the attack.