by Hayes, Drew
Roy headed over to the line of volunteers, falling in next to Thomas. A few seconds later, Vince came over and stood next to him, leaning in to whisper a brief “Thanks” before everyone had settled into place. It was only after Vince arrived that Roy noticed Violet was on the other side instead of in the line. That was unexpected; she tended to throw herself into any fight she could. Then again, she was also more pragmatic than people gave her credit for. Perhaps she was too aware of her own rank and record when weighed against the people already in line.
“Anyone else?” Alice asked, stepping out again. With virtually no effort, she’d slipped into the leadership role; the woman had a talent for dealing with people, a talent that her Subtlety training was clearly improving upon. “Selena, your songs are powerful. You sure you want to be here? Adam, no one you want to mimic? Violet?”
All of them shook their heads, though Violet spoke up to add, “I’m proud of what I can do, but that doesn’t mean I’m blinded by pride. This is about putting forth our best, and I’m not one of those. Yet.”
“A fair, if perhaps debatable—as someone who’s fought you—point.” Alice smiled briefly at Violet before turning her attention to everyone else clustered nearby. “That means we have Amber, Shane, Thomas, Roy, and Vince up for Intramurals. It’s been over three years fighting each other, so I doubt we need to rehash what everyone is capable of. Let’s make this a discussion instead. Who has a person they really think should be in Intramurals, and why?”
“Amber’s got power and versatility,” Britney said. “She can handle herself against nearly any opponent, be they ranged or melee, with or without enhanced endurance. Since we’re sending our class against unknown opponents, I say it makes sense to pick the people who can deal with the greatest number of threats, and Amber definitely falls into that category.”
It was a strong argument, tempered somewhat by everyone’s knowledge that the two women were best friends. Amber was strong, no one could deny that, but she hadn’t always shown the sharpest judgment during trials. She’d racked up more accidental Sim-kills than anyone else among them, and while that was somewhat expected due to the destructive nature of her power, it was still a factor that sat heavily on their minds when they thought about sending her against another person.
“I don’t know if it is proper for me to speak, having already been nominated; however, if we are discussing Lander’s representation, then I feel it pertinent to voice myself on Shane’s behalf.” All eyes turned to Chad; his tone remained even and balanced as always. “While you all spoke of your constant experiences losing to me, very few of you have ever scored a victory over Shane. His ability is not one with a lot of flash, nor one that draws attention to itself, but he is one of the soundest, most dedicated fighters I have ever known. Were I not in this class, I believe he would have occupied the top position instead. Now, he and I are also good friends, so you may feel free to take that into consideration with my argument, but hear me well on this: friendship or not, I would never recommend someone I felt would bring embarrassment upon this school.”
Little was said in response to that, just a few whispers here and there. Still, as the eyes turned back to the Intramural candidates, it was plain to all of them that the number of slots open had just shrunk by one. When Chad spoke, especially on the subjects of fighting and Lander, people tended to listen.
“Thomas is a tough son of a bitch himself,” Violet tossed out. “And if you haven’t fought him lately, trust me, that energy of his is pretty damn dangerous.” It was a noble effort, clearly motivated by friendship, but the resigned look on Thomas’s face made it plain that he’d known his chances from the beginning. The odds of victory were slim, yet he’d pressed on regardless, because that was the sort of man he was. It might make him a great Hero one day, but it didn’t change his position in terms of combat-ranking in the class.
“And that leaves us with Vince and Roy,” Alice said. With Mary and Nick out of the program, she was the only one of the original core five who could speak on their behalf. “We’ve all seen the kind of damage Roy can take, to say nothing of what he can dish out. I pity the poor bastard put in a combat cell against him; they’d have an easier time knocking out a mountain. As for Vince… what do I even say? He’s got a great power that’s only increased over the years, his martial skills are top-notch, and, above all the rest, he’s determined. I think we’ll see the sun burn out before we see the day when Vince Reynolds gives up on a fight.”
She paused, looking back at the crowd, waiting to see who else would speak. No one took the opportunity. There wasn’t much to say, in the end. They knew these five well; they’d traded blows with them, trusted them, fought alongside and against them. The words were just that: words. In their bones, the class knew who they feared and respected, who they believed would show the best Lander could offer on the stage of Intramurals. After several moments of silence, Alice resumed.
“Unless I’m reading the room wrong, I think we have one we can knock out early. Everyone in favor of Shane DeSoto taking one of the spots?”
As with Chad before him, every student hand went up to approve of Shane, save of course for those standing next to him in the line. Alice took a brief scan then looked to Shane. “You can come over here; that’s more than enough to get you in.”
“And now you are down to your final spot.” Dean Blaine had been silent through the discussion, allowing his students to reach their own conclusions. He fell silent after the announcement, content to wait on the sidelines and watch as it all unfolded.
“Last spot,” Alice echoed. “This is our bonus position, the one nobody else is going to have. I’ll go through the names; put your hand up for the person you think should get it. The Super who you believe in your heart that, when the chips are down, could show up and turn everything around. Vote for the one who can give us a win in the clutch, because that’s what they may have to do.”
One by one, Alice cycled through the names. Amber got a couple of votes, though from her sour expression, it was clear she’d expected more. Thomas got only one, and he looked at Violet with plain gratitude for it. Roy and Vince turned out to be the split. It was close, very close, really, but in the end, one of them triumphed by a single vote’s margin.
“And our last competitor for Intramurals will be... Vince Reynolds.”
174.
“Congratulations to all of our Intramurals competitors.” Dean Blaine clapped his hands, retaking control and attention from Alice, who demurely stepped back. “There will be some additional meetings as we draw closer to the event, but for now you just need to keep the impending competition in mind as you train. Your classmates have trusted you to represent them, as well as our institution as a whole. Don’t take that trust lightly.”
One of the gym doors opened, and Professor Pendleton appeared alongside Professor Fletcher. The two of them wheeled in a chalkboard, trying not to bang it against the doorway and failing multiple times. No one looked directly at them, keeping their vision on Dean Blaine; however, more than a few students were scanning for details using their peripheral vision.
“Now then, while I am impressed by the deductive assessments and choices you all made without knowing the new ranks, the unveiling is a necessary part of your education,” Dean Blaine said. “Remember, those of you with low combat rankings are not necessarily out for graduation; we take into account far more than brute force. However, if combat is the primary Hero skill you bring to the table, this is an important factor to take into account. Those of you who are placed highly should prepare to defend your spots, because the others will try to rise to the challenge. Those of you with low ranks, you have one semester left. Whether you try to raise your combat skill or pursue other avenues to round out your Hero arsenal is up to you, but now is the time to pick a plan and push with all you’ve got.”
Professor Pendleton and Professor Fletcher arrived, the chalkboard’s blank side facing the students. They looked to Dean Blaine, wh
o gave a brief nod. At his signal they flipped the board over, revealing the new rankings on the other side as the dean continued his speech. “Everyone, please take five minutes to note your rank, as well as the ranks of your classmates. You can speak to your teachers if you need help understanding any changes, but until then we still have your gym session.”
There was no pushing or shoving to see the chalkboard; such tactics weren’t necessary. There were so few of them left now, it was easy for everyone to gather up around the rank listings. So many who’d been there were gone, whittled down to these few, who would be even fewer when the end came. And here, written in chalk, was their best hint as to whether or not they would be among the final count. While most were hunting for their own rank above all else, there was one major shift in the overall rankings that everyone noted nearly immediately.
“Congratulations,” Chad said, clapping Shane on the back. “You pulled ahead. Don’t expect me to give up on taking that spot back, but you definitely deserve it more after that last trial.”
Sure enough, Shane DeSoto had overtaken Chad Taylor for the number one combat rank in the class. Chad, meanwhile, had fallen into the number two position. It was still a close race, but for the first time since this class began, someone other than Chad was standing at the top of the heap. It was a stark reminder that no one, not even the seemingly unbeatable Chad, was safe in their position.
For his part, Shane just stared at the board for a long while. His hands flexed, clenching into fists, and then relaxing slowly. Several times, it looked like he might speak, but when he finally did it wasn’t a boisterous yelp of celebration like most were expecting. Instead, he sounded subdued, perhaps even a little sad. “Last year, Angela beat me at something we’d spent our lives competing for, and then turned down the prize. I couldn’t understand it at the time—why put in so much work if she didn’t even want it? She told me that it was because winning, getting what she wanted, it was all hollow if she didn’t earn that victory. It took me a while, but I finally get it. This is what she didn’t want to feel.”
“You put on an excellent showing,” Chad told him. “You and Alex beat a professor.”
“Maybe so, but only because you sacrificed yourself to give us the chance, not to mention helped out even while unconscious.” Shane turned from the board to look Chad in the eye. “I don’t count this as a victory. It’s not the way I want to surpass you. End of year rankings: that’s where we settle things. Bring everything you’ve got to Intramurals, because when the dust settles, I’ll be in the number one spot. And that time, I’ll deserve it.”
“As I see things, you deserve it now. But I welcome your challenge, as I always have.” Chad smiled, and Shane mirrored the expression. It had taken some time for them to balance their competitiveness alongside their friendship; however, once they found stability, it had only served to make their bond stronger.
Roy stepped over, looking past their heads. “At least you moved, Shane. More than three years I’ve been doing this shit, and I’m still at number five. Getting passed up now, too. Though I can’t say I’ve got much ground to protest either of those rankings.”
The students Roy was talking about, numbers three and four on the chalkboard, were standing next to each other, looking at the rankings with a bit of shock. More than a few whispers surrounded them as Alice leaned over to Vince. “Is that really right? Did I go from number eleven to number four? I thought they took past performance into account with these.”
“The performances you’re talking about are well in the past. If you hadn’t been starting from so low, you may well have overtaken the top spots. Given how well you did, I’m amazed I stayed above you,” Vince replied. He hadn’t been sure where he’d end up in the grand scheme of things, but not only had he held his position, he’d risen by a rank into the class’s number three spot. There was no question in his mind that the shift was largely due to Mary’s departure, since she’d opened up a new position near the top. Still, progress was progress, and he was glad to see it. Like Roy, combat was all Vince had. If he wanted to graduate, he needed to be among the best.
“Huh.” Alex was noting his own rank, which had him in spot number eight; the first time he’d ever cracked the top ten. “Has anyone else noticed that, without knowing we were doing it, we picked the top four ranks for Intramurals?”
“Oh shit, you’re right,” Violet said. “Chad, Shane, Vince, and Alice. What does that mean?”
“It means that you have demonstrated exceptional skill in assessing one another, and yourselves,” Dean Blaine answered, despite the question not being directed toward him. “I’ve presided over many of these selection discussions, and very rarely do the students show such wisdom in their choices. Usually, this is a moment of reckoning where they realize their alliances and rivalries caused them to vote against the class’s overall interest, but you all have proven yourselves exemplary yet again.”
Dean Blaine walked to the chalkboard and flipped it back over, showing them the blank side once more. “But all of that is in the past as of now. You know where you stand, now turn your attention to where you want to go. There’re only a few months left, and you have lots of training to do. So everyone take a five-minute stretch and then be ready to run. It’s time to get started.”
175.
Code-breaking, technology-hacking, anything to do with the digital- or puzzle-based, all of it was in Will Murray’s ballpark. There was little he couldn’t do with tech, given enough parts and prep time. But he’d learned long ago that the human side of the equation was not his strongest point. Even after booking as many training sessions in the Blonk as he could, Will had only succeeded in becoming marginally better at catching facial tics and discerning which fake assets were trustworthy. The failing didn’t surprise him; he’d never been especially good with people. If not for Jill constantly dragging him out into proper society, he probably would have spent his whole life in a basement surrounded by electronics. Through discipline and study, Will had learned enough to get through basic social interactions; he’d managed to make his own friends by the end of high school. But what he needed now wasn’t someone half-competent. For this plan, he needed an expert.
Staring at his computer screen, Will looked at the roster he’d compiled of his classmates, even though he knew most of it by heart. No real names were used, of course, and the whole thing was written in a code just in case his computer was ever hacked by someone with tech-skill equal to his own. Still, all the pertinent information he needed was at his fingertips. Mary’s departure from the program, while sad, had also opened up whole new avenues of attack. Dealing with Kennedy Dawson and her movement was treacherous territory; he couldn’t risk involving anyone else in the program. Only he and Camille were known to them, and that was how it would stay. People who’d left the HCP, however, were a whole other matter. They didn’t have secrets to betray, though they were threads that a smart and resourceful enemy could pull on to unravel the secrets of their friends. He needed to use them carefully, and at just the right times.
“Yo, I finished the job.” Jill appeared at his doorway, earlier than expected. It was easy to forget how much free time she had to work now that the HCP wasn’t eating so much of her days. Will felt a pang of sadness at the thought, followed by one of relief. It was still strange to picture entering the Hero world without Jill, but part of him was glad she wouldn’t be putting herself in danger.
Jill walked over and set a piece of paper down in front of Will. On it were a few numbers and usernames hurriedly scribbled down. “I connected every bit of tech those people had to the backdoors you wanted. Some needed password and username crap, so I made things up on the fly. With this, you should be able to remotely access everything they have: cell phones, laptops, I even made a path to one of those digital step counter things that connect to the Internet. Part of me feels like I should tell you how incredibly illegal this shit is, though.”
Smoothing out the paper, Will read
carefully, making sure he could discern every digit and letter before Jill left. “It’s not illegal. It’s Subtlety.” He paused, considering his own words. “Okay, fine, it’s illegal. That an issue?”
“Not for me. I’m more than happy to do my part to take these fuckers down. But you’re still in the running to be a Hero. Shouldn’t you be careful with stuff like this?” Jill asked.
She wasn’t wrong. Gathering information, pretending to be one of Kennedy’s group, all of that had been on the right side of the law. What he was doing now, to say nothing of what he was planning, crossed the line. Will had been over that line before—not often, but enough. He knew the ground there was perilous, even more so now that he had so much to lose. Yet, all the same, whenever he considered backing off, Will’s mind wandered back to the night in May when Lander was attacked. Not the chaos, or the bloodshed, or even seeing Sasha’s body. No, what rose to the forefront of his memory was Vince, standing across from Dean Blaine, willing to sacrifice his future to do the right thing in the moment. Will knew he was never going to be a moral bastion, and he understood that many would look upon his methods with rightful disgust. But if he didn’t do what he could, when he could, to protect people who needed help, that was when he would fail to be a Hero.
“I’m in the Subtlety program,” Will told his sister. “If they didn’t want me working around a few systems, they shouldn’t have made a major out of it. And don’t worry. I’m being careful. The only ones I’m working with are people I can trust.”