"Well, Mr. Redd, all I can say is you should stay in town. This is not over yet," the bald officer said. He was happy with his final word and lead the way out the door.
I took another long sip of my beer and hoped that Quinn would call again.
#
After a few minutes, I picked up the phone to call Quinn. Then, I put it down. It wasn't like I did not have other people to call. Other women, too. It just seemed like she was the first one on my mind. I shook my head and moved away from the phone.
Then it rang. It was Quinn. I picked it up on the second ring.
"Owen, are you alright? I was driving to pick up a pizza and I think I saw cops outside of your apartment building," she said.
I forced myself to take a sip of beer and slow down. "Yeah, they were here, but everything is alright."
"Seriously? Why were there cops at your place?"
"I don't know, someone trying to mess with me." The first explanation that came to mind took hold. "I bet another Dark Flag player got ahold of my address and thought they'd rattle me a little bit. There's actually a tournament coming up and maybe they hope I'll cancel."
"People do that?" Quinn asked.
It made sense. The players who focused on taking me down were usually very serious gamers and hacking came easily to many people in that set. Finding my address from my IP would not be impossible. I made a mental note to adjust my security settings and encrypt my IP address.
I heard the front door opening. There was one other explanation to why the cops were searching my apartment for drugs. "Look, I gotta go. Everything's fine. Maybe I'll see you in Dark Flag later."
I hung up on Quinn and waited for Jasper to untangle himself from his leather messenger bag, suit coat, and scarf. No matter what the weather was like, he always dressed like a man out of GQ.
"Hey, Owen, didn't see you there. How's my playah?" Jasper asked.
"Your timing is perfect, per usual," I said. "The police were here not too long ago. Spent good quality time searching the place for drugs."
He dropped his bag hard onto the floor but laughed. "Seriously? And I missed it? I've been meaning to follow up about that proposal I sent over to the precinct."
"Yeah? I told them about that. Right after they handed me a search warrant and went through everything," I said.
Jasper grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. "How long did that take them? Did they thank us simple bachelors for making it easy on them?"
"They brought in a K-9," I said.
Jasper took a long time to open his beer and take a heavy gulp. "Man, what have you done to piss off the authorities lately?"
"Who says it’s me?" I asked.
"People love to jump to stereotypes when I talk about my gamer roommate. You know, cheese puffs, high octane sodas, and a shut-in in sweatpants. I could see how the cops might jump to 'deals pot on the side.'"
"Except I don't," I said. "I don't even smoke pot. It would be in violation of my contracts. It'd be my career, too, you know."
"You say that like I'm the one that's guilty," Jasper said. He leaned against the counter and crossed his leather dress shoes. "All I'm saying is one of our nosy neighbors probably got the idea from some movie and tipped off the police. Gets a bit boring around here. Man, I'm sad I missed all the action."
"Me too. Especially when the German Shepherd was very interested in the pocket of the sports coat you lent me," I said.
"Oh?" Jasper asked. He straightened up, then stopped himself and leaned back casually. "Where is it? I was going to wear it out tonight. There's a great new band over at The Alley."
"Is that your way of telling me you're not dealing pot on the side?" I stood up and crossed my arms, taller and wider than Jasper.
"Seriously, man? Why would I be doing that? Things are going great for me," Jasper said. He looked around the loft from one end to the other. "In fact, I've been meaning to tell you I signed up with this head-hunting company. They've got a lead on a job for me in L.A. Looks like I might be moving on soon."
"Really?" I asked. "And this just comes up now?"
"Yeah, well, I didn't want to jinx it. So, anyway, come out with us tonight. Help me celebrate," Jasper said.
"No, thanks," I said. "I think I'm going to get some fresh air. Apparently, I need to think about getting a new roommate."
"How about that Quinn girl you've been mentioning? Maybe she's moving back to town," Jasper said. "That's gotta be a good thing for you."
I did not like her name on his lips, but I uncurled my fist. He knew too much about Quinn. He also knew everything that had happened with Sienna.
Jasper was moving on soon, and it occurred to me that now I had the chance to do the same.
#
I made it to the corner before my phone rang. I pulled the car over and answered, thinking it might be Quinn again.
"There you are. I've left at least three messages," an impatient, fast-paced voice said.
"Oh, sorry, Tanner. How are you?" I asked.
My manager Tanner Olson gave a quick sigh. "Fine, fine. I'm just checking in with you about the tournament. You're all signed up and you're ready to roll, right?"
"Yes, I signed up online a few days ago just like you told me to," I told him.
"And have you gotten all the stuff from your sponsors?"
"What stuff?" I asked. A grumble of irritation made me clear my throat. "What have you agreed to this time, Tanner?"
"Nothing terrible. All small logos. A t-shirt, a polar fleece hoodie, a visor," he said quickly.
"A polar fleece hoodie? The tournament’s in Vegas."
"Inside," Tanner countered.
"So how do you explain the visor?" I asked.
"Bright stage lights."
"I'll look ridiculous."
"I requested everything in black. You'll look fine. It might actually tone down that whole underwear model thing you've got going," Tanner said. "You know half the gaming world thinks you're a front for some 400 pound shut-in."
"Great. Always nice talking to you," I said.
"Hey, you pay me to tell you the truth. You know you love me. Hey, speaking of love, who's the new ally?" Tanner asked.
"New ally?"
"The newbie human avatar. There's all sorts of buzz about you saving someone. You got a girlfriend I don't know about? I hear she's not a bad player. Want her to get a spot in the newcomers duel at the tournament? As long as she doesn't throw your concentration," Tanner said.
"Like I said, nice talking to you." I hung up the phone.
I realized too late that I should have told Tanner about the police visit. He would have a lawyer out to me within the hour. I shrugged it off. If Jasper was moving out, then I had no need to stir things up.
The same went for Quinn.
I should have known that Dark Flag was full of a bunch of gossips. Tanner had warned me that the better I did, the more I would be watched. Thousands of players had log-on alerts on me. A few of my sponsors put clips of my plays on their websites. I put down my phone. I was not ready to see what assumptions were being made about Quinn and I.