"Nice! I'm actually glad to hear it." Then he turned to Knock. "And you look good, man. Texas suits you."
"Thanks," he replied with a grin. "Void and I moved in with her this summer. Living with these girls is a complete one-eighty from what I was used to. Also kinda nice to be the cool kid at school for a bit."
"I understand," Murder said. "Try growing up as an Arabic kid in New York after 9-11."
"Damn," Knock said. "Yeah, that would suck."
"Arabic?" Riley asked, "With blue eyes?"
"You did notice," he said, pleased. "Yeah, I'm a mutt. I think fifth-generation American, part Pakistani, Indian, Iraqi, and such, but with my name? Eesh. That's how I ended up as Murder. I was poking fun at the stereotypes, and Terrorist got rejected by the games."
"How'd you pick Knock, anyway?" Riley asked her little brother.
He shrugged it off. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."
"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Murder asked. "Club's hopping already, but I wanted to get in a bit of gaming to make sure my rig is up. Anyone interested?"
"Make it EC, and I will," Kitty said.
"Yeah," Riley agreed. "I figure we'll all be running a few rounds, then I might hit the club, and then try out the bar in my room."
"My room," Logan said, walking up behind her. "Kitty's got yours. Knock, you're on the other side of Kitty in a suite of your own."
"Serious?" Murder said, sounding exasperated. "Suites for all of you again?"
Logan just grinned. "Tell your attorney to call me? I happen to know a guy. They really put you in the common pool again?"
Murder just nodded. "Yeah. Void, you're the only one getting suites consistently. Although, I think Frenzy might be down there with you."
"Shit," Logan sighed. "Yeah, this is his event. I forgot."
"Bad things?" Riley asked, guessing from his reaction.
Logan just nodded. "Not a fan. Try not to punch him this weekend?"
"Oh," Kitty said. "So, he's a real asswipe?"
"Arrogant, self-absorbed prick, but he can aim," Logan begrudgingly admitted.
"So who else is coming?" Riley asked.
"Dread and his wife it sounds like," Logan said. "I put her next to Kitty. PsychoCut will be here. Yeah, and Xion."
"No shit?" Murder asked. "Xion hasn't attended a convention in two years."
Logan just nodded. "He's on the roster."
"Sounds like a party," Riley said, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.
"You're seriously letting her carry that?" Murder asked, gesturing to the bag.
"Chivalry only goes so far with Q," Logan assured him. "I learned the hard way."
"My arms aren't broken," Riley added, proving the point. "If I can throw a bale of hay at home, then I can lift a fucking bag on vacation."
Knock tapped Kitty's arm and grinned. "I'll get yours, honey-bunny."
"Along with my foot in your nuts," Kitty said back. "Now, if Murder wants to grab it..."
Knock laughed. "You totally walked into that, bro."
Murder nodded. "Yeah, but now I'll know what room is hers. Keep up, Knock. You're playing with the big boys now."
Chapter 3
After that, they all settled into their rooms, Riley and Kitty sampled the bar, and then they played a few rounds of Eternal Combat with their friends. Being on the West Coast, it was still relatively early, even if the game hall was already starting to clear out and their friends online had long since headed to bed. When the last base was captured, which went to the red team and resulted in Logan and Kitty gloating a bit, the group decided it was time to check out the party.
Except for conventions, none of the four were big into the club scene. Kitty and Riley had done their time in their early twenties, but the death of Riley's parents a few years before had made both girls grow up faster than they wanted. When they had the chance, such as now, they enjoyed it to the fullest, though. Unlike the Denver convention, where the party had been held in a single room of the convention hall, this time it was a separate building.
As they crossed the grassy area to the club, Logan passed something to Knock with a wink. "Happy early birthday, man."
Knock looked at the card in his hand, and laughed. Logan had just slipped him a fake ID, and a very well-made one. "Where the fuck did you get this?" he asked.
Logan shrugged. "Cynister. He said it's a bribe to save his stats."
"I haven't met him yet, right?" Kitty asked.
Riley shook her head. "No. You'd know. He's weird as shit, but he's the one that got the info on Stone Ridge Farms for us and knows the people at Deviant Games."
"Right, the hacker," Kitty remembered.
Riley shrugged. "I'm not convinced."
"I don't ask," Logan said. "He clearly doesn't want us to know, and he's never been anything but good to us, so I figure he can keep his secrets."
"So, what do you think he does?" Kitty asked, the question meant for any of them.
"Well," Riley said, "I can tell you he's older than he looks, and half of what he does is an act."
"CIA?" Knock asked excitedly.
Logan huffed out a laugh. "CIA, FBI, Corporate Network Security - which is my bet - or just a guy living in his mom's basement. We'll never know. He won't say either. No one even knows his name."
Riley nodded slowly, thinking about that. "I know his first name, but that's it. And no, I'm not telling."
"Fuck," Logan breathed. "That explains the ID, then. What the hell did you do, QQ?"
Riley just shrugged. "No idea. I think he just likes Quake."
Quake, their dog, was a bully-breed mutt who'd been the first victim in the effort to discredit Riley's farm. Someone had tried to mutilate the puppy as a threat, but Riley had arrived home in time to find him still alive, and Logan had paid for the dog's vet bills. He was nearly nine months old now, and while the pup had a scar to show for the ordeal, he'd grown into a very large, happy, healthy mutt, who just happened to be terrified of strangers. Every time Cynister talked to Riley, he always asked about the dog. A few times, he'd even pushed her to post pictures on the forums of Logan's outfit, Executive Pain.
"He is a cute dog," Kitty agreed.
"Yeah," Logan said, his tone proving he thought it was more than that. "Don't ask, just go with it, and remember that year, bro."
Knock was grinning as he slipped the ID into his pocket. "Yeah, man. Freaks me out a bit that he got my real birthday, though."
Riley shrugged that off. "He's like that. Just don't get too drunk to walk home. If you do, make sure you have a friend with you."
"Nope, getting trashed is your job," Knock teased back.
"Ours!" Kitty said as they reached the door. "I can't let Riley get all the boys, now can I?"
They entered the club to the pounding bass of the music, and the bouncers never even looked twice at Knock's ID. Riley made a straight line for the bar and passed over her credit card, gesturing to the four of them, then she stuck her tongue out at Logan. He laughed, making no effort to fight the fact that she would be buying.