Drumming my fingers on the desk, I looked out over the skyline of Miami. I was only half listening to my new lawyer argue with Myriad’s rep, who I had once hired to represent our interests, about ownership of the streaming company and its holdings.
Sydney was sitting across from me next to Alice. Neither of us had spoken since the negotiations began. My lawyer, Cassandra Poole, spoke with snide conviction, “Honestly Jerry, you don’t believe we are going to agree to that, do you?”
It had been a week since the events of the Ironman Tournament. Every gaming news service on the planet had reported on my defeat and the actions I had taken leading up to it. Others reported on Sydney’s betrayal as one of the all time greatest gaming backstabs in gaming history. Most agreed, after seeing the copious receipts of nefarious behavior, that she was in the right.
I tended to agree as well.
Myriad had quickly signed Cameron Lake and his ragtag group of friends as the new face of their productions. Eternal Online had never been more popular. Anti-bullying tools were being added to the game in force and a whole new legion of AI police GMs were being mobilized.
I had moved all the things I cared to haul out of the apartment that Sydney and I had shared before she had managed to get home. She had called me numerous times over the last week. I had chosen to wear shades to this meeting to hide how sleep deprived I had been and avoid any possible eye contact with her.
Should I not beg her forgiveness and crawl back? I had clearly been in the wrong. No, it hurt too much. How could I ever look her in the eyes again knowing that she chose to destroy me? How low did your perception of someone have to be that completely annihilating their reputation and livelihood was your only recourse?
Cassandra was just about to argue another point when I raised my hand. Choosing not to look in the direction of the lawyers or Sydney and Alice I said, “Myriad is more Sydney’s than it is mine. Without her the company would never have existed. The only thing I want from all this is my stake in the company sold up until the day of the tournament and,” I raised a second finger, “all my old clips and vods deleted. I don’t want them making money off my likeness anymore.”
Jerry Sanchez, Sydney’s lawyer, beamed a smile and raised his hands, “There you have it. Thank you Mal. It’s good to see someone is making sense here.”
Offering a tight smile I chose not to turn toward them as I said, “Let’s wrap this up. Gotta hit the road.”
Sydney whispered something to Jerry. He proceeded to try and convince of her something in a concerned tone. After a moment he finally said, “My client would like to request a small discussion in private with you before we adjourn this.”
Wincing, I considered the request and said, “Just Sydney and I, or will Alice be here as well?”
The blonde woman was dressed quite nicely for the meeting. A fancy new power suit, jewelry, and expensive sunglasses. She leaned forward with a cocky smile on her lips and said, “I’m co-owner of Myriad now so…”
Sydney cut her off and said, “Just Mal and I.”
Alice started to speak up but Syd cut her off with steely emphasis, “I said, just Mal and I.”
A couple of minutes later Cassie and Jerry were making their way out of the room in the wake of a furious Alice, talking like old friends. How in the hell did they do that? The two of them had just been at each other's throats.
Sydney started to speak, paused and then said, “Are you ok?”
Lowering my shades to reveal one eye I studied her worried features. Breathing in deeply, I said, “I have never been able to lie to you Syd. No, I am not ok.”
She looked down, her brow knitted and lips twisted as she breathed a response, “I tried to get you to call it off.”
My forced smile returned, “You did that, yes. I should have listened.”
She started to speak but I cut her off, “You know if you would have just threatened to leave me, I would have called the whole thing.”
She blinked in surprise.
My shoulders rose and fell as I sighed, “If I only would not have been so blinded by revenge.”
After a long pause I pulled off my glasses, turned to her and looked her directly in the eyes as I finally asked, “Why?”
She looked surprised, considered the question for a moment and seemed to struggle with what to say before sighing.
“Why doesn’t matter, we both know,” she paused but couldn’t look at me as she added, “it had to happen.”
Picking up my shades, I slipped them back on, my false smile returning, “Good luck with the company Syd.”
She raised a hand and stuttered, “Look Mal, please just listen…”
Rapping my knuckles on the table I shook my head, “Sydney, I have thrown myself on the pyre. If you think I am going to sit here and listen to you tell me why you needed to do this you are wrong. I know why. I get it.”
Walking around the table I put a hand on her shoulder and looked down into her eyes. This was the woman I’d loved for years. Strong, defiant and confident Sydney. All I saw now was fear and pain.
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Giving her the best smile I could muster I said, “Syd, you have a chance to do something beautiful with Myriad. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”
She had started to cry as she rasped hoarsely, “Mal…”
I left her there crying in the conference room and walked to the elevator, my persona still fully engaged. My ready smile marred by exhaustion and the true feelings roiling underneath my skin.
As the doors clicked together I closed my eyes tightly and dug my thumbs into my temples as I hissed a curse through my teeth, “Fuck!”
The elevator hummed around me and I quickly wiped an errant tear away. I adjusted myself in the reflection of the elevator’s walls and took a few calming breaths. When the doors finally opened I was back to my calm and collected self, a smug smile painted across my face.
Striding through the lobby I paused to smile and say goodbye to the pretty secretary before pushing through the front doors. I wasn’t surprised to see a crowd had formed. Most seemed to be using their patch phones to record, holding up the little squares to catch every moment of my departure.
A young man with a ready smile and wire framed glasses called out to me, “Voss, I’m Martin Teague from NuTec. Care to comment on what happened at your settlement hearing?”
Smiling, I tucked my hands into my pockets as I responded, “We reached an amicable agreement. The only real yelling or drama was between our lawyers, and I assure you they made up before they were out of the room. Just a lot of business.”
“So you definitely won’t have anything to do with Myriad’s operations anymore?,” he asked with interest.
I shook my head, “To be honest Marty, Myriad was basically run by Syd before all this happened. The stream is in great hands. I even hear they have Cam Lake on board as a streamer now. I just hope that my actions don’t taint the future of the company.”
Someone called out from the crowd, “Fucking murderer!”
There was a chorus of jeers and I tried to keep my smile in place as I nodded, “I deserve that. Look, all I can do is promise that I won’t be involved with Myriad or even Eternal Online in the future. Everything I said in my final video is true. I will be…”
We were cut off as Sydney descended the steps with her lawyer and Alice at her elbows. Our eyes briefly met and I could see the pain there. The crowd surged toward her and I took the chance to descend the stairs and slip away to the car my rideshare app had indicated was mine. A few people called out questions or rushed to follow me but I just waved them off with a smile.
Climbing into the car, my facade fell and I grimaced as I pulled off my patch and activated my notifications. They streamed across my vision due to the direct connection between my eye and the RIG chip behind my ear. I was pulled out of it when the driver thrummed in a deep voice, “Hey, aren’t you that guy?”
Looking up, I saw a dark skinned guy wearing a hoodie behind the wheel. He looked like he was in his thirties and his hair was immaculately worked into dreadlocks.
Managing a weak smile while returning to my patch, I said, “Given the situation I would have to say I am probably ‘that guy’.”
The guy answered in a jovial tone, “Holy shit, my son is a big fan of yours.”
Flinching, I looked up to meet the guy’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
He returned a smile tinged with anger, “Actually, I guess he ‘WAS’ a big fan of yours. You were his hero.”
Sighing, I leaned back, slapping my patch back onto my chest as I regarded the man, “Understandable. I shouldn’t be anyone’s hero anymore.”
The man nodded and looked back to the road, “Any suggestions for what I should tell him about his favorite streamer? I mean, I always thought you guys were full of shit but this is my son, you know?”
Turning to look out the window I replied, “Well, I would say that there are quite a few more trustworthy streamers out there. I could recommend a few, but honestly,” I tried to stymie my stress and anger but a little slipped through, “it might be time for a talk about how everyone is human, and humans kinda suck.”
“Sounds like you are kinda speaking from experience there brother.”
Shrugging, I managed to slap another fake smile back on, “Afraid so.”
-
5 days later
My ride coasted up to the curb and dropped into park. Jumping out, I tapped my patch to send the driver a tip as I grabbed my bag from the trunk. As I made my way to the driveway he rolled down the window and called out to me, “Are you sure this is the place man? It looks abandoned.”
Leaning down, I smiled as I said, “Yeah, I’m good. It’s a little run down but it’s the right place.”
“Alright bud, have a good one.”
As the driver pulled away I looked up the drive to a large rusted gate. Beyond I could see an overgrown yard, some trees, and a barely visible house. My last memory of the place returned unbidden. I could see myself standing in this same driveway, hugging my mom before I took off for the airport. That was seven years ago. Not long after I had settled in at USF my grandmother had passed away and my mother had rented an apartment in Jacksonville to be nearby. This place had been empty ever since.
Speaking out loud to my patch I made my way up to the gate, “Lydia, are all the contractors I scheduled still on track to be here this week?”
A lilting feminine voice with a southern drawl echoed from my phone, “Sure thing sugar. I have a list of contact numbers and none of them have voiced concerns. All utilities should be activated and a group of cleaners came in earlier this week to assure that the home is up to your standards.”
There were a few weeks before all the trials and hearings began. At some point I had to fly out to talk with the family of the boy who had died after my group had bullied him. Then I had to finalize my donation to a few charities. Getting this old place up to being liveable was just an effort to sell it afterward. The sale would pay considerable dividends when all was said and done. It would be hard to see our old family home go but I had made promises that needed to be kept.
Steeling myself, I rolled my shoulders, “Alright, open the gate and let's see what we’re working with.”
The gate screeched as it slowly stuttered open and I made my way up the long drive toward the house. Beyond the wall and gate the single story house loomed with its attached garage. The windows all had yellowed curtains drawn. The exterior of the house had once been white but it looked stained and aged from lack of upkeep. A small overgrown path of stones led from the driveway up to the front door flanked by a flowerbed that was filled with weeds and creepers that climbed up into the eaves of the house.
Pulling out the keys, I unlocked the old door feeling it stick a bit as I pushed it open. The scent of cleaning supplies with only the faintest hint of must washed over me as the door opened. I flinched at the sight of the old living room. Memories of holidays spent here, of just lounging on the couch watching tv, of my second girlfriend sneaking in after my mom was asleep streamed through my mind.
Shaking off the memory, I muttered to the open air, “When are my supplies supposed to get here Lyd?”
She answered quickly, “In about an hour darling. We also have the electrician and the plumber coming in this afternoon.”
Nodding, I set my bag aside, “Alright, let’s get this place in a sellable shape.”
