Challenge Accepted (Eternal Combat Book 1) Read online

  "I'm almost done," Riley yelled back, blotting at her hair, again.

  The towel didn't do much to keep her warm, but nothing was worse than trying to pull dry clothes onto a wet body, so Riley scurried down the hall and into her room. Closing the door, she saw an outfit laid out neatly on her bed. Kitty had meant it when she said she'd pick her clothes, but it was perfect.

  Round toed boots were stacked beside a pair of tight jeans, a white tank with their logo on the front. A black long-sleeve shirt went with it, but the convention hall would heat up quickly, and it would soon be discarded. She pulled the clothes on and shoved the stack beside it into a bag, not even bothering to look. If she was to be shown off like a prized mare, then Kitty was the person to do it.

  As soon as she opened her door, her friend's voice called out, "I got most of this packed but I'm not touching the case."

  "No, I got it," Riley agreed, pulling at wires, folding them carefully before tucking them away. "Wanna toss my bags in the truck?"

  "I need the truck. Take my car."

  Riley just nodded. It only made sense. Hard to haul a horse to the vet in the car, and it cost a lot less to drive the hour and a half to Dallas. While she finished packing away the computer, Kitty carried her stuff out, returning just in time to grab the case from her hands.

  "Mascara at least and eyeliner is better," she ordered before walking through the front door again.

  "Fine!" Riley yelled, hurrying back to her room.

  She went a couple of steps further, adding a touch of eye shadow and a bit of clear gloss to her lips. Tucking the cosmetics into her pocket, she grabbed a few hair bands, twisted the mass of dreads into a knot at the back of her neck, then checked the time. Ten minutes till she had to be on the road. Not bad.

  "Ok," she yelled into the house, "I'm leaving."

  "Oh!" Kitty called, "Money!" She passed her a handful of bills and two credit cards. "Text me the cost of the rooms. The cash is for spending, the credit is for rooms and gas." When Riley nodded, she went on, "And do me a favor?"

  "Sure."

  "Have fun?"

  Riley laughed and hugged her friend. "I'll do my best. Call if you need anything. Feed's on the white board, the bins are full, we should have plenty of hay, and the vet knows I'm out of town."

  "Then stop worrying," Kitty said, pushing her toward the door. "Go. You deserve a weekend without horse crap on your boots. Show those boys that you can aim."

  With a last wave of her hand, Riley obeyed.

  The drive to Dallas was tedious and uneventful. She turned the music up and cracked the sunroof just enough to get a hint of fresh air, but not enough to let the damp March weather chill her to the bone. When she pulled off I-35 and onto 635, that's when the traffic started to get thick. This convention was a big deal. Not only FPS gamers, but also MMOs and other popular titles would be attending. All the big companies were flying in their staff and there would be a huge area dedicated to the latest technology. Sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, she had plenty of time to think about not only that, but also the reaction she was about to cause.

  Women had finally managed to break into gaming in the last decade, but the world of first person shooters was the last bastion of male dominance. While massively multiplayer online games were made up of roughly half men and half women, only ten percent of the FPS players were female. Most of them were casual players – which was fine – but that skewed the leader boards even more. For as long as she could remember, Riley had only ever seen four other women try to break into the game, and none of them had succeeded. It was probably a pipe dream, but she wanted to be the first. She had for years.

  She just had to make sure she could not only get noticed, but also place. If she could get into the top three, she was sure she'd at least get a sponsor. She really needed an offer from someone. Hell, the farm needed her to get an offer!

  It was dark when she finally arrived. Following the signs, she pulled the car around back and found a place to park, popped the trunk, and began loading herself down with bags. First, she would check in, then set up her rig. The rooms went fast, even if she had reserved one.

  The next couple of hours became little more than a myriad of lines. The line to check in, the line for the elevator, and even the line for the exit. Bodies pressed close together, and everyone was doing their best to impress. She saw mohawks standing an arms length tall and piercing plugs large enough to fit a baseball through but, for the most part, the crowd was little more than geekish guys in T-shirts and jeans.

  It was on her last trip when someone realized she might actually be a gamer. A nylon bag filled with her peripherals hung across her shoulder and her case rested easily on her hip. Riley took baby steps forward, waiting for her chance to be issued a ticket and assigned a place at the table. She'd been creeping closer for ten minutes when the guy behind her spoke up.

  "You know this is the line for the FPS tournament?"

  "Yeah."

  "That one..." He pointed across to their right. "Is for the MMO section."

  "The big sign," Riley said, tilting her chin at it, "that says 'Professional League of Gamers Tournament' kinda gave it away."

  "So you're gonna try to play with the big boys?" He didn't even try to conceal his amusement.

  "Basically."

  "Yeah. Good luck with that. They won't even realize you're a chick until you're dead."

  Riley finally looked behind her. "What name do you go by?"

  "LOLWaffles. I use that for most of them, at least. You?"

  She just smiled. "Riley. Nice to meet you, Waffles."

  "Don't even have a name?" He smirked as he shook his head in sympathy.

  "Pretty sure I just told you." Thank God there were only two people left before she was done with this line.

  "I meant a game name."

  "You'll figure it out, but if I don't tell you, you won't send me requests to cyber or something stupid."

  He laughed. "Fair point. Good luck then."

  "You too." She held out her armband to the security at the door. He handed her a ticket and pointed her in the general area.

  Finally inside, she followed the directions to a massive row of tables, walking along it until she found her assigned place. Power bars and plugs of just about every type were duct taped to the back. Little metal chairs were pushed in at the front. It sure didn't have the comforts of home, but there was something about the banners along the walls that made it seem worthwhile.

  Dropping the bag into her seat, Riley began to put her rig back together. She went over everything carefully, from the connectors on the motherboard to the level of coolant in the radiator, before closing her case and plugging it all in.

  "Nice keyboard," some guy said as he passed by.

  She just grunted, not even bothering to look up. When it was all together, she flipped the switch in the back and pressed the power button, worried that nothing would happen for only a moment, until the LEDs began to glow and the fans started to hum.

  "Rainbow?" a guy wondered, commenting on her choice of lighting for the case.

  "Yeah."

  "So you a lesbian?" His eyes lit up at the idea. He couldn't have been more than fifteen.

  "No, fuck off.”

  Another man sank into the chair beside her, flicking on his own machine. "You're full of piss, aren't ya?"

  She looked over at him and shrugged. "You would be too."

  "Probably. Interested a match? Want to make sure I've got the settings right for the LAN."

  "Would love to."

  "K. Hit server 3. I'll make it private."

  When all of her peripherals finished syncing with the cloud, she clicked on the icon, launching Call of Battle, the highlight game for this year's tournament. The log-in screen flashed up and she paused, glancing at the man next to her. She wasn't quite ready to let them all in on her little secret. Her fingers typed in the information for her training account, logging in CareBear instead of QQ. While the screen loaded, she grabbed her headphones and toggled the press to talk key.

  "You're working." His voice was deep and rich in the speakers.

  "Thanks," she said, pressing the key to transmit. "Any special rules?"

  He laughed. "Winner buys the drinks."

  "Thought loser was supposed to do that?"

  "If that's how you want it."

  "Loser buys and it's a deal."

  "Game on." He tapped a key and they dropped into the world.

  She moved. The map might be new to her, but they were all variations of the same thing. Her fingers flicked across the keys. She didn't even bother to look at the real person, all she needed was to see his avatar. Releasing her mouse for a moment, she shoved at a roller on the keyboard, cranking the volume as loud as possible, straining to hear a virtual step, never pausing to give him a chance to get behind her.

  She finally heard it. On the other side of the wall, she could just make out his character coming closer. With only her fingertips caressing her mouse, she raised her sights and moved between cover. Drifting around the back, the goal was to flank him – but this guy didn't suck.

  He predicted the move and took his own precautions. That was, until she tossed a grenade through the open door.

  "Fuck!" he whispered in her ears.

  She heard him running for the other side, but she was already moving. Before he could leave the room – with half his health stripped by the grenade – she lined up a head shot and clicked. His character fell.

  She tried not to smirk. "I think the LAN settings are fine. Or were you going to try best two out of three?"

  He laughed honestly. "Nah. Just wanted to see if I could buy you a drink. I figured I'd win either way. Deal's a deal."

  Closing the game and turn
ing off her machine, she carefully put everything away, then stood, waiting for him to do the same.

  "So who made your machine?" he asked, gesturing for her to lead the way, his mannerisms well polished.

  "I did."

  "Nice. Usually the answer is either 'my boyfriend' or 'my husband'. So far, looks like I haven't managed to crash and burn, yet."

  "No, not yet, but I didn't catch your name. Sorry, I was too busy looking at the map."

  "IceMan. It's been a while since I've seen CareBear log in. What brought you back?"

  "Oh I've been around. Just dropped the name."

  "So you just kicked my ass on an alt character?"

  "Yeah."

  "I feel used."

  "I just wanted a drink."

  They walked into the hotel bar and he gestured politely to a table in the corner. Riley slid in one side and he took the other, finally giving her a chance to really look him over without giving the wrong impression. He wasn't the stereotypical gamer. Nice looking but very clean cut, he exuded an executive demeanor of control even in his casual attire. He was cute, and surprisingly well built. Most gamers were dorks, but this was obviously a businessman in hiding.

  When the waitress came by, he ordered a scotch for himself, raising an eye when she ordered a tequila.

  "Double, no lime, with a slice of lemon," she added.

  "Got it," the girl said before walking away.

  "So you play as hard as you drink?"

  "No," she teased. "I don't drink nearly that hard. This is just warm-up."

  Chapter 3

  The waitress returned with the drinks, passing Riley hers before setting the other by IceMan. Funny thing about gamer conventions, everyone used their character's names as their own and no one thought anything of it. Riley slammed back the tequila, sucked on the slice of lemon, and Ice gestured for the girl to return.

  "Give her another, and something lighter to slow her down?"

  "Dr. Pepper and another tequila double," Riley clarified.

  "Lemon. Got it." She shook her head as she left again.

  "This means you're entering the Tournament?" IceMan asked.

  Riley nodded. "I'd like the contract, but I'm not sure that will happen."

  "Void and Dreadknot are here. It's a rush for third place, first and second are already taken."

  "I haven't fought Dreadknot. What's his style?"

  "Heavy weapons, hard hitting, and he likes to stand his ground. If you can knock him out of the hole he digs, you're good. But good luck with that."

  "Void's just fast," she said, thinking about it. "His reactions are nearly inhuman."

  "Rumor has it he's been gaming since he was five. Dreadknot's about the same. Guess he owns a computer store or some shit and spends all day flipping between FPSes."

  "Would be nice," Riley said.

  "No kidding," Ice agreed.

  That was when someone spotted him. From across the bar, a group of guys called out, "Ice!" and began pushing their way through the throng of people.

  "My outfit," he groaned, shoving his head into his hands.

  "Oh, you found something pretty." A younger guy shoved Ice over to sit beside him.

  "Care, meet Knock, Swish, and Ryno."

  "You play?" Knock asked excitedly from his place beside Ice.

  "Yeah."

  Ryno jerked his chin at her. "What game?"

  "All of them."

  "Eternal Combat?" Ryno's tone made it clear he expected her to say no.

  "Yeah. East Coast Server. I play the blue team usually."

  "Nice," Swish said, finally speaking up. "Come hang with us."

  Riley shook her head. "Maybe tomorrow. It's been a long day for me, and the first round is at eight in the morning."

  "Oh!" Ryno exclaimed. "If you've entered that then you do play serious. What kinda K/D you running in EC?"

  "Kills to deaths in Eternal Combat," Knock clarified.

  "I know what it means," Riley assured him. "I'm at a 3.2 on the blue."

  Ryno's eyes widened. "So you play red and yellow too?"

  That was the game with the persistent world. While she did have a character on each team, she wouldn't tell them the name of her main – or her real stats. EC players were a slightly different type of gamer, as serious as FPSers, but as social as those who preferred MMOs.

  When the waitress returned with the drinks, they pulled up chairs and made themselves at home. It wasn't long before Ice was telling them about their earlier battle.

  "And I thought I had her, when she just pitched a grenade through the door. Butt pucker, lemme tell ya." They all laughed, understanding completely.

  "C'mon, Care. Thirty minutes," Ryno pleaded. "The rest of our outfit is online, even if they couldn't make it. Come make us look like important men, finding a real gamer in all this mess."

  "Fine," she said. "Thirty minutes, then I have got to get some sleep."

  Tossing back the last of their drinks, the group cajoled her back to the computer tables, finding their places around the room. Ice, sitting beside her, gave her the log-in information for their TeamSpeak voice server and she clicked "ok", wondering just what she'd gotten herself into.

  A chorus of men's voices greeted her, not even pausing to acknowledge the new arrival. They were calling orders, sounding rather organized while doing it. When a break in the chatter finally came, Riley recognized Ryno's voice.

  "We've already started making friends in Dallas," he said. "Guys, say hi to... what's your character's name?"

  She held up a finger, waiting for the log in screen to finish loading. Clicking on an alt before anyone could look at her monitor, she spoke up. "Salacious."

  "Oh!" came back from at least ten voices. It wasn't her name, it was simply that she had a woman's voice.

  "Guys," Ryno begged. "Be cool. She kicked Ice's ass."

  "Damn," one of them said. "Honey, I think I'm a little bit in love."

  "Try coming on to me, and I'll shove a tank so far up your ass you'll forget you ever had a dick. We playing, or we flirting?" she snapped.

  The men laughed, picking on the target of her ire and carrying on with her threats.

  Ryno cut in, "Second continent, we have a battle at the bio-station. I need a mech suit, two healers, and heavy. Salacious, what role are you playing?"

  "I can fill any," she said into her mic.

  "Grab the mech?"

  "Yes, sir."

  It didn't take long before she was clearing the halls, one man glued to her ass, keeping her suit repaired, leaving the rest of their group to sweep the sides. When they secured the cap point, she hunkered down, facing the spawns.

  "We holding, or we running?" she asked Ryno, who appeared to be the leader.

  "Can you hold it?"

  "Watch me." She glanced across the table at him.

  "Then we hold. Who's on her repairs."

  "Me," a voice said. Riley glanced at her screen to find his name. Fizz.

  "Shit," Ice said suddenly. "Executive Pain's dropping in from the south. They're going to tear our asses up." He paused and she could see him smacking at his keys frantically beside her. "Void's here! Shit, shit, shit. He killed me."

  "You still think you can hold this?" Ryno asked her.

  "I can only try," Riley said honestly.

  "Then get her another repairman and two more healers."

  "Grenades and heavy weapons. They'll be coming at us from the back. Keep your eyes up, boys," she added. "Void likes his jets."

  "What she said." Ryno's words gave power to her ideas.

  They weren't a big outfit, but they seemed to be well coordinated and pretty laid back about the whole thing. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Riley was actually enjoying playing with a group. Too often, outfits were little more than a reason to screw around and not take gaming seriously. Unfortunately, Riley couldn't do that. It took away everything she found fun about playing.

  Then the world around her got just a little too still. Enemies had been running in, one at a time, to throw themselves at her mech, but it just stopped.

  "They're here," she said softly. "If someone has sensors, I suggest you lay them out."

  A tingy noise rang out in the game, and a small circle appeared on the map, pulsing. When she glanced down, she gasped. Dozens of red dots swarmed behind the building. "This is going to be bad."