Michelle Maddox - Countdown

"Do you know somebody named Jonathan?" I asked. "He works for Ellis Enterprises, too."

Joe shook his head. "Sorry, no. I don't know anything to do with that place. Don't really care, either, since I'm not working there." He grinned. "But no hard feelings, of course."

Why did I think he was lying? It wasn't a terribly friendly grin he was giving Rogan.

Rogan studied him for a moment. "Have you ever heard of something called The Countdown?"

"Rogan!" I grabbed his arm. It felt almost like a magic word that shouldn't be invoked. Say it too loudly and the bad guys might swing in and grab us.

I waited. Nobody swung in.

"The Countdown," Joe repeated slowly. "Now, that could be a listing of popular songs this week, or you might be referring to a secret death game. Survive or die, right? Yeah, I've heard of it. Thought it was just a rumor."

"Just a rumor?" Rogan said. "Then why do you have a folder on your desktop labeled 'Ellis- Countdown'?"

Joe blanched. Even in the half darkness I could see that.

"Dammit," he managed before Rogan grabbed his shirt and threw him up against the table. All the computers shook.

The other gamers removed their goggles to see what the disturbance was.

Rogan glared at them. "Get the hell out of here right now."

He said it with enough menace to clear the room immediately. That is, after they all carefully disconnected their computers so as not to damage the intricate circuitry.

Then they fled up the stairs and out of the building.

Joe didn't fight back against Rogan, but he looked scared to death.

"Talk," Rogan growled.

"Okay, okay. After I didn't get that job I was pissed. And okay, I wasn't just pissed at myself. I blamed you. That was a wicked opportunity my father set up. He said it was a sure thing, and you had to blow it for me. I even met your brother, Gareth. He was awesome and bought me lunch. But one word from you screwed my life."

Rogan didn't let go of him. "So you hated me. What then?"

"I went home and sank into a mega depression. I worked for a year on a little present for Ellis Enterprises to get back at you. I was bitter, yeah. Sure I was. And, hey, I had a hell of a lot of time on my hands, being unemployed. At the time I lived with my father, and he had loads of money, too-that's how he knew Gareth to get me the interview. Same circles and all that. I heard a rumor about your new game, The Countdown, and that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to help develop something for real that I normally just played online. It would have been so sweet."

"What was the present you're talking about?" I asked.

He eyed me. "Well, first I had to hack the Ellis mainframe before I could do anything. Took me a year to do that until I finally got in."

There was silence in the room.

"And when you got in, what did you do?" Rogan asked quietly.

"I uploaded a virus. A nice, juicy one I'd made especially for you. One that would know its way around and sink into everything and start eating all of your company's precious data. I uploaded it and waited to hear news of the system going down. Of everything you'd worked for going up in flames. Other than the blackout later that night there was nothing. However, the next day you got your ass arrested and thrown in jail. I figured my virus was a failure, but karma kicked in and worked its special magic anyhow."

My eyes had widened with every word he said. The virus. The virus that had seeped into the artificial intelligence program and uploaded itself into Gareth's implant during the power surge.

The thing that had ruined Rogan's life.

All because of a job opportunity lost for a throwaway sexist remark.

A flap of a butterfly's wing turning into the proverbial hurricane.

Rogan laughed then, and it sounded just this side of insane.

"What is it?" I managed. "What's so damn funny?"

He let Joe go finally, and wiped tears from his eyes as he tried to bring his laughter under control. "My … my secretary. I don't even remember what her name was."

Joe shook his head. "She had a great ass."

I couldn't believe this. Jonathan must have known. He'd known that Joe was the one responsible for the original virus. That was why he had the address to this place.

Rest in peace, Jonathan.

But why? Why would he care anymore who created the virus? What difference would it make now?

Unless…

I moved closer to stand at Rogan's side. I looked at Joe, whose chest heaved with each breath he took. He didn't look guilty for what he'd done; he looked annoyed that he'd been caught after all this time.

"Is there an antivirus?" I asked.

Rogan looked at me. "Of course. That must be what Jonathan was after."

Joe raised his eyebrows. "An antivirus? After all these years? Why would you even care anymore?"

With a deep breath, Rogan launched into the story. He made it quick. It wasn't long before Joe was blinking rapidly, and a drop of sweat slid down his temple.

"Oh, shit," he said.

I crossed my arms. "You were serious when you said you didn't know Jonathan."

He shook his head. "No, I'd never met him before."

"It still doesn't explain why you have that folder on your desktop," Rogan said evenly.

"Ever since my virus failed …" He blinked. "Or since I thought it failed, I've been a bit obsessed with all things Ellis, especially anything to do with The Countdown. I even reapplied for a job there a couple years ago. Gareth interviewed me personally and offered me something great. Then he told me about the implants. Still sounded cool, so I got fitted with one while I made my decision on the job offer. I got to actually watch a few levels of The Countdown. Man, I was so stoked." He licked his lips. "But… but then I saw somebody get eliminated. They killed him on camera. Gareth laughed it off like it was nothing. Told me that this was the future and I should get used to it. He showed me the contract. Practically had to sign that fucker in blood. Then.. somebody approached me. Told me that they'd help me get out before it was too late. He removed my implant and told me to run. I did."

Rogan and I exchanged glances. So Joe had met Jonathan after all; he just might not have known his name.

"What happened then?" Rogan asked.

"I've been in hiding ever since. I know The Countdown is a big secret. I know I know too much. My father died in a car crash a week later. I've convinced myself that Gareth arranged for his death, but I don't have any damn proof. That's what that folder is. It's research. I know about the game, the levels, how they select competitors. I know about the implant linking." He shook his head. "It's just so horrible. You don't know what The Countdown is really like now."

"Yes, we do," I said. "We've been playing it for three days against our will."

Joe's mouth dropped open. "You're lying. Then how did you get here?"

"We escaped."

"If you have an antivirus," Rogan said, and I could hear the strain in his voice, "then we need it. It must be the only way to stop the virus now."

I heard a door shut as Colin returned to the room. "What arc you guys talking about now?"

I walked over to him. "Colin, I know you're pissed at me. I can understand that. But if you trust me at all, I need you to leave here. Go somewhere safe."

"What are you talking about?"

I pressed my lips together and felt a tear slip down my cheek. I didn't want Colin to be pulled into this any more than he already was. "Look, you said you had a cool new job lined up, right?"

"That's right."

I forced a smile. "I want to hear all about it. Soon, okay?"

He looked at me strangely. "Okay."

I gave him a hug. "Just take off. Come back here tomorrow or something."