Chapter Twenty-Six
Jackson
Carina won, but she was so sick from the stress of the break-in and my visit and her big debut, there had been no chance to celebrate or feel good about the amazing thing she’d accomplished. I gave her and Shelby some space, as Shelby took extra time to get her put back together and calmed her down. Every different look that she wore seemed to turn her into a different person, but when she was home and she took it all off, she was all mine again.
I checked her out in the blue wig. She was every geek’s fantasy: a hot, nerdy chick who could build a computer, did her own leatherwork, and could lead a raid on the enemy capitol, cussing with the best of them. I nudged Ray, who was doing his best to keep an eye out for trouble, without letting his worry for C.J. get the best of him.
“What are the chances that the gaming world would let me claim that girl in public?” I asked, laughing as Ray’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline.
“Show me them guns again,” he replied, flexing his arm. I did, and he laughed. “Well, you are big enough for them to pause before calling you out. Can you play a first-person shooter?”
I laughed. “Isn’t that the truth? If I can play video games as well as they can, I might get a pass on dating their favorite spank bank fantasy, but they’ll never stop the catcalls or the harassment, and that really pisses me off.” I sighed. I knew what she was from the start, and it wasn’t her fault that she was hot, and fun, and sexy, and smart.
“Fuckboys are everywhere, Man. I’ve been married for two years, and even I have to back guys down every so often.”
“Comes with the territory, I guess. Think she’s going to be all right? That was some bad trip she just went on.”
“Yeah. She’s softer than she comes across. A lot gentler too.”
“I’ve noticed.” I rubbed the back of my neck and glanced over at the girls who were cleaning up the makeup and stuff. C.J. waved and held up a finger to wait one more minute, which, knowing those two, meant they’d be done in ten.
“I gotta hit the beer garden for a shift breaking drunk skulls. Tell C.J. I love her, and that I already texted Dwayne. He’s gonna want you two to come over to celebrate.” He looked at me and shrugged. “He’s a gourmet chef. How else could I survive? I can’t even boil water without burning the pot.” I laughed and he sighed. “True story, bro, true story.”
I promised to give C.J. his love and Dwayne’s, but I passed on the dinner invite, and Ray took off. Fortunately for me, just as an official came back looking for C.J. for her interview, both she and Shelby walked up. She glowed, and I breathed a small sigh of relief at the improvement. She took my arm, and I glanced around to see if anyone could see us.
“Are you sure?” I whispered as we walked to the heavy steel doors that stood between us and the barely controlled chaos of the convention floor.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she whispered back with a smile.
The pretty blonde attendant led us to an area that was staged with lights and cameras, and we waited to one side as the convention commentators interviewed a group of guys who had just won a tournament for some online game they all played together. C.J. squeezed my hand and I returned it with a good luck smile. Another attendant started talking to her, prepping her with the questions she was going to be asked, and giving her guidelines for answering. I barely heard them talking over the din of excited gamers. The convention floor was so thick with bodies that I couldn’t see the booths or displays, and the smell of sweat and many mingling colognes was heavy in the air, despite the air conditioning.
The guys finished their interview, and I let go of her so she could step up to the lights for her turn. Her eyes widened and she pulled me with her to the very edge of the small, raised platform, and I kissed her as I disengaged her hand from me.
“You are so beautiful, and I’m so proud of you,” I whispered as I stared her emerald eyes. “Go get ‘em, Tiger.” She rolled her eyes and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, smudging a shiny pink scar across my cheek from her lip gloss.
She stepped up to the platform and took the microphone that was handed to her. In an instant, her visible anxiety disappeared as she smiled brightly and flirted with the interviewer. Two scantily clad girls dressed as some kind of anime characters brought out a giant copy of the check I currently held in my inside jacket pocket for safekeeping, and flashes went off as more pictures were taken.
The attendant handed me a large bag full of swag from the conference, and asked me to follow her over to a couple guys waiting off to one side. C.J. was full swing in her interview, so I agreed, after asking her to make sure C.J. knew where I was if her interview ended before I was back.
The bag on my arm was heavy, and I resisted the temptation to look inside in front of the bearded hipster gamers watching me walk toward them. One of the guys held out a hand as I approached, a slick salesman smile pasted on his face. Instantly, I wished I hadn’t agreed to leave C.J.’s side.
“Jackson Hargrave, right?” he said loudly, making my jaw clench. “Or, should I say, Jack Black hat?” I took a breath and managed not to wipe the smug look off the idiot’s face with my fist, but something in my face telegraphed my thoughts, because the second guy stepped forward quickly and stepped between us.
“Jackson, it’s a real honor to get to meet you,” he extended his hand, and I shook it after a brief hesitation. “I’m Carey, and my associate here is Phil. It’s so cool that you’re here today. Obviously, we’ve done a lot of research into you, especially after the big announcement that C.J. Rivers made at her panel discussion.”
“Well, I was never really a black hat hacker, so if you want something hacked or stolen you’ll have to go elsewhere.”
“We heard you could get into the Department of Defense. Or was that just an empty brag?” Phil interjected. I started to reconsider punching him and walking away, but Carey shot him a look and he snapped his mouth shut and stood there looking petulant. I raised an eyebrow at them both and shook my head.
“Well, I never told anyone that I’d gotten into anything, so I’m not sure who was bragging. But, any wall can be broken, if you pick at it enough. Even the security of game developers isn’t foolproof.” I stared at Phil in challenge and his face turned red.
“Well, that’s where you and C.J. come in, actually.” Carey explained. “Someone with your street cred, and from what I understand, your multiple degrees,”
“Just the one, so far. I have a semester left on my masters, and I’m talking to Stanford about my doctorate.” I corrected.
“Jesus. How old are you?” Phil gasped. He seemed more exasperated than impressed with my resume.
“I’m twenty-three, why, how old are you?”
Carey chuckled and Phil glared at me.
“Seriously, guys. If you want something from me, I’d suggest a different approach. Like replacing you,” I pointed at Phil, “with someone who’s got a smaller chip on their shoulder, or nothing to prove.” Phil stepped forward and I clenched my fist by my side, ready for him to take the last step between us so I could knock him on his ass. Carey put himself directly between us and put a hand on Phil’s chest.
“Take a walk Phil, and maybe send Paula over? We’ll head toward C.J., her interview should be almost over.” Phil grunted something and stormed off, and Carey pointed toward the platform, where C.J. was shaking hands with the interviewer and getting hugs from the anime-girls. She stepped off and walked towards us, flushed and happy, and jumped into my arms, wrapping her leg around my waist.
“I did great, did you see?”
“Well, I saw that you looked hot as hell, and you made your interviewer sweat, but I’ll have to get online later and listen to the interview.” She looked over my shoulder at Carey, and slid down to her feet as a woman with a severe scowl, presumably Paula, approached us.
“C.J., this is Carey, with, I don’t know who, actually.” She smiled and gave a little wave.
“It’s nice to meet you. Paula, glad you could join us,” Carey added as the older blonde woman marched up and stood with her arms folded. “Jackson, this is Paula Daley, the new VP of Bandai America. Paula, this is Jackson Hargrave and Carina Rivers. Jackson is the security expert I’ve been telling you about, and Carina is a very successful streamer and cosplayer, as her win today proves once again.”
“So, you’re some hacker, right?” Paula wasted no time in her attack.
I glared at Carey and clenched my jaw. “No. I’m not. And, quite frankly, I was here to enjoy myself, pick up some bobble heads, and support my girlfriend. So, if wasting my time and being rude is your pitch, I might suggest you polish it a little bit before you accost the next guy.” I took C.J. by the elbow and steered her away, cursing under my breath.
“Do I ask what that was about?” she asked, glancing back over her shoulder as we headed into the crowd aiming for the beer garden.
“Damned if I know. Someone went to a lot of trouble to find out who I was, then proceeded to attack me for what they assumed, since they didn’t actually find out much of anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, that little spontaneous announcement you made yesterday got someone’s attention, who then dug around and found my screen name. But, since I cover my tracks way too well for anyone here to find out where I’ve been, they’re riding on some pretty damn wrong assumptions, and decided they hate me based on them.”
“Oh. Well, fuck them anyway,” she replied, “and whatever horse that fat bitch rode in on, in particular.” She shuddered. “She reminded me of my ninth-grade math teacher. I flunked that year, had to take summer school.” I sniggered and tried to hide it behind a cough. “Don’t laugh, it ruined my GPA.”
While she squatted on a table for us, I ordered two beers and a big plate of nachos because her healthy eating was over, far as I was concerned. She seemed to agree, and lunged at the tray of greasy tortilla chips, pulling it to her side of the table and growling when I reached out for some. I laughed and drank my beer, until she pushed them back to the middle.
“You didn’t play with me,” she pouted, looking at me from under her long black eyelashes.
“There was nothing to play at,” I chuckled. “If my woman wants all the damn nachos, then by fuck, she gets the damn nachos.” I grinned and popped a cheesy bite in my mouth, watching as she blushed and drank her beer, looking everywhere but at me.
“How much longer do you want to hang out?” She met my eyes, and hers were tired and faded from the shine they’d had earlier.
“I’m ready to take the celebration home. Pick up something good on the way, or order pizza, strip down to our underwear, and play some Call of Duty.”
She nodded. “Yeah, the whole convention has lost its charm in the last twenty minutes or so. Let’s grab the stuff and go. I’ll text Shelby, I think Nick was meeting her, so she won’t be stuck here alone all night.”
She has to stay?”
“Q and A panel on Hollywood and cosplay makeup in about thirty minutes. I was going to go just to support her, maybe ask a question or two that would irritate her, if the crowd was too quiet.”
I laughed quietly. “Okay, let’s go sit in the auditorium she’s going to be in until her panel, then get the stuff and go. At least it will be quiet.”
We finished our food and snuck into the room marked as the character makeup panel, and sat in seats near the front, where we knew Shelby wouldn’t be able to see us past the lights in case C.J. couldn’t resist the temptation to heckle her friend a little. Grateful for the theater seating, I lifted the armrest between us and pulled her closer. Her skin was cold, and in the tiny skirt and cleavage and midriff baring shirt she was wearing I was surprised she wasn’t suffering from hypothermia.
She snuggled in and I put my arm around her, so she could rest her head in the curve of my shoulder. The theater was cool and dark, except for the lights on the stage, and I closed my eyes, appreciating the quiet and the sensation of C.J.’s breath on my neck.