Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(32)

The three players concentrated on the game, following the clues, shooting the bad guys, and breaking through the various obstacles. Then they hit the safe. They tried several different password ideas, all without success.

Mylo threw down his controller. “I hate this. We’re never going to break the last clue. A twelve-letter account code? Plus a three-digit number? No way. Give me the guns and ammo back.” He fell back into his seat. “There better be something great behind that damn door.”

“Would you shut up?” Justin growled, as the sequence he’d keyed in was rejected. “We can’t concentrate with all your complaining.”

Ashley suddenly shifted forward, studying the screen, her face alight. “Oh my God, I think I’ve got it. Justin, I think you were only off by one number. May I?” she asked, nodding at the screen. He handed her the remote and she entered the new sequence.

Nothing happened.

“Okay, that number blew it up, too. What a pain in the—” Mylo’s voice trailed off as the large television screen showcasing the computer game went black.

“Did we do it?” Ashley asked.

Suddenly, a spinning sound echoed through all the speakers in the room. The noise seemed to explode around them.

“Congratulations, Eradicators!” a mechanized voice shouted. “You have reached Level 88 of Point of Entry. Please enter your individual e-mail addresses and contact information so you can receive your reward for attaining Point of Entry’s Secret Challenge. The world awaits your brilliance.”

A cursor blinked on the screen.

“This is wicked!” Mylo wielded his remote in the air like a sword. “How do they do that? Talk through the TV and all the speakers like that. You didn’t even have the surround sound on. He’s like a MechWarrior, he’s really in the room with us.” Mylo keyed in his e-mail, then tossed the remote to Justin.

They each entered their e-mail addresses.

Luke paused the video. “Very easy to track them now. And people enter e-mail addresses on websites and games all the time, so they aren’t suspicious.” He pressed Play.

“Congratulations, Eradicators.” The tone seemed a bit harsher than before. “You must take the oath. Swear to each other that whatever you do, whatever you see, from this level on, will never be revealed to anyone else. Swear it! The fate of the world depends on you.”

Justin groaned and settled on one end of the couch, sidling up next to Ashley. “Okay, we are officially part of the geek patrol. I wonder if we get badges and have to do secret handshakes.”

Ashley laughed and he leaned over to kiss her.

“Hey, quit fooling around, you two, and pay attention,” Mylo insisted. “I heard we get upgrades and other cool stuff after hitting this level.”

Ashley just sat there when he turned to her expectantly. “Oh my God, you’re kidding. Right? We’re swearing allegiance to a TV set? It’s not like they can hear us.”

Justin shrugged. “Well, um, it’s part of the game.”

“Oh, jeez. You guys really are geeks.” Ashley shook her head, then finally raised her hand. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “I swear.”

Immediately the screen lit with a familiar icon indicating a new level.

“Okay, it’s like the game heard us. That’s too Big Brother for me,” Ashley said with a slight shiver.

“For your first task, you will be asked to identify an access code with four related sets of numbers. They can only be retrieved by finding a way into your nemesis’s secret database. He has stolen a substantial treasure and hidden it in his vault. The code numbers for entry are in the following sequence: first, there are twelve digits, then three digits, and finally five digits.”

Mylo groaned. “Here we go again. More numbers crap. This will take weeks.”

The mechanized voice continued, “As always, you will be given hints and prompts along the way, but you will have only thirty minutes to unlock the vault door and attain your prize. If you fail, the bonus round will lock you out of Level 88 for an extended period of time. If you succeed, however, more complex and exciting challenges await you.”

“Man. We only have one chance?” Mylo protested. “That sucks.”

“Everyone still in?” Justin asked.

At their nods, he took control of the computer again. The machine chimed, but the sound was nearly drowned out by the addictive music from the game’s new level.

“If you are ready, enter the first four digits of pi to start the game.”

Justin took up his control. “Am I crazy thinking that he didn’t interrupt us when we were talking? Like he knew to wait.”

Mylo whacked Justin on the head. “You are so paranoid. Maybe they’re just timed blank sections. Or it’s some weird new gaming technology. His voice sounds pretty robotic and there are tons of advances in that field,” Mylo said. “Lighten up.”

The television blinked an eerie green glow in the darkened room, showing Ashley’s troubled face. “It is a little strange.”

“Oh for God’s sake,” Justin said. “I’m sorry I brought it up. We only have a half hour. Let’s just play.”

Ashley grinned. “You’re right. Besides, there aren’t many games that actually require math and brains. I don’t want to get locked out of the most challenging thing I’ve come across yet.” She gathered her calculator and other materials around her. “Let’s do this!”