The Intuitives(54)

“What? He does!” Sketch ducked under her pretend blow and laughed.

Kaitlyn put her controller down on the coffee table, got up, and grabbed another chair from the kitchen, shooing Sam out of the way so she could set it behind Daniel. Kaitlyn sat down on it and started rubbing Daniel’s shoulders.

“Poor Disco,” she cooed at him. Daniel leaned back and closed his eyes happily.

“Go ahead, Sam,” Sketch said, picking up the controller and trying to hand it to her across Daniel’s slouching body.

“How come I don’t get a nickname?” Sam asked.

“You have to kill someone on the game first,” Sketch explained.

“Oh.” Sam sat next to Daniel on the couch and took the controller.

They played for another hour before they called it a night, but Sam never did get a kill. She could have killed Sketch a few times, but she always let him kill her instead. It was her silent way of making it up to him. As for Rush, he wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily. Every time he found her, he shot her in the face, just for good measure.





24


Instructor Report



“Tell me.”

“Kaitlyn is much farther advanced than I had expected. Almost as advanced as Sketch, in her own way. She is extremely open to her potential.”

“Potential isn’t what we need. We need results. Can she do what she needs to do?”

“I believe so, yes. Only the attempt will prove the matter, of course, but she appears to be ready.”

“Good. What about the other one?”

“I am certain that Mackenzie is able to access her unconscious mind through her martial arts. She is quite accomplished. The trainer you provided was excellent. He was able to show me the true nature of her ability.”

“So glad you approve. And what was the nature of her ability, exactly?”

“‘Exactly’ might be too precise for my current understanding, but her instincts seem to provide her with spatial information. Once she began trying to dodge the instructor’s blows, he was unable to hit her. I am convinced that she was able to see them in her mind before they happened.”

“Fighting isn’t what I need her for.”

“I am aware of that. But her intuitive understanding of place will be critical to the process.”

“Fine. Any problems I should be aware of?”

“Samantha is still struggling to recognize her pathway. It is taking its toll on her emotionally.”

“We’re not here to hold her piss-damn hand, Professor. I don’t give a crap about her emotional well-being.”

“Nonetheless, her emotional well-being is crucial to her ability. The unconscious mind is a powerful force in its own right. If her emotions are in turmoil, she will not be able to access her power. We must care about her feelings, whether or not it is within your usual experience to do so.”

“You might have to care about her feelings, but I don’t. I’m not the one working with her. Just find her talent or wash her out. We’re getting closer. I don’t want anyone here if they can’t do it. It’s just another security risk we don’t need.”

“I understand.”





25


HRT Alpha



The next morning, after breakfast, they were all ushered into the large conference room just off the main lounge. The far right side was still walled off for the classroom, but the remaining area had been converted into a gaming center, apparently overnight. Six gaming systems were set up around the large space, each with an ergonomic leather chair, a console table, a wall-mounted LED monitor, and a top-of-the-line headset.

“We wanted you to be able to leave your own system in your suite,” Ammu explained to Rush, “so we ordered six, rather than five. I apologize that we have not yet solved the Internet problem, but these machines have all been pre-loaded, off-site, with HRT Alpha and have been linked to each other locally.”

“This is amazing! We can all play together!” Sketch exclaimed, and he threw himself into the chair next to the door, claiming that setup as his own. “Take that one, Rush!” he said, pointing to the one on his right.

Rush wandered into the room looking a little dazed. The total value of the equipment that surrounded him must have run into the thousands. If the ICIC was willing to put this much money into an entire gaming center just to test his abilities, it must really mean a lot to them. Well, HRT Alpha was his game. If they wanted a show, he’d give them a show.

“Let’s do it!” he said to Sketch. He sat in the chair Sketch had saved for him, and they fired up their systems. Daniel and Kaitlyn took the two setups along the left wall, leaving Sam and Mackenzie to claim the two on the right. The back wall didn’t have any consoles, just a few comfortable chairs so people could watch the gaming. Sam snickered—heaven forbid anybody’s unconscious mind had to face away from the door.

Rush told Sketch how to set up his own account on the new console, and everyone else followed along. Sketch proudly claimed his gamer tag, and even Kaitlyn and Daniel logged in as Gears and Disco for fun. Rush set up a game while Sam went over the basic controls with Mackenzie, who hadn’t actually played yet.

“I’m putting everyone else on the other team,” Rush said, “since it’s designed for teams of five. I’ll take four bots with me.”