BooksBarbecue
Back Vortex Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. Epilogue
  57. Epilogue
  58. Acknowledgments
  59. About the Author
  60. Also by Catherine Coulter
  61. About the Publisher

“It’s all hand to hand for Snake, no superpower.” Kent got to his feet, grinning like a maniac, mimed having a sword in a tight grip above his head and swung it down, cleaving the air.

Mia froze. It was a snapshot, a single moment locked in time, and she saw the man with Serena that night—bringing down a sword and Serena staggering back, pretending he’s killed her, laughing. He was that man.

She didn’t know how she did it, but she applauded. “Talk about a death blow. You blow me away.”

To her relief, the phone buzzed on his desk. He stared at it, sighed, picked it up, slowly repeated, “Mr. Merkel’s waiting outside? Now?”

He looked at Mia, shrugged.

She let disappointment fill her voice. “Oh, I’m so sorry, we got so caught up in your display”—she swept out her hands—“I’ve let what little time we had slip away.”

He laughed, raised a finger, spoke quietly into his phone, and hung up. “We can take a few more minutes. I’d like to clear up any questionable impression I may have given you about Alex. As I told you, gaming is something he and I did together when we were young, and now we play only on rare occasions. Adulthood comes to all of us. Both of us have had adult responsibilities for many years now, people who depend on us.”

He sat forward, clasped his hands, and tried to look dead serious, even with the gaming icons staring down at them. “Alex is tremendously talented, a born leader. And he’s a man of principle, a man you can trust. I firmly believe he’s the mayor New York needs now, if he can get himself elected.”

The phone on his desk buzzed again. He sighed, rose. “I wish we had more time, but alas, duty calls.” He came around his desk, shook her hand, held it a moment longer than was customary. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mia. If you make an appointment next time, Irene can clear a block of time for you. I’ll convince you Alex is the man New York needs as mayor. Ah, maybe you’d like to have a drink with me sometime? I could teach you more about gaming.”

She smiled at him. “Yes, I’d like that.”

18

Mia

New York City

Tuesday afternoon

When Mia stepped into the newsroom, the first person she saw was Judy Larrson, an assistant editor, who was married to a gamer husband she threatened to divorce twice a month. Should she ask to speak to Judy’s husband? Maybe, and she could study online, ask around. Gamers were thick on the ground everywhere, weren’t they? Kids, teens, adults of all ages—and Serena. Next time she spoke with Kent Harper, she could know enough to engage him.