“I thought you’d already alienated Joseph Vengerov? It sounds like he’s willing to give you a second chance.”

“What does it matter? Most trainees don’t want to go to Obsidian Corp.’s meet and greet, anyway. Vengerov doesn’t sponsor Combatants.”

Elliot considered him. “Tom, I know I said I was done with this, but I’d still like to give you some advice.”

That surprised Tom. “Uh, sure. Hit me.”

“Try to win Joseph Vengerov over.” Elliot pulled off his hat and wiped his sleeve over his forehead. “I know his stance on sponsoring Combatants. Obsidian Corp.’s clients are all governments or fellow corporations, so they really don’t need Combatants for public relations, but maybe something changed his mind. If that’s the case, it won’t hurt to put in some face time. And if you can at least get one of these people to put in a good word for you, you’ll stand a better chance of redeeming yourself with the others. . . . I’m getting dizzy circling you.”

“Let’s do this thing.”

They both drew their guns. Tom’s shot rang out first, its impact hurling Elliot to the ground. He launched himself forward, and delivered another bullet right between Elliot’s eyes.

“Thanks for the advice,” he told Elliot’s corpse. And he meant it.

He whirled around, squinting into the bright sunlight, trying to calculate how many members of Elliot’s group were still alive. His horse returned, still dragging Art Mackey, now unconscious, and Tom shot him before getting ready to ride off. Then a bullet smacked the dirt at his feet, startling the animal into bolting.

Tom raised his gun at the figure moving toward him in the shimmering heat. A woman. His neural processor flicked rapidly through character profiles, trying to ID her character and role in the sim.

Finally, it registered: Annie Oakley, a legendary female sharpshooter.

She did not belong in this sim.

Could it be . . . ?

Tom’s heart clattered in his chest. His hands grew sweaty, and he became oddly embarrassed about all the blood he’d hacked up onto his sleeve, even if his real lungs weren’t the ones bleeding. He moved toward her, and Annie Oakley’s silhouette closed the distance, until they were close enough to make out each other’s squinting eyes beneath the wide-brimmed hats.

“This is a far more discreet entrance into the system than hijacking a drone, wouldn’t you say, Thomas Raines?”

Tom gave a start. She knew his name? How did she know his name?

A fierce smile crossed the lips of Medusa’s avatar. “I was in your system already, so I looked at your personnel file.”

“See, that’s not fair. You made me swear to stay out of your system, so I don’t get to check for yours.”

“I know. It’s so unfair for you.”