Chapter 353: Strategy Game
Have you ever seen that old movie called the running man? Of course, it’s only old if you consider things from the 80’s old, but that’s an argument for another time. Laz had enjoyed when he first went to the shack and lived with his grandpa as they would watch movies like that all the time. Some of the best times in his life were the simple things like that.
If you didn’t know what the movie is, here is a quick layout. Convicted criminals are put into a reality tv game where they have to go from point a to point b and not die. Besides the regular sort of people who will try to kill them in a lawless and dystopian city, there are also the hunters who are sent in to take them out. The runners have nothing but their wits to keep them alive and to make things even more crazy, the tv station that hosts this does it like a game show where people can bet on which one of the hunters will score the first kill, next kill, etc.
Reality tv at it’s finest, right?
Assuming the hunters are able to make it to their destination, they are absolved from their crimes and even win prizes themselves like an all expense paid vacation.
Of course, since the tv station is working with the government and they are using this whole thing as a type of entertainment as well as a control of the people, you don’t actually think the winners are allowed to live, do you?
Spoiler alert; they’re not.
And while Laz was once again moving through the high grass and wooded area outside of the club, he couldn’t help but think that if this was being broadcasted, would he be cheered for and bet on, like one crazy, old lady did in the movie? Or would they only bet on his chasers?
In a way it’s kind of funny that these were the things going on in his head right now.
Without warning, Laz ran full tilt at a tree, jumped at it and used it as a spring board to change directions, right before the area was swarmed with his chasers.
He had noticed them after they had come within a mile or two of him and he was more than just a little surprised.
’How in the actual fuck are they able to keep up with me?’ Laz thought, his understanding causing him to be unable to answer that question.
’They aren’t human, cause that’s just impossible. But they aren’t really chosen either... If anything, they feel like one of us... but not.’
Laz wasn’t concerned just then about them catching him. While it was true that they had speed on par with him and an uncanny knack of finding him which Laz supposed was due to an outside force as those drones were amazingly persistent, they seemed to have no talent with this kind of hunt, having failed to encircle him several times despite having the advantage.
If Laz had to make a comparison, it was like a noob was using a high level account to play a game. They had no idea how their team worked.
’Still though, it seems like they are learning which is bad for me..’ Laz thought as he once again dive rolled and sprang up, again alerting his direction.
...
"Again? I thought you had training at this?" Tommy yelled, scolding the operators who were controlling the team.
"Sir. We’ve had maybe a week to do this and it wasn’t even if live combat drills. We don’t control them directly either, instead we just give tactical commands in real time which they then follow to the best of their ability while maintaining their original goal. It’s easy to get close to him but next to impossible to lock him down..." While the squad handlers were ’respectful’ towards Tommy, they also felt that they needed to explain that this wasn’t like playing an FPS game.
Tommy had several monitors around him on which various high level members of the government, defense contractors and the makers of this system were all watching and seeing how it worked out. One of those people would have been very recognizable to Laz if he had seen his face.
"This system still seems to have major flaws?"
"How can it be used when we can’t even control the units in real time?"
"While the concept was nice, the execution isn’t viable. And the expense of making just one unit is astronomical. Who would even be willing to pay this much for a puppet with no bite?"
"Ladies and gentlemen. A moment if you would please," said an ice cold and yet powerful voice from the previously silent monitor.
Everyone quieted down one this young man chose to speak.
"It seems to me that this project isn’t a failure, but that we failed it," he said, rather vaguely.
"Could you be any less clear?" One of the government representatives asked.
"Oh. Well, this might be a little out of your realm of understanding since people such as yourself have always said video games are the devil and what not," the young man said with a rather rude tone.
"Why you little..."
"But, for anyone born in the 80s or after, we can understand that this shouldn’t be treated like a first person shooter, but instead like a tactical game. You set up the strategies and allow your troops to carry out the individual tasks. It’s also about having a plan on top of a plan, right next to another plan. Oh, I know. Chess. Consider it like chess. That should be a little easier for your pea sized brain to understand."
"FUCK YOU."
"Temper temper mister senator. Anyway, if we treat it like this, it should produce a better result. Hmm... Oh. I know. Tom. Have your handlers keep the squad close. I’m going to contact someone who can help and have them take over a remote command. Give me one second."
The screen went blank for a moment and a standby message displayed. While everyone else was in silent contemplation of what they just heard, the senator from before was being restrained by his advisors so that he didn’t smash the monitor and lose the feed, causing them to be cut off from the mission.
’I’m not your fucking slave you narcissistic piece of shit. One day I’m going to take a shit in your mouth after all the crap I’ve had to take from you.’ While Tommy thought this to himself, there was no way in hell he was going to say it out loud. Instead, he kept it to himself while waiting for the young man to come back on.
’Jesse. How the hell did this all end up this way. We are nothing more than puppets for you to play with. Hell, even Annie is nothing more than a crazy god damn toy to you." Thinking about the other ’friend’ of his from high school, Tommy felt a shudder go down his back. He might have been the guy every guy wanted to be and every girl wanted to fuck back in high school, but now he just felt like one of Jesse’s dogs, doing what he said when he said.
’Of course, compared to Anne, I guess I should be happy. She’s basically locked in a box and tortured all day. The only way she is controlled is because Jesse’s sick mind comes up with those fucked up means of.... blah. I don’t even want to think about it. Compared to her, my want of a little piggy of my own shouldn’t even be a problem. But no... not since word got out and the public eye has been on me. Now I have to fucking restrain myself. At least I can still kill to my heart’s content when I get in the mood.’
Just as Tommy was lamenting on the unfairness of his situation, Jesse’s annoying face reappeared with a grin.
"We are taking over remote leadership. Your squad leaders will send the orders as they get them. IF any of them fail to perform or keep up, shoot them and transfer their permission. Go!"
’Mother fucker...’
"Did everyone hear that? You bastards don’t need to think anymore, just follow the commands that you are given and make sure they are done quickly. Otherwise I will decorate your console with your grey matter. Begin." Tommy ordered, trying to give himself back a small measure of control within the mission.
’I’m still just doing nothing more than following orders.’ Tommy could only sigh and sit back down, his eyes on the live feed as he decided he would learn as much as he could since there was nothing else for him to do at this point except be a loaded gun waiting to fire.
...
’Well what the hell is this?’ Laz asked himself. While he was still being followed, he noticed a change in the attack patterns. First, it seemed like they were waiting. But now, they seemed to be moving with purpose. Instead of trying to engage him head on, it was more like they were trying to get ahead of him as well while those pursuing him were getting him to change his direction. It should be noted that they had actually been attack him this entire time. But they weren’t using bullets in the normal sense. Instead, it was like some sort of weird energy gun that produced a numbing electrical charge. While a normal bullet wouldn’t have any way of damaging him, the charges when hitting him over and over again would start to numb his body. When he looked closer at the problem, it was like his energy was being forced out of the points of impact, causing those parts of his body to return to being a normal human.
Even the concept itself was insane.
’How did they come up with this? And how much ammo do those guns pack? Is it a battery or something?’ Laz didn’t know, but once he realized what was happening, he did his best to avoid being hit. HIs body was way stronger than even a normal infected at his level so even when he was hit, it barely did much. He was able to fix it right away. But if he got his with a ton of those shots all at once, then there was no way he would be able to recover right away.
This was the primary reason why he didn’t want to fight them head on. The other reason was because he noticed the other strong energy traces coming from behind. If he were to engage them now, he would win, but he would leave himself open to the scores of chosen and military in pursuit.
Even for him, that would be deadly.
’I need to find a way to eliminate them one by one or this is not going to end well for me. It’s almost like someone else is giving the orders now.’
Noticing some mountains in the distance, Laz could only speed up.
’There... Holy shit I think these are the Rocky’s...’
...
"We’ve gained access mam," The strange girl with green hair and sunglasses said while turning back to look at Kennedy.
"I knew they wouldn’t give up on him. I want that feed now. We need to find out where he went if there is even a chance of sending him help," the big breasted blonde responded while the other heads of her company looked on.
"Uh mam?"
"Yes?"
"Turns out we are not the only ones watching," the green haired girl said and pointed Kennedy’s attention to a usage profile on the screen.
"How the hell did they get in there first?" Kennedy asked. She didn’t doubt the green haired girl’s hacking ability, but for someone to have gotten in first showed them that there seemed to be someone better than even her.
"Well, based on the feed time and their log in time, they must have hacked in a while ago and back doored their way here. That’s super risky from any stand point. When there is a lot of action on a server, you can hide yourself within the traffic. But to be inside for this long... It’s almost like they didn’t care if they got caught... Or they are completely stupid. One or the other," the green haired girl said with a pout. While the others might have taken a shit ton longer to hack their way in, the simple fact that she wasn’t the first upset her.
"I’m going with the second option big sis," Vivi said before sharing the screen she was working on.
The entire thing was being live broadcasted from the point of view of the drones. While others might have gotten in on the club feed, hacking a government feed was a dozen times harder. As such, there was only one place broadcasting the chase and their view count was almost in the triple digit millions.
"Holy shit!" Ruby said, looking at the comments.
"I’m not sure if they are cursing him or encouraging him," Leona commented.
"Both. It’s like two sides are cheering for their favorite team," Malene added her thoughts.
After seeing everything and understanding the situation, Kennedy found herself with an even bigger headache.
"If we aren’t the only ones watching, how the hell am I suppose to send a rescue team after him?"
Kennedy voiced the question out loud and to herself at the same time.
And no one, not even herself, could give her an answer.
