KevsCuz: KEVIN!
HogDocKev: OK, I sent him a text.
A notification popped up on the screen asking permission to add “HogMasterHux” to the chat. I rolled my eyes and clicked to accept. Carter’s cousin messaged again before Hux could.
HogDocKev: Ah, crap nuggets. No way are you getting help from HogMaster! Trust me, you do not want any part of this gourd-hoarder, Carter!
HogMasterHux: Well, well, well. HogDoc, we meet again.
HogDocKev: Up yours, you two-pip eggplant bandit. You’re an insult to the game!
I turned to Carter. “What’s a two-pip eggplant bandit?”
He frowned. “I think it’s someone who destabilizes the eggplant market by selling them really cheap? Or Kev just made it up. Either/or.”
I took the device and began typing.
KevsCuz: Can we focus? Hux, this is Riggs. Best guess, my client and I are being held 200 klicks north, northwest of Socopó.
HogMasterHux: Let me read Champ in.
There was no way I was letting Champ know what kind of shit I’d gotten our client in until we were safely out of it.
KevsCuz: No. Remember that op in Riga?
HogMasterHux: Oh, 10-4. What do you need?
HogDocKev: WHAT LEVEL IS THIS? Who’s Champ? Because I guarantee, I can beat him.
I sighed and typed.
KevsCuz: Thanks for your help, Kev. We don’t need you anym—
Carter tried to grab the Horn out of my hand, but I accidentally hit Send before finishing the message. “What the hell?” I asked.
“Ah, now you’ve done it. You’ve hurt his feelings! He’s very sensitive.”
I could tell by the concerned look on his face, Carter was being serious. I squeezed his knee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Our eyes met for a beat, but then the device pinged with a new message.
HogMasterHux: Who has you?
KevsCuz: Gustavo Santiago. And there’s more. I found the magic seed.
Of course Carter’s cousin popped back in at that.
HogDocKev: That’s impossible! No one’s gotten to that level yet. Is it in Riga? Does this Champ person know how to get there? Is he part of Big HOG?
Carter sighed. “Kev’s really into HOG conspiracy theories. He reads the message boards.”
HogMasterHux: The Magic Seed… Is there in Venezuela… With you.
Carter leaned closer until I could smell the familiar scent of his skin. “What’s he talking about? Is that the skeleton key into the game that Kev mentioned at the gala the other night?”
Shit. This meant that Buck’s attempt to sell the seed had gotten him noticed by more than just Gustavo?
I made a sound implying he needed to hold on while I continued talking to Hux.
KevsCuz: Long story bro.
HogMasterHux: Extraction plan?
KevsCuz: Yes, please.
I told him everything I knew so far about how many guards we’d seen, what kind of weapons they had, how incompetent Gustavo himself seemed, and the health nonissue he was dealing with.
KevsCuz: Needless to say, there are plenty of challenges.
HogDocKev: Not to mention the turnip blight scheduled for tonight…
HogMasterHux: Dammit, HogDoc, we’re not talking about the game!
HogDocKev: Obviously. But my point is, you’ll lose comms tonight during the hard reset.
I looked up at Carter. “Do you understand what they’re talking about?”
He shook his head. “Don’t think so?”
HogMasterHux: Shit, Kev’s right.
HogDocKev: *eyeroll emoji*
Carter snorted softly. “Kev hates that they haven’t integrated the emoji keyboard into the game yet.”
KevsCuz: Why a hard reset?
I wondered if it had something to do with Buck being here. The timing was awfully coincidental. What if the hard reset gave Buck the kind of access he needed to screw something up in the game using the seed?
I still couldn’t figure out what that would have to do with a Venezuelan drug lord, though. What would the cartel want with a video game? Why kidnap a developer? What could it mean?
Hux and Kev both responded with explanations about HOG doing a hard reset for a large upgrade or important patch. I kept typing.
KevsCuz: Could that have anything to do with the Magic Seed?
HogMasterHux: Whoa. Whoaaaa.
HogDocKev: Can someone clue me in here? What does the Magic Seed have to do with a Venezuelan drug lord kidnapping my cousin?
Carter turned to me. “Good question. What’s going on? What’s the magic seed? I thought it had something to do with the game?”
I hesitated, trying to figure out where to even start. How did I explain that the originator of the game code had absconded with a critical back door to the entire inner workings of the game, and now that back door seemed to be in the hands of a very dangerous drug cartel? And how could I explain it when I had no idea the significance of Gustavo Santiago’s connection to it in the first place? Or whether this truly was Gustavo Santiago?
Carter’s brows furrowed at my delayed response, but before I could say anything, a piercing shriek rent the air. It sounded like someone was being slaughtered.
I raced to the door and put my ear against it to determine what was going on. Carter jumped up and began shoving things back into the med bag. Heavy boot steps came running toward our room, and the door was flung open. I barely jumped back in time to avoid being knocked on my ass.