There wasn’t a lot of conversation as we loaded the things for Phillip’s into his SUV, mine, and Reese’s jeep.The storage stuff went into the moving van.
The whole thing had the potential to be a clusterfuck of a disaster, especially when we got to Phillip’s and had to swap out some of his furniture for the new.But Dustin was a master at planning events, including a moving day, and things went smoothly.
Once cars were unloaded and more was put into the moving truck, Phillip, Addie, and Reese stayed at the house to do more sorting and rearranging.Danny and I followed Dustin to his storage unit to help him unload the truck and give him a ride back after he returned it.
Dustin was in the front passenger seat and Danny in the second row as we drove back to the new place.
“How’d the show go?”Dustin asked.
And now the memories of what happened after were back.I did not need a hardon right now.He was mostly asking if the booking was any better than normal, though.He and his partners were familiar with the bad contract situation, and they made it to about ninety percent of the shows.They’d only shrugged off the chance this time because Thursday was Thanksgiving with Dustin’s sister and nieces, and Friday was with Adrienne’s brother and his partners.
I was glad we didn’t deal with those kinds of holiday schedules.Danny’s parents were in Florida and didn’t expect their adult son to visit every holiday, and my father took his own life a few years ago.Adam did his own thing.
“Show-wise, bottom end of the spectrum, but not the worst.”Danny answered Dustin’s question.“What came after though…”
There was no way he was bringing that up.I tried to grab his attention in the rearview mirror, to give him a sternshut uplook, but he wasn’t watching me.
“There was a fire in Adam’s workshop,” Danny said.“He thinks he lost almost everything.”
Right.That.
Dustin frowned.“That sucks.Tell him to hit us up if we can help.”
“If you know anyone selling an inexpensive but solid 3D printer…” I put the request out there.
“I’ll let you know what I hear.”
When we got back to Phillip’s—everyone’s—place, we ordered pizza.The six of us were sitting around talking and unwinding, when multiple phones chimed within seconds of each other.
Everyone reached for their pockets or purses, but the messages were for Phillip, Dustin, and me.The text was from Judith, our boss and owner of the company we worked for.Luna, our cybersecurity expert, and Elliot, our Director of Development were copied on the message too.Basically, the bulk of management.
The note was simple in its threat.It contained a link to a crowdfunding site and the noteGet this down now.Then tell me how it happened.
I shared a glance with Phillip as Dustin read the message aloud.
“So, what isthis?”Adrienne asked.
I clicked the link Judith sent, but my gut was already sinking.The campaign was for, as it said,a hot new MMORPG like you’ve never seen before.I recognized the thumbnail in the video as currently unreleased art from our game, and when the music started playing—music I’d only just finalized a week or two ago that was on our servers but wouldn’t be shown to the world until RinCon—my gut sank.
“We were hacked,” Phillip said.“And someone’s trying to claim our demo for RinCon is their game.”
“It was funded in under an hour of go-live.”Dustin didn’t look up from his phone.
Danny pressed his head next to mine to see the screen.“Duh.You guys are the best.”
That was true, but this was still bad.It was easy enough to get the campaign taken down; finding out how someone got a hold of our demo was a bigger concern.
Adrienne’s phone rang.“It’s Luna.”
“Call Elliot,” I said to Phillip at the same time he said, “Calling Elliot.”
Adrienne answered her phone.
Any plans I had for the rest of my day were gone.I’d need to be in contact with the rest of the group, and since more than half of us were in this room, it made sense for me to stay here.I turned to Danny.
“I’ll bring you your laptop,” Danny said before I could vocalize the thought.“Reese?”
“Yeah, you can get a lift.”Reese blew the room a kiss.“Call me if you need takeout or anything, and I’ll be here.”