The Game - 10. Chapter 10

Simon was getting impatient. It was ridiculous how easily the other side was taking out members of his team. There were now seven in all. Of course Adam was the most significant but the others were all key players. He was beginning to see a pattern in the abductions and it bothered him a lot. They were taking out all the psi’s, everyone who could pick up clues and communicate with each other and..... and Adam. Even though he was shut down and had been since he was taken there was always a chance he would find a way to communicate at some point before the end. But not if there was no one to communicate with.

He was growing concerned for Annie. She was bound to be on the list. She was the most powerful psi they had. And she was keeping constantly open. One of the reasons they had lost so many people was because they had to concentrate most of their protection on her. She said that it was because the clues were coming thick and fast, from every direction, but everyone knew that it was because she was hoping that a call would come from Adam and she did not want to have even the slightest chance of missing it.

Not for the first time he wondered what there was between Annie and Adam. They were more than friends, that much was obvious, but how much more? A relationship between them would only complicate matters, although it was just remotely possible that it would complicate them more for the other team. He sighed, a long drawn out hiss and raised his hand to knock the door.

Annie looked drained. Keeping open, no matter how well supported and protected is a dangerous task for any psi and eventually drains them. It had been two weeks since Adam disappeared and generally three was the outside limit for anyone, no matter how strong, no matter how experienced and Annie was neither.

“You look tired. Why don’t you take a beak? Just one night? Get some proper sleep.”

“No, that’s okay. It’s a busy time right now.”

“Are you sure? You are not the only one who can pick up you know.”

“I know but....”

“You are not even the only one who can pick up from Adam.”

“You still don’t understand do you? You only care about the game, winning at all costs. You don’t care about us, any of us, only in so far as we can help you win. In particular you don’t care about Adam. You care about the fact that he is the end player and you can’t win without him, you care about the fact that you need him, you care about the fact that you need for the other team not to have him... but you don’t care about him.

“You don’t care that three weeks ago he was standing on the brink of an amazing career, an amazing life, that he was an amazing person with no idea what was around the corner, no idea that the game even existed. You don’t care that he got dragged into the game without looking for it or wanting it. You don’t care that he is the single most gentle soul I have ever met. You don’t care that he is so beautiful on the inside that just looking into his eyes makes you want to cry. You don’t care that for over a week he has been closed down and that he would never, ever do that willingly. You don’t care that the only way to forcibly shut down a psi for this long is to break down their mind or body.

“You just don’t care Simon.”

“You’re wrong. I do care. But I can’t let that get in the way of playing the game to its fullest extent. Because whatever is happening to Adam, and to the others, if we let the fact they have been taken turn us off our game then the other team will already have won and it will all have been in vain.

“It is my responsibility to lead this team to a win. You have no idea how much is at stake, how much has been invested by whom and for how long. This is more than just a game, much, much more. One way or another Adam is going to have a huge part to play, whether he wants it or not, whether he is up to it or not. He is the end player and he is the only one who can end the game, who can open the gate and release the power for one team or the other.

“Neither team can win without him and we therefore have to assume that the other side will not harm him.”

“You have said yourself that all that is needed is for him to be able to physically act. There is nothing stopping them destroying his mind.”

“No, there isn’t, except for one thing.... they may very well need it. No one knows that what Adam has to do is necessarily physical. Oh, we know that he needs to be physically strong enough but not that it is a physical thing. Sometimes it has been, sometimes not, sometimes it has been a psi thing, and there is no way of knowing until we get to the end.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.”

“Well now you do. Does it make you feel any better?”

“No, not really.”

“Then keep searching, just don’t wear yourself out too much to be able to pick up the clues. You have to know that the best way you can help him is by helping us win the game.”

“Do I?”

“Yes Annie, you do and our psi receivers are being shut down at an alarming rate. It might all depend on you. You are our best receiver, you pick up clues that no one else does. We need you and with the end game racing towards us at any minute we need you in top form. I want you to stop receiving for a while.”

“No.”

“Annie, you will burn out.”

“No, I won’t. And there is no point trying to persuade me because you can’t.”

“If I could force you to I would.”

“I know, but you can’t.”

“No, I can’t.” He sighed. “What the hell is it about this guy that makes people so crazy?”

“Adam? Who else...?”

“Everybody else. He was not exactly low profile so it was practically impossible to conceal his disappearance. Thankfully that was down to the other team, but there were so many people involved they left a trail.

“Can you imagine how much work was involved in not only covering his disappearance but persuading so many people to forget he ever existed? Actually it was impossible. I thought that it would make it easier to follow their tracks but, quite the opposite it has just concealed them under a huge backlash that has rebounded on us. People just won’t let him go.”

“I am not surprised about that. People know him. Everyone he touches knows how sweet he is, they know that he wouldn’t do anything so far out of character as let people down, walk away from his friends, disappear voluntarily. So of course they are going to be difficult to convince, and of course they are going to be asking questions of anyone they think may have answers. It is a shame, because if it was all focussed on the other team I think they would find that they have bitten off more than they can chew. In taking Adam away from the people who love him they have made an awful lot of enemies and if he can break away from them before the end they will realise what a mistake that was.”

“If.... If he can break away then we are secure. But if he can’t then he is obliged to open the gate for whichever team presents him to it.”

“Adam won’t help the other team win.”

“He won’t have a choice. No one can go against the rules of the game. Let’ face it there are not too many.”

“Then it is all the more important that we find him and get him back.”