The Life- Illusion Page 3

  Jimmy started counting on his fingers. “We can knock over a corner store, hit an armored car, rob a bank, or go hunting players. A lot of the stuff is actually kind of hard, but it’s all pretty fun, and even if you fail you typically get rep. Just don’t get taken alive, getting busted sucks.”

  Kurt scowled at his friend. “How?”

  “So the cops take all your gear, you get nothing back except your starter gun and clothes. They impound your, excuse me, MY car, which is a pain to get back. Plus you take a pretty major rep hit. It’s all about the rep, so you want to avoid getting taken alive. Only chumps and tiny baby nublets do that anyway. Go down fighting, its way more fun. You get respawned at your safehouse, but since you don’t have one yet, I added you to mine.” He folded his SMG back into its holster position and slid it into his shorts pocket. “Let’s go.” With that, he opened the door and stepped out, stretching.

  Popping open the driver’s side door, Kurt followed him out into the street. “Your car ok there?”

  Jimmy turned around, walking backwards as he looked. “Yeah man, its fine. Once the game detects you leaving it, it’s just recalled to the garage system. We can always just call for it. I got a guy for that.” He spread his arms out wide in a shrug. “Well, an NPC guy, but still. Free service when you get your rep up enough in a faction or start running turf.”

  As they walked towards the main road, Kurt had time to take in the city a bit. They were in what his mini-map identified as ‘The Downtown Cluster.’ The buildings were made of brick and concrete, and stretched high above their heads into the dizzying heights. People were everywhere, and Kurt quickly discovered it was unsettling to realize he couldn’t tell if they were players or NPCs.

  “Hey Jimmy, how do you tell who’s a player and who’s just an NPC?” He messed with his wrist device as he walked, searching the scan menu for options.

  “Ha! That’s part of the charm my friend. You can’t. Not in any official way anyhow. If you see a chump walking around looking at his wrist like you right now it’s a dead giveaway, but otherwise you have to rely on your wits.” He gave his friend an amused glance as Kurt hurriedly swiped his phone away. “But really, you’ll get used to it and start to know. The NPCs are a little predictable sometimes. So are the players.”

  Scanning the streets, Kurt noticed a young man walking towards them with his wrist in front of his face. He tapped at it a couple of times before swiping it away and continuing towards them. Kurt reached slowly for his gun, but the young man raised his arms and plastered an amusing expression onto his face.

  “Don’t shoot, I’m friendly. I also have nothing on me worth taking, all my cash is clean.” He raised the suit jacket he was wearing to show them. A familiar revolver was all that he had tucked away, so Kurt eased the hammer of his gun back down and let it rest in his holster.

  “Go away.” Jimmy brushed past, one hand in his pocket.

  “Well, let’s at least talk to the guy. Maybe he knows something cool to do.” Kurt shrugged and then extended his hand. “Kurt. Nice to meet you.”

  The young man looked shocked for a moment. He quickly recovered. “Griff, very nice to meet you Kurt.” He enthusiastically shook Kurt’s hand, using both of his own. “It’s just really cool to meet you. Thanks for not shooting me, that part sucks.”

  Jimmy walked over and broke up the handshake, slapping downward on the awkward physical engagement. “Don’t talk to this guy, he’s a grifter. He’s a grifter named Griff. Get lost grifter, or your dreams of not being shot will get popped. As will you. Get popped, that is.” He paused for a moment, looking between Kurt and Griff. “I will shoot you, is that part clear?” He looked to Kurt. “I just don’t want him getting mixed messages, you know.”

  Kurt frowned. “He’s not doing anything, just let me talk to him.” Jimmy threw his arms up in defeat and walked a few feet away. He kept his hand in the pocket that held his folded down SMG while watching them.

  “Thank you, Kurt. Really, thank you again.” He ran a hand through his hair briefly. “Look, I represent a guild of sorts in this game. We help inexperienced players with startup gear, consumables, advice, even contacts for quests and other guilds.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke, causing Kurt to scowl slightly.

  “So you do recruiting?” He asked the question already assuming what the pitch would be.

  “Outreach, but yeah pretty much. The guild is Pyramid International. We have a good system. When you first join up, the guild provides everything you need to run quests and takes a small cut of your earnings to make sure we can keep helping new players and keep growing. Then as you help recruit new players, the cut the guild takes goes down. Or you can always just find a new guild if you want. I personally enjoy helping new players, so I stick around.” The young man gave him a hopeful smile as he finished his pitch.

  Jimmy pushed off the wall and drew his SMG, starting to fold the magazine into position. “Right, I’m shooting him.”

  Kurt stepped between them and raised his arms to Jimmy. “Hang on man, I could really use this.” He nodded towards the wall and they turned away from Griff for a moment. Poking Jimmy in the side, he engaged an old signal for subterfuge, from their fantasy game days. Kurt spoke low, but in a voice loud enough to be heard by their hopeful scammer. “I really don’t know what I’m doing yet, and this guild sounds like a sweet deal.”

  Playing his role perfectly, Jimmy scowled at him and turned back to the wall, shaking his head with pursed lips. “Do whatever man, your game.”

  Turning back to Griff, he smiled disarmingly. “Sorry. Just sorting some stuff out.” As Griff nodded empathetically, he continued. “So, I’m new, as you gathered. Just started today and I just got my first skill ranks, but haven’t made any money yet. Is there a sign-up fee?”

  Griff pulled a face. “I mean, yeah. Two thousand bugsy gets you in the door, but you’ll be making bank in no time with all the help you get.”

  Kurt pretended to think about it for a moment. “Well…I don’t even have a thousand yet.” He turned to Jimmy. “Would you spot me?”

  The glare that reached him informed him of Jimmy’s annoyance, but his friend answered anyway. “No.”

  Turning back to Griff, Kurt smiled again. “Pyramid International, right? I’ll be sure to look you guys up when I make some money.” He turned to leave.

  Griff stepped in front of him, arms raised slightly in a ‘hold on’ motion. “Tell you what my friend. You have to pay the guild directly to join, but I’m happy as a clam to front you the bugsy. Actually, you don’t even have to pay me back, getting a recruit will shave five percent off my share with the big guys.

  Kurt stepped back, making an unsure face. “I wouldn’t want to be a leech or anything…”

  Practically grinning, Griff messed with his phone for a moment. Kurt was sure to act surprised when a notification of fund transfer showed up on his own. “Two thousand bugsy sent. That’ll get you in, just make sure you tell them in the application that it was me who recruited you.” Griff made a finger-guns motion at Kurt and clicked his tongue. “Tell you what; I’ll throw in a bonus.” He started messing with his phone again, swiping around until he found what he was looking for. A simple tap and he leaned his wrist towards Kurt’s. When they touched wrists, a location pinged as marked on Kurt’s map. “That is a contact bar. It’s like this games version of a quest hub, consider it a signing bonus.”

  Then the moment happened. Kurt narrowed his eyes for an instant, feeling the sensation Jimmy had warned him about. “Thanks a lot Griff.” He turned to face Jimmy and gave him a knowing smile. “Oh hey, Griff?” The young man looked back up at him, an inquisitive expression already in place. Kurt raised his Beretta. “You shouldn’t try to scam people.” His finger clenched and the gun kicked in his hand, a flare of yellow flame and a puff of cordite replacing Griff’s visage in front of him.

  Multiple notifications pinged from his wrist as Jimmy howled in laughter. They started running down a s
ide street while NPCs around them panicked and scattered. They cut through the alley and ran across the following intersection into another alley way, turning to avoid the red and blue dots heading their way on the map.

  Kurt turned in a quick circle, his wrist in front of him. “um…this way!” Leading Jimmy into a nearby apartment building, he quickly ran up a few flights of stairs and sat in a hallway windowsill over-looking the main street.

  Jimmy was still laughing when he caught up. “Dude, that was amazing. That was your first kill too!” He gave Kurt a respectfully amazed look. “…That is an amazing first kill. On a player no less. That’s gotta be mad xp, what’d you get?”

  Kurt swiped off his map as the Heat bars faded away. He pulled up his notifications as Jimmy peered out the window.

  Primary

  Liar Rank 2. (Interaction)

  “Liars need to have good memories.” Algernon Sidney

  Dishonesty is a core concept in the criminal world. Any dishonest interaction receives a 2% bonus to succeed when interacting with NPCs of any kind. This skill will also occasionally help cover up mistakes (stammers, misplaced words, etc.) in dishonest interactions with other players.

  Primary

  Perception. Rank 1 (Interaction)

  “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” -Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

  Noticing that which is not always obvious is a critical survival skill. Certain objects of use may become “focused” or pinged to the map. NPC interactions may also become more overt to the player. Chances of both benefits occurrences increase with rank.

  Primary

  Small Arms. Rank 1 (Combat)

  “Oh c’mon. Guns don’t kill people…but they sure do help.” Shoot ‘em up, 2007.

  Skilled use of basic firearms can assist in several tasks. Maximum damage with all firearms increased by 1%

  Secondary

  Underhanded. Rank 1. (Interaction)

  “I love listening to lies when I know the truth.” Unknown.

  Guided deception can profit those capable of outwitting their peers. Any cash or reputation rewards gained through use of deception are increased by 5% Increases dishonest interaction success rate by 1% Currently stacking with Liar rank 2. Total bonus increased to 3%

  Specialist

  Obfuscation. Rank 1 (Interaction)

  “Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Sir Walter Scott, 1808

  Deceptions involving multiple victims, using multiple veins of mistruth are complex to wield, but profit those capable. This isn’t just a lie, it’s bordering on politics. Adds a modifier to Liar and Underhanded skills, increasing each of their bonuses by a factor of 2. Total bonus success rate for applicable dishonest interactions increased by 6% Total reward gains for dishonest interactions increased by 10%

  “I got a specialist skill. Obfuscation?” Kurt frowned at the skill. “It must have unlocked because I lied about needing a guild while I was lying about needing the loan? Ohhh, it’s a multiplier…that’s actually kind of over powered.”

  With a quick yawn, Jimmy checked his own phone, scrolling through his skills to check their progress. “Naw man, that kind of stuff is super specific. Only comes into play if you keep being a liar, basically. Seems like you can build a class around that though, which is pretty cool.”

  Turning his head, Kurt looked to his friend. “What class are you?”

  Jimmies shoulders rocked once with amusement. He reached into a pocket and produced a thin black stone box. As he extended his hand toward Kurt, the box clicked open and a paper card stood up on a metal stand. “I am Muscle. It’s a combat heavy thing, second level class. I’ve been working on a specialist upgrade for almost two years with no luck. This game is complicated.” Kurt plucked the card and looked at it.

  Muscle

  JimJam

  “JimJam?” Kurt glanced up. “Care to explain, JimJam?” He suppressed the urge to snicker as Jimmy snatched the card back from him.

  “Not particularly, scrote.” Jimmy scowled at the card before tucking it back into the holder. “Actually forgot about that. You don’t really use the cards for much.”

  Standing up, Kurt moved towards the stairwell. “We should check that quest hub out.”

  Shaking his head with a sigh, Jimmy moved to follow him. “Don’t say quest, dude. It’s like…missions or runs or jobs. Also, I should point out…that is the first place Grif is going to be looking for you.”

  “And we can’t handle him?” Kurt gave his friend a knowing smile.

  “Shut up.” Jimmy followed along willingly enough, but pulled a face when he saw their location.

  Dusty red brick made up the wall front, grimy with years of rain and unadulterated age. People stood in a line in front of the building, leading up to a hulking man in a suit coat who wore sunglasses in spite of the encroaching dusk. Expensive looking cars were lined up in the street out front, and a nearby alleyway hinted at horrors to behold with a wafting smell of hot garbage.

  Jimmy protested. “No way man. These places are impossible to get into. You have to somehow talk your way past the doorman, or just wait in line for like an hour.”

  After standing in the street for a moment looking at the doorman, Kurt smiled. “Don’t worry Jimmy. I have a plan. Here’s what we do.” They conferred for a moment and Jimmy laughed while shaking his head. They went across the street to a strip mall clothing store and Kurt spent some of his ill-gotten gains on a new suit. He chose an understated dark grey suit with a light blue checkered dress shirt and a tie that matched his coat and pants perfectly. He added a pair of inexpensive black framed sunglasses. Jimmy entered a dressing room and came out wearing a black suit with a white shirt and red tie.

  Frowning, he turned in a circle in front of the mirror once. “I don’t like this plan.” Kurt nodded and smiled. Noticing with some satisfaction that his hidden rear belt holster had transferred to the new suit pants, he fastened the bottom button on his coat and started walking across the street.

  Approaching the doorman, Kurt simply walked up to move past him. The doorman immediately stuck out an arm and grabbed Kurt lightly, blocking his path. As Kurt recoiled from the arm with disgust, Jimmy stepped up to do his part.

  “Hands off the client.” He spoke as authoritarian as he could, while trying to suppress a giggle. He also stepped between the doorman and Kurt, moving the doorman’s arm away gently.

  The doorman looked surprised, but relented. “My apologies, sir. Names?”

  Kurt sighed dramatically, looking at a fingernail. Jimmy stepped a little closer, leaning in to give the appearance of a secret he didn’t want the crowd knowing. “This is Mr. Kurtis, we’re expected.”

  Flipping his single piece of paper over and back, the doorman began to look nervous. He re-read the list and then looked up at first Kurt, and then Jimmy with a look of anxiety. “Look, my list is obviously not updated. Go ahead in, and I’ll have a word with my coordinator.”

  Jimmy slapped him jovially on the back. “You got it big man.” He then glanced between the door and the doorman expectantly.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Please, enjoy your visit.” He stepped forward and lowered his head respectfully as he held open the door for them. Kurt sniffed as he walked past, an offended look plastered on his features. Jimmy had a tough time stifling his laughter.

  3. Making Contact

  Chapter 3

  Making Contact

  “I am genuinely stunned that worked dude.” Jimmy was beaming, taking in their new surroundings. The room was lush, with thick cloth curtains draped from the ceiling around each booth for privacy. The bar itself was tucked away in a corner, manned by a single bartender leaning across the shining hardwood with a bored look on his face. The majority of the room was dedicated to the various booths scattered around the outskirts and a simple dance floor in the center of the room, facing a stage.

  A bored looking jazz band was crooning a song on stage, wh
ile the room ignored them. Most of the people in the bar were sitting at tables, alone. There were a few eyes on Kurt and Jimmy as they entered, but mostly they were ignored. Both men had notification pings to attend to, but Kurt led Jimmy to the bar first, motioning him to keep a low profile. Once at the bar, they checked their new skills.

  Jimmy smiled at his. “That got me a new rank in Liar, nicely done. Ohhh, Disguise too! Very cool. Not…you know…skills I use often, but still.”

  Kurt opened his to take a look.

  Primary

  Planning. Rank 1. (Interaction)

  “I love it when a plan comes together!” –The A-team 1983-1987 and 2010

  Planning is critical to the success of most criminal endeavors. Increases NPC competence when involved in a plan by 1% Decreases cost (if any) of resources required for any organized plan. (Determined by reputation; both player and faction)

  Secondary

  Disguise. Rank 1. (Interaction)

  “Naked is the best disguise.” -Unknown.

  A well thought out disguise can get you surprisingly far in criminal activities. Increases success rate of appropriate disguises by 1% Reduces cost (if any) of disguise acquisition by 1%

  “I sure am getting a lot of skills.” He mused as the bartender finally noticed them.

  Jimmy nodded, ordering his drink. “Whiskey sour.” He turned back to Kurt. “Yeah, that’s how it is at first. You do any old thing and unlock rank one. You have to do a lot more for higher ranks, so the skill dumps will stop soon. Those specialist skills are a big deal to get though.”

  The bartender glared at Kurt with annoyance. Ignoring him, Kurt scowled at the drink in front of Jimmy disbelievingly. “You can drink in this?”

  With a slurp and a satisfied smacking sound, Jimmy plonked his glass on the counter. “Hell yeah. There’s all kinds of stuff like that, even hard drugs if you really want. I’m told the effects are not exactly realistic, and they don’t last very long, but you get like stat exchanges and stuff. Some people have been using the game to beat their addictions in real life though, like to prescription stuff or booze, it’s kind of cool.”