Free The Game by Shane Scollins

15
     
    R ena placed a second call to Mark’s phone, but he didn’t answer. She lit a cigarette and leaned back. Angus hated when she smoked, so she made sure to do it around him whenever possible. She liked to push his buttons and get him riled up. It was what she did best. She manipulated people in all different kinds of ways, and pushing their buttons was part of that.
    It was the innocent little games that people didn’t notice, but those were the ones she used to set up the game. People were mostly stupid. They had no idea how much information they conveyed with a look or a response. And that’s why Rena loved to push them. She had been born with the ability to twist and push people any way she wanted. Even as a little girl, she could get her daddy to buy her whatever she wanted.
    Angus was the toughest nut she’d ever encountered, and that’s why she liked him. He was somehow immune to her prodding. Oh, sure, he would respond to her little taunts, but he never let her get that one step above in order to get her way. It was the thrill of the chase she loved, probably too much. Angus was the only man she’d ever met that scared her. She could control any man, but not him, and that intrigued her to no end.
    Most of the time, guys would just bend to her will with a flash of her smile, a teasing tongue on her red lips or a seductive sway of her hips. A few of them required a bit more work, but in the end, all of them could be had. Angus, on the other hand, somehow resisted her. No matter how sexy she dressed, he could somehow just steal a glance and then look away. It was as if he could get his fill, and be done.
    She dialed Angus’ number. “Have you heard from Mark?”
    “Not since last check-in.”
    “He was supposed to call me back. Something was going on when I spoke to him, but he never called back. He’s over forty minutes late.” Rena could hear Angus on the other end grunting in anger. She could picture him tugging the collar of his white T-shirt and adjusting his black sweater. He always wore the same clothes. She waited patiently.
    Mark was somewhat unreliable when it came to keeping time. The fluidity with which they operated the game would require a flexible schedule. Mark had to think on his feet often, and change course depending on the circumstances. In this case, however, he was in the middle of a mission and he didn’t take those lightly.
    “That’s strange,” Angus said. “I have no current ping on his cell.”
    “I can drive out to the warehouse and see if he’s there. Maybe it’s nothing.”
    “Aren’t you there now?”
    “No.”
    “Why not? Weren’t you supposed to be meeting them to bring her here?”
    “Yes, of course. I was supposed to be waiting for Mark’s call. That’s what I’m telling you. I never got the call.”
    “Fine, go there now.”
    She put her car in gear and headed out to Rockaway.

    Angus tried again to get a ping on Mark’s cell, but there was nothing. He reached under the steel table and pulled out his special emergency contact phone. It was a direct two-way satellite uplink to anyone he needed to contact and bypass all the cell towers.
    He tried Mark’s phone through that, it didn’t ring, but went straight to voice mail. It wasn’t uncommon for Mark to be out of contact. He often ended up in bed with some random woman, but not during such a vital time.
    Angus had hired Mark last year. They both shared the same vision. They were tired of the world the way it was, where it was going. There was too much progress for the sake of progress, and it was unnerving. But the most sickening thing of all was the love of fame. No one wanted to be famous for any specific reason. They just wanted to be famous. Insipid reality shows, disgusting behavior being rewarded with unearned riches at every turn, it was sickening.
    Well, if drama and sickening behavior is what people wanted, he was going to give it to them until they puked. If reality television was what