didn't have to wait long for a workstation, most were here to grab information like fast food. He plugged in his headphones to avoid using the unhygienic public use headset. Alice greeted him from the display.
"Look up and left 45 degrees and give me a wave." Martin saw a monitor camera and on the screen saw himself sitting at the console.
"All the better to see you with." Alice smiled.
"This is the game. You have 15 minutes to score 500 points. You get points for general acts of disruption. I will let you guess what I mean by that." She giggled.
Martin felt a panic grab him.
"Hoody up and off you go. Time starts now. 500 points to qualify mind." A clock appeared and the workstation locked.
What did he have to do? Disruption. He didn't know where to start. He got up and moved into the crowd, looking for inspiration.
"Ooof!" he exclaimed as a business man bumped into his shoulder on his trajectory of purpose.
"Hey!" Martin yelled after him. He would normally have said nothing.
There was a half drunk latte on a table beside him. He grabbed it and went after the man who had collided with him, who was now stood watching the boards. Without disturbing him, he stood close and let the contents of the cup spill out over the man's shoes.
"What!" The suited man danced in the pool of milky liquid. Martin slipped away into the crowds. With a glance back, he saw the man, confused over the source of his wetness, looking about.
That should be worth a few points and justice into the bargain, Martin thought. He was aware he would have to up the stakes but be careful to avoid station security, classic arcade action. He saw a person leave a ticket office window in front of a long queue. He went straight to the front. The ticket office attendant either hadn't noticed or didn't care. He heard tuts from the queue, but that was the extent of their unrest.
"Can I help you?" the attendant said.
Martin said nothing and fished about in his pocket as a delay. After a minute or so he wandered off without making any purchase. He felt the glares from the queue as the next occupant took his place. He didn't believe he would satisfy Alice this way. He had to go big. If he didn't get his points Alice might discard him. He looked at the large Victorian station clock counting down on him. He thought of Emma. Taking up position beside a fire alarm, he checked around. He had seen people ignore alarms assuming it was a test. He lifted the protective cover. He would add an essential ingredient.
"BOMB! BOMB!" he shouted at the top of his voice and hit the button.
As he slipped away he saw the seeds of his action begin to take root. No one could take the risk of this being a drill now. Everyone knew terrorist alert was still high. A woman pulled her child to an exit. Others took their lead from her. The infectious motion took hold. Martin was ahead of the crowds as they built at the exit behind him. He didn't look back now. He had played his trump card. There was another internet cafe down the street at what he felt was a reasonable enough distance to ensure his safety from any possible pursuit. He ran to it, confident that the confusion behind him would be enough cover for his flight.
He sat at the workstation, breathing hard as logged on. A window showed his score was immediately displayed. The first couple of actions gained only 120 points together. There was a pause before the ultimate score was shown, 379 points in total. Alice's face appeared.
"Only joking," she said. The figures on his score rolled up. 1000 points flashed on the screen.
"Very nice!" Alice winked.
A couple of windows appeared showed live CCTV footage of the station in disarray. The exits were blocked as foolish people trying to see what was going on got in the way of fleeing commuters. He could only hope that no one had been hurt. In the corner a view on repeat showed him shouting and pressing the button.
"Think I will keep that one of you for my album. I think that gets you
"Look up and left 45 degrees and give me a wave." Martin saw a monitor camera and on the screen saw himself sitting at the console.
"All the better to see you with." Alice smiled.
"This is the game. You have 15 minutes to score 500 points. You get points for general acts of disruption. I will let you guess what I mean by that." She giggled.
Martin felt a panic grab him.
"Hoody up and off you go. Time starts now. 500 points to qualify mind." A clock appeared and the workstation locked.
What did he have to do? Disruption. He didn't know where to start. He got up and moved into the crowd, looking for inspiration.
"Ooof!" he exclaimed as a business man bumped into his shoulder on his trajectory of purpose.
"Hey!" Martin yelled after him. He would normally have said nothing.
There was a half drunk latte on a table beside him. He grabbed it and went after the man who had collided with him, who was now stood watching the boards. Without disturbing him, he stood close and let the contents of the cup spill out over the man's shoes.
"What!" The suited man danced in the pool of milky liquid. Martin slipped away into the crowds. With a glance back, he saw the man, confused over the source of his wetness, looking about.
That should be worth a few points and justice into the bargain, Martin thought. He was aware he would have to up the stakes but be careful to avoid station security, classic arcade action. He saw a person leave a ticket office window in front of a long queue. He went straight to the front. The ticket office attendant either hadn't noticed or didn't care. He heard tuts from the queue, but that was the extent of their unrest.
"Can I help you?" the attendant said.
Martin said nothing and fished about in his pocket as a delay. After a minute or so he wandered off without making any purchase. He felt the glares from the queue as the next occupant took his place. He didn't believe he would satisfy Alice this way. He had to go big. If he didn't get his points Alice might discard him. He looked at the large Victorian station clock counting down on him. He thought of Emma. Taking up position beside a fire alarm, he checked around. He had seen people ignore alarms assuming it was a test. He lifted the protective cover. He would add an essential ingredient.
"BOMB! BOMB!" he shouted at the top of his voice and hit the button.
As he slipped away he saw the seeds of his action begin to take root. No one could take the risk of this being a drill now. Everyone knew terrorist alert was still high. A woman pulled her child to an exit. Others took their lead from her. The infectious motion took hold. Martin was ahead of the crowds as they built at the exit behind him. He didn't look back now. He had played his trump card. There was another internet cafe down the street at what he felt was a reasonable enough distance to ensure his safety from any possible pursuit. He ran to it, confident that the confusion behind him would be enough cover for his flight.
He sat at the workstation, breathing hard as logged on. A window showed his score was immediately displayed. The first couple of actions gained only 120 points together. There was a pause before the ultimate score was shown, 379 points in total. Alice's face appeared.
"Only joking," she said. The figures on his score rolled up. 1000 points flashed on the screen.
"Very nice!" Alice winked.
A couple of windows appeared showed live CCTV footage of the station in disarray. The exits were blocked as foolish people trying to see what was going on got in the way of fleeing commuters. He could only hope that no one had been hurt. In the corner a view on repeat showed him shouting and pressing the button.
"Think I will keep that one of you for my album. I think that gets you
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