Page 18 of Sinner

“Good. Let’s get this done.” I nodded to Wilder who closed his laptop lid, ending the meeting.

“Let’s meet again just after the release and the great gala.” Zach leaned forward, grumbling under his breath.

“Yes, we’ll need to.” I remained where I was as Elizabeth stood first. I could tell by the look on her face she was determined to find the leak.

When she did, the type of consequences the fucker would face wouldn’t just be about termination from his employment.

She walked out, Christopher following while the other two remained in the room. Just before Christopher closed the door, he stuck his head back in, his grin alluding to exactly what I knew he’d ask.

“Are we on for the contest?” he asked. “It’s been almost a year. A perfect ending to this gala.”

Wilder chuckled in the dark way he always did when discussing our extracurricular activities. “We are. We’ll discuss options this year before releasing to the Obsidian Society. Stay tuned. And don’t mention it to anyone.”

“Not a word. While I can’t participate in selecting a female participant, I do enjoy the festivities.” He’d recently married the love of his life, her little boy soon to be adopted and taking his name. He handled all the nondisclosure agreements as well as the few issues that had surfaced from the events held in previous years. Some people were more easily frightened than others.

“You’ll have a chance,” I told him. “We know how much you enjoy prodding the male competitors.”

Prodding. He was brutal with the men who hungered to reach to the upper platform of our company. Likely since he’d endured the hazing effects of the first event we’d held seven years before. He’d shown his muster and his value to the company while competing.

Christopher wrinkled his eyebrows while pumping his fist. As soon as he closed the door, the three of us looked at each other.

Zachariah rose to his feet, heading for the credenza while pulling out photographs of the female contenders selected for round one of the selection process.

“We have more to discuss,” I stated as if the two men didn’t know. We were brothers bound by blood, but more by our linear and savage way of thinking. While we hadn’t grown up together, dumped separately in one foster home after another given ourviolent behavior, we’d found each other, learning quickly just how alike we truly were.

“First things first,” Zachariah stated as he tossed a set of dice in the middle of the table. “We need to deal with Merrick quickly. We’d spent far too much money and time on this release. It needs to go according to plans.”

I was more than eager to volunteer to handle the man. I’d researched his professional and personal life as I had with every competitor and hadn’t like what I’d found. In fact, I’d been disgusted.

“True,” Wilder said. “Joel Merrick is a tough old bird with a relentless need to best us at all costs. While we need to plug the leak, he needs to be put in his place once and for all. Who wants to go first?”

“Go ahead. I’ll go last.” I swiveled in my seat as Wilder snapped the small cubes, shaking and blowing on them as if we were in Vegas.

When he rolled a three, he groaned.

“Loser,” Zach teased, immediately grabbing the dice. He simply shook them once before tossing. “Woo hoo! Look at that. Two sixes. Look like I win.”

“Not so fast, brother. I think it’s my lucky day.” I snatched them before he could return them to the credenza. The only roll that could beat a pair of sixes was a deuce. I was confident that’s what I’d toss.

And I did.

Both men glared at me before Zach hung his head. “You were the lucky son of a bitch the last time.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just damn good at what I do. I’ll take care of handling Merrick tonight. Now, let’s discuss the options that all three of us have had a chance to narrow down to ensure we’re comfortable with them.”

“I was shocked we had over three hundred applications this year. Over three hundred.” Wilder shook his head. “It seems twisted kink is on the rise.”

Thankfully, the computer program we’d created years before had already pared down the number to a more manageable group.

“People love to win. That’s part of the allure. Besides, it’s only rumors that we play dark and demented games.” I allowed myself to grin. My answer was truthful. Most people entered contests for the thrill of maybe winning. No one played the lottery thinking they’d actually win. They were in it for the rush of adrenaline, a high. Our higher tier of gamers provided some sense of that as well.

Little did they know what was in store for them if they made the finals. We altered our choices of contests every year, which allowed for shock and awe.

The gamers were our bread and butter, snacking on everything we put out, the high monthly fee easily affordable given what they did in RL. Real life. Something that bored the fuck out of most gamers. Doctors. Lawyers. Corporate moguls. Actors. Anyone with money gravitated toward our games.

I moved to the bulletin board, pulling and pinning one photograph after another, adding their corresponding talents as broken down by the resumes they’d sent in. They had to agree towork for us to become a part of our darkest society. That way we could control them.

It took me a couple of minutes to put everything together while my two brothers chatted about their latest conquests or whatever endeavors they’d enjoyed. We were alike in so many ways, but our choices in aspects of entertainment were completely different.

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