Page 121 of Nerdplay
The moment we’re out of Cricket’s earshot, I go on the attack. “What are you really doing here?”
“Like my old man says, when one door closes, kick it until you break it off the hinges.”
Or kick it until it becomes as unhinged as you are.
“This place is ridiculous, dude,” he continues. “I saw a guy dressed like a Viking playing cornhole. So many losers gathered in one spot. It’s like the wall of the high school gym all over again.”
I escort him to my cabin before one of the campers overhears his insensitive remarks. “They’re not losers, Matt. They’re actually really great people.”
Matt looks me over with a grunt. “Riggieri was right. You don’t have the stones for this.”
“Wait. Riggieri sent you to check up on me?” I close the cabin door behind us.
“It was my idea, but he ate it up and left no crumbs. Why do you think I drove up so fast? LandStar says jump. I put on my anti-gravity boots and go for launch.”
“Well, I’m sorry you drove all the way here for nothing.”
“Not for nothing. I figured I’d help you out. We’re colleagues, right?” He glances out the window as two campers in costume step into view, engaged in a foam sword fight. “Dude, nerd camp is so lame. She’d be better off running this place as a furry camp. She’d make bank with all those perverts humping each other.”
“I’ll pass along your idea.”
“Don’t bother. Between the lake and the acreage, LandStar can develop the hell out of this property.” His eyes narrow. “Why do you have a Chucky doll? Is that like your teddy bear?”
Oh shit. I should’ve known better than to invite him inside.
I hear a thump, and the cabin wall vibrates, shifting my thin mattress. I hurry outside to make sure the LARPers are okay.
A cloaked wizard dusts himself off. “Sorry about that,” Ben says. “Dodging a spell.”
“Are you hurt?”
“Nothing two ibuprofen and a gallon of water can’t fix.”
Matt appears beside me. “Where’s your magic wand, old-timer?”
Ben limps away without a word.
“I think you’ve insulted enough people today. You should probably hit the road before rush hour. The highway gets backed up.” Not that I mind the image of Matt stuck in a horrific traffic jam, but I am desperate to get him far away from the camp in the shortest time possible.
“Sure thing.”
Okay, that was far too easy. I also don’t like the smirk on his face, like he’s harboring a secret he can’t wait to spring on me.
“It’s easy to get lost. I’ll walk you to the parking lot.” Since it’s the only way to insure he actually leaves. “Seriously, what did you think you would accomplish by coming here?”
“I originally planned to grab a few soil samples to take back with me, maybe doctor them a smidge, enough to shut down the camp. LandStar can afford amelioration, but the nerds can’t. Riggieri scoops up the land for a song.”
“So your plan as a lawyer was to lie, cheat, and steal in order to give our extremely important client something he wants but has no business owning?”
“Give me a break, Chuck. Most of our clients have no business owning anything. It’s the capitalist way.” His smile sets off alarm bells. “But then I discovered something better. Something that doesn’t even involve a little well-placed fraud.”
My stomach lurches as he dangles a familiar document in front of my face. “Where did you find this?” It’s a futile question, given I know exactly where he found it.
“And here I thought we ran a title search,” he says.
“We did.” I stop walking and snatch the paper from his hand.
“How did we miss a judgment lien? A tax lien I can almost understand—sometimes those can be hard to identify, but this…” He motions to the document. “This is exactly the leverage we wanted, and you’ve been sitting on it this whole time.”
