In Death 30 - Fantasy in Death

on them.”
    Eve started to speak, then hooked her thumbs in her pockets to let Peabody play him out.
    “But those can’t have been your first experiments. Not for a scientist as meticulous and involved as you. You must have played the game yourself.”
    “I used droids, once I figured out the tech, and what was possible, I used droids against the holos. It’s all in my logs. I documented everything. I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not my fault anyone got hurt.”
    “Droids and holos.” On a low whistle, Peabody shook her head in admiration. “Man, I’d love to watch that play out.”
    “Holos took it eighty-nine-point-two percent of the time. But they could run it for hours. Wicked frosty.”
    “You knew they weren’t coming out,” Eve murmured. “When you sent your friends , your partners into those holo-rooms, you knew they had almost no chance of surviving the game.”
    “I couldn’t know.” He folded his arms, smiled a little.
    “You’ve got us there.” Eve nodded. “They walked in on their own. You weren’t there. It’s not like you forced them to play.”
    He shot out a finger. “Bingo.”
    “Wanting Bart gone, that’s not a crime either. And you did want him gone, didn’t you, Var? You’d done with them. You had what you’d worked for, and here’s Bart, who’s not nearly as smart, as inventive, as visionary as you are, refusing to play. All the resources of the business, all the tools available—that you’d helped build. And he said no, no dice, not going there. What gave him the right to deny you?”
    “He didn’t have the right. I’m just as much a part of U-Play as he was. Just as important. But if Bart said no, everybody went along.”
    “That’s a pisser. But if Bart’s not around, you go up a level. You have more control, more power, more say.”
    “Like you said, wanting him gone’s not a crime.”
    “And you had a way, where you wouldn’t be responsible, and he’d be gone. It’s brilliant.”
    “It’s what I do. I build the scenario, create the tech, and the player decides. Win some, lose some.”
    “He loses, you win.” Eve studied his smug, satisfied face as she rocked slowly back and forth on her heels. “And you’ve tied our hands on it. You always knew we couldn’t come at you for murder, even if we figured it out.”
    “I have to say, I didn’t think you’d figure it out. Not for a while, not at least until I had the program on the market. Going military and security with that, by the way. It’s not for the kiddies. You can see right in my logs and notes that I never intended the tech for the open market. You just can’t come at me on this.”
    “You gave them the discs, and didn’t tell them about the augmentation.”
    “Yeah, I gave them the discs. So what? And Bart should’ve figured out the augmentation after five minutes if he was paying attention. It’s not like I forced him to play the game.”
    “Cill didn’t know about the new tech. She knew nothing about it.”
    He shrugged. “Okay, so what? She should’ve figured it, too. She’s so freaking smart. Benny’s already making noises about having her take Bart’s meetings, the interviews.”
    “Pushing her in front of you.” Eve nodded. “Too bad she fell, instead of getting a knife in the heart.”
    “The program shuts down if the player’s unconscious. I didn’t realize that until it happened. That’s the problem with droids. Now, I know, so I can adjust. Oh, and I wanted to say, you held up good out there. You and Roarke really showed some skill. But you can’t bring in alternate weapons—that’s not play. And, like I said, I was trying to shut it down, but hit some glitch. These things happen.” He smiled again. “I saw Roarke took a hard one. I hope he’s okay.”
    She leaned in. “Fuck you.”
    “There’s no need to get steamed.” He smiled broadly. “You happened to come in, and I was in the middle of an experimental game—and that’s not against the law either. Listen, you can get me on the unregistered. I’ll pay the fine, do the community service, whatever. I won’t even sue you for zapping me—in my own place. Now I should really get to the hospital and see Cill. I can’t even imagine how scrambled her brain is after what she went through. So, can I go now?”
    “Yeah. Yeah, Var, you can go. To hell, via a cage. You’re under arrest.”
    “Arrest?” He rolled his eyes. “Come on, come on, we’ve been through