When the doors opened, a young man walked in. He was dressed casually in a long sleeve shirt tucked into snug black jeans and comfortable high cut sneakers.
No!! Nadine took one look at him and gasped, one hand going to her mouth in shock. She recognised him at once. He was the reason she was in this mess.
Lazarus.
Lazarus was here!
The Director of Virtual Reality swallowed and turned white.
"Everyone, please welcome Jonathan Carter."
Nadine stared at Jace then glanced furtively at Jared in horror. The CEO was at Simtrixx that day she instructed Zen to torture Lazarus. It was when Lazarus and Valentine had completed Dungeon 80, the Vampire dungeon ... the day of the tour. At that time, she had proudly showcased her two star GateKeepers to the CEO, highlighting everything good about Orc Wars. The high-definition graphics, detailed maps, smooth NPC interaction and fights, a high level dungeon and Boss, gameplay and synergy between two beautifully custom crafted avatars.
Never in her life did she think Jared would use it against her!
But how? Did he know who Jace was? No, of course not! Only the Simtrixx Director had access to the real identities behind the Season One participants. Only she knew who the Gatekeepers were. It was highly classified information.
It was simply impossible that Jared would know ... could know, that Jace was Lazarus.
Even on the off chance that the CEO knew who Jace was, how in hell did he know? How could he? And how did Kirin Group manage to track Jace down in the real world and bring him here? Questions bombarded Nadine's shocked mind. She broke out in cold sweat.
Zen, Damon and Adam studied the young man with interest. Based on Nadine's panicked reaction, he must be somebody very important.
Suri indicated an empty seat near the CEO. Jonathan Carter was the star witness and Jared might have a few questions for him.
"Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Cruz."
"You're welcome. By the way, you can call me Jared here too," Jared Cruz said smiling. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I know you had to clear your busy schedule to be here."
"Yeah, I did," Jace grinned impishly aware that the older man knew he had cut class today to be here. No problem, Ash would cover for him and bring him up to speed on any notes, assignments and such.
Jace swept his gaze around the room, pausing briefly only at Nadine before sitting down. He recognised her. The beautiful woman sat frozen in her chair.
Zen blinked. Jared Cruz himself had invited Jonathan Carter here! This guy was not intimidated by the CEO or Nadine. Who was he? He was too young to be anyone important, yet, he seemed to know Jared Cruz personally. Impossible! Why, surely he must be below twenty!
Suri's next words answered his question in part.
"Everyone, I would like to introduce Jonathan Carter, the player behind the avatar 'Lazarus' in the Orc Wars game. He will help clarify a few issues regarding the extent of Nadine's actions."
Zen half got up from his chair almost squeaking in excitement. Lazarus!! That was Lazarus?! He was here! In person! He looked around for confirmation with a bewildered expression on his face before he sat back down awkwardly. Smiling like a proud father, his gaze settled on Jace beaming at the newcomer.
Next to him, Damon and Adam sat speechless. Nadine squirmed uncomfortably in her corner.
The Games Master studied Jace. The young man was calm and collected. Did he know what he was here for? Did he know how important his presence here was and the impact he could have on the outcome of the Inquiry?
YOU ARE READING
Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus
Fantasy~WARNING~ This book contains SPOILERS, please read 'Orc Wars : Uprising' first. Don't say I didn't warn you. The legendary assassin, Lazarus was dying, slowly, inevitably. There was nothing he could do except survive for as long as he possibly could...
