In a skyscraper building, there were rows and rows of rooms. In those rooms, there were Overdrive racers in their slanted gaming chairs, with a TV in front of them displaying their races.

  “Nooo!” one of the racers screamed after being logged out. They looked up at a speaker indented in the ceiling. “Just give me another chance! I almost got it! Please!” they begged.

  There was no reply from the speaker. “Is that a yes? Thank you! Thank—” Static noises began coming from the speaker.

  “Racer Black Rose, you have failed to win your race. Per the conditions of your contract, you are no longer affiliated with this company,” a feminine voice from the speaker said.

  Behind the racer, two sliding doors opened, revealing two men in black suits and sunglasses. “Please follow these men as they escort you off the premises. Also, remember to pay back the money that was generously given to aid you during your time with us. The total amount is Two hundred seventy-four thousand three hundred fifteen dollars.. Thank you for your time with us. It is a shame to see you go,” the speaker said.

  The two men approached the racer and placed their hands on their shoulders. “Come on!” the men said at the same time. The racer bowed their head and began to laugh. “Generously given? That’s a screwed-up way to put it, don’t you think?” the racer muttered.

  They looked up at the speaker, their eyes red and the edges of their lips constantly shaking. “This is BULL! All of this is BULL! When you came to me and asked me to join this stupid company, you promised! You all did! You promised to help me, but instead, all you did was throw money in my face like that was supposed to solve everything.”

  “No guidance! No training! No nothing! Hell, you didn’t even let me talk to the other racers you’ve got in this building for tips! You wanted me to fail!” The racer let out their frustration on the speaker.

  The speaker didn’t reply to the racer’s accusations. No voice came from it. “Say something!” the racer exclaimed.

  “Make an effort to pay the money back, or we will take legal action,” the speaker responded, causing the racer to chuckle. The two men in suits tried forcing the racer off the seat, but they brushed them away.

  “Keep your filthy hands off me! I know the way out,” the racer said, dropping from their seat and leaving the room, escorted by the men in black suits. “Another day, another unhappy racer,” a voice said.

  It came from a man in a brown suit with blonde hair, green eyes, and an unshaven face. He held a glass of bourbon in his hand and took a big sip of it.

  He was watching what had just transpired through a computer screen. In fact, there were many computer screens with grids showing all the racers currently in the building competing in Overdrive Online.

  The man rested his back on his seat and raised his head to look at the ceiling. “It was such a shame to lose that one.” The blonde man burst into laughter immediately after finishing that sentence.

  “Yeah, right. Like I actually give a shit. These fools make me money, winning or losing. Well, mostly losing. Then they spend most of their lives trying to pay me back. I’m a genius,” the man boasted.

  A telephone by his side kept ringing. He picked it up and answered. “What is it? You just interrupted me having a good time,” the man asked, annoyed.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Brown. Ms. Emily is here to see you for your meeting,” a woman’s voice said.

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  “Oh right, that. Send her in,” the man said. He ended the call. This self-absorbed man was Oliver Brown, the current CEO of Drive Virtual Reality Industries, the company that made Overdrive Online.

  Two doors slid open, revealing a young girl who appeared to be in her teens or twenties. She had short black hair and wore a top that almost reached her belly button, short cargo pants, and heels.

  “Emily! Nice to see you! Have a seat!” Oliver said. Emily did as he said and took a seat in front of him. “You know why I called you here?”

  Emily let out a sigh. “Yeah, I know,” Emily answered.

  “When you came here, you were doing so well. But lately…” Oliver made a hissing sound. “You haven’t been doing so well. It’s been months since you’ve gotten first place in any of your races. Sometimes you’re not even making it into the top three. If you don’t make some improvements soon, we’re gonna have to drop you.”

  Emily said nothing. She just looked away from Oliver. “Look, I don’t wanna drop you. I really don’t, and I’m not just saying that. I usually do, but—”

  “You can’t be in here! Mr. Brown is in a meeting,” a woman’s voice said. It came from Oliver’s office but was so loud that both Oliver and Emily could hear it.

  “I don’t give a damn! I’m going in! This is important, and well above your pay grade! Now move!” a man’s voice said. The doors of Oliver’s office slid open once more, revealing a man who looked to be in his mid-forties, wearing a lab coat, with long dark hair and dark eyes.

  He stormed into the office and walked quickly toward Oliver. “Derek, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Oliver asked, clearly annoyed. “Can’t you see that I’m having a conversation with this sexy lady? You better have a good reason for interrupting me, or you and I are going to have a very big problem.”

  The man who had just stormed in was Derek Williams, the current C.T.O. of the company. “I do have a good reason,” Derek said. He gave Emily a stink eye, indicating she should leave. Emily stared right back at him, not feeling threatened in the slightest.

  Oliver sighed. “Fine. Emily, you can leave. But you get the gist of it—start winning your races,” Oliver said. Emily got up from her seat and walked out of the office. She had left the office but hadn’t walked far from the door.

  She decided to place her ear on it. “You want to get rid of me? It’s not going to be that easy. I’ve worked too damn hard to end up in debt to you,” Emily muttered.

  She placed her ear on the door, hoping to hear something useful. Two chiefs of the company were about to have a serious talk. Maybe she could learn something she could use to blackmail them, making her remain in the company—or better yet, have them forget about the huge debt she would have to pay when they eventually fired her.

  “So, what is the thing that’s so important that you had to come all the way here? You could have called or, better yet, emailed me. No offense, but you don’t have a face that’s easy on the eyes,” Oliver said as he held his glass of bourbon and was about to take another sip of it.

  “Project CANE. It’s gone,” Derek said. Oliver’s mouth almost touched the glass, but he stopped as soon as he heard what Derek had just said. He turned his gaze to the standing C.T.O. with his eyes widened.

  “What did you just say?” Oliver asked, still wide-eyed.

  “I said—”

  “I heard what you said!” Oliver interrupted. He jumped from his office chair, flinging it to the side in the process, and grabbed Derek by the collar of his lab coat.

  “What do you mean it’s gone?!”

  “I mean it’s no longer where we hid it,” Derek said.

  “How long has it been missing?” Oliver asked.

  “Only a day,” Derek answered. Oliver seemed to have calmed down from Derek’s answer.

  “Okay… Okay,” Oliver said slowly. He picked up his office chair and sat back down. “What are you doing to find it?”

  Derek didn’t answer, which annoyed Oliver. “Are you dead?! Answer me!”

  “I’m working on it,” Derek answered.

  “You’re working on it? Oh, that’s just fantastic,” Oliver said sarcastically. “So you just came down here to tell me about your mess-up. Is that it?”

  “Well, I know how much you hate being kept out of the loop, so I thought I should tell you face-to-face,” Derek said.

  “I also hate receiving bad news without any good news,” Oliver said.

  “It’s only been a day,” Derek replied.

  Oliver got up from his chair and looked Derek right in the eye. “Then you’d better get to work looking for it. I don’t have to tell you what happens if that thing gets out in the game. Everything you and I have worked for—everything we have—will be gone. I know you don’t want that any more than I do,” Oliver said.

  Emily, who had been listening in all this time, had heard enough. She heard Derek’s footsteps and ran away.

  She grinned as she did. “You’re at risk of losing everything, huh? This is perfect! I have to find out what Project CANE is. When I do, I’ll definitely use it against those two,” Emily muttered.