with precision, and like they had a purpose - and the front of their Kevlar vests all said the same thing: SWAT.
"Shit," Alex breathed. "Who called?" she demanded, turning to Bradley.
He was already on his phone. "This is Special Agent Bradley Mathews with the FBI. I need to know who called for a SWAT unit to be sent to the Luxx hotel?" He paused. "Uh huh. Yes." Then he listed off his badge number. "What room? A cell? Male or female? California area code? Ok, thanks." Then he looked at Alex. "Reports of hostages at the Deviant booth. Male caller on mobile, no name given, hung up."
Jason turned to look at Void. "I'm texting you the IP and related information. Find it. One of twenty, and it's blocked." He was already typing on his phone. "There's everything I've got. And tell the girls to stay upstairs!"
"Murder!" Logan bellowed. "I need you to start texting. The girls need to stay in the suite. We've got a swatting in progress at the Deviant booth. Braden, tell your coworkers. All of you stay in this room, and you will be searched soon, I'm sure." Then he turned to the game developers. "I don't give a shit what you do, but someone is currently trying to destroy the F5 convention. File a formal complaint if you want." Then over to the table again. "Knock, Cade, with me. Copying you the info. I want this computer, and when you find it, we're securing it for the FBI. Let's move, people."
Psyc, Braden and Murder were all on their phones, texting. Dread followed behind Logan. Jason, Bradley, and Alex went after the SWAT officers, because something was about to implode any second and it was all happening too fast. Right now, the only thing that would stop this was the presence of a few FBI agents. Thankfully, they had three, and one of them had enough rank to make sure that people listened.
Chapter 53
Rhaven's phone dinged with a message from Psyc saying that all hell was breaking loose downstairs. He told her to make sure that they all stayed in the suite, because SWAT was in the building. She lifted her head to tell the others, just as Riley's phone went off. Then Kate's. A moment later it was Dez's. Zara was the only one who didn't get a message, but that made sense.
"What's going on?" Zara asked.
So Rhaven relayed what she had. Riley added, "Deviant booth is the SWAT target. The FBI is trying to stop it. Dread says it's crazy down there, and they're trying to find which computer is Soul Reaper's."
Dez pushed her phone back into her pocket. "I told Mark to have everyone on the ground and hands visible when SWAT hits them, but I think they're already there." She looked almost frantic. "Soul Reaper's going to walk. In the middle of this chaos, he's going to slip right out some door and no one will have a damned clue."
"We need to go down there," Riley said.
Zara just chuckled. "We need a drink, and to make sure that we're not making this harder. I promise you that Jason can handle it. We're gamers - one way or another. They're the authorities, and we'll just add to the crap they're juggling." As she talked, she headed to the kitchen area. "Tequila?"
"Sure," Riley said.
"I'm even up for a bit," Kate agreed.
"Not a fan, but why not," Dez said.
Rhaven dropped into the closest chair. Zara grabbed the bottle. Riley turned to pace for three steps, proving that she hated the idea of doing nothing. Yeah, it was stressful, but what else could they do? This would take an hour, maybe more. What they needed was a distraction, and Rhaven had a pretty good one.
"So," she said, "I have two boyfriends." After all, that was why they'd come upstairs, right?
Dez chuckled and then curled into the chair, her legs crossed under her. "Braden and Psyc?"
Rhaven just nodded. "Yep. Um, it was a threesome in Denver, and supposed to be just a thing. And now they're saying they're fine with me dating both of them. Guys? This is a bad idea, right?"
"It's a great one," Riley told her, finally standing still. "I mean, you've known Psyc since you started playing Eternal Combat, and Braden's been chasing you for a year. What's the downside?"
"Them..." Rhaven paused as Zara handed her a glass of tequila. Not a shot glass, either. "Um, I think there's some jealousy, but they keep saying