Master of the Earth and Skies

8

     I expected to find myself back in the chair with Harold less than an hour after I'd arrived back in my cell. But instead, there was a phone call from my agent. "Brilliant!" she crowed. "Contestant Melvin, that is going to go down as one of the most popular Games of all time. The phones are ringing off the hooks with fans trying to order official copies. Even the news is eating it up."

     I'd been confused before, but I was more confused now. "Wait, you're happy?" I asked.

     "Why wouldn't I be?" She laughed.

     I wondered if she'd been drinking. "There's no way we can pass this off as scripted," I told her. "The fans know that was a real fight."

     "And that's precisely why they love it," Amanda declared. "Granted, someone's head is going to roll for getting the wrong info to us. Contestant Jess and Contestant Ashley's agents both informed me that they'd been given instructions to order a romantic engagement with you just before that final objective. And I'd gotten no instructions for any romantic engagement at all. From what I can tell, the whole mess is Trian's doing."

     "That sounds like him," I muttered. "Bad enough his Games are a joke. Now he cost the Commission a valuable high-powered Contestant. Tell me he's finally fired?"

     "He came back to the office to find his belongings in a pile outside of his locked office door, and security waiting to escort him to his car," Tirano reported. "Apparently, he'd written romantic engagements with you for both girls, because he couldn't decide which one he liked better. He had the two rough drafts in one file for the girls, and a completed script for you and whichever girl he chose in another. Then the idiot accidentally submitted the rough drafts instead of the completed script. They went into the system, were routed to the girls' agents and relayed to the Contestants. That's how it happened, and we lost a good Contestant over it."

     "That also sounds like him," I sighed. "So where do we go from here?"

     She paused a moment. "The Designers are still working on that," she said. "There's been an emergency planning session called. Obviously, this changes a lot. We may see things like Contestant Levi wanting to pick a fight with you..."

     "Contestant Levi?" I asked. "Why would he pick a fight with me?"

     "His story had him longing for Contestant Ashley, and being overlooked in favor of you," she explained. "Originally, the love triangle between you and the two girls was going to be resolved when Contestant Levi confessed his love to Contestant Ashley. She'd fall for him, leaving you free for Contestant Jess just before Tournament."

     "Oh." I should have known. "So, what happens now?"

     "Like I said, the remaining Designers are in an emergency planning session right now." She paused. "You did the right thing, calling the Designer when you did. Along with everything else he did wrong, Trian hesitated in responding. I heard through the grapevine that he was actually so into the fight he didn't even recognize you were screaming for him at first. That's why they didn't reach you before the Contestants really got into it, and he completely forgot to end the Game before running out. He's lucky he didn't kill himself, the fool. The fans absolutely loved it, though. Even Contestant Ashley's sponsor called and said she couldn't imagine a better end for her Contestant and would donate again as soon as her schedule allowed. But as far as where we go from here? Well, I'll let you know when the time comes."

     "So, holding pattern for now?"

     "That's right."

     I sighed. "Game tomorrow as scheduled?"