Her Perfect Game by Shannyn Schroeder Page A

at Jonah but spoke to Carl. “Rook and Override are partnering.”
    â€œWill do.” Carl tapped the keys to put them together on the list.
    Charlie took her seat again and waited. Waiting was the hardest part, which was why she never showed up early. She shifted in her chair and faced Override. “So, did you hang out at the con much?”
    â€œA little. What’s your game?”
    â€œ The Order of Resskaar . How about you?”
    â€œI’m more into the comics, but I’ll play some games. Never heard of Resskaar though.” He stretched out his long legs under the table and opened his arms, resting one on the back of her chair.
    Jonah’s gaze burned into the back of her head. What the hell was his problem? He was leaving tomorrow, but he was going to get pissy because she talked to her teammate? She ignored him and continued to talk comic books with Override as the remaining competitors came in. They looked like they had already paired off, so Charlie had made a good choice in approaching Override.
    Carl stood and started instructions for the night. “As you know, we’re doing capture the flag for our last challenge.”
    Charlie loved CTF. She’d been honing her attack skills for months. She hoped Override could take over defense if she focused on attacking the others.
    Her thrill was short-lived as Carl continued.
    â€œSince the winner will get an all-expense paid trip to Def Con, and they do CTF attack/defense there, we decided to do Jeopardy style here.”
    A few groans echoed in the room.
    Carl waved his arm for everyone to settle down. “Each team will be given the same set of tasks. You’ll accumulate points for each task. They do not have to be done in order. We go until we have a winner. Any questions?” He looked around the room as everyone stretched and cracked knuckles, popped the top on energy drinks, and stole furtive glances across the table. “Okay, and . . . start.”
    Charlie looked over the tasks at hand. “I’m thinking the lower point tasks are going to be easier, so maybe we should divide the list and each conquer half. Sound good?”
    Override nodded and they both started.
    A running tally of points rolled next to each team on the screen at the front of the room. Forty minutes in, Charlie and Override remained in second place behind Poison and Virus. At the two-hour mark, they were still trailing Poison, but only by ten points. Charlie’s blood raced. This was a possibility.
    Suddenly, Jane shot up and yelled, “Cheat!”
    Everyone froze, just as they had yesterday when Poison jumped up. This was getting ridiculous. Working in here was like being with first-graders.
    Carl stood. “What are you talking about?”
    â€œRook is cheating. There is no way she can be that far ahead of everyone.”
    It took a second for Charlie to realize that she was being called a cheater. She stood. “What?” She looked up at the board. She and Override were still in second place, now only by five points, but Jane and her partner were fifty points behind.
    â€œShe had an unfair advantage. I wasn’t sure, but I suspected. It’s just not possible.”
    Charlie glared at her. “I am not cheating. How could I?”
    A nasty smirk stole across Jane’s face. “Someone fed you the answers.”
    Charlie’s heart sank. She knew exactly where this was going. “No one gave me anything.”
    â€œShould we ask your boyfriend over there?” She pointed at Jonah sitting by the door.
    â€œFirst of all, he’s not my boyfriend. Second, he didn’t give me shit. I’ve worked through each task just like everyone else.”
    Jane crossed her arms and waited. Carl looked back and forth between Jonah and Jane.
    Jonah slid from the stool. “I didn’t give her anything. I didn’t create the challenge. Carl did.”
    Of course, Jonah wouldn’t lie about their