The Gauntlet Assassin by LJ Sellers Page A

looking for easy points. Seems a little cowardly.”
    He grinned. “We’re all here to win, one way or another.”
    Aware of the cameras everywhere, Lara grinned back. “Maybe you’ll get a chance against me in the Battle.”
    A man with coppery skin and a black ponytail stepped closer. “I’m Makil Johnson, from Georgia. A group of us who don’t compete until tomorrow are having dinner off site. Would you like to join us?”
    Still aware of the cameras, Lara reluctantly said, “Sure. Thanks for asking.” She’d beg out of it later. “Do you have a chaperone?” Contestants could only leave the arena and hotel area in groups, and they had to take a chaperone to ensure no one watched the broadcast version of the competition.
    Makil nodded. “We’re all set to meet at seven in the hotel lobby.”
    “I’ll see you then. You’ll have to excuse me for now. I need to rest for a while.”
    “You earned it.” He gave her a nod of approval.
    After a hot shower and a small protein and vegetable shake, Lara lay down. Her body was exhausted but she didn’t sleep well even at night, so she would only meditate for a while, then get back up. After a few minutes, the desk NetCom beeped. Lara grudgingly got up to check it. The corner app flashed Video Message .
    She tapped to answer and the box enlarged. Michael Quince and Rob Schakowski, her old homicide-unit partners, grinned and shouted their congratulations. Quince did an end-zone dance that made her laugh. She recognized the conference room in the Eugene Police Department, and it warmed her weary bones to see them. Schak had retired the year before, so he’d made a special effort to join Quince. She was a little sad Jackson wasn’t there.
    “Hey! It’s good to see you guys. Thanks for checking in.”
    “You killed on the first section,” Schak shouted. “In fact, you’re the first woman to finish the Challenge in less than an hour.”
    Lara hadn’t realized that. Trust Schak to have the stats. “It’s wickedly complex. I was going on instinct.” They had to be vague when they talked about the contest. Special software monitored the contestants’ conversations with the outside world to ensure they weren’t hearing advance details. “I mostly got lucky.”
    “Bullshit. That save was amazing,” Schak said.
    Quince, going gray but still gorgeous, cut in. “I about had a heart attack when you went down, but you were so quick to correct it.”
    “You were fast in the tunnels too.” Schak still sounded excited, but a beeping noise cut him off. The software didn’t want him talking about tunnels. If Lara hadn’t already competed, their message probably wouldn’t have come through.
    “I hated every minute of it. My knees still hurt. Did you know there were reptiles in there?”
    “That’s disgusting.” Schak tried not to laugh.
    “I’m surprised you were both able to watch the live feed. How did you know when I was going to compete?” They only announced each Challenge a few hours in advance. The software also blocked viewers from the competitor’s state from voting when their representative ran the course. It kept populous states from having an advantage.
    “I was watching at home and waiting,” Schak said. “When I heard them announce your name for the first round, I contacted Jackson and came down here. He watched with us, then had to go out on a lead. He’s working a missing persons case.”
    The job always came first for Jackson. She loved that about him. “This means a lot to me, guys.” Lara struggled to keep her voice from cracking. “I appreciate the support.”
    “When do you compete again?”
    “Not until Wednesday. They’ll run Challenges all day tomorrow and post my time for the Puzzle sometime after five.”
    “Good luck. Show ’em how smart you are.”
    “Thanks.” Emotions she never thought she’d feel again were bubbling to the surface. “I have to go now. Say hello to everyone for me.” She blew a kiss for fun,