"Nothing terrible. All small logos. A T-shirt, a polar fleece hoodie, a visor," he said quickly.
"A polar fleece hoodie? The tournament’s in Vegas."
"Inside," Tanner countered.
"So how do you explain the visor?" I asked.
"Bright stage lights."
"I'll look ridiculous."
"I requested everything in black. You'll look fine. It might actually tone down that whole underwear model thing you've got going," Tanner said. "You know, half the gaming world thinks you're a front for some 400-pound shut-in."
"Great. Always nice talking to you," I said.
"Hey, you pay me to tell you the truth. You know you love me. Hey, speaking of love, who's the new ally?" Tanner asked.
"New ally?"
"The newbie human avatar. There's all sorts of buzz about you saving someone. You got a girlfriend I don't know about? I hear she's not a bad player. Want her to get a spot in the newcomers duel at the tournament? As long as she doesn't throw your concentration," Tanner said.
"Like I said, nice talking to you." I hung up the phone.
I realized too late that I should have told Tanner about the police visit. He would have a lawyer out to me within the hour. I shrugged it off. If Jasper was moving out, then I had no need to stir things up.
The same went for Quinn.
I should have known that Dark Flag was full of a bunch of gossips. Tanner had warned me that the better I did, the more I would be watched. Thousands of players had log-on alerts on me. A few of my sponsors put clips of my plays on their websites. I put down my phone. I was not ready to see what assumptions were being made about Quinn and I.
I had told Jasper I needed fresh air and it was true. I needed to clear my head. I restarted the car and drove to the trailhead of Calico Basin Trail just outside Summerlin. The trails were closed after sunset, but the parking lot was a good place for stargazing. In high school, it was my refuge from loud post-game parties. I used to run into Quinn there. She had loved laying on the hood of her car and picking out constellations.
So, I should not have been surprised when I pulled into the parking lot and spotted her. Quinn was stretched out on the small hood of the economical little car her father had given her and Sienna. It was perfect for commuting back and forth between L.A. and Vegas. She sat up as my headlights swept across her and jumped to the ground.
"Hey, don't go. It's just me," I called out the driver's window.
Quinn stopped with her hand on the door handle. "Owen? What are you doing here?"
"Getting some fresh air," I said. "What did you think? That I'd be spending the night in a jail cell?"
"Well, I know you have all those severed heads in your freezer, so it was a safe bet," Quinn said.
I laughed and got out of my car. "If only it had been that exciting. The cops were pretty disappointed when they didn't find anything at my place."
"What were they looking for?" she asked, leaning against the hood of her car.
"Drugs. You know, gamer smokes pot, that whole stereotype," I said.
"That's terrible. You know, my father's a lawyer. Maybe you should talk to him."
"About what? ‘Hey, Mr. Thomas, you know how you think the worst of me? Well, so do the cops. What should I do?’ I think he'd lobby for locking me up." I joined her on the hood of her car.
"Yeah, maybe not," Quinn said. "But you think maybe someone set you up?"
"Now that I think about it, I should add your father to the list of possible suspects. If you think about it, he makes perfect sense. He hates me. He has connections in the police force, and he'd be able to get a search warrant," I said.
"As much as I could see how that might be true, I think my father has other things on his mind than setting you up," she said. She nudged me with her elbow. "He never forced you and Sienna apart. He just hoped you'd drift apart naturally."
"Yeah, well, he got his wish," I said.