Dinner went well. Sort of. Kurt was happy about working alongside his father, and he genuinely enjoyed himself. For his part, his father was thrilled to begin the process of teaching his son how to cook, after years of indifference on the subject. Bell peppers hollowed out and stuffed with cultured ground beef, diced tomatoes, onions, rice, and sharp cheddar cheese was the entirety of the menu, and they ended up being delicious. Kurt’s didn’t stand up to the stuffing and instead became piles of pepper-mush, but his father assured him he did well for a first attempt, and they were rather tasty despite being a mess.

  A highlight of the meal was his mother’s good mood. Kurt felt amazing seeing her smile at him while eating the sloppy pepper mess on her plate. She expressed that she was pleased with him for taking an interest in something practical, and they discussed the possibilities of his future with a more jovial outlook. Beyond that, he kept thinking about the advice he had read online and found it to resonate true. As he looked at the mush on his plate, he felt a swell of pride that it was edible and tasty, but most importantly that he had made it. It seemed like a simple thing, but it made him feel good.

  When Kurt hugged his parents and went back to his couch to log into the game, he was in a great mood. Seeing Kitty again would be a piece of cake after he had helped make dinner, after all. His plug securely in place, he closed his eyes and swiped to log in.

  The now familiar rumble of his safehouse was immediately pleasing as his other senses loaded in. Kurt cheerfully stepped up to his wardrobe and pulled his grey and blue suit from the mannequin, shrugging into it. His newly upgraded armored vest felt a bit stiffer than before, but when he looked at it in the mirror he couldn’t tell the difference, so he shrugged and went about ensuring his various weapons and consumable items were securely in place. After he was dressed and equipped, he pulled up his contacts and called Jimmy.

  “Hey, man, what’s up?” His friend was customarily cheerful.

  “I helped make dinner!” Kurt exclaimed his accomplishment with a child-like sense of glee. “We doin’ this Pirates thing or what?”

  “Haha! Yeah, c’mon down to the new joint and we’ll all go together.” Jimmy paused. “Hang on, I’ll patch you in.”

  Gadot’s voice sounded after a click. “You have to come check this place out! Jimmy built us a full-on training course, it’s awesome.” She was in high spirits.

  “Right on! Send me a waypoint and I’ll grab a taxi.” Kurt swiped to his map to check the waypoint as it arrived. It led to a warehouse near the coastal front of the city, south west of the Downtown Cluster, at the edge of GoonStorm turf.

  “Oh hey, that reminds me. I’m sorry we got your first car trashed like that, it was kind of mean.” Kurt could hear the smile in Gadot’s voice. “I mean, totally worth it, but still pretty mean.”

  “Yeah, man, super mean. We feel terrible.” Jimmy’s voice was somewhat less sincere than Gadot’s had been a moment before.

  “Shut up, Jimmy!” She snorted a laugh as she chided him. “Seriously though, Kurt, we’ve decided we owe you a proper car. Loads of ways to get great cars, so don’t worry, we’re going to get you a set of wheels.”

  “You guys are drunk.” Kurt scowled, the expression becoming a part of his permanent repertoire. “But yeah, I’ll be there soon.”

  He cut the comms link and ordered a taxi. It was waiting for him as he arrived on the main street, stopped behind a bored-looking GoonStorm patrol at a light. Kurt didn’t even hesitate this time, blending in with the civilians around him as he walked right up to the cab, ignoring the other players entirely. He glanced at the progress bar on his disguise skill once inside the vehicle and moving away, pleased to see it steadily climbing again.

  Within ten minutes, his cab arrived at what looked like an abandoned warehouse. The driver had to wind through a handful of other warehouses lined up in an industrial area, most of them thriving with NPC workers. Kurt narrowed his eyes as he took in the building that was apparently now part of his Crew.

  Warped metal siding hung slack from its supports, covered in graffiti and edged in on all sides by loose garbage. The one thing out of place was the windows which, Kurt noted with some surprise, were not only intact but high up from the ground and visibly thick. He was also somewhat confused to see that the door was in excellent shape, framed by heavy steel. Standing in the street glaring at the run-down building, Kurt thought the only thing missing was a population of exuberant rodents.

  Kurt tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. After giving a few sharp knocks, he waited until a panel at eye-level slid sideways. A pair of eyes he didn’t recognize glared at him for a few seconds before a series of heavy locks could be heard being opened. A tall woman with shoulder-length silver hair stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. She was well-muscled and stood half a head taller than Kurt, dressed in black and white striped combat pants and a white sports bra.

  “Password.” Even her voice was intimidating, a growl more than words, and she was in no way asking a question.

  “What??” Kurt was painfully aware he didn’t know of any password as he stood in front of the woman.

  “Fine,” she growled as she moved aside. Once he was inside, she slid the door closed and reapplied the various deadbolts and locks. “This way.”

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  The woman led him through the fortified entrance and the building changed entirely. They passed through a series of three small, empty rooms, each of which was entered and exited through heavy, locked doors. Kurt looked up to see a covered walkway above each room, connecting them, with what looked like armor plating along the safety rails, and perfect line of sight to the rooms below. He was reminded of the murder holes in the entrance to Gadot’s hub in the Downtown Cluster.

  She opened the last door in the series and let Kurt into a lounge. Huge leather couches were scattered about the room, surrounding a bar set against the wall beneath a movie theater screen. Jimmy and Gadot had an old heist movie on, but were ignoring it, laughing and chatting on one of the couches. Kurt noticed that they were not sitting at opposite ends.

  “Heeeeey, there he is!” Jimmy had been at the fake booze and was clearly intoxicated. “Told you he’d get the password.” He stumbled slightly as he rose to cross the room and embrace Kurt. “You gotta check this place out, dude. Our new Hub!”

  Gadot stood, steadying herself on the armrest. “Yeah, this place is great. Jimmy designed and paid for the whole thing. It’s like a training center.” She was smiling and flushed.

  Kurt looked at each of them for a moment, deciding to relax a little. “Looks cool so far. You guys been just watching old movies and drinking since I left or what?”

  Jimmy held a hand to his chest. “You wound me, sir! That part has only been, like, the last hour. C’mon, I’ll show you around.” He looked past Kurt to the tall woman standing behind him, her arms still crossed. “Oh right! Tigg, this is Kurt. Kurt, say ‘hi’ to Tigg. I paid extra to get a specialist NPC to run the place.”

  Cautiously, Kurt looked over his shoulder. Offering the towering woman a wave, he put on a small but intimidated smile. “Hi Tigg.” He turned back to Jimmy. “Who is Tigg?”

  “Tigg is the training officer for The Lace. She operates this hub for us.” Jimmy swept his arms wide, gesturing around him. “Once we get some NPC troops, she’ll lead them, too. Here, ask her to give you a quick lesson on handguns while Gadot and I sober up. Only takes like fifteen minutes after you stop drinking.” He paused, looking back at Kurt, eyes narrowed. “Don’t, like . . . shoot her or anything. It’s not like Brescia. They have permadeath, and it’s this whole ordeal to replace an officer NPC.”

  Kurt looked between them for a moment, blinking. “Uh, Okay. Tigg, can you teach me how to shoot a handgun, please?”

  “This way.” She moved to a large, rollaway door at the opposite end of the lounge, pulling it up with a single powerful motion.

  Beyond the door was a full-size firing range, with a dozen lanes stretching out from a small armory. Tigg stepped up to one of the lanes, tapping the tablet on the wall and bringing it to life. Large lights clicked on overhead and the firing lane lit up as a paper target materialized at the fifty-yard line. With an impatient gesture, she beckoned Kurt over to her.

  “Beginner, intermediate, or expert lesson?” Tigg asked. Her voice was still a growl, but Kurt was getting more and more used to it.

  “Uh, I don’t actually know. I’ve been doing okay using them over the last few days, but . . .” He shrugged, removing his new Walther from its holster.

  “Beginner, then. Show me your form.” Tigg was impatient, leaning against the wall of the firing lane. She pressed a button on the tablet and the target slid much closer, stopping at the fifteen-yard line. Jimmy and Gadot stood back, watching with great interest as Kurt stepped up to the firing line and assumed his shooter’s stance.

  “No.” Tigg stepped forward, taking Kurt’s forearms in her hands and making a few quick adjustments. She moved his supporting hand to cup the hand holding the gun and better support it. “This hand is for recoil. Grip firmly, but do not yank. You are not shooting with this hand, you are helping this hand shoot. Finger off the trigger. Your finger does not touch the trigger until you are shooting.” She kicked lightly at one foot. “Wider. Your stance determines stability.”

  Adjusting his stance and concentrating on Tigg’s instructions, Kurt looked over his shoulder to see Jimmy and Gadot whispering to each other and smiling. Jimmy flashed him a quick thumbs up, and Kurt gave him a grimace in reply.

  “Pay attention. You don’t pay attention when shooting, you shoot the wrong things.” She looked him over again, stepping behind him and making a slight adjustment to his right elbow. “Okay, not bad. Give me a magazine on target.”

  Kurt nodded, and then began to fire. He was unhappy about how off-target many of his shots were, but at such close range he still managed to get most of them inside the main target area on the circular bit of paper. Tigg pressed her finger to the tablet and the paper slid towards them on an overhead rail. She tore it off the cardboard backing and shook her head. “Again.”

  A quick swipe at the tablet caused a fresh target to materialize. Tigg dropped the other target, and it fell to dust before it hit the floor. As Kurt took aim, she stepped up behind him and peered over his shoulder. “Slowly. Squeeze the trigger gently, don’t yank on the gun. This is an act of precision, without emotion, void of expectation. This is not to impress your friends or win points in a game. You are operating a machine — treat it as such. Line up the sights, picture where you want the bullet to go, and make that shot happen.”

  He took a deep breath, let it out, and began firing again. The second attempt went much better, and he even got a round direct center on the paper. One out of eight was not exactly filled with glory, but he smiled and looked back to bow slightly at the applause of his friends. Tigg called up the target, pulled it from the paper and nodded. “Better. Not good, but better.” She slapped his shoulder as she walked past. “Assault course next!”

  Kurt’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what?”

  The assault course went well. Sort of. Kurt ended up having to run through it twice to get any kind of positive reaction from Tigg. The walls of the warehouse shifted and altered themselves on tracks, and the areas they formed were populated by strange police NPCs that didn’t move or speak. They fell to dust immediately upon being hit, and only fired laser pointers that lowered his score. He ran through on a timer, attempting to take out all the NPC enemies while exposing himself to the least amount of counter fire possible. His second score was significantly better than his first, but Tigg still only grumpily expressed that he needed improvement. She guided him on how to improve, though, and he noticed that when he followed her instructions he did much better. The improvement of his personal skills was something he took great pleasure in, noting that he gained two levels of Small Arms and a level of Gunslinger just from the training. The percentage boosts were beginning to become powerful, he reflected, when combined with his Sneak Attack and exotic ammunition.

  An hour after he had arrived at the new hub, they were leaving again, with Kurt temporarily exhausted by the training. After Gadot and Jimmy sobered up, they got ready for their outing in the armory. Kurt waited for them outside, sitting on a nearby curb and enjoying the cool evening air.