Sign of the Maker (Boston Crime Thriller Book 4), Brian Shea [free reads .txt] 📗

as his mother described him: a plain Jane. Growing up with that as a mantra didn't do anything to boost his ego. As life would have it, his mother’s daily comments pushed him further inside, growing into an introverted nature bordering on the unhealthy. Seeking an outlet for expression, he dove headfirst into the world of online gaming. He was socially awkward, and school had turned into a danger zone filled with monsters of a different sort. Being more intelligent than most of his peers only worsened the social separation. Nobody liked the smart kid who had the correct answers all the time. And it wasn't long before he stopped raising his hand altogether. By high school, he withdrew into a shell of himself, skulking about the hallways with his nose buried in books. When he wasn't pursuing his academic interests, Gruen spent hours in the virtual playground.

There he found his love for online gaming. What started out as a hobby turned into something much more. The games provided an escape from reality. The people he played, albeit in an online environment, became his friends, even if only virtually. The lines soon blurred, creating an alternate world where Terry Gruen fit in. Financially, it turned out to be to his benefit as well. By age nineteen, he was making more per month than his mother did in a year. He helped pay off their house by age twenty-four, yet he still lived in the basement. It was his sanctuary, his comfort, like a perfect pair of slippers, the ones that fit no matter how frayed and worn they were. The ones you chose over the brand-new pair each time because of how good they felt. That was Gruen's basement.

The comfort of his mother's house was his security blanket. And the games he dove into on a daily and nightly basis were the only world that mattered. His pale skin was due in large part to the quantity of time he spent indoors. Now, at age thirty-two, Gruen could easily afford living anywhere he pleased, but he still hadn't found the nerve to pull the trigger. With all the success of his alter ego, the real Terry Gruen's social life had suffered tragic consequences.

Sadly, his mother had tried to set him up on several dates with friends of hers. None had panned out. All were chock-full of embarrassing moments he had buried deep. He'd been gun-shy about making any other courtship attempts, until tonight. Tonight felt different. And the girl seated with him wasn't somebody his mother had set him up with. Gruen had done this all by himself. The first girl he'd ever officially asked on a date. He tried without success to temper his excitement about tonight's prospects with the historical track record of his past experience.

The girl sitting across from him at the bar was completely out of his league. Not in looks. In that area she would rate a C-minus at best. Most men wouldn't have given Roxanne Foster the time of day in real life. Her homely appearance and nearly translucent skin were nothing to look at. Factoring in the extra pounds packed around her hips and thighs didn't help that cause. But that wasn’t why she was out of his league. Roxanne, or Foxy Roxy, as she was better known as in the world of gaming, was ranked number nine in the entire world. She had advanced in the ranks in a game called BattleBot, an online PC game where virtual combatants suited up as oversized mechanized warriors with a variety of weapons capabilities.

He'd watched her recently during a recorded game session where she single-handedly took out sixty-two players in a matter of ten minutes. Her YouTube channel had over 3.1 million followers and her videos were watched and shared hundreds of thousands of times. For Gruen, watching her play was a thing of pure beauty. He'd seen each of her videos, watching many of them over and over again. The way she moved through the virtual world, slashing and shooting, was like a prima ballerina on centerstage. Her flawless execution was matched only by her witty banter and kept Gruen, and everyone else who watched, coming back for more.

Her gaming sessions made her additional money on YouTube and other social media sites. The subscribers on her channel and the number of views each video garnered earned her a considerable profit, in addition to the incredible royalties paid out by the multitude of companies sponsoring her.

The top fifty gamers in the world received endorsements like that of any athlete, by companies like Xbox and PlayStation. They went to comic conventions where they were treated like celebrities among those who understood and appreciated the gaming world. Gruen had established himself in a similar way, but with slightly less success. So it absolutely blew his mind when they connected in an online gaming forum discussing strategies and tactics.

Gruen had commented on one of the bits of wisdom she had shared with the group. She had responded almost immediately. He remembered seeing her message. It quickly followed his, and he knew she was online at that moment. He attempted to contact her via the site’s private messenger, and she had responded. That was where this night began. Gruen tried not to overthink the prospects but found it funny to envision telling his kids someday how he met their mother.

He learned much about her during the course of his cyber-stalking that followed that first conversation. Once he discovered she lived in the Boston area, he reached back out and asked if she'd ever like to meet in person to talk game stuff. He remembered exactly what he'd said. In fact, he printed a copy of the message and Roxy's response, which was now taped on the wall next to a poster of The Walking Dead, his favorite show. It read: "I would love to chat about this with you. Maybe we could meet in person." Roxy responded with, "I'd