The talk wasn’t half bad, Caroline had to admit. As some-one who had played Endorian Leap - a very geeky game with an no-win scenario at the end, a lot of what he had said was fascinating, explaining the different languages and how they’d chosen to use subtitles rather than dub everything in English, he’d even handled the question ‘why couldn’t you give the damn game a happy ending’ with remarkable grace, but all the time, the woman had been nearby, almost like a bodyguard... but there was definitely a relationship there, the way he was looking at her, and smiling now and then.
She glanced away, and the familiar smell of weed came floating across the room, she tensed, looking around, then settled back. Surely to God no-one would be stupid enough to do anything here?
“And now I’ve been asked to say, in a change from the usual line-up, a Cyborg Catwalk has been arranged,” Joseph Harper said with a grin. “All you lovely ladies dressed up as a cyborg in the crowd, or an android, droid, robot, whatever, if you would like to come up here and flaunt it, there is a prize on offer, a prize for your model to be used in the new game I am involved with, Forgotten Space. The model will have a bit role, so, if you ladies would like to come up and form an orderly queue, let’s be having you.”
There was a muttering from the crowd, and Toby looked across at Caroline. She hesitated, then looked across at him, smiled, and got up.
“Repercussions,” She warned him seriously, and walked over to where volunteers were organising an orderly line.
“All we’re going to ask you to do is walk across the stage and back, do a light twirl for us, then tell your name to the crowd, have your picture taken, and then give us your details on the form. Dead simple,” Jason remarked. “In fact, my lovely assistant will help with that...”
He glanced at the woman, who lightly cuffed him across the back of the head and came to the front of the stage.
“So,” she said in a lightly accented voice. “You’ll come up the stairs, walk along the front of the stage, and back,” She demonstrated, then stood centre stage. “Pull a pose,” She smiled at the guy taking photos, then say; Hi, I’m Rosamund, or whatever your name is, and then walk over here,” She walked over to another volunteer. “Take the form,” She waved it. “And write your name down. Ok, first girl up please!”
Caroline found herself last in the line and stood, watching the girls in varying degrees of armour strut across the stage. One was in full heavy mech style armour, another virtually in a cardboard box, which made Caroline feel so much more confident. The person infront of her went, and she felt panic run through her. What was she doing? She was going to parade almost naked across a stage and let some-one take pictures of her. But then, she looked back at Toby, and he gave her a double thumbs up. He thought she looked beautiful, and hey... no backing out. She pulled on her different face, settled into stance and prowled across the stage, then back to centre stage, stood in her careful stance as the camera flashed.
“I’m Caroline,” she stated, then hesitated, head tilting.
The scent of weed was suddenly very strong. And the blonde guy leapt out of the crowd, straight at her, his grasping hands aiming at her throat. She heard a shout from the crowd, Toby’s voice, and then icy-cold anger descended over her. Caroline leant back, slipping the grab and backed off, bouncing back, falling into a left-footed stance, almost side-on to the man, looking up from under her eyelashes, chin tucked in.
I have been doing kickboxing for entirely too many years dickhead, she snarled mentally. Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.
He obliged and she parried with her right hand, knocking his grab away, then hooked with her left. He ducked... and she kept spinning, twisting right around and smashing his face with the back of her right hand, then whipped back around, bludgeoning the other side with the back of her left, then, still using her momentum, crushed her right fist into his face with a deadly right hook.
The man swayed and she cocked her head at him, then grinned. She leapt upward and drove her left heel into his solar plexus, a jumping front-kick, which sent him crashing backwards. She landed lightly and fell back into stance.
“Come on,” She commanded. “Get up. I dare you.”
The man only groaned from the floor. Caroline gazed at him, then straightened up, smoothing her catsuit and tucking an errant strand of red hair back into place, caressing her knuckles under the catsuit.
“I’m Caroline Huxley and I’m now a purple belt at kickboxing,” She stated precisely. “Any-one else?”
There was a pause, then Roy’s voice from below.
“I see why you choose this one Toby,” he drawled. “Strong defence protocols.”
“I didn’t choose her,” Toby replied with a grin. “She chose me.” He turned up at the stage. “Hunny, I was five seconds away from leaping up there to save you, honest!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll believe you,” Caroline grinned. “You are going to pay dearly mate.”
“I never doubted that for a second.”
She turned, smiling to see Joseph and the woman looking at them, and she grinned.
“It’s Rosamund Edgerton, isn’t it?” Caroline demanded, grinned. “I’ve been trying to place you for ages. Tell Anisiya I said hi, won’t you?”
Rosamund gave Caroline an amused smile.
“You know my niece?” She asked.
“She used to go to the same kickboxing classes as me,” Caroline said brightly. “She was the most badass girl I’ve ever met, we all aspired to her.”
“Glad to see that you kept it up,” Rosamund nodded to the man now being escorted out by the volunteers. “Spinning backfist. Pretty.”
“Pretty dangerous more like,” Caroline replied with a smile.
Joseph joined them.
“It’s an amazing costume,” he stated. “Simple, but classy. Is it your own creation, or...?”
“Oh god no, normally I’m a steampunk girl,” Caroline stated firmly. “My boyfriend did the suit and his friend did the make-up.” She tilted her head. “They’d love to meet you, if you can deal with them squeeing all over you.”
“Squeeing?” Joseph queried, looking concerned.
“They’re geeks, you’re the guy behind Endorian Leap, even I think it’s a good game, so they’re going to melt in your presence...” she tilted her head.
Joseph caught Caroline’s arm.
“Out of interest, could you be interested in being the model for the game, and possibly doing the voice for the character?”
Caroline mused.
“The character’s not going to be a whore, is she?” she clarified cautiously.
“No,” Joseph assured her. “Geeks are going to be unhealthily obsessed with her without her being an AI whore.”
That made Caroline smile despite herself. She hesitated.
“We would of course compensate you,” Joseph said.
“No, it’s ok,” Caroline said quickly. “It’d do it for free, just for the hell, but... do you think...” She hesitated again. “Could could bring my boyfriend in somehow?” She said after a moment. “He’s a graphics student, and a geek, he’d love to work with your team. Even if you just brought him in for a day or something and made him make you coffee.”
Joseph met her gaze, then nodded slowly.
“I daresay that we can accommodate that,” he smiled. “So you’re in?”
“Hell yes,” Caroline smiled, then shook her head slightly. “That boy is so going to pay for this.”
Rosamund grinned.
“And I bet that he’ll love every second.”
Caroline grinned, then feigned a surprised expression.
“What other point is there to punishment?”
Rosamund’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t know a girl called Sarah do you? Black haired, American, ditzy?”
“No...”
“Shame. You two would get on like a house on fire,” Rosamund glanced at Joseph, then down. “Oi, Caroline’s boyfriend and make-up artist can get up here. 5 minutes with him then I’m punting you off the stage!”