VegasPete : Chess Room (The Way You Taste sequel)

12 - Watermark

"Is this Pete's gathering?" Sanya enters the room smiling sarcastically.

"How do I find him?" I throw the chess piece at Sanya. "Save my time. Don't try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

"Oh... straightfoward Pete, I see...well...this is not a key to the chess room. It's an invitation card from the white king...there is not a diamond on it. But you can find the owner of this piece of chess using this."

"How?"

Sanya turns on his phone's flashlight and directs it to the crystal piece.

"Do you see these numbers? This is an ID code. There's an electronic device inside this chess piece, just like the key I gave you. This number changes from time to time. When you are inside the chess room, enter this code to let the owner know that you have opened a chess room to play with him. If he accepts, the connection between you will be encrypted. No one else will access the conversation but you and your chess opponent."

"Show me"

I take my key...the white knight...and toss it to him.

"Do you want me to do this now? Hah...you don't waste time."

"No, I don't."

Sanya takes his tablet out of his suitcase and puts it on the gurney. He shines the flashlight on my chess piece and enters the code.

"Access denied...Are you trying to fool me?" I point my gun at his head.

"You didn't think it would be so easy to access the chess room, did you? There's one important detail I still need to tell you."

"So tell me. Make it fast."

"This code is just a first step. Look at the message just below."

"Inheritance verification required." I read the message out loud. "What does it mean?"

"The chess room controllers must check your family identification first. As I have explained before, there are many mafia families in Asia, but only a few, the main ones, can have a chair in the chess room. The 'chair' in the room is an inheritance passed down from one generation to another through the access key."

"How did you get these keys? The white knight and the black king?

Sanya gave me a faint smile.

"I went to a chess room in China. That's where the white king identified himself to me and gave me both pieces."

"That easy?!"

Sanya shrugs his shoulders at me "Deep down, nothing is really easy, is it?

"Does the color of the crystal have any meaning?"

"Hmm...I don't know for sure. Usually, each family has a color. Subdivision of families has a different color too."

"If I have a white piece, does it mean I'm from the same family as the white king?"

"Maybe...maybe not. By blood, by marriage...or even by contract...depends on how a person is aggregated to a mafia family. That's why controllers must verify it. But I don't know what means they use to do it."

"Maybe I won't be able to get into the chess room then."

"Maybe is a good word. If you are a positive person, you can say you have 50% chance to succeed. If you are a pessimistic person, you will stick to the 50% chance of failure. But you are an optimistic, aren't you?" Sanya smirks.

"I consider myself realistic. Access this shit using your key."

"..."

"Go on." I aim my gun steady.