Blaine pulled the thin white fabric of the glove around his hand. He picked up the phantom blade. There was a bottomless pouch resting on the edge of his desk and he snatched it up with vigor.

Grunting with satisfaction, bouncing between his heels, hyping himself up.

Let’s go. Let’s do this.

He imagined power flowing through him. Into his feet, his arms, with no release. Trapped in his body. Coursing through his veins.

What came next would be fun. Dastardly. Truly epic.

An eager grin stretched across his face and another surge of energy propelled him out of the office and into the hall.

Smoke and lightning. That's what he was and he would prove it today.

The energy channeled by pumping his legs spread up his body. The ambient heat touched his face and renewed his smile. His thumb struck the elevator button.

"Going down," he said, cooly.

The elevator ride was long. Some of the energy had evaporated by the time the doors opened on the tenth floor.

Blaine stepped into the empty carpeted room and beheld each of the glass tunnels. He recharged himself, hopping on his heels, and then sprinted through the glass tunnel connecting his and Addy’s towers.

"This glass represents you, Addy-boy," Blaine said, chuckling, "Your security is fragile."

Then, an announcement cut through his focus.

“Blaine has entered the Tower of Joy.”

“Fuck!” Blaine swore. He hadn't expected that; the announcement had never happened before, "Guess not."

Blaine stopped when he reached Addy's elevators. For a brief lapse in time, he forgot what he was doing there in the first place.

Gotta steal from Addy.

Keep all of his cubes in my bag until just before the end of the game at 5 PM.

Toss the bag of cubes into my vault at the last second.

And if I'm really on my A-game, I can do some power plays to end things earlier.

An excellent plan.

Before continuing, Blaine gazed back at the sunlit glass corridor, taking a moment to admire its beauty. He could feel his eyes catching the light at just the right angle. They would be shining, he knew. Blaine smiled at the thought.

Once in Addy's elevator, he re-familiarized himself with the phantom blade, even though he had been playing with it all morning. Yellow button made a shape, red button carved the shape. Yellow-trace, red-carve. Thumb moves from the top button to the bottom button. Trace-carve-trace-carve.

Who am I kidding, I got this, Blaine reminded himself as the digital numbers ticked upward.

As the number climbed closer to 24, his heartbeat sped up. Blaine breathed, relaxed his shoulders, tried another smile.

Smiling helped to calm his nerves, too. Smiling helped with just about everything.

The doors slid open and Blaine entered the long hallway. Sure enough, Addy was waiting for him, poised in a combat-ready stance, blocking access to the vault.

Blaine laughed in his mind.

That asshole has no idea what I can do.

This would be easy. A cake-walk.

Addy opened his always-gabbing mouth and shouted across the expanse, “I fucking called it. Did I not call it?”

Called what? That Blaine had stolen the $12,000?

Blaine began walking forward with a casual ease, “Wrong. I’m not the one who stole from you the first time. That was Brad.”

Addy shook his head, “‘The first time.’ So you're assuming there'll be a second time. Ha! Wrong, big buddy. Take one more step and see what happens.”

Well. If you insist...

Blaine took the step.

Addy made a throwing gesture and snapped his fingers. A second or two later, the ground directly in front of Blaine’s feet exploded, sending plaster and tears of scorched carpet into Blaine’s face.

Blaine wheeled backward, pulling an ashy scrap of charred fabric from his hair.

What the hell did he throw at me?

Whatever it was, the fabric had stung. Maybe burned him. Piled on top of that was the dread thought that there might be soot in his hair and on his face.

That was surprising, I'll admit, but he is still outmatched. This will end swiftly.

“Wanna fucking defy me again?” Addy warned, “That was a warning shot! Don’t take another damn step!”

Blaine smiled. He didn’t have to.

A dot of light made a circle around Addy’s feet. A second later, the shape changed from yellow to crimson.

Addy swore, noticing far too late. The floor under him shifted and gave out. Blaine took a moment to enjoy watching him fall to the level below.

How the mighty have fallen.

With the path clear, he sprinted across the rest of the hall and into the vault.

Addy's cubes were scattered to the edges of the vault. Blaine chuckled, imagining how Addy might have done it intentionally to slow down any thieves.

What a fraud! He planned to lose!

Blaine dropped to his knees. Every green cube crammed into the magic pouch felt like victory. He had proven that he could take Addy in a fight, which was something that needed to happen. There were people in the group who needed taken down a peg.

Next, I need to beat Alec in a battle of wits.

Not to be mean, of course. It just needed to be done to maintain the balance of power. He could be a hero, in that sense.

Blaine had taken maybe 30 cubes before the footsteps sounded behind him. They were close.

“Drop the stick,” Addy ordered.

Blaine steeled himself, phantom blade firmly in hand. If he turned without dropping the blade, it would be perceived as a threat.

He would try anyway. He couldn't lose a valuable tool to the hands of Addy.

“Woah, man. You got me," Blaine pretended, "Hey, I tell you what. Let me keep the ‘stick’ and I’ll leave without causing any more trouble.”

Addy took a long moment to consider. Blaine let him.

He had him where he wanted.

Addy knows he can’t hurt me while I’m standing here. Not with those exploding things. He might accidentally blow up some of his cubes.

Be a good sport, Addy, and we all walk away with what we want.

Addy eventually heaved a sigh, “You can keep the magicky-magic queer baton, but return any fucking cubes you stole from me. Empty your bag.”

Blaine stood and slowly turned around. His hand fished a cube out of the pouch that was definitely too small to hold more than one. He dropped it into the sea of green and met Addy’s coffee-brown eyes, “Are we good?”

There was dried blood on Addy's chin from a cut in his lower lip. He didn't seem to care, digging his teeth into the wound as he spoke, “Leave! And stop robbing everyone, you ass hat!”

Blaine complied, walking past Addy and towards the elevator, calling back to his enemy, "No promises!"

Addy shouted back, "Doesn't bother me. Your promises are never worth dick!"

Blaine shrugged, conceding the point. He knew he had a problem with honesty, but everyone had their issues. Brad held the worst grudges, Alec was too raw, and Addy was low-key abusive. So what if he peppered them with white lies? Could be worse.

He walked past the two holes in the floor that they had each contributed to. Blaine's hole was precisely cut with rounded edges. Addy's hole didn't have any clear shape to it and was more of a scorched crater surrounded by hazardous and flaming debris. Blaine did his best to walk around most of the wood splinters and miniature fires, while maintaining a defeated posture, shoulders down, head sagging. The image of someone beaten down. Another victim of a terrible abuser.

But also...

Mission success.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, a burst of laughter filled his eyes with tears.

♠

Blaine held a money cube in his palm. With a light tap from his gloved hand, the cube was sent flying, propelled in an upward arc. A light clunk sounded as it touched down in his vault.

Blaine had removed half of the 24th-floor hallway, just as he had seen Alec do. It was a smart plan, and there was no rule about copying smart plans.

He stood on the 23rd floor, outside his office. Each cube soared through the gap between floors and into the open door of his vault. He drew another cube from his pouch and did it again. Then again. 18,19,20...

“Shit, man, throw me one next!”

Brad's voice.

Took him long enough to get here.

Blaine ignored Brad, blasting another cube into the vault.

“Dude, not now,” Blaine said, walking back into the office, “I stole these from Addy and he’s going to figure out soon. I need you upstairs and guarding my vault.”

“What? Hey, I ain’t no bitch. Your vault can guard itself, I’m busy.”

Two blue power cubes sat atop the pedestal in his office. His reward for the heist. Blaine picked them up and placed both in the row for ‘Time.'

The new deadline was 3 PM. Less than two hours away.

“Busy doing what?" Blaine said, "Come on, dude, I would help you if you needed it. Just help me deal with Addy real quick. He has explosives!”

“Explosives? Ha! Naw, man, that’s all you.”

Blaine withdrew a money cube from the pouch and tossed it to Brad. Brad fumbled to catch it, then looked at Blaine with incredulity, “You’re gonna need to pay me more than that. I ain’t no cheap whore.”

“That’s the last one,” Blaine lied.

Brad took his word for it.

After mulling it over for a few seconds, he resigned to help, claiming he might as well since he had already made the trip. Blaine led his friend up the stairs to the 24th floor, where they got into position.

The pair didn’t have to wait long for Addy to make his appearance. The man emerged from the elevator with clenched fists and half-clenched eyes, a mix of anger and disgust. He raised one of the tight fists and flicked something between the elevator doors just before they could shut. The exploding thing. Wisps from a fireball plumed through the gap in the doors and a loud shudder resonated through Blaine’s bones.

Damn. For a loose cannon, he's quite the showman!

Addy spat blood on the carpet and said, “I should have known there was no honor among thieves. You fucking lied to me and I missed it!”

Blaine and Brad stood in the middle of the hall. Their heels were only centimeters from the gap in the floor.

Blaine took a step forward, “You’re wasting everyone’s time, being here. What was that about ass dicks?"

"Not gonna bother defending yourself? I called you a Liar. Capital L. And yeah, I also called you an ass hat, but it's interesting to know what's on Blainey-boy's mind."

Instead of merely rolling his eyes, Blaine tossed his head back and rolled them, "You couldn’t reach my vault if you tried, and now Alec is getting even further ahead of us.”

“Again, he doesn’t even defend himself,” Addy criticized, “Liar. Liar. Doesn't that bother you? Brad, why are you helping him? Are you dumb? He's clearly using you. Manipulating you.”

“I’m not being used for shit. I’m defending my friend from a lunatic with a dangerous-ass temper!” Brad reasoned, taking a step forward to mirror Blaine.

Blaine took an additional step.

Addy made a nasty face, "Yeah, sure, he's definitely not using you. Is that what he told you? Has no one ever taught you about actions and words?"

"'Actions speak louder than words,'" Brad recited, "Great quote. What does that have to do with anything?"

Shaking his head, Addy said, "All the wisdom in the world and no one stops to listen. What a fucking shame. You wanna know what's louder than words? I'll show you."

Addy raised a hand above his head and Blaine noticed he was holding a short black twig.

The exploding thing.

Before Blaine could react, Brad was charging, leaning into his left shoulder for a tackle. At the moment before impact, Addy brought a forearm up to catch Brad’s shoulder. With his other arm, he drove an elbow into Brad’s back, extended it out to grab Brad’s face, and twisted his head skyward. He swiped Brad’s glasses in the process and chucked them across the floor.

Brad winced, listening to them clack against a wall. Then he stumbled backward, off balance and nearly falling.

Blaine took that as his cue to join the fight. He began drawing a large circle of light on the floor.

Addy noticed this time and leaped forward. Brad - unaware of what the phantom blade could do - fell through the massive hole to the level below.

Great. There goes my backup.

Blaine refocused his attention and saw that Addy was already closing the distance between himself and Blaine. He watched him crank his right arm back for a punch. Blaine brought his gloved hand up to block.

Addy’s left leg connected with Blaine’s knee and Blaine crumpled, lurching away, catching his balance in time so that he didn't tumble into the larger of the two gaps in the floor.

Addy advanced, joining his hands together, pushing them towards his jaw-

No!

Panic overtook Blaine. He blindly swiped at Addy with both arms. Defending, lashing out. Protecting his head, whatever the cost to pride.

In the doing, Blaine scored a hit on Addy with the gloved hand. His attacker’s body lifted from the ground and sailed backward through the air. The force nearly sent him into the wall at the far end of the hallway.

Addy stuck the landing, bent his knees, and skidded backward across the carpet. The friction wasn’t enough to keep him from sliding into the hole that Blaine had made moments before.

Addy caught the edge of the carpeted pit with one arm and one hand. He paused for breath, then tried to pull himself back up.

“You’d never win in a real f-!”

Addy’s cutting words were interrupted by a force suddenly pulling him down into the hole.

Brad. Managing to be useful after all.

Then silence. Blaine waited, ready to fight the moment Addy returned.

Addy had proven himself to be a competent fighter in round two. But it had not been enough to take the win. It felt good, being two-for-two. Really damn good.

"Must be painful, getting a Blaine-full," he quipped.

Then, having delivered the line, his expression soured.

Let's never say that again.

Something else was souring the moment. Addy's near-hit to Blaine's jaw. That had been close. Too close for comfort.

Close enough to bring back memories.

Of... helplessness. Loss of control. Actual life-altering danger - the kind that could... really ruin a person.

His dad's life was ruined. It hadn't taken much. Even today, they still weren't sure if it was the smoking, the alcohol, or simple bad luck. It had only taken two... incidents to put him over the edge.

Blaine had also suffered through two 'incidents.' Scary shit. Any day, there could be a third, and that might be it. He had to be careful.

Black fear gripped him. He knew he shouldn't dwell on it. But how could he not? His fate was... kind of inevitable.

It was Brad who finally burst into the hall, heaving in gulps of air. Alone. No sign of Addy.

Blaine needed to put on a show. Get lost in the act of being okay. Only then would he be able to believe it himself.

“Did you chase him?” Blaine asked, wondering at the show of exhaustion.

Brad shook his head, swallowing, “After I pulled him down, he ran. I let him go - shits not worth it. None of your elevators are working by the way. Ran up the stairs too fast. That’s all.”

Blaine nodded, letting the confirmation of victory warm his spirits, “Thanks for having my back, man. Addy must be pissed.”

He almost added that he 'owed Brad one,' but caught himself in time.

“Yeah...,” Brad agreed, still breathing hard, “I got all this adrenaline now, I feel like I could run the mile.”

“Careful, bud,” Blaine cautioned.

They returned to Blaine's office to re-coop. Blaine took a seat at the desk to look over the money charts. Brad dawdled around the room, then made his way to the window.

Sitting felt good. He had pushed himself a lot in the last half-hour. And it had nearly cost him.

Cost him everything. He had been inches away-

Brad swore under his breath, and the dark spell was broken.

“Shit, shit, shit!”

“What’s up, man?” Blaine asked, turning his head towards him.

Brad’s attention was directed downwards to the tunnels below, “He’s going for my vault and there's no one to defend it!”

Blaine huffed with frustration.

Great, now Brad is expecting me to help defend his vault. Goddamnit.

The two victories had felt amazing, but he needed to get back to doing jobs and earning money. He needed to complete another sale or move another kitchen appliance into the correct place.

This was another distraction from actually playing the game. Another deviation.

We can't keep this up. We'll all lose!

While the three of them squabbled over vaults, another man was gaining the upper hand. Someone clever, who needed to be taken down a peg.

It was another chance for Alec to crush them all.