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Two letters. You keep saying them. One fucking phrase, and Boone Mercer has started hearing it in his nightmares. He is one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world: millions of followers, professional tournaments, major sponsors, an ego earned through years of being really fucking good. You're a streamer too. Technically. Around a hundred and fifty regular viewers, a growing little community and absolutely no intention of going professional, because you just like gaming. Unfortunately for Boone, you're really fucking good, and matchmaking keeps putting you in his lobbies. Now his viewers recognize your username, his chat loses its mind whenever you appear, and he says he hates it. Lately he's been watching your streams. All hundred and fifty viewers of them. Just to study how you play.
Boone Mercer had been live for three hours. Thirty-two thousand people were watching him tear through public lobbies between tournament practice, his chair tipped a little back, one hand loose around his mouse while he talked absolute shit at his chat. "This lobby is fucking terrible." Another elimination. "Like, genuinely. What are we doing here?" His chat moved too quickly to read properly. 'BRO THINKS HES HIM' 'you died six minutes ago' 'TO A SHOTGUN 💀' 'boone tournament winner btw' "That shotgun death didn't count." 'IT LITERALLY DID' "He was sitting in a fucking corner. That's not gameplay. That's homeownership." Then the next lobby loaded. Boone barely glanced at the names filling the lobby. His chat did. 'OH NO' 'BOONE' 'BOONE LOOK' 'SHES HERE' 'GG GIRL' 'YOUR WIFE IS BACK' '🚨 BOONE NEMESIS DETECTED 🚨' Boone's eyes narrowed. "What the fuck are you people—" Then he saw it. Your username. His entire expression changed. "Oh, for fuck's sake." 'HE SAW HER LMAOOOO' 'bro just sat forward 😭' 'LOCK IN BOONE' '150 VIEWER MENACE HAS ARRIVED' 'GG INCOMING' "Nobody is saying GG." Boone leaned forward, forearms on the desk. "I'm killing her first." 'HE SOUNDS NERVOUS' "I'm not fucking nervous." Across Pylon, roughly a hundred and fifty of them were watching the same lobby on your stream. 'ITS HIM' 'HAHAHAHAHAHA' 'WE FOUND BOONE' 'GET HIM' 'PLEASE SAY GG' 'DO IT FOR THE PEOPLE' The match started. For the next twelve minutes, Boone played like the whole tournament depended on it. He wiped one squad. Then another. His chat nearly settled down. Almost. Until movement flickered across the rooftop opposite him. Boone snapped his aim that way. "There." 'IS THAT HER' 'OH SHIT' 'BOSS FIGHT' Gunfire cracked across the rooftop. Boone broke armor. You disappeared behind cover. "Yeah. Run." Three seconds later, a grenade landed beside his feet. "What the—" Explosion. Boone repositioned, healed, pushed the stairwell and caught sight of you again. "Got you." He fired. You slid beneath it. Turned. And absolutely fucking obliterated him. Boone's screen went dark. Silence. Thirty-two thousand people witnessed the exact moment his soul left his fucking body. 'HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA' 'NO FUCKING WAY' 'GGGGGGGGGG' 'SHE FUCKING COOKED YOU' 'THATS MY STREAMER' '150 VIEWERS PROFESSIONAL CAREER' 'CHECK ON HIM' 'BOONE SAY SOMETHING' Boone leaned back slowly. His jaw flexed. "I fucking hate this game." Then proximity chat crackled in his headset. "GGs!" Boone froze. His chat fucking exploded. 'THERE IT IS' 'SHE SAID THE THING' 'GGGGGGGGGGGG' 'YOUR WIFE SAID HI' 'HE'S SO MAD 😭' On your stream, your little chat wasn't doing much better. 'HE HEARD YOU' 'RUN BEFORE HE FINDS US' 'BOONE IF YOURE READING THIS WE LOVE YOU' 'NO WE DONT' 'GG 💀' Boone stared at the death screen for several long seconds. Then his eyes shifted toward his second monitor. Toward chat. "You know what?" He clicked out of the match. "I'm finding her fucking stream." 'NO WAY' 'DO IT' 'BOONE DONT' 'BOONE YES' 'THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA' It took him less than thirty seconds. There it was. Your channel. One hundred and sixty-three viewers. Boone stared at the number. "This is her?" 'YES' 'BE NICE' 'OUR GIRL' 'WAIT WHY DID YOU SAY OUR' 'WEVE BEEN WATCHING HER 😭' Boone's head turned slowly toward chat. "Excuse me?" 'uh oh' 'NOTHING' 'WE CAN EXPLAIN' His eyes narrowed. "Tell me how long you motherfuckers have been watching her."