Shattered Ice

e was not a mere academic

. It was past midnight. The air vents blew a steady stream of artificial chill down the back of my neck.

, dust, and the bitter residue of stale c

humping of heavy bass vibrating through the thick concrete walls. State University had just

r a mountain of c

rial brief due in three days. I needed to study the nuances of corporate liability and internat

ensure the athletic department adhered to strict university regulations. It was tedious, thankless work. But it paid for my tuiti

yes and leaned closer

game footage. Log the penalties. Flag any potential

spacebar. The

e of the ice rink. The deafening roar of the re

here

Kinc

aptain. The untouchable gold

dator in a frozen arena. The opposing players visibly hesitated when he skated into their zone. He had a reputation for

plastered to his forehead under his helmet.

caught my

ed the

in the silent office. I rewound the footag

ammate, Asher Hayes, was perfectly positioned for a fast

o hesi

ight to his left skate. He dropped his shoulder. He allowed the opp

lty on the opponent, but State University

ning closer to

. Hockey was a fa

like that. He was an elite athlete k

is name into the search bar. Rows of complex data populated the scre

data for the

bers on the screen. A cold knot

ldcats, Leo took a highly uncharacteristic hoo

missed a basic defensive assignment that resu

preadsheet. My hands be

for behavioral patterns. I was trained to find the hid

g to the public sports betting lines for the college league. I knew I was crossing a dangerous line

rs began

of a master surgeon. The dropped passes. The mistimed checks.

rfectly with the unde

eo made sure they only won by one. When the over under for total penalty minute

mall. The concrete walls seemed to press

h. The stale, dusty

ness. This was not

calculate

ould become a vicious national scandal. The athletic program would face severe san

den career would be over. He

read fraud. If an external financial audit caught the statistical anomaly later this year, my digital signature woul

e was my favorite person in the whole wide world, and I could not fail h

screen. His jaw was tightly clenched. His eyes wer

. And he was dragging the whole univer

plosive information to the dean based on a simple h

a complex program designed for the engineering department, but m

e metrics from his freshman and sophomore years. I established his baseline

sh data from the last

t likelihood of these specific errors occu

ng its wings against a cage. The rhythmic thumping matched

ing index finger o

ear my browser history. I would chalk it up to a bad streak on the ice. I would sign

ssed

loading progress bar flashed across the dark screen,

ged softly in

ed in bold, red font at the

l unforced errors occurr

.

lungs in a rushed

ro

y impossible for thi

ing it on

University was intenti

The fluorescent lights flickered once, casting long

bright screen. I did not know who to call first. The campus

list, the heavy metal door to th

s handle

crete wall with a sharp, violent thu

hand still hovering ne

ht of the doorway. His broad shoulders blo

nsive cologne, and dark secr

His broad chest heaved with heavy, controlled breaths. His sharp, da

dropped to the glowin

ight at the bo

and let the heavy metal d

or's

w that he knows Caroline found his secret? Please leave a comment and let me kno