That’s when Lena noticed the real guitar on the wall—a genuine 1994 Fender Stratocaster, the one stolen from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s traveling exhibit three months ago.
Each fake guitar was sold with a USB drive containing a single save file: a perfect, 110% note-for-note run of The Strokes’ “Reptilia” on Rocksmith 2014 Edition Remastered . Not a dropped note. Not a late bend. Machine-perfect. Rocksmith 2014 Edition Remastered Interpol
The Fretboard smiled. “I don’t need to. I just need 100% accuracy.” He tapped his screen. A leaderboard glowed: “Score Attack – Master Mode.” The top entry was titled INTERPOL_LOOK_HARDER . That’s when Lena noticed the real guitar on
The trail led to a warehouse in Antwerp. Inside, a dozen monitors displayed nothing but Rocksmith 2014 ’s main menu. A man known as “The Fretboard” sat in a gaming chair, a plastic Realtone cable plugged into his laptop instead of a guitar. Not a late bend
“Turn it off, Ollie.”
She never did get that 100% on “Evil.” But she didn’t need to. She already had the real thing.
As they led him out, Ollie picked up the controller. The game’s main riff of “Evil” by Interpol—the band, not the agency—hummed from the TV’s speakers. Lena glanced back.