Guns And Dogs

by T. A. Uner

  “Will you at least think about it?” he asked.

  She looked down again. “I suppose I could, but the answer would probably be the same.”

  Is this the end? He thought. The end of us? The end of all the dreams we’d made for the future? It sure looked like it.

  ***

  The presentation was still going strong when he awoke from the past. Luckily Patrice hadn’t noticed his lapse. He didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of her. Little Miss MIT would probably think he was patronizing her. But he wasn’t about to let down Argos and Doctor Murdoc, or Jessie and Studs, who had quickly grown on him. And how could he forget his father’s legacy at AL? Can’t tarnish Dad’s reputation. Now can I? The presentation ended and the lights brightened. “I hope you found that presentation informative, Mr. Veto?”

  “Yeah, I sure did. What’s next?”

  “A brief tour, then your training will commence.”

  “So soon? You guys don’t waste any time do you?”

  She smiled. And it nearly caught him off guard. I wonder what’s so damn funny.

  “Time, Mr. Veto, is the most precious commodity here at AL Command. As you shall find out shortly.”

  Chapter 9

  AL Training Room 1

  6:25 AM, PST

  Sleep was hard to come by. Johnny’s next test would be in less than an hour and he had no idea what it entailed. He tried getting in touch with Argos but this wasn’t allowed during his training. Which, according to Patrice, would last two weeks.

  After a quick breakfast in the cafeteria, he returned to his dormitory to find the HoverBot there. It had placed his new silver-colored training uniform on his bed, along with a pair of black boots. His closet was also stocked with new clothing. “You are to wear AL-issued clothing during your training candidate Veto,” it said. “If you require anything, you may contact me via your wristlink.” It hovered over towards Johnny and dropped a device into his hand.

  Johnny strapped the device to his wrist and examined it. There was a row of keys. One green, one blue, one yellow, and one red. “Press the green button and speak into it to request something.”

  “What about these other buttons?”

  The HoverBot’s lights blinked rapidly before answering him. “Do not concern yourself with those yet. In time you will be trained in their uses.” The little robot then floated out of the room, leaving Johnny with a few unanswered questions.

  “Mr. Veto.” Johnny looked up. Patrice’s voice was speaking to him through an intercom. “Please report to Training Room 1.”

  Johnny cursed softly and quickly stripped off his civilian clothes before donning the training suit and boots. Both were surprisingly comfortable.

  In the hallway he saw a technician working on a ceiling light and asked for directions to Training Room 1. A few minutes later he arrived at his destination.

  Patrice was waiting in the room. A black helmet was sitting on a leather reclining chair behind her. She was also wearing a training suit but hers was black and had strange insignia patches sewn on its sleeves. “You’re late, Mr. Veto,” she said.

  “Sorry. But it would’ve been nice if you’d given me directions on how to find this place.”

  Patrice frowned at him. “An AL operative doesn’t make excuses, Mr. Veto. An AL operative executes.” She handed him the helmet. “Let’s get started. Take a seat in the chair.”

  Johnny took a seat and looked around the room. There was no sign of anything. Not even a mirror. He wondered what this ‘training’ would be.

  “Now, put the helmet on.”

  Johnny placed it on his head. It fit snugly and a few seconds later a display activated inside the helmet. His last name, VETO, was listed in the lower right section of the readout along with his vital signs and mission time. “So now what?”

  “Patience isn’t one of your strong points, now is it, Mr. Veto?” There was a moment of silence before the room lit up like an LED billboard. “You should now see the inner-lights of this room. Do you see them?”

  “Yes.”

  “Excellent. Now the purpose of this training exercise is to test your memory. In the field you will be required to memorize data and you won’t always be carrying a tablet with you on missions. The reason for that will be explained later.”

  “Alright.” I guess this is one of those need-to-know situations, he thought. “So what am I supposed to memorize, Patrice?” He could feel his breath inside the helmet, but strangely the visor did not fog up.

  “Your heads-up display, or HUD, will notify you. From there it is up to you to follow the directions to the best of your ability. Your scores will be fed directly into the main computer. After which you will be graded. You are allowed one practice-run before the first series of memory tests. Are you ready to begin Mr. Veto?”

  “I guess so,” he said eagerly.

  “Excellent.”

  Johnny heard the door hiss shut and he knew he was alone. The HUD fed him his first set of visual instructions:

  TEST EXERCISE ONE: PLEASE BE SURE TO REMEMBER EXACTLY WHERE THE RABBIT IS. THERE IS NO NEED TO VOICE YOUR ANSWER. YOU MUST REMEMBER AND ‘THINK’ YOUR ANSWER. THE COMPUTER WILL READ YOUR THOUGHTS AND AWARD YOUR SCORE ACCORDINGLY.

  Three top hats appeared on the HUD. Each was labeled: A, B, & C from left to right. A white rabbit popped out from under top hat A and waved at Johnny before disappearing. Johnny made a mental note that the rabbit had been under the first hat on the left before the letters A, B, & C disappeared.

  NOW THE EXERCISE WILL BEGIN. READY? REMEMBER, DO NOT SPEAK YOUR ANSWER. ‘THINK’ IT.

  Johnny fed his thought into the simulation computer: “Understood.”

  Seconds later the top hats began shuffling around until their speed increased. Johnny kept his eyes on the hat where the rabbit had first appeared. 15 seconds later the hats stopped moving. The letters A, B and C then reappeared.

  NOW, UNDER WHICH HAT IS THE RABBIT? YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO THINK YOUR ANSWER. GO.

  Johnny was confident he’d remember. He knew the rabbit was initially under hat A before it had shuffled around. He fed another thought answer into the computer and waited for the result.

  CORRECT. THE RABBIT IS STILL UNDER HAT A.

  The white rabbit reappeared and waved at Johnny again. He couldn’t help but laugh. The exercise continued. But at a faster rate. He registered three more answers and they too were all correct.

  CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY PASSED ROUND ONE.

  The next set of exercises began flashing five license plates from different states. Again the test started at a slower rate before increasing in speed. This exercise required him to remember how many times each state was displayed. It then increased to ten plates, then fifteen, all the way up to twenty-five. He only had five seconds to register his answers via thought. His mind felt like it was being stretched to the limit. He couldn’t recall the last time he had done this much memorization. Maybe kindergarten? He seemed to recall a memorization game his teacher had made them all play on a computer. But that game was nothing compared to the vigorous demands of this AL program.

  He exhaled and waited for the next round of his test results.

  CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY PASSED ROUND TWO.

  This wasn’t so hard.

  ***

  After the 3rd test he was allowed to take a short break in the recreation room outside the training facility.

  Inside the recreation room he saw Argos reading a book. When Jessie and Studs saw him they rushed over to him and leapt up and down around him before pawing at his boots. He smiled. “I don’t think I’ve seen them that happy for quite some time,” Argos said before shaking Johnny’s hand. “How are you doing? Patrice keeping you busy?”

  “Yeah. You could say that. Where have you three been hiding?”

  “I’ve been supervising the refit of Gina. Her Antimatter Drive, the system that helps us Time-Travel, hasn’t been working well and the repair techni
cians have been working overtime to get it up-and-running. Right now Gina is the only mobile Time-Healing unit we have. Everyone else has to go through the Time-Displacer.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Technically I shouldn’t be telling you this, since you don’t have the proper clearance, but since you’ll be Time-Healing with me, I don’t see why you shouldn’t have additional background knowledge of AL technology. The Time-Displacer is a stationary time-travel device that allows AL operatives to move through time in order to complete their Time-Healing missions. Until Gina was equipped with an Antimatter Drive, using the Time-Displacer was the only way we could carry out our missions. But enough talk of that, I’d like to know how your training is going.”

  “Tough.” Johnny then checked his wristlink. He had only ten minutes left before his training resumed. “I don’t think Patrice likes me very much.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “She’s so…mechanical. And on top of that she acts condescending. I’m starting to think she’s a robot or something.”

  Argos grinned. “Give her a break Johnny. After all she’s only a few years older than you. Superior intellect doesn’t always guarantee maturity.”

  “Give her a break? Argos, I wish she’d give me a break.”

  “All part of the training my man. But in Patrice’s defense, she’s been brought up being told of how special she is and after a while that type of thinking gets indoctrinated within a person’s psyche. Give it time. Here’s an idea—work on being her friend.”

  Johnny nodded. “Alright, I just hope I don’t end up strangling her first.”

  ***

  Seeing Argos and the two Dobermans settled Johnny’s nerves. It was good to see a familiar face in this compound. Apart from Patrice he hadn’t really talked to anyone. Not that talking to her was a pleasurable experience. He’d had more exciting conversations with toaster ovens.

  Upon re-entering the Training Room Patrice was waiting for him. “I was about to message you on your wristlink. Just in case you’d gotten yourself lost again.”

  ‘Work on being her friend.’ Isn’t that what Argos said? “Nope, not me. Can’t afford to get lost. Time’s a big deal around here. Remember? Now, what’s next? Some more memory training? Love that bunny rabbit by the way.”

  Patrice shot him a curious glance. “Actually you’ve completed your memory training and your test scores have already been recorded. Now we’ll move on to a different testing examination.” She headed for the door before stopping and turning around to face him. “Please follow me.”

  “Where we going?”

  “To Training Room 2.”

  Johnny crossed his arms. “What are you going to test me on in there?”

  “Character testing, to be followed by hand-to-hand combat. We’re going to find out what you’re really made of Mr. Veto.

  Training Room 2 looked exactly like Training Room 1. Except there was no reclining chair and no HUD training helmet. The lights were dimmer too. “So now what?”

  Patrice ignored him and spoke into her wrist gauntlet. “Prepare the simulation,” she said.

  Johnny wondered what she meant by ‘simulation’ and how that tied into his character testing.

  “You’re to remain in this room until the end of the simulation.” Patrice turned and left the training room.

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” Johnny yelled. There was an intercom speaker built into the ceiling and he directed his speech towards it. “Hey Patrice? How am I supposed to know how to complete this test if you don’t give me any instructions?”

  The intercom came to life. “Calm yourself Mr. Veto,” Patrice said. “This test will take place in a holographic environment. That is all I can tell you. AL regulations. Good luck.”

  The lights dimmed even more before the room shifted around Johnny. For a moment he felt dizzy but soon steadied himself. Seconds later the room formed into a park. He heard the chirping of birds and the sky was clear, while a bright sun shone down on him. Even the air was warmer.

  To his right was a park bench. He watched as an old man wearing a baseball cap sat down and began feeding a group of pigeons that had gathered in front of him. The old man looked up at Johnny and smiled. “Beautiful weather for a day at the park. Ehh son?”

  “I suppose,” Johnny answered. The old man had a curly white beard and bushy grey eyebrows that made him look like Santa Claus.

  “You look lost son,” the old man said. “Mind telling an old man your troubles? I could use some company.”

  Perhaps this is part of the test, Johnny thought. They want to hear what I’ll say, or do. “No that’s alright, mister. I’ve gotta be going anyways.”

  “Suit yourself.” The old man tipped his baseball cap and returned to feeding his birds.

  Johnny walked down the asphalt path and took in the smell of the freshly-cut grass flanking his path. In the distance he saw a carousel under the cool shade of a large tree where children were riding alongside the supervision of their parents.

  The sun beat down on him and he wished he had a hat to wear. He decided to head for the carousel and see if he could figure out how to pass this simulation. Moments later he found an object lying in his path. A wallet. He picked it up. It was filled with a half dozen credit cards and a thick row of hundred dollar bills. His eyes widened. For holographic currency it sure looked and smelled like real money. A part of him wanted to hang onto it. But in the end he felt guilty.

  He opened the inside of the wallet to see if he could find any type of identification. He soon found a driver’s license behind a faded social security card. The face matched the old man who he’d seen earlier. Patrice, you’re making this too easy. Johnny hurried back to the bench, but the old man was gone. His heart sank in his chest and he realized that AL wasn’t going to make this easy, no matter how confident he felt about completing this Character Assessment test.

  He heard the neighing of a horse and a helmeted police officer wearing sunglasses approached him on horseback. He gave Johnny a look-over, no doubt wondering why the young man was wearing the outlandish AL Training suit. “Hello officer,” Johnny said.

  The officer continued to eye him suspiciously. “You know, you look kinda familiar; what you got there in your hand there kid?”

  “Ohh, this? I found it.” Johnny extended the wallet to the police officer who leaned over the side of his saddle and plucked it from his hand.

  The officer flipped through the wallet. “This isn’t yours.”

  “I know. Like I said…I found it.”

  “Bull,” the cop said. “You stole it.” He climbed down from his horse. The officer stood at least a foot taller than him but Johnny remained calm. If he panicked, this holographic police officer would detect it. Maybe this was part of the simulation. “Now I think I know where I recognize you from. You’re that punk who’s been lifting wallets from all the park-goers.” He drew his nightstick. “You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain…”

  “Hello!”

  Both the officer and Johnny turned around; the old man he’d encountered earlier had returned. He smiled at Johnny. “So you’ve decided to return to keep me company, son?”

  “I was trying to find you,” Johnny said. He tried to keep his voice firm. But a surge of fury rose in his chest. He felt like punching the holographic cop in the face for wrongly accusing him of theft. But he kept his nerve.

  The policeman’s horse snorted and relieved itself on the pavement.

  Great. I even get to smell holographic horse poop.

  “I caught this kid with your wallet, sir,” the policeman said before handing the wallet over to the old man. “I was just about to arrest him and charge him with a misdemeanor.”

  “That’s not true,” Johnny said. “I found it and gave it to the police officer.”

  The cop grabbed Johnny’s arm. His grip was strong, but Johnny didn’t waver, he yanked his arm away from the police officer who raised his
nightstick. Johnny prepared himself for the blow that would surely come.

  “Now hold on there flatfoot,” the old man said. “I can tell you for a fact this is the second time this week I’ve dropped my wallet. The other day I dropped it in my garage before my wife found it. I might even have a hole in my trousers.” He felt his back pocket and smiled. “Yep. It’s just like I thought. The lining in my back pocket has come undone. Now you leave that young feller alone. He’s alright.”

  The cop looked disappointedly at the old man, then, back at Johnny before lowering his nightstick. “But sir, he’s a thief. You want me to let a him walk?”

  “Did you see this young man lift the wallet from me, officer?” When the policeman didn’t reply the old man smiled. “Last I checked, the law must have proof before accusing someone.”

  The officer looked indignant. “So I take it that you don’t wish to press charges against this punk?” Johnny felt like punching the man in the face for calling him a ‘punk.’ The only punk here was the one carrying the nightstick and firearm.

  “That’s correct officer. But thank you for your concern.”

  The officer climbed atop his horse, mumbled a few incoherent words and rode off.

  “The nerve of that guy,” Johnny said. “I found your wallet and was trying to bring it back to you.”

  The old man patted Johnny on the shoulder. “I know, I know, son. But you handled yourself admirably against that feral creature. You see bullies come in all shapes and forms. Unfortunately, some of them even wield the power of the law.”

  Johnny wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’m just glad you appeared when you did, sir.”

  The old man smiled at Johnny. “You would’ve handled him; of that I have little doubt, farewell my young friend.” Seconds later the old man disappeared, along with the park. Johnny was back in Training Room 2. Then the holographic room disappeared and he found himself in a dark alley that smelled like rotten fish. Above him a sliver of moon appeared behind a cluster of dark clouds. In his hand was a briefcase.