Obsidian Detective

by Michael Anderle

  “I don’t care if I pissed you off, Naric,” Erik offered, all mirth gone from his voice. “I want the people above you since they’re the ones ultimately at fault for you. You don’t punish the sword for the man stabbing you with it.”

  Naric sneered. “You still think you’re on some frontier planet taking down terrorists, don’t you? There’s no medal at the end of this, Blackwell. No hero’s welcome, and I’m through with this. You’ve come into my place and been rude to me. I wondered if we could perhaps come to a real arrangement, but I understand now that’s not possible. As for the Windward company, and the unfortunate events therein, I have no knowledge of why that occurred, and officially never heard of the company before you mentioned it. So get the hell out of my place.”

  Erik laughed. “You think I’m going to leave because you tell me to? If you know about my background, then I can’t even excuse this by saying you have no idea who you’re messing with.”

  His guard put a hand on his gun and grunted.

  Naric sighed. “Nor do you. Now, like I said. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The thug started drawing his gun and smiled. “Enjoy hell, soldier boy.”

  Jia’s eyes widened. Erik was going to die unless she did something.

  She reached for her stun pistol.

  Erik’s hand shot up, pistol at the ready, and fired. The bullet struck the other man’s gun and knocked it out of his hand.

  “The only reason that didn’t go through your head is that I’m trying to give you two idiots a small chance to not be total morons,” Erik snarled, his weapon covering the guard.

  Naric slapped his PNIU and a harsh alarm sounded. He reached inside his jacket, his eyes full of hatred, and Erik put a round in his shoulder.

  The man screamed in pain and stumbled back before rushing toward a side door, his guard trailing him.

  “I thought you said they wouldn’t try to kill us!”

  “Can’t always be right.” Erik headed toward the door Naric had used. “But we need to move.”

  He spun into the hallway and fired several times at armed men emerging from the earlier rooms. They ducked back inside. “There are too many up front.” He turned. “About face, and charge!”

  “What?”

  “Let’s go!”

  Jia ran out into the hallway and fired, missing. She fired a second time, and a gangster yelped as he collapsed to the ground, stunned, his body convulsing.

  Both cops continued rushing down the hallway, alternating cover fire. The criminals fired a few rounds but seemed to be afraid to emerge from cover.

  Erik and Jia sprinted around a corner.

  A thug emerged from a nearby room with a rifle in hand. Erik put a bullet in his head without even slowing down.

  Jia spared a quick glance at the man, but a movement out of the corner of her eye made her turn. She squeezed off a few quick shots, stunning a male and a female who had dared followed them, a third diving back inside another room.

  This is insane. Bots are one thing, but people?

  A massive security gate slid shut behind them.

  Erik swept the hallway in front of them, his pistol at the ready. “They’re going to bottle us up.” He gritted his teeth and tapped his PNIU. “They’re also blocking external signals.” He looked down the hallways. “They’re setting up an ambush, but it’s a matter of where.” He punctuated his sentence by shooting a thug emerging from a room down the hall. “Or maybe we’ll get lucky and find a few explosives.”

  Jia looked back at the door and down the hallway.

  There were multiple intersections, and she had no idea where they were in relation to Erik’s flitter. Despite the danger, something gnawed at her mind from the earlier encounter.

  “Why didn’t you kill Tessan and his guard?” Jia asked.

  Erik laughed. “I didn’t expect you to be upset that I didn’t kill someone.”

  “It’s not that. It’s just not very…you,” she replied. “The logic is bugging me. Who knows, this could be my only chance of learning, and it would bug me for all eternity.”

  “Thinking of dying?”

  “No,” she retorted. “Thinking of you dying without telling me the reason. It will bug me at night when I try to sleep.”

  “Gallows humor.” Erik moved along, with Jia watching behind them. “Who knew you’d be empowered in a gunfight? The captain would be very surprised, Detective Lin.”

  “Don’t make me shoot you.”

  Erik chuckled but answered her question. “If Naric dies, the trail might go cold. We don’t have any guarantee that his lackeys or systems have a clear record of his Uptown friends, and since we went through all the trouble of getting shot at, might as well make sure this ends with us cleaning up some petty trash.” Erik looked back and forth when they came to a crossing hallway. “But we’ve got to get out of here before that can happen. If we just run around in circles, they’ll eventually get us.” He frowned. “I think the only reason they’re not dropping more doors is they understand if they bottle us up entirely, I’ll get several of them when they try to open the doors. They definitely want to rely on surprise to take us down without losing more men.”

  “Then what do we do?” Jia’s heart still thundered, but her mind was clear.

  He frowned. “I guess we’ll have to risk it.”

  “It seems to me like you’re out of options.” The voice was husky and feminine, and, surprising them both, it was coming from Erik’s PNIU. “At least smart options. Sure, you can run around here until you blunder into the lead lads and hope you can kill them all, or you can get a little help and maybe, just maybe, survive this.”

  “Who are you?” Erik asked, eyeing his device. “You Gray Circle? Helping them attack two cops isn’t going to go well for you. If you’re smarter than Naric, you’ll help us. Plenty of people know we’re here. This isn’t going to end well for that idiot.”

  “Screw those mobster troglodytes,” the woman all but snarled. “I wish you would kill every one of them, but I’m more interested in getting out of here. You can kill them later, and I’ll be satisfied.”

  Jia glanced toward the security door. “You’re a hostage?”

  “I was kidnapped,” the woman explained. “My name is Emma, and I can help you, but only if you agree to rescue me. I might be locked up, but I’ve got access to the security feeds. They’ve pulled almost everyone back to the exits, but I can see a few places they aren’t reinforcing.”

  “So now it’s a rescue mission,” Erik muttered, rolling his eyes. “How are we supposed to find you in this place? We don’t know where we are.”

  “I can see exactly where you are,” Emma explained. “It’s easy. You take the first right down the hall. No, turn around. Yes, this hall. Then, take the next left, then another right, and I’m in the second door on the right. Just pop on in and save me, Detective. I’m pretty sure that’s your job, right?”

  Erik and Jia exchanged looks.

  “There’s no way I can leave here knowing they have an innocent woman,” Jia whispered.

  Erik grunted. “I doubt she’s as innocent as she’s saying.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Emma complained.

  Jia eyed Erik, who made a face, but he answered the woman. “Spare me. I bet you thought Naric was a big man, and then once you realized that being a mobster’s girlfriend meant knowing about the things he does, you probably panicked.” Erik grunted. “I don’t care. You want out? We’ll help you out. It’s not like we can go back.” He looked at Jia. “You agree?”

  She nodded. “I agree.”

  “Then let’s move.” Erik moved down the hallway at a jog.

  Jia ran after him.

  “Mobsters, and now kidnapped women. And I thought a few days ago a desperate drunk was the worst of my problems. You’ve talked about luck several times,” she called, “but I’m not sure if my luck has been good or bad since you became my partner.” />
  Erik chuckled. “It’s hard to tell with Lady Luck. Sometimes you think she’s helping you, but she’s actually screwing you over.” He glanced over his shoulder at Jia. “You got what you wanted, right? You got to investigate an important case.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Jia muttered.

  “Can you two chatter less and hurry up?” Emma demanded.

  “We could leave you there,” Erik suggested.

  “I’m just advising, we’re all running out of time.”

  How the lady could seem so snooty in the middle of a rescue mission was beyond Erik. He kept his gun up, ready to shoot anyone who emerged in their path as they continued down the hallways, following Emma’s directions.

  No one appeared.

  Jia glanced behind them every few seconds, but no one was following them either. Suspicion lingered that Emma was leading them into a trap, but at least they were moving and doing something. Anything felt better than standing around, waiting for the criminals.

  A couple more turns brought them into the final hallway. Erik slowed and then came to a full stop, both hands on his gun, his face tight. “Okay, we’re here, Emma. You got anything else to tell us? Like, if there’s anyone in there with you?”

  “I guarantee there’s absolutely no one else in here with me,” Emma replied. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Erik nodded to Jia and then the door before turning to point his weapon at it. He crouched, ready to take down anyone inside.

  Jia stood to the side of the door and mouthed, “On three.” She counted up and slapped the Open button—and the door didn’t move.

  Erik grunted. “It’s locked, and it’s not like the Gray Circle gave us access. Do you have any ideas, Emma?”

  A holographic keypad covered the panel.

  “How’s that?” Emma asked, smugness underlying her voice. “They have a general use code in addition to the biometrics. Just enter the code.”

  “But we don’t have the code,” Jia pointed out. “Unless they were so stupid as to give you the code.”

  Emma rattled off a complicated passcode, including multiple letters, numbers, and symbols.

  Jia narrowed her eyes. “You expect us to believe they gave you the code?”

  “They didn’t give it to me. I took it upon myself to look at it. They underestimated me. Big mistake.”

  Jia glanced at Erik, and he responded with a shallow nod.

  She sighed. “Fine. Repeat it, but slower this time.”

  Emma repeated the code, this time waiting for Jia to verbally confirm each entry.

  When the code had been entered, the door beeped and slid open. Still crouched, Erik swept back and forth with his gun, ready to add to the Gray Circle’s list of casualties for that day.

  Dozens of security feeds filled one wall, and a thermal map of the entire facility took up another. The clusters of red dots added credibility to Emma’s account of the mobsters’ plan.

  Three dark chairs with flat PNIU access points were in the center, but no one was sitting in them. A silver box lay in one of the chairs, a luminescent crystal inside a port on the top of the box. Different colors of light played across the dozens of facets of the crystal.

  Jia had no idea what the crystal was. It was pretty in its own way, but not refined enough to be jewelry.

  Erik stood slowly before stepping into the room and checking the left and right front corners. He leapt back outside.

  “Trying to trap us in a storage room?” Erik scoffed. “Pathetic.”

  Emma sighed. “You two are very untrusting. Are all police officers this suspicious?”

  “We are currently in a mobster stronghold being hunted,” Jia pointed out.

  “If you let a few minor details ruin your day, you’re going to always be stressed out,” Emma suggested.

  Erik eyed his PNIU. “Nice try. You should have at least thrown up a holographic woman if you wanted to bait us inside.”

  A woman in a high-necked white maxi dress appeared in the center of the room. Her red hair was styled in a chignon.

  “A hologram like this?” the woman asked with a smirk, resting her hands on her hips.

  Erik eyed the hologram. “We’re not Shadow Zone cops. You help us, we can help you. I’m sure wherever you really are, you don’t want to be stuck with these people. They are going down one way or another.”

  “I agree with you.”

  “Then why the games?” he asked, looking down the hallway and back.

  The woman shook her head. She placed a hand over her chest. “You don’t understand. I’m here. I’m Emma.” She pointed to the crystal. “Or more specifically, I’m there. I’m that crystal thing if we’re being specific.”

  Jia frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  Emma rolled her eyes. “And people question if I’m self-aware. I’m an artificial intelligence, Detective Lin. I want you to save me from these pathetic excuses for hooligans. I’m not claiming I don’t have some self-interest with this, because I’m sure they plan to sell me off to someone, but this is one of those mutually beneficial situations talked about by…someone.”

  “How are we supposed to believe that?” Erik asked, still not entering the room. “You’re obviously not an AI. You’re a person.”

  Emma threw her head back and laughed. “Do you really think the Gray Circle would come up with a lie like this? I’m real.” She paused a microsecond. “Well, artificially real.” She gestured to the crystal. “I’m that.”

  “Erik.” Jia shook her head. “This doesn’t make sense. There’s no such thing as a truly self-aware AI.” She looked at the hologram. “You’re just a glorified chat program, and we’re wasting our time talking to you,” she told her. “If I get killed because of this, my sister will be at my funeral saying, ‘I told you so.’” She pointed at the crystal. “And what’s with that weird crystal? This isn’t even a good con, and that’s assuming you’re actually a program.”

  Emma eyed Jia. “I’m the only chance you have of getting out of here without taking a few bullets, Detective. I’m missing some information here and there about where exactly I came from, but I know for certain I’m supposed to be somewhere else, not on some stupid chair in some warehouse in the Shadow Zone. Just grab me, and I can get you past the other security doors. It’s obvious they’re hoping to funnel you into a kill zone, and as impressive as you two have been, you’re not going to win against that horde of gun goblins when they know exactly where you’re going to come out.”

  She pointed to one of the security feeds. The collection of armed gangsters appeared to confirm her story, and the image matched the thermal map.

  “It could be a fake feed,” Jia observed. “A trick.”

  Erik shook his head, eyeing Emma with genuine confusion. “She’s right. This is too crazy to be a trap, and Naric doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who could come up with a story like that. Plus, what? He had a weird crystal, and his team had this whole idea ready to go within minutes of me firing?”

  “I’m starting to regret you not bringing the TR-7,” Jia admitted with a sigh. “I wish we could have just rushed through the front.”

  Erik grinned. “It does have its uses.” He nodded at Emma. “And if she’s telling the truth, so will she. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of or seen an AI system with a true personality, but who knows?”

  Emma smiled. “Do we agree, or are we going to wait until they bring in an entire army? Why don’t you grab me? Just touch me to your PNIU, and I can use it as a relay interface for the rest of the system. They might have locked you out from inside, but I can still mess with a lot of the building. These idiots have left a lot of holes for me to exploit.”

  Jia sighed and took a couple of steps into the room, expecting the door to slam shut so she would be stuck with Erik on the outside. “This is insane.”

  Emma shrugged and pointed to the crystal. “Please grab me this century, Detective.”

  “You’re pretty rude for an
AI,” Jia griped. “Are you an EBI?”

  “A what?” the hologram asked.

  “Experimental bitch interface,” she answered as she walked over to the chair. Jia held her breath as she pulled the crystal out.

  The security feeds and thermal map vanished, along with the hologram.

  She frowned and pointed to the slot that had held the crystal. “That’s a fairly standard IO port.”

  “So?” Erik asked with a shrug, not looking into the room.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this crystal before.” She raised it, twisting it around for Erik to see the sides. “Have you?”

  Erik shook his head. “We can worry about the specifics later. For now, we need to get out of here.”

  Jia pressed the crystal against her PNIU and then slipped it into her pocket.

  Emma reappeared, though with a slight glow and more translucency. “Now let’s just see if we can escape without you two dying. You’re my ticket to freedom.”

  Erik looked both ways down the hallway as Jia stepped out of the room. “I wonder if this what the Gray Circle had delivered the other day.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  After a few more minutes of directed running, Erik and Jia arrived at another thick security door.

  Erik still wasn’t sure if trusting Emma was the best plan, but her idea was better than sitting around waiting for the Gray Circle’s men to work up the courage to rush them. He spared a glance at Jia.

  She looked far less pale than before.

  “Most of the violence brigade are across the building waiting for you to come out,” Emma explained. “But there are a few who have broken off and are surrounding the building, along with a few near your fancy flitter. I think they’re beginning to suspect you might not come out where they want. Who knew they weren’t total idiots?”

  “We’ll need to move fast.” Erik grunted. “What about Naric? Do you see him anywhere?”

  “They are finishing putting a medpatch on him. I don’t have an audio feed, but I can perform a lip movement analysis.”