Paradise of Lead Trilogy

  Someone is wiping the sweat from Isidore's face and tucking the blankets in around him. "Kazimir, how long will he be out of it?"

  "From my past experiences regarding androids and this kind of trauma, I'd say about twenty more minutes. He's recovering fine and he should be responsive now if you ask him something."

  "Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?" Byron asks.

  "In pain." Isidore manages to speak.

  "Can we give him some more morphine?"

  "I'll let Blice give him the next dose." Kazimir says.

  "How long do you think he'll be gone? Surely he can't still be in that building."

  "Well, that building just collapsed, so I'd guess he's either coming back soon or not at all." Kazimir sits down next to Isidore. "Can you sit up?"

  "I can try." He holds onto Byron's arms as he is pulled up. He is starting to feel better. "Blice?"

  "Not back yet. Don't worry about him. We'll take care of everything. You look like you're sentient now."

  "Getting there. Can I have some water?" Isidore asks.

  "In a bit. Give your body more time to recover. I don't want you rushing into anything. We have some time. We'll be safe in this building. I don't think the soldiers know much about this area and even if they did, we rigged the nearby streets with C4."

  "Soldiers?"

  "Common Ground soldiers." Kazimir says.

  They all look up as the back door slides open and a ragged looking Blice stumbles inside. His hair is disheveled and his arms are spotted with mild burns. His clothes are covered in jet fuel, blood, and dust.

  "Blice, where's Katarina?" Byron asks.

  Blice wipes the jet fuel from his face and goes over to where the supplies are. As he drinks from a bottle of water, a tear streaks down his soot-stained cheek. Tossing the crumpled plastic bottle into the corner of the room, Blice clears his throat and turns his back to everyone. "I tried."

  It is in this moment that Isidore's resolve crumbles. He pulls out the IV and crawls over to one of the large wooden crates then leans back against it, careful to avoid contact with his left shoulder. The air seems to grow cold again. Somehow he knew. He knew she was gone when he couldn't find her. He pulls his knees to his chest and hides his face in his arms.

  Blice comes to him and drapes a blanket around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Niko. I stayed in there for as long as I could. I had to destroy half the front wall to get out." He takes Isidore's arm and injects him with more morphine. "Why is your watch making all these noises?"

  "He went into shock." Kazimir says. "I've been giving him an IV and he's recovered well."

  Blice takes a rag and wets it before wiping the dirt from Isidore's face. "You're so pale, Niko. Say something. Say anything."

  There's nothing he can say. His daughter is gone and if he had just been able to find her, she could be right here with them, crawling around and giggling at the world, making everything better. But she's not and that is what starts to eat away at his already crumbling fortitude. He can't do this without her. He knew for sure that Blice would come back with Katarina in his arms and things would be fine. It was all a lie he told himself. There was no way she could have survived that fire.

  Byron is the first one to break the quietness. "Katarina was beginning to like me. I think she knew who I was."

  The room is silent as Isidore tries to ignore him.

  "Last night, she crawled to me and started making little cooing sounds." Byron says. "It was the sweetest thing ever."

  Blice snaps at him. "Shut up, Byron. Just stop talking."

  "What's your problem?"

  "What's my problem? The most precious baby girl in the world is dead. Forgive me if I don't want to think about it right now. I cared about my little Nika too. You weren't the only one."

  Byron steps up closer to Blice. "If you hadn't killed Leblanc-"

  "What? If I hadn't killed Leblanc she'd still be alive? Yes. Don't you think I see that? I don't need you rubbing it in my face."

  "Someone needs to hold you responsible for this."

  "Why?" Blice asks. "So you can have someone to get revenge on? Then don't point the finger at me, Byron. I've been doing my best at leading this country."

  "Into the ground. We are holed up in a warehouse as Common Ground kills the citizens and sends planes into our buildings. And what are you doing about it?"

  "What do you want me to do?" Blice asks. "Blaming me won't bring Katarina back. But if it makes you feel better to blame me, then do it."

  "I should just kill you so you can't destroy the lives of more innocent children."

  "Says the drunkard who couldn't even save the woman he loved and her unborn child. How many times did we warn you to not go into that place with her? But no. You wanted to do what you wanted to do and Leena died for you. She died because you refused to listen. Then you get another woman pregnant and she dies. What did you do to save Clara? Nothing. You've done nothing."

  "I've done both of your wives." Byron says. "You didn't even sleep with both of your wives."

  Blice's faced turns red with anger. "You're a dead man!"

  Byron holds out his arms. "Bring it on, coward."

  "Coward? I just ran back into a burning building to find a baby."

  "Sounds more like stupidity than bravery. There was nothing we could do for Katarina."

  "You are her owner and you didn't stay to look for her." Blice says.

  "I had to get out of there. You would have done the same thing if it was Isidore."

  Blice points at Isidore as he shouts. "No. I stayed and I'm the one who found him. He would have died in there if I hadn't saved him. Then I'm the one who risked my life to go back in there to look for your android. You don't deserve to call yourself an owner."

  "Says the man who raped and brutally beat Isidore then starved him to near death."

  "You don't know anything, Byron."

  "I know enough to know that you shouldn't be trusted around children or anyone else. You're a monster." Byron says.

  "Does a monster risk his life to save a baby?"

  "I don't know. Maybe you'd just abuse her too."

  Blice's purple eyes turn dark. "Take that back, Byron."

  He crosses his arms. "Never."

  "How dare you say something like that? I would never hurt a child."

  "Isidore was a child." Byron says.

  "Okay, yes. He was a child when I beat him and starved him." Blice says. "But he was eighteen when those bad memories started. He could have consented. You don't know."

  Byron turns to Isidore. "Isidore, did you consent?"

  He really doesn't want to get involved with this petty fighting, but the truth is the truth. "No."

  "There you go."

  "He's a robot!" Blice yells. "It doesn't matter. The only reason I got in trouble was because of those stupid Android Laws. No one cares, Byron. I could have killed him and eaten him and no one would have cared. I don't care what you think should happen. According to the old laws, I did nothing wrong. Even if he had been a child, he would have had no say in it because he's not human. Yes, it would have been terribly wrong, but it wouldn't have mattered. But I held back until he was eighteen just so I knew that I wasn't doing the wrong thing."

  Byron steps up in Blice's face and grabs his shirt then shakes him. "It was still the wrong thing! You don't see that? You're telling me you think what you did was the right thing?"

  He hits Byron away. "No. I'm saying that I'm not the evil person everyone tries to make me out to be."

  "But you are, Blice." Byron says. "You can hide behind your power and money, but underneath that polished and perfumed exterior, you are the exact same demon who did those things. You'll always be that same weak man who had to use terror and pain to dominate his friend all because you wouldn't stand up to your father. It was easier for you to manipulate and torture your best friend who adored you more than life itself than for you to risk making our father angry. Well look where that's gotten you now. I mig
ht have grown up in the wasteland without the fancy education you received, but at least I'm intelligent enough to know how evil and twisted you truly are. If I had a say in this, I would tell Isidore to stay the hell away from you. Even knowing all the things you did to him, he's still here at your side like some lost little puppy. It's sickening to watch you two. You say that things are better now, that you two are equals. But buddy, you know for a fact that if you ordered him to, he would hand you his belt again just so you could take out your frustrations on him. And you'd do it too. You have him so well trained and conditioned to believe that your word is law. You can't do anything wrong in his eyes. I pity him, but most of all, I pity you. You will never know what actual friendship is because every single person you invite into your miserable life eventually finds out the truth about you, Blice McSage. You can't keep buying false friends."

  Blice glares at him. "You shouldn't make accusations without having the evidence to back them up. I'll have you know that I will do anything for my Niko. Yes, we have had some rough times and I'll be the first to admit that I screwed up badly. But I care about him more than I've ever cared about anyone on this planet and I think that I deserve a chance to let the world know who I really am. I will not sit back and let everyone define me by my past. Let me move on. Isidore forgave me for what happened and maybe you should too."

  "I will never forgive you for that."

  "Why? Because you want to continue hating me?"

  "No. Because I care about Isidore." Byron says.

  "I care about him too."

  "Then how about we let him choose?" Byron asks. "Who does he truly believe is the better man here and has his best interests in mind? He only lives for about another day, right? Let him choose who gets to be his owner until then."

  "Fine." Blice turns around and holds out his hands. "Isidore, who do you want to be your owner? Me, the one person who would give up everything to protect you."

  Byron steps in front of Blice. "Or me who actually cares about you, not just to inflate his own ego?"

  Great. So now they're arguing over him. Do they really expect him to choose? Isidore looks into Blice's comforting purple eyes that he has known for so long as a safe harbor . . . and his worst enemy. Then he looks to Byron who genuinely seems concerned about him and who has always been there to offer understanding and support. How is he going to choose? This was so much easier when someone claimed him and forced him to obey whoever gave him food and shouted the loudest. Isidore's mind begins to separate each of them by how much they have given him, how much time they have spent together, the emotional investment he has in each of them, and the consequences that could be pending if he chooses either of them. He can't help it. The computer part of his brain is hardwired to give him the most favorable outcome when it comes to extreme choices. Even without this, he knows that if he chooses Byron over Blice, Blice will either be crushed or he will kill someone. It might even be Isidore. Then there's Byron. If he chooses Byron, he will protect him from Blice's wrath. Isidore sighs as he analyzes both sides of the question. There's only one good conclusion and he has to take it. "I choose Blice."

  "What?" Byron looks stunned.

  Blice pushes Byron's shoulders. "Ha. Told you. Isidore would never leave me. When the slave chooses to remain a slave, that means the master did the correct thing."

  Byron looks hurt. "That doesn't make any sense. Isidore, why? Why him?"

  It's simple and yet, very complicated. "There is a bond I share with Blice that no one will ever be able to understand unless you have gone through what we have together. We depend on each other and no matter how much he hurts me, I know that he loves me and wants the best for me. Blice is the greatest man in the world and I will follow him to hell and back."

  "God. You have brainwashed him so much."

  "Nope. It's called programming and training." Blice says with a grin.

  "See? Isidore, he even admits that he has been making you feel this way about him. Does that not bother you?"

  Isidore stands shakily to his feet and moves to Blice's side who takes his hand. "I'm a computer, Byron. Computers must be programmed."

  30

  Blice holds up a sniper rifle in the bright light as the sun finally breaks through the dense black smoke. "Niko, you're the best sharpshooter here. Think you can use this with your shoulder like it is?"

  "If I get revenge, I will use it without arms."

  "Good. Then get over to this window and watch through your scope for any soldiers coming through the south gate. Kazimir has the other one watching the north gate."

  Isidore moves over to the window, still keeping the blanket wrapped around him. "Blice, find me a shirt, will you? I'm freezing."

  "Here. Take mine." Blice pulls off his white undershirt and helps dress Isidore who groans as he puts his left arm through. "I can't give you more morphine yet."

  "I know. I'll be okay."

  Blice pets Isidore's hair. "That's my Niko. You're so strong."

  Kazimir, who has been silent for the entirety of Blice and Byron's bickering, now steps forward and pulls Blice away from Isidore. "He's not a dog."

  "Shut up, Kazimir. No one asked you."

  With one swing, Kazimir sends Blice to the floor with a bloody nose. "Do it again and see what happens to you. Isidore will be dying any day now to save everyone so I suggest you begin treating him with respect. If he is willing to stand by your sorry ass and still go through with this with dignity and honor, then you need to treat him like the hero he is."

  "Dogs wear collars." Blice hisses as he stands up and wipes the blood from his face.

  "That's right. Heroes don't." Kazimir tosses a tiny key to Isidore. "Take that thing off. You'll die a free man."

  Isidore holds up the tiny silver key as it glints in the sunlight. He goes to Blice and bows before helping him stop the bleeding. He then slips the key into Blice's hand. "I don't want to die a free man. I want to die belonging to you, owner."

  Kazimir shakes his head disappointedly. "Have it your way, Created One."

  Isidore goes back over to the window and watches the streets for any movement other than civilians. Minutes go by as more explosions ring out somewhere far off in the outskirts of the city. Then he sees someone suspicious. He leans down and looks through the scope. Just as he thought. Things are about to get fun. "Guys, Damien is here."

  "Are you sure?" Byron asks.

  He zooms in closer. "One hundred percent. I'd know that bloodthirsty demon anywhere. Looks like he's going to the technology center."

  "No doubt to meet with Clark. If you can take the shot, don't hesitate." Kazimir says.

  "Too late. He just went behind the buildings."

  "Don't worry." Blice says. "We'll get him. He can't run forever. I have the sneaky suspicion that he had something to do with this."

  "Everyone, come here for a minute. We need to go over the plan before the fighting gets too intense here." Kazimir sets down a small computer on the floor and turns it on. A holographic map of Paradise dances in the air above it. "In order to activate W.A.N.D., we need to connect the carrier computer to a power source large enough to power the program. Isidore has the program installed, right?"

  "He does." Blice says.

  "Where is the alpha code?"

  "I have it. I will be transferring it back to him right before activation."

  "Seeing as the reason for our little plan has been unfortunately killed, you are reverting back to the original course of action?" Kazimir asks.

  Blice gives Isidore a sullen look. "Yes."

  "I think that is the best decision. We can replace androids. We can't replace you, Blice. Paradise will still need her president. We will give you a proper funeral, Isidore."

  Isidore scoffs. "Why bother? No one will be there. No human will attend a funeral for an android."

  "Don't be so bitter about this." Blice begs.

  "Just get me there and give me the orders." Isidore says. 'I'll finish what I was created
to do."

  Kazimir continues as he points at the map. "We are in this building here. Now, in order to activate W.A.N.D., we need to get to the building behind the technology center."

  "The nuclear reactor?" Blice asks.

  "Exactly. That way Isidore can draw power from it before releasing the nanobots."

  Isidore didn't know about any of this. "Wait. Nanobots?"

  "Oh, that's right." Kazimir smiles. "You don't know what happens when you use the alpha code. Well, once you have enough power and activate it, all of the nanobots inside of your body will become supercharged and then sweep over Paradise infecting anything that breathes. They will devour their hosts and move on to the next, growing stronger with every one. You will become a conduit for powering them, then when there is no one left for them to infest, they will return to you and you will . . . um, explode and wipe out this entire country."

  "I'll be killing innocent people?" Isidore asks as he begins to feel sick.

  "W.A.N.D. is a reset button." Kazimir says. "The important people will already be underground behind secured and impenetrable doors on their way to the new Paradise."

  "Listen, I don't care what happens to me. I can't kill those people."

  "You can and you will of your own volition or we will force you to. I can reset your system and regain control of you. I haven't done it yet because I wanted you to do this of your own free will. I can shut you down faster than you can blink. Then you really will be a robot." Kazimir holds up a silver orb connected to a cable. "Look familiar, Blice?"

  "That's the thing that Damien had." Blice says.

  "Exactly. It's called a neutralizer. We can hold Isidore down and insert this into his USB port. Then it's lights out. We'll just start him back up when we get to the reactor. The choice is yours, Blice."

  "Get that thing away from him." Blice holds Isidore protectively in his arms. "Isidore will do this willingly, right?"

  Does he have a choice? "Yes, Blice."

  "Good." Kazimir slips the silver sphere back into his pocket. "It's so much easier to do this with a computer that is well trained. While I don't agree with your methods, I do have to commend you on that aspect, Blice. His devotion to you is clear."