by Neil Hunter
Cade slowly and unobtrusively inspected the area from where he was sitting in one of the pool loungers.
Sinclair was busy on the telephone. He’d been continuously occupied since Jubal Casull had returned from wherever he’d taken Janek and Kate. While Sinclair spoke on the phone, Casull used a dicto-pad to make notes. There were three armed guards keeping watch over Cade, though they had relaxed due to the length of time they’d all been waiting.
Without making any sudden moves, Cade stood up. He immediately attracted the attention of the guards.
“Hey, you want to stay put,” one suggested.
“The man offered me a steak,” Cade said. “Might be my last, so the hell with you.”
The guard crossed over to confront the Justice cop.
“So? You going to shoot me?” Cade asked. “Sinclair needs to talk to me.”
“Let him go,” Casull said irritably. “What harm can he do? Just watch him.”
The guard trailed behind Cade as he approached the barbecue. The service droid, glad that it was at last going to have a customer, snapped upright.
“How can I help you, sir?”
“Steak, medium rare, straight off the grill,” Cade said.
“Anything with it, sir?”
“No. Just as it comes.”
From somewhere beyond the house, alarm sirens went off.
Jubal Casull raised his head, anxiety in his eyes.
“My complex,” he said. “Something may have gone wrong.”
“You better check,” Sinclair snapped, breaking off his conversation. “Decker, go with him,” he said to one of the guards.
One down, Cade thought.
Casull dropped the dicto-pad on the small table beside Sinclair and hurried off, followed by the guard.
Sinclair returned to his telephone conversation.
The service droid hummed to itself as it cooked Cade’s steak. It sizzled hotly on the grill as the steaming juices oozed from the meat and dropped onto the red-hot syntho-coal beneath.
“That looks about right,” Cade said.
“Perhaps a little more, sir,” the droid suggested.
“It’ll be fine,” Cade said firmly.
The droid picked up a plastic plate and deftly deposited Cade’s steak on it. It handed the plate over.
“Now that’s what I call a steak,” Cade said, letting the guard catch a whiff of the rich meat.
The guard felt his taste buds start to salivate. He watched the steak as Cade held it up for him to see.
Cade pushed the still-sizzling slab of meat into the guard’s face, clapping a hand behind his head to hold it against the steak. The guard’s yell of pain was muffled by the meat squashed against his lips, burning them. He let go of the SMG he was carrying as he tried to drag the steak away from his flesh. Cade dropped the plate and grabbed the SMG. He saw the other guard coming around, attracted by the noise. Cade swung up the SMG and triggered it fast, sending an arc of hot lead that chipped the patio first, then climbed to stitch a bloody row of holes in the guard’s stomach and chest. The guard staggered back, then lost his balance and crashed down on the tiles surrounding the pool.
Behind Cade the service droid began making excited sounds, throwing its gleaming arms in the air.
Out of the corner of his eye Cade saw the burned guard lunging at him, despite his injured face. Cade ducked below the man’s outstretched arms, then thrust upright again. The guard was tossed over Cade’s back and crashed down on the smoking grill of the barbecue. His scream of agony completely unnerved the service droid, and it scuttled off across the patio in a panic.
The clatter of a chair attracted Cade’s attention. He saw Sinclair running for the house. Cade went after him, but the industrialist slipped in through the sliding glass doors. Before Cade could reach the opening, the glass wall slid into place, blocking off the room.
Cade didn’t bother trying to break through. By the time he did, Sinclair would be long gone.
He turned and ran across the patio toward the distant exit. He needed to get away from the area before Lukas Tane showed his face. As he passed the spot where Sinclair had been sitting during his telephone conversations, Cade noticed the dicto-pad Jubal Casull had been using. It was still on the small table. Hardly breaking his stride, Cade picked up the pad and slipped it into one of his pockets.
He skirted the pool and emerged in the wide courtyard with its holographic garden. He didn’t head in the direction he’d been led when they arrived, but angled across toward the main complex area. Somewhere in there were Janek and Kate.
He was brought up short by the arrival of Tane and his mercs. They had burst into view from the patio area, seeking him, and opened fire the moment they set eyes on his distant figure. The scattering of shots, off target but close enough to alert him, decided Cade’s immediate course of action. He cut off across the courtyard and ducked through an ornate archway.
He found himself on a curving drive leading in the direction of the main Amosin complex. Cade crossed the drive and used the cover of a low wall to hide his progress. The maneuver worked until the wall faded out, and he was left with an open area to cover before he would be able to use the first of the complex buildings. Throwing a quick glance over his shoulder, Cade saw that Tane and four of his mercs were already in sight, fanning out as they searched for him.
He broke away from the wall and made a dash for the building.
Halfway there he heard a yell, followed by the crackle of gunfire. The concrete around him was pockmarked by bullets, and Cade felt chips pepper his legs as he took off at a dead run, weaving erratically. Something plucked at his left sleeve, burning across the flesh of his arm. The pain spurred him on. Cade reached the cover of the building and kept on moving. He ran hard, ducking and turning in and out of the series of alleyways he found between the cluster of buildings.
His chest heaving, lungs burning, Cade flopped down in the shadow of a tank secured to the side of one building. His rest was short-lived. The pounding of combat boots on the concrete warned him of someone’s approach.
Even as Cade was moving from cover, one of Tane’s men skidded around the end of the building, laying his eyes on the cop almost immediately. The mere’s hand went to the walkie-talkie clipped to his belt while his SMG swung into position.
Cade didn’t hesitate. His own weapon crackled briefly, but with effective results. The short blast planted a stream of slugs in the mere’s chest, flattening him against the wall before slamming him to the ground.
Cade moved on, pushing deeper into the complex.
The way ahead opened out as the cluster of buildings gave way to a broad drive leading to a glass-and-steel building standing on its own.
There was a blazing vehicle near the building, and Cade knew that somewhere along the line Janek was involved.
Chapter Ten
Jubal Casull keyed in the access code. The steel doors slid open to reveal the interior of his laboratory. The robotics expert gestured lightly, and Cee Ten prodded Kate with the auto-pistol, moving her into the lab. Janek followed, scanning the vast room with interest.
It was equipped with computer banks and an impressive array of electronic support consoles. On the right were glass-enclosed rooms where delicate micro-bionic operations could be carried out in isolation. A row of tubular booths lined one wall. Janek recognized them as syntho-flesh transmitters.
“You find it interesting, Janek?” Casull asked, watching his reactions closely.
“Yes,” Janek replied. “It’s just a pity that it’s being wasted.”
“Disapproval,” Casull said. “I hope you’re not going to bore me with too much righteous indignation. Instead, Janek, accept that we all have the right to choose our path. That’s democracy after all.”
“Democracy doesn’t mean forcing your view on others.”
“If we had the time, we could discuss this for hours,” Casull said. “But this isn’t the time for a lengthy discussion on semantics.”<
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“Why don’t we just kill them now?” Cee Ten asked.
“Save your aggression for the battlefield,” Casull suggested. “Sometimes, Cee, you’re a pain in the butt.”
“Don’t blame me,” the droid said. “You keyed in my program. I’m only responding to that.”
“What are you going to do with us?” Kate asked.
“Janek is too valuable to destroy,” Casull said. “His development has gone beyond anything I’ve ever seen. I need time to study it, but right now I have other things to do. So you’ll stay here until I’m free. On his own Janek would pose a threat, and I’m fully aware of his potential for violence. I need something that will restrain him. As long as you’re here, under threat, Janek isn’t going to cause much of a problem. He won’t put you at risk. Right, Janek?”
Janek’s lopsided shrug only produced a smile from Casull.
“That much I do understand about you, Janek. The woman means a lot to you and to Cade. You cannot— will not—place her knowingly in danger. That’s why Cee Ten and Cee Sixer are going to keep you here. If you do try anything, they’re under orders to kill Bannion. And believe me, they’ll do it. Their standards of morality when it comes to killing innocents are far below yours.”
“You’d better believe it,” Cee Ten said tautly.
Janek glanced at the combat droid, holding his gaze.
Kate, who was watching, caught the cold gleam in Janek’s eyes. It was an expression she’d never seen before. Janek had always shown her friendliness and genuine affection. The coldness in his eyes and the totally alien expression on his face scared her. She felt a shiver of apprehension run down her spine. This was a side to Janek he had kept concealed before, and it was something Kate didn’t want to see.
“I have to leave you now, but I’ll be back in a while. Once we have the operation under way. Then we can get down to business. I look forward to it.”
Casull strode from the lab, and the steel doors slid shut behind him.
Janek turned and caught Kate’s eye.
“You might as well find somewhere to sit down, Kate,” he suggested.
Kate shrugged, then wandered across the lab and slumped in a padded seat. The lab, with its bright lights and clinical atmosphere, was distinctly inhuman. It was a place for machines and unfeeling personalities. There was nothing to do with the real world here. No flesh and blood. No understanding. No...
She suddenly felt embarrassed by her thoughts. Because she was classing Janek along with the other droids and their surroundings. He was different. She knew it, and felt guilty for allowing herself to lapse from that knowledge.
Maybe it was because she was scared. Not knowing what was going to happen.
To her. To Janek. To Cade.
Kate’s thoughts drifted. She felt weary. The physical exertions and emotional strain of the past hours were catching up with her suddenly. Despite the situation she was in, she didn’t feel like fighting the tiredness, even though she could feel her eyes getting heavy. Her head sagged... the long minutes blurred... time lost meaning
“You want to stand still!”
Kate jerked out of her half sleep. She looked across to where Cee Sixer had confronted Janek. The combat droid was threatening Janek with its weapon.
“They must allow you to watch a lot of TV,” Janek remarked lightly. “Put the gun away, Sixer, you look stupid.”
“You’ll see how stupid I look when I blow you away.”
“Casull wouldn’t be too happy if you did that. Look, all I was doing was taking a look around. You’ve got the damn guns, and I can’t do much while you have Kate in here. So keep your hair on.” Janek examined Cee Sixer’s dark crop. “Not that you’ve got much to lose. Is it supposed to be like that, or are you the first droid to go bald?”
Sixer scowled at him. He turned to stare at Cee Ten.
“Forget it,” Ten snapped. “Can’t you see, he’s only trying to annoy you.”
“Well he is,” Sixer grumbled. “These Cybo Tech droids are all the same. Too much brain.”
“Nobody could ever accuse you of that, Sixer,” Janek said softly, his tone needling and accompanied by a trace of a smirk.
Cee Sixer gave a snarl of anger, swinging back to face Janek. The combat droid’s overreaction was exactly what Janek had been expecting.
His right arm shot out, grabbing hold of Sixer’s gun hand. He pulled and twisted at the same time, spinning Sixer around, drawing the droid up close. His powerful fingers bit into Sixer’s hand, crushing through the flexi-coat of steel under the skin, searching for the control sensors. Sixer’s grip on the auto-pistol slackened as Janek’s probing fingertips dug in deep. The weapon slipped free. Janek caught it, finger stroking the trigger as he tracked the weapon in on Cee Ten, watching the droid’s own weapon coming on line. Janek got to it first, his responses microseconds ahead of the slower combat droid. The auto-pistol exploded with sound as Janek fired three times in quick succession. The steel-jacketed bullets blasted in through Ten’s left eye, tunneling deep into his electronic brain and terminating him in an instant. Cee Ten stumbled back, all coordination gone. He arched across one of the computer banks, a flailing fist crashing through a monitor. The gun in his hand began firing, sending a volley of slugs across the lab.
“Down!” Janek yelled at Kate.
She had already realized the danger she was in and rolled off the seat to stretch prone across the floor. Once she had found some cover, she looked around frantically for something to use as a weapon or a diversion. Then she slowly began to inch forward.
Janek had his hands full as Cee Sixer fought back. The combat droid reached up with its left hand and caught hold of Janek’s suit. It yanked hard, bending forward, and threw Janek over its shoulder. The cyborg hit the floor, rolling swiftly to avoid Sixer’s slashing foot. It caught him on the left shoulder, and the impact flipped Janek on his back, jarring the auto-pistol from his hand.
Janek twisted frantically, making a grab for the weapon, but Sixer was on him too quickly. The combat droid smashed down across Janek’s back, wrapping both arms around Janek’s throat and levering him up. Janek felt the pressure building along his lower back. He planted both hands on the floor, increasing the pressure in his system so he was able to resist Sixer’s attack. For a moment they were locked in a stalemate, each utilizing its strength to the limit.
Balancing on his left hand, Janek caught hold of Sixer’s right wrist and pulled the droid’s arm free. He continued the movement, concentrating all his power in his right arm. Suddenly he yanked hard on Sixer’s right arm.
The combat droid’s response was to lock its upper body, resisting, which was just what Janek had expected. He continued his forward movement, and the extreme pressure dragged Sixer’s arm from its shoulder socket. Syntho-flesh shredded and function modes tore apart as Sixer’s arm was ripped from its body.
The combat droid, reacting to its coded instructions, released Janek, pushed to its feet and went looking for a weapon to compensate for the loss of its arm. Sixer’s eyes located the discarded auto-pistol. The droid went for the gun. Even as it bent to scoop it up off the floor, Kate rushed in to snatch it up as Janek lunged at the droid from behind.
Locked together, they crashed headfirst into a cabinet and became enveloped in a cascade of crackling sparks as power lines were severed. Janek recovered first, hauling himself upright as Sixer stumbled awkwardly to its feet. The droid’s facial syntho-flesh was torn and melted from the heat of the electrical discharge, and gleaming steel showed beneath the charred covering. Janek hit out at Sixer, his solid fist catching the droid beneath the jaw. Sixer fell back into the depths of the shattered cabinet. The eruption of electrical energy, attracted to its steel body, bathed Sixer in a brilliant glow. The heat ignited its clothing and shriveled its flesh. Somewhere inside Sixer’s body shell there was a sharp crackle. It began to kick and squirm, its legs and single arm windmilling out of synch, head rolling from side to side.
J
anek turned away. Kate was holding the auto-pistol in a rigid two-handed grip, looking as though she would never let it go. He walked over to her and extended his hand. When she put the weapon in it, he checked it for a full clip.
“Don’t go risking your life for me, Kate,” he said sternly, but his eyes were gentle on her face.
“You had me worried there for a minute,” she said. Suddenly she turned, looking first at Cee Ten, then across at Sixer’s charred form. “Are they—?”
“They won’t bother us anymore,” Janek said.
He retrieved Cee Ten’s weapon. The droid had used up about a third of the clip during its last moments. Janek handed it to Kate.
“Don’t be afraid to use it,” he said. “If it’s you or him, make sure you come out on top.”
Kate managed a thin smile. “You want to rephrase that?”
Janek looked at her inquiringly. “Sorry?”
“Nothing, Janek, let’s just get the hell out of here and find T. J.”
The doors opened easily from the inside. There was no special code required. As the doors slid open, Janek pushed Kate to one side. The passage outside was empty, stretching silently into the distance.
Janek led the way at a run. His sole concern now was to reach Cade.
“Janek!” Kate yelled, and as he turned, he heard her pistol fire.
The elevator doors behind them had opened, and a trio of armed mercs had stepped into view. They were all carrying SMGs. Kate’s shot caught one of them in the shoulder and spun him back inside the elevator. The others scattered, trying to bring their weapons to bear.
Janek picked the farthest man, triggered his pistol and sent a couple of steel-jackets into his chest. The mere flopped back against the wall, clawing for a handhold on its smooth surface as he slid to the floor.
The third attacker flipped up his SMG and opened up with a volley that missed Janek by a fraction. The stream of slugs shattered the glass wall behind him, blowing shards of glass in all directions. The continuous panel began to crack along its length. Whole sections started to fall inside the complex, more dropping away down the side of the building to the ground below. Alarm sirens began to wail, and warning lights flashed as the sanitized atmosphere became swiftly polluted by the outside air.