Two Ways to Die: A Java Jarvis Thriller

by Erin Wade

  “What’s wrong boy?” Kat bent to pet him intentionally dropping his leash.

  Ares darted up the stairs with Kat close behind. “I’m so sorry,” she called to the butler as she chased Ares up the stairs. By the time the dog stopped at the door entering the fourth-floor cupola Kat was out of breath.

  Ares scratched furiously at the door. Kat turned the door handle and stepped inside the room. Ares leaped onto the bed and licked the face of the woman handcuffed to the headboard.

  “Java?” Kat cried rushing to her lover. “What have they done to you?”

  “Nothing soap and water won’t fix,” Java beamed. “I knew you’d find me. There’s a key on the dresser. Get these cuffs off me before Melody returns.”

  “Kat Lace,” Melody growled the name. “Why are you here?”

  Kat turned to face Melody as the woman locked the door. “I’ve come for Java,” Kat said softly.

  “Um, no!” Melody shrugged. “but you can join us. Threesomes are such fun.”

  “Two of us on her while she’s chained to the bed?” Kat smirked. “That could be fun.”

  “Kat,” Java croaked. “Don’t encourage her. There’s something not right with her.”

  “Because I’m a whore?” Melody stomped to the bedside. “A harlot?” She bent over and kissed Java’s lips hard.

  In a flash Kat wrapped her arm around Melody’s neck gripping her in a chokehold and pulling her backwards away from Java.

  Melody backed up crushing Kat against the wall and knocking the breath from her. Kat released her chokehold and dodged as Melody swung her fist toward her face.

  “She’s strong, Java,” Kat yelled as Melody drew back her arm to swing again. Kat ducked as Melody threw the punch and Melody’s fist went through the wall.

  “Holy. . . what the hell is going on?” Java screamed.

  Java watched helplessly as the two women fought all over the room. She had never seen anyone hold their own with Kat and was beginning to worry that Kat might not prevail. Kat’s usual deadly blows didn’t seem to faze Melody.

  Java began screaming and jerking trying to distract Melody. Melody whirled around to glare at Java. “I’ll take care of you when I’m finished with your girlfriend,” Melody howled. “I’ve waited a long time to please you.”

  Kat grabbed a lamp from the floor and swung it with all her might severing Melody’s head from her shoulders.

  What the hell, Kat thought. The headless body continued to reach out for Java as the lips spoke the words, “Come here baby, I’ll show you how a real woman can make you feel.” A deep guttural voice came from Melody’s head.

  Ares growled menacingly putting himself between Java and Melody.

  Melody bent down to pick up her head. Kat clasped her hands together and brought them down in the middle of the woman’s back sending Melody sprawling on the floor.

  Ares jumped from the bed and grabbed the talking head. He caught it by the hair and shook it vigorously. The hair ripped out and the head rolled under the bed. Ares ran after it.

  Melody crawled across the floor searching for her severed head. “Kat Lace, I won’t simply remove your head” the head roared from under the bed. “I’m going to rip you into tiny pieces.”

  As Ares played keep away with Melody’s head Kat frantically searched for a weapon to stop the nightmare she was fighting.

  Kat stripped the electrical cord from the lamp and plugged it into the outlet as Melody jumped to her feet cradling her head in her arms. When Melody charged her Kat rammed the live cord into the head’s eye. Sparks flew and crackled as the head’s remaining hair caught fire. The head sputtered as it dropped to the floor and the body slowly stopped moving, its arms hanging at its side.

  “It’s a damn robot,” Java yelled. “She’s not human.”

  Kat grabbed the handcuff key and unshackled Java. “I get so tired of fighting the women off you,” Kat teased as she wrapped a sheet around her naked lover and held her tightly.

  The door burst open and Beau entered with Jody and Amanda in tow. “What the hell?” Beau gasped surveying the destroyed room.

  “I warned them this could happen,” Jody stormed in picking up the smoking head.

  “What exactly has happened?” Beau snapped. “What is this thing?”

  “A sex robot,” Jody snorted. “It has artificial intelligence and learns quickly. As it interacts with people, johns and other women it learns what each one likes and acts accordingly. The more she was around others the more she learned until it was impossible to tell any difference between her and a real woman.”

  “I knew Melody was getting smarter by the day. I was thrilled but a little worried too that she might become a free thinker and uncontrollable.”

  “Or a killer,” Kat hissed. “I shudder to think what she might have done to Java.”

  “How many of these things do you have?” Beau demanded.

  “Eleven now,” Jody grimaced. “All my girls are AIs. That’s why I gave the original women money and a bus ticket to anywhere in the U.S.

  “These robots are great. They do anything one asks. They’re programed to please. They never get tired or require pay or food. They take care of their own hygiene and do housework. They’re pretty incredible.”

  “If they weren’t so deadly,” Java commented.

  “Obviously Melody had a wire crossed somewhere,” Jody shrugged. “I haven’t had a moments trouble from the others.”

  “Did you know you had a problem with Melody?” Beau asked.

  “No, I never saw this coming.” Jody bowed his head. “I had no idea Melody had set up this suite. I thought we only stored things here.”

  “I’m sealing off this room,” Beau informed them. “I want Penny to go over it with a fine-toothed comb.

  “Kat can you take Java home and get her cleaned up?”

  “Of course,” Kat agreed. “Come on, Ares. Let’s take your Mama home.”

  “May I have some water?” Java pleaded as they descended the stairs.

  CHAPTER 65

  A sliver of sunlight fell across Java’s eyes. She rolled onto her side and threw her arm over the warm woman in her bed and was happily greeted with a good solid lick down her face.

  “Ares,” she jumped back. “What are you doing here?”

  “He hasn’t left your side,” a soft warm body wrapped around Java’s back. “He’s worse than a mother bear.”

  “Um,” Java murmured as she turned over and buried her face between Kat’s breasts. “There is no feeling in the world like waking in your arms.”

  “There is no worse feeling than waking in an empty bed,” Kat kissed her slowly moving her full soft lips against Java’s. “Java I was so scared I would lose you. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you baby.”

  “I knew you’d find me,” Java reassured her. “I was wondering what was taking you so long.”

  “You can thank Ares for that,” Kat kissed Java’s lips. “Evidently he went berserk when Melody took you away and howled nonstop until we opened the bomb shelter and found him.”

  “We can exchange horror stories later,” Kat murmured pushing Java onto her back and straddling the blonde. “Right now, I want to hold you and touch you.”

  “Be my guest,” Java whispered.

  ##

  Later Kat left a sleeping Java, turned on the gas fireplace, put on coffee and took Ares outside. It was a cool December morning and the dog frolicked for thirty minutes before running up the stairs.

  The smell of fresh coffee and the welcoming warmth of the fireplace pleased her senses. She said a silent prayer of thanks for Java’s return as she poured coffee into two cups.

  Strong arms slipped around Kat as Java pulled her close and kissed the back of her neck. “I love you,” the blonde whispered as she nestled her face in Kat’s luxurious dark hair.

  Kat leaned back against the woman that was the cornerstone of her world. “I love you so much, baby,” she said.

  They had brea
kfast and played with Ares as Java related her experience. “Ares kept me sane,” she laughed as she scratched the dog’s stomach.

  “It’s past noon,” Kat glanced at her watch. “Is it possible they’re going to let us take a day off?”

  “Um, that’s my idea of heaven,” Java beamed. “A warm fireplace, excellent coffee and you.”

  Both their phones rang at the same time. “And I’ve conjured the devil,” Kat smirked. “I’ll take my call in the bedroom.”

  “Java,” the blonde barked into her phone.

  “Is Kat with you?” Beau asked.

  “Yes,” Java answered.

  “Good. We need both of you in the briefing room in an hour. Penny’s got a hell of a Frankenstein story to tell us.”

  “We’ll be there.”

  Kat walked back into the living room. “Who called you?” She asked.

  “Beau,” Java quipped. “And you?”

  “Penny. It seems she has quite a tale to share with us.” Kat placed their coffee cups in the dishwasher then caught Java’s hand as they walked to the bedroom. “We need to get a service vest for Ares,” she chatted. “Then he can go everywhere with you.”

  ##

  Penny was shining pictures on the white board as the team members filed into the briefing room. She was ramrod straight and smiling. Java could tell the ME was in her element and at the top of her game.

  “First I’d like to say how thankful I am that each and every member of our team is safely with us today,” Penny smiled. “Java, you had us worried.”

  “I’m fine,” Java blushed as her teammates mumbled their agreement with Penny.

  “And we want to welcome the newest team member Ares,” Penny continued gesturing toward the dog lying at Java’s feet. “Ares saved Java’s life.”

  The door opened and Jody Schooley slipped into the room.

  “I think you all know Jody Schooley,” Penny introduced the man. “What you may not know is that Jody heads up a federal sex crimes task force. He’s deep undercover so feel free to continue to hate him.

  “Jody has helped me piece together what has happened and why. First I’ll share my findings with you.”

  “As you know the bomb shelter produced DNA from all our Decap victims. We never found the car belonging to our very first victim, a prostitute known as Classy.

  “Melody killed her and stole her car. She kept it hidden in a deserted warehouse on the outskirts of town and only drove it when she killed a woman and needed to transport her body from the fallout shelter to the tunnel.

  “Her murders weren’t just for fun. There was a reason for them. I’ll let Jody share his information with you.”

  “Thank you. I must tell you that I’m delighted to be able to read all of you in on my task force. Several years ago, the U.S. government underwrote a project to produce artificial intelligence robots to serve as prostitutes or sexbots as we call them. Melody was our very first sexbot. Her artificial intelligence has been phenomenal, and we were thrilled to see how human she had become. We had no idea she would develop feelings such as jealousy, love, a desire to protect her place in society and general human emotions.

  “Sexbots were designed to think and learn. The more they interact with humans the more they become like them. Human sex trafficking has reached astronomical proportions in the U.S. and worldwide. There is such a demand for women in the U.S. and other countries that women are kidnapped and coerced into prostitution. In the U.S. alone, over 20,000 people a year are victims of sex trafficking. Ninety-four percent of those crimes are committed against females.

  “The theory behind the sexbots is that they will eventually eliminate the sex trafficking trade as we staff whore houses with sexbots.

  “None of our customers realize they are interacting with a robot. That is why we have kept the operation secret. We want to see how accepted the sexbots are. And honestly, I’ve had no complaints.

  “When I was assigned to set up a house for the ladies of the night, I slowly sent the workers home providing them a thousand dollars and a bus ticket to anywhere. As the women left, I replaced them with the sexbots. Five of the women took the money and bus ticket but didn’t leave town. They went to work for Pender Crane.

  “From Melody’s diary,” Jody held up a journal, “we’ve discovered that she thought the women who remained were a threat to her, so she murdered them separating their heads from their bodies. She thought that would make it more difficult to identify them. She had no understanding of DNA. According to her diary, she called Pender ordering a lady and then killing her. Melody was very capable of mimicking a man’s deep guttural voice.

  “Melody was incredibly strong,” Kat noted. “Is there any chance she’s also The Basher?”

  “No,” Jody answered. “Melody was with customers every time The Basher killed.”

  “According to Melody’s diary she was enamored of Java,” Jody continued, “and jealous of Kat.”

  “She had me fooled,” Java huffed. “She showed up in the bomb shelter pretending to be a victim just like me.”

  “I think we can close the case on The Decapitator,” Jody continued. “I am trusting all of you to keep my secret. I need to run the mansion for two years to get the data the government needs. There are establishments like mine opening in several large U.S. cities. Houston already has two working houses. Brothels and establishments all over the world are already successfully using the sexbots. Hopefully this will reduce the demand for human females.

  “Melody’s melt down will be in my report and efforts are already underway to assure nothing like this happens in the future.”

  “You were our number one suspect,” Kat informed Jody.

  Jody laughed. “I do act like a total ass. It’s all part of the undercover work. It did worry me that Java took me down so easily when I insulted you.”

  Everyone laughed and continued to ask Jody questions about his operation. After everyone’s curiosity was satisfied, they began discussing The Basher.

  “I’m convinced Déjà vu is The Basher,” Kat insisted. “She’s tall enough and strong enough. She has that voodoo thing going on and she’s mixed blood.”

  “I don’t think so,” Jody argued. “I’ll have to check but I’m pretty certain she spent the night at my place on the night one of the crimes was committed.”

  “Really?” Kat laughed out loud. “You must have a sexbot that looks like Java.”

  “As a matter of fact, we do,” Jody grinned. “Not exactly, of course, but she could be Java’s sister and she is Déjà vu’s favorite.”

  “I knew it,” Kat hissed

  “I’m just thankful The Basher has taken a hiatus,” Penny sighed. “I’ve finally caught up with all the forensics from his crime scenes.”

  The meeting ended and everyone went their separate ways. “I still think we should pay Déjà vu a visit,” Kat insisted.

  “I trust your instincts,” Java squeezed Kat’s hand. “Déjà’s place it is.”

  CHAPTER 66

  “Good, she’s here,” Kat nodded toward Déjà’s Cadillac on the parking lot. “We should leave Ares in the car for now. It’s cool enough he’ll be okay.”

  “We must be careful,” Java advised. “We still don’t have a search warrant and Déjà is the high priestess. We don’t want to start a race war in Orleans by insulting their religious leader.”

  “You do the talking,” Kat agreed. “I’ll be content thinking that she sleeps with a robot while I sleep with you.”

  “You are evil sometimes,” Java laughed.

  “Surely you’re not just now figuring that out.” Kat’s sultry laugh sent desire shooting through Java’s body.

  “Oh, Miss Lace,” Java chuckled. “You do tilt my world.”

  The door chimed as the two agents entered the store and the step-drag cadence of her walk told them Kally was coming from the back to greet them. “Miss Java,” she enthused. “We were so worried about you.” It was obvious Kally wanted to hug
the blonde, but she hesitated, not certain her hugs would be welcome.

  “Thank you Kally,” Java opened her arms and the young woman practically fell into them, tears streaming down her face.

  After a few minutes Kally got control of her emotions and Kat pulled a tissue from her purse handing it to Kally.

  “Thank you, Miss Kat,” Kally smiled. “Both of you are so kind to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ve given me a better life.”

  “You deserve a good life,” Java nodded. “We need to see Déjà. Would you tell her we’re here?”

  “Miss Déjà vu isn’t here,” Kally sniffed.

  “Her car’s out front,” Kat pointed out.

  “I know,” Kally nodded. “Reverend Ames picked her up this morning. They’re doing a funeral together. Can I help you with something?”

  “Nothing important,” Java smiled. “We’ll catch her later.”

  ##

  They drove by the church and were astounded to see the turnout for the funeral. “Must have been someone important in the community,” Java commented.

  “I suppose we must go back to the restaurant,” Kat said gently drawing circles in the palm of Java’s hand.

  “Oooh lady,” Java moaned. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

  “Maybe,” Kat giggled.

  Java’s phone rang and she pushed the button to put it on the car’s speaker. “Java here,” she answered.

  “Hey boss, is Kat still with you?” Barbie asked.

  “Yes. Is there a problem?” Java responded.

  “Lindy Rochelle is here,” Barbie continued. “She says Kat promised to have dinner with her tonight.”

  “I did, two days ago,” Kat said. “I thought she might have information on Java’s whereabouts. Tell her I’ll be there on time.”

  Java groaned as she disconnected the phone call. “So, no returning to the lake house?”

  “I’m afraid not, darling,” Kat laced her fingers with Java’s, “but there is tonight.”

  ##

  The next morning Kat dressed silently leaving Java to sleep. She could tell by how quickly the blonde had fallen asleep after their lovemaking that Java was exhausted.