by Neil Hunter
Touching the KC on the shoulder, Janek pulled out his heavy auto pistol.
‘We’ve got visitors now, patrolman.’
A dark-clad figure stepped into view, leveling a rapid-fire combat rifle. The corridor echoed to the crash of auto fire.
Janek felt something glance off his left arm, above the elbow. The impact caused him to pull his pistol off to the right, his first shot hitting the wall beyond the rifleman. With deliberate calmness he pulled the .44 auto pistol back on track, triggering a succession of shots.
The attacker took the entire volley in the chest. He was slammed back along the corridor, spewing blood from his body.
He slithered along the wall, stumbling and falling, finishing the undignified journey with his face scuffing the rough carpet.
Next to Janek, the KC went down with two high-velocity slugs through his head.
The android crashed to the floor, his service automatic still in its holster. He lay face down, the fingers of one gloved hand working ceaselessly.
Beyond the angle of the corridor, where the landing opened out to the stairs, Janek picked up a scuffle of sound. He estimated there were two more of them.
The metallic sound of weapons being racked came to his ears.
Taking long strides, Janek ran for the corner. As he reached it, a figure lunged into view. Sweeping up his left arm in a blur of movement, Janek let the back of his hand connect with the attacker’s face.
Bone crunched and bright blood sprayed in all directions. The injured man fell backward, coming up short against the railing at the head of the stairs. He had dropped the rifle he’d been carrying and now he fell to his knees, reaching for the weapon.
Close by, the third member of the group swung his own rifle around to bear down on Janek as the cybo burst into view. Janek’s right arm arced around, finger pulling neatly against the .44’s trigger. He put three hard shots into the man, blowing him across the landing and through the flimsy railing. With a shrill yelp the mortally wounded gunman fell from sight.
The one that Janek had hit in the face located his rifle. He made a grab for it, but Janek slammed his left foot down over the hand, pressing hard. Bones snapped audibly, and the man screamed. Janek reached down and hauled him to his feet.
He swung the man around, crashing him bodily against the wall, then let him experience a jab with the .44.
‘Okay, tough guy. Now we talk.’
‘Go fuck yourself, cop.’
Janek rapped the barrel of the .44 against his cheek, just hard enough that it hurt.
‘Wrong response. And a waste of effort in my case.’ Janek held his gun to the man’s head and pulled a pair of plasti-cuffs from his pocket. ‘Assume the position,’ he snapped.
Once he had the man cuffed and secure, Janek put away his gun. He made the groaning perp walk ahead of him, down the stairs and out the building.
Janek opened the Ford’s rear door and shoved the guy inside. Then he reached for the handset of the car’s radio. It buzzed just before he touched it.
Cade’s voice rasped from the speaker.
‘Let’s get together for a meet,’ Cade said. ‘I think I’ve got something.’
‘I can better that,’ Janek replied. ‘I do have something. Two dead perps and one live one. They jumped me outside Feldstet and Miles’s apartment.’
‘Get the sucker over to the office fast. He might have backup.’
Janek didn’t answer. His sensitive hearing had picked up the sound of an approaching vehicle, one that was moving far too fast to be driving normally, even in East Harlem.
‘Janek?’ Cade yelled through the speaker as he heard the cyborg mutter angrily.
Janek was too busy to reply. He’d spotted the black panel truck swinging in across the wide street. The side door slid open and armed figures leaned out.
Heavy auto weapons opened up. A hail of slugs hammered the Ford, ripping through the door panels and shattering windows. Shredded upholstery filled the air.
Janek ran to the rear of the car as the panel truck swept by, his .44 blasting out shot after shot. He saw one of the gunners jerk back inside the panel truck, a burst of red marking the side of his skull.
Then the truck skidded in a tight circle, swaying as it came around. Janek watched it hurtle toward him. He stood his ground, pumping the rest of his clip at the windshield.
Someone opened up with an auto weapon again. The steady thump of large-caliber slugs rocked the Ford. Janek realized what they were a split second before the car exploded in a gush of flame.
Incendiary shells.
The missiles finally found the gas tank, and the riddled vehicle, along with Janek’s prisoner, vanished in a roiling mass of red-orange flame. The fireball reached up and out, sending hungry tentacles of liquid heat over the immediate area.
Janek had turned to run but was caught by the blast. It picked him up and threw him bodily across the sidewalk. He was instantly engulfed in flames. His clothing and outer skin shriveled in the intense heat. leaving him a naked metal figure propped against the wall of the building.
His titanium-steel casing smeared and sooty, Janek lay still and silent as the panel truck pulled away and raced off along the street.
Chapter Five
Cade pushed through the swing doors of the Cybo Tech Corporation’s New York facility, ignoring the protests of the administration clerk. The clerk was an android. It reached out to grasp Cade’s sleeve.
‘You can’t just come in here without... ‘
Cade rounded on the clerk. There were no clothes to bunch in his fist, so he simply planted his big hand against the android’s dull metal chest and shoved hard. The clerk backpedaled, then hit the wall with a metallic thud.
‘Touch me again, and I’ll pull your legs off.’
‘Can I help you?’ asked a soothing, well-modulated voice.
Cade spun on his heel, finding himself confronted by a tall, platinum blond female in a figure-hugging jumpsuit bearing the Cybo Tech logo. She was in her early thirties and strikingly attractive. She carried a clipboard in one hand.
‘I’m Dr. Landers. I’m in charge here.’
Cade showed her his badge. The blonde studied it closely, her expression remaining unchanged as she digested the information.
‘So, Detective Cade, what can we do for you?’
‘My partner was brought in a while ago. His name is Janek.’
‘Ah, yes, Detective Janek. He’s in the operating room now.’
‘Is he going to be all right?’ Cade demanded.
‘That’s what we’re finding out right now, Detective Cade. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll take a look.’
Dr. Landers turned on her heels and crossed the room. She had a trim figure beneath the jumpsuit. Following her, Cade found himself wondering whether she was a cyborg herself. His normal perception was a little befuddled at the present time, and he hadn’t been able to decide on the doctor’s status.
‘In case you’re wondering, I’m not a cybo,’ she said over her shoulder.
‘But you are a mind reader?’ Cade suggested.
Landers laughed softly, and slowing down, she fell in step beside Cade.
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Go ahead?
‘How long have you and Janek been partners?’
‘Couple of years now. Why do you ask?’
‘You display genuine concern. Almost as if Janek was human.’
‘Well, we work together. We share the same apartment. And we’ve been through some tough times together. Janek has pulled me out of some scary situations. I trust him with my life. That’s the way a police partnership works.’
‘Interesting. Especially the way you refer to Janek.’
They were making their way along a brightly lit corridor that was decorated in pale, soothing colors. It was hushed, but from somewhere up ahead they began to hear raised voices.
Cade recognized one of them. It belonged to Janek.
�
�Problems, doctor?’ Cade asked innocently.
‘Yes, and I think I know who’s causing them?
The racket increased as they neared the operating room. A steady stream of arguments could be heard even though the doors were closed.
Dr. Landers pushed them open, striding into the chaos of the brightly lit operating room.
Banks of electrical equipment lined the walls. Computer consoles and monitor screens were ranged around the steel table where Janek lay. Electrodes were attached to his naked metallic torso. Cade felt oddly ill at ease seeing Janek in his exposed condition. He knew the cyborg as an efficient, complete individual — not as this gleaming, fleshless machine.
However, one thing hadn’t changed.
Janek’s attitude, his desire to be on top of the situation. He had raised his voice, but it remained well modulated as he challenged the very presence of the Cybo techs gathered around him. Janek was giving them a hard time, and the moment he spotted Cade, he decided he had an ally.
‘T.J., get me out of here. These techs want to open me up. Tell them I’m just fine.’
‘Hey, take it easy, partner. Give them a break. They have a job to do.’
‘It’s a waste of time,’ Janek snapped. ‘All I have is a headache and singed skin.’
‘Detective Janek, you have sustained shock trauma,’ Dr. Landers explained patiently. ‘You need a thorough examination in order to establish whether damage has occurred to any of your function-mode controls.’
Janek pushed himself to a sitting position. His titanium skull reflected the overhead lights as he fixed Dr. Landers with a withering glance.
‘I don’t fancy anyone digging around inside my head. Just recycle my skin and let me out of here.’
‘Dr. Landers?’ one of the O.R. staff queried. ‘Can we go ahead? It’s difficult enough as it is.’
‘Up to now I’ve been reasonable with you people,’ Janek threatened. ‘That could change.’
‘Can I have a word, doctor?’ Cade asked, touching Dr. Landers’s arm.
Landers nodded, instructed the O.R. staff to wait, then followed Cade across the room. Her soft mouth had tightened in resignation.
‘He needs attention,’ she insisted. ‘Look at his behavior.’
They stood by one of the soundproof windows, looking out across the city. Rain drifted down from the lead gray sky.
‘Doctor...’ Cade said again, trying to gain her full attention.
‘The Series 2000 is the most advanced cyborg ever produced. The merging of computer science and robotic evolution is the success of the century. Janek’s brain is regarded as the ultimate in electronic intelligence. Despite that, Detective Janek is displaying attitudes unacceptable to Cybo Tech. The concussion from the explosion must have... ‘
‘I think you’ve got it all wrong,’ Cade insisted. ‘Janek is always like this. It has nothing to do with the damn explosion. He was like this before that. Hell, he’s been that way from the day I met him.’
Landers glanced in the direction of the O.R. techs, who were standing in a loose group some distance away from Janek.
‘You mean he’s always been faulty? He has personality deficiencies?’
‘No, doctor, I don’t mean that.’
‘Then what do you mean, Detective Cade? I’d really like to know,’ Landers said wearily. ‘As far as I can see, we have a Series 2000 exhibiting extremes of behavior. He argues. There is definite antagonism toward authority. Janek also displays strong personal viewpoints on most matters. Detective Cade, in all my years with Cybo Tech I have never witnessed such behavior from a cyborg. Janek’s departure from the structured personality is...is... ’ She paused, either unable or reluctant to use the right words.
Cade did it for her. ‘He acts like he was human. That what you were going to say?’
Landers stared at him as she fiddled with her clipboard absentmindedly.
‘I have to admit that Janek does display certain human character traits.’
‘So why get hot about it? Janek was designed to have independent thought, to make his own decisions. The idea was to create a cybo as close as possible to us. Right? Well, congratulations, science has been successful.’
Landers frowned. ‘Don’t you ever get worried about him?’ she asked. ‘Doesn’t his behavior concern you?’
Cade grinned. ‘Hell, yes, but in most ways he is a lot more reliable than a human partner, although I don’t think of him as being nonhuman. Janek’s a pain in the butt a lot of the time. Comes from his curiosity. He needs to know. Always asking questions. It’s weird sometimes. He knows a lot, but it isn’t enough - he wants to know more about everything. He drives me crazy with his concern, fussing about my health, then the next minute he’s getting steaming mad about something I said. And then there’s this jazz thing. He’s mad about jazz. Listens to it for hours. If we have a fallout, he doesn’t sulk. He switches to some jazz channel and locks in. Can you figure it, doc? A cybo hot for jazz? People who know him say he’s crazy. Maybe he is. But that’s part of the human condition, too! Character traits, you call it. Janek’s an individual. He’s changing. Developing. It’s actually damn scary at times, come to think of it.
‘But when it comes to the crunch, he’s always there. When we get in a jam, I know I’ve got the best backup ever. I don’t have to tell him what to do. He’ll figure it out and be in the right place at the right time. Most days he’s there before I am. And that’s what counts on the street, a partner you know you can trust. So just give him his new skin, doctor, and let me worry about what goes on inside his head.’
‘Are you certain about this?’ Landers asked as they moved back to where Janek sat.
‘I’m the one who has to work with him,’ Cade said. ‘Do you think I’d carry on if I was worried?’
‘I’m not sure I like it,’ Landers remarked.
‘Optimum performance is the only thing that should count for you, doctor, and not whether you like something or not,’ Janek said with a superior air. ‘Now, give me some skin before I rust away in front of your eyes.’
Landers shook her head. ‘On one condition, Detective Janek. You allow us to run a monitor check first. No interference. Just exterior checks of your vital functions. Then we put you through the regeneration unit.’
‘It’s a deal,’ Janek agreed. He threw a hard glance in Cade’s direction. ‘You were talking about me over there. Don’t deny it, T.J. What were you saying?’
‘In confidence, buddy,’ Cade said, grinning. ‘Can’t repeat a word.’
The Synthetic Skin regeneration process took a couple of hours. Cade used the time to make some calls.
He checked in with the Justice Department at Washington Central, requesting a computer search for any information on missing Darksiders. He received an answer after a couple of minutes. All the department could tell him was that they had been notified of some local rumors of Darksider disappearances in the New York area. No official investigation had been made at the time because the Urban Crime Squad had handled the matter locally.
Cade found that interesting. He took the last phrase to mean no investigation because it was being blocked somewhere in New York. The question was why? Political expediency? A lack of manpower? Or a lack of local interest?
Maybe someone was being protected.
Cade went for the last option, because there was already an interest in his investigation. Interest that wanted him to lay off.
There had already been two attempts to dissuade him and Janek from carrying on.
First the attack by Feldstet and Miles on Roosevelt Drive, then Janek’s run-in with the hired guns.
Cade hadn’t forgotten Feldstet and Miles’s abduction of Bernie Stenner, or the fact that it had taken place in a very short time after his arrival at the local precinct house.
The facts behind Stenner’s removal had been nagging at the back of Cade’s mind for some time. Someone had tipped the UCS men about Stenner’s arrest. For whatever reason, it had been
deemed necessary to remove Stenner from the station. Most probably so that he would not divulge what he knew.
So who had informed Feldstet and Miles?
It had to be someone at the station.
Cade’s initial contact had been with the pair of patrolmen who had arrived to take Stenner off his hands.
Treat and Dolan.
One, or both, could be on the payroll of the people responsible for the disappearance of the Darksiders. The way things were shaping up, maybe the whole damn NYPD was involved, Cade thought.
He spotted a vending machine in a corner of the waiting room and made a beeline to it. Feeding it money, he was delivered a plastic cup of indifferent coffee that did little to convince him of the outlandish claims the food industry made for having taken gigantic strides in improving convenience foods.
He glanced at his watch. Close to noon. Impatience was chafing at Cade’s nerves. He’d been deliberately pushing the matter to the back of his mind, but during this period of inactivity, Kate Bannion’s involvement with the missing Darksiders started to crowd him. He was concerned. Kate’s impulsive nature could easily take her headfirst into something she might not be able to handle. The deeper Cade found himself drawn into the Darksider affair, the more he realized he was dealing with people who had no compunctions about murder. If they would try to take out a couple of police officers, they wouldn’t hesitate when it came to an inquisitive news reporter.
The door opened, and Dr. Landers came into the waiting room. She gave Cade a tired smile. ‘He’ll be through any minute. Just finishing getting dressed. He is complaining about the clothes you had delivered for him. Something about the color scheme.’
‘Like I said, doctor, he hasn’t changed. That guy is a pain.’
She shook her head. ‘There you go again. You talk about him as if he was human.’
‘What else. I can’t go around shouting hey you.’
Dr. Landers handed Cade a small business card. ‘My number. Call me. I’d like to know more about Janek and how you two get on.’
‘Sure, doctor. I’ll give you a blow-by-blow account.’
The door swung open again, and Janek came into the room. He was fully dressed and back to his normal appearance. Even down to the disapproving scowl on his face.