“We’re almost to our destination,” Jeanette said. “These two need to eat before we go.”
Jazzlyn removed her cloche, revealing a hearty breakfast: eggs, an orange juice pack, toast with three types of jelly on the side, sausage links, and a ramekin filled to the brim with grapes and pieces of pineapple and melon. She licked her lips, then looked up at Jeanette. “Somehow I find it hard to believe that this isn’t poison.”
“If I wanted to poison you, you’d be dead,” Jeanette said. “Eat. Both of you. I can’t have you fainting on me today.”
Shortcut sat in his cell with his head down.
“That includes you,” Jeanette said, standing at his cell door.
“I’ll eat when you return Brielle,” Shortcut said.
“I’m not negotiating,” Jeanette said.
Shortcut pushed his tray aside. “Neither am I.”
Jazzlyn’s lens lit up and she scanned the breakfast trays. “There’s no poison here. The food is safe.”
“Finally, someone who praises my cooking,” Jeanette said. Xadrian and the guards laughed. “Now shut up and eat.”
“What did you do with Brielle?” Shortcut asked.
“Eat.”
“What did you do with her!” Shortcut yelled.
The android guards pointed their guns at Shortcut and Jazzlyn.
One of the android guards shouted, “Eat, or eat bullets. Mama’s just looking out for you.”
“Just do it, Shortcut,” X said.
Reluctantly, Shortcut picked up his toast and took a huge, spiteful bite.
“You have five minutes to eat,” Jeanette said. “We’re touching down in ten.”
“Where are we going?” Shortcut asked between chews.
“You and your questions,” Jeanette said. “It’s a miracle you can put up with him, X. Enjoy your meal.”
Shortcut and Jazzlyn scarfed down the food and the guards took their trays.
“Where do you think we are?” Shortcut asked.
“Don’t know,” X said. “The ship has a signal jammer. We’ve been traveling for nine hours, so we could be anywhere by now.”
They felt the ship descending. Through the window in Jazzlyn’s cell they watched the clouds dissipate, and a huge plain appeared below. Rivers and streams snaked across the dark brown terrain.
“I can’t make this place out,” Jazzlyn said. “This looks like any place I’ve ever been.”
The ship landed with a large thud and everything came to a stop. The sails powered down, and they heard Jeanette’s voice on the intercom. “Attention, everyone. We’ve arrived. All family members are needed to transport our prisoners to the destination.”
The hallway doors opened and the android guards entered, unlocked their cells, chained the group together, and forced them onto the deck.
“Hurry up,” Xadrian said, prodding Shortcut.
Brielle stood at the top of the stairs in chains. Xadrian connected her to the front of the chain next to X, and she looked sullen.
“Brielle, are you okay?” Shortcut asked.
“Yes.”
“What did they do to you?” Shortcut asked.
“They treated me well. They just asked a lot of questions.”
Shortcut sighed. “Good, because if they—”
“Shut up, Shortcut,” X said. “She’s fine.”
They climbed onto the deck, where the sails flapped in the wind. They were atop a large hill that overlooked the plain. A river wound through it, cutting it in half. In the center of the city was a glowing beacon that gave off so much light it was impossible to miss.
Jeanette was waiting for them at the edge of the deck, staring at the beacon. She smirked, determination burning in her eyes.
“That’s our destination,” she said.
“What is it?” X asked.
“Adjust your lenses.”
X focused on the beacon and zoomed in. It was a replica of Dr. Crenshaw’s mansion. The beacon shone from the roof.
“It’s just a house,” Jazzlyn said.
“It’s Dr. Crenshaw’s house,” X corrected.
“But wasn’t it destroyed years ago?” Shortcut asked. “Wasn’t it in the UEA? What’s it doing here?”
“My father was careful,” Jeanette said. “He replicated all of his things and had them built in a secure location so that if there was ever dispute about his legacy, we could find the proof we needed. The UEA robbed me of my inheritance by changing daddy’s will.”
She closed her hands into fists and grinned. “So we’re going to collect the real one, and you’re going to execute it, X.”
Chapter 13
They approached the mansion. It loomed before them, an exact replica of the original building. The interior lights were on, as if people were home, and there were two flying cars parked in the driveway.
“The resemblance is uncanny,” X said.
Jeanette clapped her hands together. “I know. Isn’t it fantastic?”
X saw bits of her former self shining through—the happy Jeanette that he once knew.
She stopped as if someone were speaking to her. “Absolutely. I marked the location so we can come back. I can’t believe how wonderful it looks, either. I feel like none of the last few years even happened. I expect Papa to be waiting for us when we go in.”
“Who’s she talking to?” Shortcut asked.
X shrugged.
They approached the front door. Jeanette held up her hand, and Xadrian and the guards stopped the party. She touched the fingerprint lock and the door opened.
Jeanette squealed and jumped up and down as she looked into the home. “It’s real. No traps.”
Xadrian crossed himself. “Never thought I’d see this place. I’ll never forget this day as long as I live!”
“C’mon, babies!” Jeanette cried. “Time to see Mama’s old house!”
They entered the mansion. In the foyer, a coat rack hung on the wall with the names ROOSEVELT, YVETTE and JEANETTE written over the knobs. A leather jacket hung on Dr. Crenshaw’s knob.
“Is this real, X?” Shortcut whispered.
X scanned the area and nodded. “It’s exactly the same. It even smells the same.”
“Weird,” Jazzlyn said. “Who creates a replica of their house to be found after their death? I told you that Dr. Crenshaw was weird. Everyone talks about how he’s some savior—I don’t get the genius in this.”
Jeanette didn’t hear her. Instead, she entered the kitchen, a sprawling area with cabinets and an island. She sauntered through the large room, running her hands along the granite countertops. Tears formed in her eyes when she saw a letter with her name on it perched against the salt and pepper shakers. She opened it and read it, suppressing a sniffle. “Papa, you’re so sentimental.”
The cabinets opened and metal arms emerged from them and set several cooking ingredients next to the oven: flour, eggs, butter, chocolate chips, sugar, and baking soda were soon assembled in a tidy group on the counter.
Jeanette grabbed an apron off the refrigerator and started to bake cookies. She moved through the kitchen without saying a word, mixing the ingredients as if she’d done it her entire life.
“What’s she doing?” Shortcut asked.
“Baking cookies, Mr. Obvious,” Jazzlyn said.
Jeanette put extra chocolate chips on top of the cookies and slid them into the oven. She wiped dough onto her apron. A strand of hair fell in front of her eye, so she washed her hands and tied her hair back, looking at herself in the reflection of the stainless steel refrigerator.
“Nothing beats baking cookies yourself,” Jeanette said, primping her hair.
X knew from her tone that she was addressing the group.
“I don’t care how good robotics can be,” Jeanette said. “It’s always better when you cook them yourself. A robot can follow all the same steps, and the cookie will be inferior every time. You can’t substitute love in a recipe.”
She sighed. “I just wish you
were here to eat these, Papa.”
Jeanette stormed out of the kitchen and headed upstairs. Xadrian and the androids forced X and the rest of the group to follow.
They found her in a bedroom upstairs—a master bedroom suite with a huge bed. Despite the room’s size, it only held the bed and several chests of drawers. Suits hung color-coded in the closet. The subtle scent of musk lingered in the air—Dr. Crenshaw’s smell. A suit lay on the bed, and Jeanette grabbed it and brought it to her face, sniffing and exhaling long and hard.
“Oh, Papa. I missed your scent.” She grabbed a bottle of his cologne off the bureau and slipped it in her dress pocket. She rummaged through the drawers and entered the closet, smelling and savoring her parents’ clothes. Then she sat on the bed and stared at the wall for a long time, thinking. The allure of old memories was on her face, her eyes glazed over as if she were reliving them all over again, as if none of the events from the last few years had happened.
“This is getting really weird,” Jazzlyn said.
After a few moments, Jeanette composed herself. She turned to address the group again. “Now it’s time to show you the true legacy.”
They went downstairs to Dr. Crenshaw’s laboratory. The lab was lined with tables, each one with an android lying on it. It seemed like Dr. Crenshaw had been working on the androids, had left for lunch, and would come back any moment.
“This whole place is like a snapshot in time,” Shortcut said. “Like those displays at the museum that seem so real you start to think you’ve traveled back in the past.”
Jeanette ran her fingers along the mahogany desk in the corner of the room. “Papa sat me on his lap as he worked here when I was a baby. This whole lab is full of memories for me.”
She pointed to a vertical row of black smudges on the wall. When they looked closer, they saw they were height markers.
“Papa would measure my height every year. He wanted to do it here so he could be at his desk, glance up from the corner of his eye and remember how quickly I was growing. He said it kept his eyes on the prize. He was doing all of this for our family.”
She stopped in the middle of the room and looked at the party, who stared back silently at her. Spreading her arms wide, she looked up at the ceiling and smiled. “And now all of this is mine. I’m going to continue what he started. I’m going to keep my eyes on the prize. I’m going to make him proud. And I’m going to honor Mama.”
The suddenly sharp tone in Jeanette’s voice made X’s algorithm chip buzz. He braced himself. Shortcut did the same, and Jazzlyn, picking up on their posture, looked around the room cautiously.
“Papa always told me to come here. He told me that this place would come into existence if anyone ever disputed his legacy. The fact that it is here is proof that his last wishes weren’t honored. His legacy is here, just as he left it, to remind me of what I was meant to do, what his plans were for me. This place is pure, unadulterated. What you see is the world that was taken from me. It belongs to me again. And now the whole world belongs to me.”
She activated a digital screen on the wall and entered a password. Dr. Crenshaw’s voice sounded.
“So that I know it’s truly you, baby, enter your password.”
Jeanette typed in COOKIES, and a hologram of Dr. Crenshaw appeared in front of her.
“You made it. Did you bring X?” he asked, making notes on a clipboard as he walked around the room.
A red beam of light swept the room and identified X.
“X,” Dr. Crenshaw said. “I hope that you’ve stayed true to your programming.”
Jeanette puffed.
“I also hope you find the house just like I left it,” Dr. Crenshaw said. “If you’re watching this, I’m already gone, and much of what I’m going to say has never been said. That’s because I’ve kept secrets from the UEA.”
Jeanette smirked at X and Shortcut. “The truth begins.”
“You don’t think—” Shortcut started. “Has everything we’ve been fighting for been wrong?”
X focused on Dr. Crenshaw’s sly smile. He didn’t know what to make of the hologram. He compared the doctor’s words to all his known memories, and there were no matches—this was truly a new recording.
“I’ve also kept secrets from the public,” Dr. Crenshaw said. “But I can no longer keep them in my grave, so here they are: the first is that I hate hamburgers.”
Jeanette’s smile faded.
“Second, I hate, hate, hate electrical work. I always hated doing it around the house.”
“What is this?” Jeanette whispered.
“I’m kidding, of course,” Dr. Crenshaw said. “Baby, you didn’t forget my sense of humor, did you?”
Jeanette laughed, and the rest of her androids laughed, too.
“My legacy is at stake,” Dr. Crenshaw said. “Today, I lay out the creed of my will and last testament. Despite what anyone feels about it, these are my wishes and they are to be obeyed.”
“Of course, Papa! Of course!”
“All of my estate shall belong to my wife, Yvette. If she isn’t alive, it shall pass down to my daughter, Jeanette. All of my clothes belong to Jeanette, to be donated to charity.”
“Of course!”
“And my android technology, the cornerstone of my legacy, the one thing for which I will be remembered for all time …”
“Yes,” Jeanette said. “Listen up, X! Listen, listen, listen!”
“… shall belong to the United Earth Alliance.”
Jeanette’s face crumpled, and X could hear her sharp intake of breath. Everyone, even the androids, took a step back.
“The United Earth Alliance shall maintain custody of my legacy until my daughter, Jeanette, shows that she is able to produce androids of Crenshaw quality. She is on her way to doing it, and I have absolutely every faith that she will continue my legacy. But as it stands, I cannot leave the business in her hands.”
“W-Why …” Jeanette said. She clenched her fists.
“Baby, there are forces at work that you don’t understand right now. When I went on my expedition to the Arctic, I stumbled upon technology that, in the wrong hands, could destroy the world. It scared me. Only the Council can keep it a secret. When the day comes that you demonstrate your readiness, it will all belong to you. And you will understand why I held it back from you. Until then, X shall be the executor of my will. He shall be an agent of the UEA, a beacon of justice, trained in battle and defense until the day that you are ready. If that day does not come, then all of the rights of my android technology pass to X. We have had several conversations about my vision for the future should that happen.”
“No!” Jeanette cried.
“Baby, if you decide that this business is not for you, I won’t be angry. Your mother doesn’t want any part of the business, and I respect that. But what I’m doing is important. It’s bigger than just you. I want you—no, I need you to remember that and not be angry with me. Everything you will ever need will be provided for, but my technology must not fall into the wrong hands.”
“And who are the wrong hands?” Jeanette screamed.
“Android hunters who would seek to use my technology for their own evil gains. I never had any sympathy for them, even though I grew up in the badlands. I despise them so much that I would rather my research be destroyed than end up in their hands.”
“This is fake,” Jeanette said. “The UEA must have altered this as well!”
Dr. Crenshaw continued despite her outburst. “My will is unaltered, and this sentence was programmed to disappear if someone attempted to tamper with it. My message has been conveyed. I love you with all my heart, and may God bless you and your eventual family.”
Xadrian clapped his hands. “He said for God to bless us! I’m eventual family! I’m blessed!”
Jeanette leaned on Dr. Crenshaw’s desk and sobbed.
X made a motion to Shortcut and Jazzlyn, and they nodded their understanding.
“I don’t understand,
” Jeanette said. “I spent these last few years fighting, and what for? The legacy never belonged to me. Well, Papa, I’m a better android engineer now, and I’m not going to let you rule my life any longer. I’m my own woman, and you should’ve never lost faith in me.”
She brushed by X in a daze and X lunged at her, wrapping his hands around her neck.
Xadrian screamed and pointed his guns at X.
“Shock me, and you’ll shock her, too,” X said.
“You’re going to regret this, X,” Jeanette snarled.
“No more than you must regret coming here.”
“Let her go!” Xadrian shouted.
“Release our chains,” X said.
Xadrian frantically pushed a button on his remote, and the chains surrounding the group dropped to the floor. Shortcut, Jazzlyn, and Brielle formed a circle around X, standing back-to-back.
“A couple of things,” X said, reaching into Jeanette’s dress with one hand. He pulled out his memory chip. “Next, we’re going to your ship, and we’re going to commandeer it. You’ll stay here. And you’re going to tell your androids to stand down, or you die.”
“You would kill me, your only family?” Jeanette asked.
“I owe you no allegiance or respect,” X said. “You’re an international criminal.”
“Mama, what do we do?” Xadrian said.
“Stand down,” Jeanette said. “Let’s see what they do.”
X’s algorithm chip buzzed severely. Something was about to happen. He scanned the ceiling and the floors, but didn’t detect anything unusual. All of Jeanette’s androids were in the room or in the ship. The escape path seemed clear, yet his chip buzzed that it wasn’t.
“Let’s get out of here,” Shortcut said.
Brielle led the way upstairs. X took Jeanette and followed, and Shortcut and Brielle brought up the rear.
“X, I was thinking,” Brielle said, pausing at the stop of the stairs and turning to face him.
X’s chip shrieked, but it was too late. Brielle shoved him with all her strength and he fell down the stairs, knocking Shortcut and Jazzlyn down as well. He landed at the base of the stairs, and Xadrian pulled Jeanette away from him.
Android X: The Complete Series Page 33