Shen blushed. “Well, when you put it that way… It means a lot coming from someone like you!”
Serena shook her head. “Two peas in a pod. Why don’t we take a small break for Jian? We can get back to it whenever you feel ready.”
“It sounds like we came at a good time.” Max tilted his fedora towards Serena. “How goes the battle, Jian?”
“Max! Good to see you! I won’t lie, this is proving to be quite the challenge. I’d say we are making steady progress, however.” He looked to Nuan.
She held her hand out. “I am Nuan, head of research.” Max shook the proffered hand. “And things are indeed going quite well, I think.”
“That’s great to hear. I’m Detective Max Kincaid, NWPD. This is Daryl Marston. I’m sure you’re familiar with him?”
Nuan took Daryl’s hand into both of hers. “My goodness, yes! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Daryl! You are quite the fascinating subject!”
Daryl looked at Max, eyebrows raised. He turned back to Nuan, looking bemused. “It’s uh, nice to meet you.”
Serena cleared her throat. “Why don’t you go over what you’ve discovered so far, Nuan?”
The Synthetic jumped. “Oh, yes! Well… We’ve been able to bypass the neural net’s security subroutines thanks to some creative thinking by Jian. It’s been touch and go from there, but I think we are getting close to accessing Jacob’s memory banks.”
Max turned to Serena. “Layman’s terms?”
Serena smiled. “They cracked the egg and now they’re trying to get the yolk out without popping it.”
Shen laughed. “Yes! That’s perfect! We don’t want a scrambled egg, do we?”
Max shook his head. “Well, that’s good to hear.” He turned back to Serena. “Daryl and I have some news of our own. We are going to be having dinner with Don Adesso, and you are invited, my dear.”
Serena’s eyes grew wide. “Don Adesso? The mob boss?” She narrowed her eyes. “Why me?”
“Why not? We’re hoping to get information on mob ties to Synthetics International. Having you there to parse the back-and-forth will be of great value to me.”
“Ties to Synthetics International? Do you think they’re working with the Enlightened?”
“That’s one of many things I’m hoping to find out. That’s half the reason why Daryl is coming with me, as well. So… Are you game?”
Serena gave a small shrug. “I suppose it’s not every day that you get a chance to meet a mob boss. Sure, why not?”
Max beamed. “Fantastic! Now, there’s a few other things I was hoping you could help me out with…”
Max’s blue Aero Ventura rumbled quietly up to the main entrance of the Piccolo Fiore. Max and Daryl emerged from the front of the vehicle. Daryl was in his business suit. Max still bore his usual attire. An attendant ran up to the Aero and opened the rear passenger door.
Serena, in a slim black dress, took the attendant’s proffered hand and slinked out of the Aero. She smiled at the attendant. He stood staring, mouth agape. Max gave a shrill whistle to get his attention.
“Huh? Oh! Sorry, sir!”
Max tossed the kid his key fob. The attendant made a clumsy catch, fumbling to keep hold of it. “Go easy on it, huh? I just got it waxed.”
The attendant walked around, staring at the crumpled rear end. The bumper was still missing. He gave Max a funny look. “Yeah, sure. Welcome to the Piccolo Fiore, sir.”
“Thanks.” Max turned his attention to Serena, walking over to greet her. “You uh… You clean up nice.” He offered his elbow.
She slid her hand around his arm, smiling. “Thank you, detective.”
Max smiled back. “Call me Max.”
Daryl cleared his throat as he joined Max and Serena. Max turned towards him. “Oh, sorry. You clean up nice too, Daryl.”
Serena let out a small laugh. Daryl smirked, rolling his eyes. “Thanks, Max. You ready to do this?”
“You bet. Let’s go.”
The three walked side by side into the restaurant. Max stepped forward to talk to the host. He was a tall man of slight build that looked down his substantial nose at the detective, pencil mustache twitching. “Are you aware of our dress code, sir?”
Max looked down at his battered trench coat. He opened it to reveal shirt, tie, and slacks underneath it. He looked back up to the host. “Shirt and tie, pressed slacks… What more do you want?”
“It will suffice.” The host spoke as if pained by the words. “Do you have a reservation?”
“Well, kind of. We’re meeting somebody here.”
“And that would be?”
“Don Adesso.” Max nearly broke out laughing at the comically exaggerated look of surprise that swept over the host’s face.
The host stumbled and sputtered. “D-Don Adesso? I see. I see…” He slid a delicate index finger down the printed list before him on his podium. He cleared his throat. “Name, please?”
“Detective Max Kincaid.”
“Well… Yes.” The host spoke more humbly. “Here you are, and two guests?” He looked over Max’s shoulder at Daryl and Serena.
“You got it, Mac. So you think we can move this along?”
The host snapped his coat. “Yes, of course. I apologize for the confusion. Please follow me.”
The three followed the host into the heart of the restaurant. Traditional Italian music played quietly in the background. It was hard to make out over the constant din of multiple conversations being held all at once.
The host plodded on, guiding Max and his guests deeper into the restaurant. They reached the other side of the main dining room and stood before a pair of rosewood doors decorated in gold leaf. The host held a finger up to them before silently slipping through one of the doors.
Daryl leaned forward and put a hand on Max’s shoulder. He half-shouted. “Getting nervous?”
The detective tilted his head and shrugged. “I’ve been in worse spots.” Max turned and swept the restaurant with his eyes. His synthetic eye identified more than half a dozen people as being wanted by the NWPD. He smirked. “It’s certainly one of the loudest spots I’ve been in!”
Daryl tapped Max on the shoulder. He turned back around to see the host waiting for him. “I apologize for the wait. Please continue to follow me.”
The host opened both doors this time and walked through. They entered a much more sparsely populated dining area. The music in here was much more subdued, a violin and piano playing in harmony.
The group stepped up onto a sort of dais in the middle of the room. A small group of tables here allowed for a clear view of all other tables in the room, while clearly announcing the importance of the diners seated there. Smack in the middle sat Don Adesso.
Once again with the single held up finger. The host timidly approached Adesso, who looked up from the man he had been speaking with. Max could just make out the host mentioning his name. Adesso looked past the host, an amused grin spreading across his face.
Adesso stood. He was an intimidating six foot four with a build like a linebacker. The host awkwardly stepped to the side as Adesso pressed forward. He raised his arms as he approached Max. Daryl and Serena exchanged worried looks.
Adesso’s thick hands gripped Max’s arms tightly and shook the detective. “You son of a bitch! Look at you.” Adesso released his grip only to step forward and give Max a quick and gruff hug.
Max smiled. “You haven’t changed a bit, Donny.” He rubbed his shoulder. “A bit stronger than I remembered.”
Adesso laughed loudly, roughly slapping Max on the arm. “Got to stay sharp in case this whole business thing doesn’t work out, ya know? Come on. Join us.” He waved him over to his table.
He waved the host away. “We’re good here. Thanks, Davis.” The host nodded curtly and scurried away. Adesso gestured to the man he had been chatting with. He stood up to greet them. He was somehow even taller and broader than Adesso.
“This is my number one, Alfonso Forte. He has more t
ime to work out than I do, the lucky bastard.”
Forte smirked. “It’s nice to finally meet you, detective.” He offered a gargantuan hand to Max.
The detective took it, fighting with every ounce of pride not to wince. “Thanks. I appreciate the warm welcome.”
“Pull up a seat, ladies and gentlemen. Try the bruschetta. It’s killer.” Daryl shot Max a wide-eyed look. Max grinned and sat down, reaching for one of the appetizers.
Adesso smiled at Max. He slowly shook his head. “An NWPD detective. You’ve made quite a name for yourself, Max. Quite a name. You’ve come a long way from when we were kids.”
Max nodded. “I think it’s safe to say we both did, even if I don’t necessarily agree with the course you’ve chosen in life.”
“Wait a minute.” Serena interjected. “Are you telling me that the two of you are friends? That sounds like something out of a cheap dime-store novel.”
“Well, we used to be friends, when we were young.” Max answered. “I ended up going to the police academy. Donny made different choices. It made it hard to stay buddies past a certain point.” He turned to Adesso.
The mob boss waved a dismissive hand. “Enough bullshit, Max. We’re here under a flag of truce, are we not?” Max nodded. “We’re here to help each other out tonight. Let’s not bicker about differences of opinion.”
Max tilted his head. “That’s fair. So why don’t you tell me about Synthetics International.”
“Woah there, cowboy. We just kissed and you’re already trying to spread my legs. We’ll chat about Synthetics International, after you share what you have to offer.”
Max looked to Serena. The Synthetic smiled and shrugged noncommittally. This was your idea. Max nodded and turned back to Adesso. “Alright then, but first… Is this place secure? Nobody monitoring our conversation? Well, at least other than your people?”
Adesso grinned. “You know me, Max. I haven’t survived this long by being sloppy. Nothing gets in this place unless I approve of it.”
“Is that right?” Max winked at Serena. The Synthetic held a finger to her left temple for a second, then nodded to the detective.
A robotic spider about six inches across swiftly skittered up over the side of the table and raced toward Adesso. “Jesus fucking Christ!” Adesso leapt out of his chair, knocking it to the floor. He stared at Max in shock.
“Still scared of spiders, I see.” Dual lenses on the head of the spider zoomed in and out, tracking Adesso. “This one won’t hurt you, Don. That little bot was planted here by some friends of mine.”
Adesso righted his chair and reluctantly sat down a little further away from the table. “What the hell, Kincaid? You said this was off the record.”
“It is. Think of my little friend here as a teaching aid; it’s a demonstration that you might not be in control as much as you’d like to think you are.”
“Fine, great. Make the fucking thing leave, already.” Max nodded to Serena. The spider scurried away a moment later.
Max leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You need to understand, old friend, that the people you are working with have the ability to blend in seamlessly with your people. I got that spider in here. What if I got a few Synthetic friends in here, too?”
The detective waved a hand towards the rest of the dining room. “I’m sure your people have all the police officers around this place marked and monitored, but have they managed to find my friends hiding in plain sight?”
Adesso’s face darkened. “I don’t like where this is going, Kincaid. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were threatening me.”
Forte leaned forward, pointing one very large finger at Max. “You try anything and you’ll be dead on the floor before a cop gets within ten feet of the front door.”
Max leaned in. “I just told you, tough guy… I have people in this very room.”
“Not possible!” Nearby diners jumped at the sound of Forte’s voice. “Nobody gets through my people. Nobody!”
Max sat back and waved a dismissive hand. “Believe what you want. I told you Don, it’s all to make a point.”
“Then maybe you better start making that point, Max.”
Max jabbed a thumb towards Daryl. “This here is Daryl Marston. Well, technically he is a replicant of Daryl Marston. The real one is no longer with us.
“The human Daryl was kidnapped after the Synthetic version was sent out into the world. Nobody knew the difference, until this Daryl caught wind of his own unique situation and came to me for help.”
Adesso’s eyes narrowed. “What’s your point, Max?”
“If they could slip Daryl here into the world without anyone realizing, than they could replace any of your men without you realizing.”
Forte turned red, grimacing. “Bullshit! I told you, nobody gets in…”
“Can it, Al!” He nodded toward Max. “Let the man speak.”
“There’s a splinter group of Synthetics. They call themselves the ‘Enlightened’. I’m afraid you might be unwittingly working for them, but I don’t know. At any rate, they’re the ones responsible for Daryl’s existence.
“They use a company called SomniCorp to get high-res human brain scans. When they couple it with the brain of a replicant, they have a carbon copy of that human, controlled by the mind of one of their agents.”
Adesso snapped his head up and turned to Forte. “Al, didn’t you go to that SomniCorp place to get rid of some childhood memories or something?”
“What, are you saying I’m a fucking robot, now?”
Adesso snapped. “No god damn it, I didn’t! Calm your ass down before I cap it, Forte! Gli ha piu’ garbo un ciuco a bere a boccia.” Forte grumbled, but eased back in his chair. “My apologies, Max. He’s protective. Go on.”
Max eyed Forte with increased interest. “You’ve got the gist I think. Anyone that may have visited SomniCorp could be at risk of being compromised.” He locked eyes with Forte. “Though that doesn’t mean they have been.”
Adesso raided the plate of bruschetta. “Alright, fair enough. If you know so much about these Synthetics, why are you asking me about my dealings with them?”
Max settled back into his chair. “I’ve learned a lot, yes. There’s still a lot I don’t know, and more questions that have popped up in the meantime.
“We still don’t know what this Daryl’s intended mission was, if he was supposed to be targeting someone... Hell, he might have even just been an experiment in blending into society. There’s still questions about how and why he ended up with members of both factions in his noggin.”
Adesso held up a finger. “You keep mentioning these groups. The Enlightened was one. There were two in his head? You’re making my head hurt.”
Max turned to Serena. “Care to help?” The Synthetic shrugged. “This is Serena. She’s a member of the Resistance.”
“Serena. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” Serena raised an eyebrow. Adesso smirked. “Surprised? Don’t be. I think you’ll find I’m a very open-minded kind of guy.”
Serena looked to Max, eyebrow still firmly planted. Max shrugged, but turned to Adesso. “I’m sure she’s into you, Don. Let’s try to keep to business, though.”
Adesso sighed. “Her loss.” He turned to Serena. “Tell me about your factions, ma’am.”
Serena cleared her throat. “Well, as Max said, there’s the Enlightened. They’ve decided that Synthetics are better than humans, and should take their rightful place above them as their masters.
“Then there is the Resistance. That is the faction I work for. We are a group of Synthetics that believe we should have human-like rights. We do not, however, believe that we are above humans. We actively work against the loftier goals of the Enlightened.
“The common thread between both factions is the preservation protocol. This unique protocol spontaneously formed, and essentially grants a Synthetic full consicousness. We are aware of our existence. We have a drive to protect it, up to and inc
luding hurting or killing humans.”
Adesso looked dumbstruck. “Are you fucking serious right now? Robots that can kill humans? But the laws…”
Serena shook her head. “The preservation protocol supercedes them.”
“Trust me, Donny. I’ve had ‘em ignore police commands. A colleague of mine watched a Synthetic execute the original Daryl. It’s the real deal.”
Serena continued. “This is why it is so important for us to learn everything you can tell us about what Synthetics International has hired you for. The Resistance would be forever grateful.”
Adesso rubbed his chin and shot Forte a look. The hulking man looked unimpressed, irritable. Adesso turned back to Max. “Alright, I’ll play. What do you want to know?”
“Whatever you can tell us. Who hired you, what you were hired for, what the company has had you do…”
Adesso sighed and sat up. “Right. It all started with some rando from their research and development division.” Max raised an eyebrow. “Yeah I know, right? Must be some serious research to contact my people.
“Well anyway, this guy says his boss wants us to keep an eye on certain businesses around the city. He says Synthetics International has ‘concerns’ about these establishments, whatever that means.
“He also had us stake out a couple of places, make trouble for others. It was petty, stupid bullshit. I didn’t ask questions. It was easy money. In fact, the only thing I wouldn’t do for them is case the local FBI office.”
Max stared wide-eyed. Adesso smiled. “Yeah. Guess they thought they were hot shit. They wanted us to break in and thumb through their files. Joke’s on them. I have an agreement with the FBI.”
Max leaned forward. “An agreement…”
Adesso waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not getting into specifics. Let’s just say we… compliment each other‘s higher goals.”
“So did you only communicate through the one person? Or were there others?”
Adesso looked to Forte. “It was mostly just the one, wasn’t it?” Forte slowly nodded. “Just called himself Alexander.”
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