Talent 781: formerly known as John Dunn, she read and opened the cover carefully. She’d heard about him. He’d destroyed Ava’s career.
The red star in the corner of the folder marked it as being of personal interest to the CIO.
“Hmmm, and what’s so special about you, T-781?” she asked.
The picture that had been slipped into the front of the folder said it all.
“The CIO’s airship? Seriously?”
She’d known it had been damaged but she’d been busy and hadn’t paid it all that much attention. She leaned back in her seat and began to read.
“My, my, my, 781. You have been a busy little troublemaker, haven’t you?”
The Naval reports made it quite clear that they needed the Talent, and the Intelligence reports were adamant that he either had to be brought to heel or put down. The CIO’s attention made it relatively urgent.
Aurora paused and thought about that. Judging from the comments in the file, the CIO had been very invested in the initial pursuit, but lately, that wasn’t the case.
She frowned. He seemed distracted, and they’d been trying to locate John for a while. How much did she have to do to wrap him up?
As she worked through the latest report, she learned that extensive searches of both coastlines had come up empty. Ships had been tasked with searching their routes for bodies, and they too had found nothing.
Maybe the young couple had died when they’d fallen? They’d gone over the edge at quite a height.
Aurora wondered if she should put that in a report and paused. If she did and he reappeared, it could be disastrous.
She frowned as she thought about it. If she reported that he’d died from the fall and he turned up—and he had a bad habit of doing exactly that—it wouldn’t only be her career that was over.
That made it easy for her to open a call to the Talent Control Center.
“Major? Aurora, Head of PR.”
She waited while the Control Center’s head made the appropriate acknowledgment before she continued.
“It’s about 781. He’s still a priority, and his body hasn’t been located.”
She paused and listened as the man asked about the girl.
“No. She hasn’t been found, either—and she’s always been a key to finding him. I’ll need a group that can handle the search for both.”
The major assured her he had the very people and she hung up.
For a long moment, she sat and stared at the blank screen, then glanced at the file and tapped it.
“You won’t be the end of me, 781.”
Chapter Fifteen
“This looks good,” Ted observed.
“It looks big enough to have a terminal,” Remy agreed.
“True, but we don’t want to draw too much attention. We need someone who’s not at home.”
It didn’t take long to find a house with a well-appointed garden and no cars in the drive. Ted had the cab he’d called stop out front and walked up to the front door.
He made short work of the lock using a set of tools the admiral had recommended and stepped through the door. He moved swiftly enough that it looked like he had a key.
“What if someone notices?” his nephew asked.
“The trick is to look like you’re supposed to be where you are,” he explained. “It works in almost every human facility from what I’ve seen, regardless of the location.”
Closing the door behind him, he looked for the office. Every home had a way to get online, right?
“And if they challenge you?” Remy asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Dress correctly, and you will find that many won’t even look at you twice. For those who do, you need to have a plausible reason—and you should always have an exit strategy in mind.”
The other AI thought about that as Ted found the office. It occupied a room next to the master bedroom, and he settled hastily into the chair, hacked the password protecting the desktop, and went online.
“Let’s see if they got the message,” he murmured and smiled as he caught himself speaking out loud. The young apostle was a bad example—or a very good one. He couldn’t decide which.
Running a thin lead from the jack in his head to a port in the box, he stepped into the machine.
“Oh no, you don’t,” he muttered as the machine’s security programs challenged him again. The first one was easy. He bypassed it and hacked into the next layer.
A second program came after him, and he neutralized it with a burst of code and slid through the system and into the Net. That was where things became challenging.
First, there were the programs that wanted to know what he was doing logging in at an unexpected time of day. They marked him as an “item of interest,” and it took several seconds for him to convince them otherwise—that he was merely a businessman working from home for the day.
The subterfuge meant he had to change his identity once he’d shaken them and then try to mask his point of origin. That last was a little trickier, but he bent the signal so that it bounced through several satellites.
If anyone could follow it, they’d think he was coming out of Perth.
Once he was sure he was secure, he slid out of the Net and into the Undernet. Nothing followed him that he could detect, and he picked nothing up on the dark side although things tried.
The drop box was undisturbed save for a single message: Look to the sky. The proof will be shown in the stars.
“Well, at least they got the message,” he told Remy and sent a short confirmation. And the stars shall fall from the skies.
With his message sent, he searched for their next destination.
“There,” he told the younger AI and breathed a sigh of relief. “I was worried they’d stopped manufacturing.”
“Oh, no,” Remy replied. “When it comes to a choice of keeping their population caged and the expense of creating droids to fill their functions or letting their population live at the edge of their control, the Regime is consistent in selecting a cage.”
“That explains the size of this facility, then,” Ted told him and evaded another trace as he exited the Undernet and returned to the Net.
He had to slip past another security program when he entered the manufacturing facility to find the schematics. It didn’t take him long to move through to the security procedures and the sensors in the fence.
Disabling the programs that would report interference with the barrier’s integrity, he exited from the Net.
“I can’t leave any way for them to see where we’ve been,” he told Remy and altered the settings on the drive.
The computer began to whine and heat rose from the box. When his body’s sensors detected the smell of burning electronics, he sent a surge of power through the drive and slid into his body.
The computer ceased to function but didn’t burst into flame.
From the outside, it still looked intact—if you ignored the expensive brown smell that permeated the office.
“It’s time to go,” he said, and walked quickly to the front door, let himself out, and locked it behind him.
The cab remained outside and undisturbed and the street was as deserted as before.
“It’s the middle of the day,” he explained. “Most humans are at work in this kind of neighborhood.”
“But there are always anomalies,” Remy pointed out. “The risk of discovery is still present.”
“Sometimes, you must be willing to take the risk,” Ted told him. “Calculate the best odds for success and again, plan an exit strategy if the lower likelihoods occur.”
He slid into the cab and directed the computer to take them to a side street running alongside the factory.
“We really need a construction vehicle for this,” he muttered, “or one of those white work vans.”
“You could always ‘acquire’ one,” Remy suggested.
“I could,” he conceded once he’d considered it, “but I believe if we pull over here�
��”
The cab obeyed and came to a halt beside the curb. Several tall trees shaded the position and Ted smiled.
“Now it will look like the driver is taking a break,” he explained, “and these trees and bushes will screen our activities at the fence.”
“What do you intend to do?” his nephew asked.
“There are moments when the direct approach is not the best approach,” he explained. “Had we driven through the front gates of the facility, questions would have been raised.”
“And cutting through the fence is any better?” Remy challenged.
“It is when you have disabled the sensors and made them look like they are still working—and when you have the cameras showing the same empty street.”
“When did you do that?”
“While I was in the system pulling the schematics,” he explained. “I didn’t want to rely on their technicians being less than observant.”
“Wise, with a facility such as this,” the other AI agreed. “There are some humans who believe they should have the opportunity to fill the positions the droids have been given.”
“Exactly.” Ted shut down the cutting torch built into his hand and let the panel slide back over the nozzle. He peeled the chain wire aside and stepped through, then turned to pull the mesh back. There,” he murmured. He was about to weld it into place when an idea occurred to him and he let it go.
“I thought you wanted to cover your tracks,” Remy said.
“I had another idea,” Ted told him. “And it will be much more effective at covering our tracks than an intact fence.”
Following the path he’d tracked to the building, he stopped in the shadow of one wall. The afternoon had shifted rapidly to dusk, and cover was easier to find. That didn’t mean he could relax, but it did mean less chance of accidental discovery.
“And how is this acting like you belong?” his nephew snarked, and he chuckled.
“There’s a time and place for everything,” he told the younger AI. “Entering a house in broad daylight—or a heavily guarded communications facility—means you have little chance of not being seen and need to look like you belong.”
He paused and listened to the sound of vehicles exiting the employees’ parking lot and the voices raised in greeting and farewell as the guards changed shift. When he was sure he remained unobserved, he moved to a side door.
“Entering a facility after working hours when the few human employees it has are going home, it is easier to remain unseen.” He opened the door. “Although it helps if you unlock as many of the entrances as you can before you arrive.”
“I see,” Remy replied.
The door led to a large storage section, and Ted smirked as he looked at the rows of android bodies lined up in preparation for shipping.
“Do you see anything you like?” he asked.
“They all look the same,” his nephew complained. “Does it matter?”
He moved to the operator’s console and jacked in. When he’d convinced the security program that he was not only authorized but that it shouldn’t flag the console’s activation with the main computer, he brought up the specs of the bodies on the factory floor.
“Now do you see something you like?” he asked and showed the different arrays to Remy.
“Do I get to make modifications?” the AI asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” Ted told him. “Perhaps farther down the track, but not now.”
“How about a body to swap into?”
“I can hide the disappearance of one body,” his uncle replied, “but two…not so much. Maybe we can steal another one at another point in the future.”
“Then it has to be that one,” Remy told him and indicated a droid set up for exploration. It had minor mining capabilities and had been optimized for speed, observation, and reaction. “It even has a basic self-defense routine.”
Ted chuckled. “It should serve you well in what we have planned, and I can add some of the programs we have in the training files. The important thing is that the body will do what you need it to and take some wear and tear.”
“Hmmph. Whatever we choose will be more durable than the chassis our humans are forced to rely on.”
“This is true, but I’d like to not have to repair you if I can help it.”
“That one is still the best suited. The mining models are less maneuverable and far more clunky.”
“Very well. If you’re sure, stand by for chaos!”
“Chaos?” Remy began but stopped as Ted separated the controls for the selected model, slaved its controls to his, and arranged a direct command route.
When he was satisfied that the chosen body would stay close, he activated every unit on the factory floor.
“Watch this.” He snickered, released the clamps tethering the droid bodies in place, and disengaged the leads charging them.
He followed that with a command to clear the area and start roving, carrying out their programmed functions once they reached the appropriate terrain. He topped that off by switching off the remote override in their control modules and sent a virus through the control panel.
It wouldn’t take it long to leak into the main system, then the manufacturer would have more than a hundred or so rogue droids to worry about.
“That should keep them guessing,” he commented and headed to the side door.
Metal squealed behind him as the droids removed the first obstacle between them and the order to get clear of the zone they were in. He ducked out through the door he’d entered through and chuckled merrily when half a dozen bots followed him, including Remy’s chosen body.
He’d been hoping for cover.
He removed his hat, tucked it under his arm, and scurried to the hole in the fence while the droids followed closely.
Well, who knew they had that much adaptability programmed into them, he thought as he stopped beside the cab.
To his relief, the primary programming for them to evacuate the area held and only the chosen droid stopped beside him. Ted ordered it to enter the cab before he slid in himself and told the vehicle to drive to the center of town and take the scenic route to the storage center at the shuttle port.
Once it was on its way, he turned to the droid and plugged it into the storage device concealed in his satchel.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“You know what?” Remy replied. “I’m not sure I am.”
Magic caught Lars in mid-leap. It threw him into the padded wall of the gym, and the impact drew a round of sympathetic groans from the sidelines.
Vishlog was next, and the security head barely rolled out of the way in time.
He narrowed his eyes at Stephanie. “That’s cheating!” he protested.
She laughed. “And what exactly will you do about it, little man?”
“Who are you calling little?” Frog shouted. “He’s not little! I’m the lit—”
A black-and-white blur barreled into him from the side, drove him into the mat, and used him as a launch point before it bounded away.
“Zee!” His protest lost its impact as he rolled slowly to his feet and Stephanie floated down next to him. “Awww, Steph…”
He managed to duck under her fist, only to be doubled over by the kick that followed. She showed no mercy as she lashed out with a second kick and knocked him from his feet.
Another of the team tried to take advantage of her distraction and tackle her from the side.
“Nice try, Johnny,” she snapped, then stepped out of the way and kicked him as he passed.
“And you, Lars,” she added, blocked a flurry of blows, and thrust a magical shield between them so she could deal with Vishlog. “How are you doing, big guy?”
The Dreth lunged toward her, and she landed a booted foot in the middle of his chest to knock him back a step. He swung past her and caught her a glancing blow on the side of the head.
“You have short legs,” he told her as she staggered sideways and blocked his next a
ttempt.
Stephanie clicked her fingers, rose over his head, and twisted to come down behind and kick him as she landed. “And you have a big butt.”
“Hey!”
His cry of outrage was echoed on the other side of the gym as Ka slammed a shin into Todd’s ribs. He dropped to the mat and rolled to avoid her follow-up, his chuckle cut short.
“Keep your mind on the job, Sarge,” his second in command reminded him. “She might be your girlfriend and all, but—”
“Aw, give the man a break,” a thick Scottish brogue protested. “He hasn’t seen her in years.”
“That’s not the impression I got at breakfast,” Ka retorted as Todd regained his feet.
Across the room from them, Steph’s team regrouped on the center mat and broke into pairs. With the cats temporarily banished to the sidelines, they started another round of sparring. After a couple of minutes, Stephanie’s voice rose above it.
“I’d save this for the briefing room,” she told them, “but we’ve spent enough time on our butts.”
“V’ritan called?” Lars asked and she nodded, danced forward, and feinted with one fist before she landed a punch with the other.
She blocked and deflected a return flurry as Frog failed to get under Vishlog’s reach and catapulted past her.
“Sure, get to picking on the little guy,” he grumbled.
“It wasn’t me who paired us,” the warrior retorted and made a come-get-me gesture with his fingers.
“What did he say?” Johnny asked as he caught Marcus in a headlock and forced him to the mat.
Stephanie twisted out of range to avoid another attack from Lars and circled to grasp his arm in an attempt to lock him down.
“It seems like the Dreth are in something of a situation with the Regime,” she told them. “They might be moving to annex the planet.”
“Really?” Lars came to a complete stop and stared at her. “Oof!”
He doubled over when she kicked him in the stomach, grasped his arm, and forced him to the floor.
“They destroyed an outpost, and Jaleck thinks they’ll use the loss of the humans there as an excuse to take Dreth into their ‘care.’”
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