by David Archer
“We can do that,” Noah said. “Esmeralda can go back to her apartment, it’s just down the hall.”
“You don’t want to invite her to come with us?” Sarah asked, her eyes wide. “That’s kind of rude, isn’t it?”
“Not at all,” Esmeralda said. “What you see in me that appears to be emotional responses are simply part of my programming. I do not have feelings that can be hurt, so it’s impossible to be rude to me. Logically, there’s no reason for me to accompany you out for dinner unless I need to be included in something that’s going to happen. If that is not the case, it would be better for me to go back to my apartment and simply wait for morning.”
“Oh. Do you need to—I don’t know, recharge your batteries or something?” Sarah asked.
“No. My electronics run on two hundred tiny betavoltaic diamond batteries made from radioactive carbon-14. My physical form will wear out long before they ever run out of power, in about six thousand years.”
Neal’s eyes grew round. “Six thousand years? Where can I get batteries like that for my computer?”
“I suppose you could ask my developers,” Esmeralda said. “However, I know that my batteries cost about four million dollars, so they are quite expensive.”
Neil stared at her. “Okay, never mind.”
“So, what do you do when you’re alone at night?” Renée asked. “Do you read or something?”
“No. I usually will turn on a television and let it play, just to give the appearance that I’m watching it. Afterward, I go to bed and lay still, so that anyone watching me would think that I was asleep. During those times, it’s not necessary for me to actually do anything. Unless there is a problem I need to solve, I only monitor my surroundings by sound to determine whether I might need to react to anything at a given moment.”
“Better than a guard dog,” Marco said. “She never really goes to sleep, so nobody could ever catch her off guard.”
Sarah blinked. “How are you in housekeeping?”
“I’m programmed with all the skills necessary. I can wash dishes, do laundry, sweep and mop floors, run a vacuum, all the different things that a housekeeper might do. That was logical, since it would be one way to get me into close proximity to a target. I could be sent into a hotel to act as a maid, for example.”
Sarah looked at Noah with a grin. “Can we take her home with us when this is over? I hate housework.”
“You have a butler and several maids,” Jenny said. “When do you ever do any housework?”
Sarah stuck her tongue out at her. “Hey, it was just a thought.”
“Let’s get back to business” Noah said. “Esmeralda brought along some weapons. Sarah, Renée, I got you each an MP9 submachine gun with three magazines. Jenny, I have an extra if you want it…”
“No, thanks,” she said. “I want to kill these sons of bitches up close and personal. I’m going to show these girls the real definition of ‘wet work,’ you know?”
Noah nodded. “I thought you’d feel that way.” He turned to Neil. “I got you an extra one. You’ll be Marco’s backup here in Galveston.”
“Cool,” Neil said. “This is one time you don’t have to worry about me tossing my cookies afterward.”
TWENTY
The next few days followed a simple pattern. Noah told Conley and Mayweather that he had hired a receptionist, but that she knew nothing about what was actually happening. Both of them came by the office and met Esmeralda, and she became a favorite of the transporters. It turned out that she was programmed with an incredible artificial sense of humor and could make just about anybody laugh.
Allison called on Wednesday morning to let Noah know that the FBI agents assigned to surveillance of Carrigan and Schlatter had done their jobs. The locations of both holding facilities were known and hostage rescue teams were standing by to go in and deal with the victims as soon as the E & E teams completed their functions. The only thing holding them back was waiting for the identities of the other partners, and Noah was hopeful that the mission would come to an end early the following week.
There were deliveries to be made each day, and Noah made a habit of meeting the helicopter personally each morning. There were also pickups for Marco, but most of them were further into Texas and even into Arkansas. He spent a day and a half rounding up one particular person, keeping him sedated in the back of a van until he got him back to the office and into the holding cell. The helicopter picked him up the next morning while Marco headed toward Dallas to pick up his next victim.
“I don’t like doing this, Noah,” he complained through the subcom. “These people will probably be dead by the time we get around to busting these bastards.”
“I’m aware,” Noah said. “I agree that it’s unfortunate, but it’s necessary to complete the mission. As soon as I can identify the rest of the partners, then you can get ready to eliminate Conley and Mayweather, along with the doctors and other people that are helping them.”
“That’s going to be the high point of my life,” Marco said. “I honestly can’t wait for that moment.”
On Friday, Noah got the call from Carrigan that he had been waiting for. He was in his office when it came in, and Esmeralda took the call.
“Mr. Townsend,” she said, keeping the line open, “there’s a Mr. Carrigan on line two.”
“I’ll take it in here,” Noah said. He waited until the line started blinking, then picked up the receiver and hit the button. “Mr. Carrigan,” he said. “It’s good to talk to you again.”
“Now, Rob, what did I tell you? It’s just Albert, remember?”
Noah chuckled. “Okay, sorry, Albert.”
“That’s better. I’m calling to make sure you’re ready to come visit me on Monday. Everything set?”
“Yes, sir,” Noah said. “My wife and her friends are leaving tonight for Las Vegas, so I’ll be flying out Sunday night. Jim Coolidge is going to take over here while I’m gone, so everything should run smoothly.”
“Excellent, excellent. I’ve got everything all set up. All of the partners will be here, except for Hank, of course. He wants you to fly directly out to his place after you leave me. You think Jim can handle things there for a couple of weeks?”
“I’m sure he can,” Noah said. “I certainly don’t see any reason why not.”
“Well, all right, then. Send me your itinerary, and I’ll be sure to pick you up at the airport personally.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Noah said. “I’ll be getting in around eight, and I’ve already got a car rental set up. I’ll be staying at the Springhill Suites.”
“All right, then. I’ll just look forward to seeing you on Monday morning. Let me give you my cell number, and you can give me a call when you are ready for breakfast.”
Noah wrote down the number, then gave Carrigan his own. “Don’t wait for me to call you,” Noah said. “I’ll be up by seven at the latest Monday morning, so call me anytime after that. We can meet for breakfast wherever you like, and then I’m all yours the rest of the day.”
“That sounds like a perfect plan,” Carrigan said. “Looking forward to seeing you again, Rob.”
They said goodbye and Noah hung up the phone. Marco, who had been sitting across the desk from him the entire time, said, “Well?”
“It’s on,” Noah said. “Esmeralda, would you come in here, please?”
The robot stepped into the office and shut the door behind herself. “Yes, Mr. Townsend,” she said, remaining in character.
“That was the call I’ve been waiting for. Make arrangements for yourself to fly out tomorrow night to Trenton, New Jersey. You have to use a charter flight, because the airlines don’t connect well enough to get us to Trenton. I want you there a day ahead of me. Arrange a car for yourself and a room at the Springhill Suites hotel and let me know what it is. I’ll be there Sunday evening, and will make contact with you then.”
“Yes, sir,” Esmeralda said. She turned around and went back to her desk and Noah could h
ear her making the calls necessary to arrange the flight and the room. A short time later, she told him that her flight would be available at four p.m., putting her in New Jersey before nine o’clock local time on Saturday night.
“You sure she’s going to be enough backup?” Marco asked.
“I think so,” Noah said. “According to Wally, she’s a better shot than any of us. I’m going to take the weapons with me and then leave them with her when I go into the meeting. She will be in telephone communication with Sarah, and hopefully there will be an available Wi-Fi in the building somewhere. Sarah will be able to hear what’s going on, and it will give me a way to relay instructions to Esmeralda outside.”
“You’ve got this all planned out,” Marco said. He shook his head. “You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men, right?”
“I do. As long as none of these people manage to get away, I’m going to feel like we had a win this time.”
“I just…” Marco was cut off as Noah’s phone rang.
It was Allison calling and Noah answered quickly. “Camelot,” he said.
“Anything new on your end?” Allison asked.
“I just confirmed my trip to New Jersey,” Noah said. “Esmeralda will be going ahead of me, and she’ll follow me to wherever the meeting is. She’ll wait outside with my weapons, in communication with Sarah by telephone. Renée will also be listening in on the subcoms, so that she can relay everything I learn to you. When the meeting ends, I’ll decide which of the partners I’m going after, and send Esmeralda after the others.”
Allison let out a long sigh. “Noah, normally I give you free rein on your missions,” she said, “but I’m very concerned about letting Esmeralda actually eliminate any of the targets with conventional weapons. If she were to be captured, I’m convinced it would start a panic. If you could arrange for her to get a group of them together someplace isolated, she could simply detonate. That way, there’d be nothing left to tell the world a robot was the killer.”
Noah’s eyebrows lowered. “That might be possible,” he said. “I’d hate to lose her, though. She is the culmination of an awful lot of research and development, am I right?”
“She’s a machine, and machines can be replaced. When I gave the okay for Wally to develop her, the idea was to use her as a weapon, not as an agent in the field. I’m sorry, Noah, but I can’t risk her secrets ever getting out. I don’t think the world could recover from it. Could you imagine what the anti-AI people would have to say?” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, the decision has been made. I’m sending additional backup to you in New Jersey. One of the other missions can wait, so Team Pegasus is already on the way to Trenton. They’ll make contact with you after you arrive. Go ahead and take Esmeralda along, but remember what I said. Only use her if the opportunity arises to detonate her. There can be no traces left of what she was, which is why her skeleton is made of our most powerful explosive.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Noah said. “I’m sure Ralph and his team are capable of doing what we’ll need. Esmeralda can relay instructions to them for me, if necessary.”
The phone went dead and Noah dropped it into his pocket. “Change in plans,” he said.
“Yeah,” Marco said. “I heard. I can’t say it upsets me that you will have better backup up there. You will be dealing with the top people, they may be more dangerous than these yokels down here.”
“I think we can handle them.”
Noah had not yet given Esmeralda any instructions about taking out targets, so there was no need to explain the change in plans to her. The rest of the day went along its normal routine, with the helicopter coming in a short time later. There were six organs for delivery, going to five different cities. It was the first time he had sent out all five of the transporters at once, but he didn’t anticipate the need to hire any more. These folks would be out of work soon enough, but they had made quite a bit of money.
At four, Noah decided it was late enough in the day to call it over. He and Marco collected Esmeralda and headed home, so she could pacl for her trip the ollowing evening.
Down the hall, Noah was explaining to Sarah, Jenny and Renée what they should be doing. They were flying out to Las Vegas at nine, taking a charter jet of their own.
“My meeting isn’t until Monday morning,” he said. “Until then, I want you to avoid going anywhere near Hank Schlatter. You looked different when he saw you at the nightclub, but there’s always a possibility he could recognize you. If he does, the whole mission could be in jeopardy.”
“So we just play tourist until then?” Sarah asked, a bit of a grin on her face.
“That’s exactly what you do,” Noah replied. “Play the games, go sightseeing, whatever you want to do. Don’t drink too much, you need to keep your wits about you. Stay in touch with each other by subcom at all times, and I’m sure we’ll all be listening in as well. You can have some fun, but don’t get yourself into trouble.”
“Spoilsport,” Jenny said. Neil scowled at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him. “Relax, baby, I’m just playing. You are the only man for me, and you know it.”
“I’d better be,” Neil said.
“One more thing,” Noah said. “Remember that Vegas is paranoid about guns and hotel rooms. Be certain you keep your weapons hidden. Keep your luggage locked, even when it’s empty, and avoid giving the housekeepers any reason to be nosy.”
“And after your meeting?” Renée asked. “That’s when we get to go after Schlatter and his people?”
“That’s the plan,” Noah said. “I’ll be pretty busy with my own targets, so be as careful as you possibly can.”
“We will, Noah,” Sarah said. “We know how important the mission is, and we really do want to do our part in this one. I gotta confess, though, it might be nice to just let our hair down for a day or two.”
“I understand that. Remember that you and Renée are backup to Jenny. She is in charge, so do exactly as she tells you. Use every weapon you have, even if it includes your femininity. If Schlatter is in a crowd, coming on to him could be the only way to get him alone for the elimination.”
“That’s my department,” Jenny said. “I perfected that technique, remember?”
“Yes, but just to get close to them, right?” Neil asked.
“Of course, honey, relax. I’m a tease, especially when it lets me get close to a target.”
Noah clapped his hands once. “All right, are you all packed? Let’s go out for dinner, and then you girls need to get to the airport.”
The women were packed and their luggage was loaded into the back of Marco’s SUV. They all climbed inside and Marco drove them to the restaurant. They went inside and let the hostess lead them to a table, each of the girls sitting beside her favorite guy.
Dinner was a little subdued, because they were about to be separated. Despite the girls’ insistence on taking an active role in the mission, none of them really wanted to be away from the man she loved. Neil and Marco were just as reluctant to say goodbye, and even Noah seemed to be more reserved than usual.
“Each of us has a job to do, now,” Noah said. “When everything starts on Monday, we need to avoid distractions. For that reason, we are going to keep the subcoms off through the weekend. Of course, you can activate them at any time if you run into an emergency, but we should resort to normal telephone communications until all of our individual jobs are done. The last thing we need is to have somebody chattering over subcoms while we’re concentrating on eliminating our targets.”
Neil scowled. “Noah, that leaves the girls out there with no way to talk to us when everything starts going down. Wouldn’t it be better if they were on, so we could at least hear what they were doing?”
Noah shook his head. “No, it would not. When they are doing their parts, you and Marco will be busy with your own targets here, and I’ll be dealing with the partners. None of us need distraction at those moments. If we were all in the same location, working togeth
er, it would be different. Since we will be many miles apart, the things we say won’t be relevant to what we see in front of us. That’s what could cause distraction, and that’s what could get us killed.”
“We can handle this, baby,” Jenny said to Neil, reaching over to squeeze his hand. “I’ll take care of the heavy parts, but I trust these girls to watch my back.”
“I know, I know,” Neil said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry.”
“Same here,” Marco said. He squeezed Renée’s hand. “I know you know just how dangerous our work is, but this is the first time you’ve gone into it, at least actively. You listen to Jenny, you do what she says. She will bring you back safe.”
“I will, honey,” Renée said. “It’s time I contribute to this team, anyway. Like Noah said, this is a good one for me to cut my teeth on. Everybody’s worried I’ll fall apart afterward, but I don’t really think so. I think I’m not going to lose any sleep at all over this job.”
Noah watched the two couples, then turned to his wife. “I’ll say the same to you,” he said. “Jenny is in charge, so follow her orders.”
“I will, babe. Jenny already told me she’s using me as driver, so I’m really just doing my regular job.”
Noah nodded. “That’s a smart way,” he said. “That’s one of your greatest strengths, so it’s the best place for you to be. Too bad you can’t take the Chrysler with you.”
They finished eating a little bit later and got into the SUV for the short ride to the airfield. The Gulfstream that Noah chartered for them had arrived a few minutes earlier and was waiting near the terminal buildings. The men carried the luggage to the plane, and then all three couples embraced and kissed goodbye. The girls climbed aboard while the copilot stashed their luggage, and then the midsized jet taxied toward the runway.
Noah, Neil and Marco stood by the gate and watched as the plane raced into the air. When it was out of sight, they turned without a word and got into the SUV. Marco drove them to the apartment building and the three of them sat in Noah’s living room, drinking beer and watching a couple of movies.