Chimera’s systems booted upon receiving Mr. Sullivan’s message and lit up the dark space. He uncoiled himself from the crawl space and made his way to Gretchen’s room. He would be ready to act. In one hour, he would be tested.
. . .
Quiet had returned to the noisy laboratory deep within the plantation-style home in southeastern Maryland. Marty’s head was held low in fear and disgust, ashamed he didn’t have the fortitude to stop her plans. He was angry at himself.
He could have screwed up the unit the Butcher and Mrs. Likvold so desperately wanted, but he could sense her desperation and irritation. The butcher had complicated her plans. By managing to fumble around with a few of the key processes during the creation of the most recent BOT, Marty had delayed their plans to proceed to a more automated production. His errors created gaps and uneasiness about taking it into full production. The gaps were minor however, and could be ironed out fairly quickly. He was running out of time.
Marty knew this was likely his last project for Ms. Likvold. With the information he had overheard the other day in the lab, she was unlikely to let him leave alive. Marty loved America, and the thought that he may be creating false representations of actual human beings within the armed services turned his stomach.
He felt it was his duty to stop production of these future units. He had taken a peek at the presumed production schedule. It wasn’t a small production run because it contained plans for five hundred units, and a recent delivery of parts left their inventory with the ability to create two thousand additional units. Something else had caught his eye as well.
A large volume of raw minerals had been expedited internationally from Croatia and was set for delivery in the next few days. Ms. Likvold’s plans were clearly on the cusp of action. Of what he was unsure. Marty knew he must do something to further bottleneck or halt things, and fast.
He was now alone, free of the prying eyes of the men that were recording his production steps. He pulled up the new production processes and browsed to see what he could do.
Inventory was managed in the data vault, so was the data that made up the BOTS’ logic, product flow and assembly mapping hadn’t been input yet, and he had no way to destroy their notes.
“Damn it!” he muttered under his breath.
Marty exited out of these windows, and the screen went to the last unit in production he had been working on. The screen displayed the last step in Staff Sergeant Baxter’s production process, which was facial rendering.
Marty stood and stared at the screen, speaking to the image. “Well don’t just sit there and stare at me Baxter, help me out here. I need a monkey wrench to throw in this dastardly machine.”
Marty recalled the Butcher had sent over facial scans from the field and they had actually held up the last step of production for a few hours until Marty initialized the process. Why didn’t I think of this earlier?
All the other processes were locked up tight, but he could disrupt the flow with this one weakness, the facial burn. In order to create a human-like skin in the face area, a new compound that was purchased by Ms. Likvold was being used.
She was able to convince Mr. Sullivan that the technology was something they may want to use in the future. He saw it as more of a hindrance, possibly slowing production, even backing it up. Mr. Sullivan didn’t see a need to discuss his creations, and Ms. Likvold wasn’t about to reveal her plans to him either.
Like all the Sullivan’s endeavors up until this point, they didn’t produce anything but instead only acquired materials. The silicone product purchased specifically for this type of application was a new revolutionary woven silicone product that had ultra-thin strings of silicone, thinner than paper, that were woven in layers creating a thick, dense, yet life-like texture.
As a result, the skin-like material was mostly opaque but allowed light to penetrate, giving it a fleshy glow. If they had loaded all the upcoming facial builds, Marty could access the database and delete them.
Without any facial structure the designs would be unmistakably robotic in appearance and more vulnerable, as the silicon provided surprising protection to key areas, such as vision, sensors, and hearing.
A smile broke over Marty’s tense, stressed face. He now had a plan. He would do what he could without getting himself killed. He was about to become useless to her, he needed to kill time. Marty’s concentration on internal calculations and schemes was broken by a condescending, overly confident voice.
“Bravo, Bravo, you did what I asked and at such a strenuous pace. I was worried you might not want to cooperate. Spraying your gray matter all over was avoided, unlike that unfortunate gentlemen earlier. Thank you. From what I understand, you have completed most tasks under observation successfully. We shall have to lock in those mis-stepped processes on the next run. I’ll ask the next unit to be executed flawlessly. After that is completed, my machines will take over.” She glanced over Marty’s shoulder to the screen to see what he was working on, observing the display that showed the facial build was complete. “Ah, the late Staff Sergeant Baxter’s facial scan. He will be our first leader.”
“I don’t care who this scan was for. I’m here to work, complete my duties, and go home. Your motivations are your own, leave me out of your counsel. I’m not even here, if you catch my meaning. The next unit will be flawless just as the rest, I don’t mess up when it comes to a project.” Marty kept his excited, defiant demeanor but hid a smile over his plans to disrupt her processes tomorrow.
“Ha, oh but you are a part of this, phase two is what it is because of you. Don’t blame me, you’re the one who stole the designs from Mr. Sullivan. Your hands are just as dirty as mine. Your ear to ear smile betrays your emotions. Stop trying to convince me you’re not excited at what we’ve done here, as you should be. Be excited, for your usefulness won’t end at the beginning of our automated processes like I led you to believe. I have something monstrously important in store for you to work on. Get some rest. I’ll even give you time to communicate with your daughter. In the morning, we will have new talent, new ideas, and a new material for you to build for us. Your plight isn’t decided quite yet, although that could change at any moment.” Ms. Likvold put her hand on her hip, holding the grip of her pistol as a reminder.
“You said this was the last production unit, that after this I could leave. You’re a liar you never intended for me to reunite with my daughter. You’re heartless, you’re no different than him. If you think I’ll obey you without the chance to see my Gretchen again you’re a very stupid woman. You’re just using me. Besides, you wouldn’t shoot me, you need me for your precious new project.”
Ms. Likvold drew her gun with lightning speed and pointed it at Marty before he even knew what was going on. In that single motion, she drew and fired six rounds and holstered her weapon. Beakers, lab equipment, and his workstation were all hit in an arcing pattern similar to the executed guard’s earlier, except all missed his person narrowly.
“Using you? How rude! I have just doubled your payment for services. I don’t want you to have a bad taste, just please don’t give me a reason to shoot you dead and we’ll be the best of friends. Clean up, leave, enjoy your call with Gretchen, and get some rest. You’ll both meet each other soon. Clear your mind of today, we’ve accomplished great things.” Ms. Likvold saw Marty’s face contorted in anger return to a smile. “That’s more like it!”
“I’ll clear it all out of my mind Ms. Likvold. You don’t worry about me.”
The satisfaction of her assuming his now upbeat demeanor was due to her pep talk being priceless. After he completed a flawless unit as he had promised, he would clear out her facial database and halt her production flow.
Tonight, he’d send his final orders to Chimera, he had no reason to believe Ms. Likvold would allow him to leave now. It would be one project after another and if he was no longer useful, she’d end him.
He would give Chimera a task, escape with Gretchen if possible, if no
t, seek out his location by any means necessary. The Butcher was sure to return soon and with that Marty would be responsible for upgrades for him. He was sure that’s why Ms. Likvold still had him around.
Chimera would locate the Butcher, track him, infiltrate her Plantation, and if necessary deliver coordinates back to Mr. Sullivan. Marty’s ears still rang from Ms. Likvold’s shots, but the ringing was wearing off, replaced with the sound of the loud rhythmic thumping of her boots as she walked off, holstering her weapon.
Marty quickly searched the job que and located the new production runs facials and selected the 500 units. He carefully deselected one unit so he could complete the one flawless unit she was requesting for tomorrow, then hit delete. The computer popped up with a message: Are you sure you want to delete 499 facial datasheets? This process cannot be reversed. Marty clicked OK and waited for the system to delete the large amount of data, finally giving him a completed message. Ms. Likvold had just opened the door and was heading through it before he called out, stopping her partway under the threshold.
“Ms. Likvold, I just want you to know. I feel better already.”
She smiled then left, oblivious and uncaring to his outwardly sarcastic tone.
CHAPTER 27
S tepping off the plane, Sarafina’s long flowing Croatian dress blew in the chilly late September winds. In Croatia, it had been mostly sunshine and ideal moderate temperatures. Back in New York, temperatures were cool and some of the trees were preparing for a beautiful show of fall color. Leo watched as goose bumps flowed from her neck then down her arms, and he immediately rubbed her arms, warming them.
“Autumn is almost here Sara, my favorite time of year.”
“I know, I love it too. You think we still might be able to keep our promise for our fall horseback trip with the crew? I mean if everything goes well, we might be good to stay for a few days of rural fall color bliss, right?”
“Well, I would love to think so. It would put a smile on my face if I could zone out to rustling leaves, the smell of autumn, a cup of good cider in one hand and kettle corn in the other. Let’s not forget why we’re here, and more importantly why we left. My mission is to fulfill my duties at New Wave and get answers from Mrs. Sullivan about my father. We’re safer if we’re together, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to take the risks I’m about to. Just remember they know your name and can find you anywhere.”
“Don’t you ever quit talkin’? I’m not going anywhere, except the lady’s room. That flight was brutal, but I can’t stand to use airline restrooms. I’ll see ya in baggage claim cowboy. Don’t ya go running off without me now ya’hear?” said Sarafina with a wink.
Sarafina disappeared into the sea of travelers, and Leo went down to grab their luggage. He had retrieved their luggage and was waiting patiently in thought. Having a minute to relax, he yawned and checked his watch. When he looked up from his watch across the luggage carousel, an athletic man with form-fitting clothing was staring in his direction, then quickly looked down at his phone and back up once again.
The man put his hand up to his ear and seemed to end a call through his Bluetooth device. He grabbed his duffel bag that had clearly not come from any of the baggage carousels and as he passed he glanced once more to Leo and gave him a subtle nod. Could this be the protection Mr. Sullivan promised? It could be someone from Mrs. Sullivan’s crew, or possibly worse yet, it could be someone involved with Mr. Lattamus.
Sarafina startled Leo with a squeeze from behind, jolting him out of the daydream of his meeting with both New Wave, Mrs. Sullivan and the tail that had overtly started to follow them.
“Gees Leo so jumpy, you needed a good scare to get your mind off of things. So, what are we riding in? Did Tyler bring the Corvette down to the long-term lot like he promised?”
“He said he was going to, but you know Tyler, always willing to help out but not always one hundred percent reliable. Something could have distracted him, and we could just as easily be renting something today. Let me text him and see if he came through for us.”
After several unanswered messages to Tyler, he finally responded. Of course, I did Leo, how insulting. Ya, I almost forgot lol.
“Looks like we’re riding in style after all. It’s not a lifted crew cab pickup truck, but it is blue, can haul ass, and if needed can handle some off roading.”
They both laughed and made their way to the bus. Several buses later, they arrived at the lot and Leo was finally back in his car. This car was a symbol to Leo of his success. He had paid it off with his New Wave money. It made him feel good, successful, and proud to follow in his father’s footsteps. Everything that followed after New Wave was anything but perfect, except Sara. She was a bright light. Leo pulled on his sunglasses for looks, rolled down the windows, and pulled out of the lot. Right behind him was another car with the gentlemen from the luggage terminal.
“Hey, isn’t that the weird guy from luggage that was staring at you?” said Sarafina as they exited the lot.
“Yes, it is, we already have company. If I’m to believe Mr. Sullivan, that’s our protection.”
“Well what does your gut tell you about it?”
“My gut says to lose him. Say goodbye.”
Leo stomped on the gas pedal, the Corvette dumping gas quickly, and the tires squealing as the engine roared loudly. Leo timed their exit, weaving between two cars heading in opposite directions, honking at him momentarily. The Corvette rapidly became a dot on the horizon and the man that was following was out of sight.
“Nice Leo! I’m not gonna lie. You had me sweating there for a minute, but the car was speeding so fast that I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.”
They relaxed or what passed for relaxing as they both remained tense given the circumstances. The ride from New York City wasn’t long, and Leo and Sarafina didn’t speak much, each with their own set of thoughts racing in their minds.
He knew that her presence at the presentation wouldn’t be appropriate or granted at New Wave, but he hadn’t thought of where she would go during his meeting.
Leo exited the expressway onto a smaller state route, then open country roads that led to New Wave.
“Sara I just realized you can’t come in during my presentation. In fact I don’t think it’s appropriate you be present at all this time. I know a good pizza place in the town north of New Wave, I can drop you off there if you want. I’d love to confirm a few things since we’ve been gone. First, I’d like you to try to get hold of Marty. Only introduce yourself as an associate and setup a time to meet. If Mr. Sullivan is being honest Marty will not be available, he said the machinist was kidnapped. Either way, the daughter should be able to confirm. Secondly, carefully see what you can come up with on this Stratus Lattamus that visited us. He’s the only person in this nightmare that I haven’t been able to figure out. I can’t stress enough being careful, something tells me Stratus has a few resources. That sound okay?”
“Well sure, everything but the part about you leaving me alone to check on suspicious characters.” A smile came across Sarafina’s face. “That’s a yes. I’m just not crazy about us splitting up, especially after our first footsteps off the plane were apparently being watched.”
“If there was any other way I’d gladly choose it. It will only be a little while.”
The remaining ride into town was quiet and seemed quick, and Leo parked at the curb to let Sara out.
“This is it. Wish me luck Sara.”
“You don’t need luck. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead. You just hurry on back cowboy, I feel better when you’re around.” Sarafina gave her signature wink and stared at him for a minute, time slowed, and the moment was full of an uncertain apprehension, then quickly she leaned across and gave Leo kiss on the cheek.
Before he could even register the kiss, she was out of the car and walking to the pizza parlor’s double doors. Sarafina turned before entering the restaurant and yelled through the open passenger window. “Ya better come b
ack in one-piece Leonard Krueger!”
Leo’s cheeks blushed from Sarafina’s unexpected kiss, filled with exhilaration, her last comment adding an exuberant smile. He rolled down his window, turned up his favorite rock song, and sped out of town with the song blaring. Nothing like a little adrenaline to get his mind and body pumped with excitement to cover any nervousness he might have.
Leo felt confident in his creation but wasn’t sure what kind of tests Bartholemeau would want to run or what he hoped to learn that he didn’t already know. Leo turned down the small dirt road that led to New Wave and soon approached the unmanned security gate.
Remembering his last visit, he once again stuck his license into the machine and waited for it to process his access card. He couldn’t believe this process was required every time he came, only granting access for one occasion. It did eliminate access for newly-departed employees and added a verification step besides just possessing a badge. A card spit out of the machine followed by, “Good morning sir. Please look at the black square and press your fingers onto the pad for full identification.”
Reluctantly, Leo complied with the request but wondered why the confirmation was more intense this time around. A motor could be heard within the machine, adjusting and matching Leo’s gaze, and a red line swept across the touch pad with his fingers on it. A light bing was heard, then a robotic voice. “Welcome back Mr. Krueger, you’re early for your meeting. Have a good day.”
Leo hesitated before entering as the arm was fully lifted out of the way. He was going to ask why security had changed but decided to ask Cronos inside instead.
The Second Rising Page 18
