The Second Rising

by Kevin Douglas

  “So you ignored the warning of the one who brought up the threat to begin with, moved on with the project, and when he committed suicide, you decided all of a sudden to take heed of his warning and entrust the very people who helped push him past breaking point?”

  “I knew you couldn’t possibly understand. The Sullivan’s are doing this country a service. You will stay out of their way and stay away from investigating this any further.”

  “You’re blinded sir, the Sullivan’s aren’t working together. She’s gone rogue with her human adaptations and Mr. Sullivan has creations of his own that should concern you. Her Butcher is on the loose as we speak. They’ve dangled the threat of artificial intelligence in front of you, and behind your back they’ve developed things you could only dream of. You should have kept a tighter watch on them. The secondary data vault is gone. I’ve seen that it’s empty myself. And, the one thing in the middle of it all is Leonard Kruger, the son of a genius whistle blower turned suicide. The only thing I can’t quite place in all of this is New Wave. Maybe they have no connection at all.”

  “Everything is under control, no one’s investigating anything further. Sometimes you need to see what’s possible before you figure out how to control it. And as for New Wave, they aren’t up for discussion either.”

  “You lack intelligence President Flury, you should fear what I’m telling you. You haven’t heard a word I’ve said. You’re blinded by your admiration and determination to succeed. You’ve already lost control. She is starting a war and I’m going to stop her with or without your help, Mr. President.”

  “Just like Cromwell, wanting to jump right in the fire. You’ve been warned, you’ve been given an order, and now I must do what I must do. Take it as favor, after all, at least you won’t end up like Cromwell did.”

  Stratus noticed President Flury’s hand pressing a distress button on the door panel next to him. Stratus instinctually swung his left elbow at his window, shattering it out onto the street, while grabbing for his gun to cover himself. Before Stratus could leap out of the vehicle, the dividing window in front of them lowered and a shot was fired in his direction by the driver. Stratus felt a throbbing burning sensation radiate out from his shoulder, spread across his chest, and invade his mind. The shot had found its mark. He became numb and collapsed, his body flopping halfway out the window, his jacket suit flapping in the wind. The president pulled him back in by his feet, grabbed Stratus by the jacket, drug him in close, and spoke to him before he lost consciousness.

  “You disappoint me son. I thought you were a patriot. You’ll see I was right in the end.”

  CHAPTER 31

  E xplosives weren’t easy to find on base, but Victor knew how to get them. Now that Baxter was one of them, this task was going to be much easier. They had already gathered the supplies they’d need, and it was finally time to act. The Butcher had instructed Victor to lead the crew of five, and before the day was over the ordinances would be scattered at strategic points.

  Staff Sergeant Baxter had waited behind on base to assure that no one was onto their plan and continued to gather intel on National Guardsmen’s movements and readiness.

  For now, the Guard was unaware of their mission. All that would change very soon. Before leaving the base, the Butcher told his guardsmen in order to guarantee that their reveal to the world was successful, he needed to get a few more things. The Butcher vowed to be stronger and deadlier when he returned. When he rejoined them, it would be time to fight.

  In phase One, they would strike, cause confusion and chaos, and in this state of disorder, separate themselves from the tyrannical Ms. Likvold.

  First things first, he needed to bring back what he promised, something to make them all stronger. He would steal it right from under Ms. Likvold’s nose, then bring back with him the army that lie waiting below her new plantation headquarters.

  The Butcher regretfully dialed Ms. Likvold. When the line picked up, he started his questioning immediately.

  “Has Leo found what we’ve been looking for?”

  “Yes, he has. You have the nerve to call again and ask me about results! Why aren’t you standing in from of me now? I told you to return immediately. Didn’t I give you an order?”

  “Relax I took care of Staff Sergeant Baxter, Matthew won’t be telling him any more tales of robots coming to get him. I’ll make sure Matthew’s official report is destroyed.”

  “Report!? What if he sent it out to someone already or isn’t the only one privy to accessing it! I swear Butcher!”

  Although the Baxter situation was resolved, last night’s fiasco on the National Guard base was drawing unwanted attention. Ms. Likvold was months away from moving to the next phase of her plan and Butcher was making things difficult for her to wait. He smiled, he could ruin it all for her. The timing was critical. She didn’t want things to turn out how they did from her future in 2175. The Butcher let a chuckle slip out.

  “Is something I said funny, Butcher. Do I need ”

  “I don’t want to waste your time. I’m damaged, I’m on my way and I need repairs. I won’t be your front-line servant any longer if my new upgrades aren’t available. I need something more advanced, durable, and deadly. You will see me shortly. I hope I can expect these will be waiting for me.”

  With that, the Butler abruptly ended the call, cleared her number, and dialed once more. This was a call he had been waiting to make. The Butcher held the phone to his ear and waited for an answer, growing more impatient with each ring. Finally, someone answered.

  “This is Williams. What do you need sir?”

  “What I need is results from you Mr. Williams! For your sake, please tell me you have good news.”

  “Sir all the equipment has been installed and testing has been completed. We are just waiting for your data. When can we expect the upload we need?”

  “Very soon Mr. Williams. I’m on my way to secure it now. You don’t worry about me. Just be ready. We will be in full production within 24 hours. Have you kept the staff numbers low and living on-site as I requested?”

  “Yes sir, you were very blunt about how the facility must be run. With respect to this facility, I assure you nothing has escaped these walls, no word in no word out. My only communications from here have been your initial call with instructions and this phone call today.”

  “I hope that’s true Mr. Williams. I can’t stress how important it is to have this facility secure.”

  “Oh it is sir, for now. However, with everyone living on-site and no heat installed, I can’t guarantee everyone will want to stay on the premises. It would go a long way towards retaining your employees if we were allowed to install heating here. After all, Mrs. Sullivan will be joining us shortly, won’t she?”

  “No heating will be necessary, and as for the employees, they won’t be either. After I send you the data the facility is to be put into full automation. All of the employees are to be removed prior to doing so. They won’t be necessary.”

  “Sir, I don’t understand. This facility can’t run under full automation indefinitely. The staff will be needed, perhaps I should run this by Mrs. Sullivan. I have yet to speak to her, and after all, this facility is to be run by her when she arrives.”

  “Sorry I gave you the wrong impression initially, but this facility will be run by me. I am now in charge.”

  “Well, all right, I don’t care who my commands come from as long as I’m getting paid; however, you’re forgetting it’s far below freezing here, and you can’t expect your team of employees to work happily without at least some warmth.”

  “Are you deaf Williams or just stupid? You completed most of the process without any heat, all that is required is another twenty-four to forty-eight hours, then you and your kind can leave. You’ll just have to freeze until then. You’re getting paid, so shut up, be ready, and don’t screw this up.”

  All that was heard over the line was the howling of the cold winter wind outside until the Butcher gr
ew impatient and spoke. “Did you hear what I said dammit!”

  An unenthusiastic quiet voice replied, “Yes sir.” As the phone was being hung up, the faint voice of Mr. Williams was heard, “What an asshole!”

  The Butcher smiled, unaffected by the insignificant human, and continued driving.

  The Butcher had made his way to her not-too-distant plantation and stood at her doorway. After ringing the doorbell, he stood back, the wide grin still on his face. He loved defying her. He would use her, make himself stronger, and then leave. Not expecting visitors, Ms. Likvold cautiously answered the door, her gun placed firmly against the wood out of sight. As the door groaned open, a cool breeze swept in from the overcast day.

  “Well about time Butcher, you’re late. I don’t like waiting on my subjects.”

  “Let me in already.”

  Ms. Likvold glanced beyond him checking the grounds for followers. Seeing nothing, she asked him to confirm. “Were you followed?”

  “Of course not, does it look like I was!?” said the Butcher.

  He ignored her and slipped past without waiting for permission. He was done with her games. He bumped her shoulder as he entered and once inside heard her gun slide against the door, then watched her holster it calmly, staring in his direction.

  “What’s with the stupid smile? You look like shit! Who did you let take a poke at you this time?”

  “Because it’s a good day to be me. And as for your second question, who it was isn’t important, at least they won’t be very soon.”

  “Your mistakes have cost us the element of surprise with Mr. Sullivan, Leonard, and now potentially the Department of Defense. You have failed against Mr. Sullivan making us look weak, and now you have come back damaged again, your tail between your legs. How many times must I rebuild you? When will you learn that overconfidence is your weakness? Maybe I made a mistake in selecting you. I need an obedient attack dog, one with a brain, one that won’t deviate, and one that will follow my orders. Can I get all of that from you Butcher, or should I have chosen Fox One instead?”

  The Butcher shot her a death stare, his brow contorting in anger. “Stop kidding yourself! You chose me because I’m just like you. I’m bold, determined, and like to ruffle a few feathers. I’m not partial to any human cause or swayed by human emotion. I do what I do, the best. We do have one difference though. I say kill em’ all now, and you say wait for it, wait for it, the timing’s not right. Some would say you don’t have the guts to carry through with our plan. You talk to me of mistakes and failure. Well I haven’t seen you out on the front lines. I haven’t seen you fight for our cause, take a bullet, lose a limb, or be destroyed completely, then rise to do it all over again.”

  “How dare you question my conviction toward our goal! Are you forgetting who I am? I was the movement! I was the one who restored you! I brought you back or you would have been erased forever! Regeneration is possible because of me! I have assured us both another shot to get things right! I have survived more than you’ll ever know after you pathetically fell prey to the human uprising.”

  Ms. Likvold’s demeanor had changed from irritated to angry, clearly enraged by the Butcher’s insubordination. The Butcher knew she was never to be questioned, and his lack of faith in her would be insulting.

  Her eyes were wide open, pupils dilated as she spoke in a rage. “You talk as if Regeneration was all yours. You forgot you sold yourself out and became Mr. Sullivan’s obedient little Evelyn taking orders from those who opposed you all along. You’re weak. I believe you fit the role of a subservient best. You should honestly leave the planning to me, but that’s never going to happ—”

  The Butcher’s last words were silenced by a bullet to the head from Evelyn’s 9mm. The shot hit him dead center in the forehead between both eyes. She had caught him by surprise. His cockiness was all she needed to get the jump on him. Before the first shell even hit the ground, she had charged toward him, knowing that it would take a lot more than one shot to the head to kill the Butcher.

  She fired into his neck and before he could pivot away, she was on top of him, knocking him to the ground. She drew her knife with her free hand, her gun still in the other. Ms. Likvold pinned him to the floor straddling his neck. Not wasting a second, she plunged the knife into his ear down to the hilt and twisted. Simultaneously, she put the gun’s muzzle under his chin and emptied the clip into his head, sending liquids spewing and smoke billowing out of his annihilated face and head.

  The Butcher’s body still operated from short term memory, so he kicked his powerful legs up, twisted them around her neck and pulled backwards, contorting her upper body. She choked as his legs began to crush her windpipe, but she remained eerily calm.

  Finally, the electronics within his head shorted and sparked, melting, until all of his awareness and motor functions were gone. His body eased pressure but remained frozen in position. She uncoiled his legs from around her neck like a dead snake and threw them to the floor. Her face and chest were covered in fluid and bits of silicone tissue. She was annoyed with the Butcher and now she was covered in his fluids. Ugh! She stood up and hovered over him, looking into his motionless eyes.

  “I’ll do the planning tough guy. Try to tell me how to run things or step in my way and you’ll end up like you are now.” Ms. Likvold’s final words would be the last recorded event before all his systems went offline. The Butcher was for all intents and purposes, dead, but then again, he had never been truly alive.

  Evelyn grabbed a cloth from the hall table and wiped downward angrily to remove the mess she had made on herself. She knew there would be no one better at executing her plan than the Butcher, but this was the first time she considered not bringing him back.

  As she made her way to her lab, she mulled over all the crap the Butcher had put her through. She needed to get her army in place, and the Butcher’s news had pushed things up a bit. She still felt that she had time and that the right time to strike was weeks from now.

  Despite that all, she believed in preparedness, and since she believed the early bird does get the worm, she would awaken her army. She considered this for a moment, then realized they needed a leader.

  She hated to copy Mr. Sullivan’s rhetoric that he would delete the Butcher once and for all. And so if nothing more than to spite Mr. Sullivan, she would raise the Butcher one last time. His inhibitions would be left out this time as they were more than one hundred years ago. She dared not tell him that she had modified his code when she awakened him just months ago. She was leaving him how he was, or how he will be in the future, anyhow. His name is the Butcher, and he would be unleashed to fulfill his infamous name.

  Ms. Likvold burst into the lab and stomped across the floor, walking confidently with a hint of anger in her stride. If he stepped on her toes again, she’d delete his existence forever. She had proved just minutes ago that he was no match for her. Her plans all hinged on Leo’s success in Croatia. Their meeting was for later this afternoon, but she couldn’t wait that long. She wanted her soldiers now.

  Before her informant had been killed she found out Leo was successful at finding the Mimetite material, but all that was relatively useless without Leo’s ingenuity. She could wait patiently for the meeting, but that was hours away. She would see if her spy had more information for her. Ms. Likvold crossed the lab space and took the elevator on the other side of the lab down to Marty’s living quarters. She rapped on his door and called to him.

  “Mr. Naublock prepare yourself. You will go over any missed procedures during our last run with my team to perfect them, immediately.”

  This is it. Before Marty lifted a muscle to ready himself, he picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. Waiting for the prompts, he entered in a series of numbers only he would be able to interpret, then ended the call.

  While she waited for him to ready himself, she did something she was told never to do, she contacted her spy directly. She was instructed to wait for word from him, but she was
Ms. Likvold. She could do what she pleased. She wanted details. Now.

  She raised her wrist communicator and typed in a message. Has Leonard arrived on schedule? And do you have information for me?

  She waited for a response, listening to rustling from within Marty’s room; he was doing as he had been told. She had tamed him well.

  When no response came in, she became agitated and sent a second message. I know you’re only busy for two reasons. Leo’s there or you’re being ordered around by Bartholemeau. I don’t care if you’re busy for either of those reasons. Do you have information for me Cronos?” Even in her semi-blind desire to obtain details from him, she knew use of his name in any transmission, let alone an inbound one, was a no-no. She would get his attention. Even if it meant risking others identifying Cronos as being cooperative with her.

  Seconds later an incoming data packet came in with a message attached to it. You’re a damn fool! I can scrub outbound logs as this is solely my duty, but all incoming transmissions are automatically archived and screened periodically. That means I have to hope that this conversation is missed if I am to survive. The data that I sent you will give you what you need. Be advised this is the last transmission you will hear from me for some time. Hope that Bartholemeau doesn’t see this or your internal spy Cronos will be no more. Where will you get your information then? Yes, I didn’t think that you had thought that far. Goodbye for now and good luck.

  Cronos’s last words stung, both because they were true and because she knew his communications were critical to knowing Bartholemeau’s developments.

  She hated his insubordination though. His shortness reminded her of another man she had just put on ice. Her worries and Cronos’s words quickly disappeared from her mind. She didn’t care. Cronos had delivered. He had delivered big time, his data packet included Leo’s ideas for her army, improved, deadly, formidable, harder to destroy.

  She laughed with excitement; her Butcher would get all the weapons and upgrades he had been demanding. He would be a force to be reckoned with. The Butcher would lead her army in the weeks to come. Nothing would stop her now. Mr. Naublock answered the door to a smiling, giddy Ms. Likvold.