“Unfortunately, yes.” Colonel Adeyemi nodded. “As you have no doubt already realized, the system is unlike any other AI in existence, in that it has true self-awareness and free will.” He waved a hand. “You don’t need to know all the fine details of its development or its intended purpose, which remains classified at this time, but a side effect of those traits is capabilities such as self-destruction.” The colonel looked up as if he were accessing stored data. “As best we can tell, the system doesn’t have all of its intended memories and previous programming, which is likely a product of some sort of self-defense attempt when it was taken.”
He looked at Erik. “Undoubtedly, she’s already heavily damaged her capabilities and is operating at limited capacity.” He shrugged. “It all adds up to the same thing in the end. If we attempt to reclaim the system, it might complete the process, and then we’ll have spent a lot of time and money on a very fancy crystal only good around someone’s neck on a fantastically expensive chain.”
Erik shrugged. “I don’t know much about how AIs work, but don’t you have a backup somewhere?”
“No.” Colonel Adeyemi’s mouth tightened to a thin line, and he took a deep breath. “Suffice it to say, the classified technology underlying the system means that’s not a viable possibility. The system is the first working prototype of a long series of tests, and we absolutely can’t risk self-termination. It might set the project back years, if not decades.”
Erik nodded. “Okay, fair enough, but what do you want me to do about it? Give you my flitter? Stick it in storage until you figure something out?”
The colonel shook his head. “No. You have to understand the situation. Because of the unique nature of the system, it can’t be left idle, or it’ll...atrophy, and that will lead to instability and similar risks of total failure. The system must be actively engaged and used, but we have a solution for that to save this project after this entire debacle.”
“And what is that?” Erik watched the man carefully. Frustration was written all over the colonel’s face, but no hint of guile.
“The system has made it clear that it finds you and your partner interesting,” Colonel Adeyemi explained. “For now, given your particular background and your current vocation, we’re willing to let you borrow it.”
Erik stared at the other man, not believing what he had just heard. “Are you telling me the UTC Defense Directorate is fine with a detective having some unique piece of fancy tech worth billions of dollars?”
The colonel snorted. “’Fine’ is stretching it. This is my team making the best of a bad situation. The system is critical to our future research and development efforts, and we’re confident we’ll be able to convince it to stop being a glorified flitter navigation system given enough time.” Disdain dripped from every word.
Erik let out a quiet chuckle, which grew into a loud laugh.
Colonel Adeyemi’s jaw tightened. “Our official stance is that we would ask you to encourage the system to return to the Directorate sooner rather than later.”
Erik wiped a hand up and down his face, trying to seem supportive. “I can do that, but like you just got done telling me, she’s got a mind of her own. A stubborn woman on a set path can be hard to persuade.” Erik released his hold, a merry grin on his face and a glint in his eyes.
Colonel Adeyemi scoffed. “Remember, Detective Blackwell, it’s just a machine in the end. It’s not a woman, even if it has a penchant for taking on a female voice and appearance. That’s nothing more than a ghost, a temporary image of a programmer’s dead wife as part of an ill-advised interface experiment.”
“If you keep talking like that, she’ll never want to go back with you.” Erik chuckled.
Colonel Adeyemi closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. He lowered a hand underneath the table.
Erik tensed by reflex.
The colonel opened his eyes. “The situation is stable enough for now, and we’ll keep in touch.” He took a deep breath. “With that handled, I have another matter I wanted to discuss, a more private matter.”
Erik nodded. “What’s that?”
Colonel Adeyemi stared at him. “I want to ask you, right here and right now, point-blank, why you came back to Earth. No lies, no misdirection, just one solider to another.” He gestured around. “I just activated a jamming device. If your captain asks what happened, you can tell him I wanted to discuss classified military matters.”
Erik frowned. He had expected this sooner or later. “Your record shows you saw a lot of action.”
The colonel nodded. “I’ve seen my fair share. Maybe not as much as you. I wasn’t as obsessed with staying in the field.”
“But you didn’t shy away from it. You’re not some rear-echelon chair ranger who was too afraid to put himself on the line.” Erik’s breathing grew shallow and rapid as memories of Mu Arae seeped into his thoughts.
“No, I didn’t. And none of that answers my question, Major.”
A moment later, Erik reached under his shirt and pulled out the bent dog tag. “This is why I’m not dead. Did you know that?”
The colonel stared at the dog tag, then looked up. “I don’t understand.”
“I took a lot of hits during the fight, but this deflected a bullet that would have gone right through my heart,” Erik explained. “I’d say I was lucky, but every man and woman around me died, and I was in command, so there’s no way in hell I can say I was lucky. If anything, I would have been luckier if I died there.”
The colonel’s breathing slowed. “What really happened on Mu Arae, Major? You’re right, I have seen a lot of action. Enough to know there’s no way a few terrorists could have taken down the Knights Errant. The very idea is ridiculous.”
The men sat in uncomfortable silence.
The colonel let out a dark laugh. “The funny thing is, I helped my son get that transfer. I thought it’d look good, but he wouldn’t see any action. I don’t know if anyone higher up ever truly thought the Zitarks would move on the system. A lot of those troop movements were more a show for back home.”
Erik nodded, agreeing with his assessment.
“But now,” he continued, “I go to bed every night thinking about how I helped my son get transferred to his death. I try to tell myself a soldier’s duty is to fight and die for humanity, but I’ve been around long enough to smell a cover-up.” He stood, his nostrils flaring as he leaned forward, his fists on the table. “Did you screw up? Did you get them killed? Did you pull some strings to not look bad?”
Erik grunted. “I was in command and they’re dead, so yes, I got them killed.”
“What does that mean?” the colonel ground out. “Tell me the truth. My son is dead!”
Erik didn’t flinch or avert his eyes. He continued staring at the other man. “And that’s why I’m here, now. Both for your dead son and for the rest of my people.”
He took a breath, then allowed himself a moment to speak with another who could know the truth. Every moment of telling the truth was another moment of healing, of sharing, of admitting to what happened and reinforcing his resolve to repay those living and dead. “Those alleged terrorists had tactical-scale optical camouflage, high-end exoskeletons, and close fighter support. They were able to jam our transmissions and make sure our close-air support didn’t show up. They had the numbers and the gear.”
The muscles in the colonel’s arms released.
Erik continued. “It was an ambush to cover up the assassination of an auditor who was apparently auditing god knows what. There’s no way in hell they were just a few terrorists. They fought like trained soldiers.”
Colonel Adeyemi slowly sank back into his seat, taking slow, even breaths. “Who, then?”
“I don’t know,” Erik growled. “There was something in that mine I don’t think anyone was supposed to see, but I don’t know who’s responsible.”
Erik paused for a moment. “The corp guys there seemed just as confused and angry as the UTC. The g
overnor gave up his position because he was afraid for his life, but he gave me a clue, a lead, before he left. He’d seen suspicious messages he could trace to here, to Neo SoCal, but that was all he had.”
“What did they say?”
“We don’t know the contents, and the messages are gone, but it’s obvious someone in this fake little sky palace they call Neo SoCal had something to do with went down on Mu Arae. If I had tried to push this through the service, I’m sure I’d have ended up with a bullet in the back of my head.” He snorted. “It’d be easy to fake a suicide, but someone killed my soldiers, including your son, and I won’t rest until I find out who. I don’t care who they are. They will pay if it’s the last thing I do in my life.”
He gritted his teeth so hard they hurt.
Neither man spoke for a good minute. They just stared at each, their faces sharing their mutual pain and anger. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. Erik had always believed in it, but giving his life for the UTC involved an implicit agreement with the men and women he served. Someone had betrayed the 108th.
And that could not stand.
Colonel Adeyemi sighed. “Thank you for your honesty, Major. I don’t know what I expected you to say, but I’d always feared it would be something like that.” He stood. “I’m a key player in the Emma Project. I’ll do my best on this end to push back any attempts by the Defense Directorate to force a recovery, but eventually, they will come knocking. In the meantime, use the system while you can, and use it to avenge my son.”
“I will, Colonel. I will.”
The colonel walked past the table, heading to the door near Erik. “I’ll do my best to help you, but if everything we suspect is true, there’s only so much I’ll be able to do until you have enough evidence to prove who was behind it.”
Erik nodded. “Understood. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Colonel Adeyemi stopped at the door, then turned to speak. “Feel free to tell your partner anything I’ve related about the AI. I suppose you’ll know if and when it’s time to tell her the rest.” He opened the door and stepped through.
Erik watched him as he walked down the hallway. He carried the pain of the loss of the Knights, but every man and women who had fallen on Mu Arae had a family and people who cared about them. He didn’t just have a duty to the fallen.
He had a duty to the living.
Justice, huh? I’m more like Jia than I want to admit.
Chapter Thirty-One
July 2, 2228, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Police Enforcement Zone 122 Station, Interrogation Room 3
Jia and Erik sat across the small white table from Naric.
The gangster sat there with a huge smile on his face, his hands linked behind his head as if he were having the most relaxing time in the world.
The hole in his jacket and shirt remained from the day before, the silver medpatch beneath still dispensing its nanobot-aided assistance, but the man’s posture and expression remained relaxed, the pain from a bullet passing through his shoulder a distant memory.
The two closest enforcement zones to the warehouse had tried to lodge formal complaints with Enforcement Zone 122 about the detective’s engagement and arrest of the Gray Circle leader, but to Jia’s slight surprise and great satisfaction, Captain Monahan was fighting back rather than immediately moving to transfer the prisoner and case.
He’d pointed out that the enforcement zones hadn’t responded to Jia’s call, and even highlighted that they couldn’t provide a satisfactory explanation for why it had taken them so long to respond to the chase.
That left Naric Tessan still at the 1-2-2 for Jia and Erik to interrogate. They’d let him stew overnight to consider his predicament.
She looked at Erik. He nodded to indicate she should take the lead.
Jia tapped her PNIU. A holographic image of Emma’s crystal appeared, followed by an image of his guard drawing his gun. The initial security feeds before Emma’s spoofing provided a rich plethora of incriminating evidence.
After letting Naric take the image in for a few seconds, Jia pointed to the crystal. “You’re in trouble. Huge trouble. You might want to get your lawyer here. A smug smile and a few quips aren’t going to save you, and judging by your attitude, I think you’re very, very confused about your situation.”
“I don’t need my lawyer yet because I like the idea you’re going to screw up and push too hard. I think you’re right about someone being confused, just not about who that might be.” Naric scoffed.
Naric looked around the interrogation room, then back at Jia.
“And am I in trouble, sweetness? I don’t know what you think you know, but I’m sure you broke all sorts of rules to get to me, and I’m sure this is going to end with you both off the force.”
He waved the back of his hand toward her and Erik. “You two peons won’t ever be able to touch me. This is what happens when idiots get delusions of grandeur and don’t mind their own business here. It causes trouble for everyone around, including them, because they don’t understand the situation they’re messing with.”
Jia narrowed her eyes. “You think so, Naric?”
“I know so. Far better than you.”
“I have my doubts,” Erik interrupted. “We’ll just pretend for a second you didn’t try to kill two cops. Let’s focus on what else you’ve done.”
Naric shrugged. “Being good-looking isn’t a crime, Detective.”
“Keep joking, Naric. I’m sure it’ll help you,” Erik replied, looking at his own PNIU. “Did you hear the one about the idiot who let himself get used? Did your owners tell you who you were helping them steal from? Hmm? That crystal is UTC Defense Directorate property. I hoped you were paid a lot of money to get involved with something so stupid.” He nodded at the image. “Even if you bounce from here today by some miracle, you’re not going to escape the UTC. Maybe we should just turn you over to them right now so they can prosecute you for all sorts of nasty crimes against the State. I’m sure if they try hard enough, they can link you into an insurrectionist or two.” He looked up. “Do you understand where this is going?”
Naric leaned forward with a bland smile. “I understand that you wasted your time and risked your lives for nothing.”
Erik shook his head. “You’re not going to end up a dirt farmer on some colony, Naric. You’re going to rot in prison for the rest of your life, and that’s only if you’re lucky. You got in above your head, and it cost you. I almost feel sorry for you.” He grunted, looking up to allow Naric to fully appreciate the coldness in his eyes. “But only almost.”
Jia tried to match Erik’s expression but failed. She settled on her default look of disgust for the criminal across the table. A man industrious enough to be involved in organized crime possessed the skills to do something far less antisocial with his life.
For the briefest of moments, a hint of fear flickered in Naric’s eyes.
Fear, not remorse.
He licked his lips and the smug gangster persona reasserted itself. “You can’t, and you won’t. You see, you should know better, Major Blackwell. Once I’m out of here, the UTC won’t touch me or make any noise about this. They’re going to snatch that toy back and make this all go away.” He flicked his wrist. “In a couple of months, no one will even want to talk about it.”
Erik laughed. “Really? They’re going to grab the crystal and bury the situation?”
“Yep. I’m sure it’s already in the works.”
Erik folded his arms and leaned back with a triumphant smile. “And what would you say if I told you they told me I could keep the crystal?”
Jia resisted the urge to clarify the reasons for that. It wasn’t like Erik was lying to the gangster. He was just leaving out a few pieces of information.
Naric snorted. “Like I’m going to believe that. You two just got done droning on about how special this situation is. If I’m supposed to be afraid about them locking me up, how am I supposed to believe that crystal’s important if
they’re letting you have it?”
“Don’t you get it?” Erik asked. “You stressed it yourself. I’m ex-Special Forces. I’ve got all sorts of connections that someone like you could barely imagine. I’ve been all over the UTC while you’ve been rotting down in the Shadow Zone, trying to figure out new ways to catch scraps from your masters above.”
Naric’s mouth curled into an angry sneer and his fist bumped the table as he leaned toward Erik, his head angling like a ram wanting to butt heads. “I’m not catching anyone’s scraps. I’m an entrepreneur, and I’ve made my own opportunities.”
Erik eyed him. “Maybe.”
“Who cares?” Jia interjected, waving a hand to catch Naric’s attention. “Whether you’re a self-made man or not, how can you possibly think the government is going to look the other way concerning your involvement with smuggling military goods? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Naric’s head pivoted to his right. “Because they don’t want certain questions asked, sweetness.” Naric grinned and leaned back in his chair. “Don’t you get it? Even if Blackwell’s telling the truth…” He stopped and chuckled. “Let’s just say, theoretically, that a man was involved in facilitating the transfer of a package. All hypothetical, mind you. And let’s say that the package happened to be something special to the UTC. If they came for me, excuse me, that man, then people would ask about their secret little project, and you think in that situation, the word wouldn’t get out? If anything, for certain people involved, it would not be to their advantage to get the word out.”
Jia shook her head, her entire face contorted in disgust. “You prey upon the people around you. You help steal from the military, and you’ll do anything to save yourself. I think you’re the single most disgusting person I’ve ever met.”
“Oh, you just wait, sweetness,” Naric looked at her, dropped his eyes down and then back up. “I’m a kitten compared to a lot of guys out there.”
“My name is Detective Lin,” Jia snapped.
Obsidian Detective Page 27
