by Taylor Buck
CERTA GROUNDS, ALPHA SECTOR
16 OCTOBER, 6:50 A.M.
Lee walked over to the juggernaut, still lining it up down the crosshairs of his barrel.
“Are you ok?” he asked Danner.
“Yeah. I’m fine,” Danner said and looked around. The second robot had disappeared into the bushes. Lee pulled out his badge and flashed it to Danner. “What is that thing?” he asked with a confused look.
Danner stared at the immobile juggernaut. “In short? It’s a robotic assassin, being controlled by a lunatic. There’s more, too—at least three other robots.”
Lee bent down next to the sprawled juggernaut. He couldn’t help but be mesmerized by what was in front of him. It completely fit together—the puzzle he had been racking his brain to figure out. Lee looked up and down the body of the robot. He saw the legs, powerful and stabilized by the balled feet—roughly the size of silver dollars. He studied the face and the remnants of the heavily constructed needle—which carried the liquid.
The Sodium Pentothal.
He had nearly seen it inject and kill another victim right in front of his eyes. If he had been there seconds later, he would be dealing with another victim. Lee would’ve never guessed in a million years that he should’ve been searching for a robot from the start. It had never entered his mind. Why should it? He had never run across anything like this.
He wanted to call Chief Sullivan to let him know. But that had to wait. He needed to help. There were more of these things.
“A man and a woman just took off through here on a four wheeler. They’re being chased. They need your help,” Danner said and pointed to the access road through the thick palm leaves.
“How long ago?” Lee asked.
“Maybe a minute or two.”
“What about the lunatic you mentioned? Where is he?” Lee asked.
“I’ll deal with him. You just help those people,” Danner said and looked up toward the building.
Lee reached for his walkie and radioed into base letting them know the events that had just occurred. Then he hopped into his jeep and set off down the access road in pursuit of the four-wheeler.
CHAPTER 47
CERTA FACILITY
16 OCTOBER, 7:00 A.M.
Rick Danner burst in the side door of the CERTA building and marched down the hallway. He scanned the place for juggernauts as he walked, but there were none to be seen. Probably outside tracking down Kelly and Tom. Danner knew the only way to stop them was to cut them off at the source. Which meant taking down Braden and unfortunately—Dr. Perry. He entered the lab and briskly walked through to the opposite hallway.
Danner couldn’t believe that Dr. Perry had sided with Braden’s murdering spree. He didn’t want to believe it…but it was the truth. Danner felt deceived. It wasn’t the fact that Perry was siding with Braden; it was the pretenses that Perry had established for things to get where they were. Dr. Perry had become so desperate to succeed with the juggernaut project that his requisite for victory blinded his judgment. And right now his ill adjudication was proving catastrophic to the entire company.
It was all crashing down…and it was bringing innocent people down with it. None of it was right. Danner was determined to bring resolve to it—his own way.
The way he had been trained to do.
People died, someone’s got to pay.
He entered the hallway and marched toward the den. Once he reached the door, he took a deep breath and entered the room.
The lights were off inside the den. Danner could see a faint light coming from the windows of the control room. He walked over and peered inside. Braden was seated in the middle of the room on a chair. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be in deep concentration.
So this is how he controls them, Danner thought.
Danner tried the door—it was locked. Braden must have found a way to lock it from the inside. Suddenly, Braden opened his eyes. Once he made eye contact with Danner, Braden grimaced from behind the glass.
“What do you think?” Braden ask menacingly. Danner could hear him speak through the intercom.
“I think you’re a deranged lunatic Braden, and I’m here to kill you.” Danner retorted.
“I mean about the juggernauts…did you ever think they were capable of this?”
Danner didn’t answer he just stared at him. He wasn’t in the mood to hear another one of Braden’s delusional rants. He knew there was no way to get inside the control room. Braden had found a way to override the lock inside and the ballistic glass would not allow for easy entry. Thinking it over, he knew he had to stop Braden but he may have to go after Perry first.
“I would have never guessed you had a soft side, Rick—helping those people out and all. I didn’t think you cared about anyone but yourself.” Braden turned and looked at Danner. The corners of his mouth curved into a Cheshire cat smile. “I must admit…she is a beautiful woman.”
Danner’s eyes narrowed at Braden’s ignorance. “I’m a soldier, Braden. Part of the pledge is to protect the innocent from terrorists like you. I do what’s necessary to destroy evil—something you would know nothing about.”
Braden laughed and clapped his hands as if he were applauding a theatrical play. He stood up from his chair and walked up to the glass. “Bravo, Rick. You really are a real-life G.I. Joe—a true hero. Unfortunately for you, this is where the action ends. You’ve put up a good fight and taught my robots some great new tricks, but it’s time for you to go.”
Braden looked past Danner and eyed the containments in the den. Danner turned around just as the doors to all of the factions slid open. One by one, all three of the remaining juggernauts exited their containments and walked out into the den. They moved in tandem, as if they were hunting in a pack…communicating. One took the right side, the other crept forward down the center and the remaining robot closed off the corner of the room by the hallway entrance.
They moved in an almost synchronized formation…aware of each other’s position and working in tandem to cut Danner off in the corner. One of the juggernauts flickered—on and off. It was blending in with the wall behind it.
Fascinating.
“They move beautifully together don’t they? Like prey closing in on a kill.” Braden yelled through the glass.
The robots drew closer.
“Witness the beauty of swarm intelligence playing out like a grand symphony. Not only can I communicate with all of them simultaneously, but they can communicate with each other as well…just as I had planned.” His voice rang out over the speakers and echoed off the walls.
“They’re evolving!” Braden shouted.
Braden’s roaring laughter rose as the juggernauts moved in closer. Danner had to think quickly. He shot a glance to the video screens inside the control room. His eyes scanned the screens until he spotted Perry walking out of the lab and toward the stairwell.
He was headed for the roof.
Danner needed to get to him. He could deal with Braden later. He slowly sidestepped across the front of the control room window. The juggernaut on the right moved in and sidestepped in synch with Danner. It crept forward and stopped to crouch down—blatantly telegraphing its next move. Danner took note and prepared for the attack by assuming a position to counter.
The robot leapt.
Danner moved quickly. He tucked into a barrel roll and spun to the left, just as the robot collided with the glass panel to the control room. The glass held firm but slowly began to show fractures along the area of collision—tiny spider web incisions within the glass.
That’s all I need, thought Danner.
He needed to cause enough of a fracture to split the grid fibers holding the glass together. After that, the glass would be malleable enough to break down after a few efforts. If he could get away now, he w
ould come back for Braden and get in through the windows.
The robot was on the ground and appeared stunned. Danner swiftly kicked it over to its back and sliced the arterial circuits running across the belly.
“No!” Braden bellowed from behind the glass. He appeared pained at the slaying of the robot.
The other two juggernauts closed in. Danner was backed up to the wall—he needed to think fast. He looked down at the inoperative juggernaut, then lifted the machete high above his head and hammered it down hard upon the juggernaut’s face. The impact knocked the head against the floor, loosening the intricate facial plates. He slammed it once again, then reached down and gripped the eyeball—he could see the camera lens inside the black orb. He pulled on it hard, ripping it out.
He held the eyeball in his hand. He needed a distraction. He did the first thing that came to mind. Danner threw the eyeball across the room behind the juggernauts. He realized the absurdity of his action but he figured it was worth a try…they were—after all, trained from the behavior of real animals. The glass ball bounced across the ground rather resiliently, staying in tact. Immediately, both juggernauts turned around at the noise and stared in the direction of the orb.
The one on the left ran after it.
It worked!
Danner made his move. He quickly dashed past them and made for the door. So much for evolution, he thought as he raced through the sliding door. He sprinted down the hallway while Braden’s screams for the juggernauts to follow him echoed through the den.
CHAPTER 48
CERTA GROUNDS, ALPHA SECTOR
16 OCTOBER, 7:15 A.M.
The E-ATV bounced up and down as Kelly sped through the densely overgrown path. The rain let up for a moment, and then continued falling—the warm drops gently stinging Kelly’s face as she drove. Bennett sat upright in the back bed of the E-ATV. Every bump triggered a piercing pain that shot through his left side as his ribs jarred together. The pain was severe, but grew slightly more tolerable as adrenaline coursed through his body and began to numb the area. Large palm leaves swatted at Bennett’s legs as they dangled over the back of the E-ATV bed.
“Hang on!” Kelly yelled as they ascended a small hill. Bennett gripped the bed tightly to keep from sliding out. They climbed the hill and leveled out on top. The road cleared, and Bennett was able to scan the tree line for any assailants. So far they were in the clear, but he knew it could change at any moment. Kelly steered the E-ATV around a fallen tree and quickly jumped back on the trail. She was handling the four-wheeler like a pro, and he was happy to have her at the wheel.
Bennett surveyed the area to the left and thought he spotted a flash in the trees. He squinted to focus but didn’t see it again. Was it a robot? He wasn’t sure.
“There it is. I can see it!” Kelly shouted and pointed off the trail to the right. About forty yards off the main path, a small shack with a green tin roof stood alone in a clearing. “That’s the supply shed. Rick said there was a shotgun in there.”
Kelly pulled off to the side of the road and hopped off the E-ATV. “I’m going to grab it. I’ll be right back.” She hopped over a batch of tall grass and ran toward the shed.
“Kelly, be careful!” Bennett shouted as he watched her disappear through the trees. Bennett scanned the forest around them. They were in thick jungle and visibility was difficult. It was dead quiet. The only sounds came from the birds in the trees. Bennett sat helplessly in the bed waiting for Kelly’s return.
KELLY APPROACHED THE shed and spotted a lock hanging from the door. It was a padlock, the kind that required a key for entry. Her heart sank—she didn’t have a way in. But as she drew nearer, she realized something.
It looked unlocked.
She was right. The lock wasn’t fastened. It was hanging freely. Kelly pulled it from the metal clasps and threw it aside. She swung open the door and entered the shed.
The interior of the shed was dark and full of industrial cabinets. She could see landscaping materials, tools hanging from the wall and large jugs of liquid in the corner. She looked above the door and saw the shotgun hanging there. She reached up and grabbed it then checked the chamber for a round.
It wasn’t loaded.
Kelly had used a shotgun before and was familiar enough to load, shoot and reload it. Her brother Colin used to take her shooting before he joined the military. It was something they did together for fun.
Kelly opened the nearest drawer and fumbled through the contents until she felt a small cardboard box. She pulled it out. The red, scripty letters spelled out Remington. The box contained twenty-four rounds of 12-gauge buckshot. She pulled out seven and loaded them into the gun, maxing the capacity at six rounds with one active in the chamber. She filled her pocket with as many additional rounds as would fit. She swiftly slid the action, cocking the shotgun, then headed for the door.
As she turned to leave, her eyes gravitated toward a glass cabinet on the wall. A medicine cabinet? There were white bottles inside that appeared to be medical supplies. She placed the gun on the counter and walked over to the cabinet. She checked them quickly, hoping to grab something to help with Tom’s pain. The options were few, but she sorted through a few antiseptic bottles…Oxytetracycline, penicillin…
Conolidine.
Perfect, Kelly thought.
Conolidine was a synthetic painkiller. Unlike most anesthetics, conolidine was completely natural. It was extracted from the bark of the crepe jasmine, Tabernaemontana divaricate, a tropical flowering plant found in Hawaii. Kelly sometimes used it on the injured animals that she treated back at the bio lab.
She checked the potency level on the bottle. Then she looked around and found a hypodermic needle in a clear plastic wrapping. She cracked the seal open, then inserted the needle into the bottle and tipped it upside down—allowing the liquid to enter the syringe. She pulled two cc’s of fluid out and placed the needle back into the clear plastic bag. Then she rolled it up and tucked it into her cargo pocket. She grabbed the shotgun and exited the shed.
BENNETT WAS GETTING antsy. Kelly had been gone a while and he was getting worried that the juggernauts would be coming. It had been eight minutes since she left and Bennett was contemplating checking on her. He pushed himself forward and reached out for the release lever on the tailgate. Before he grabbed it, he heard a loud gunshot. It came from the direction that Kelly had gone. Bennett quickly jumped off the E-ATV and landed on the path just as Kelly burst through the trees.
“Tom, get back in! It’s right behind me!” she screamed.
Kelly jumped the grass hedge and threw the shotgun in the air to Bennett. He grabbed it and hopped back up into the bed. Kelly jumped into the driver’s seat, grabbed the handlebars and cranked the throttle sending dirt showering the road. The E-ATV jerked forward and immediately gained speed. Bennett secured himself in the bed and steadied the shotgun by resting it on his thigh and backing it against the metal frame in the rear of the bed.
A moment later the juggernaut careened onto the path and hit stride about twenty feet behind them. Bennett locked on it and fired. The buckshot opened up and sprayed a black circle directly at the juggernaut. The robot reacted with extraordinary agility, jumping far to the right as the cluster missed just wide. Bennett cocked the shotgun and fired again. This time a portion of the buckshot hit the juggernaut along its back. The robot didn’t seem phased at all and continued forward—closing distance.
Bennett fired again just as Kelly swung wide to avoid hitting a large lava rock in the path. Bennett slid across the bed and grabbed the side with one hand—nearly dropping the gun over the edge. He looked back to see that the shot traveled high and missed the target entirely.
“Try to keep it steady!” Bennett shouted over the wind.
“I am trying,” Kelly yelled back.
Bennett cocked the gun an
d looked up. He scanned back and forth. The robot was nowhere to be seen. It had disappeared, completely.
“I lost him!” Bennett shouted.
Kelly looked back, hesitantly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I can’t see it anywhere, it just…disappeared.”
Kelly slowed down to keep from flying off the road. She let off the throttle and cruised along at a safer speed.
Bennett looked ahead at the path in front of them. “Sorry, Kell. Nice driving back there. You did great. I think we’re almost to the fence now. Just keep your eye out…it could be anywhere.” Bennett tightened his grip on the shotgun and eyed his surroundings like a hawk.
Kelly reached her hand back. “Here, stick this in your side. It’ll help with the pain. I grabbed it out of the supply shed. It’s conolidine …it’ll numb the pain,” she said.
Bennett grabbed the needle out of the plastic sheathing and without hesitation—stuck it into his left side. He winced for a moment, and then slowly felt a warming sensation in his bones as the medicine took effect. A minute later he felt almost as good as new.
“How’s it feel?” Kelly asked.
“Much better, thanks.” Bennett looked at Kelly and cracked a weak smile.
“You know, I was really worried for you back there…at the helicopter. I thought….” Kelly’s words trailed off. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.” She looked away. Bennett could see the pain in her eyes. The lines in her face gave away the heavy emotion she was feeling.
Bennett hopped over the seat and joined Kelly up front.
“Well, I’m still here. And so are you. You nearly gave me a heart attack when I lost you up on the roof. I almost jumped off looking for you,” he said.
