by Gini Koch
The Kendroid was here as well, as was the Crystal Maurer android. He looked at me. “I’m glad you’re finally here.”
“Why am I not surprised? How’d you get in? Climb the fences?”
“No,” Crystal said. “We killed the guards at the main entrance.” Noted that all the androids appeared to have bullet holes in them. Wasn’t stopping them, but then the guards had probably been thrown seeing human-sized Ken Dolls coming at them.
“The icky naked ones are really rudimentary,” Lizzie called. “Like have to be told what to do rudimentary.”
“I can tell them to shoot you,” Crystal said nastily. She was a very believable android.
“But you won’t,” I said. “Because your boss isn’t here and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want any of these people dead until she’s around to watch.”
Crystal shrugged. “Oh, we won’t have to wait long.”
Heard a sound that wasn’t bombs bursting in air or, rather, in Samarapusses. It was a sound I recognized—a Harley was motoring up. Sure enough, Stephanie—in her full black leather Huntress gear, including crossbow—rode up.
She parked the bike and smirked at us. “Hi, Uncle Jeff.” She took the crossbow off of her back and aimed it right at him.
“Stephanie, what are you doing?” he asked, rather kindly, all things considered.
“I’m ruining your life. Like you ruined mine.”
“They didn’t do that,” TCC said.
Stephanie looked at him. “I know my mother wants to believe you’re really my father. I’d like to believe it, too. So, if you are, leave those people and come to me.”
TCC cocked his head at her. “What will you do to them if I leave them and go to you?”
“What I’m going to do if you stay with them. Have my soldiers shoot them.”
“Why would you kill any of us?” TCC asked. “These are all good people. You’re a good person. You weren’t raised like this.”
A look of disgust came over her face. “You’re not my father. My father, my real father, raised me to hate them. And I do.” So much for the hope that TCC would sway her. Maybe if we’d kept her incarcerated and had had the time to devote to her rehabilitation. But we hadn’t, and we didn’t.
Meaning it was time to do what I did best. “Feeling’s totally mutual, Steph. Of course, you’re saying that the man who covered you with his own body when Cliff was trying to have us all shot isn’t your father. Interesting viewpoint. But, you’re probably distracted by all the weird fake man-flesh around. You know, I had no idea you had such a crush on Thomas Kendrick.”
Her head snapped toward me. “Don’t call me that.”
Never failed to amaze me, how the majority of A-Cs reacted to nicknames. “Right. So, Thomas turned you down or what, Steph?”
“He was convenient.”
“Right.” Looked at the Kendroid. “You know she made you because she can’t have him, right?” Really hoped that Jerry had the real Kendrick listening in, in case he could add something helpful.
The Kendroid looked at Stephanie and I could see uncertainty in his expression. “She loves me.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Abigail said. “I think she loves Thomas Kendrick, though, lucky him.”
“She definitely does,” Mahin added.
“What would you know about it?” Stephanie asked.
“Women can always tell,” Mahin said dismissively.
“Kitty,” Jerry said softly while Abigail and Mahin continued to play on the Kendroid’s fears and occupy Stephanie’s attention, “we’re almost done, and I think we’ve gotten all of the superbeings and robots, too. We’re already back to invisible. All aboveground personnel seem to be at the helipad. We’re going to try to land and get the others on board. I’ll let you know when to grab the hostages and run.”
“You know,” I said conversationally, “these androids aren’t all that well made. Well, Crystal and TK there are, but the Naked Ken Dolls, not so much. A really good shot through the head and the middle takes them out. You clearly weren’t trying very hard when you made them.”
“I had to work fast,” Stephanie said to me. Mahin and Abigail continued baiting the Kendroid. “For some reason.”
“It’ll be tight,” Jerry said. “We’re worried about hitting you guys or the hostages. And it’s harder to fire accurately the way you’re all grouped when we’re on the ground, and we’re going to be on the ground shortly. And this is me showing how serious the situation is that I’m not making a comment about how Stephanie clearly didn’t get enough Barbies when she was growing up.”
“Always the way and I so know what you mean. Meaning you have a secondary lab somewhere nearby, Steph, that’s all. Is that where Trevor is?” It was hard having two simultaneous conversations, but I was the girl for the job.
Stephanie stared at me, in shock as near as I could tell. The Kendroid turned away from the girls and stared, too. As did Crystal Maurer.
Saw Lizzie disappear. Then White. Then Brian. Abigail, Mahin, and TCC disappeared at the same time. Meaning Siler had either come looking for us or been advised that we were here, had slipped through the Naked Ken Doll Line, and grabbed everyone. If he was blending, then, as with hyperspeed, anyone with contact would also blend. But that was a lot of people to get out of danger, since he had to sneak them through the androids. So he’d probably need a couple of seconds of stalling time.
“Who?” Stephanie asked, trying to sound cavalier and failing.
“Wow, you’re as terrible at lying as the rest of your clan. Trevor the Tinkerer. The man who really likes you because you’re so much like your great-grandfather.”
“Thomas says that Stephanie seemed shy around him,” Jerry whispered to me.
Her jaw dropped. “How . . . ? How do you—”
Loved it when my Megalomaniac Girl theories were proved to be true. The Crazy was always right. Go team.
“Know about him? You’d be amazed at what we know.” Looked at the Kendroid. “Like, I know that androids can overcome the programming.” Looked back to Stephanie. “Like, I know that you were actually really crushing hard on Thomas Kendrick, so much so that you couldn’t bring yourself to actually approach him. So you made a copy. And you liked that so well, you made a ton of other copies.”
Stephanie and the Kendroid were focused on me. But I hadn’t held Crystal’s attention, and she turned to look at the hostages. Who were not there. She opened her mouth.
“Now,” I said calmly, as I knocked Jeff down to the ground and covered him.
Laser fire came from what seemed like nowhere, and it sliced the Naked Ken Dolls up fast and efficiently. “Boy, Lizzie wasn’t kidding, those things were really badly made. Thank God.”
Siler appeared behind Stephanie and got her in a hold that looked well practiced and efficient.
The two fully functioning androids hadn’t been hit, though, and they both attacked Siler, pulling him off of Stephanie while she tried to shoot Jeff.
Fortunately, Jeff rolled us out of the way. As we scrambled to our feet and headed for the skirmish, someone else slammed into the group. Lizzie.
“Get away from my dad, you freaks!” She kicked the Kendroid in the nuts and he went down, just like a real man would.
Had no idea how she’d gotten out of the helicarrier, but it was time for me and Jeff to get in there. “I’ll take Crystal, you take—” Well, I was going to tell him to take Stephanie, but she’d managed to turn to attack Lizzie. Who roundhouse kicked the crossbow out of Stephanie’s hands.
It flew into the air. Jeff jumped and caught it. He turned it on the Kendroid. Who put his hands up.
Meanwhile, remembered that I had a gun and that I hated Crystal Maurer’s guts. Started shooting as she ran toward me, using the rapid-fire techniques my mother had taught me for use with my Glock. Happily, they worked with Dr
ax’s guns, too.
Ten in the head, ten in the torso, strafing fire to the knees. She went down.
Siler was trying to get into the girl fight, but he had no way of doing so, because Stephanie and Lizzie were really going at it.
Stephanie had A-C speed and strength, but Lizzie had been trained by the Assassination League and she was seriously pissed. They were doing martial arts moves so fast I almost couldn’t see it. Wondered if Lizzie was part A-C somehow, or if Siler had slipped her an enhancement, but figured that if Chuckie could move that fast, so could Lizzie.
However, even the best human was at a disadvantage against an A-C. Stephanie sent Lizzie flying through the air. Jeff and Siler both started for her, but she landed in Thomas Kendrick’s arms. He put her down. “Get into the ship,” he said nicely. “You, too,” he said to Siler. Who looked at me. I nodded. I wanted Lizzie safe, and that wasn’t going to happen if Siler wasn’t holding onto her.
Kendrick didn’t step any closer. “Stephanie, is this really the way you want to tell someone that you like them?”
She stared at him. “I . . .” For a moment, she didn’t look vicious, triumphant, haughty, supercilious, or anything else like that. She looked like a young woman who was looking at what she wanted but could never have.
“Do we shoot her?” Jerry asked. “Camilla’s on board with us, by the way, and she really wants us to.”
Stephanie spun and ran off at hyperspeed, leaving her motorcycle, her crossbow, her family, her crush, and the android she’d made to love her behind her.
Looked at Jeff. Who was watching his niece with one of the saddest expressions I’d ever seen him have. “No,” I said quietly. “No kill order. Let her go. Tell Camilla we’ll find her. I promise.”
Looked at Kendrick. He looked sad, too. “When I first met her, I thought she was beautiful but too young for me. And I never gave her another thought in that way.” He shook his head. “What a waste.”
Jeff gasped and grabbed me. “The android’s going to explode.”
Looked at Crystal’s body. “Not that I can tell.”
“Not that one.” Jeff turned me toward the Kendroid. “That one.”
Sure enough, the Kendroid was jerking and blinking in a way that indicated the self-destruct was about to go off. “You can fight it!”
He looked at me and shook his head. “I don’t want to. You’re right. I’m not real.” He looked at Kendrick. “He is. He’s who she wants.”
“But you’re who she has.”
Jeff tried to drag me away, but I pulled out of his hold and stepped closer.
“Thomas,” Jeff said, voice steady, though I heard the concern, “get into the ship and don’t let anyone else out.”
“You could have killed all of us at any time. When you kidnapped me, and right now. But you didn’t. That’s not your programming. That’s you.”
He shook his head. “I’m not real.”
“You’re as real as you want to be.”
“Let me die.”
“Only people who are alive can die.”
“Why do you care?” he wailed.
“I’m asking that question, too,” Jeff said quietly and urgently. “It’s time to go, baby.”
“I care because you want to be a person, and I think that you can be. I care because people like Stephanie and Cliff and Trevor and Antony Marling and all those like them don’t. That’s my weakness, according to everyone. That I care, and I care about people who maybe I shouldn’t.”
“You said I’m not a person.”
“You weren’t. But the first step in becoming a full android person is the acceptance that you are an android, and the realization that, if you do it right, it doesn’t matter. You’re still you.”
The Kendroid’s shaking slowed a bit. “But I’m him, too.”
“You don’t have to be. You don’t have to be what Stephanie made you to be. You can be yourself and make your own choices. I promise that you can, TK.”
He stopped shaking. “I like that name.” He smiled at me. “I’m going to keep it.”
“Come into the ship with us, and we’ll help you.”
The Kendroid shook his head. “I don’t know if you can trust me. And until I know that you can, I’m not going to let you trust me.”
“Works for me,” Jeff said, as he picked me up bodily. “Don’t explode on your way out,” he called to the Kendroid over his shoulder as he ran us into the ship that we could now see.
We got in and the hatch was raised. Jeff didn’t let me go until it was closed. “Put me down. Please.”
He did and I headed for the command center at a run. It was easy to find—just headed for the voices.
Got there as we were raising up and ran to the terminal Tevvik was at, which was the one Jerry had been manning. Shoved past Wruck and Tito to get to the screens. “Let me see the ground.” Tevvik switched the view to below.
The Kendroid was standing there. He looked up and waved. Then he got onto the motorcycle and rode off.
“Do you believe that he knows you’re watching?” Tevvik asked.
“Yeah, I believe he does.”
CHAPTER 98
“WHERE TO, COMMANDER?” Hughes asked.
Almost answered but stopped myself. Looked up at Jeff and smiled at him. He gave me a very personal smile, then turned to Hughes. “We need to get to Raven Rock and get everyone there out.”
“Yes, sir,” Hughes said. He relayed the order, but not before he winked at me.
“You did well,” Wruck said quietly. “I realize the others may not understand why you tried, but Benjamin and I do. And we both thank you for it, in our own ways.”
Hugged him, hugged Tito, then headed over to Jeff.
Spent the time waiting to get there, which wasn’t all that long, showing Jeff around the ship. He was as impressed as the rest of us. “I think it’s a fantastic war machine, baby. But I’m worried about what we’re going to be facing when we get back. It’s been seen on TV by the entire world by now, I’m sure.”
Queen Renata had joined us midway through. “My people would have conquered the entire galaxy with a ship such as this. I know what you fear, Jeff. This is a dangerous thing.”
“It doesn’t have to be. But I have no idea how to make it seem cuddly, either.”
Evacuation of Raven Rock took some time, due to having to double-check who was where and who was missing. But Raj and Uncle Mort made sure that Nadine and Colette got Jamie and Charlie to us right away.
We each hugged both of them, then Jeff took Jamie and I took Charlie and we all cuddled together for a little bit.
While we were waiting to get everyone loaded and confirming those considered missing in action, who were going to be presumed dead via superbeing for this crowd and dead due to classified reasons to their loved ones, we went looking for Lizzie and Siler. They were in what appeared to be a dining area in the ship and were in the same parental clutch that we were.
“I should bawl you out for that attack,” Jeff said, as Lizzie looked up at him a little guiltily. “But I’ll save it, since I know you’ll listen to it as much as Kitty would, which is to say not at all.”
“Right you are,” I said without any guilt at all.
Jeff grinned and kissed me. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Mommy,” Jamie said, “this ship is so pretty!”
“Is it?” Looked around. Hadn’t thought of this as attractive, other than in a saving our lives more than once kind of way.
“It is. Can we ride in it some more?”
“Not sure about that,” Lorraine said, as she and Joe came in.
“I’m all for it,” Joe said. “I like this ship.”
“Hey, just realized that you guys don’t have the wires sticking out anymore.”
“Nope,” Rand
y said, as he and Claudia joined us. “Tito had them burned off. Didn’t hurt, we still seem okay.”
“Other than I think we may all have to move to Kitty Land,” Claudia said.
“No, I don’t think so.” Elaine, Raj, and Chuckie joined us. Christopher, White, Reader, and Tim came in right after them. Fortunately, it was a big room. With no signs of actual food. Which was a pity, because I was hungry.
“Why not?” Jeff asked. “I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a call for my impeachment or resignation after this. And the less said about how we’ve left Camp David the better.”
“Rohini and the rest of the Planetary Council may be able to assist with that,” White said.
Reader nodded. “We talked to them while we were underground. The Shantanu are even better at reconstruction than A-Cs are.”
“It’s more than that,” Elaine said. “Fritzy was at the White House, and he’s been handling things in coordination with Serene.”
Raj nodded. “The evil alien attack that was attempting to kill the President and all of the Planetary Council was thwarted.”
“Nice spin,” Jeff said dryly. “How do we explain the President of Iraq and the Prime Minister of Israel?”
“Mossad will handle the situation with the Prime Minister,” Leah said, as she, Jakob, and Oren came in. We were back to our usual room filled to Marx Brothers capacity. And this was a pretty big room. “And what’s left of the Iraqi mission is willing to corroborate our stories.”
“Which are?” Jeff asked.
“That there was an assassination attempt on your life,” Chuckie said. “Before the alien attack. All agencies are determining if it was a coordinated attack or not and will, of course, be working with other world intelligence agencies.”
“Oh, of course.” Jeff’s sarcasm meter was definitely heading for eleven.
Chuckie was unfazed. “Prime Minister Harpaz was injured protecting the First Lady and is in a coma. We’ll have Dulce see if he’s a salvageable android or if he’s going to have to be destroyed. And President Samara was killed protecting your children.”
