Avenging Angels (The Seraphim Chronicles Book 1)

by Adams, Nicholas

  A few moments later Jack turned his attention back to the table to find it empty. His eyes darted around the restaurant in search of his companions until he spotted them outside, waving at him through the window as they walked down the street, slapping each other on the back. They turned and disappeared around the corner before he realized what trouble his absent-mindedness had brought him. With a frustrated shake of his head at his own lapse of attention, he motioned the waiter he was ready to pay the bill.

  With a wave or relief, Jack remembered his partners were going to an avatar bar after dinner. They had convinced him to come along because he could not give them an adequate excuse to decline their invitation. Jack did not understand the appeal of the avatar scenes, places where people plugged themselves into virtual reality to socialize with others through a stylized caricature of themselves.

  It was ironic, Jack thought. His friends were great guys, good looking and intelligent, who preferred to meet women through a false identity, a well-crafted fantasy, instead of in real life. He did understand the appeal, though. Anonymity protected them if there were no sparks with other participants. They could walk away unscathed, trying again and again, hoping that one day they would meet someone else with whom they could try to hit it off.

  Jack continued watching from across the room while he waited for his bill to be processed. The majority of the women had moved toward the bar where a group of men had their eyes glued to a sporting broadcast. He noticed the women who gravitated to the bar were the ones without wedding rings. The few that stayed behind were certain to be married, wearing flashing rings or displaying their own protruding baby bumps.

  The beautiful brunette remained at Tishia’s side, and Jack’s heart picked up speed as he observed she did not have a ring on her finger. The smaller group continued chatting among themselves. Jack guessed they were talking about pregnancy and belly sizes by the way they motioned to each other’s stomachs; issues that were well outside the scope of Jack’s experience and interests. Jack noticed the longer the pregnancy conversations drew on, the quieter Evangeline became. She put on a polite smile, but there was a sadness growing in her eyes.

  Just then, Evangeline glanced over at Jack as if she could hear his thoughts. Her eyebrows furrowed at him, and he could see she felt uncomfortable receiving the attentions of a strange man. Tishia saw the look on Evangeline’s face and followed her gaze. When Jack and Tishia’s eyes met, a huge smile spread across her face and she started waving at Jack to come over.

  He scooted out of his booth and walked over to where Tishia and her brunette friend were mingling, encouraged by Tishia’s excited waving, yet unnerved by the beautiful woman’s scowling expression. He extended his hand to Tishia to offer his congratulations on her marriage and impending family when she crushed him in a sudden embrace.

  “Jack, it is so good to see you!” she exclaimed. “I haven’t seen you since you were accepted to that tech academy up here!”

  Jack smiled; the Tishia he remembered seemed unchanged, still as cheerful, kind, and sincere as ever.

  Jack’s cheeks flushed red. He did not enjoy being the center of attention, above all in front of beautiful strangers.

  “Yeah, it’s been a while.” He shrugged as he tried to keep from closing in on himself. He pointed to her rotund belly with one hand as he hid his other hand in the pocket of his pants. “Congratulations! Sam’s a lucky guy.” Jack pushed down his instinct to flee and focused his attention on his old friend.

  “Thank you so much,” she beamed with a gentle pat to her belly. “You remember Summer, Rebecca, and Brianna from school, right?” she said, gesturing to the other women surrounding her. Jack looked sheepish as he scanned the faces of the women who were now staring daggers at him.

  “Um…not really, no,” he said, reaching out to take each one by the hand. He immediately regretted his answer. Each of them shook his hand and bore a false smile. Now he remembered. These were the kind of pretty girls who had intimidated him in school, the popular girls who thought they were above everyone else, dispensing sneering glances, and superficial smiles to everyone, even their supposed friends.

  Tishia’s lovely friend stifled a giggle as she watched the exchange, enjoying the inadvertent humor in his honesty. He looked like a little animal that wanted to retreat into his shell and hide. As the outsider, she could read the hostile glares of the other women, which at first were irritated at Jack’s intrusion and then sharpened into loathing that Jack did not recognize them. Evangeline had not known it at the time, but Jack was a rising star for his creative ideas and these has-been women were still living in the LTZ, deluding themselves with stories of their own glory days.

  Formalities over, Jack turned his attention from his former classmates and he faced Evangeline as she masked her amusement. Tishia’s eyes darted between her old friend and her new friend, recognizing the attraction written all across Jack’s face.

  “Jack,” she said, sparkling at the idea of setting up two of her friends. “This is Evangeline Chapel. She was the commanding officer of my squad for the last several months off-world while I was still active-duty.”

  Tishia continued. “Captain,” she said, and then withered under a stern look from Evangeline. “Sorry! Evangeline! Old habits,” she shrugged with an apologetic smile. “Evangeline, this is Jack Evans. We went to school together. He was my math tutor until he moved to Olympus. He is the sweetest and smartest guy I know.” She nudged Evangeline with a conspiratorial smile. “He may even be smarter than you.”

  “Evangeline,” he said, reaching out his hand to shake hers. Evangeline mirrored his gesture.

  “Jack,” she returned with a nod and a smile. Evangeline shook Jack’s hand with her firm, military grip. Jack’s grip was just as firm for the first few seconds. After one quick pump up and down, their hold on each other softened and ebbed until they just stood there, holding each other’s right hands.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jack,” Evangeline said, letting his hand slip from her fingers. He was unaware that he was still staring at her. His persistent, boyish grin won over, and she could not help but return his attention with a smile that was soft and inviting.

  “Trust me,” Jack replied, in shock that Tishia’s gorgeous friend was neither dull nor boring; in fact, Tishia had said she was smart. “The pleasure is entirely mine!”

  Tishia turned from Jack and Evangeline with a glint in her eye, and started a conversation about their alma mater’s athletic program with her other friends. The women dove into the topic as she guided them toward the bar to join the rest of their group.

  Jack and Evangeline found themselves outside on the patio, enjoying the warm summer evening at a small table as they talked into the early hours of the morning. Tishia and the gaggle of wives had dispersed from the restaurant one by one throughout the evening to go home to their families. The single girls had remained inside, getting more and more rowdy with the men they met at the bar.

  Jack had noticed Evangeline glancing at her watch several times as the hour approached two o’clock.

  “You need to be leaving, don’t you?” he asked. Evangeline offered a sad smile.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” she sighed. “I have to be on patrol in eight hours.”

  Jack remained in his seat. He did not want to be the first to stand and end the magical hours he had shared with her. Evangeline began tugging at the coat draped across her shoulders. She had almost forgotten that Jack had offered his brown fleece jacket to her when the air had grown chilly as the night hours passed. They had both laughed at how horrible it looked against her violet dress.

  “This is yours, I believe,” she said, standing and holding the fleece to him.

  “I’m okay, you can keep it on.” Jack smiled and stood up from his own chair, taking the outstretched coat and draping it across her shoulders again. She smiled up at him with her soft, brown eyes. The air caught in Jack’s lungs as he realized he was smitten with this military Captain
. His heart pounded in his chest as he worked up the courage to ask his one request for the evening.

  “May I walk you home?” he said, breathless, as if he had just run up a flight of stairs.

  Evangeline’s smiled broadened from ear to ear, causing a slight squint in her eyes.

  “I’d like that,” she sighed in a near whisper. Jack walked around their little café table and took her hand, resting it in the crook of his elbow. They strolled out of the patio area, arm in arm, and onto the promenade in front of the restaurant. She tightened the front of his jacket around her shoulders and pointed off to her right.

  “I live that way,” she said.

  Jack looked down into her eyes with a warm smile. “Then that’s the way I’m going until you tell me not to.” Evangeline giggled, rolling her eyes. His flirting was sweet and funny; genuine but not overbearing. It reminded her of how her father had often flirted with her mother, countless years ago. She squeezed him arm, making his smile nearly split his face in two.

  They walked along in silence for a short while, each reflecting over the evening as they approached the first shuttle station. They stopped underneath an awning.

  “If you liked that,” he said, placing his hand atop hers on his arm, “I’ve got plenty more to tell you.”

  thirty

  Jack rose out of bed without disturbing Evangeline’s slumber. He walked into the bathroom and cleaned himself up for the day. Overnight the bruise on the back of his neck had spread to the sides. It looked like a small purple and yellow towel clinging to his neck like a parasite. He felt grateful that the pain inhibitors were still working He did not want to imagine what it would feel like without them.

  After he dressed, Jack crept out of the bedroom and made a beeline to the kitchen to make himself a quick cup of morning tea. With steaming cup in hand, he headed for the second bedroom, which he used as an office whenever Evangeline was not on duty. He sat down at his desk and placed his cup of tea on his favorite sandstone coaster from the Calexico Islands.

  “Good morning, Gideon,” Jack spoke to the screen. A light emanated from the holographic projector above Jack’s head, the figure of a man materializing in front of the desk. He was a featureless approximation of male anatomy, possessing legs, a torso, arms, and a head, but simplified and vague, much like the symbol on the door of a men’s restroom.

  “Good morning, Jack,” a voice chimed from the computer screen. “Did you sleep well last night? You appear to be injured; do you require medical attention?”

  “No, thank you,” Jack answered, swiping his hand across the desktop. “I’m alright. There was an incident last night at Ground Zero, but I’ll be okay.” Jack began typing commands into the console that appeared on his desktop.

  “I’m pleased to hear you are well, Jack,” Gideon’s voice said with the ambivalent politeness of a manservant. “What shall we be working on today?” Jack let out an involuntary grin. His gift for Artificial Intelligence surprised even himself from time to time.

  Jack finished entering commands into the console and then sat back. He picked up his cup of tea, gripping it between his hands and enjoying the feel of its warmth radiating from the cooling cup. He lifted the cup to his lips and gulped down the rest of the tea in one long swig. Evangeline would not have approved.

  “I’m expanding the parameters of your matrix, Gideon. You’ll no longer be limited to the confines of domestic maintenance.” Jack put the cup back down with a hollow clink and resumed typing commands.

  “Where would you like to begin, Jack?” he asked.

  As Jack’s fingers flew across the keyboard, he pondered on the original purpose for his latest design. Gideon was meant to be a digital butler for family residences. He would organize grocery lists, keep a schedule of appointments, provide reminders, and screen incoming calls if desired.

  Jack closed the console, picked up a device from his desktop, and slipped it over his head. This was a tool of Jack’s own creation, his neural interface, which resembled two pairs of sunglasses attached to each other by their earpieces, almost as if they were holding hands. The front part rested on the bridge of his nose, covering his eyes. The other part fit snugly over metallic ports on either side of his spinal vertebrae at the base of his skull. He pushed the probes into his cranial ports, launching his mind into the virtual workshop where he did most of his programming.

  “Lie down on the worktable, please.” Jack instructed, turning away from the anatomical man.

  “What kinds of expansions did you have in mind, Jack?” Gideon’s voice asked as he lowered his digital head onto the table’s flat surface. His voice rang throughout the workshop as if he were on a PA system.

  Jack walked toward a workbench and began sifting through drawers and shelves. “The first thing I want to add to your program is the ability to interface with outside systems,” he answered.

  “I am capable of accessing information regarding weather, news, calendars, and other databases to which I am currently authorized, just as you designed me, Jack,” Gideon responded. “What other outside systems will I be authorized to access?”

  Jack had sorted through a box with cubes that looked like glowing clumps of microchips. He chuckled to himself. “I’m not giving you additional authorizations, Gideon. I’m installing abilities to access systems to which you do not have authorization to access,” Jack said as he selected an illuminated cube that shined like a gem.

  “You are programming me to hack,” Gideon stated. “Is that wise? Unauthorized access to restricted databases is a criminal offense. Since I cannot be incarcerated, it stands to reason my program would be terminated,” he continued. “What justification do you have to install potentially criminal capabilities into my matrix? If detected, you would suffer the consequences as the creator of an illegal program.”

  Jack carried the cube over to Gideon, still and motionless on the table. He placed the cube on the forehead of Gideon’s virtual body. The cube began to fuse into Gideon’s head, melting and warping across the surface.

  “Because I simply don’t trust anyone or anything else to do what it is I’m hoping I can program you to do,” Jack said to himself in a whisper. The cube had dissolved into the virtual man’s skull, leaving an imprint of a computer chip on his forehead.

  “Gideon, I want you to shut down and restart your system,” Jack said aloud into the open workshop. The illuminated, virtual body on the table flickered and disappeared. Seconds later, the holographic figure returned, lying on the table. Gideon now possessed discernable fingers and eye sockets.

  “Excellent,” Jack whispered over his digital Frankenstein.

  “The upgrade has been completed, Jack. Would you like me to test the new application?” Gideon asked.

  “Yes,” Jack said, jogging around the table to examine Gideon’s new form. “Let’s start with something small and relatively benign.” Jack folded his arms and pondered about which outside computer system he could test. He lowered his arms, walked over to one of his other workbenches, and opened a display window. “Gideon, access the building’s internal security feeds and show me the front entrance.”

  The display flashed. Random images scrolled by in a blur, like flipping through the pages of a picture book. After two or three seconds, the image resolved to a bird’s eye view showing a streetscape. People walked by the entrance doors and vehicles crawled along the street. Jack smiled. It was a simple hack. Accessing a building’s security feed was not difficult. Under normal circumstances, he would not have thought it was worth the effort.

  “Good, now move the camera’s position thirty degrees to the left,” he instructed. Jack this hack would take more time. The building’s internal security system would soon recognize that someone had outside access to its visual system. The camera jittered to the left, displaying more of the vehicles on the street. The entrance door was no longer in the frame.

  “Gideon, are you detecting any recognition from the security system? Have they discovere
d that they’ve been overridden?”

  “There is no indication that the integrity of the security cameras has been compromised,” Gideon responded. “Would you like me to terminate this experiment, now?”

  “Yes, Gideon. Reset the security cameras and disconnect,” Jack answered, distracted by the myriad of capabilities he wanted to add to Gideon’s programming. “For now, only access outside systems when I ask you to, okay?”

  “Of course, Jack,” Gideon replied.

  Jack resumed his search through his files for the various subroutines he intended to add. He was curious as to how far he could stretch Gideon’s capabilities. For now, he had other installations to complete first. He had to start with the basics.

  He spent the next several hours installing other applications into Gideon’s matrix. Basic human psychology, principles on morals and ethics, strategy games, evasion and escape techniques, advanced problem solving, voice recognition and impersonation, digital camouflage, distraction techniques, and basic combat tactics.

  By the afternoon, Gideon was no longer a featureless automaton. He sat on the edge of the table, covered in a silver body suit that shimmered like living circuitry. It covered his body from his neckline to his wrists and ankles; the sleeves were equipped with holographic consoles and buttons along his forearms.

  Jack had designed Gideon to be tall, muscular, and athletic, complete with powerful-looking arms and legs, fully articulated hands, feet, fingers, and toes. His figure was intimidating, striking. Gideon’s every feature resembled those of a man - all but his face, which was still smooth and featureless. Jack gazed on the blank face and shuddered, remembering the man in black who had attacked him in the arena the night before. He did not like the idea that his own creation could look so menacing, instilling fear in those with whom he came in contact.

  Jack had puzzled all morning over what Gideon’s face should look like as he had worked on the rest of him. His thoughts turned to Addison, his virtual son, who resembled the perfect blend between himself and Evangeline. Jack knew in an instant how he wanted to proceed.