by TR Cameron
He returned the gesture. “Jack Reyes. I’m sure you’ve already done your research and know my team, so how about we get down to it?”
She smiled and sat in the chair he’d expected her to. “My kind of people. So, tell me why Nenroth Cybernetics should climb into bed with Quartet Robotics.” For the next half hour, he and his team spun out a tale of marrying their advanced technology with the command-and-control systems that her company was known for. Each of them spoke, except for Cia and Kimmel, who carried off their subordinate roles well.
Quartet’s status as a major player had been built up in advance through planted data and a few carefully calculated recommendations secured by the Professor. Jax imagined that Maarsen had some sort of drawer filled with all the favors people owed him written on little notecards. That had gotten them the meeting and hopefully set up Brecken to be well-disposed toward them. Still, at the end of the spiel, he got the sense she hadn’t been convinced.
Verrand must have noticed it, too. She said, “I think you’ll have to show her, Jack.”
He grinned. “Ms. Brecken, when it comes to concealing what you’re thinking, you would give a statue a run for its money. But we came here to make a deal, and we don’t intend to leave without one, so I guess it’s time to lay our final card on the table.” He took off his jacket and set it carefully on the chair, then rolled up his left sleeve. “Card. Get it?”
A flicker of amusement crossed her lips. “Very droll, Mr. Reyes.”
“Please, call me Jack.” He offered his bare arm to her. “Before you is the latest in cybernetic technology, so new that we are literally the only ones who have it.” He dug into his pocket for his lucky coin and slid it down the table to Verrand. “Make it a good one.”
She threw it fast and hard at their host, and his artificial arm snapped out in a blur to intercept the disc and lay it gently on the wood in front of Brecken, all in the space of about a second. Her eyes were still widening in initial shock when he finished the move. He nodded. “And that’s with our AI in control. With yours, well, there’s no telling what we could accomplish.”
She composed herself quickly and rose. “I’m intrigued. But I’ll need to take a better look at that unit if you’re willing.”
He grinned wide, putting his best salesman face on. “As I said, we’ll do whatever it takes to put this deal together. Consider me yours.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Carson rejoined them as Ellena Brecken led the way to the elevator. He said, “They’re informed of your arrival,” and she gave a single nod. When they stepped into the lift, the assistant announced, “Research.”
The chirpy voice replied, “Confirmation needed.”
Brecken snapped, “Confirmed.” She seemed to share Carson’s view of the elevator’s AI. I hope this isn’t indicative of their capabilities or we’re in the wrong place. The elevator didn’t seem to move, but opened on a new floor. He’d come to expect a white sterile atmosphere to be present in all science areas and wasn’t disappointed. A hallway extended ahead, seeming to run the entire length of the floor. Openings suggested cross corridors at several points, and multiple doors were visible along the way. She strode forward, took a right turn at the first intersection, and led them into a large space that very much resembled the Academy’s medical lab.
A white-coated technician bustled up to the executive, and Brecken gestured toward Jax. “His left arm, full analysis.” The tech, a wiry man with unkempt hair who could easily have pulled off the grad student disguises his team had tried in Edinburgh, dragged him to a humanoid-shaped creche attached to the wall. “Please, stand in there. This won’t hurt, I promise.” Jax removed his coat, withdrew the metal coin and business card from his pockets and handed them all to Cia, then complied.
The employee ran behind a control panel, and a holographic image of Jax appeared in midair in the center of the room. It zoomed in to his arm and electronically stripped away the skin to reveal the artificial muscles and bones beneath. The Professor and Juno had agreed that giving up the secrets of its construction would be an acceptable trade for what they’d come to steal. The doctor had laughed and added, “Besides, we already have something better in the works.”
The pair talked in technical jargon, with lots of nodding and murmuring back and forth. Verrand and Kimmel were in the corner of his vision, and she nudged the alleged intern, who coughed and asked, “Where’s the nearest restroom?”
The technician looked at him crossly and replied, “Outside, first right, second left.”
“Thanks,” he muttered and headed for the door. Marshall and Verrand descended on Brecken and the tech, pointing out details and offering explanations. They’d all had a crash course on the inner workings of his arm on the flight in, and given their backgrounds, everyone except maybe Cia probably understood it better than he did. All I care about is that it works. Sirenno faded to the back of the room and sneezed, then pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket to pat his nose with it. Jax only saw the motion because he was waiting for it as the other man stuck a small device under the edge of the counter he stood beside with his free hand.
The technician came forward, waving at him. “You can come out now.” Jax complied, and the man guided him over to another table, where the surface was reforming itself into the same sort of cradle Juno had used when examining it. He put the arm in place without instruction and received a nod of approval. Brecken was clearly more than a figurehead since she was punching commands into the panel right beside the tech.
His left wrist was below the table, and he made sure to block it from any high cameras with his body. A series of quick flicks activated the feed from Kimmel. His assignment was the most vital, and he only had as long as he could stall with the excuse of being in the restroom to crack into Nenroth’s system and locate the AI. They hoped that the code would be accessible via a wireless network, but they knew that was a longshot. More likely, the facility held a cube similar to the one they already had, the one whose content was broken up into parts and hidden in one of their heels each, with some redundancy in case someone got separated. Everyone involved had hated the idea of bringing the other half along. Still, the Academy’s experts had suggested that if their target was inside a server, the only way to get it out could be by using their existing half as a key, due to the security protocols the partners might have established.
The feed showed an image of an analog clock with moving hands, which was the message that their resident computer genius had gotten into the network and was searching. The items his team had secreted throughout the building—Kimmel in the elevator, Verrand upstairs in the conference room, Marshall in the lobby, and now Sirenno in here—gave them signal routing to get around physical dead spots and expand Kimmel’s access. The others had said mesh, and web, and other similar words, during which he’d blanked out and let them talk. The upshot was that their intern needed more time, meaning Jax needed to stall.
He donned that smile again, the one that made it clear he was selling something. “So, impressive, right? The limitations aren’t in the physical components. We’re hitting our head on the processing. Simply put, to coordinate all the individual muscle cells, we need a smarter system than we’ve been able to create on our own. And word on the street suggests you might have the solution to that problem either ready to go or nearly so.”
Brecken looked up from her screen. “And if we do?”
He shrugged as best he could with one arm latched to the table. “Then we want to be in business with you. Sure, we could buy it when you make it available, eventually, but you’ll already be into the next iteration when that happens. We can do more working as a team, improving the physical tech and the AI controls together. Imagine the possibilities for prosthetics to replace lost limbs. Hell, we’re at the point where with the right computer brain behind it, we could be ready to turn the corner to replacements by choice instead of at need. What would that be worth to the military?”
She frowned. “Whose m
ilitary?”
He laughed. “Who cares? I’m not a politician. I’m a businessman. If one of the players wants to pay for exclusivity, including all the security assurances we’d require and such, why would we possibly refuse? That’s for the lawyers and sales folks to figure out. Once we agree to work together, it will open up so many possibilities we’ll have our choice of options.”
The thing that made the spiel believable was that it was mostly true. The tech in his arm was advanced enough that a couple of rounds of innovation could result in truly groundbreaking technology. And the Academy did need whatever breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence the company had come up with to make that happen. Jax imagined a commercial end of the enterprise existed that was kept at arm’s length from the students; it was the only explanation for how willing they were to spend money without reservation. If it weren’t for Stephenson’s involvement, he’d probably have concerns, but he trusted his superior officer to know what was what.
The icon on his watch changed to a spinning cube, and he cursed inwardly. The server would have been the easy route. Now they had to locate and retrieve a physical object. He kept one eye on it while trying to attend to Brecken as she spoke. “Let’s say, for the sake of conversation, we have the items you think we do. What would you imagine our partnership might look like?” She gestured at the tech, and he released Jax’s arm from the holder.
He rolled down his shirt and buttoned his cuff. “I’d say a seventy-thirty split your way on the first product, both as a ‘getting to know you’ gift and because, frankly, we need you a little more than you need us right now. With that will come some guarantees of exclusive use in robotics, that nonsense. Attorney stuff. Afterward, fifty-fifty on what we create together. We’re already looking for a place here on Chesyira, so we’ll be in the neighborhood.”
She tapped a fingernail against a tooth, the first scarlet, and the second white. Both were flawless, without a chip or discoloration to be seen. “It might make more sense for you to be in the building if we do it. There’s plenty of room to move in your equipment.”
Jax chuckled. “You can’t honestly think we’re that easy, Ms. Brecken.”
She laughed in reply. “Well, one has to try, right?”
“I wouldn’t respect you if you didn’t. So, where do we go from here?” The icon on his watch changed to a checkmark, meaning that Kimmel knew where the item was. The faux intern walked into the room a couple of minutes later and sidled up to Cia.
Their host nodded. “I assume you’ll want to see mine, now that you’ve shown me yours.”
Damn, she’s got the wordplay down. If not for Juno, I could be interested. Well, and if any of this was real. Somehow, I think that stealing her company’s stuff might put a damper on any potential relationship. “Most definitely.”
They headed back to the lift, and she ordered, “Secure seven.” A panel slid aside to reveal a palm reader, and she pressed her hand to it. A half-minute later the doors opened again, this time onto a single small room filled with displays. “This is the showplace for the AI.” She led them into the center of the chamber and said, “Hello, Athena.”
A smooth feminine voice replied, “Good morning, Ms. Brecken. How are you today?”
“Very well, thank you. Have you downloaded the information on Mister Reyes’s arm from Research?”
“I have.”
The woman grinned. “And what do you think of his offer to join his company to ours to continue developing it?”
Athena’s tone changed slightly, becoming a little sterner. “I believe it’s unnecessary, Ms. Brecken.”
She nodded. “And why is that?”
“Because we already have what we need from them. I have performed an analysis down to a cellular level of detail. We can replicate this easily, with only minimal retooling required. Thus, it is not necessary to partner with their company since they have nothing left to offer.”
Jax frowned, his face going hard. “That’s theft, pure and simple.”
Brecken nodded. “It would be. However, we’ll give you a one-time payment for your IP that will make it all better. I wanted you to get a look at Athena, so you could know what you’re missing.” She smiled a predator’s grin, and he decided it wasn’t only Nenroth’s chairman who was a jerk.
He turned and met Kimmel’s eyes, and the younger man nodded. Jax returned his gaze to the woman, who was confident that she’d played them perfectly. “Well, thanks for that offer, but let us suggest an alternative.” Cia stepped forward and sprayed Brecken with the contents of two small aerosol canisters she’d quietly pulled from her purse. Both were perfumes, the same brand but different varieties, and common enough that the people searching her bag hadn’t looked twice. But the Academy’s scientists had manipulated the formula, and when combined, they morphed into a knockout drug. He held his breath and caught Brecken before she could hit the floor.
Athena announced, “Please stay where you are. Security and medical personnel will be with you momentarily.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jax grumbled as he dragged the unconscious woman toward the elevator door. Kimmel was already inside and had liberated the custom tablet from his bag. A few buttons and a replica of Brecken’s voice said, “Secure twelve.” The panel slid open, and Jax pressed her palm to it. The doors closed and the lift started to move as he lowered her gently to the floor. He asked, “So, how far in did you get?”
Kimmel shook his head but kept his eyes on his screen. “Not far enough. I’ll delay the guards, but we’re going to need a distraction. I am almost certain that the device is in Secure twelve.”
Jax nodded. “Cia and Marshall, stay with Kimmel and me. Sirenno and Verrand, cause trouble. If you can keep it quiet, do it, but if not, make it noisy enough that we can sneak out in the chaos. But first, give me your pieces.” They each raised their right shoe and rotated the heel, then withdrew and handed over small memory chips with a prong on one end and a socket on the other. “Thanks. Be safe. If in doubt, run.”
Their options were narrowing by the second. Only a few contingency plans leading forward from this moment had been created, and they all depended on snagging the AI and getting started on their exit quickly. The lift opened on what looked like the most impressive hospital operating theatre he’d ever seen, a central table molded in a person shape with a dozen robot arms inert overtop it. He frowned and observed, “That’s unexpected,” before stepping aside as Cia and Marshall carried Brecken out.
Kimmel activated the woman’s voice from his tablet, saying, “Fifteen.” The elevator doors closed on Sirenno and Verrand, who knelt on the floor beside their open briefcases. When he finally took in the room ahead, the computer wizard said, “Oh, hell, this doesn’t look right.”
Jax growled, “Yeah, that about sums it up. You better figure out what’s going on fast, or we’re in a world of hurt.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Kenton Marshall crossed briskly to a control panel and started tapping on it in a way that looked knowledgeable. Jax prompted, “Marshall?”
Excitement was audible in his reply. “This is a bioengineering lab, similar to the one I use in my research. This is probably where they’d do the wiring of the courier we talked about way back when.”
Cia and Ethan Kimmel had moved to a table with an empty surface nearby. The former had dumped out her bag and had her arm shoved inside it. The latter had pulled out a second tablet and was working on both, one with each hand. If they’d needed to provide an excuse, it would have been “always have a backup,” but in truth, the second was explicitly configured to handle the half of the AI code they already possessed. Jax growled, “First things first. Give your chips to Kimmel.”
It took half a minute to free them from their shoes and for their supposed intern to get them hooked in. Then Kimmel nodded. “We’re good.”
Jax looked around the room. Cabinets covered the walls in the same bare white as everything else. Harsh overhead lights made him wish for his helm
et’s adaptive display as his eyes started to water. “What’s the next step, people?”
“I’ve got something,” Marshall replied. “Let’s see what this does.” Before Jax could caution him not to do anything stupid, a whirring came from above. The robotic arms made slow movements with no apparent purpose. “Self-diagnostic routine. Good policy. Okay, how about this?” He slapped a palm down on the control panel with a flourish and a section of the floor near the central table parted to permit a column to rise. The white cylinder stopped at table height, then its top opened, and a clear box climbed into view from inside it. Within that container was a metal cube identical to the one they’d found in the Dhelears’ possession.
Jax clapped his hands. “All right, now release the cover, and let’s go home. It’s totally that simple, right?”
Marshall barked a dark laugh. “Yeah, not so much. Kimmel, did you get into anything useful?”
Their computer expert shook his head. “No. Well, yes, but not in the way we want it to be. The theory that both parts needed to be in place for this to work was correct. I’ve got access to a network that’s fast enough to pull the data in real-time, which is how I would do it if I were them. That way there’s no local recording of the other half. But it’s one direction. I can’t draw down. I can only send up.”
Jax frowned. “So there’s no way to download the other part of the AI?”
“Exactly. And also, security is responding to an alarm on the fifteenth floor, so Sirenno and Verrand have started their diversion. I don’t have control of the elevator that leads here, nor can I be sure that there aren’t others.”
Cia interrupted, “That’s why I’m here.” She’d assembled a pistol from pieces secured in the lining of her purse. He had no idea how the Academy had managed to make it impervious to scans, but once again his opinion of the quartermaster’s skills increased.
