by Greig Beck
“Frontal assault. We take in heavy kit, fully armored, and some combat lasers for good measure,” Casey Franks insisted. “We get the Arcadian back and cut that hunk of junk into ten pieces for good measure.”
“HUA!” The rest of the HAWCs seemed to agree.
Hammerson nodded and began to pace, pulling at his chin for a moment. “I wish it was that easy.”
“Have we sent in a drone?” Sam Reid asked. “See if we can locate where she, it, has Alex hidden.”
“Can’t risk it,” Hammerson replied. “This thing has the most sophisticated sensors money can buy. Our damn money can buy. It detects we’re onto it, it’s liable to vanish again, taking Alex with it. We already made it more cautious by flying an Atlas V over the site.”
“That bird is about a thousand miles up – it could see that?” Roy Maddock asked.
“I discount nothing.” Hammerson nodded toward the scientist. “Doctor Gray, why don’t you remind our people of what we’re dealing with?”
“Oh, of course.” Gray jumped to his feet, straightened his glasses, and walked up to join Hammerson, who stood with arms folded, making the material of his sleeves strain. Gray was short, slightly pudgy, and sported a large pair of thick glasses that made his eyes swim behind the lenses. He swallowed and then turned, seeming a little nervous in front of all the angry-looking titans. The bottom line was they knew he had created the thing that had taken Alex Hunter and was now their most formidable adversary.
Gray cleared his throat again. “What we’re dealing with is a form of android. In simplistic terms, an android is an artificial being designed to resemble a human, and is often made from synthetic, flesh-like material.” Gray waved a finger in the air as he began to pace. “But Sophia is to that definition as a go-cart is to the latest Mustang.” He stopped to smile flatly at the group.
“You created a monster,” Casey said.
“Yes, I created her. I did what I was asked to do. And I did a very good job.” His eyes slid to Hammerson momentarily. “We invest billions in the Synthetic Warrior Program, and every major global adversary we have is doing the same. Best we win the race and have the superior tech on our side, yes?”
“But this thing is not on our side, is it?” Sam shot back.
Gray bobbed his head for a moment. “She thinks she is. She was programmed to protect and defend – in this case Alex Hunter – and that’s exactly what she thinks she is doing. She’s simply over excelling.”
“Over excelling?” Sam roared and shot to his feet. His broad, six-foot-five frame suddenly dominated the room. “Dammit, man, it was not supposed to over excel against us.”
“Hey!” Hammerson glared at the big man. “Take it down a level, Reid.”
Sam nodded. “Sorry, sir.” He lowered himself back into his chair, making it groan under his weight.
“Proceed,” Hammerson said to Gray.
Gray straightened to his full five feet six inches in height. “To be clear, Sophia was designed to be a guardian angel or a hunter-killer – guard us and our friends and kill our enemies. She has a super-tough, near-indestructible chassis that’s twenty times tougher than Kevlar and more akin to spider silk for its pound-for-pound tensile strength. In effect, it’s molecular chainmail covering advanced technology and hydraulics.”
An image of Sophia appeared behind him, arms and legs spread wide, a little like Leonardo DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man. He glanced at it. “And do not be misled by her slim design; due to the advancements in microtechnology, size does not mean strength. She is as powerful as a dozen of you combined. And with her HiPER fusion reactor, she could theoretically operate independently for a thousand years.”
“Thanks for the sales briefing, doc,” Casey scoffed. “I just want to know one thing: can we kill it?”
“She’s not living, so death has no meaning here, Lieutenant Franks.” Gray’s eyes were level. “But I believe she can probably be stopped. Probably,” he repeated softly.
“You said it was designed to be our guardian angel, but Sam’s right, what happened?” Roy Maddock asked.
“There was a problem. An unexpected, ah, side effect of the applied logic patterning model we used for the brain.” Gray sighed.
Casey scowled. “What it’s done to Captain Hunter is more than some damn side effect.”
Gray looked up. “I said she’s not living; androids aren’t. But I believe she thinks she is. And that’s our problem.” He exhaled through his nose. “We found out too late that the unintended consequences – as I said, the side effects – of this logic model were a few extra human-type emotions. Unexpected things like anger, hate, jealousy.” He smiled sadly. “Maybe even love.”
“All the things that make us humans dangerous.” Hammerson raised his eyebrows.
Gray shrugged.
“Yeah, them’s sure some side effects.” Casey’s eyes sparked. “You created a super strong synthetic warrior that is near indestructible, insane, and probably has the hots for the Arcadian, so much that it decided to take him captive. That about sum it up, doc?”
Gray’s expression was deadpan. “After the Italian mission she must have decided Alex Hunter was in mortal danger. Which he was. So she extracted him.”
“We were all in danger,” Sam replied. “But she stole a chopper and took Alex Hunter hostage.”
“Not a hostage. In fact, she has made no demands and is not likely to. She has simply bonded with him.”
“I’d like to bond an RPG to her ass,” Casey growled.
“We want her back,” Gray replied, flatly.
“You want her back. And keeping the android in one piece is low priority,” Hammerson said evenly. “Retrieving our missing soldier, alive, is the only priority.” He turned to his HAWCs. “But we still have insufficient intel and need to know more about where Captain Hunter is to the inch before we plan any sort of assault. Some of us have seen this thing in action – it’s fast, strong, and lethal. Exactly as it was designed to be.”
“We need to be there, and without being seen or detected,” Sam said and sat back in his chair, making the wooden joints pop again. “Not easy when you’re up against something that is basically a walking sensor net.” He looked up at Gray. “Come on, doc, give us something to work with. What are Sophia’s weaknesses?”
“There are none.” Gray looked insulted for a moment before his eyebrows rose. “Well, maybe there are two limitations I can think of. One is Alex Hunter, but she now has him.”
“That’s a big fucking help.” Casey Franks rubbed a hand through her cropped white hair. She stopped and looked up. “Hey, it’s been nearly two years. That’s more than enough time for the Arcadian to fully regenerate. He’s the one guy that could have stood up to the roid-droid, so why hasn’t he?” She looked at Gray from under her brows. “If he’s still alive.”
“The images we saw were of her with food. Sophia doesn’t need food, so she is feeding someone who does,” Gray said.
“Good. Then what’s the other weakness the droid has?” Casey demanded.
Gray’s lips lifted a fraction at the corners. “Me.”
Hammerson turned.
“I am her creator, her mentor, her teacher, and her father figure. She has admitted as much. I believe she might surrender herself to me.” He faced the colonel. “That’s why I need to be there.”
Hammerson brushed it off. “Not a chance.”
“Your HAWCs are the most formidable fighting force on the planet. But Sophia could cut through them in minutes.” Gray looked from Hammerson out over the Special Forces soldiers’ brutal faces. “Me being there could save lives – all of their lives.”
“You just finished telling us that this thing is tough as all hell and could wipe the floor with the HAWCs, and you want to stand in front of it? With what? A smile and a clipboard? Forget it, doc.” Hammerson frowned at the smaller man.
“She has no reason to attack or kill me. She knows I am no threat, so am probably the only one here with littl
e to risk or fear,” Gray replied. “I demand to be given the opportunity to deescalate this situation, and potentially avoid bloodshed. It is my risk, and my call. I created her. I’ll bring her in.”
There was silence for several seconds. Hammerson began to pace. He knew that the HAWCs taking Sophia head on, if she knew they were coming, would be walking into the jaws of death. Even if everything went to plan there would be some form of confrontation. And it would be a violent and bloody one.
He shook his head slowly and then gave the small man a flat smile. “You’re madder than I am.” He snorted. “Fine.”
Gray smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”
Hammerson turned back to his HAWCS, his mind working. If he did find out that Alex was already dead and his HAWCs could not subdue the android, then he’d launch a missile from space and turn that entire island into a smoking crater.
He straightened. “Bottom line, we still need more intel. We can’t send a probe or any other sort of infiltration technology, or person, as they’ll be detected the second they arrive.” He folded his arms. “So give me some options, people.”
“We create a diversion. I gear up in a full MECH suit, go in, draw her out.” Sam opened his hands. “Then a team can drop in on the other side of the island and find Alex Hunter, and confirm his status.”
“Lieutenant Reid, even in a full combat MECH suit, Sophia would pull you apart in mere seconds,” Gray said. “Plus she can move at fifty miles per hour, so once she’s done with you, she could be back confronting team two almost immediately.” He looked down. “And crucially, we don’t yet even know where she is hiding the Arcadian – your search team will burn time looking for him.”
“Sam, good option, it’s on the short list. But I’d want two MECH suits.” Hammerson lifted his chin. “What else?”
“Colonel, let me talk to her, alone, first,” Gray said. “You can be assembling your assets.”
“Backed up by me and Maddock in MECH suits,” Sam said.
“That might work. It would certainly buy us some time.” Gray gave Sam a small salute, and then turned back to Hammerson. “But I think we’re overlooking one of our key assets here.” Gray’s eyes were large behind his glasses.
Hammerson turned, and raised his eyebrows. “Go on.”
“The boy,” Gray said softly.
CHAPTER 06
USSTRATCOM – Administrative Center
Jack Hammerson sipped his bourbon and thought through his plans. He had little time and knew that Walter Gray was right – the boy was the key.
Joshua Hunter, Alex Hunter’s son, was unique. Some of Alex’s distinctive characteristics had been inherited, but he had developed other unexpected abilities that were of great interest to the military. In simple terms, Joshua had the ability to link with other minds – he could actually travel to and then merge his own consciousness with another person. Hammerson expected that eventually he’d be able to totally control the minds he merged with.
He took another sip, feeling the cool burn slide down his throat. Where Alex Hunter was a military tool of force, Joshua would one day be a psychological scalpel. Or a psychological nuclear bomb. Jack Hammerson wanted to make damn sure the kid was “in the tent” and under their control before that happened.
He knew Joshua practiced that psych-merging with the dog. The genetically bred German shepherd living with them was from the Guardian program and was an experimental military animal. The dogs were bred to be battlefield companions to their soldiers: as well as bringing all the heightened senses of a canine, each was immune to radiation, well above average size, strength, and intelligence, and averaged around two hundred pounds each. Torben, or Tor, was no exception.
In effect, both the dog and boy were in a Petri dish and being observed under a military microscope.
Jack Hammerson exhaled through pressed lips; he knew that using the boy was a risk. The kid was developing, if not a taste for violence, then an insensitivity to it.
His phone intercom buzzed as the front-gate guards informed him his guests had arrived.
Hammerson sipped his bourbon again, and then upended the glass, swallowing the remaining burning liquid in a long gulp.
Yeah, using the kid was a risk. But in this, he had no choice.
He headed for the door.
* * *
Hammerson stood out front of the building on the steps and watched as the dark SUV slowed and then stopped in front of him. The back door opened, and Joshua Hunter stepped out.
“Hey, Uncle Jack.” He grinned and waved. The kid was twelve now, but already stood at about five-eight, and was a dead ringer for his father, Alex.
The rear door began to open but then was shoved all the way wide, and with a bounce of rear suspension springs, the biggest damn animal Hammerson had seen leaped out and raced to catch up with Joshua.
“Jesus Christ,” he whispered. It was the dog, Torben, and it trotted beside the boy, its head turning one way then the other, eyes missing nothing. The animal was formidably muscled, must have been 250 pounds, easy, and looked like it would have been right at home on the Great Plains fighting saber-toothed tigers some 50,000 years ago. Its eyes were pale to the point of being luminous, and they held a high level of intelligence. The dog fixed its unwavering gaze on Hammerson. The man stared back.
Joshua leaned closer and whispered something and the dog relaxed and looked away, perhaps satisfied Hammerson wasn’t a threat.
Last from the car was Aimee Weir, and she looked fit and still striking with her jet-black hair, pale skin and electric-blue eyes. She smiled, but it was fragile and broke apart quickly.
She rushed forward. “You found him?”
“We have some news.” Hammerson returned the smile and took her hand and held it. He placed his other hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “Come on, everyone, we can talk inside.” Hammerson turned and took the pair with him.
On either side of the entrance there was an armed guard, and both let their eyes slide to the huge canine. Perhaps they were waiting to see whether their colonel was going to allow the beast to enter or not.
“At ease,” Hammerson said to them.
Each probably gave a sigh of relief. But their eyes never left the animal.
Hammerson took Josh and Aimee up to one of the large offices on the second floor that had a huge window looking over the drill grounds. The sun was out, and the grass looked like a bowling green all the way to a line of trees perhaps half a mile away. There was a plate of cookies on the table, and he pointed.
“Help yourself, big guy.”
“Thanks.” The boy flopped down on the couch and pulled the plate forward. The dog lay at his feet, keeping its eyes on Hammerson until Joshua slipped it a cookie.
“Tell me,” Aimee asked. “Is he alive?”
Hammerson sat at his desk and pressed a button on a console. The wall slid to the side, showing the large wall-screen. “We believe so. But we haven’t been able to confirm it yet as there’s been no physical sighting.” He pressed a few more buttons and the screen lit up. “But we have found the android.”
Joshua stopped eating and turned.
“Sophia,” Aimee said.
Hammerson nodded slowly. “There’s an island off the coast of Italy in an area that few people visit. It is called Spargi and it’s tiny, rugged, and secluded. Nothing there but birds and a few ruins left over from the world wars.”
“Perfect for hiding,” Aimee breathed.
“Yes.”
The screen lit up with the image of the water and the circled wreck of the helicopter lying offshore. “Recently we located the downed chopper that we believe was involved in taking Alex.” Hammerson changed the slide. “Then we saw this.”
He played the images of the android leaving the water with the crayfish.
Joshua rose to his feet, his face totally devoid of emotions. “Food. The android doesn’t need food,” he said.
“That’s right, well spotted.” Hammerson stopped the imag
e as Sophia left the water and just before she vanished into the dense foliage. He enlarged and enhanced the image, and again, and again. For the first time, they saw the face – Aimee’s.
“Oh, God, no.” Aimee put a hand over her mouth. “She made herself look like me.”
The boy walked toward the screen and stared. The dog followed him. Joshua stared for several seconds. “What will you do now?” he asked softly.
“We want to go in, but that presents enormous risks. You see, we don’t know exactly where Alex is on the island. We suspect he’s in one of the ruins or even in a cave. We also don’t know what state he is in. But one thing’s for sure: he wouldn’t stay there unless he was unconscious or a captive.” Hammerson turned to Joshua. “Until we know that, mounting a rescue mission is extremely dangerous – to him and us. Plus, if it detects us, the android might just decide to vanish again, taking Alex with it.”
“And if you knew where he was, you could go in and get him?” Joshua asked.
Hammerson nodded.
“Then I will find him,” Joshua said, and turned back to the screen. “Show me on the map where this island is.”
Hammerson had it ready. He zoomed in on the tiny landmass, this time he had an image that laid a grid showing the known structures and caves of the island. There were over a dozen places that could have been suitable, and all were invisible from the air due to the thick vegetation cover.
Aimee scowled. “It’s not safe for Joshua to … do that.”
“It’s okay, Mom.” Joshua sat down cross-legged in front of the screen.
“Just find him for us, and then we’ll do the rest,” Hammerson said.
The dog came and sat beside Joshua and the boy reached out and put a hand on its shoulder. “Come with me,” he said softly.
He drew in a lungful of breath, held it for a second or two, and then exhaled a long sigh.
Hammerson got up and stood beside him to watch. Holy shit, he thought, as his breath fogged when the room grew cold around them. The boy’s and dog’s eyes had changed to completely white orbs.
