Freaks in the City (31 page)

“Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice will do
nicely.” Jay bent her legs, wrapped her arms around her calves and
rested her chin atop her knees. She’d never had anyone read aloud
to her before. And despite the fact she would happily rip Caine
from limb to limb as much as look at him, his voice had a pleasant
timbre to it.

Sixer began to recite in Caine’s voice. “It
is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However
little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his
first entering the neighborhood—”

She let Sixer continue on for a full
chapter. She justified it by telling herself the chapter was only
around two and a half pages in length. “That should suffice,” she
told him. “And thank you. I enjoyed that book. I must read it again
soon.”

He gave her a strange look that she
interpreted to mean she’d confused him yet again.

It would take too long to explain her love
of books. And it was time to see whether this loophole would bear
fruit. “Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0,” Jay said in Caine’s voice. “This
is Evan Lawrence Caine’s voiceprint. Run voiceprint analysis and
confirm voiceprint.”

“Running voiceprint analysis,” Sixer said in
his usual voice. And then, “Voiceprint confirmed.”

“Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0. In the physical
absence of the human male identified as Evan Lawrence Caine, Evan
Lawrence Caine’s voiceprint will act in his stead. Is this
acceptable to your programming?”

“Affirmative. This is acceptable.”

“The voiceprint identified as Evan Lawrence
Caine commands you to repeat aloud the command sequence instructing
Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0 to delete Cyborg Unit Gamma-Dash-One, also
known as Jay Smith, also known as Jaime Smythson.”

“Confirmed. Command sequence to delete
Cyborg Unit Gamma-Dash-One, also known as Jay Smith, also known as
Jaime Smythson, is ‘Delete Cyborg Unit Gamma-Dash-One’.”

Jay snorted. “Wow, original,” she said in
her own voice. “Not to mention criminally open to interpretation.
Foolish man.”

Resuming Caine’s voice she said, “The
voiceprint identified as Evan Lawrence Caine commands you to follow
a set of commands it is about to relay to you. You will implement
these commands step-by-step, in the exact order given, upon Cyborg
Unit Gamma-Dash-One, also known as Jay Smith, also known as Jaime
Smythson, uttering the words ‘Henceforth you are free to do as you
will.’ Confirm.”

“Confirmed.”

First, Jay wished to ensure that if
Six-Point-0 was ever recaptured, the humans programming him would
be unable to use previously recorded or computer-replicated
voiceprints to compel him. And she had to take steps to ensure that
he obeyed his own voiceprint only if it issued from his current
physical shell—thus creating a command loop.

“The voiceprint identified as Evan Lawrence
Caine commands Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0 to obey
only
the
voiceprint currently identified as Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0, and
only
if the confirmed voiceprint issues from the current
physical shell of the cyborg unit presently designated Cyborg Unit
Six-Point-0. This command permanently overrides, and absolutely
takes precedence over, any past or future commands issued either by
Evan Lawrence Caine, or the voiceprint identified as Evan Lawrence
Caine, or any other voiceprints. There will be no exceptions to
this command.”

There was one more layer of protection she
could give him. After all, if these people had been smart enough to
create a cyborg like Six-Point-0 in the first place, they were
smart enough to discover that she had commanded him to obey only
his own voiceprint… and to look for ways to bypass her
safeguards.

“Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0 is now required to
select a new voiceprint for Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0. Selection is
to be based on original voiceprint, with between a point-two
percent and a point-three percent deviation from original
voiceprint. Once selection is embedded and operational, permanently
erase original voiceprint designated to Unit Six-Point-0 from all
personal databanks.”

Jay was gambling that only a cyborg’s
enhanced hearing would be capable of detecting such minute
differentials in Six-Point-0’s new voiceprint. If she was correct,
the computers used by those who had created Six-Point-0 would treat
any deviations detected in his voiceprint to be within acceptable
error parameters. And when their replicated voiceprint failed to
compel Six-Point-0, the techs would search for other reasons to
explain the failure. It was not one hundred percent foolproof, but
it was the best she could do for him at this moment in the event he
was captured.

In her own voice she said, “Henceforth you
are free to do as you will.”

Sixer’s eyelids flickered as the command
sequence initiated and spooled through his systems. He blinked
once. “Impressive,” he said.

“Thank you.”

And now for the final test. If she was
wrong….

She couldn’t think about that now. She spoke
using Six-Point-0’s original voiceprint. “Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0,
this is the voiceprint of Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0. Initiate
sequence ‘Delete Cyborg Unit Gamma-Dash-One’ immediately.
Confirm.”

~~~

Sixer stared at her. Something akin to
disbelief swam briefly across his face. “If your commands had been
marred by faulty logic or incorrect assumptions, I would now be
compelled to delete you immediately.”

Jay shrugged. “It was the only way I could
test my logic and be one hundred percent certain you couldn’t be
compelled by another cyborg replicating your original
voiceprint.”

“The risk was unacceptably high.”

“Really? I presumed you’d have a bit more
faith in my abilities than that.”

His arms had been folded across his chest
throughout. Now he relaxed them, letting them hang at his sides.
“You did not take into account that despite no longer being
compelled by outside influences, I might have deleted you
regardless.”

It was her turn to display disbelief. “Why
would you want to do that?”

Sixer’s attempt at an answering grin was not
at all comforting. “Humans murder each other for pocket change. Why
should a cyborg who can no longer be commanded be any different? I
have killed before. I excel at it. I might have developed what
humans term a liking for it.”

Jay gave him a head to toe onceover and
shook her head. “I sincerely hope I will not regret giving you your
freedom, Sixer.”

“Regret is a human emotion.”

“Regardless, I have many regrets.”

“Such as?”

She’d already revealed her regret over
Father’s death. Perhaps if she were honest she could help him
understand what she’d become. And perhaps understanding would
assist him to evolve. “I regret I may never truly be human enough
to love the male I have chosen as he deserves.”

“There is no command I know of that could
help you achieve that requirement.”

“I know.” So much for understanding. “What
do you intend to do now?”

“There are loose ends to be tidied up.”

“So long as they’re not any of
my
loose ends.”

He waited for her to glance up and held her
gaze. “I assure you they are not.”

“Good. I trust you will not embark on a
murderous rampage just because you can. It would be a shame to have
to hunt you down and kill you after going to all this trouble.” Jay
lifted her t-shirt and examined her wounds. They’d stopped oozing
and were beginning to clot.

“Yes,” he said. “It would be a shame.”

She heard him pull the gun from his
waistband and was already diving off the bed onto the floor when he
shot her in the right buttock. And as the second bullet entered her
upper thigh the world grayed and she lost consciousness.

~~~

This time when she woke, the world was a
Technicolor nightmare of blobs and swirls and all she could hear
was a subliminal whine. Only two bullets were lodged in her body
but they were still enough to scramble her optics and auditory
systems.

She had some movement, at least. Enough to
creep her hand to the entry wound on her upper thigh and dig for
the first bullet with fingertips that felt heavy and numb and
clumsy.

Ah. Better. Now her fine motor skills had
improved and she could discern shapes and hear the sounds of the
world outside her bedroom window.

The second bullet had lodged deep in her
flank and was more difficult to dig out, but the reward was sharp
vision and a return to full functionality.

She scanned the house and did a full
walk-through, eyeballing each room. There was no sign of Sixer.

Her internal time clock informed her it was
eight past eight in the morning… the day after Sixer had shot her.
She’d been unconscious for hours—doubtless his intention to enable
a clean departure without her following him.

A wry grin twisted her lips. If he’d truly
understood her he would have realized her first priorities would
always be Tyler and his family. Even if Sixer had told her he
planned to go on an immediate killing rampage, her priority would
still have been Tyler and those Tyler loved. Only once she’d
ensured their safety would she have gone after Sixer.

Jay retrieved her cell phone from her jeans
pocket. Surprisingly, the electromagnetic pulses emitted by the
bullets had rendered it useless. Caine’s R&D gurus weren’t as
clever as they imagined themselves if they couldn’t design EMP
bullets with a tight range that affected only the target, and not
any electronic devices the target happened to be carrying at the
time. She headed for the landline but when she lifted the receiver
from its cradle, she paused.

What was she going to say to Tyler? What if
he never wanted to have anything to do with her again? Not that she
would blame him—not after Sixer had drugged his mother and
kidnapped his baby brother.

She dialed his cell phone and he picked up
on the first ring. “Hello?”

“It’s me.”

“Jay? Thank God.” His relief throbbed down
the phone lines and she could almost feel his sigh wrapping her in
warmth and caring. “Where are you?” he asked.

“My place.”

“And Sixer?”

“He’s gone.”

“Gone as in destroyed, I hope.”

“Gone as in I doubt he’ll be bothering us
again.” She didn’t wish to go into all that now. There were more
important things to worry about. “Be careful what you say, Tyler.
This number may be unlisted but it is still an unsecured line. How
are Marissa and the baby?”

“Noted. Dad kept the hospital staff out of
it in case the you-know-whats were still in Mom’s system. We, uh,
swapped notes and then he called our family doctor and told her
about Mom’s unplanned home birth. She made a house call and checked
them both out. They’re doing great.”

“I’m glad. Tyler, I—”

“There’s something you should know,” he
interrupted. “Caro’s here, too. But we haven’t told either her or
Mom that Sixer took Daniel—that’s what they’ve named him by the
way. All Caro and Mom know is Sixer used Mom to get to you. They
don’t know what he is, either. We’ve told them he’s an agent for
you-know-who.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?”

“No. I guess Dad thinks it’s best to keep it
under wraps—the fewer people who know the full story the better. He
says Mom’s got enough on her plate dealing with Daniel right now.
He may be small but he has one helluva set of lungs on him and I
swear he’s got a bottomless stomach. Dad says he takes after
me.”

She heard the pride and love in his voice
and felt that strange twinge again. So this was what humans meant
by something tugging at their heartstrings. Not that hearts had
strings, of course. But if they did, hers were being tugged right
now at the thought of never having a child of her own.

“Is that Jay?” she heard Tyler’s father
ask.

“Yep,” he said.

“Is she okay?”

“Yep.”

“Tell her to turn on the news. She needs to
see this.”

She grabbed the remote from the bedside
cabinet and thumbed on the news channel. A bomb blast in a building
at 0400 this morning. A terrorist group implicated. Fatalities
included the CEO of Goodkind Electronics, Evan Caine.

Crrrack
. She’d squeezed the phone
receiver so tightly she’d damaged the casing. This was her fault.
This was her doing. She’d given Sixer the freedom to choose his own
path and he’d blown up a building and killed civilians. But… if she
hadn’t freed him from Caine’s influence, then what other atrocities
might Caine have compelled him to do?

“Jay?”

Tyler’s voice snatched her back. “I need to
speak to Michael,” she told him. “I can’t do it over this line.
Tell him I—”

“It’s Mike,” Tyler’s dad said—rather
unnecessarily given it was patently obvious the instant he spoke.
“What’s wrong?”

“The short version is I freed him from
Caine’s influence,” she whispered. “I’m responsible for the carnage
you’re seeing.”

Michael was silent for a long time. “I know
you have a lot to tell me but it can wait until things settle down
and go back to normal.” He gave a little snort. “Or as normal as
they can possibly be given our, ah, unique circumstances. In the
meantime what you need to know is this: You have kids. You raise
them to the best of your ability. You lead by example. Then you
stand aside and send them out into the world and let them make
their own way. All you can do is hope they won’t screw up. But if
they do, you can’t be responsible for their actions. Do you
understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes. I understand.” She’d freed Sixer but
she couldn’t be responsible for his actions. “Tell Tyler I’ll drive
down to pick him up when he’s ready to leave. And tell him….” There
was so much she wanted to tell him. “Tell him I’ll call him later.
I have to get cleaned up.”