Single Wired Female (Wired for Love Book 2) (7 page)

When Tricia made it back to the harbor, many of the buildings had already gone dark. She drew plenty of attention because of the visible bruise on her face and though she tried her best to cover it with her hand, she decided that it would be better to go back to the apartment and clean herself up.

When she got to her floor, she saw that Sal was waiting for her. “What happened?” he asked when he saw her face, and she had trouble finding an answer.

She rubbed her jaw and shrugged her shoulders, not really wanting to talk about it. “Looks like this neighborhood isn’t as safe as you assumed it was, Sally,” she joked. “I got mugged on the way to get a drink just now.”

“You don’t say,” he began and looked past her to see if she had been followed. “Where exactly did this happen? Was it a bunch of them or was it just one?”

“Just one man and a bunch of insensitive bystanders, and no, I didn’t get to see his face before he socked me. But don’t you worry about little old me, Sal, I’ll be okay. Though I could use a new personal device since mine was stolen from me.”

“Well that was smart of him,” he said with a smile. “Should be nothing to track him down now.”

“Slow down, hero, we have bigger problems, remember? Plus, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be back in Washington?”

“Yeah,” Sal replied, “I’ve been ringing your device. But now I know why you haven’t been picking up. I wanted you to know that I was back in town. I have some news about that woman.”

Tricia unlocked her apartment, threw the handbag on a table, and then motioned for Sal to come inside.

“You always travel that heavy when you’re going out for drinks?” he asked, but she ignored the question and walked over to the refrigerator to make an icepack. “I think we should place some guards outside so that you have some protection while you’re staying here, Bonnie.”

You mean babysitters to prevent me from running away
, Tricia thought, but she looked at Sal and nodded.

“So the woman, who is she?” Tricia asked, walking over to sit on the loveseat next to the couch. She placed a bag of crushed ice on her bruised jaw and delighted in the numbing effect it had.

“It was some kind of android Ronald took around with him. That’s why she was standing there looking all creepy in the video. I guess he rigged it to help him, probably to throw you off. All we know is that he went inside with her but was the only one to come back out. When we went to your house that night, Bonnie, I didn’t see an android. That’s what has me cold, like ice in my veins, right? The fact that she might still be in your house right now.”

Tricia listened to him speak and decided that he was truly innocent. If Sal were in on the cover-up of Bonnie’s murder, he would have known that she was an android and would not have told her any of this. That android in the video was her old body, possibly stolen, wiped, and taken to the scene to begin the process of replacing Bonnie.

“What do you think about androids, Sal?” Tricia asked and the detective shrugged dismissively.

“They’re the pride of the era, what can I say. We’ve gotten them to the point where I can’t look at a video and know that what I am seeing is not a human being. That’s how
frikken
amazing these guys are, these droid builders and whatnot. They look like us, talk like us, hell—everything.” He had a 1,000 yard stare going on as he pondered this and then blurted out, “I think that they’re amazing!”

“Would you have sex with one?”

“You mean like a cyber-prostitute or full on fleshy android?” he asked. “That’s an odd question coming from you, Bonnie. I don’t know, that’s a little bit personal. How about we get back to this android that was inside your home when you were shot?”

“No, I think you should answer my question, detective. I am in a really vulnerable position and I need to know that I can trust you. I've been through a lot and I'm finding that most of the people I thought I knew are not who they claim to be,” Tricia said.

“And me answering questions about sleeping with androids will somehow prove my trust to you?”

“No, it’s a process. You answer this question, and then I ask you another. When I’ve gotten enough data from you to make an informed decision, then I will know whether or not you are my friend,” Tricia said, crossing her arms defiantly.

“Just like that, huh? Alright, sure. No, I wouldn’t sleep with an android, Bonnie. I’ll tell you why, because it’s against the law, that’s why.” He sighed, made a pinching motion with his fingers, and shook his hands with frustration.

“If it wasn’t against the law, would you do it?” she pressed.

“I don’t know, Bonnie. This is stupid. What does this have to do with anything? I feel like I’m on the stand being asked if I was the one that pulled the trigger in a murder trial. What, what? You got a hot android friend that needs a date? I don’t understand the line of questioning,” he said, getting more flustered as he went on.

Tricia smiled and relaxed. “I can tell by your defensiveness that you would. This makes me happy because it means that you don’t have any prejudice towards synthetics.”

Sal laughed. “If you think that qualifies me as an android supporter, Bonnie, you’re not thinking straight. That’s like racists who will sleep with anything despite their hate speech. You can’t use that as a gauge for prejudice. You know, it’s funny, you never struck me as an android activist. You’re in a borrowed apartment, waiting for us to give you the green light to get your life back together. Inside your room is the lead detective on your case, the one guy who can answer any question you need about the investigation. What are we talking about? You’re asking me about sex with androids to see if I’m a robo-racist. You’re too funny.”

“What if I told you that I am an android?” Tricia said and Sal began to laugh hysterically.

“Bonnie, focus,” he said between his fits of laughter. “Do you remember seeing that android anywhere before? The one that was on the video? Did you own her, help develop her, see her in a department store? Here, take a look at these photographs and tell me if she looks familiar.”

Of course I do
, she thought.
That android is me
. She pretended to look them over carefully before shaking her head. “I would never ‘own’ an android so I don’t recognize her from that. What I do recall from the video is that she looked very robotic. Ironic I know, but androids don’t move the way she was moving. I fully believe that she was under that guy’s control.”

“But why? Why bring an android to the house where you plan to shoot up your ex-wife?” Sal asked, sitting back down and motioning for Tricia to do the same.

She unfolded her arms and sat on a bar stool, then thought about what Sal was asking and why it was so difficult to tell him the truth.

“I have a theory and I’m just going to come out and say it. You can laugh, call me crazy, whatever; I no longer care. But what I do know is that one day during the investigation something will show up. It will be strange, subtle, but just enough for you to remember our conversation today. When it happens Sal, I want you to promise me something,” Tricia said.

“What am I to promise?” Sal asked, his face looking tired and worn.

“I want you to promise me that no matter what happens, you will continue to treat me this way. Like a human being. Despite it being a bit condescending that you laugh at my questions, you have been comfortable with me and have genuinely treated me like you care. Promise me that you won’t change, that you’ll be my friend, even when there is nothing left to investigate.”

Sal’s smile fell and his face took on the look of pity that is normally seen when an adult sees a child sad or hurting. “You’re a sweet girl, Bonnie. A sweet girl who has been through hell and back. I find it a real shame that such a beautiful woman has to beg an old beat-up cop like me to be her friend. We’re gonna figure this all out for you, don’t you worry. And as for me. Hey, I’m gonna be Salvatore all the way, no matter what. Don’t you worry ‘bout nothin’, I won’t change on you—unless you tell me that you set all of this up. Is that what you’re telling me, Bonnie?”

“Sal, what if that android was brought in to change positions with the woman you know as Bonnie? What if this is a huge setup to see if it was possible to remove a woman from society and replace her with an android that could be programmed to do whatever they wanted? Imagine the implications if such a thing could work? The removal of world leaders in order to put in restrained androids … the enemies of rich, powerful people. What if that android was the beginning of a much bigger plot and you are merely a necessary distraction to carry on the façade?”

Sal didn’t say anything, but his dark lips became a line as he stared at her intently as she continued to speak.

“The killer, who was made to look like Ronald, comes in with this android. They do something to grab her memories, speech, and behavior, then they kill her and change the android to be her twin. These suppositions may sound like science fiction to you, Sal, but I think that they are real. The android is given all of Bonnie’s memories, and then wounded similarly so that the switch could happen. She was barely caught on film, which was their one mistake, but…” Tricia grew quiet, her mind hitting a barrier when it came to telling Sal her full truth.

“But what, Bonnie?” he asked dryly.

“But they didn’t account for the android regaining her real memories and realizing that she isn’t Bonnie.”

Salvatore Minstretta stood up suddenly and ran his fingers through his slick, black hair. “I’m gonna get you a personal device, kid. I’m also gonna get you a security detail as soon as I can get the paperwork in. You’ve presented a different angle, albeit a crazy one that sounds like the kind of movie my mom likes. I think I needed that to clear my head and get me going again. You did that and I appreciate it. I’m gonna leave you to it while I head back home to think all of this over.”

Tricia smiled when he said this because it was what she expected. Sal was too practical a man to believe the whole android story, but he would now see the clues whenever they presented themselves, and in time he would realize that everything she said was true. She walked over, hugged him, and then saw him out a few minutes later. When she looked at the clock it was 1:00 a.m. and she remembered her original reason for coming back to the apartment.

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It was 1:30 a.m. when Tricia left her apartment again to seek out the android that worked at the bar. Her feet were sore and her legs tired but she ignored it and walked past the apartment gates to the trolley that ran to the docks. A few tourists were already aboard and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. The trolley seemed deliberately slow to influence guests to mingle. A robot server was rolling around, advertising its wares through holographic images.

When it got to Tricia it made her smile. It felt good to know that even a machine was fooled by her appearance. It gave her hope and renewed confidence that she would be able to stay undercover. She shook her head at the machine and then sat back to look at the people on board.

The trolley came to a stop in the middle of the harbor and she hopped off and walked towards the bar where the android server worked. When she got near the place, she sat on a bench and pretended to be looking through her bag. The android girl was closing up so Tricia waited until the lights were out.

After an hour passed, a car floated down and a heavyset man stepped out. He went inside for about fifteen minutes, then jumped back into his car and took off.

When he was gone, Tricia approached the place and then circled to the rear to look for a door. A cheap camera was swiveling back and forth, taking in the image of any would-be burglars. She slipped in from the side where it could not see her and then climbed on top of a trashcan in order to wedge a rock against its wheel. The camera stopped swiveling and looked out and to the left, so she approached the door, put her palm against the panel, and waited to see if it would open.

Nothing happened and she tried several tricks that she had picked up from watching television. The door was stubborn and barred her from entering so she tried to force herself in. This went on for another five minutes as she kicked and threw herself at the reinforced wood.

When she grew sore from striking it, she examined the panel and the electronic interface that kept it bolted. She placed her palm on the face of it and summoned a charge; she had only done this once before while experimenting with her newfound toys as a synthetic person. The panel sparked and grew dark, then she heard the snap of a lock and the heavy door finally opened.

She slipped inside to what seemed like an office where the android bartender sat powered-down on an old barstool. Tricia grabbed a mop, then went back outside and used the handle to remove the rock from the camera’s swivel. Next, she went inside, locked the door, and then overloaded the security panel in order to move around without tripping an alarm.

She reached behind the android’s head and felt for a separation in the area right below her hairline. At first she couldn’t find anything but then her finger ran across a line so thin, she thought her mind was playing tricks on her. She pressed firmly on the line and the skin separated, revealing a network of wires. Tricia shoved her fingers inside and probed around until she found the switch she was looking for.