The Suns of Liberty: Legion: A Superhero Novel (35 page)

     Von Cyprus got bored. A human inside his perfect creation
was unnecessary. That had been Tarleton’s idea. Crustac was nothing but a liability.
Rolling his eyes, he turned and headed for the Com Room, all the while admiring
his metal sleeves. It was time to announce his victory.
Eat your heart out,
Tarleton!
 

NEW YORK CITY

FREEDOM RISE

Scarlett
entered the room and saw Kendrick Ray working furiously on his RDSD.

     The room was small and circular. To her left was a
large sliding glass door that opened up to a small outer observatory. They were
near the top of Freedom Rise, and the view of the city was spectacular. Clay
Arbor stood outside, gazing across it.

     Ray peered up and nodded to her. “We’re leaving soon,”
he said. “How’s the bodyguard?”

     “He’s still healing, but nearly back to normal.”

     Ray nodded again.

     Scarlett moved toward the big glass door, but noting
the contented-looking Arbor, thought better of it. She took a seat across from
Ray and began fiddling with her phone.

     Ray watched her. She seemed lost in her own world.
After a moment, with no one else around, his curiosity got the best of him. Ray
asked the question he’d wanted to ask her since they’d first recruited her. “I
know you’re probably not going to answer this, but...”

     Scarlett peered at him over her phone. “If you’re
brave enough to ask, I might be brave enough to answer,” she smirked at him.

     Ray took the chance. “How exactly did you reprogram
the Spectral? I mean, do you know how exasperated DARPA, the Pentagon, the
Council, pretty much everyone was that their pet ultimate weapon just walked
off and decided to move to suburbia?”

     Scarlett snorted a laugh. “Well, it is a secret. I
tell you, I’d have to kill you.” Scarlett smirked again, and seeing the rise of
tension in the little man, let him off the hook. “And...someone might figure it
out. You can probably imagine that that might not be so good for me.”

     Ray took a breath. She’d only been kidding about the killing
part.     Probably.

     “Yeah, but...” Ray grinned and shook his head. “I get
that you disabled him at some point, right? But the Aztech altered his hardware
and made him so smart, right? So, you had to have figured out the basic programming
in there. And we know it mimics the human brain, I mean, I’ve read about that.
So, what’s at the heart of it? Perceptrons? Hierarchical control? Hierarchical
control of a neocortex? Adaptive, stochastic, behavioral, reactive, hierarchical,
or what?”

     Ray knew a good deal about artificial intelligence,
but he figured Scarlett had to know a great deal more.

     Scarlett’s eyes blinked and her face blushed just a
bit as her eyes waivered.

    
Deer in the headlights
, Ray thought.
It’s
like she has no idea what the hell I’m talking about!

     She looked away from him. “Yes, um...a little of all
of that. I’d rather not discuss it.” She stood and walked toward the glass
door.

     Ray made a face. None of that made any sense. “Yeah,
okay. But give me something. Hierarchical control is involved, right?”

     Scarlett sighed and blushed some more. “Yes, Mr. Ray,
it is,” she said sharply. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to Colonel
Arbor.” She opened the door and stepped out into the brisk New York wind.

     Behind her, Ray nodded his head like he’d figured
something out.

Arbor
pulled out a smoke and lit it up. He peered out at the New York skyline. He was
thinking back to his time in Africa. About battle strategy.

     He heard the door open behind him.

     “You mind?” Scarlett asked him as she reached for a
cigarette.

     Arbor shook his head and flicked his lighter,
shielding it from the wind for her.  She drew it in with a long drag and closed
her eyes. She exhaled the long strand of smoke, her fingers trembling, the cigarette
shaking in her hand as she lowered it.

     “I didn’t know you smoked.”

     “I don’t,” she said, taking another long drag with
trembling fingers.

     “How’s Spectral? Is it...he...going to be ready?”

     “He’ll be fine. He bounces back pretty easily.”

     Arbor nodded, and they stood there for several
minutes, smoking. Gazing out at the city. Its problems seemed so far away up
here. So removed.

     Arbor glanced her way and watched as she took another
long drag with her quivering fingers. “You’re pretty tightly wound, aren’t you?”

     Scarlett blinked. Huffed and tossed the cigarette
under her boot. “Nothing I can’t handle,” she said as she turned and marched
for the door.   

     Arbor watched her stride through the room. She said
nothing to Ray, who also never took his eyes off her. When she was gone, Ray
rose and stepped out onto the observatory with Arbor.

     “Women,” Arbor grunted with a grin.

     “She’s not exactly the life of the party, huh?”

     “That woman’s all kinds of screwed up. Just do
yourself a favor and don’t piss her off.”

     “Yeah. You know, I just asked her about Spectral’s
AI.  She had no idea what the hell I was talking about. I could see it in her
eyes. So how the hell did
she
reprogram Spectral?” Ray asked.

     Arbor just shrugged, took a drag on his cigarette.

     Ray saw the twinkle in Arbor’s eyes. “You think she
got help?” Ray asked.

     “Had to. You just proved it, didn’t ya?”

     “Somebody on the inside?” 

     Arbor shrugged. “Hey, you think they tell us everything?”

     Ray’s face fell. He looked like Arbor had just killed
his puppy.

     “Even you can’t know everything,
X-Ray
” Arbor
snorted.

     Ray nodded. “Exasperating.”

     Ray’s RDSD beeped. He glanced down and smiled. “Here’s
something I know. Check it out.” He showed the big man the device. “Von Cyprus has got the Krill ready. They’re gonna shit when they see us coming.”

     “They won’t have time to shit,” Arbor said and tossed the
cigarette.

CHAPTER 36

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

BOSTON CITY HALL

R
evolution
laid his hand on Ward’s shoulder. “Thanks for doing this, Paul. They trust you
more than any of us. You being here will go a long way.”

     They entered a room full of Boston’s finest. Four
hundred some officers rose as the commissioner and the mayor strode into the large
briefing room just in front of the Revolution, Ward, and Lantern. The mayor introduced
them, the commissioner said a few words supporting them, and then Ward
approached the microphone.

     “Thank you, Mr. Commissioner, Mr. Mayor.” He gazed out
at the assembled officers. “You and I have come a long way together. I have always
felt I could trust the BPD, and I hope you’ve always felt you could trust me.”

     Polite applause. There were a few grumbles from the
group. Ward could make out one in particular that he assumed spoke for the
general discontent. Something about,
“Not after you joined that murderer.”

     Ward smiled knowingly. “I’ve never wanted anything
other than to protect this city. I know some of you didn’t understand when I
joined the Suns of Liberty, and I respect your views on my decision. But just
as sometimes you all have to take actions, or not take actions because the law
says so, I was forced to take certain actions to protect my home. Our home. And
as a result, Boston is now free.”

     This line got more polite applause despite some
headshaking among the crowd.

     “It is time to put the past behind us and move ahead
to ensure that Boston remains safe and free.”

     More applause.

     Revolution replaced Ward and the crowd of cops fell
deadly silent.

     “I know many of you do not want to be here today,”
Revolution said.

     A few
amens
rose up from the group.

     “But despite your misgivings, you and your commissioner
have chosen to side with us for the good of the city. We pledge our support to
you as well. You will now have our protection...”

     “
We don’t need your protection
,” someone
grumbled.

     “...as well as our assistance,” Revolution continued,
ignoring the heckler. As the commissioner and mayor applauded the line, slowly
the group of officers joined in. “Today, we are here to inform you of a new
threat. I want to introduce to you our intelligence officer. His name is
Lantern.”

     Lantern waved to the group but kept in the background.
       “Lantern has sophisticated monitoring that we will share with your
precincts, under the cooperation of the mayor’s office and in full consultation
with your commissioner. This tool will help you immensely in guarding against
crime and keeping yourselves safe on the job. We can improve the lives of
Bostonians, starting with those who put their lives on the line to protect us.”

     Applause.

     Ward figured more than one cop out there had to be
thinking how ironic that was, given the Revolution himself had put more than a
few of Boston’s finest in the hospital and at least a couple in the morgue.

     “Lantern has identified a credible threat. The Council
is readying a strike force against our compound in an effort to retake control
of Boston-proper. We will not allow this to happen.”

     Surprisingly, a loud and enthusiastic round of
applause broke out without the mayor or commish having to instigate it.

     Revolution glanced at Ward, who nodded and grinned. He
was winning them over.

     “You have my word that the days of you and I being on
opposing sides are over. Some people have called me a hero—some people have
used a few other terms.”

     The room laughed.

     “But you are my heroes. You face the same thing I face
every day and you do it without wearing armor. From this day forth, not only do
I serve this country and its true ideals. I serve you.”

     The group applauded loudly, and more than a few stood,
following the example of the two dignitaries on the stage.

     At the back of the room, a grizzled veteran threw down
his badge—it clanged on the concrete floor—and marched out of the room. Revolution
recognized him as Watson Timbeck. An officer he had tussled with a few months
back and whose brother had died in the fight.

     It was going to take more than flowery speeches to win
some hearts over to his side.

After,
the Suns stood and talked with the mayor as the commish strode off to do some
damage control with the hard cases among his men.

     As the trio of Suns were exiting the large room and stepping
out into the adjoining hallway, a woman wearing an expensive designer hoody
stopped directly in front of the Revolution.

     “Could you spare a moment? I believe we have a mutual
acquaintance,” she said with her head down.

     Ward couldn’t see her face, but the Revolution had
gotten a glance at her and he stopped dead in his tracks.

     He just stood there.

     Ward and Lantern glanced at each other, unsure what
was happening.

     “Yes,” Revolution said finally. Glancing around, his
eyes settled on a nearby door. The door was closed but a placard next to it
read
Meeting Room
. “Let’s step in here. Lantern, get back to the HQ and
let me know as soon as anything changes.”

     “Yes, sir,” Lantern said.

     “Spider, do you mind guarding the door?”

     Ward nodded, and the Revolution led the mysterious
woman into the small room and closed the door.

     They were in a small meeting room. He offered the
mysterious woman a chair, and they both took seats at the table at the center
of the room.

     “You’re not in New York anymore, Mrs. Sage. Whatever
you’re up to, I can assure you the days of depending on the authorities here in
Boston are over. The Council holds no more sway in this city than your
husband does now over the Council.”

     Marguerite Sage winced. It still stung that her
husband was no longer the chairman of the Freedom Council. “I figured you’d
make this personal.”

     “It’s not personal, it’s the truth. Now, why are you
here?”

     “To give you information.”

     “I doubt that.”

     “Don’t be so sure. I sent the man you called Hunley
the coordinates of the strike force that came to invade Boston that night. He
never would have seen them coming were it not for my help.”