Automan and all character names therein are owned by the American Broadcasting Company. All characters are fictional and resemblance to any persons living or dead is coincidental. No copyright infringement is intended.

Automan: Overclocked

By Sailor Chronos

Chapter 2

Two security guards rounded the corner of a warehouse in the port district for the umpteenth time. One of them, a middle-aged man with a short greying beard, looked haggard. The other, a slim woman with chestnut shoulder-length hair, was alert and cautious.

"Lina, tell me why we're here again?" her partner complained.

She sighed. "I know you're tired, Jim, but we just have to stick around until the shipment arrives and make sure it's handled properly. This electronics firm doesn't want to have their new equipment vanish like so many others have."

So far everything had seemed to be in order. Then they heard a truck approach, and together they rushed to the front of the building. There they witnessed two well-dressed men get out of a nearby car, and they spoke to the truck driver, who parked the vehicle and waited.

"Are they company execs?" asked Jim.

"I'm not sure," Lina said. "It doesn't look like they ought to have any business here at this time of the night. We should talk to them." As they approached, one of the men looked nervous, but the other said something in his ear and he quieted.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Lina said. "We weren't informed that company men were going to take delivery tonight."

The man on the left smiled. "It's not usual procedure, but tonight we're supervising things ourselves, given all the trouble that there's been around here. You two can take a break, everything's under control."

Jim nudged her quickly, and she looked past the men to see what he had spotted: the truck driver and another, heavier-set man were using a forklift to load crates from the truck to a smaller unmarked cube van, and not into the warehouse where the equipment was supposed to go. "Thank you sir," Jim said, "It has been a long shift. But first could we please see your waybill? Just a formality, you understand. Then you can go about your business."

It happened so quickly. Instead of a document, one of the men produced a gun and shot Jim in the shoulder. As Jim fell, Lina kicked the gun out of the shooter's hand and then tripped him up with a leg sweep, and he hit his head on the pavement and was still. The other man pulled out his own weapon, only to be shot in the arm by Jim. He grabbed his injured arm and ran, shouting to the other two men, who abandoned their efforts and ran off.

"Call for backup," Jim said, wincing. "I'll be okay; go!"

Lina chased after the fleeing men, activating her radio at the same time. She knew she was taking chances, but she had to do this or the entire night's work would have been for nothing. Maybe Lt. Baker would even give her some proper recognition if she pulled this off.


For what had to be the thousandth time, Walter was thrown against the passenger window of the Autocar as it made one of its 90-degree turns. He had long passed the stage where he would complain, but this time he said, "I wish you wouldn't do that," for old times' sake.

Auto smiled in amusement and then commented, "You should take some advice from Lina. She's quite comfortable riding with me."

Walter stared at his friend. "What? You mean she's not tossed around like that? That's unbelievable, Auto! Every person who's ever been in one of your vehicles was affected by the motion!"

"She was affected at first. But gradually she learned how to synchronize with my energy field."

It had to be true, Walter thought, because Automan was programmed to be completely honest. "What's so special about her that she can do what I can't?" he asked, feeling put out. "I doubt we could attribute it to her age, since I created you when I was younger than she is now."

"That has nothing to do with it," said Auto. "I only suggested that she be open-minded about the possibilities of my dimension."

Walter made a mental note to talk to Lina about this in more detail at some point. "On to business," he said. "When I met with the captain he told me to assist with an investigation on thefts of high-end electronics at the harbour. The shipments are logged on arrival here, but then they disappear and never get to their final destination. It's costing a number of companies and retailers lots of money."

"Nothing ever truly disappears if there is a record of it somewhere. If whoever receives those shipments makes any computerized confirmation, the items can be traced."

"Yes, but people who don't want things to be traced don't make notes," Walter pointed out. Then he continued, "There's a shipment due in tonight at Seaside Pier. Let's tune in to the police radio frequency and find out if there's anything happening down there."

Automan nodded and the pressed a button on the dashboard. For a brief time they listened to various communications between units in the area but it was regular chatter for the most part.

Suddenly there was a loud broadcast: "This is Unit 9409 requesting backup at Wharf Street and Seaside Avenue. Officer down! I'm in pursuit of three suspects, armed and dangerous!"

"Walter, that's Lina's number," Automan said, worried.

"Is she crazy?" Walter cried. "Going after armed men alone? You've got to get us there, Auto!"

"Hold on." With a determined expression, Auto accelerated to the limit that he knew Walter would be able to take without being injured. "This isn't the first time that she has done something foolhardy, but I don't understand why she would take such a risk."

"Neither do I," said Walter, shaking his head with frustration. "Come on, Lina, don't get yourself killed."


Lina pursued the three fleeing men down the pier, wondering why they were headed that way, since the road lay behind them and they were surrounded on three sides by water. Then she didn't have time to think any further when she saw them scramble onto a mid-sized cruising boat and cast off. Their desperate movements told her that this hadn't been their original plan, but a backup in case something went wrong.

As the engine started up and the boat pulled away from the pier, she sprinted and took a running leap onto the stern, barely keeping her feet as she landed. Then she dropped into a crouch to reduce her visibility. Fortunately for her, all three men were now crowded into the front of the cabin, and they had been so focused on their escape that they hadn't felt the extra weight landing on the boat. Their inattention gave her the opportunity to peek over the stern and note the registration number.

Now the men appeared to relax and begin to talk, but she couldn't hear any of their conversation above the roar of the engine behind her. It was just as well; they wouldn't be able to hear her either. She glanced from one man to the other, trying to pick out details that would help her identify them later.

The big problem was that even with a black belt in Aikido, the space was far too small for her to fight all of them effectively. Plus they were armed. Even though one of the men was already injured, she feared that she would end up having to shoot another to protect herself. They would be of no use to anyone if they were dead. So she decided that the best course of action was to wait for one of them to emerge from the cabin, and she would subdue him.

Within a few minutes, her patience was rewarded: the larger-built member of the trio ducked out of the cabin with a cigarette in his hand. In a flash she rose and planted a kick in his stomach, stunning him, but he didn't drop. She aimed another kick at his back, but at that moment the boat hit a wave and she became unbalanced, so was unable to complete it.

Seeing the movement outside, the taller man exited the cabin. "We've got ourselves a stowaway!" he hollered. Hearing the yell, the man piloting the boat pulled back the throttle and Lina lost her footing, slipping to her knees. The next moment she found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.

The large man grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her to her feet. "What do you want to do with her, sir?" he asked the other. "Kill her now or toss her?"

"I don't see the point of wasting good bullets on someone so foolish," the tall man said. "We're far enough out that she'll never make it back."

Lina tried to duck away, but the man grabbed her in a bear hug and hauled her to the side. "Nothing personal," he said. "Say hello to the sharks for us." Despite her struggles, he managed to lift her up and dump her over the safety railing and into the water. Almost immediately the boat's engine started up again and it peeled away.

She surfaced and shook water from her hair, chastising herself for thinking that she could have overcome all three men on her own. Now she was in a big fix. The water was chilly; the temperature was about 62F at this time of year, so unless she could get to shore soon, the risk of hypothermia was high. The harbour lights were clearly visible, but she had no way of knowing how far out she was, or whether she was being pulled around by the currents or the tide.

Resolutely she kicked her shoes off and began to swim in the direction of the lights. She at least had to try.