Chapter 31
SPOV
When the shaking stopped, and I felt that maybe I was coming too, I slowly moved trying to rid my muscles of the aftereffects of being stunned. As I opened my eyes slowly and my vision began to focus, I found myself in what looked like an office. A man got up from a leather chair where he'd obviously been watching me and came and stood in front of me. I'd been laid on a hard-black leather couch so now pushed myself upright. Shit that stun had given me a hell of a punch judging from the nausea that passed through me. I looked around the room trying to work out where I was. The room had no windows, the walls were white painted concrete blocks and the floor had a thin hard looking carpet, but it was the man who drew my attention because stood in front of me I was sure was the older Dolby. Was I at Safenet, I mean I knew the whole place was a warren of corridors and rooms?
"You have some choices to make Miss Plum. I need to know where that dammed computer chip is"
"I don't know"
"I don't believe you; we've searched everywhere and the only person who had any contact with Buckley was you"
"But he said someone had taken it before his house burnt down"
"You think we didn't search the place?"
I had no idea how to respond to him so kept my silence.
"Obviously giving you pain doesn't work so let's see how you manage with what we have in mind"
He turned and walked to the door "Bring her" alerted me to the fact that there was someone behind me. To make me move he took hold of my hair and pulled me to my feet, dragging me through the door after Dolby. We were on a corridor with pipes and cables above in the ceiling and the sound of a constant whirling noise around us. I was dragged through another door and into what looked like a large control room. There were computers humming and screens flickering, hell one wall was covered in machines with lights flashing. Two more men were sat at a control desk playing around on a keyboard and Dolby was quietly talking to them. All of sudden the glass wall in front of us lit up showing a large area and there sat against a wall were Ranger and Ash.
As I felt the release of my hair I ran to the glass, my hands pressed hard against it as I tried to see if they were all right. They sat up straighter and started to look around, it was a strange room, the walls seemed to shimmer with whatever they'd painted it with and set against the back wall were four large containers but each with the tell-tale sign from flashing lights that they had something to do with computers.
"You have a choice Miss Plum. Tell me what I need to know or those two men will die a very painful death"
I turned and looked at him, my eyes wide open and tears forming, how could I tell him what I didn't know. He nodded his head at one of the men sat at the controls and suddenly the lights on the containers started to flash more frequently. Was it some sort of a bomb, maybe a gas? I had no idea but watched as Ranger and Ash got to their feet and started to walk toward them. As the colors of the lights changed through from red to amber to green the front section of the containers began to slide apart revealing what was inside them. I saw Ranger and Ash stop and stare, but from where I was, I couldn't see clearly what they were seeing.
"Miss Plum, last chance before I set my soldiers on them, and I promise you they will tear them apart limb by limb"
"Please I don't know anything, please you have to believe me"
"Very well Miss Plum, if that's how you want it"
My heart was beating loudly as my breathing sped up, could I lie and give us some time until someone came to help us?
"Miss Plum, this is going to happen"
"Okay, okay I'll tell you"
"If you think that lying will give you time to save them think again. Maybe next time I'll have your nieces in that room"
Another nod and whatever were in the containers moved forward. I looked in horror at what appeared, shocked at how they looked and moved. Ranger and Ash took a step back obviously not too sure either.
Stood along the wall in front of the containers were what looked like four robots, and not pretty looking ones either. They were a silver color with writing on the front of where I suppose the main body was. They resembled what I would call a robot, with a cylindrical section that they were using as the body. In some ways they looked comical, short and squat with cylindrical features where a head might be. It was the holes that lit up in what I suppose represented a head that sent a shiver through me. The arms and legs though were covered in a see-through material on the outside showing the intricate wires and metal that made up the limbs.
"Meet my soldiers Miss Plum. State of the art fighting machines, they have a tuff Kevlar that prevents damage, sensors to detect movement, heat and they are capable of recognizing millions of different objects from trees to vehicles, weapons and people. All I have to do is to give them their orders to destroy"
I watched as these monstrosities started to move forward. The way they walked seemed fluid, though the way they lifted their legs and feet before moving forward seemed unnecessarily high from the ground, I suppose it wouldn't be any good if they tripped over something. I saw that Ranger and Ash were talking but couldn't hear anything and watched as they moved into defensive postures. I was shaking my head back and forth, this couldn't happen; I couldn't stand here and watch this. One of the robots swung his arm across Ash and he was suddenly flung across the room and Ranger soon followed at the sweep from another robot's arm. Then all of the robots seemed to surround them and started to converge on where they were.
I screamed and was on the move, heading to a door I'd seen in the corner, I prayed it would be open, I prayed that I could get through because even if I couldn't stop these machines from killing Ranger and Ash I would be there with them. I heard a shout from behind me "Stop her" but continued to push against the door. The door finally opened and I was bounding through the room, dodging through the machines until I was holding onto Ranger. His expression was pained as he saw me and held me.
"Babe, you shouldn't be in here, they'll kill us all"
"Then so be it"
I wiped my face and as another machine swept his arm, Ranger pushed me out of the way only for him to be sent to the floor. I saw another machine raise it's arm as if to strike him and instinctively I moved myself across the room to Ranger, looking up at the robot as if daring it to strike again. I could feel the tension in Ranger building up; he was well into beast mode with the threat that was around us. Don't ask me why or what I thought I was doing but I found myself laid across him between him and the machine, he was dazed and shook his head, blood streaming down his face. All I could do was scream "No" "Stop it" as the arm came down toward me.
Time seemed stop as I waited for the blow to land, tensing, I waited for the pain but when nothing seemed to happen, I turned my head to see all four of the machines stood perfectly still around us. Two turned and looked to be facing the glass where the control room was and the other two were behind us looking in the same direction. Ranger stood up, awkwardly as he held his arm to his chest, Ash did the same, limping and there we stood, huddled together in the center of the machines.
"What the fuck just happened Ranger?"
"I have no idea, but they're moving, stay in the center of them"
We shuffled forward staying in the middle, Ranger on one side of me and Ash on the other each with an arm around the other. When we came to a wall the machines stopped and the front two raised their arms, what they used or where it came from, I had no idea, but there was an explosion at the wall, sending metal and rubble flying everywhere. What was really weird was the machines tightened around us taking the brunt of the debris that fell. Beyond the hole was a corridor and the door that had led into the control room. Looking beyond the machines and down the corridor I'm sure I saw a glimpse of Dolby running away.
This time when the machines moved, we had two in front and one behind us, one machine walked to the control room door and from there all I heard was loud gunshots before we walked past. Anyone I could see was down on the floor with a single hole to their head. One machine had stayed at the opening in the wall and one more had peeled off as though guarding the door to the control room. We moved forward again until the two remaining machines stood to the side and the door to an elevator opened. As we stepped forward and turned, they remained there as though guarding the elevator. The doors closed, and I felt the sudden movement of us moving up.
"We must be underground"
"Where the hell are we?"
No one knew the answer to that. As the elevator doors opened Ranger pushed me behind him and squatting down looked back and forth at where we were.
"All clear. Let's get the hell out of here"
Slowly we emerged onto a corridor and as Ash left the confines of the elevator the door silently slid shut behind him. That was when the ground seemed to move under our feet causing us all to lean onto the wall to keep our balance.
"Explosions Ranger, we need to move"
I heard the loud sounds from somewhere beneath us and as we moved quickly down the corridor to a door at the end, cracks started to appear in the walls and ceiling sending plaster down onto us. We were dodging the falling debris with our arms over our heads to protect us. As we approached the end of the corridor Ranger went forward and tried the handle, the door opened easily, and Ranger seemed to let out a sigh as his voice came to me.
"I know where we are"
I was glad of that because I hadn't a clue, but as soon as we moved into the space I knew as well. We were stood behind the reception area in Safenet. Ranger wasted no time in pulling me to him as we went out through the door and into the fresh air. What did surprise me though was the reception committee.
Men in black, armed and dressed for a fight. I wasn't too sure who was the most surprised, them or us, but as Ranger pulled me forward, he shouted out an order loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Get back, the whole place is going to blow"
I felt my self being lifted and saw Les and Tank take hold of Ranger and Ash before we were racing across the car park. The explosion that came was humungous, sending us to the ground, I knew my knees and hands took the brunt of the impact but at least we'd moved far enough away that nothing was landing near us. When I looked to see who was surrounding me as I lay on the floor, I recognized Zeph. He rolled off me, allowing me to sit up to look back at where we'd just been. Smoke and fire was shooting up into the sky. Some of the men who'd been behind us stood up and made their way to where we were.
"Hell Steph, that was pretty impressive even for you"
I looked over to a smiling Les not sure whether to laugh or cry and then let Zeph pull me to my feet.
"Bomber are you hurt?"
"No, but Ranger and Ash are"
Tank came over, looking as the scene unfolding around us.
"We need a good story to keep us out of this. Les, Zeph get them out of here. I'll stay with a couple of men and tell them we're here because we heard a call go out"
Black cars just seemed to disappear, and I was soon with Zeph sat in the front seat of an SUV heading away. I had no idea where Les and Bobby would take Ranger and Ash, hopefully back to Rangeman.
By the time we pulled into the garage at Rangeman I was shaking so hard I couldn't stop, I couldn't move either and it was only because Zeph lifted me out that I exited the car at all. Cal came down to meet us and held the elevator door open but to be honest I was losing it and losing it fast.
"Give her some soda, she don't do adrenaline rushes too well. Meet up in the conference room"
I know I drunk something sweet and fizzy and I know I was laid on the couch at the side of the conference room wrapped up in a blanket. Zeph had stayed with me which I really appreciated, because to be honest I just felt numb. It felt like I'd had a really bad nightmare, my head not being able to process what had happened. When the sound of voices became loud, I opened my eyes to find myself snuggled on Ranger's lap, still with the blanket around me. I panicked thinking he might be hurt but he only held me closer to him, feeling him relax.
"You okay Babe?"
"I think so, I feel that I'm in a nightmare"
"Yeah me too"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just more bruises to my ribs and arms. Ash came off the worst"
"How?"
"Broken collar bone and his knee took a hammering as well"
I didn't know if I wanted to talk about what had happened, if I didn't talk about it maybe I could pretend that it wasn't real.
"Tank's asked for a meeting so there'll be men filling the place up soon"
I moved again intending to get up but again he just held me to him.
"Stay where you are, I'm not moving from here and I still need to feel that you're close"
"Me too"
"Why did you come into that room?"
"I couldn't let you get hurt, but I think in an impulse I decided if you were going to die I'd be there with you"
As expected, the room soon started to fill, and once the men had settled down Tank took over to lead the meeting. Ash limped in with the help of Bobby and sat down next to me. Even Ash was sat quietly, obviously lost in thought.
"Safenet is flattened, I managed to keep Rangeman out of the mix with the police and fire department. I don't think they'd realized we no longer covered their security, so they assumed we were there as back up. Ranger, you want to tell us what the hell happened?"
Ranger shifted slightly, wiping his hand through his hair, as though he needed to collect his thoughts first.
"Ash and I went via Buckley's house, called at Pinos for some food and then were on our way back here when two black hummers ambushed us. They got a gas canister into the car. When we woke up, we were in the dark in a room"
"Well we knew your car had crashed, the alert went out, Santos?"
"I found the SUV with the police and EMTs there but there was no sign of either of you. It was weird though because all these alarms in businesses close by were going off. I checked the hospitals, but they hadn't seen you, so I headed straight back here"
I decided that maybe I should volunteer what had happened to me and how I had ended up with Ranger and Ash at Safenet.
"I got called down by reception because Morelli turned up. He looked like someone had beaten him up"
"That would be me. He gave me shit at Pinos, so I defended myself"
I raised my eyebrows at Ash as he said that, why the hell would Morelli have a go at Ash?
"He heard me ordering meatball subs and jumped to the conclusion that you were with me. Man, he didn't like that"
I could just imagine the scene that Morelli would make and even some of the comments he would say.
"Well he turned up here and started having a go at me and then Zeph"
"So she punched him, I think she probably broke his nose again, hell of a punch Steph"
I smiled at Zeph as he said that, glad that I'd stopped Morelli from having a go at him too.
"Anyway, two men came into reception saying they were the police and needed to talk to me about an accident. I'm not sure what happened to Morelli, but he tried to get in their faces, demanding to see their badges, I just saw him fall to the ground, and then one pointed a gun at Zeph and another man pulled me outside and into a waiting car. The next thing I felt was a stun gun on me"
"Yeah well we had an influx of alarms go off so most of the men were sorting those out"
"What caused that Tank?"
"No idea, but we found a weird pattern start to develop"
"Hell Beautiful when we got downstairs Morelli was out cold and Zeph had just reached the door. Then there were explosions outside by the wall stopping us from getting out. All I can say is I'm sure glad we had that wall reinforced and bullet proof glass fitted"
"Police turned up and I told them to take Morelli away"
"What was the pattern Tank?"
"You wouldn't believe it, but they were leading us to Safenet, that's how come we were there when you came out"
"Ranger you gonna tell us what went down in there?"
"Shit Tank I can hardly believe it myself"
"Dolby was there, the older one, he kept asking me about some electronic chip, then he said he would show me what his soldiers could do, that if I didn't tell him he'd do the same to my nieces"
"Soldiers?"
"Hell Tank, they were fucking robots, four of them. We didn't stand a chance against them then suddenly Steph comes charging through a door and just as one of the bastards made as if to hit us, they stopped"
"I don't know about you two, but I really thought we'd met our maker. It was almost as if Steph being there turned a switch on them. Suddenly they were protecting us, got us out of that room, shot the men controlling them and led us to the elevator"
"Where the hell were you?"
"Deep underground"
"So, you're saying that these robots stayed down there?"
"Yeah"
"And the explosion?"
"No idea"
Hell, even though I'd been there that story sounded so far-fetched, it was like a scene from a science fiction film, that something like those robots even existed let alone in Trenton was making me dizzy just thinking about it. I looked up around at the faces watching us, yeah, I think they were thinking the same thing as me.
"You know there's always talk of the military doing covert research into shit like this"
"Gannon"
"Babe, who's that?"
"I found out who your Mateo really was, he's called Matthew Gannon and I'm pretty sure he's still in the army"
"Shit I've heard of him, let me think through what I know"
Everyone was watching Ash which I'm sure didn't help him to get his thoughts together.
"Army Intelligence, I think he started on analysis then moved across to cyber, no HRED. It's a research lab that looks at optimizing soldier performance and soldier machines for battle conditions"
"Ash what's HRED?"
"Sorry Steph, Human Research and Engineering"
I still couldn't work out how everything fit together and who were the good guys, if there were any. I mean I suppose I could see the use of robots in war where they might be more effective than men, and certainly I'd rather see a robot blown up than a man, but come on we've seen all the films and when were the robots ever the good guys? They ended up going nuts and turning against the people they were supposed to protect. Hell, I wondered if that was what Buckley had been talking about, but if these robots were already in existence why was some microchip so important?
"What do you want to do next Ranger?"
"Well obviously Dolby and this Gannon are still around, there's still the mystery around Hastings and Gauge and what they have to do with this"
"So, keep surveillance up for now?"
"Yeah Tank, that's about all we can do for now. We need some sleep and come back to it fresh in the morning"
"Morelli?"
"Let's just hope he goes back to New York"
I couldn't agree with that more, and on that thought let Ranger pull me up, even though it was him who was struggling. As we were leaving the room he turned back to Tank, obviously another thought coming to him.
"Tank the alarms?"
"All false calls, all's quiet now. Real weird though, it was as though those hummers disrupted the system as they passed by"
As we moved up in the elevator, I felt really hungry and my stomach let me know it.
"Sorry Babe I have no idea what happened to the meatball subs we bought but I'm sure Ella has left us something to eat for dinner"
I hadn't realized how late it was so while Ranger sorted out dinner, I went into the bathroom for a quick shower then put on a T-shirt and shorts and a robe to feel comfortable for the rest of the evening. I found Ranger sat at the table serving out a kind of paella into bowls, which I had to admit wasn't one of my most favorite dishes, but it did smell incredible. We were quiet as we ate, and I made the effort not to make any sounds, I felt that Ranger was too busy in thought to disturb his concentration. When he did look over to me, he had a worried look on his face.
"You're quiet Babe"
"I didn't want to disrupt you thinking"
"I'm sorry you're in the middle of this"
"Not your fault, it's probably mine for meeting Buckley"
"If you feel this isn't what you need, I'd understand"
What the hell did he mean by that, was he trying to get rid of me, was I too much like a liability? I'm sure my faced showed how angry I was but then the tears came as I realized this was his way of moving me away from him.
"I never meant, I didn't think, shit"
I pushed away from the table not really knowing where to go, only hearing broken sentences coming from Ranger, the bedroom or downstairs to four. In the end my feet took me to the door but as I opened it, I felt it being stopped and saw Ranger with his hand stopping it from opening any further.
"Babe, it isn't that I don't want you here with me"
"What the hell is it then, I'm a disaster, a disappointment or you're tired of having me around?"
"Christ Steph, that's not what I meant at all. I don't want you feeling that you're suddenly caught up in the shit that's my life"
I turned to him, the tears streaming down my face, is that what he was worried about, that I couldn't handle all the things that happened around him, that I would hate it and then feel a need to walk away?
"That's not what I feel, I want to be here with you and if the going gets tough then we'll work through it together, just like you support me with my shit I'll be there with you for yours"
"Are you sure?"
I nodded my head back at him.
"I tried not to let you get too close because of it"
"Not a good enough reason Ranger, if you push me away now it'll finish me"
"No pushing away Babe, you scared the shit out of me this afternoon, but I felt the strength you had, and I agree with you, if anything happened to you, I would be there with you"
"I've never fit in with the Burg view of the world and I've spent my whole life fighting against it. I feel I belong in your world"
I walked forward into his arms and just held onto him, I wasn't kidding when I'd implied I'd die with him and probably for him. I knew his life was so far removed from what anyone thought, from what anyone had any experience of, but maybe that was my destiny as well. We just stayed holding onto each other for an age and then with his arm still around my waist he walked into the lounge to sit down on the couch. I knew there was no need for words and that all I wanted was the feel of him close to me. The emotions that went through me when I saw what those robots were doing had shocked me to the core; I was shocked at just how deep my feelings were for him. Conscious of his injuries I didn't push anything physical though it was something I desperately wanted, I was actually very content to just lay in his arms and relax listening to the music in the background. As I yawned, he acknowledged the need for me to sleep.
"You're tired you need to sleep, let's just move to the bed"
I quickly got rid of my robe and slipped under the sheets, not really taking any notice as Ranger went into the bathroom to shower but when he came back out wearing silk boxers, I felt my intake of breath at the sight of all the new bruising.
"It's okay Babe, I just need a good night's sleep"
"When I think what those machines could have done"
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to come against them in a combat situation, they were very strong, and their bodies were very hard"
"Dolby said they had some sort of Kevlar protection, and had sensors to detect movement, heat and could recognize millions of different objects from trees to vehicles, weapons and people. All he had to do was to give them their orders to destroy something"
"Scary stuff Babe"
"Yeah, Buckley was right, too powerful in the wrong hands"
The soft movement of a hand on my hip slowly lulled me to sleep, I'm sure I had dreams about robots coming to get me but not bad enough that they woke me up.
