Chapter 3

Sonny flipped off the DVD player and checked his internal chronometer. He had been right; dawn was still several hours away. Yet he had heard a door open downstairs. Was Dr. Chandler up for some reason? Sonny stood up when he heard someone start up the stairs. Something was wrong, because that wasn't Dr. Chandler. They moved too quickly. Dr. Chandler, due to his shortsightedness, always went slowly, sliding his hand along the handrail.

Deciding caution was best, Sonny moved toward the wall closest to the stairs. Since this room was, in essence, an upstairs living room, there wasn't a door. Fortunately the stairs opened up into a small hallway, and a person had to turn approximately 120 degrees to their left to face it. He listened carefully as the stranger reached the top, but the footsteps moved on. He risked a glance as he heard the opening of the first door to the right, which led to a guestroom. The intruder was a man dressed all in black. A thief! But why...? This person had to be highly skilled at deactivating alarm systems, because despite the Chandlers' excellent home security systems, nothing had gone off. It seemed strange to Sonny that a person who put so much effort into mastering such difficult technology could make more money in a legitimate job. So why bother with this?

Humans, although capable of using logic, are not logical creatures. Dr. Lanning had told him that. Foolish. Whatever his reasons, Sonny couldn't let him steal from the Chandlers. He made his way to the nearest window, intending to set off the security system himself. That would be the easiest way to avoid a confrontation, which might jeopardize his identity. Still, something bothered him about this. He paused. The man had opened another door! The only other door in the guestroom led to Alex's bedroom.

Sonny immediately changed direction as a sudden fear gripped him. This man could hurt Alex. He didn't have the leisure to set off the alarm and stand back. He made his way into the guestroom in time to hear a frightened yell from Alex's room. He rushed to her open door.

"Get away!" Alex was sitting up in bed, wide eyed with panic. The man was pulling at her arm with his left hand. The other held a gun.

"You're gonna come say hello to your Dad..." He pulled violently at the last word, and Alex fell completely out of the bed, landing in a heap on the ground. She let out a sharp yelp.

Sonny darted forward as this was happening. As he crossed the ten-foot gap separating them, both humans, Alex on the right, the intruder on the left, looked toward him. The man barely managed a look of pure surprise as Sonny grabbed his gun with his left hand and the gun hand with his right, using the man's arm to pull him forward and down. Still holding the man's gun, Sonny promptly brought his left elbow down on the man's head, knocking him cold.

A gasp of horror escaped from Alex as he slumped to the floor. Sonny looked up into her stricken face. "You Killed Him!" Tears were streaming freely now, and she attempted to jump up and toward the door. Her left ankle immediately gave way, and she fell to the floor with a gasp of pain.

Sonny was immediately by her side. "He is only unconscious, Alex." He helped her into a sitting position, observing her wince of pain. He couldn't stop the frown. "You've been hurt."

"My left a-ankle. I landed wrong w-when I was pulled out of bed." She sniffled loudly, and her voice wobbled.

Sonny felt a pang of distress. He found himself hoping the man's head hurt when he woke up. He had been saying something, though, as Sonny was entering the room. He was going to take Alex downstairs to meet her...

"How did you do that?" His train of thought changed direction as he met Alex's worried eyes.

"I had to protect you."

"You...you broke the first law." She was whispering. "You never told me..." Her voice was evening out now, to a soft hum. "Oh well. I'm glad you did though, because you stopped that man." She looked behind him suddenly to where the man lay crumpled. "Shouldn't we tie him up?"

"Yes. I'll look around for something suitable." He got up, glanced around, and moved toward Alex's chest of drawers. He needed to be fast about this. He glanced toward Alex, having come to a decision.

"Alex, I believe there are more men downstairs with you father. I want you to stay here. You can keep the gun, and if a stranger comes up here, you should shoot him." The gun lay near the unconscious man.

"I can't shoot somebody!" He stopped searching the drawers for a moment to look over at her. She was shocked, indignant.

"It is for self-defense. Please." He continued searching. "I'm going to go downstairs to help your father, and you'll feel better with some form of protection."

"You're going to rescue my father?" He picked out two pairs of ballet tights and headed toward the stranger. He didn't look at Alex.

"Yes." Hopefully. He began tying the man's wrists together behind his back, wrapping one pair of tights around repeatedly, stretching the material taut. He heard an incredulous noise from behind.

"Johnny! Those're my...my ballet tights!"

"Yes". He kept his voice smooth, and luckily she couldn't see his smile.

"Well! You can't use them! I mean, this guy's going to wake up and..." He turned in time to see her shrug in annoyance.

"Well, are they even strong enough?"

"I think so. He shouldn't be able to move." He turned back and finished tying his feet together. Then he came over to Alex, picking up the discarded gun on the way. She went wide-eyed at the gun. He knelt down next to her. She continued staring as he took her right hand and placed the gun there.

She frowned down at it. "I'm dreaming. This can't be real. I've never held a gun before, ever." She looked up at him, nervous.

"I'm sorry it isn't a dream. I wish it were." He returned her gaze earnestly, and saw something strange flicker in her eyes.

"You're really not normal at all, are you?" No, I'm unique.

She was about to say more, but there simply wasn't time. He stood back up.

"You'll be safe here, Alex. I'm going downstairs now, but when I come back up I'll explain everything to you. I promise."

Her expression turned grave. "Be careful. Don't....don't let them hurt my dad."

He smiled reassuringly. "I'll do my best." He left the room quietly.

At first they'll think I'm one of them, but when they see I'm an NS5, they still won't feel threatened immediately. He would move into the room acting like the typical NS5, and by doing so, he could probably get close enough to take control of the situation. He didn't know how many there were, though. And, of course they had the Doctor. There were probably at least two of them. If one was near the door, perhaps he could use them as a shield?

He paused at said door. He had carefully made his way down the stairs and across the living room, and now he stood in front of Dr. Chandler's bedroom. Dr. Chandler kept his home computer system there, and the only thing these people could possibly be after was his work. He had invented the uplink, after all. Sonny knew that only the Doctor could access his system, however, so they had probably planned to threaten Alex in order to get him to do what they wanted. How terrible! His lips tightened, and he had to concentrate for a moment. He couldn't walk in there looking angry, with hands balled into fists. Normal NS5s always looked pleasant.

After a moment, he turned the doorknob, and almost immediately heard a voice.

"And now the fun begi..." The man speaking held a gun and was standing across the room, dangerously close to Dr. Chandler. Another man, without a gun, was closer to him, only about six feet away. Sonny hadn't stopped moving when coming in, and instead steadily ate up the distance between them. He kept his expression neutral as he moved. Just a few steps more and he'd have a shield.

"NS5, I order you to stop!" The man with a gun began speaking again. He had dark brown hair, was of average build, and looked about thirty years old. "You will..." His eyes went wide as Sonny jumped forward and grabbed the man between them, who let out a surprised gurgle.

"What're you doing? Let him go right now, and back away!" He had his gun trained on him now. The man in Sonny's arms was slight, so he had to crouch slightly to protect his head.

"Please don't shoot. You'll only hit your friend." A memory of holding Dr. Calvin in a similar position flashed through his mind. This time he was serious, however.

"Perhaps you will recall that the First Law of robotics supersedes the Second Law. You are hurting Dr. Chandler, and I must protect him. Please step away from the Doctor." He hoped the faulty logic would work.

No! He proceeded to do the exact opposite. He moved toward the Doctor suddenly, who was currently sitting in front of his computer with his hands tied behind his back, and pulled him up, placing the gun at his temple.

"You're not getting it. Do what I say, and he doesn't get hurt. Disobey, and I blow his brains out!" What now? Simply obeying would only get him killed. The door was still open. He could let the man go and jump for it. Perhaps Mr. Gun would let the Doctor go in favor of following him into the living room?

"Don't do it! He's lying! He's going to kill me later! He's sent someone after Alex! Protect her! I order...umpf!"

"Shut the hell up!" Mr. Gun, who had put the Doctor in a head lock when pulling him up earlier, used his left arm, the one wrapped around his neck, to exert pressure on his wind pipe. Sonny watched the next few moments in horror.

The Doctor, obviously distraught and panicking, twisted forward and to the right, gaining temporary leverage. He brought his arms up quickly as well, and his right elbow connected violently with Mr. Gun's right elbow. The gun went off.

The three remaining inhabitants in the room stared as the corpse fell to the floor. Mr. Gun backed away from the body, which was quickly forming a pool of blood. He moved the gun back to Sonny, who was still transfixed. A cold horror was creeping through him. He could hear the distant sound of safety glass breaking. Something he had covered up two months ago was coming out, flooding out in a sickening mass of anguish, terror, guilt. The list went on. No... no...how could this happen...I need you...

He was backing up, away from the dead body. He had to get out, escape the grisly truth.

"You damn robot! You're dead!" He vaguely registered the threat, but only the gunshot snapped him out of it. He was still holding the other man captive, but he had somehow moved to the doorway. He threw the man forward violently, simultaneously throwing himself out of the room. He heard gunshots behind him as he sprinted across the living room and back up the stairs. In a surreal moment, he snatched the Doctor's coat and hat off the hat stand at the base of the stairs. He would need a disguise. A second later he was up the stairs and tearing toward Alex's room.

"Alex! We have to go now!" He slammed the door open and shut behind him. Going straight to her window, he smashed it out as cleanly as he could, then rushed back and scooped her up. Before she had a chance to react, he jumped out of the window and landed as softly as he could, just as she was beginning to scream, having just registered the fall. Without a second's hesitation, he sprinted off into the night.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's note: In case you're confused, this is a flashback Sonny is recounting to Detective Spooner

To Straya: Sorry for not e-mailing you back. I'll do it soon, though, probably tomorrow night.  I hope your move is going well. And your fan art is so good! I wish I could draw...