Chapter Two
Lebaron
The sound of buzzing filled the room. Lebaron's formerly unlit scan line lit up.
"Model X24R0C56. Codename: Lebaron. Turning on"
Lebaron rose from his recharge cell. Sleeping was not something a robot had to do. It was simply something he did to pass the time and recharge his uranium battery. Lebaron flexed around. He checked his sniper rifle, to make sure it was in place. Lebaron was within his underground home. It was a small shining chamber, only accessible by digging into the ground for three minutes from the Empire State Building's South Entrance. As Lebaron turned on his information processor, he learned that the United States would be fighting North Korea. Since 2005, North Korea has changed from a tiny, suspicious country to a country which had the same mass as China. Lebaron thought about how life would have been four hundred years ago. He whispered to himself, "I hope the president four hundred years ago wasn't as stupid as this Gerald Bush right now."
As he browsed news about how Todd Blair of England and Vasco Putin had signed a treaty against Kum Jing of North Korea, Lebaron jolted up. He jerked his head to the left, and answered his master's incoming call.
"Master, I am present for your call."
"Where, Lebaron? Where?"
"I am within my residence, as always."
"Well, you must get to the Trump Tower quickly. Emery is there."
"Master, I don't quite see the point. Emery is definitely capable of taking down Darrel Trump."
"Emery has been seen. An office worker reported a figure clad in shiny blue appearing in the hall before vanishing into thin air."
"Alright, then. The usual policy?"
"Lebaron! How many times do I have to tell you this? Don't be seen, and don't fire more than one bullet every five minutes!"
"I will depart, Master. Remember this, though. I can't miss. I don't miss."
"Lebaron! Shut up, and make sure Emery isn't gone by the time you return! Lebaron? I said move! Lebaron"
There was no answer at the other side. Before the Master had spoken his last sentences, Lebaron had departed. "Stupid robot!", yelled the Master, before he jammed the photo-message communicator in its slot. Lebaron was strong, but he was also too strong-willed, thought the Master. "In the next upgrade, I'm going to have to reprogram him."
Lebaron ran into the Tower as fast as he could. He kept running in circles, and no one could see him. The robot registered his surroundings. He immediately realized that he had walked onto a minefield.
There were a few hundred people in that lobby. Walking through anywhere would likely result in him touching someone. Spinning in circles still, Lebaron came up with a plan. He kicked his already-pumped leg props even further, and he was sent into the air quickly. No one noticed his sudden movement, and had someone looked in that direction, they would have seen nothing. Lebaron landed on the seventy-sixth floor with a light thud. His registries told him that it was the place with the fewest people. He then tried to flag a message to Emery. Emery's high voice came in.
"Lebaron?"
"Emery. Please, I'm here to help. Tell me your exact coordinates in the building."
Emery gave him the coordinates. Using a detailed 3D diagram that was stored in his hard drive, Lebaron cautiously traced the coordinates of Emery to a men's bathroom on the same floor.
"So, this is what you've been reduced to?"
"And I'm lucky for it too. The only reason they don't have cameras buzzing in here is because they want to preserve the privacy of the guests."
"I'm coming to get you."
With that, Lebaron shut off his telecommunicator. His scan line flushed into a deeper red, and with a flourish in the corner, he flipped up and sped into the restrooms.
Emery was stacked into the stall, against the walls, so that no person could see him without opening the door. He feared that someone would open the stall, and waited it out. Suddenly, the door opened with a loud crash. Lebaron stood there, pistol in hand, head cocked to the right.
"Lebaron, I lost my ordinance. I was forced to abandon it in a cleft space in the top of the atrium. Trump is now in his office."
Emery barely had time to react, and his sensor joints sparked, as he barely caught the pistol that flew at him.
"Change your armor, Emery. You've been seen.", said Lebaron, as he handed him a red laser dye. As Emery flashed his system over with the laser, changing his shade from a dark blue to a soft, fiery red, Lebaron jittered. He pulled the half-changed Emery into a nearby stall, and performed the universal robotic sign for "Someone's Coming".
