Hello, folks! Before I begin, I just want to say... First, I apologize for
taking so long to write this chapter. When Hurricane Fabian invited himself
to the islands of Bermuda, he broke all our dishes! Hence, no cable. But
everything is fixed now. (Hooray!) And second... I can't believe I made
people jealous of Ro. (^_~) Looks like it's time to give those two a rest
and turn my attention to some of the other characters. With that in mind...
Chapter Five
The National Security Agency is an organization made up of people specially trained to protect the United States from terrorist activity. These people are prepared to put their lives on the line for their country. It can be a thankless job sometimes, but they do what has to be done.
One of these agents is Orrin West.
He will never forget the day when he was given the assignment of tracking and retrieving a runaway synthoid named Zeta, believed to be reprogrammed by the terrorists it was designed to infiltrate. After Zeta had escaped from Gotham, thanks in part to Batman, West was one of the many agents scattered to various cities around Gotham, hoping to find Zeta at any of the connecting bus routes.
Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And for West, that's exactly what happened. From the moment he spotted Zeta at a vid-phone in Maryland, all attempts to capture the runaway robot failed miserably. And when Ro Rowen decided to get involved, she made his efforts even more futile, leaving him to look like a bumbling idiot.
(Why couldn't she have just been a hostage? I wouldn't be going through this if she had just been a hostage.)
And if watching Agent Bennet call it quits was not bad enough, what happened next was even worse. He was assigned to help deliver Brother's Day agent Titus Sweete to the courthouse to stand trial. He was charged with espionage, destruction of a government base and, to top it all off, the murder of Dr. Eli Selig, the man responsible for making Zeta go haywire in the first place. All West had to do was keep his eyes on the prisoner during the ride, and that's exactly what he did. He never took his eyes of Sweete. And Sweete kept his eyes on him as well. All through the car ride it was like a stare-down contest; right up until it started raining laser rays. No one saw it coming. The next thing he knew the car was bumped off the road, striking a light post. That's when Sweete made his move. He did a body slam into West, knocking the wind out of him. He remembers the car door opening, Sweete climbing out, and feeling a sharp piercing in his shoulder before passing out.
When West opened his eyes, he was in the hospital. The doctors told him that he had taken a flesh wound in the shoulder and some cracked ribs in the chest. But the worst news he received was from Agent Rush, who told him that despite all his 'valiant efforts', Sweete had escaped. That was all West could think about during his hospital stay. Sweete had escaped.
He had blown yet another important assignment.
And now, West can only try to maintain a poker face as he walks what may be the last mile. He has been summoned to Commander Lemac's office. For West, this can only mean one thing: he's finished, washed up, fired. All of his dreams of becoming Regional Director or Vice President begin to shatter with every step toward Lemac's office.
All he can do now is take it like a man.
That's all he can think about as he heads down the corridor, while other agents in the area stop what they're doing as they walk by. (It's no secret where I'm going. There's only one office at the end of this corridor. No doubt they'll be glad to be rid of the village idiot.) The dead silence is interrupted only by his own footsteps as he approaches Commander Lemac's secretary.
After taking a deep breath he says, "Agent West reporting as ordered."
West struggles to maintain his composure while the secretary informs Lemac of his arrival. He does not need to turn around to know some of the agents are poking their heads from the far end of the corridor. It looks like he's going to have an audience whether he likes it or not.
"Commander Lemac will see you now."
The audience stares quietly while Agent West steps into what many refer to as 'the lion's den', and now they wonder... Will West be swallowed instantly, or be slowly chewed to bits?
As the door closes behind Agent West, the first thing he sees is Commander Lemac sitting at his desk. On the desk is a disc. West has no doubt about it; that is Zeta's memory disc, and West's pink slip.
"Agent West reporting, sir."
"Have a seat, Agent West."
West sits down in the chair next to him, and braces himself for the bumpy ride.
After a second or two, Commander Lemac asks, "West, how long were you assigned to Project: Zeta?"
"Over two years, sir." (The longest two years of my life.)
"And during that time, how would you describe Bennet's attitude toward the case?"
West couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Shouldn't he be fired by now? He sighs and replies, "Well, sir, I'd say he was more determined than anyone to capture Zeta and have him fixed up. At least, that's how he was until about two weeks ago."
"Really," says Commander Lemac. "Even more determined than you?"
(Here it comes.) "Yes, sir...although I can't deny I wanted to bring him in just as badly."
"Let me get to the point, West. Millions of taxpayer dollars goes toward making these infiltration units. Each one is worth at least one, maybe two mansions in Beverly Hills. These robots are designed to deal with terrorists...not to run around frolicking with teenage girls."
It took a moment for West to realize he was holding his breath. He carefully exhales while Lemac continues.
"It was bad enough when we thought Zeta had been reprogrammed by Brother's Day, but to find out that our very own Dr. Selig reprogrammed him from the very beginning, creating this mystery module without authorization... And now, Bennet decides to just let it run wild, or as he puts it, leave him in Ro Rowen's custody. Tell me, West. What do you think about Miss Rowen?"
(I think she's insane, a nutcase, a psychopath, an undeniable pain in the...) "I'd have to say she's not exactly your average teenager."
Commander Lemac can't help but smirk. "You don't like her, do you?"
"No, sir, I don't."
Lemac sighs and says, "West, I don't approve of Bennet's decision, especially since there's a module in Zeta's head that no one knows anything about. Dr. Selig is dead, so he can't tell us anything. That module is responsible for making Zeta behave the way he does, and the sooner our lab technicians examine it, the sooner we can figure out what kind of plans Selig had for Zeta. The thing is there have been no reports of Zeta getting into any kind of trouble. So to some degree, I have to admit that Miss Rowen is, as Bennet stated, taking good care of him."
(Yes, I'm sure she is.) West hasn't forgotten about the big kiss scene. Not to mention the hugging. (They might as well get married.)
Lemac continues, "I'm going to need some hard evidence to prove that Miss Rowen is an irresponsible guardian before I can renew a warrant for Zeta. No doubt that if we try to apprehend them, they will run off just like before. And I don't want to wait another two years. I want you to examine Zeta's cred account. He still has an unlimited cred card issued by the IU Program, and as long as he's using it, he's still government property. She's probably dragging him off to a shopping mall even as we speak."
Agent West cannot believe his luck. Instead of being fired, he's in charge of Project: Zeta...even if it is from a computer screen. "I'll get on it right away, sir."
"Oh, and West?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Anything you find is to be reported directly to me. Agent Bennet is assigned to track down Titus Sweete. That is Bennet's top priority, while Zeta is yours. Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
After West is dismissed, Lemac stares at the Zeta disc. (Poor West. I can't blame him for not liking Rowen, especially after all the times she pulled the rug out from under him. Then again, she managed to elude the entire NSA, and everyone else who tried to capture Zeta. Maybe if I offered her a job, she might consider giving Zeta back...Yeah, right!)
Meanwhile, West must once again put on his poker face as he heads back to his desk. This time, he must hide his elation. He still can't believe the Commander didn't fire him. He didn't even yell at him for being incompetent. And now, he's in charge of Project: Zeta. Who knows, maybe his dreams of climbing the ladder are not shattering after all.
When West arrives at his desk, he notices a large box wrapped with a thick, red ribbon. He picks it up, finding it to be surprisingly light. (Just what I've always wanted: an empty box.) He places it near his desk and decides to open it anyway. Inside the box is a small envelope. And inside that envelope is a card showing Charlie Brown wearing a baseball cap saying 'Goodbye...' He opens the card, and amongst the many signatures is '...The team won't be the same without you.'
West can't help but sigh. (Look at all of these signatures. It's a pity they went through all this trouble for nothing.) Rather than waste a nice card, he stands it near his computer and places the box under the desk.
Agent West may not be an expert on the field, but when it comes to using computers, he's in his element. (Access denied? Yeah, right.) It does not take him long to work his way through the computer system to locate the highly classified Infiltration Unit files. From there, he looks up the name 'Zeta'. (Now comes the hard part...digging up the dirt.)
"West?! You're still here?!"
West turns his head to find Agent Rush standing outside his cubicle saying, "Word is Commander Lemac swallowed you whole."
"Well, Rush, I'm afraid you've been misinformed."
"You mean...you're not fired?"
"Nope. He never said a word about it. Nice card, though. It might come in handy later...maybe."
Agent Rush cannot believe this. After all the times he's screwed-up, he should have escorted out of the building yesterday. But there he is, on his computer, looking up... (Is that Zeta's name on the screen?)
"Uh, West? What are you doing?"
"I've been ordered to monitor Zeta's cred account and keep track of his spending."
"But I thought Zeta was no longer our top priority."
"Well, Bennet may have thrown in the towel, but Commander Lemac hasn't. Remember that module in Zeta's head nobody knew about? Well, it turns out Dr. Selig was the one who created it. And now that he's dead, he can't tell us why he did it. The Commander wants to examine it and find out what Selig was up to."
Rush takes a moment to think about what West is saying and doing. "Okay. But why have you, of all people, been given the assignment?"
"Maybe because Commander Lemac and I share a common goal: we both still want to bring in Zeta."
"Or maybe he wants to give you one more last chance before he says you're through."
West does not feel like arguing with Rush, so he ignores that last remark and says, "Think about this, Rush: the NSA did not spend millions of dollars to create a killing machine that only wants to cuddle up to a crazy teenager, and that's exactly what Zeta is doing. Meanwhile, that same crazy teenager has access to an unlimited cred card. Crazy teenager plus unlimited creds... Get the picture?"
(Now that's a scary thought.) "So if you find evidence that Rowen is just using Zeta for the creds..."
"We can bring him in without looking like the bad guys. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have a job to do." West focuses on the computer screen, allowing Rush to head down the hall. (Will wonders never cease? I guess we'd better call off the 'Go, West' party...for now, anyway.)
West can now concentrate on the task at hand. He slowly scrolls down the screen, examining everything Zeta's cred card has paid for in the last two years.
(Let's see, now... some clothing... hotel rooms, some fancier than others... cars... bus tickets... plane tickets... But all of these were during the big chase. Probably can't use it as hard evidence. Root beer- cherry-colas? No wonder she's nuts.)
He scans further down the file, going down the dates to the last two weeks, after Bennet decided to let them go.
(Okay, now... a hotel room... tickets to San Francisco? Oh, yeah, her brother lives there... They've been there for three days now. What the...? No! No way! This can't be right!)
MEANWHILE...
Brother's Day Commander is not in a good mood. Yesterday's 'appointment' did not go well at all. He pours himself a scotch hoping it will calm his nerves.
"Why, that pompous, ungrateful son of a..." He gulps down the scotch. "You'd think after everything we've done for him, he'd be just a little more co-operative, but no!"
Normally, B.D. Commander knows how to keep his composure. Interrogation is his specialty. But this one person is determined to be unreasonable. As he slumps on his chair, he notices the disc of Zeta's copied memories.
"Infiltration Unit Zeta," he says as he holds the disc in his hand. "You have no idea how much trouble you really are. You're nothing but a machine; an electronic monstrosity. You have the gall to run around pretending to be a man, and expect people to overlook the cold, hard fact that you've killed people! A human doing half the things you've done would be facing the death penalty. But not you, Zeta. You simply say, 'I will not destroy anymore', and you're off the hook."
He would love to just toss the disc in the trash and never lay eyes on it again, but he knows that wouldn't do any good. It wouldn't stop Zeta from frolicking with his girlfriend. For the past week, Agent Jack has been keeping surveillance on them, but his last report is just like all the others: the metallic lovebird flies free as a bird with yellow-crested loon. Just the thought of them hugging and kissing makes him sick to his stomach. (I need a plan. I need a plan!)
Suddenly, the phone rings. "Commander, speaking... What did you say? He did what!? You listen to me. I want a report on my desk right now, understand?!" He slams the phone, almost breaking it. (I don't believe it. I just don't believe it!) He heads back to his bar and pours himself another scotch, but he takes a swig from the bottle instead.
(This is wrong. It's all wrong! I've got to stop them! One way or another, I've got to stop them!)
-o-o-o-o-o-
Now, why do you suppose is everybody so upset? Stay tuned for the next chapter of... The Best Laid Plans.
Chapter Five
The National Security Agency is an organization made up of people specially trained to protect the United States from terrorist activity. These people are prepared to put their lives on the line for their country. It can be a thankless job sometimes, but they do what has to be done.
One of these agents is Orrin West.
He will never forget the day when he was given the assignment of tracking and retrieving a runaway synthoid named Zeta, believed to be reprogrammed by the terrorists it was designed to infiltrate. After Zeta had escaped from Gotham, thanks in part to Batman, West was one of the many agents scattered to various cities around Gotham, hoping to find Zeta at any of the connecting bus routes.
Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And for West, that's exactly what happened. From the moment he spotted Zeta at a vid-phone in Maryland, all attempts to capture the runaway robot failed miserably. And when Ro Rowen decided to get involved, she made his efforts even more futile, leaving him to look like a bumbling idiot.
(Why couldn't she have just been a hostage? I wouldn't be going through this if she had just been a hostage.)
And if watching Agent Bennet call it quits was not bad enough, what happened next was even worse. He was assigned to help deliver Brother's Day agent Titus Sweete to the courthouse to stand trial. He was charged with espionage, destruction of a government base and, to top it all off, the murder of Dr. Eli Selig, the man responsible for making Zeta go haywire in the first place. All West had to do was keep his eyes on the prisoner during the ride, and that's exactly what he did. He never took his eyes of Sweete. And Sweete kept his eyes on him as well. All through the car ride it was like a stare-down contest; right up until it started raining laser rays. No one saw it coming. The next thing he knew the car was bumped off the road, striking a light post. That's when Sweete made his move. He did a body slam into West, knocking the wind out of him. He remembers the car door opening, Sweete climbing out, and feeling a sharp piercing in his shoulder before passing out.
When West opened his eyes, he was in the hospital. The doctors told him that he had taken a flesh wound in the shoulder and some cracked ribs in the chest. But the worst news he received was from Agent Rush, who told him that despite all his 'valiant efforts', Sweete had escaped. That was all West could think about during his hospital stay. Sweete had escaped.
He had blown yet another important assignment.
And now, West can only try to maintain a poker face as he walks what may be the last mile. He has been summoned to Commander Lemac's office. For West, this can only mean one thing: he's finished, washed up, fired. All of his dreams of becoming Regional Director or Vice President begin to shatter with every step toward Lemac's office.
All he can do now is take it like a man.
That's all he can think about as he heads down the corridor, while other agents in the area stop what they're doing as they walk by. (It's no secret where I'm going. There's only one office at the end of this corridor. No doubt they'll be glad to be rid of the village idiot.) The dead silence is interrupted only by his own footsteps as he approaches Commander Lemac's secretary.
After taking a deep breath he says, "Agent West reporting as ordered."
West struggles to maintain his composure while the secretary informs Lemac of his arrival. He does not need to turn around to know some of the agents are poking their heads from the far end of the corridor. It looks like he's going to have an audience whether he likes it or not.
"Commander Lemac will see you now."
The audience stares quietly while Agent West steps into what many refer to as 'the lion's den', and now they wonder... Will West be swallowed instantly, or be slowly chewed to bits?
As the door closes behind Agent West, the first thing he sees is Commander Lemac sitting at his desk. On the desk is a disc. West has no doubt about it; that is Zeta's memory disc, and West's pink slip.
"Agent West reporting, sir."
"Have a seat, Agent West."
West sits down in the chair next to him, and braces himself for the bumpy ride.
After a second or two, Commander Lemac asks, "West, how long were you assigned to Project: Zeta?"
"Over two years, sir." (The longest two years of my life.)
"And during that time, how would you describe Bennet's attitude toward the case?"
West couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Shouldn't he be fired by now? He sighs and replies, "Well, sir, I'd say he was more determined than anyone to capture Zeta and have him fixed up. At least, that's how he was until about two weeks ago."
"Really," says Commander Lemac. "Even more determined than you?"
(Here it comes.) "Yes, sir...although I can't deny I wanted to bring him in just as badly."
"Let me get to the point, West. Millions of taxpayer dollars goes toward making these infiltration units. Each one is worth at least one, maybe two mansions in Beverly Hills. These robots are designed to deal with terrorists...not to run around frolicking with teenage girls."
It took a moment for West to realize he was holding his breath. He carefully exhales while Lemac continues.
"It was bad enough when we thought Zeta had been reprogrammed by Brother's Day, but to find out that our very own Dr. Selig reprogrammed him from the very beginning, creating this mystery module without authorization... And now, Bennet decides to just let it run wild, or as he puts it, leave him in Ro Rowen's custody. Tell me, West. What do you think about Miss Rowen?"
(I think she's insane, a nutcase, a psychopath, an undeniable pain in the...) "I'd have to say she's not exactly your average teenager."
Commander Lemac can't help but smirk. "You don't like her, do you?"
"No, sir, I don't."
Lemac sighs and says, "West, I don't approve of Bennet's decision, especially since there's a module in Zeta's head that no one knows anything about. Dr. Selig is dead, so he can't tell us anything. That module is responsible for making Zeta behave the way he does, and the sooner our lab technicians examine it, the sooner we can figure out what kind of plans Selig had for Zeta. The thing is there have been no reports of Zeta getting into any kind of trouble. So to some degree, I have to admit that Miss Rowen is, as Bennet stated, taking good care of him."
(Yes, I'm sure she is.) West hasn't forgotten about the big kiss scene. Not to mention the hugging. (They might as well get married.)
Lemac continues, "I'm going to need some hard evidence to prove that Miss Rowen is an irresponsible guardian before I can renew a warrant for Zeta. No doubt that if we try to apprehend them, they will run off just like before. And I don't want to wait another two years. I want you to examine Zeta's cred account. He still has an unlimited cred card issued by the IU Program, and as long as he's using it, he's still government property. She's probably dragging him off to a shopping mall even as we speak."
Agent West cannot believe his luck. Instead of being fired, he's in charge of Project: Zeta...even if it is from a computer screen. "I'll get on it right away, sir."
"Oh, and West?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Anything you find is to be reported directly to me. Agent Bennet is assigned to track down Titus Sweete. That is Bennet's top priority, while Zeta is yours. Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
After West is dismissed, Lemac stares at the Zeta disc. (Poor West. I can't blame him for not liking Rowen, especially after all the times she pulled the rug out from under him. Then again, she managed to elude the entire NSA, and everyone else who tried to capture Zeta. Maybe if I offered her a job, she might consider giving Zeta back...Yeah, right!)
Meanwhile, West must once again put on his poker face as he heads back to his desk. This time, he must hide his elation. He still can't believe the Commander didn't fire him. He didn't even yell at him for being incompetent. And now, he's in charge of Project: Zeta. Who knows, maybe his dreams of climbing the ladder are not shattering after all.
When West arrives at his desk, he notices a large box wrapped with a thick, red ribbon. He picks it up, finding it to be surprisingly light. (Just what I've always wanted: an empty box.) He places it near his desk and decides to open it anyway. Inside the box is a small envelope. And inside that envelope is a card showing Charlie Brown wearing a baseball cap saying 'Goodbye...' He opens the card, and amongst the many signatures is '...The team won't be the same without you.'
West can't help but sigh. (Look at all of these signatures. It's a pity they went through all this trouble for nothing.) Rather than waste a nice card, he stands it near his computer and places the box under the desk.
Agent West may not be an expert on the field, but when it comes to using computers, he's in his element. (Access denied? Yeah, right.) It does not take him long to work his way through the computer system to locate the highly classified Infiltration Unit files. From there, he looks up the name 'Zeta'. (Now comes the hard part...digging up the dirt.)
"West?! You're still here?!"
West turns his head to find Agent Rush standing outside his cubicle saying, "Word is Commander Lemac swallowed you whole."
"Well, Rush, I'm afraid you've been misinformed."
"You mean...you're not fired?"
"Nope. He never said a word about it. Nice card, though. It might come in handy later...maybe."
Agent Rush cannot believe this. After all the times he's screwed-up, he should have escorted out of the building yesterday. But there he is, on his computer, looking up... (Is that Zeta's name on the screen?)
"Uh, West? What are you doing?"
"I've been ordered to monitor Zeta's cred account and keep track of his spending."
"But I thought Zeta was no longer our top priority."
"Well, Bennet may have thrown in the towel, but Commander Lemac hasn't. Remember that module in Zeta's head nobody knew about? Well, it turns out Dr. Selig was the one who created it. And now that he's dead, he can't tell us why he did it. The Commander wants to examine it and find out what Selig was up to."
Rush takes a moment to think about what West is saying and doing. "Okay. But why have you, of all people, been given the assignment?"
"Maybe because Commander Lemac and I share a common goal: we both still want to bring in Zeta."
"Or maybe he wants to give you one more last chance before he says you're through."
West does not feel like arguing with Rush, so he ignores that last remark and says, "Think about this, Rush: the NSA did not spend millions of dollars to create a killing machine that only wants to cuddle up to a crazy teenager, and that's exactly what Zeta is doing. Meanwhile, that same crazy teenager has access to an unlimited cred card. Crazy teenager plus unlimited creds... Get the picture?"
(Now that's a scary thought.) "So if you find evidence that Rowen is just using Zeta for the creds..."
"We can bring him in without looking like the bad guys. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have a job to do." West focuses on the computer screen, allowing Rush to head down the hall. (Will wonders never cease? I guess we'd better call off the 'Go, West' party...for now, anyway.)
West can now concentrate on the task at hand. He slowly scrolls down the screen, examining everything Zeta's cred card has paid for in the last two years.
(Let's see, now... some clothing... hotel rooms, some fancier than others... cars... bus tickets... plane tickets... But all of these were during the big chase. Probably can't use it as hard evidence. Root beer- cherry-colas? No wonder she's nuts.)
He scans further down the file, going down the dates to the last two weeks, after Bennet decided to let them go.
(Okay, now... a hotel room... tickets to San Francisco? Oh, yeah, her brother lives there... They've been there for three days now. What the...? No! No way! This can't be right!)
MEANWHILE...
Brother's Day Commander is not in a good mood. Yesterday's 'appointment' did not go well at all. He pours himself a scotch hoping it will calm his nerves.
"Why, that pompous, ungrateful son of a..." He gulps down the scotch. "You'd think after everything we've done for him, he'd be just a little more co-operative, but no!"
Normally, B.D. Commander knows how to keep his composure. Interrogation is his specialty. But this one person is determined to be unreasonable. As he slumps on his chair, he notices the disc of Zeta's copied memories.
"Infiltration Unit Zeta," he says as he holds the disc in his hand. "You have no idea how much trouble you really are. You're nothing but a machine; an electronic monstrosity. You have the gall to run around pretending to be a man, and expect people to overlook the cold, hard fact that you've killed people! A human doing half the things you've done would be facing the death penalty. But not you, Zeta. You simply say, 'I will not destroy anymore', and you're off the hook."
He would love to just toss the disc in the trash and never lay eyes on it again, but he knows that wouldn't do any good. It wouldn't stop Zeta from frolicking with his girlfriend. For the past week, Agent Jack has been keeping surveillance on them, but his last report is just like all the others: the metallic lovebird flies free as a bird with yellow-crested loon. Just the thought of them hugging and kissing makes him sick to his stomach. (I need a plan. I need a plan!)
Suddenly, the phone rings. "Commander, speaking... What did you say? He did what!? You listen to me. I want a report on my desk right now, understand?!" He slams the phone, almost breaking it. (I don't believe it. I just don't believe it!) He heads back to his bar and pours himself another scotch, but he takes a swig from the bottle instead.
(This is wrong. It's all wrong! I've got to stop them! One way or another, I've got to stop them!)
-o-o-o-o-o-
Now, why do you suppose is everybody so upset? Stay tuned for the next chapter of... The Best Laid Plans.