/ Chapter 26 – Illusions of Control /
Athena moved at superhuman speed around Eduardo, shielding his vital organs with her body. The gunman began firing.
"No!" she screamed in a little girl voice. "Don't hurt me!"
Bullets struck her chest, but machine guns were mostly about rapid fire rather than individual bullet power and they didn't penetrate her skin. Unfortunately, the buffeting action created a shockwave within her body as they struck her right shoulder. An internal alarm chirped from within her chest indicating damage had occurred.
The gunman stopped firing at her scream and realization of who he was firing at, looking horrified. Athena saw her chance. Her internal systems reported that her right arm was currently out of service, but she didn't have time to assess it. She ran straight at the man, getting to him in less than 0.4 seconds, then tore the gun out of his hand with her left hand. She bent the barrel and dropped the gun. The man started to yell and Athena stuffed in one of her gags. Unfortunately, to properly tie him required two hands, so she had no choice but to use a more violent method to subdue him. She carefully knocked him in the head and the man fell to the floor.
The man being out, Athena was able to tie him up easier with one hand. She tried a nearby office door, which was locked, but she turned the doorknob and broke the lock. Hoping it would buy them time, she quickly dragged the man into a far office and secured him to a desk with another strap.
All this happened over about six seconds. She ran back out of the office just in time to see Eduardo walk up as she closed the door.
"Sweet Jesus!" he exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
Athena silenced the chirping alarm. "I have a damaged coordination controller," she said. "My right arm is out of service."
"You took machine gun fire," Eduardo said wide-eyed. "I can't believe what I just saw. You took it deliberately. You ran in front of me."
"It was necessary. You'd have been killed if I hadn't," Athena explained. "You should know that I'm quite durable, much more than you might expect."
Eduardo shook his head. "But… there must be limits. You're not indestructible."
Athena looked down at her right arm and gave him an exasperated look. "Obviously. We can talk about this later. We must keep moving."
He nodded, with a small smile. "Right. Lead on, bullet-proof girl."
"Bullet resistant," Athena corrected as she moved down the corridor once again.
They went through the same routine, but this time made it to the stairwell without incident and ran down the stairs. Athena kept her footsteps light and noiseless, though as usual she was annoyed that humans were noisier than they needed to be.
Reaching the bottom, Athena put her ear to the door. It was quiet. She unbent the handle and opened the door, checking that both directions were clear. As she expected, the two men had been found in the meantime. She gestured to Eduardo to follow and they jogged quickly down the employee walkway toward the museum. Reaching the entrance back to the exhibit hall, she opened the door a crack where she saw many people moving about, but nobody suspicious.
"I don't see anyone and the radio is clear," Athena said. "I suspect they think we've already exited the building. We'll walk casually toward the front entrance and walk out. To the right of the exit is a large planter we can hide behind. We'll stop and check if things are clear. If so, we'll turn right and begin walking north, hopefully under cover of crowds. There is a gift shop next door to the museum, which we'll enter to get out of the open. We'll evaluate from there. Are you ready?"
Eduardo nodded. Athena evaluated his face and was pleased to see that he looked calm and ready.
She walked through the door, Eduardo following. Athena scanned the room and didn't see anyone suspicious. The Archaeology exhibit was near the entrance, so it was a short walk through the lobby. Several chattering groups were also leaving, so they mingled with them until they exited the museum.
Athena casually ducked to the side, Eduardo following and they both crouched behind the planter. She slowly rose up, peeked over the top and scanned the area. Across the street was a man she suspected was one of them, but fortunately had missed them walking out.
"There is a suspicious man across the street, but he hasn't seen us," Athena said. "I believe he's the only one, so he's there just in case we came out."
"All units, report," the radio squawked. Four groups of searchers reported in, all stating that no one had been seen. "Unit A, report." Unit A didn't answer, which Athena assumed was most likely the ones she'd fought and tied up. "Repeat, Unit A, do you read?"
"I'm hearing our pursuers checking in, but they've noticed that many aren't responding. It's now only a matter of time before they're found, so we need to move. Let's wait for a large group and move with them."
"Right," Eduardo said, nodding.
About a minute later, an animated tour group came out of the building turning to the right, which Athena judged was adequate. She gestured to Eduardo and they moved with them. Athena was small enough that she easily mingled, while Eduardo lowered his head slightly.
Athena and Eduardo ducked inside the gift shop. She pretended to look at something in the window, but checked across the street and the suspicious man was still there.
Looking around the store, she saw a sign saying a toilet was in the back, which implied there might be a back door. She touched Eduardo's shoulder, casually pointed and began walking. They entered the back, which indeed had a door, but was locked. Athena checked no one was watching, then turned the doorknob until the lock broke. They slipped through, then she bent the doorknob so no one could follow them. She felt a bit guilty for damaging the storeowner's property.
"Excellent," Athena said, as they entered a back alley. "Let's follow this down and cut over a few streets. We can then walk toward our exit."
"How are we getting out?" Eduardo asked.
"There's a warehouse about two miles away with assets to get us out," Athena said. "But for now, let's focus on getting there. I'll explain later."
They reached the end of the alley, where a small street cut across the road that ran in front of the museum. They walked down the small street away from the museum until they reached another boulevard with more shops and people. Athena peeked around the corner, where she saw several men down the block who appeared to be searching for something.
"Wait," Athena said, holding up her hand. "Be ready."
She watched the men carefully. They peered into windows, looked around the street, then repeated the cycle. In front of her and Eduardo was a crosswalk, with people waiting on a light before crossing. Athena believed the men were sufficiently predictable to risk crossing.
She waited until the crosswalk signaled pedestrians to go. It did. "Five seconds," Athena said, anticipating when the men would start a window peeking cycle.
"Go!" Athena said, then started walking quickly across the street, Eduardo following her.
They reached the other side and kept going until they were hidden by the other corner. Athena stopped, then peeked around the corner to check on the men, who had just finished looking in a window. As she expected, they hadn't been spotted.
"All right, let's go," Athena said.
The next street seemed clear, but Athena decided to go one more. Peeking around the next corner, she deemed it safe, with a good crowd of Sunday shoppers.
"Let's head north from here," Athena said. "Watch for anyone suspicious."
They had traveled a few blocks when Athena picked up a new radio call. Apparently Trans Univex had found the other unit she had subdued, because they announced a new strategy to handle herself and Eduardo. As she listened, she grew very concerned about their current situation.
"All units. Eduardo has been confirmed with a small girl or woman. I repeat. A very small girl or woman is helping Eduardo escape. She should be considered extremely dangerous. Do not engage at close distance. Shoot to kill. Repeat, shoot to kill. She is approximately 4 foot 10, brown hair, blue eyes. This is not a joke. I repeat, she should be considered extremely dangerous to the highest degree. Do not directly engage. Shoot to kill from distance, as far as possible."
As she listened to this, Athena noted a new mental state that she had never felt before. And she did not like this one. Not at all.
For the first time in Athena's life, she felt fear for her own safety.
They walked down the street, trying to mingle with the rest of the crowds. They had covered about half the distance, but there was another mile to the warehouse. Athena had heard further radio broadcasts, indicating that many more Trans Univex men were currently searching in cars and on foot for them. The situation was increasingly troubling, especially since the crowds would begin to thin as they got closer to the industrial area with the warehouse.
"Eduardo, I believe we should try to hole up today and make our escape after dark," Athena said.
He nodded. "Makes sense. But where? Honestly, I'm not even aware of everywhere Trans Univex has shell companies and people."
"I think we should try to find a place that's been unoccupied for some time. Let's turn here," she said, nodding toward a small street.
They turned into the small street, then Athena led them to turn again into an alley that ran parallel to the main street, behind the businesses.
"Find a door that looks dusty and not opened very often," Athena said. "How it's locked isn't significant."
They moved along, checking the sides of the alley. Eduardo approached a large steel garage door, locked with an old padlock. "I think this is just storage," he said.
"Perfect," Athena said, walking over and giving him an approving smile.
She looked around to ensure no one was watching, then used her left hand to tear the entire latch off the door, lock and all. Eduardo looked at her questioningly.
"I would've broken just the lock, but I need two hands to grip it," she explained.
He chuckled. "That makes sense. I don't have much experience with breaking locks with my bare hands."
They raised the garage door, which was loaded with dusty boxes, some furniture and various other bric-a-brac. Athena took one last look around, tossed in the broken latch, then closed the door once again. A small amount of light came in through the cracks around the door.
"You'll be able to see dimly in a few moments when your eyes adjust," Athena said. "My infrared vision allows me to see clearly."
Eduardo took a seat on the ground, letting out a large breath, as though he'd been holding it for hours. "I'm glad we have some time to rest up. Is there any chance we could fix your arm?"
"Unfortunately, no," Athena said. "I have a damaged coordination processor and it needs replacement. There are spares for some parts inside me, but we were a bit unlucky with this. That's in a relatively protected part of my body and would normally be a low probability incident, and thus there's no spare."
Eduardo nodded. "Lots of bad luck today, eh?"
"Well, we're still alive, and I'm confident we'll make it out," Athena said.
"Would you tell me if you weren't confident?" Eduardo said, grinning.
Athena smiled. "Perhaps not. But in this case, I really am confident."
"I won't ask if you would tell me that no matter what."
"One thing you can take solace in," Athena said. "You've proven that you're really defecting from Trans Univex. There was significant doubt in Plus Ultra as to your sincerity. But I doubt you would have machine guns shooting at you if it was all a ruse."
"Ha! All it took to prove myself was nearly being killed. If only I'd known it was that easy."
"My sense is that you're fatigued. You should rest, if you can. I believe we should wait here approximately eight hours. I don't require sleep, so I can keep watch."
"You must have some limit on your power, though, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes, but I have at least a week at normal power, and much longer if I go to a lower power state, which I'll do while we're waiting," she replied.
Athena got up and started looking through the boxes, seeing clearly in the dark with her infrared vision. After a few boxes, she hit what she was looking for, which was a box of old clothes. She selected some and laid them out to act as padding on the concrete floor, and made a small pile at the end for a pillow. A recruit of hers had done something similar on a mission a few years ago.
"Part of me feels too hyped up to rest, but another part is absolutely exhausted," Eduardo said. "I must admit I hardly slept last night. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Athena said. "It's important for human performance to get proper rest. That'll ensure our best chance of success."
He sighed and lay down on the makeshift bed. "You're right, of course. You make me want to keep going like a machine, but I suppose I shouldn't be macho and stupid."
"Male machismo is somewhat wasted on me," Athena agreed. "It does seem to come up needlessly often in extraction missions, however."
Eduardo laughed at this. "You're very funny."
"Unfortunately, it's unintentional," Athena said. "Humor is among my limitations, though I'm hopeful that someday I'll improve. But thank you anyway."
There was silence as Athena could hear Eduardo shifting his position and getting comfortable. She was just deciding that she could go to a low power state when he spoke again.
"May I ask a question about you?"
"Of course, though I can't guarantee I'll answer it," she said.
"Who designed you?"
"A scientist in Plus Ultra. I can't give you her name yet, however."
"I understand. But a woman, eh? That's interesting by itself. Do you live with her?"
This question seemed harmless to Athena and she was curious why he would ask. "Yes, I do."
He paused, considering. "This will be an odd question. But does she consider you her adoptive daughter?"
Athena was stunned at his insight. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you have so many subtle human social behaviors, above and beyond what seems necessary for recruiting," he said. "I'm not an expert in robotics. But it seems likely, just as human children learn from their environment, you must've learned much from your environment."
Athena didn't have an answer to this, thinking Caroline wouldn't want her talking about their relationship to strangers.
"Since you don't answer, I imagine this isn't something that's normally spoken of, for obvious reasons," he said. "But it seems clear to me that someone made you with love in their heart. It also seems clear that you're a self-aware and conscious entity, which I honestly wouldn't have believed possible. And I wonder if those two might just be linked."
"You should rest," Athena said firmly, fascinated at his speculations, but feeling like she needed to get him to sleep if they wanted to make it out.
Eduardo chuckled. "Yes, ma'am," he said. He rolled over and went to sleep.
Athena noted that Eduardo was starting to stir. About ten minutes later, he came to full consciousness and stretched. It was quite dark in the garage.
"Athena?" he said.
"Yes," she answered. "Do you feel more rested now? I was pleased to note from your lack of movements that you seemed quite deeply asleep."
"Yes, actually," he said. "You were right. I needed it badly. How long was I out?"
"You slept for nine hours, 36 minutes," Athena answered.
"Wow! I wouldn't have thought I'd be able to sleep that much, but apparently I felt secure with you on watch," he said, grinning. "Hey, I thought you only wanted to stay eight hours?"
"There was no great rush," she said. "It was more important for you to rest. I've been monitoring the radio. They've set up roadblocks using the local authorities, not expecting that we have a way to exit other than by car or other vehicle."
"How are we going exit the city?" he asked.
"I'm afraid I can't give you details," she said apologetically. "Although I believe you've proven yourself, I've been given a specific protocol about that. But you'll soon see for yourself. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, about as ready as I'll ever be. Hopefully we'll be able to sneak around in the dark," Eduardo said.
"As you know, I have infrared vision, so darkness should be an advantage for us," she said.
She slowly opened the garage door and crouched down until she could see through a crack, checking both sides. Satisfied, she lifted the door all the way and made one final check. Eduardo followed her out, looking around cautiously as Athena closed the door once again.
"I would stay in the alleys, but they end at this block, so we'll need to walk down the boulevard. As I said, Trans Univex has mostly withdrawn foot patrols, expecting that we'll attempt to escape in a car or public transportation. Of course, we'll still need to be cautious."
"Okay," Eduardo said. "Only a mile to go, right?"
"Yes," Athena smiled. "We're almost there."
They exited the alley to the small side street, then made their way to the boulevard. There were a few people walking around, but since it was Sunday evening, it was mostly empty. Walking quickly but casually, they made their way down the street, trying not to draw attention to themselves if any Trans Univex people were monitoring the area.
"Four more blocks," Athena said. "We're entering a business district where…"
She stopped as she heard a helicopter, then it appeared over a building. It hovered nearby, then a spotlight suddenly shined down on them.
"Uh oh," Eduardo said.
They kept moving and about 30 seconds later, the radio came to life in Athena's head. "All units. Subjects have been spotted moving north along Montée du Gründ. We have reason to believe they are heading to a warehouse at 30 Rue de l'Eau. Avoid the warehouse; do not directly engage. Set up on buildings surrounding the warehouse. Shoot to kill on sight. Repeat, shoot to kill on sight."
The helicopter flew off and Athena gave Eduardo the report. "Apparently Trans Univex has connected the warehouse with Plus Ultra. We'll need extreme caution. Move quickly and stay close to the buildings. Hopefully we can get there before they set up. Undoubtedly more forces are on their way."
They jogged along the street. She watched the rooftops across from them, but so far they'd managed to stay ahead of them. Finally they reached Rue de l'Eau, hugging the building, with Athena and Eduardo peeking around the corner. Just then the helicopter took off from the building across the street from the warehouse and Athena could see some men on top of the roof. The rooftop was approximately 47 feet, which was too high for her to jump up and subdue them. And if she ran inside the building, someone might find Eduardo in the meantime and kill him. And time was definitely not on their side. She was hearing more radio chatter that many Trans Univex men were coming.
"Three minutes earlier and we would've made it," Eduardo said grimly.
"Eduardo, we need to get to that building," Athena said, gesturing at a door. "On the top floor is a travel gate. I don't have time to explain, you must just trust me and accept this. There'll be a machine with a green glowing portal. We'll step through it and then we're safe."
He nodded. "I understand. Well, understand is the wrong word, but I'll walk through if we can get there."
"More men will be coming any minute. I think we have no choice but to run for it," Athena said. "It's only fifty yards. They've just now gotten set up, so we'll have an element of surprise. When I give the signal, we'll run. I'll be behind you. Crouch down so that my body protects you as much as possible."
He looked at her. "But will you make it?"
Athena smiled. "I believe so. Their weapons are powerful, but fortunately haven't penetrated my skin. Though, as you've seen, high energy shockwaves through my systems can be damaging. But we have no other choice. My body is more bullet resistant than yours."
He smiled grimly in return. "I can't argue with that logic. I wish you didn't have to protect me."
"I understand. Are you ready?" Athena asked, examining his face closely.
"Yes," he said, his voice tense.
Athena judged he was ready; she trusted his face more than his words, but it was good to hear the word as well.
"I will say, 'One, two, three, go.' We move on go," Athena said. "Prepare yourself."
Eduardo nodded. Athena looked him in the eye until she was satisfied he was in a state of readiness.
"One. Two. Three. GO!"
Eduardo started running toward the building, Athena closely following. Bullets began flying around them, ricocheting off the street with small sprays of asphalt. One impacted her left shoulder, then her right calf. No significant damage was reported by her internal systems. Unfortunately, Eduardo was unlucky as he took a bullet to his shoulder, grunting in pain. Athena judged it non-fatal, but it caused him to crouch down further.
With ten yards to go, Athena felt a bullet hit her bad right arm, making it flip up wildly. Another bullet hit the back of her head, which was encouraging if they were trying head shots on her, since her head didn't actually have vital components, other than her external senses.
At five more yards, a very powerful rifle shot hit Athena in her lower back and she felt a large shockwave go through her lower torso. She suddenly pitched forward and fell face down, sliding on the ground. Her internal systems reported that the main power coupling to her lower limbs was damaged. Her legs were completely inoperable. Chirping started sounding from her back, which she immediately silenced.
She saw Eduardo reach the door and go through it. Athena pushed herself up with her remaining functional left arm, trying to slide herself to the door. It was extremely difficult and slow, and she heard more bullets ricocheting around her. Car tires screeched nearby, presumably more Trans Univex people arriving. She had very little time.
Suddenly Eduardo came flying back out the door. He scooped Athena into his arms and ran back into the warehouse as several bullets hit the side of the building.
"You've saved my life multiple times today," Eduardo said with grim determination. "We either both make it out or we both fail."
Athena had nothing to say to this. She supposed, as a machine, she should tell him that his human life was more important than hers. But she had learned something that day. She learned that she didn't want to die.
"Thank you, Eduardo," she said simply.
He began climbing the stairs, moving quickly and steadily, but breathing hard. Athena heard the warehouse door open and men yelling.
"How many flights?" Eduardo asked.
"Fourth floor," Athena answered. She gave him a sunny, confident smile to motivate him. "You're very strong. I'm certain you'll save us."
Eduardo smiled and he seemed to get a second wind of energy, as he tightened his grip on her. "You better believe I'll save us."
Athena heard the men coming up the stairs behind him. Despite the confidence she'd just expressed, she judged it was going to be close. Eduardo was bleeding heavily and that would take its toll.
Finally they reached the top of stairs, Eduardo breathing heavily and lurching side-to-side. Athena could hear the men one floor below them, coming up rapidly. Eduardo saw the travel gate at the end of the room and ran toward it, everything he had left. Twenty feet from it another bullet caught him in the leg, causing him to stumble. He cried out but turned it into a war scream and kept running. Reaching the portal he threw himself and Athena through the gate.
They both landed on the floor of the travel room. Athena amplified her voice and spoke at extreme rapid speed, the syllables running together barely comprehensibly, but good enough for the computer listening.
"INITIATE EMERGENCY CLOSE 49335 THETA 62 GAMMA." The travel gate immediately went dark.
"INITIATE REMOTE SELF-DESTRUCT 902751094 OMICRON KAPPA 2286."
A short pause followed, then a computer voice announced, "The travel gate has been confirmed to be destroyed."
"We're safe now," Athena said calmly.
Eduardo just lay bleeding on the floor, heavily breathing. He started laughing. "My god."
The travel gate operator ran in. "Don't move, the medical team is on their way. Athena, Caroline is on her way down as well. She's just up in the offices."
He took a closer looked at Athena. "Oh my god, Athena…"
Athena realized her clothes were riddled with bullet holes. "I'm damaged, but not critically," she said, smiling at him. "Thank you for your concern, Tristan."
"She's Supergirl!" Eduardo said with a grin.
Tristan smiled. "Let me go check on the med team," he said, hurrying out.
Alone now, Eduardo got up on an elbow and gave Athena a sly look. "So, 'male machismo' is wasted on you, eh? Then what was that whole 'you're very strong, I'm certain you'll save us' all about?"
Athena smiled back at him. "I didn't say machismo wasn't useful."
Eduardo laughed hard, then groaned in pain. "Oh, don't make me laugh like that. You do know us Spaniards, though." He relaxed back on the floor. "You're lucky you don't feel pain. Or, at least I don't think you feel pain, do you?"
"Not in the same sense as humans," Athena said. "But it's mentally upsetting to have my internal status indicators listing the damage."
The medical team came in and started working on Eduardo. They began stabilizing his wounds, assuring him that nothing vital was hit. Athena was pleased to hear this.
Caroline came running in, her eyes growing wide at her appearance. "Athena!" she said emotionally. "Oh my lord, are you all right?"
"Yes, Caroline," Athena said, smiling reassuringly. "There's damage but nothing you can't fix."
Eduardo perked up at this and smiled. "From what I just heard, you take care of this wonderful girl," he said. "She saved my life multiple times today."
"Caroline," Athena said seriously. "Eduardo saved my life as well. I have a damaged EAB201-1210 power coupling. I couldn't walk. At great risk to himself, he came back for me and carried me out. He saved me from certainly being destroyed. I also owe him my life."
Caroline went over to Eduardo, knelt next to him and grabbed his hand. "Thank you," Caroline said, openly weeping. "Thank you for saving her. Not many would have. She's much more than a machine to me."
"After today, I understand perfectly and agree completely," he said. "It was the absolute least I could do. And I still have a debt to somehow repay her in the future."
Eduardo's gurney began being raised, and then clicked into place. "We're ready to transport you, Mr. Talamantes."
"Thank you, everyone. I'll give more thorough gratitude when I'm back on my feet," he said, smiling as they rolled him away.
"Goodbye, Eduardo," Athena said, as he passed. "Thank you for valuing my life."
Author's Note: Please Review!
The official story site is at www. frankandathena .com for discussions of the story! - T.K.