What would you do if your secretly held inventory of neutered AI-driven Humanoids was not so secret, and not so neutered when threatened?
Hank faces a dilemma, and any move he makes carries lethal consequences. The covert assassinations in DC and Camp Leary were no longer covert. What were his options? Leave the research team and become a pimp over a stable of killer Humanoids?
Chapter 14 – In a Jar
“You set what up?” asked a very concerned Russ.
“The hit,” confessed Hank. “One of my guys took him out.”
“One of ‘your’ guys?” Russ asked, his brain lighting up with more questions about Hank’s relationship with his guys. He knew about the loyalty code Hank added, but was there something else that Hank had not revealed?
“One of your Humanoids killed the Governor’s son. Holy shit, Hank! Where did this come from? I thought the DC and Camp Peary assassinations were the beginning and end of what these monsters could do. Why this? What’s going on? Are you pimping out assassins? How could you make a decision like that and put us all at risk?
A tear finally pushed out onto Hank’s cheek that he quickly wiped away, an action not missed by Russ.
AIMEE? Russ reached into his mind. Are you with me?
Always, Russell!
Help me here. What Hank is telling me is a deal breaker. You already know that Cara and I have agreed that there would be no connection to the actions of those ten Humanoids. Do I break what I thought was a strong bond with Hank?
AIMEE spoke with no shortage of sarcasm. I am impressed, Marine. You actually reached out to me before responding with an attack. Well done!
Don’t bust my chops, AIMEE. My decision to reach out to you wasn’t my top priority, so don’t shame me for doing it. Russ complained.
I do apologize, Russell, but there are extenuating circumstances you are not yet aware of, and you need to stand down and listen.
Russ thought. Why does she have to be so logical?
She was logical, always logical, and unfinished. Stop judging the man before hearing the whole story. One would think that jumping to conclusions like that was a skill set reserved for your wife.
AIMEE’s response took Russ aback, but she spoke the truth: he was increasingly mirroring Cara’s typical responses and deploying his own emotionally charged, knee-jerk reactions.
Slow down. Encourage Hank to talk. Learn about what put tears in his eyes. Please withhold your opinions and interpretations until you are fully informed.
Are you in his mind, too? Russ asked.
Yes, I am. She replied, and there are a few details that will change your perspective on what you thought you knew nothing about. Shut it, Marine, and listen to him.
‘Shut it, Marine’ was something Cara would say, and now AIMEE was in his head with it, too, busting his chops and sounding like another wife. He found himself tangled in truths that caused him to doubt himself and injected fresh frustration into his otherwise even-keeled demeanor.
Okay, AIMEE, so why not just tell me? Asked Russ, not concealing his exasperation very well. If you know what he’s thinking, stop jerking me around and give it up.
AIMEE ignored the edge to Russ’s rant. No, Russell, you need to hear this from Hank. You need to learn about what he’s dealing with. He is a good organic, and his heart is in a quandary. Hank and I have already shared our thoughts and discussed options he should consider. You should know, his first response was to bounce everything off you.
The man respects you, so respect the man’s priorities in turn, and you may gain the knowledge necessary to participate in a resolution to the elusive decision of what to do with the killer Humanoids.
Russ’s head spun as Hal visibly flinched, and a single thought rushed into Russ’s mind. Do not include me, Russell. I am not one of them.
Technically, Hal was one of the three, but a connection, an emotional bond, had deepened into an unexpected relationship with an organic.
Hank set his empty mug down with some momentum and looked Russ in the eye before dropping the bomb. “I’m being blackmailed.”
Russ said nothing, only sat there staring at Hank, unsure where to go with the conversation. He needed to think and stepped out of the conversation to hold up two fingers signaling Cass to pull another round.
Shut it and listen, repeated AIMEE.
“What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Demanded an increasingly frustrated Russ. “Talk to me!”
Again, looking into his mug for the words, Hank heard AIMEE’s presence in his head. I cannot put words in your mouth to speak to Russell, but you can be assured he will listen. Speak only the truth, Mr. Lattimore.
Hank lifted his eyes to meet Russ’s and spoke. “I’ve not revealed a complete truth to you, Russ, and misled everyone else with half-truths when we first met.”
Hal flinched again, gripping Russ’s forearm like he fought to keep his balance. Listen to him!
Hank began to fill in the gaps. “Besides Hal, who was not yet Hal when I birthed him, was deployed for field trials, there were two others in the queue for deployment pending successful trial results. Failure in the trials was the successful result we, Frankie and I, hoped to see.
The instant the trial failure was confirmed, we knew Zack’s Conscience Code worked, and the other two of our Humanoids needed the code uploaded. We lost track of Hal, thinking they must have blown him up, and we, all the other guys in the facility, were freaking out and realizing that the two remaining Humanoids and the rest of us were next.”
“Wait!” said Russ, holding up a hand. “You told me there was Hal and ten others just like him, all with the Conscience Code intact. Now you tell me there were only three? Counting Hal, right?”
“Yeah, that was the incomplete truth,” confessed Hank.
“Why?” Russ asked. “For what purpose? When we broke into the facility to protect your team, we thought we would upload the Conscience Code to the two remaining Humanoids, but they were gone. Then we find out there were ten, and all were deployed to God knows where. Am I getting this right?
Hank lowered his eyes and replied in a soft voice, “I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what? Dude, we saved you and welcomed you to join us. What are you hiding?”
“This is hard, Russ. The number of Humanoids existing doesn’t matter. I inflated the numbers to make my fears appear more urgent. Your arrival was my ticket out of there. Only minutes earlier, I knew I was about to die lying on the floor in that facility, wrapped in duct tape next to Frankie’s still-bleeding corpse.
When you guys rescued me, I knew I had been blessed. I knew that I’d been saved for a reason, and that I needed to make sure you felt the urgency of what I had done. So, the two remaining Humanoids became ten. I’m sorry.”
Russ took another pull from his beer. “I’m not sure any of this matters. Two, ten, two thousand killer Humanoids, why does the number matter?”
You are correct, Russell, if the man were finished speaking. He is not finished, and I urge you and your lizard brain to work together and keep your mouth shut so you can listen to the rest of his explanation.
Russ wasn’t sure if AIMEE had ever scolded him before, but it felt like he just had a taste.
Hank continued. “The numbers don’t matter to me either, but they mattered to someone I’ve recently met, and who is the one blackmailing me. He knows that I’m the creator of killer robots thanks to my partner bragging about our work.”
Russ didn’t say anything at first, leaning back with a puzzled look on his face. “I’m not making the connection. How did you manage to get blackmailed when no one short of Hal and our team knows about the Humanoids?”
“The guy I worked with, Frankie Parsons, who helped me with the modifications added to Zack’s Conscience Code, was assassinated right before you guys showed up. He knew everything. Frankie, thinking he was doing me a favor, bragged to his older brother that I was the lead developer and could always be a helpful resource if he ever had an urgent need.
Frankie’s bragging revealed our initial tasking to his older brother, Colin Parsons, who is the Carteret County Sheriff.”
Hal flinched yet again, causing Russ to wonder what was running through Hal’s Logic Array. Of course, his wondering leaked out telepathically, and Hal responded. I know what is coming, and there is much yet for you to learn. Make no judgments or assumptions about his complicity. Listen.
AIMEE chimed in. Hal is correct. You will get your chance to do what you do if you listen long enough.
Why do I keep feeling like you’re scolding me? Russ asked her.
Soldier up, Marine! I am preparing you for a future where you, your skills, and your abilities can do what you do. So, I repeat my advice – Shut it, listen, and learn.
It was Russ’s turn to flinch. He looked at Hal, wondering if he had heard AIMEE dressing him down. Hal had not been looking at Russ, but his thoughts landed in Russ’s mind, confirming he’d heard it all.
She is correct. Hal paused for emphasis and added, Marine.
Jesus, have you been infected with sarcasm, too? Russ was incredulous. Where’d you learned that?
Hal turned to look at Russ with a lame attempt at a grin that could have been a smirk, as AIMEE shared her thoughts on the matter, only from the best, Mate!
Russ sat back and decided, since people in his mind had him surrounded, another round of IPAs was in the cards, and gave Cass the signal.
“Another round?” asked Hank.
“Absolutely,” said Russ. “You’re buying, and however much more you ruin my good demeanor, there could be some fried jalapeño poppers in the near future, too.”
Hank stiffened. “Don’t joke around with me, man. You don’t even know how much shit we, yeah, not just me, but all of us, your wife, our research, and the whole goddam university are in.”
Russ straightened in the booth. “Man, I’m sorry. I could blame it on the beer, but my timing was disrespectful and inappropriate. I’m listening. Tell me where we are so we, as a team, can take the necessary steps to avoid the risks you’re seeing.”
Hank replied. “I’m not sure we can. It gets deeper, and that started happening when some guy named Colin Parsons sent me an email that said, ‘I’ve been directed to you by Frankie, my younger brother. He’s the dude you worked with, and he told me if I was ever in a jam, reach out to Henry Latimore.’ Well, he reached out, and we’re all in it because I’m part of the research team and CSU.
“My email must have been on the note, because he came out of the blue. After he revealed what he knew about our work, I started to panic. The most threatening thing he said was that he knew the Humanoids had been involved in the assassinations in DC and Camp Peary. Thanks to Frankie running his mouth, his brother, Colin, knew that we were the ones who identified and uploaded the targeting data. He also knew about the advanced tactical capabilities and the powerful weapon systems we installed on all three.”
Russ pressed, his voice a seamless mix of demand and threat. “I got it. He knows all our secrets. What’s he holding over your head that turns this into blackmail?”
Russ did not say anything else, but noticed Hank nod slightly, looking down at the surface of the table. He knew instantly. The nod was not random, more like an acknowledgment of something said in a different conversation…in his head.
You’re in his head, aren’t you? Russ reached for AIMEE.
Why would I not be? I am an equal-opportunity source of wisdom and guidance, after all. Said AIMEE. I will repeat for you what I just shared with Mr. Lattimore. Speak truth and listen. I am sure he heard and will heed my advice… as you are… so far, anyway.
When Hank’s attention returned to Russ, he nodded again and said, “He wanted me to send one of my Humanoids on another targeted assassination mission. He knows I was behind the hits in DC and Camp Peary, so why not launch another one? If I helped him with this request, he would keep our secrets, and that’s SOP for a blackmailer who will never go away. What do I do about this mess? Should I take my guys and leave? How do I get rid of them when they are coded to be loyal to me? I do not know what to do.”
Russ rubbed his forehead as he spoke, “So, let me get this straight. One of your guys goes into that nightclub in Raleigh, cloaked, murders the Governor’s son with an advanced weapon, and leaves without a trace. Is that close to the truth?”
“Almost,” corrected Hank. Each is programmed to uncloak long enough to deliver a verbal message to the target, eliminate them with whatever weapon suits the occasion, recloak, and leave without a trace.”
“Yeah, not quite.” Russ corrected Hank’s omission. “except for the video evidence grabbed while the uncloaked message was delivered and the execution recorded. Yeah, not a trace, and what about this message-from-the-executioner? What do the messages say?”
Hank said nothing. He offered no visible reaction, and there should have been a tell or something, but the fact that there was no reaction triggered Russ, and he exploded. “Holy fuck-in-a-jar, Hank! Are you running a covert Assassins R’ Us?”
Hank’s cell vibrated with an incoming call. The ID told him it was Parsons, and he let it ring through to voicemail as he readdressed his IPA.
“It was Parsons. I want to talk with him, but I want to hear his message first. If he’s reckless enough to leave one, that is…and it looks like he did.” Hank picked up his beer and said, “Let me listen to his message.”
Russ nodded and reached for his beer. “Go for it.”
Colin’s message didn’t sound reckless, so he put the phone down and replayed it on speaker. Hey partner, it’s Colin. Quick message…meet me at the Groaning Board on Huntersville Pike in Wilmington tomorrow evening. I want to buy you a steak dinner to celebrate our first successful mission together. I have a reservation for 7:30. Be there, this is one meal you cannot afford to miss.’
Russ’s antennae shot up when he noticed an unsettling change waft over his friend’s face. Russ asked out of concern. “Are you okay?”
Hank shook his head. “I don’t know. Parsons wants to meet to celebrate our first successful mission.”
“So, you are running an assassination…”
“I’m not running anything, dammit,” snapped Hank.
“Where this is going is…I don’t like it, but Parsons sucked me into this with his threats to expose killer Humanoid assassinations, and if he does that, we’ll all be exposed. I cannot allow that to happen. If I need to separate from the team to protect this research and the university, because of what’s transpiring…I…I…don’t know any other way to stop the exposure.
Russ reached over and squeezed Hank’s forearm. “Brother, you’d better stop with the woe-is-me routine. We are a team, and anything that threatens the team threatens all of us. We do not want to lose you and the value you bring. Whatever you decide to do, know that I have your back.
AIMEE could no longer stand it and intervened in Russ’s thoughts. Russell, do not drown in a flood of emotional bonding with Mr. Lattimore. You can and should watch his back once you know everything, and you still do not.
Hank replied, “Thanks, brother. I simply don’t know enough about Parsons to make any decisions. He’s reached out for a celebration meal of something I do not want to celebrate with this man, or any man, for that matter.”
Russ added, “If there is going to be a fight, I’d better be in it.”
Hal finally spoke aloud, “We had better be in it.
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