jRobot, Ch. 2, [NC-17], RPS, J2 AU
Jared had parked a few blocks away. It seemed appropriate for a surveillance mission. Now that seemed like the worst idea ever. Stopping in the alley behind the store, Jensen continued to hold Jared’s bicep in a vise-like grip, but Jared was determined and tugged Jensen toward where he’d left his car.
“This way! I’m parked up here.”
When Jensen started to release him, Jared grabbed Jensen’s arm equally tight, ignoring how Jensen twisted in his grip.
“You’re not with them?”
Oh god. Jensen was malfunctioning again. “No. I told you I wasn’t going to turn you over. Trust me. Okay?”
A long stare later, Jensen nodded, and they jogged down the alley side-by-side. Jared ducked his head out at the end, and not seeing any suspicious pedestrians, motioned Jensen to follow. The car was in sight when the first crack hit the sidewalk. Fuck. They were shooting at them again! Jensen reacted first, diving between two bumpers and pulling Jared with him. Jared could have sworn he heard the robot swear. Not like he wasn’t swearing up a storm himself. Would that be another sign of the robot’s malfunctioning if he started cursing in front of his superiors? Though, to his credit, Jensen was using profanity appropriately.
Another ping ricocheted off metal. Jared looked around frantically. Jensen inched them alongside a parked car. As far as cover went, it was better than nothing. A bullet shattered glass above them.
Maybe not.
“Didn’t think it would happen this soon,” Jensen muttered.
“Yeah. They must have followed me. Although I don’t know how. Guess your probability was off as to them knowing who I am. Or … they followed you. Why did you leave Chad’s? Is he okay?!” Sudden worry about his innocent friend chilled Jared like an ice cube had just rolled down his back.
Another spray of rat-tat-tat banged against the car. Then Jared heard voices. Dammit. They were sitting ducks.
“Look,” Jensen said gripping his arm again. “They don’t want you. I’ll just-“
“No. They’ll terminate you. Or worse. You can’t …” He heard steps and a loud voice ordering the hunters to circle. Now or never. He grabbed Jensen’s hand and repeated the robot’s earlier word. “Run!”
They took off in a half crouch, shuffling as quickly as possible in the awkward pose, trying to keep their heads below the vehicles. Jared took point since he knew where they were headed. He trusted Jensen was following. This was fu … flippin’ crazy. No more swearing. A foul mouthed robot was. Just no. But. Oh fuck. The heat of something slicing the air was close. Too close. Jared eyed his car a few feet away.
“Which is it?” Jensen whispered.
“Red Toyota.”
A tight grip grabbed his arm again and they were off. Jared scrambled to the door handle and was turning the key in the ignition as he heard Jensen slide into the back seat.
“Drive!” Jensen ordered.
Jared took off. Minutes later he saw the black SUV behind them again.
How did they do it in the movies?
Jared cut across two lanes of traffic to get in the left turn bay.
“Why are you slowing down?” the robot screamed from the rear. Fuck. Years of obeying the traffic laws needed to get thrown out the window. Jared eyed the approaching traffic and pulled out to make his turn. Horns blared and brakes screeched. He was pretty sure there were swear words thrown at him.
As he accelerated there was a metal-mangling crash behind him.
“That stopped ‘em … Oh, fuck, it didn’t! Pull into that lot and make a U-turn!”
Jared’s tires actually squealed as he took the right-angle too fast. He hit his horn to stop the vehicle backing out as he careened past the parked cars.
“Look out!”
An oblivious cellphone user started to cross right in front of the Toyota and Jared laid on the horn again, watched as the woman jumped about a foot straight up and dropped her phone which spun under his wheels.
“Sorry!” he yelled pointlessly.
They shot out of the driveway and headed back the way they’d come from and damned if the black SUV didn’t pass them going the wrong way. He eased off the gas momentarily.
“Don’t slow down! They’re making a U-turn!”
Speeding up again, Jared tore through a yellow light and flew past two cars by swerving into the wrong lane and forcing the oncoming minivan into a parked car.
He hoped no one had gotten hurt.
The light ahead turned red.
“Turn! Turn!”
Jared just missed t-boning a bus, instead sideswiping the silver car on his right. Goddamn, his insurance was going to go up. Again.
They’d covered three more blocks at way too fast a speed when the backseat passenger snarled, “They’re back behind us again. Fuckers won’t quit! Turn at the next intersection!”
“Which way?”
“Any way! Just get out of their line-of-sight! Now!”
Jared was sure that if he looked at his chest he would see his ribs bulging in time with each heartbeat, because his internal organs had surely rearranged themselves to let his heart climb out. Could too much adrenaline give you a heart attack?
“Into the alley!”
He didn’t make the sharp turn cleanly this time. The car fishtailed and Jared over-corrected and the front grill connected with a garbage dumpster.
Newton was, of course, right about the laws of motion, and though the car stopped abruptly, Jared continued forward over the steering wheel until his forehead challenged the windshield to a punching match.
He thought woozily that he’d won because the glass cracked before his head did.
Hands grabbed his shoulders from behind and shoved him into the passenger side. Half of him anyway, his feet were tangled in the pedals.
“Move over, idiot!”
“Hey, don’ shove …”
Wetness was dripping into his eyelashes. He wiped at it as his legs were unceremoniously pushed over the gearshift.
“God, you are a fucking Goliath!”
“Uh …” His hand was red. He wiped it on his shirt. Looked like one of his kid’s finger paintings.
The side of Jared’s head smacked against the side window as the robot whipped the car in reverse and then swerved past the dumpster. Jared contemplated the neon-colored stars flashing around his head, then realized that Jensen was accelerating through the narrow lane at a suicidal speed.
“Stop! Slow down! You’re gonna kill us!”
The robot didn’t answer. Jared could see his knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he course-corrected with little twitches, leaning forward so far that his chest was nearly touching his fists.
The buildings parted and Jensen pressed his palm to the Toyota’s horn, not slowing a microsecond as the car exploded out of the alley, across four lanes of traffic coming from both directions, and flew into the next alley before Jared could complete his horrified intake of breath. Tire screeches, car horns, and metallic collisions were left behind as Jensen continued to zoom recklessly past trash cans, wooden pallets, and smashed cardboard.
“You can drive!” Jared excused himself for the obviousness of that statement because his head was still expanding and contracting with painful throbs. Guess robot training camp included mad getaway driving techniques, because when they reached the next street and merged into traffic, Jensen stated with satisfaction, “Lost the bastards!”
Jared was shaking. He had to stop, catch his breath. Figure out what to do next. “Can you take me home?” He didn’t mean to sound quite so pathetic.
“Direct me.”
Inching upright, Jared oriented himself as he saw the sign for the Thai restaurant where he ordered from at least once a week.
“Left at the light, two blocks and another left.”
There was an empty space in front of his apartment and he told the robot to pull over. Maybe this was monumentally stupid but he couldn’t just take off. He needed to at least pack a bag, get some money, credit cards. Call the center. Oh crap. Work. The kids needed him. But he couldn’t bring this anywhere near them.
“Where are we?” Jensen asked looking around as if to catch his bearing. “Is it safe?”
“Crap, your memory is spotty again. This is my apartment. I don’t know how long it’ll be safe. But I have to get some stuff. C’mon.”
They took the stairs and Jared disappeared into the bedroom to pack a bag. He should call Chad. Make sure he knows they are both okay. In the bathroom he examined the cut to his forehead. It was clotting already and wasn’t as bad it looked. But damn, it hurt. He washed it carefully, decided to forgo any further first aid for now and swallowed down some Tylenol for his splitting headache. Still shaking he took deep slow breaths to get himself together and try to think of what safe place they could go.
Back in the living room Jensen stood looking around cautiously. Jared noted he was holding onto his upper arm.
“Sustained some damage?”
“Bullet grazed me. You got a first aid kit?”
Jared bit back a laugh. “First aid kit? Well, I got a tool box somewhere if that will help.”
Jensen’s brows furrowed. “I can get it myself if you want. Bathroom that way?”
He figured maybe Jensen needed tweezers or something. Must be tight inside the wiring in his arms. Sighing, he walked Jensen into his small bathroom. Jensen took off his jacket, letting out a small hiss. The material was dark brown and pulled away with a sticky tear. Funny, the last time, Jensen’s inner liquid looked bluish. Must be the light.
Jared pulled open his medicine cabinet and took out a pair of tweezers, a nail clipper and an old barber scissor he used to trim his beard on the rare occasions when he’d grown one. He put them on the vanity in front of Jensen. “I might have small round nose pliers somewhere. Think that’ll help?”
Jensen met his eyes and Jared noted how bright they looked. Come to think of it, Jensen’s skin color seemed different, too. More golden. These energy efficient bulbs were shit for light. Jensen ignored him and turned into the mirror to examine the tear in his shirt. He took it off gingerly. Beneath it he wore a gray tee-shirt. Must have gotten the clothes from Chad. They fit better than Jared’s had. The wound was just below the sleeve’s edge, right on his really impressive bicep. Damn, it looked different from the last injury. In fact, if he didn’t know better, he’d think it was bleeding.
“Do you have some actual blood running around your system, too?”
Jensen grimaced as his finger touched near the wound. “Do you have some antiseptic and maybe some gauze?”
Jared blinked. “Um … yeah. It’s just that the last time you didn’t … “ Then he remembered that Jensen had said he had some organic parts. Guess this must have hit some of that. It made him wonder.
“Does it … hurt?”
“Yes, it hurts!” Jensen yelled. Jared could hear the unsaid, ‘you moron.’ Had a couple hours with Chad’s snarking rubbed off on the robot, already? “It’s going to get infected if I don’t clean it out.” Jensen pointed to Jared’s forehead. You should put something on that, too.”
Infected? Well, if it’s organic then Jared guessed that made sense. He wondered now if Jensen was more cyborg than robot? Or … like those Cylons that looked like humans? They had this weird light in their backs that shone like a glow worm when they had sex. He stopped himself from thinking along those lines further.
Then a different thought crossed Jared’s mind. Since when did Jensen have an … odor?
“You smell.”
“Excuse me?”
Jared moved closer and inhaled. Huh. He could swear that was sweat. He shook his head to distract himself from impossibly good looking machines that emitted earthy smells. A quick fumble in the cabinet beneath the sink produced a small but serviceable first aid kit. His mother had insisted he buy it when he’d first moved into the apartment. He pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a tube of Bacitracin and some sterile gauze and tape.
He moved the robot’s hand away from the wound. “Let me see.”
Jensen batted Jared’s hand away grabbing the supplies. “No. I got it.” His tone broached no argument.
Jared wondered briefly at this new authoritative tone but decided to let Jensen just take care of himself. They shouldn’t dilly-dally anyway. He let the robot proceed on his own self-repair and went ahead and dabbed some ointment on his forehead before covering the cut with a bandage.
Back in his bedroom Jared randomly stuffed clothes in a medium-sized duffel. Then with a sigh, he peered out the window carefully. Looked quiet.
He jumped when his cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey, you gonna come get your boy anytime soon? I have a life, you know!”
“Chad?”
“Seriously, I thought you said you’d be right back.”
“What are you talking about? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just, dude’s weird, man. He … keeps taking things apart and putting them back together. And he’s been practicing these jokes on me that just aren’t funny.”
Jared plopped down hard on the bed, air filling his lungs too slowly. “You mean … are you talking about Jensen?”
“Who else?”
“You can’t mean ... How long ago did he run out on you?”
“What? He didn’t go anywhere, man. I’m taking care of him like you asked.”
“He’s there now?”
“Of course. So are you coming or what?”
Oh god. If Jensen was with Chad, then what the heck was in his bathroom? And then he remembered Jensen telling him he was ‘protocol one’. Where there’s one … “Chad. I gotta go. I’ll be there soon. I promise. Please, don’t leave. Don’t let anyone in. Nobody, no matter what ID they claim to have. Don’t go near the windows. Just. Sit tight and I’ll be there.”
“Jay-man, you’re scaring me. What are you talking about?!”
“Nothing. I mean, just hang tight.”
He hung up and cornered Jensen who was standing in front of Jared’s bookcase looking over titles. “You have lots of books on education,” the robot said.
Jared ignored that comment. “What number are you?”
“Huh?”
“I met Protocol One. Don’t pretend. Were you sent to get him back?”
Jared was slammed against the wall before he could utter another squeak. Strong fists gripped the front of his shirt. “You have Protocol One? What have you done with it?!”
“Whoa! I haven’t done anything with him. He’s safe. How many of you are there anyway?”
The robot’s fists squeezed harder, ignoring Jared’s question in favor of one of his own. “Where is it?”
Instinctively, Jared lifted his arms to break Jensen’s grip, inadvertently putting pressure on the newly wrapped wound. Jensen released him immediately with a loud groan. Jared pulled back as if burned. The skin -- the robot’s skin -- it was warm, hot. He stared into his eyes … noticed the tiny differences, the way the pupil contracted normally, the speckles of brown and gold mixed into the green. Subtle things. A slight curve in his nose, imperfect pores and facial hair and that damn combination of adrenaline-fueled sweat and some sort of aftershave and … freckles.
“You … you’re human.” Jared’s hand reached out to touch Jensen’s cheek.
“Don’t touch me,” the man said harshly. “You’re insane.”
“I’m … You’re ... you’re …”
“I’m Doctor Jensen Ackles. So you wanna tell me who the fuck you are and why you’ve stolen my robot?”
Jared really needed to sit down. He slid down the wall and landed on the wood floor with a slight wince as his ass made contact. Jensen … Doctor Ackles … stood above him, nostrils flared and anger pouring off him like waves of smoke.
“You’re human,” Jared repeated again stupidly. Because that shouldn’t be the oddest thing. But somehow it was.
Jensen’s eyes narrowed as he put it together. “You thought I was Protocol One?”
“Y-yes. Jensen, it, he calls himself Jensen.” And then Jared looked up to take in the doctor’s nearly perfect features. “You made that machine to look just like you.”
The hubris of that hit Jared at once and energized him. He stood up abruptly, making the other man stumble back a step. “What kind of egomaniac does that?!”
Jensen looked away a moment before shifting his eyes defiantly back at Jared. “A really smart one. Look, I have more PhDs than most people have legs. That machine isn’t a toy. And if you think you’re going to be able to ransom it you have another thing coming.” The doctor glared furiously. “I hope you like it up the ass because where you’re heading there won’t even be a key.”
“Where do you get off threatening me? I didn’t steal your precious machine. He found me.”
Jensen scoffed, “Right. He found you. He wandered out of a secure top-secret paramilitary location to find you.” Jensen ran his hand through his hair in a whiplash change from belligerent to puzzled. “Why would it do that?” And back to demanding. “Who. The fuck are you?”
“My name’s Jared. Jared Padalecki. And I … I run a daycare center.” Damn. The center. He had to call them. Say he wouldn’t be around for a while. Couldn’t go there on Monday. Couldn’t bring any of this near his kids. In fact, he didn’t want to tell this crazy person any more about his personal life.
Ackles was staring at him with those almost-too-amazing-to-be-real eyes. “A daycare center?” His voice softened and trailed off. “Holy … “ A slightly hysterical laugh escaped. “Where did you find Pro-the robot?”
“Jensen. He calls himself Jensen. And he was sitting in a bar. The bar I made the mistake of walking into.”
“The robot? My robot … was in a bar?”
“Yes. O’Malley’s. It’s not far from here. He was sitting there. I don’t think he was drinking anything. An’ I … noticed him.”
Jensen stared at Jared like he was registering Jared’s appearance for the first time and then Jensen’s eyes grew round as he breathed, “Oh my-you tried to pick him up.”
Jared grew defensive. “No. I mean, it wasn’t like-he flirted with me!”
“Protocol One flirted with you? That’s impossible. You really are insane.” Jensen rubbed the back of his head again, clearly a nervous habit, and released a choked laugh before giving Jared another slow once over. “Although … he had good taste if he did.”
“What?” Jared looked blankly at the stranger whose robot had turned his life upside down.
“Nothing. Look, we’re talking in circles. Where is it? I need to get to it before they do.”
“Who are they? The men chasing us. Why do they want him?”
Jensen looked away. It was obvious he was uncomfortable. “I can’t tell you. That’s classified.”
Jared’s frustration grew. “Your flippin’ robot is classified. And if you want to ever see him again, then you’d better start filling me in on what the hell is going on.”
Jared’s cell phone rang again interrupting anything further the doctor might have said. “Yeah?”
“Jay?”
“Chad? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. He … Jensen wants to speak to you.”
Jared turned partially away from the intense stare of the robot’s creator and told Chad to put Jensen on.
“Hey pal, everything okay?”
“The black vehicle is resuming its search pattern in the area.”
“Shit.”
Jensen - human Jensen - quickly said, “What?”
Jared ignored him. “Jen … make sure they don’t see you. I … I’m coming to pick you and Chad up. I’ll be there soon. Just remember what we spoke about, okay. No hurting anyone.”
Ackles sprang into action behind Jared. “Is that Protocol One? You’re talking to him on the phone?! Jesus, give me the phone. Now!”
Jared ignored the pissed-off scientist and continued speaking as calmly as he could to his much gentler creation. “Promise me again that you won’t hurt anyone.”
“Jared. I will not hurt anyone.”
“He can’t hurt anyone. The aggression algorithm is only enabled during training.”
Jared spun to face Jensen. “Yeah, well, think again because he hit me yesterday.”
On the phone, the robot said with what certainly sounded an awful lot like remorse. “I am sorry for that, Jared. That was an error.”
“Yeah, an error. It’s okay, I’m not mad about that. Just nobody else. Call if you need me. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Can you put Chad on?”
In front of him Doctor Ackles looked paler. His eyes were huge. “He … hit you? But … he shouldn’t be able to-“
Jared didn’t have time for the doctor any longer. “Chad? I need you to pack a bag for a few days.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Send an email to the office that you’ll be taking a few days off.”
“Jay?”
“And that’s it. Don’t tell anyone else. Less folks involved the better.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I can’t take off now. We’re busy with the summer list-“
“There are … people after Jensen. Bad people, Chad. I can’t explain now. Not until I get more information.” At that he looked pointedly at Jensen. “But it’s not safe. They’re looking for him and they’ve been circling your apartment. Chad. Please listen to me, it’s not a joke. They have guns and they’ve already used them. Wait for me. I’ll call you when I’m near and then we’ll head out.”
“Of all the hair-brained-Jared, even for you this is too much. Guns? Why don’t we call the cops?!”
Chad had yelled that so loud that Ackles heard him and immediately argued back, “No. No police. That’ll lead them to Protocol One faster than him just stepping into the street and announcing himself.”
“What will they do to him?” Jared asked.
Jensen met his eyes a moment before looking down. No words were spoken but Jared suddenly knew that he couldn’t let the authorities get the robot back. “No police. They … I’ll explain, I promise. Trust me, please. Pack a bag. I’ll call again soon.”
He hung up before Chad could protest further. He turned back to Jensen who was now avoiding meeting Jared’s eyes. “Are they after you, too? Or did they think you were the robot, like I did?”
“I didn’t know-I think probably they thought I was Protocol One.”
“You sure about that?”
“Pretty sure.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why aren’t they after you?”
Jensen finally looked up. “Because I’m on their side.”
“Do you know how to hot wire a car? Can’t take mine, they know what it looks like.”
Jensen turned those abnormally big eyes on Jared. “No! What do I look like to you?”
Jared snorted. “You look like a mad genius who created a robot in his image.”
Jensen’s lips twisted in a small smirk but he didn’t reply. After a moment, he said, “Call a taxi.”
The taxi pulled around the corner to Chad’s apartment building and both men exited quickly. Jared looked back and forth down the street. His head was reeling. He’d been operating on nothing but adrenaline for hours. The painkillers were wearing off and his head was pounding again from where it had crashed into the windshield and he still had huge holes in what he understood about this situation. Classified. If Jared heard that damn word one more time he really was gonna slug the self-proclaimed genius.
Who in the world called themselves that, anyway? Back in his apartment Jared had tried to get some information.
“Why do they want Jensen? I mean, robot Jensen?”
Jensen had looked at him like he was a moron. “It’s incredibly valuable. A top asset. You didn’t really think they’d just let it stroll out of there?”
“Is that what he did? Stroll out of there?”
Jensen smiled and for a moment Jared could have sworn he saw a measure of pride. “Looks like it.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
Jared bristled at the constant questioning of his questions. “Why did he leave? What were you doing to him?!”
Jensen stiffened and took a step closer, getting right up in Jared’s personal space. “I didn’t do anything to him. I’m the genius that made him.”
Blinking away the remnants of that annoying conversation, Jared skulked toward Chad’s, keeping to the shadows of the other buildings. Doctor Ackles walked silently behind him. Jared tried to figure out what he’d say to Chad. As if reading Jared’s mind, Ackles said, “You can’t tell him.”
“I don’t want to lie any more. I owe him the truth.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t. It’s bad enough you know.”
“You selfish … I saved your ass.”
“Actually, I think I’m the one that did the ass saving.” At that, Jensen’s eyes tipped downward and most definitely checked out the subject being discussed. Jared blushed despite himself.
Jared knocked and burst inside as soon as Chad opened the door. Jensen followed, eyes searching. They got wide when they spotted the robot.
“Pro-One.”
“Doctor Ackles.”
Chad stared between them before turning to Jared. “Dude, twins?” He leered. “Kinky.”
Two sets of green eyes and one pair of hazel eyes all narrowed at once. “Chad!” Jared reproved. “It’s not-“
“I am not coiled,” the not-so-human Jensen said.
“Jensen … “ Both turned to look at Jared. He ran a hand through his hair. “I have to tell him.”
“No,” Ackles quickly argued.
“Tell me what?” Chad looked curious.
“He’s-“
“My brother,” Ackles blurted out before Jared could finish.
Jared sighed.
“Yeah, I figured.” Chad held his hand out toward Jensen. “Chad Murray.”
Jensen shook it briefly. “Jensen Ackles.”
Chad looked puzzled. “You and your brother have the same first name?”
Jensen looked confused. He turned to the robot. “You called yourself Jensen?”
The robot looked chagrined. Jared knew he kept attributing these feelings to a machine but really he had a very expressive face. Maybe Ackles really was a genius.
“I am sorry Doctor Ackles. People expected a response when they asked me who I was. I borrowed your name.” He took a step closer to Jared and moved slightly behind him. “Will I be terminated now?”
Jared stepped fully in front of the robot. “Nobody is terminating anybody.”
“Jay? What are they-“
Jared looked at Chad. “Did you pack a bag?”
“Yeah. It’s inside. Look, who are these guys? Why is someone after them? What’s it got to do with you?”
“I … it’s complicated. C’mon, let’s go while it’s quiet. I’ll tell you when we get there.”
“Get where?” Chad asked.
Jared didn’t know. The little he’d gotten from Jensen earlier only gave him enough information to know he couldn’t let the robot get back into Cybernon hands.
“He was the culmination of years of AI research. Except … they weren’t seeing it that way.”
“Who is they?”
“The government. The company. Look, I didn’t work alone. I’m not some Doctor Frankenstein no matter what you think. The team is huge. I just … had some fresh ideas. And it made the robot … special.”
Jared couldn’t disagree with that. He’d been surprised when Jensen kept talking. “My AI, Protocol One, it passed the Turing Test. Repeatedly. Hell, it apparently passed for human out in the real world.” There was a touch of incredulity in Jensen’s voice as he said that.
“What’s that test … what do you mean?”
“It’s a blind test devised to pit an interrogator, a questioner, against a computer artificial intelligence to see if they can tell whether they are talking to a machine or a human. Pro-One fooled them. Every time. No machine’s done that before.”
“He fooled me. I thought he was just eccentric.”
“But … you said it hit you? It shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
“Yeah, well, it was a mistake. It misunderstood what I said about ‘hitting on someone.’”
Jensen laughed. And it shouldn’t have sounded to Jared like the sexiest sound he’d ever heard. Because Jensen was about as insane as they came. And really, Jared should be figuring out a way to separate from him, not get any closer. Shit. No thinking about being closer.
“Jared,” Jensen said once he’d sobered once more. “Take me to my - to him - please?”
The four of them made it downstairs before the shit hit the proverbial fan again.
“Jared … the vehicle is back. I believe we’ve been sighted.”
“Fuck! They can’t see me,” Jensen shouted.
“Doctor Ackles, what will they - will they harm you?”
“No. Pro-One, don’t worry about it. Is there a back entrance?”
“There’s the alley where we leave our recyclables,” Chad said.
Jared knew where it was and led the way. Chad, right behind him stage whispered. “Dude, what the fuck is going on?”
“Later. Where are you parked?”
“In the building’s lot, off the side.”
The sounds of running feet sounded ominously close. “We’re not going to make it,” Jensen barked.
“There is a ninety-eight percent probability of being seen in the side parking lot,” the robot added.
Great. Jared looked around frantically. Chad’s building shared the alley with its neighbor. He ran toward the opposite side door. It was locked. “You don’t have a key, do ya?” he asked Chad.
“No. I don’t live there.”
Jared met Jensen’s eyes. “How strong is he?”
“Pro-One, open the door.”
The robot tugged and the heavy door came toward him as if it was cardboard. Chad looked puzzled. “Musta been unlocked. You gotta hit the gym more, Jay-man.”
They ran inside and Doctor Ackles pulled the door shut behind them. “Now what?” he asked Jared.
“It will take four minutes before they can reach us given the approximate speed they were running,” the robot volunteered before Jared could respond.
“Are they watching the front?”
Ackles shot him a withering stare. He looked around the corridor and spotted the staircase. “Up. It’s the only way.”
They raced up the stairs and reached another locked door. This time Chad tried it first. Seconds later the robot yanked it open. “How’d he-“
Jared brushed past him.
The roof was flat and low walled. “Okay, genius … we’re up here, now what?” Jared asked Jensen.
Once again, the robot answered. “You three hide. I can jump to the next rooftop, make noise and get their attention. They will follow me. Then you can go back down.”
Jensen and Jared said, “No” at the same time.
Chad stared at Jared, then back to the robot. “Dude … is he … a robot?”
Jensen gaped. Really, his mouth opened in this funny little drop and Jared had to bite back an instant giggle. Chad might speak crudely but he wasn’t an idiot. He worked in publishing and lived and breathed sci-fi. Jared knew he’d pick up on what was going on sooner rather than later.
“I am a mechanical form overlaid with organic matter and housing a cybernetic multi-agent AI algorithm.”
“A … cyborg?” Chad asked.
“Not quite,” the doctor answered. “Look we don’t have time for this. It’s only a matter of time before they look up here.”
“Two point fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks, Jen.”
“Stop calling it that.”
“He calls himself Jensen, not ‘Pro-One,’ which sounds like a brand of dog food,” Jared argued.
Chad interrupted. “Guys … missing the point. Two minutes till the men with guns arrive. Ideas?”
The sound of feet on the steps carried up through the open doorway. Jared looked across at the neighboring roof. It was lower by several feet. Oh god. He took a deep breath and walked back a few feet to get a running start. “Yeah. Jump!”
He heard Chad shout, “Jay ... are you insane?!”
But it was too late because he was in the air by then. Seconds later Jensen and then the robot landed next to him. “Chad, c’mon.”
His friend landed near him with a loud thump. Jared looked up quickly but didn’t see anybody on the roof they’d been on. “Jen, do you know how many are after us?”
Ackles answered first. “I saw three men before.”
“Correct. The black vehicle contains three occupants.”
This was going to get confusing fast. Maybe the dog food name was better than nothing. “J-Pro-One, can we make the next roof?”
The robot peered over. “I can. However, there’s a ninety percent probability of you breaking a bone on impact.”
Jensen looked on the far side of the roof. “Hey! Over here. A fire escape ladder.”
Chad looked down. “Dude, are you nuts, that drop’s too far. We’ll break bones that route, too.”
“I can lower you,” Pro-One said matter-of-factly.
The robot let each man down to the top fire escape before making his own graceful leap. Jared and Chad shared an impressed look. Chad turned to Jensen. “You made him?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“So, you’re like his dad,” Chad continued. Jared chuckled until Chad turned to him. “What’s that make you? His mom?”
“Shut up,” both Jared and Jensen said at the same time. Chad smirked before starting to clamber down. The last leap was a long one and Jared felt the shock in his already tired legs.
The side of the building they’d landed on was quiet, no bad guys in sight. Chad held them back as Jared made to leave the protection of the alley. “No. Stay here. I’ll get us a cab and then whistle when it’s safe.”
Alone, the three of them stood awkwardly. Well, Jared felt awkward. He didn’t know what the robot and its creator were feeling.
“Jared is my friend,” Pro-One said suddenly. He looked into his father’s eyes. “Is this acceptable?”
Jared stared as the most emotion he’d seen yet crept into the gorgeous eyes of the man that had built this perfect child. “You feel … friendship?” Jensen raised his hand as if to touch his creation, but stopped short of actual contact.
“Is that an error?”
“No … Pro-One … it’s not an error.”
To Chapter 3
To Master Post
To Art Post