He missed his Buick’s personality, CINI, but not even she would have the capacity to recognize him without an implant.

  He looked out at the neighborhood where he was parked and the first thing that caught his eye was a “No Robots” sign. Robots, he thought. They can’t even bother to call them synths and acknowledge the life that was given to them. He was in Town and Country, an area west of Tampa which had always been one of the nicer neighborhoods. Nicer, but no robots. He shook his head. “I hope those kids burn this place to the ground,” he said.

  The time projected from his ICLs read 9:08 p.m., and there were so many zeppelins in the sky that the lights from their undersides made it seem a lot earlier. Any other neighborhood and I would worry about hools prowling, he thought.

  Though he didn’t want to admit it, Dhata was purposefully delaying his drive home since the later it got the less cars would be on the road. Let’s go, he thought. He got back in the car, touched the activation pad to bring it to life, and then manually drew a path to his home on its navigation system. There was no auto drive, so he placed his foot on the accelerator, took a deep breath, and pushed on.

  He touched the dashboard to bring it to life and logged into the Buick’s system, finding his massive song collection. Since multitasking could mean an accident and eventual attention from the police, Dhata selected one randomly and turned it up.

  “Hard Times” by Baby Huey and The Babysitters came on and though he wanted to skip it, he let it play. It was too appropriate for how disconnected he felt in his hometown. Wanted, with no implant, and the love of his life on the other side of the world.

  His phone buzzed and he grabbed it and looked at its face to see who was calling him. It was Ariana, and he saw that she had been trying to reach him since yesterday. Touching the icon, he placed it to his ear.

  “What did you do?” she said. “Your name and face are plastered all over the waves and you haven’t been answering my calls. Did you lose your freaking mind in Orlando, or did Aaron manage to flip you?”

  Dhata laughed at the idea of Aaron flipping him. “Hello, Ariana,” he said. “It’s good to hear from you.”

  “Cut the crap, Dhata, talk to me. There are Johns hunting for you along with every bounty hunter in the city. Why haven’t you called me?”

  “Because I heard about this nonsense only two days ago, that’s why. And the explanation is so mind-blowingly crazy that you probably won’t believe me,” he said.

  “How about you try? If I were Jason, wouldn’t you just tell me? Look, Dhata, you’ve saved my ass several times over and not asked me for much. Do you not think that I would have your back in something like this, or do you think I’m just another John who is but a tool to the system?”

  “Calm down, Ari, it isn’t even like that. I was in Japan for a week chasing down some sort of A.I. ghost and I pissed it off enough to where it has me wanted on every system. Just out of curiosity, what are my charges? I can’t get access to the police network in my current state, so I don’t even know what it has me up for.”

  “Cyber-crimes ranging from conspiracy to playing a part in the recent explosion at the Tampa Bay shuttle port. You’re also a top associate in the synth mafia, or something like that. Oh, and you’re part of a kidnapping ring, profiteering off of young human girls.”

  “Sounds like I’m a real monster,” Dhata said. “I wish I had that much time on my hands like that imaginary criminal does. Anyway, I’m not too worried about it. I came back to the states to handle a situation that I’m not at liberty to talk about right now. Any John or hool gets in my way, I have hot fire for them. I’m out of options, and time, so I really won’t be bogged down by trumped up charges.”

  “I’ve been trying to tell them this,” she said, “but you don’t seem to have many friends here in the department.”

  “Of course not. We took down one of their superstars, remember? Oh, that’s right, they think that I did it. Well imagine how you would feel if some retired John came back and started busting some of your partners for corruption. Whatever, I don’t care, though I appreciate the call. I’m good, and on a mission, so why don’t we catch up later on?”

  “Wait, don’t leave me hanging, Dhata. I want to help. What can I do to help?” Ariana said.

  “Can you rewind time and make me twenty years old and fearless again?” he said.

  “No, but I can tell you that the depressing music you listen to probably isn’t helping. What do you need to be young for? You seem to do better than any other old men I know. You have a twenty-something-year-old girlfriend, a cypher ace as your best friend—who by the way isn’t the best company to keep, Dhata. You do know that he made the FBI’s most wanted list?”

  “Hiro?” He had to laugh. “I’m surprised they even know who he is. Shows that he is slipping … there was a time when no one knew who he was until they found their bank account empty.”

  “They have no name, but the description fits, and I know who he is,” Ariana said.

  Dhata turned onto the dirt path that led back to his zeppelin and killed the lights in order to see if anyone was waiting. “Let me talk to you in a bit,” he said. “I need my wits about me.” He hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket.

  The lot was empty and the zeppelin stood within the center like a magnificent statue, but Dhata turned on his night vision and scanned the area just in case. He parked near the tree line and walked the perimeter slowly, scanning for any movement. There was only the wind, but he dared not let his guard down considering the things that had occurred in the last few days.

  When he got inside he walked through the darkness checking every room. Since the panel—like everything else—functioned off his implant, he had to fry the controls but he reasoned that he would fix it when everything was good. Finally when he had done his checks, he ran a scan through the zeppelin’s computer system. No drones, no cameras, and no one close, so after an hour of checking everything, Dhata could relax.

  “Everything good?” Ariana said when he finally called her back.

  “Yeah. Tell you what,” Dhata said. “Meet me at the old bar tomorrow morning around five, and I’ll tell you how you can help.”

  0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0

  It was early, 5:00 am early, and the sky was the color of bloody ashes. Dhata stood behind his vehicle waiting, watching as different cars came and went. He was at Synth City, parked in the front where he could see anyone that was coming in and out of the plaza. Though he wore no disguise, he stood where his face was obscured and kept one hand on the revolver, which he had brought along just in case.

  Ariana, like he and Lur, used to visit Synth City often, so the loss of Alex was as much a blow to her as it was to him. They used to meet here off-hours to talk about business, and now that he needed her help he couldn’t think of a more perfect rendezvous.

  After thirty minutes of yawning and shuffling his aching feet, Ariana’s black car pulled up. She looked tired and worn, but her eyes lit up when she saw him, and when she stepped out she gave him a hug.

  “Where have you been, you big bastard?” she said. “You had me believing that you were dead.”

  “Seriously?” he said. “I was gone, what, a week? How is it that you assume me dead?”

  “You’re Dhata Mays, hon, you’re always on. Plus I’ve never known you to ignore calls.”

  “I’m off the grid, figuratively and literally. Let me get your bag and I’ll tell you about it while we walk in.”

  Ariana nodded and he grabbed her bag, which smelled of pastries, coffee, and more. He led her to the back and jimmied the lock, opening the door to the empty bar. “Can’t come in here without thinking of Alex,” he said. “But I couldn’t think of a better place for the two of us to talk.”

  “This is good,” she said. “She would have wanted us here, especially since you’re going after the hools who did this to her.”

  He told her everything, from the A.I., to the variants, and by the time they were seated in Alex’s office, she looked to be at a loss for words.

  Dhata watched her intently, waiting for her to talk. He needed to know if she accepted what he told her. But when she opened her mouth, she cursed so loud that he looked around self-consciously.

  “So you see, Ari, it’s Natalya all over again. Corruption, fear, and a mysterious enemy. We’re working on a detector though, something to find which synths are variants, and once we have it I’d like you in on it.”

  “Of course,” she said. “You can never know who’s involved with this mess. Hell, you left for the same reason why I have to watch my back in my own department. You don’t mind if I eat, do you? I’m starving, and I only have so much time.”

  “Of course, go ahead,” Dhata said, and she reached inside the bag to grab a croissant. “Why do you stay?” Dhata said after she had taken a bite of her pastry. “You’re obviously one of the good ones, and you don’t seem popular with the crooks.”

  “I stay to help you, my big friend. Who would keep these Johns off of your shady ass?”

  Dhata laughed because she was right. Without Jason he was heavily dependent on her. She kept the police off of him when he had to cross the line, and in turn he was helping her solve cases involving the synths.

  “Oh, by the way,” she said, her mouth so full that she had to pause to chew and drink some coffee. “We caught up to two of the three girls who got Rebecca nabbed. I arrested them myself after your buddy Aaron dropped me a hint. Turns out he ain’t so bad when he thinks there’s something in it for him.”

  Dhata laughed. “Yeah, Aaron’s alright, as long as you’re on the south side of his gun,” he said. “These synth girls, Darlene and the other one, did they tell you anything?”

  “Yeah, I spoke to those broads,” she said dismissively, and Dhata raised his eyebrow at her curiously.

  “What?” she said. “They’re dumbasses. Dumbest synths I’ve ever met. Getting over on one of their own for … oh man, if I told you how much UCCs they were getting paid. They sold that girl out for drink money, Dhata, and neither of them could give me a name.”

  “What’s going to happen to them?” he said.

  “Do you care? They’re criminal synths; don’t act ignorant. You know what happens to synths in jail. You are way too intelligent to play dumb.”

  “Okay, let me try this again. How long will you detain them, and when will they be going to trial?”

  “Dhata Mays, you were once where I am. You know for a fact that the City of Tampa will not waste taxpayer money on a synth trial. The system decides their sentence, and both of them got fifteen years.”

  “Fifteen years, huh? It’s been five days, and you’re being too thin on the subject. I’ve been doing this too long to not get a whiff of what’s going on. Are either of those girls dead?” he said.

  “Yeah, the nasty one who called herself Darlene. Skinners got to her through a local girl, stabbed her in the eye with a toothbrush shank. We took the other one out and placed her in solitary so those other vipers couldn’t get to her. I would let you talk to her, but she got transferred last night. I don’t have to tell you what that means.”

  She’s in a scrap yard, that’s what that means, he thought. “I wonder if the hools out there knew that this is what you do, if they’d change their ways and walk a straight line?” he said.

  “No,” said Ariana, “they would double down. Think about it. If you knew that the system was all a lie, and that you really had no rights, would you let a John put handcuffs on you?”

  “You’re speaking like a radical while you wear the uniform of the oppressors,” Dhata said, but he couldn’t help but smirk a bit as the annoyance registered on her face. “Calm down, I’m joking. I appreciate you being straight with me. I have a question for you, though, and you will think that it’s strange but just give me a yes or no,” he said.

  Ariana pulled another piece off her croissant and shrugged, as if telling him to go on. “The synths that get killed in here—”

  “You mean the ones in jail?” she said.

  “Yeah. I know that when they die or go missing, you all sell the parts. Come on Ariana, I am not new to this, and while I can't prove that it is happening, I know deep down that you are exporting parts back to synth manufacturers,” he said.

  “Well, I am not as old as you but that sounds horrible,” Ariana said. “I haven't heard about anything like that and if I did I'd probably turn in my badge. We are profiting from this? That would make us a big part of the problem. Killing criminals is one thing, but who would want to be a part of that? I think that you’re becoming one of those conspiracy theorists, Dhata.”

  “Okay, maybe not here, but I know that it goes on. Did it not cross your mind that that’s what happened to Darlene?”

  Ariana shook her head. “So, what's really your question? You’re setting me up for some bull, and I’d rather you just come out with it.”

  Dhata sighed and regarded her, then rubbed his chin. “I’m going up north,” he said. “I invited you here to ask you to come with me, but you’d risk your job if you did. I want you to understand just how bad the system is, and how it is profiteering off of the synths. When you go into the office today, I want you to look into the records for any sign of a company called, Ubretek Automation. If you see it pop up, you’ll meet me here tomorrow morning, and together we’re going on a trip to D.C. If you decide that you’re okay with what’s going on, you can call me tonight, and I will understand.”

  Arianna examined the last of the croissant, then pressed it into her mouth and chewed. “Hmm,” she said. “And here I thought that only my exes gave ultimatums. How about this instead, hot shot. I will put in for leave and meet you here in the morning. Stop making me prove myself. We’ve done enough dirt, and you’re really starting to piss me off.”

  “That's what I thought,” said Dhata, “but I needed you to say it. I can’t really do it without your help.”

  Arianna sipped at her coffee, then rolled her eyes, “I'm still going to look into this Ubre-whatever. But I’ll come with you regardless, and you’ll owe me another favor – this one much bigger than a kidnapping case.” She wiped her hands and reached for a napkin. “What are we going to do out there?”

  “Break into a secure building and drop a virus on a rack,” he said. “Nothing too difficult for a badass like you.”

  “That’s it?” she said, smiling. “And here I was worried. It’s so good to see you, Dhata!”

  ‡Chapter 21‡

  What Happened in DC

  What could be crazier than driving into the capital of the United States as a wanted criminal, with a partner who is a detective on the police force? Dhata thought about this as he stared out the window of the passenger side of Ariana’s Jeep. They were armed to the teeth and dressed for stealth, so any traffic stops were out of the question. Luckily for them they had made the trip without incident, and the building in question now stood out in the distance.

  The drive had taken a little over eight hours, but they had burned through it easily swapping stories about Jason. They got along well and had much in common, though she was almost twenty years his junior. There was also the fact that there was a mutual attraction, a fact that Lur had cautioned him about several times. But who else did he have? Aaron, the gangster? He was out of options and this needed to be done.

  Washington DC was a tall metropolis, similar to Tokyo but without the flair. The population had grown, forcing the buildings to get taller, and now it was a patchwork of skyscrapers. Unfortunately for them, the Jeep was a road vehicle, so they couldn’t take the top highway to get access to the roof. So they parked inside a garage that was across the street and laid out their plans for entering.

  Ariana, though dressed in black, wasn’t intimidating or wanted, so she went down to the street level and attached a rack to one of the power lines. Dhata contacted Hiroshi to tell him where he was, and the cypher connected remotely to the rack Ariana dropped.

  “It already sees me,” Hiro said. “I need to log out. It will have to be Lurita to do this.”

  “Alright,” Dhata said. “Good luck on your end. I’m synched to the rack so she can talk to me through the headset.”

  “Dhata,” Lur said. “Is everything alright?”

  “Yeah, how about you? Did those variants return?”

  “They did, but the men we paid killed five of them. They are getting desperate. It is very frightening. I haven’t been able to leave this room since the day you left.”

  “It will soon be over. Now, just do what you need to do,” he said. He looked up and saw Ariana sprinting his way. He pulled the revolver, then thought better of it and pulled the Vulcan instead.

  Two men dressed in business suits were bearing down on her, but she was fast, sprinting at impressive speed. They were doing their best to keep up. They were on the top of the garage, right below the roof, and there was only one other car parked in the vicinity.

  With no witnesses to complicate things, Dhata dropped one of the men, then looked down at the pistol to make sure that it was on EXP mode. The letters read LTL. It was firing live rounds. When the hell did I switch it to this mode? he wondered. Still, Ariana was being chased, so he didn’t wonder long. He brought up the pistol, pulled the trigger, and dropped the second one.

  “Hey, that’s loud!” Ariana said, out of breath. “You’re trying to bring down all the security on us, man?”

  She jumped into the driver’s side and started up the vehicle and Dhata got in next to her, ducking his head as they took off. She took them into traffic, down Arkansas Ave. She parallel parked between two other vehicles and led him out into the crowd. “We need to hide in plain view,” she said. “The target is right over there.” To his surprise, Dhata saw that she had in fact driven to the rear of the building.

  “This building next to us is an apartment stack,” Dhata said. “If you look at the top, it has bridge access leading across. I say we climb up and work our way from the roof, and then when—”

 

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