Chapter 3 – The Assignment #6
“When you first sit down at your table,” Cathrin continued confidently, “everything will happen automatically. What happens after that remains to be seen. We’ll maintain constant contact with you via the chip and intervene from here if things start to head in the wrong direction.”
Marci had no choice but to trust Cathrin’s assurances but her concerns remained, even the next morning, as Jeanette brought her up to speed on the latest fashion and make-up trends and Marci deferred completely to her suggestions.
She wasn’t sure whether she would actually be able to move elegantly enough in a snug-fitting, snow-white suit to draw the attention of the hordes of business hyenas.
Jeanette was emphatic that she would, particularly as the combination of the incredibly short, tight skirt and the silver thigh boots revealed a significant portion of her sleek thighs.
“We’ve packed your business outfits and your evening wardrobe in a smartcase,” the equipment specialist assured her, pointing to a huge suitcase that would keep her wardrobe in perfect ready-to-wear condition.
“We’ve already taken yours to the glider.
When you get to the hotel, one of the employees will take your luggage and move it to your room. From then on, nothing can go wrong.”
Marci hoped that everything would go as smoothly as the plans for her clothes.
Jack’s eyes gleamed as he picked her up from Jeanette’s inner sanctum.
Looking Marci up and down, he gave a low whistle.
The fact that he was acting like a normal man, and not detached and uninterested like she would have expected a robot to be, unsettled her again.
Even the wink he’d given her in Rochelle’s villa as he’d walked past had unnerved her.
It was going to take her some time to get used to a robot that behaved like a human, but at least he looked as gorgeous as a real guy, if not more so.
In his close-fitting, black suit and a black roll-neck, over which he wore a holster containing his laser pistol, he made Marci quite nervous.
When he noticed her looking at him closely, he assumed a stern, unreadable expression, the kind she would expect to see on a bodyguard, and definitely on a robot, and then scowled furiously before suddenly giving a broad smile, which not only transformed his rugged face and revealed to Marci his flawless teeth but also made her heart beat faster.
It gave her a vivid impression of the effect he must have on the powerful and wealthy sex-starved women who – if Cathrin’s theory was to be believed – were desperate for a toy like him.
Despite the adverse circumstances and the fact that Jack was essentially just the product of an excellent imagination, Marci felt a burst of pride as he led her silently to the hangar, where a team of technicians watched as they climbed into a luxurious high-speed glider that would not only transport them back to the United States but would also emphasise her status as a successful businesswoman.
As they sat down in the comfortable white bucket seats that automatically adjusted to the shape of their bodies, Marci was assailed by fresh doubts – was she really up to the job?
It didn’t help when, after the gull-wing doors had closed automatically, Jack explained briefly that he could set up a wireless connection to the glider’s control program and fly it just using the power of his thoughts.
Despite the implanted chip, she barely understood half of his explanations and hoped that she wouldn’t make a fool of herself when robot technology was discussed in the upcoming meetings.
Emotion and anxiety engulfed her as Jack started up the glider and it took off vertically out of the rebel base’s hangar.
As it shot up into the azure skies and then hurtled south, skimming the treetops, she tried to quell her fear, with only partial success.
Why, for heaven’s sake, hadn’t she told Cathrin about her fear of flying?
It would probably have been a piece of cake to suppress her fear with some appropriate programming.
As Jack steered the glider over a deserted chain of mountains, she suddenly felt his warm hand on hers, pressing it far more gently than she might have expected.
“You really don’t need to be afraid,” he assured her.
“These things only crash if they’re shot out of the sky, and you definitely don’t need to worry about that.
Nobody would dare; the glider is registered in American airspace as a private jet for businesswoman Skyla Rosebud, who has received an invitation to the industrial magnates’ ball in Chicago. ”
As Marci’s heart skipped a beat, Jack smiled at her encouragingly.
“You can do it,” he said, a mysterious confidence in his green eyes.
“Please don’t say that,” she replied, her mouth twisting bitterly. “It reminds me of Will and his fake final message. His holographic clone said the same thing to me. It was all a show created by MacIntyre and his accomplices to deceive me.”
“We’ll send them all packing,” he reminded her with an encouraging nod.
Marci summoned her courage and attempted to return his nod. “I’ll do everything I can to avoid disappointing myself and your organisation.”