Chapter 4 – Enemy Territory #4
“And who do we have here?” she asked with a radiant smile directed exclusively at Jack. Rickman had vanished by now, presumably unwilling to introduce a robot.
Marci was suddenly faced with a problem, not knowing whether to introduce Jack by his name, but the governor’s wife pre-empted her.
“Is this your husband?” she asked Marci, looking slightly confused.
“No, this is my robot,” replied Marci truthfully, leaving the two women momentarily speechless. Marci was amused by their reaction, but it hadn’t solved the problem of which name to use.
Jack glossed over the awkward situation by giving both women a formal bow and kissing their hands.
Whoever had taught him that, it had the desired effect. The governor’s wife was delighted, her artificially rounded breasts visibly heaving in her tight-fitting satin corset.
“I wish Trevor were this attentive,” she gushed effusively, “but unfortunately he comes from a dynasty of brutish cattle farmers for whom manners are a foreign concept.”
“He’s a robot?” asked Jill. “He doesn’t look at all like a robot, even if he definitely fits the dimensions of those humanlike combat machines, but I wouldn’t want to sit at the same table as one of them,” she admitted unconvincingly, giving Jack a look full of promise, to which he responded with a confident smile.
“In his previous life, he was actually a combat robot,” explained Marci with an air of smugness, as if Jack were a dangerous predator and she was the only one who could now control him.
“But apart from the fact that he can rip an attacker’s head off, he’s completely harmless,” she declared with a sideways glance at Captain Incredible, as she’d been calling him to herself since the events of that afternoon.
She noticed the women’s quizzical looks and Jack’s disapproving raised eyebrow and wondered whether she might have gone too far with the bit about ripping heads off. “Just a joke,” she added with a nervous giggle. “Honestly, he’s completely harmless.”
Jack assumed a non-committal expression and Marci signalled to him that she wanted to sit down.
He immediately pulled a chair up for her before sitting down next to Jill Ambush, much to Marci’s displeasure.
The women had clearly noticed his courteous manner and, after their initial shock, stared at him with interest clear in their eyes.
A waiter appeared at their table to take their orders; Marci requested a red wine and Jack, a whisky on the rocks. When their drinks arrived, Jack toasted both Marci and the two women, who responded with enthusiasm to his friendly attention.
Grinding her teeth, Marci turned to her prominent neighbour – whose interest in Jack had clearly increased – while he blithely answered Jill Ambush’s questions. She gave him the third degree, asking about his abilities and discovering that he could easily replace a domestic robot.
“But you don’t just cook, clean and do laundry for women,” said Jill in amusement as he recounted a list of innocuous tasks that he performed to satisfy the requirements of his demanding clientele. “You also go to bed with them?”
As she asked this, she looked away from Jack and directly at Marci, who wanted to answer Yes, but not with you, you stupid cow.
Instead, Marci gave a feline smile. “I would say that’s his ideal task. And, if I might add, he fulfils it exquisitely.”
“Impressive.” Jill Ambush gave Jack a look full of desire, which he completely ignored.
Good, thought Marci, pleased by his response but knowing that they wouldn’t succeed like that; Jill had to take the bait and that wasn’t going to happen if Marci claimed it for herself.
“Hang on a minute…?” murmured Lorna Atkinson, who now had a second cocktail in front of her. A sudden flash of inspiration caused her otherwise smooth forehead to wrinkle. “Does that mean he’s one of these sexual entertainment robots that Rochelle MacIntyre thought were the future?”
“Almost,” confirmed Marci with a smooth smile.
“The difference is that MfM has better technology and a better design concept. Our robots are far more than just mechanical lovers. They are reliable, charming and, naturally, have incredible stamina. In emotional interactions with them, the only difference between them and a human man is that they are emotionally articulate and romantic, if you want them to be,” added Marci with an enigmatic smile.
“They also function as reliable bodyguards and are guaranteed to deal with any opponent. With a robot like him, I’d happily travel anywhere in the world.
” Marci regarded Jack fondly and saw his lips quirk in amusement as he sipped at his whisky.
Lorna’s expression remained sceptical whereas Jill Ambush, who was sipping seductively at her Blue Lagoon, was looking at Jack with clear adoration in her violet eyes.
“It’s said that Rochelle MacIntyre paid for her little robot adventure with her life,” said Lorna, still unsure. “And the robot delivered by CRU has disappeared without a trace. Is it possible that this unknown robot has that on its conscience?”
“I’d heard that, too,” said Marci cryptically, trying not to look at Jack.
“But that kind of thing wouldn’t happen with our robots.
All our escorts come with an iron-clad safety guarantee on all its aggression components.
The robot will never turn on its owner. It loves her with an emotional intensity similar to that of a human, but with the difference that its owner can switch it off at any time if she’s not in the mood for it. ”
Marci had no idea whether that was true. She’d simply repeated the words that central command had put in her head.
“What makes you so certain that there are no errors in the program?” asked Jill Ambush with an air of slyness.
“My ex-husband always cursed the use of combat robots when we lived together. He’s on the defence committee, you know, and is responsible for their deployment.
There were some cases of these fighting machines turning against their commanders or deserting the battlefield. ”
Oh, that arsehole? thought Marci to herself. The one who left you for a younger-looking robot and thinks nothing of kidnapping innocent husbands and fathers, transforming them into hybrid soldiers and sending them to die on the killing fields!
Instead of saying that, she just smiled diplomatically, feeling Jack’s watchful eye on her.
He knew what she was thinking and almost certainly felt the same way.
But instead of yelling at Jill Ambush for being stupid enough to trust the wrong guy, she focused on her task of stopping guys like her ex-husband.
“We have female test personnel who check each robot for their reliability before we hand them over to clients,” replied Marci smoothly, without really knowing where this thought was coming from.
Her link to Cathrin and the team seemed to have been suddenly disrupted.
When she saw how Jack’s mouth curved in agreement, she hastily took a sip of her wine to stop herself laughing.
She swallowed too quickly, causing her to cough violently; Jack slapped her helpfully on the back and then handed her a glass of water that the waiter had brought with the wine.
It may have been this gesture that assuaged Lorna’s scepticism, as she visibly relaxed and looked at Jack with a different expression on her face.
Jill Ambush, however, had obviously decided that if further testing were required, she would be first in line to take up the offer.
“Can you have longer conversations with him?” she asked with an air of challenge. “I mean, not just a series of polite answers to my questions.”
“We can conduct any kind of conversation, Madame,” Jack explained in his deep voice, which had a uniquely hypnotising effect when listened to for any length of time.
“What would you like to talk about? Art, history, music? The lottery numbers? Or just the weather? If you’d like to talk dirty, we should probably find a more secluded location…
?” He gave her an inviting wink. Marci held her breath, trying not to explode; apparently he wasn’t wasting any time flirting with the President’s bitch.
“Oh, wow!” replied Jill. “Is he available for hire?”
“You can buy him,” Marci informed her. “If you can afford him,” she added with satisfaction in her voice.
“How much does he cost?” asked Jill, clearly interested.
“This one is not for sale,” stated Marci firmly.
“He’s just a prototype. But you’ll definitely be able to purchase the next ones when we go into production.
For the same amount, you could easily buy a speed glider, but it’s not as much of an aphrodisiac.
” Marci gave a sly smile and took a quick sip of her drink before continuing.
“This one is a custom model,” she added unnecessarily.
“I’d trust him with my life and my children’s lives without a second thought. ”
“Have you got children?” asked Lorna in surprise.
“No,” said Marci hurriedly, shrugging apologetically, sending a quick, silent prayer that fate wouldn’t look unkindly on her for denying her two boys. “I mean, if I had any,” she added firmly, avoiding Jack’s eye.
“Are any models available to buy yet?” asked Jill, staring at Jack like a praying mantis on the hunt for a particularly juicy bug.
“We’ll start production as soon as the first orders roll in,” lied Marci boldly, wondering where all this courage was coming from. “I’m hoping that a partnership with MacIntyre LLC will come out of this evening, giving a boost to the start of our commercial production.”