30. Chapter 30 Sabrina
Chapter 30: Sabrina
S abrina’s jaw dropped as she heard Nathan vouched for her actions and learned that Renner, of all people, was on his way to do the same. She blinked rapidly, certain she’d misheard. Their support was unexpected, but a wave of relief washed over her.
Another car came tearing up to the warehouse before Brian Renner stepped from the driver’s seat. Sabrina watched as he approached their group, his brow furrowed with concern.
“Freddy, you look like hell,” Brian remarked, taking in the cuts and bruises marring Freddy’s face. “Is everyone alright?”
Nathan stepped forward, his expression grave. “Josh Jr. didn’t make it,” he said solemnly. “But we’re grateful that you allowed Sabrina to use the bots.” His gaze locked with Brian’s, a silent conversation passing between them.
Turning to Freddy, Sabrina hoped he knew what unspoken information the two men were exchanging, but he just shrugged and finally turned toward the paramedic who had been hanging around the fringe of their group waiting to check him over.
Before Brian could respond, Detective Brown strode towards their corner, her face set in a grim expression. Sabrina’s heart pounded in her chest as she braced herself for the detective’s words.
“It’s time to talk,” Detective Brown said, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Ms. Goodwin stepped forward, her voice calm and authoritative. “Detective, I’d like to clarify that Sabrina Williams was acting under the explicit approval of both Nathan Taylor and Brian Renner when she utilized the bots and software to locate and rescue Freddy Taylor.”
Robyn’s eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t change the fact that Josh Baker is dead.”
Sabrina’s stomach lurched. She hadn’t meant for anyone to die. The weight of Josh’s death pressed down on her, threatening to crush her.
Heather tilted her head. “And what laws, exactly, did Ms. Williams break?”
The detective’s lips thinned. “Trespassing, for starters.”
“And?” Heather prompted, “That’s hardly worth anything considering Freddy was brought here against his will by two people who were also trespassing.”
Robyn squared her shoulders and pointed toward Sabrina. “I’m planning to charge her with manslaughter. Operating those bots is akin to operating a vehicle. She’s responsible for the consequences.”
Heather shook her head. “I strongly disagree with that assessment, Detective. I suggest you consult with a judge before pursuing such charges.”
Sabrina’s heart raced. Manslaughter? She glanced at Freddy, seeking reassurance. His eyes met hers, filled with concern and something else she couldn’t quite identify.
Sabrina watched as Detective Brown stalked away, her phone pressed to her ear. She caught snippets of the conversation - “bots” and “murder” and “no precedent.” The knot in Sabrina’s stomach tightened. She’d never meant for anyone to get hurt, let alone killed.
Freddy’s hand found hers, his fingers lacing through hers. She clung to him, drawing strength from his presence, and glanced over at Ellie, who was still ranting and screaming incoherently as the police tried to corral her into a squad car. The woman’s eyes were wild, darting around erratically as she shouted about conspiracies and betrayals.
Ms. Goodwin turned to face them, her expression unreadable. “It seems we’re in uncharted legal territory here. The detective is consulting with her superiors, but I suspect they’ll find it difficult to pursue charges given the unique circumstances.”
Nathan nodded, his brow furrowed. “We’ve never had a situation like this before. The bots were designed for industrial purposes, not as weapons.”
Brian shifted uncomfortably. “The software is cutting-edge. It’s hard to predict how it will behave in every scenario.”
Sabrina’s mind raced. She’d given the bots the subjective commands they’d just started testing. Protect Freddy. Distract anyone else in the area. It hadn’t occurred to her to add any additional parameters. While those kinds of commands were brand new and sure to come with all kinds of unintended consequences, Sabrina couldn’t imagine how it would lead them to kill Josh. Then again, perhaps they hadn’t been trying to kill him, but their distraction proved deadly. Fuck, she’d just assigned intentionality to artificial intelligence logic progression. The weight of that realization settled heavily on her shoulders.
Detective Brown returned, looking grumpier than she had before. “We’re in uncharted waters here. After consulting with my boss and the district attorney, we’ve determined that we don’t have a clear path forward for prosecution.”
Heather arched an eyebrow. “Because there’s no precedent for murder by bot?”
Robyn nodded curtly. “Exactly. The law hasn’t caught up with the technology. We’ll be releasing Ms. Williams pending further investigation, but I wouldn’t leave town if I were you. I expect we’ll be sorting through everything and filing charges once we have the full autopsy and report from the medical examiner. The official cause of death will have to play a vital role in the charges we pursue.”
Sabrina’s shoulders sagged, relief warring with guilt inside her. She was grateful to be going home, but the freedom wasn’t likely to last long. The lifeless body of Josh Baker would haunt her dreams, too. Did it really count as freedom while you were trapped in nightmares while waiting to be officially arrested?
As the detective walked away, Sabrina turned to face Nathan and Brian. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
Nathan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We know, Sabrina. You were just trying to save Freddy. We’ll figure this out together.”
“You have our full support,” Brian agreed. Then his face pinched with something like pain, and he added, “Just be sure to talk to me about anything you need from DS. I’m uh, not necessarily going through all the official channels on this one. At least not yet. I will when the time is right.”
Then Brian looked at Nathan again. The two men continued their silent conversation from earlier, before Nathan nodded. “I’ll make sure Patrick has everything ready for you.”
Sabrina had no idea what that was about, but as she watched Freddy wince as he settled onto the stretcher by the ambulance, she decided it was a problem for another day. She wanted to ensure Freddy was okay before she did anything else.
Sabrina hovered near Freddy as the paramedic examined him, her heart clenching at every wince and sharp intake of breath. The medic’s face was grim as he assessed the damage - a busted lip, a black eye, a cut on his cheek and eyebrow, and bruising that seemed to cover every inch of Freddy’s skin.
“You need to go to the hospital,” the paramedic insisted, his tone leaving no room for argument. “We need to get you checked out properly, make sure there’s no internal damage.”
Freddy started to protest, but Sabrina cut him off. “He’s right, Freddy. You need to get looked at. Please. For me? I need to know you’re okay.”
He met her gaze, his eyes softening. “Okay. For you.”
Sabrina let go of his hand long enough for them to lift the stretcher into the ambulance, her heart aching at every pained flinch from each jolt of the transfer. Then she climbed in beside him, determined not to leave his side. As the doors closed and the ambulance pulled away, Sabrina leaned her forehead on Freddy’s shoulder, finally allowing herself to feel the full weight of everything that had happened.