Chapter 18 #2
Stevie smiled triumphantly as she reached into her backpack and pulled out the set of goggles that she’d used to see through Archie’s eyes just the night before.
She pointed to a green dot on the frame.
“They’ve been paired! Archie is nearby.” She took off the souvenir sunglasses and put on the goggles.
“It’s dark, but I can see movement. He’s covered by something, maybe a blanket or a tarp. ”
Kendra quickly reached into Stevie’s knapsack, pulled out the other pair of goggles, and put them on. “You’re right, it’s some kind of cloth. The second it comes off, we’ll be able to see a door number or a corridor name. We’ll know right where to find him.”
“Until then?” Stevie said impatiently.
“We wait,” Kendra said. She tapped the goggle frames. “We wait and see.”
WEMBLEY STADIUM
PARKING LOT M
Korkil stood at the parking lot’s edge, at a spot that would offer him a prime view of the stadium yet was far enough away to spare him the melee to come.
He’d worked too hard to orchestrate all of this from his rented warehouse a few miles away, even though that had been his original plan.
No, he wanted to see the panic and breathe the carnage. He’d earned it.
The robot could be controlled from anywhere on earth, of course, but his own special modification relied on the remote control in his pocket. It was time. He pressed the button on his remote that would truly start the ball rolling. He checked the readout.
The countdown had begun.
He walked back to his van, where Bremmer was waiting. The systems that monitored the robot’s progress were there, but at this point, Archie was essentially on autopilot. Nothing could stop him now.
He slowed as he approached the van. Bremmer was sitting upright in the passenger seat, sporting a ridiculous pair of souvenir sunglasses. Where in the hell had he gotten those?
Korkil stopped. Something wasn’t right. Before he could react, he felt a sharp point jab him in his upper back.
“Hello, Vlad. Nice day. Are you enjoying yourself?”
Korkil turned his head. It was Lynch. Dammit! “How . . . ?”
“You can thank that teenage girl you’ve been terrorizing. You were sadly overmatched when you decided to tangle with Stevie Nolan.” Lynch jabbed Korkil with his knife to steer him through the remote lot.
“I took every precaution.” Korkil cursed. “Someone in my organization sold me out, didn’t they?”
Lynch chuckled. “You just can’t admit that you screwed up.
Stevie knew you’d have to use Archie’s satellite communications system for any kind of long-distance control or feedback.
She loaned me her handy-dandy satellite frequency meter to sniff you out.
I started in the stadium, but I decided to cast my net in a wider circle.
I figured that a sick asshole like you might want a seat for whatever horrible shit you have planned, but maybe not a front-row seat.
The meter led me here, and finally to your van.
I hate to inform you, but your partner in the van wasn’t very knowledgeable.
In fact, he was downright rude. He actually tried to kill me.
” Lynch nodded toward Bremmer, who was motionless and propped upright in the passenger seat.
He now wore the souvenir hat and sunglasses that many attendees were sporting around the stadium.
“But I expected to also have the pleasure of seeing Cambry here. Where is he?”
“That’s really none of your concern. But I don’t mind telling you that Cambry was too valuable to run the risk of having his reputation compromised with your superiors at Justice.
You just killed Professor Dekker at that cave, so I gave Cambry a promotion and I have him standing by to help me when I call on him.
Oh, I can tell that doesn’t please you. Too bad.
But he’ll be right in position to take you out when I give the word.
He’s going to enjoy it enormously. He does dislike you very much. ”
“I can’t say that disturbs me. He’s just another obstacle to remove. Now shall we get in your van together, Korkil? It seems the rear door is unlocked. I wonder how that happened?”
Korkil opened the rear door. “What do you think you’re going to accomplish? I can give you a great deal of money. Shall we talk?”
Lynch pushed him inside. “I think you’re going to stop whatever you’re doing here. End it.”
Korkil smiled. “That isn’t possible.”
“Do it!”
Inside the van, Korkil faced a bench with a pair of laptops and a large monitor screen. “We can keep track of Archie’s progress, but we’re not controlling him. That’s the advantage of a robot that can reason and make adjustments on the fly. You’re too late, Mr. Lynch.”
“What’s that in your hand?”
Korkil tossed it to him. “Triggering remote. Keep it as a souvenir. It’s one-way. It activates but doesn’t deactivate. Nothing can do that now.”
Lynch glanced down at the remote’s readout, which was counting down a little more than seven minutes. “Activates what?”
Korkil smiled. “Oh, and spoil the surprise?”
“Go ahead. Spoil it.”
“What are you going to do, kill me and prop me up next to poor Bremmer? You’ll have to come back with another tacky hat and pair of sunglasses for me to wear.
Wouldn’t it be smarter to just let me go so that I can share my ill-gotten millions with you?
The New World Alliance might even cut you in on the next job they’re bargaining with me about down the road.
These fascists aren’t at all fond of democracies, and the robot makes me the man to do business with. ”
“You seem to be fascinated by the thought of money. You can’t seem to stop talking about it,” Lynch said. “Doesn’t anything else appeal to you?”
“Why should it?” Korkil smiled. “Money is everything. And it controls everything. Cambry understood that. That’s why I put him in charge of my men when I decided that I needed to be more hands-on with our customers like the alliance.
But I do enjoy the things that money buys.
” He nodded toward the large monitor. “This is about to give us a wonderful picture from Archie’s point of view.
I was going to film it for New World Alliance, but we can enjoy it together. ”
“No, thanks.” Lynch had seen enough. If he couldn’t force the issue with Korkil, he needed to not waste any more time.
He reached into his jacket pocket. “When I was in here before, I noticed a little hypodermic kit well stocked with propofol on the shelf below that rack. Nasty stuff in the wrong hands . . .”
Korkil’s eyes widened as he looked at Lynch’s face. For once he seemed to be aware of just how deadly his situation had become. He licked his lips. “Let’s not be hasty. I could get you the cash immediately. Be reasonable. Think of how your life would change.”
“But I like my life pretty well as it is,” Lynch said. “For instance, when I saw that propofol, the only thing I felt was gratitude.”
“Gratitude?” Korkil repeated warily. “Why?”
Lynch smiled. “Because I’m one of the lucky guys who know exactly what they’re doing handling that nasty stuff.”
Korkil stiffened and looked at the now empty shelf below the equipment rack. “No!” He made a gurgling, protesting noise. But before he could lift his head and turn back, Lynch jabbed him in the neck with the needle. Korkil gasped, then moaned. But he was dead in seconds.
Kendra’s phone rang as she and Stevie ran down the stadium concourse. She tapped her earpiece to answer it. “Lynch! We needed to—”
“Archie’s on the move,” he interrupted. “He’s near Section One Forty.”
“We know. Stevie’s goggles are giving us a three-D view. We’re trying to intercept him. Did you find Korkil?”
“Yes. He and Bremmer are dead.”
“What?”
“I’ll explain later. No more talk. Right now, you and Stevie should get the hell out of there. Whatever those bastards planned is happening in six minutes and fourteen seconds.”
“I’ll keep you posted.” Kendra tapped her earpiece to cut the connection. She turned to Stevie, to whom she’d given her other telephone earpiece. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes,” Stevie said. “Get going, Kendra. I’ll take care of things here.”
“Like hell. What’s your plan?”
“Okay, then have it your way,” Stevie said. “When we get close enough, I’m hoping to upload a patch I’ve written that will allow me to take control back. No guarantees, so if you want to get the hell out of here . . .”
“Stop it. That’s not going to happen.”
They rounded a corner . . .
And suddenly found themselves faced with half a dozen elaborately costumed characters, similar to ones that might be found at a theme park!
As the characters walked past Stevie, she raised her tablet computer, frantically checking for info.
She found it. “He’s here! In one of these costumes!”
She pushed the button on her tablet computer that would initiate the software patch.
One of the characters froze in place while the others continued their march toward the stage.
“This one!” Stevie pulled off the headpiece of the huge costumed character that was supposed to represent Superman and unzipped the costume’s back to reveal that Archie was indeed inside.
Stevie stepped close. “Archie, can you hear me?”
Archie responded in his customary mellow tone. “Loud and clear, Stevie. How are you today?”
“A little hectic. Archie, please run a hardware diagnostic.”
“Of course.”
“Less than four minutes,” Kendra whispered.
Archie finished the diagnostic. “Systems nominal. Foreign object located in quadrant six.”
Stevie bent over and inspected Archie’s lower torso. There was now a large rectangular panel that had been cut into its smooth surface and welded shut. Stevie looked at her tablet. “There’s an electromagnetic energy wave. They put a bomb in here.”
Kendra looked around. “We have to get him outside, far away from all these people.”