Freelancer (15 page)

“Kari!” her mom yelled again.

An electrical restraining band bounced off the auto-cycle with a loud, sharp crack. Kari shrank away from the noise as she slid off the auto-cycle and onto the ground behind it, rolling several times before coming to a stop. She felt another restraining band fly just over her head. She ordered her drones to attack the crawlers once they arrived, but she knew it would be too late by then.

“Mom, I’m sorry!” Kari yelled out again. She saw a crawler scatter to the side of the auto-cycle and launch a restraining band directly for her. She tried to cry out but was unable to do so as the metallic band slammed into her stomach and wrapped around her. The restraining band released an electrical charge that sent a burning sensation racing up and down her body. Her muscles spasmed. She lost control of her limbs before everything went black.

My head hurts. No, my whole body hurts.

It was a petty thing to complain about, considering her circumstances. Kari had been awake for what felt like hours, locked inside a solid-white holding room. The lack of amenities didn’t bother her; in fact, there was something about the minimalist, white design that she appreciated. It was the fact that the agents had removed the processing unit that connected to her mind chip, rendering the entire thing useless. It was driving her crazy.
What did people do back in the day?

Kari felt powerless without the small computer that connected her to the world of technology. It had been years since she hadn’t been able to instantly check the time or interact with devices around her. Without the numberless distractions that the fully connected mind chip provided, she was left with nothing to take her attention away from the unpleasant facts that she had sustained a bothersome head injury and been arrested for assaulting enforcement forces.

Kari replayed the last events she remembered again in her mind.
Mom looked horrified, like she had no idea who I was.
Kari would never forget that look, one lacking any sort of understanding. It was as if her mom’s grasp of who Kari was had been destroyed in a heartbeat.
That hurt worse than the stupid crawler did. At least I won’t have to be there to see the look on Dad’s face.
She didn’t remember anything else.
They don’t have to arrest my parents now; it should be obvious I acted without their knowledge or aid.
That thought was comforting.

I wonder if the guys who built this place ever got stuck inside.
There was no interior door handle, which Kari found to be fascinating. Newer buildings were all printed today. From what Kari had gathered about this room, however, the building was too old to have been printed. It was the only thing she could think about that wasn’t related to her parents, her incarceration, or David. It wasn’t much.

The door opened without a sound.
Is it truly a door without a handle? Or is it just a wall that opens?
Kari tried to play it cool and refused to look at whoever had just stepped into the room. She listened to a couple of heavy steps followed by the distinct sound of a chair being placed on the floor.
So he came to me this time. I guess that’s the courtesy one can expect from a friend.

“You know, Henderson,” she said, “for a friend, you haven’t been in touch too much the past several days. I was beginning to worry.”

“I’m glad you realize I’m still on your side,” Henderson responded in an eerily friendly voice. Kari rolled over and sat up on the bed in a single motion to look at Henderson directly in the face. He hadn’t aged in the past week, which was strange; Kari felt like she had aged ten years.

“Of course, only a friend would afford me the luxury of such a fine guest room,” Kari said.

“It is one of our finest,” Henderson said. His face was smug. Kari assumed he was playing along with her to make her feel less rebellious. He continued. “But, let me just add that if I weren’t your friend, you would be dead right now.”

“Are you sure I couldn’t say the same thing?” Kari said. For some reason, she didn’t feel as bold as she had sounded.

“I’m nearly sure you could, Miss Tahe. But because I’m not dead and neither are you, let’s talk about what we are going to do, now that we find ourselves together again.”

Kari knew she wasn’t going to like where this was going.

“I have found myself with an even deeper appreciation of your talents after the events of yesterday. You defeated a dozen heavily armed officers and a SWAT team that had heavy robotic support, not to mention the little parting gift that showed up after we apprehended you.”

So it’s been an entire day since then.

“There are those who believe your abilities to be a threat. I had to do a lot of convincing to persuade them not to have that threat removed from the equation. However, I have led them to believe that you will be of far greater value working with us as an ally.”

So that’s your game.

“I won’t do it,” Kari said flatly.
I’m not going to help you round people up and rip them away from their lives.

“Miss Tahe, as your friend, I want what is best for you. I really do.” Henderson’s sincerity was painful. “So believe me when I tell you that the best thing for you to do is to cooperate.” It was a threat, but Kari wasn’t quite sure how.

“Or else?” Kari asked after failing to think of a wittier way to respond. Henderson winced at the directness of her question.

“I’m not here offering threats, Miss Tahe. I’m on your side. I want what is best for you. I want you to be able to reach your potential. I want your parents to be released from their holding cells and allowed to go on with their lives.”

“What? Why are my parents in cells?” Kari jumped off the flat holding-cell bed and onto her feet. “Let them go right now!”

“Sit down and calm yourself,” Henderson said.

“No! I’m not going to sit down until you let my parents go!”

“We cannot continue this conversation until you sit down and show me you are in control of yourself.”

Kari wanted to yell, she wanted to scream, she wanted to send a hundred drones to swarm him with their stingers, but she sat down. She hated herself for it, but she sat down.

“My superiors do not believe that you could have acted alone; thus, your parents have been arrested for willingly disobeying the law, assaulting enforcement officers, possessing illegal weaponized devices, and committing tax fraud. They will face trial once the matter with the Middle States has been resolved and will ultimately face the inevitable minimum life sentence.”

Each word that Henderson spoke slapped Kari across the face.
I’ve ruined my parents’ lives. They’ll never be free again.
For the first time, Kari felt more guilt than she knew how to do deal with.

“Now,” Henderson continued, “if you were to work with us, I believe it is possible that I could convince my superiors you were fully responsible for the unfortunate events of the past few days and secure your parents a full pardon. It will take time, and you’ll have to prove your capability, but I believe it is a possibility.”

“And what about me?” Kari asked.

“After you have proven your loyalty and we are no longer in a state of emergency, I can foresee a future where your freedoms are slowly restored to you over time as you earn them,” Henderson said.

So that’s the deal. I work for you and my parents are freed, and eventually I might regain my freedom as well.
It wasn’t much of a choice.
I can’t sentence my parents for what I’ve done.

“I don’t do well with bosses.”

“It would be a shame if you let that get in between your parents and freedom, now wouldn’t it?”

“What would you want me to do?” Kari asked.

“Whatever we ask,” Henderson said, his comforting voice all but gone now. “But you can start with delivering us the code for those drones you demonstrated for us earlier. Then we can talk about whatever trick you used to evade our sensors the other night.”

“Oh, whatever you ask, is that all?” Kari said. It was clear the situation had changed to a business negotiation, as Henderson’s persona was no longer as friendly and sincere. He had asked for more than what Kari was willing to give. Her response was her best attempt at a counteroffer. Henderson eyed her skeptically, taking his time to respond.

“If I have my way, you’ll have a wide level of discretion on what you work on. All that matters will be that you produce value to the United States.”

“You mean the coastal states?” Kari asked.

“I mean the United States of America.” It was clear that Henderson wouldn’t tolerate the line of thought suggesting two separate countries.

“You let David’s family be,” Kari said. She was pushing it now. Henderson frowned, but Kari refused to blink.

“Continuing to show concern for Middle Staters isn’t going to help convince my superiors that you are on our side,” Henderson said.

“I’m not asking for a pardon or anything, just that you let them slip between your fingers. They are helpless, and you know it.”
Careful, you don’t have much to negotiate with here.

Henderson nodded. “OK.”

Kari knew it was the best deal she was going to get.

“Can I take some time to think about it?”

“No.”

“Fine. When do we start?”

Having the processing unit returned to her mind chip had felt better than Kari had thought it would. She was able to see clearly after spending a night in the darkness. Her head hurt a little less. She imagined this was how people felt when they had their first drink of water after being stranded in the desert.

I’d feel even better if there weren’t someone else in my brain with me.

The capabilities of her mind chip had been restored weeks ago, but she was never left alone with her personal computer. Her stream was constantly connected to other people who were able to monitor her actions. Occasionally, those people would step in and ask her questions about what she was doing. They were trying to be safe, but all they were really doing was keeping Kari from being able to get work done.

It’s hard to think straight and solve problems when people are always jumping in and demanding answers every five minutes.

At first, working for the government had felt dirty. Kari had cried when she’d delivered them the design for her flock of drones. Every design she’d given them after that had hurt a little less. Eventually, they had run out of things to ask from her, and she had run out of things she was willing to give them. After a few weeks of altering her designs for their specific use cases, she’d convinced them to let her use her own development environment again.
No wonder they need me to do things for them; their dev environment was a dinosaur.

Kari wouldn’t have made the request if she’d realized they would demand she turn over the code for her environment as well. That had been the last piece of technology she’d delivered to Henderson three weeks ago.

Henderson had been excited at first to “turn her loose” and see what she created for him. Every time they spoke now, the enthusiasm waned. The last time they spoke, Henderson had seemed agitated.
Apparently, he doesn’t realize these things take time, especially when they don’t allow me to use the net to find answers or won’t leave me alone for longer than ten minutes. He’s just like another clueless client, except he could have me killed, and he controls my parents’ destiny. Besides that, he’s just another clueless client who thinks he’s my boss.

The limitations they placed on her were nearly as frustrating as being forced to work against her will for a boss she disliked more and more every day. Yet she still had the freedom to create. She was confident that if she weren’t allowed to work on things, she would explode from all the ideas and creativity bottled inside her. She needed an outlet; right now, working for a monster was her outlet. In her development environment, even while being constantly monitored, interrupted, and held back, she was still Kari the freelancer.

Kari carefully stepped through her latest changes, inspecting every detail imaginable. She was actually proud of what she’d been able to accomplish in the past several weeks. Once she completed her review, she mentally stepped back and admired the design for a moment.
Not my best work; however, considering the circumstances, it’s not bad.

“I need permission to simulate the device,” Kari said. The government agents weren’t able to read her thoughts directly; therefore, when she needed to communicate with them, she had to speak the words out loud.

“And what are you going to be simulating?” Henderson replied. Kari was slightly startled at hearing his voice. Henderson had never communicated with her this way before. She’d assumed he had better things to be doing than to monitor her work directly.

“How my new device works in a combat situation,” Kari said.

“Very good,” Henderson said. He sounded pleased to hear that—perhaps too pleased, like a child being told he’ll soon get candy.

A moment later, Kari’s ability to execute her code in simulation was restored, and she immediately projected herself into the simulation environment. She began defining what the simulation would look like by adding soldiers on both sides of a conflict. Advanced weaponry, plenty of drones, and the Appalachian Mountains filled out the rest of the required details. The simulation environment took a second to load, and then the desired scene came to life.

Kari ordered herself a standard, heavy-caliber, graphium gun. It dropped into her hands, and she looked out over the battle scene. Drones engaged in combat in swarms, and mechs and cheetahs traded fire furiously. Soldiers in command tents shouted updates to each other while controlling the battle from a distance. In front of her, a group of ground soldiers was rushing forward into the fray.

Kari joined their ranks and jogged toward the front lines. The surrounding explosions gave her chills as her unit made its way closer to the conflict. Drones floated above them, destroying shells and activating shields as they could.
I can’t believe people actually do this. Every one of these soldiers is likely going to die, yet they’re still jogging forward.
It seemed wrong, even for a simulation.