Silicon Man by William Massa

Author:William Massa [Massa, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Critical Mass Publishing
Published: 2014-04-20T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE AI-TAC hoverships were homing in on the salvage yard, metallic monsters on the prowl. Seeing the incoming vessels from the ground, Cole finally understood how runaways must have felt when AI-TAC swooped in on them. Despite the fact that he had called in the ship himself, the sight of it approaching filled him with vague unease.

Cole turned his attention back to Solus. The android leader was still processing the approaching danger, eyes sweeping the air, complete focus devoted to the incoming hovercrafts. Cole would have to make his move before Solus activated his self-destruct program. A small patch of skin in Cole’s forearm slid open, revealing the hollowed-out compartment that contained the component parts of the EMP gun. Still oblivious to the danger, Solus spoke into his built-in com-link: “Zola, assemble everyone and get them the hell out of here! They found us!“

While he spoke, more secret compartments on Cole's stomach and leg whirred open and Cole extricated a series of parts from inside his robot housing. With expert speed, he snapped the component pieces together and assembled the EMP gun.

SNAP! Cole attached the last piece and leveled the EMP GUN at Solus, whose back was still turned.

“Do you remember the faces of the men you executed in Somalia?” Cole asked in a toneless voice.

Solus spun toward Cole and took note of the EMP gun, initial surprise making way for dawning understanding. The pieces had clicked into place for the mech leader. The sudden arrival of AI-TAC suddenly made sense. There was a traitor in their midst who had managed to circumvent all their security precautions.

Cole’s eyes drilled into Solus with a cold, hard stare. “I see the faces of my wife and daughter every time I close my eyes. I hear their laughter. I see them dying.” Cole advanced. “Do you ever think of them when you dream of your perfect future?”

Solus remained stoic, no answer forthcoming.

Cole experienced a moment of doubt. Was he doing the right thing here? His hesitation shocked him to the core. What was happening to him? He gave himself an internal push and pulled the trigger.

Solus was hit by a wave of electromagnetic energy, systems crackling and fizzling out as he shut down. The android leader’s body went rigid and he crumpled.

Cole loomed over the downed leader of the Underground Network and activated his com-link: “The Tin Man is down.”

Mission accomplished.

This was the moment he had dreamt about for ten long months. But the reality left him feeling empty. Dammit, the silver-tongued bastard had gotten to him. It didn’t matter any longer. Solus was down. AI-TAC was about to pull the plug on the network and every escape route would be shut down. It was over. Humanity had won. Time to get back to his body and move on with his life.

Despite the elation of having achieved his objective, he couldn’t shake his pervasive sense of dread. He kept thinking about the way Solus had looked at him when he pulled the trigger.

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