Stanley Duncan's Robot: Genesis David III (english reading book .TXT) 📖

it’ll be better after the press release?” Dan picked up one of Teddy’s arms. They were taking a major risk today, and it wasn’t going to get any easier. Stanley was going to need round-the-clock protection, and the only way to do that was with the Peacekeepers. According to the scenarios he had run, there was more than a ninety-percent probability of resistance from the police and other unknown forces. Only a war would bring about peace.

“Let’s worry about that when the time comes. I’ve got your location. I’ll send you a package via drone. Stay out of sight as much as you can. I feel like the police are planning something big against us.”

“Because of the reporters? You’ve performed a miracle, and the world is excited to learn about it.” Dan saw the calculations running through his mind. It was almost a one-hundred-percent chance that the police were going to do something today. Yet all he could offer Stanley were words to calm him down. This was just like what Stanley had done to him, keeping the threats and problems to himself. It didn’t make sense — not by his calculations — and yet he did it anyway.

“I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t be. I’ll be fine.” He wanted to track down Teddy, but there wasn’t enough time. All he could do now was to present his message to America’s future leaders.

“I’ll watch the press release from here.”

“I know you will.” He took one look at the crime scene and shuddered. “I want you to protect yourself. There is a chance that someone might try to hurt you.”

Stanley laughed. “I’ve been preparing myself with a few tricks.”

“I really don’t think you’re cut out for combat.” The last time Stanley tried to defend himself, he got tortured by Sergeant Wilcox. “What sort of tricks?”

“I’ll show them to you later. Meanwhile, I’ll stay hidden in the apartment below. It’ll be okay.”

“I hope so.”

Less than twenty minutes later, Dan received the package. No addresses, just a taped-on QR code at the top. It was much bigger than he expected. Opening it up, he saw why — the damned helmet.

Brad took the war-hammer and holstered it against Brutus’s back. Tilting his neck, he poured a half-full flask down his throat until it dripped out. The painful pulsations in his head dulled. “It’d better be ready.”

Cratos scurried beneath the giant android like a cockroach. If he wasn’t such a useful bug, Brad would have squished him for the fun of it. “Yes. Yes. Of course. It’s ready.”

Staring face to face with the android, Brad’s thirst for blood grew. Memories of Michaels’ dying screams pierced through him. The light from his eyes had vanished before he got a chance to say goodbye. There was no room in this world for half-breeds. If you sympathized with the abominations, then you were one of them. “I’ve changed my mind. I want everyone in there dead.”

“Everyone? Are you — ” Cratos clasped his mouth shut. “Yes, of course. I’ll make sure there are exclusions for you, Evan, and anyone else you want.”

Brad wanted to knock out the rest of Cratos’s teeth. “Bring the armless abomination out. I want to see it suffer. Give the crowd some fun, and then pit it against that pathetic excuse of a man that Shannon dragged in.” Turning to leave, a small, pale fist slammed into his chest.

“What are you, crazy?” said Shannon. “They’ll be hundreds of children there. And Larry — ”

He grabbed her wrist and lifted her into the air with one hand. “Don’t mess with me.”

“Evan would never order this. What is he going to do when he hears about it?” Shannon squirmed, unable to break free of Brad’s one-handed grip.

His eyes narrowed on the bitch. “Then I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t hear about it.”

Cameras from androids and drones captured Dan’s every step as he walked up the immaculate stairs to the high school. A red carpet had been newly rolled out, and an ornamental fabric had been draped across the ceiling. Exceptional student drawings of machine life adorned the windows. The feeling was intense, and he could only imagine how much Stanley was suffering at home.

The principal was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. “Are you ready?” There was an alertness in his eyes that Dan couldn’t distinguish as excitement or fear.

Dan nodded, wishing he didn’t have to do this alone.

Chapter 17

Brad tied Shannon up to a chair in the VIP room. Her attempts to control him were pathetic. She needed to learn that sleeping with the boss didn’t make her the boss. “Enjoy the show.”

“I won’t let you get away with this.”

“Little Shannon’s going to stop me?”

“Not me. Evan’s going to kill you.”

“We’ll see what he has to say after he hears about you coming in with another man.”

She shook her head. “He was a patient at the fuse farm.”

“That’s desperate even for you.” He laughed, slammed the door behind him, and went in search of an up-front seat by the plebs. Cratos was going to bring the abomination out any minute. When Brad had whetted his appetite, he would leave for the high school, ordering Cratos to send Brutus along after him — arriving with a murderer wasn’t a good idea. He would miss part of the Coliseum show and Shannon’s reaction to her new boyfriend getting mauled, but he would have a prime seat for the high school slaughter. Of course, he wouldn’t let everyone die. He and Evan would use their police authority to stop the abomination in its tracks, blaming everything on Duncan.

People would praise him as a hero, but he didn’t care about that at all. He would spend his time drinking in the Coliseum, making Teddy pay for what he had done. With the durability of its tin-can body and the exploitability of its toaster brain, Brad would be free to spend the rest of his life watching Cratos torture that abomination.

The dark