KETTY'S SUBDIVISION Wattys2017

Chapter 15-Part III

"What just happened?"

"I think he is quite charming, if not a little demanding."

"What planet are you... never mind? Did you know about this?"

"No, he showed up an hour ago and waited in your office."

"Who does he think he is and where does he get that kind of pull?"

"The order came directly from the president."

Greer plopped in his chair and stroked Max's ears. "What is going on around here?"

"You said you had a plan? Something you were working on last night?" She moved next to him, close enough he could feel her warmth.

"It's nothing," he lied.

Aleece was persistent. "You know there's one person more powerful than the president."

"Of course, Pon-shea Sedona, the Princess of Popular Opinion. See if you can set up a meeting."

"I already tried. She's in the next Subdivision on official business. It will be a week before I can even talk to her, now tell me the plan."

Suddenly, Mon-catasto popped back into the office uninvited. "I forgot to give you this," he handed Greer a yellow amulet with a metal chain. "It's what's known as a recall amulet, to make the robots come to you." He sneered, a warning shot across Greer's bow. "Don't mess this up, I can assure you it will be the last thing you ever do."

After he left, Greer turned to her, "Wow, you thought I was being paranoid."

She ignored him. "I know that look Greer, you're holding something back."

"Today is Friday. Meet me at my house tonight at eight and I will show you first hand."

"You're not planning on taking advantage of me, are you?" she asked sheepishly.

"I've been planning that for years," he said half joking. "Aleece, this is a serious game. Mon-catasto plays for keeps, and he's dangerous. I have to trust Max's new found instincts. Now, get to work."

It was seven thirty when Greer tapped into Max's communication subroutine and sent an encrypted message to a military bot known as Purline. The message read, "I know who she is, and I can help when you get here." It was ambiguous to say the least, and he could only hope it would be understood. By the time Aleece arrived, a reply came back.

"Of course you will help, it's your destiny," signed, Purline.

"What does that mean?" she asked, throwing her coat and small duffel bag on the floor.

"I'm in contact with a military bot who might help us find those bots."

"Who gave you that clearance?"

"It came up on my personal network, probably from my new boss."

She ignored his sarcasm. "Ok, what are you going to show me?"

"I was doing some research into the robot rebellion in Jar-sedan, when a cross reference to Karabellum appeared. It turns out there is a family who specialized in robot herding that came from Jar-sedan."

"There were no survivors," she stated.

"That's what I thought, but I turned up these old schematics for the Fault-line demolition after the Firm destroyed the station out there. If you look at the foot note, the power reflector was installed by a third party contractor," Aleece's brow was furrowed.

"That company is owned by Mon-catasto."

"Exactly, so we're going to take a trip out there and investigate." He was grinning ear to ear.

"What's so amusing?"

"It could be adventurous, don't you think?"

"What does this have to do with bots from Karabellum?"

"Remember those highly classified interests I have to retrieve? Those are the same bots trained by some girl named Ketty Mc'kee."

She looked down at the biography picture and read a little. "She's kind of dumpy and not very attractive."

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thing is, she is the best robot starter in the Subdivision, and now Mon-catasto wants his bots back, so I had to ask why?"

"And?"

"That's what I can't figure out. He must trust me or he wouldn't have given me this recall amulet, but what is so special about these bots? Maybe it's not just the bots he's after. There's something about this girl I can't put my finger on, now grab your bag and lets go."

Don't forget to vote!

Please feel free to comment!