Lyons' headquarters sat in the center of Chicago's prospering downtown; shadowing the crumbling corners ignored by the government. To the officials, especially those in the city, it didn't matter. If you couldn't see it, then it didn't exist. To see Chicago's history in ruin was blasphemy. The solution? Build a giant skyscraper to block the view.
And hide the company designated to "save the world."
The windows from Lyons' headquarters loomed over my head like a hundred sets of peering eyes. I stepped out of the car and looked up at them. A stare down with my future. Curtains moved in some of them. Lights powered on, too. Felt like blinking and passing glances, but I knew that was my mind playing tricks on me. Especially when I stood on the sidewalk with Victoria, and Frank stood beside us. He glanced at his phone before looking at the building, too. A smirk twitched at the corner of his lip. "Don't worry about the tenants upstairs—"
I blinked. Tenants? In an office-style building?
"—They're nosey, yeah, but harmless. We'll do our business several floors' downstairs," he said.
Downstairs? I had to look down at my feet, at the sidewalk beneath me. I knew Chicago had its secrets; pipes ran deep into the sewers. But to have several basements? The world was dying from the inside and the government's response was to dig more holes. Wonderful.
"Come on." As Frank pocketed his phone, he glanced back at his car parked on the street. A man in a red vest came from around the building. When he smiled, Frank nodded and tossed him the keys. "Take care of my baby."
The man nodded, holding the keys tightly in his hands. When he walked over to the car, Frank looked back at Victoria and me, motioning us to follow him. "This is Lyons!" he beamed as the large set of automatic doors opened for him. He spread his arms wide. "The place built for the world as you know it."
I followed him, but I couldn't share his enthusiasm. His voice rang with it as if it were ingrained in his personality. To love and praise Lyons. Loved them so much that he lied to them to give me information, to get me to follow him back here. That kind of devotion was poisonous. But I also saw that as a crack in his persona; couldn't care about a business enough to lie, right?
It didn't matter. I was only here out of the memory of my family and Victoria's wishes for the world.
There was a hop in Frank's step as he took us through the open lobby. Marble floors were brightened by white overhead lights; a black line of tiles guided us to the receptionist's desk. He leaned against it with a smirk, turning so he faced me. The woman behind the computer eyed him with wide curious eyes but didn't say a word.
"In this building, we do everything for the world," he said without missing a beat. "We build, compute, and transfer information."
I pulled my gaze away from him to look at the hanging screen over the desk. A government commercial played, depicting images from a world Lyons hoped to achieve. I watched the family on the screen happily move through pristine buildings of metal and silver until movement caught my attention on the left. An android walked back holding a tray of drinking glasses in its hands. It faithfully followed a woman until she stopped. It bumped into her, stepped back, and apologized.
I cocked a brow. "Do you test your prototypes here, too?" I asked Frank as I watched the woman turn around and smile at the android. She pressed both of her hands together and bowed, then waited for the android to do the same.
The tray fell and so did the glass.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," the android said as it immediately bent to clean the mess. The woman followed, but I couldn't help but feel it was all unnecessary. Why have the android copy movements if you know it'd fail?
"Oh yeah, it's how we teach them." Frank glanced at the prototype android before walking over to me. He placed an arm around my shoulder as he turned me away from the scene. He pointed ahead, in the opposite direction. "We build them and let them walk around to learn. It's how they develop their facility with human interaction."
I had to glance back once more before I couldn't. The woman had stopped helping the android and instead towered over it. I frowned as Frank stopped us in front of an elevator. "Once we're downstairs, you'll see the real action. From the creation of synthetic flesh and skeletal frames. You'll even see an android be 'born.'"
Victoria reached for my hand from behind. Linking my fingers with hers, I gently tugged her forward. There was a glimmer over her eyes. Small white dots flashed over the iris. She was processing information. The android we passed, was it letting out a single she picked up? A message?
The elevator doors opened. When Frank stepped inside, I saw him press the number twenty-seven. I didn't follow him inside. Neither did Victoria.
Nervously, Frank passed his hand over his hair. "You aren't coming inside?"
Before I could answer, Victoria did. Her hand tightened around mine as she took half a step forward. "You said business is handled on the floors below. Upstairs belongs to tenants," she said.
My brows lifted. She was right. Looking back at Frank, I waited for him to respond. Would he lie to us? Wouldn't be smart if he did.
"Um, you're right, I said that." He placed his hand on the elevator door to keep it open. "We'll start on business tomorrow morning. That's when I show you our facilities."
"Then why do we need to go upstairs?" Victoria asked. "Are we tenants?"
Frank tapped another button, then stepped back. The look on his face answered Victoria's question. We were told to leave the house with nothing; no outside possessions. We weren't going home. When could we? Based on the short few hours that I've known him, the answer was unclear.
My guess? I wouldn't see it for some time.
Rolling my bottom lip between my teeth, I looked at Frank's face as I squeezed Victoria's hand. "We're tenants, aren't we?" I asked him, stepping into the elevator.
When he nodded, Victoria slowly followed us inside. The doors closed us in. I listened to the sound of the smooth motor for a second, watching the numbers change. Nine. Ten. Eleven.
"Fine. We're here now. I get it." I glanced at him. "I have a request."
Frank's tongue pressed into his cheek as the numbers changed three more floors. "Just one?" he asked.
Was there a number on the number of requests I was allowed to make? With everything I stood to lose and probably already lost, I wouldn't put a cap on it. "I'll have more, I'm sure," I said, looking up at the numbers, too.
Clearing his throat, Frank nodded, and I took that as my opportunity, just as the elevator stopped on the twenty-seventh floor. "Make sure my grandfather's house is still there when I'm done here."
Frank sharply turned his head. The door opened and the sound of quiet, calm chatter from the halls outside the elevator filled the surrounding space. When Frank blinked, I nodded, and I stepped out. "And that is one of my important requests," I said.
Victoria followed me, curiously standing at my side as she looked at the hall. Doors lined the walls on both sides, but directly in front of us was an open space, filled with people and their Personals. Victoria smiled at the sight of them, but I turned back to Frank. His nervousness returned as he stepped in front of me. With his fingers fumbling in front of him, he glanced at me, quietly asking, "And what are the other ones?"
I cocked a brow. "You'll find out."
***
I paid attention. Frank was silent but his body language said a lot. He continued to glance back at me as if excited and not believing I was truly there. But as we cut through the humble gathering of neighbors and their anchored machines, he fumbled with his phone a lot. Possibly checking the time, messages, or both. I didn't care as long as we'd have ground rules, and my requests were made.
From experience, I knew Lyons wasn't good at keeping their friendly face.
"This is nice." Victoria walked beside me as we continued past small tables. People sat with lunches in front of them. Personals quietly asked if they needed anything else. It was peaceful, unlike the treatment I saw downstairs.
Moving closer, Victoria reached for my hand and whispered, "This is how androids wish to be treated."
I glanced at her as the tables ended, the space opening up for us, leading to the next hall with doors. I leaned in close to her and whispered. "If we're in here, can you hear them more? Like what you told me?"
With a straight face, she nodded.
"As you can see," Frank cupped one hand over his mouth and cleared his throat, "the floor is for tenants; all of Lyons' employees."
I stopped behind Frank when he reached a door numbered 27B. Unlike my old house in the middle of the city, this door didn't have a keyhole. Just a pin pad. Frank pulled out his phone to quickly glance at the screen before pressing the four numbers to unlock the door. A quiet click echoed, as well as a chime.
"7456," Victoria said, "I've saved them to my memory."
Pushing the door open, Frank looked back at the two of us before allowing us a full view of the apartment. He leaned against the door as we stepped inside. Victoria went first, but before I could follow, Frank leaned in close. "Is she your Personal with benefits or...?" he whispered his question and let it sit in the air.
I stopped one foot into the room. I scrunched my nose for a second, eyeing him curiously as I dipped my head. Victoria continued inside, letting go of my hand. She gave no sign she heard him—though she had to, she heard everything—but she gave me the free space to respond. "What kind of question is that?" I cocked a brow.
"I um—" Frank licked his lips, avoiding eye contact. He pressed himself harder against the door. It creaked behind him. A quiet chuckle—obviously nervous—left him by the time he looked back at me. "It's all the handholding, being close together. I knew she would come with you, so I didn't ask then, but now that I see it up close and personal, I—"
"Victoria isn't my Personal. She's her own android. She came by her free will." I tried to contain my annoyance, but it was clear. The little comment struck a nerve. Since finding Victoria secured and hidden in my father's old trunk, we'd been close. Even before she could verbally express her thanks, her gratitude, I never left her side. I'd made sure she was safe, and comfortable, and worked diligently until she was fully functional. Was that selfish of me? Sure, loneliness changed a person. But Victoria was thankful, and grateful, and expressed it whenever she could. The love we had wasn't that of a relationship, of lovers. I knew that was a thing with people; not us.
As Victoria turned and looked at me, we locked eyes. I smiled. What we had didn't have a name. We were dependent on each other, cared for one another, and could never part. I loved her, yes, but not in the way Frank suspected.
"I'm sorry." Frank closed the door behind me, then cleared his throat. "So, the apartment—" he quickly changed the topic. "This here is provided to you, and like I said, to all Lyons' employees." He walked through the lavish living room, avoiding the white carpet beneath black couches. I assumed he didn't want to get his shoes on it, but Victoria had already stepped all over it. Still looked clean to me.
I followed him until he rounded an island separating the living room from the kitchen. I raised my brows. The steel appliances were nice.
"Food here," Frank tugged open the refrigerator, motioning to the contents inside, "is delivered weekly. Sometime tomorrow you'll receive the request list so you can mark what you like to eat. And as you noticed," he pointed at the door, "there is a cafeteria on the floor. Tenants order meals and eat together regularly."
I slid my hands over the island's marble top. It was smooth. Cold. Untouched by a living soul. Victoria came beside me, touching it as I'd done. Lifting my gaze, I looked at Frank. "You keep saying tenants. Does that make Lyons feel better?"
Franks raised his brows as he closed the door. "I don't follow."
I pursed my lips. "Do you live here?"
He nodded. "Of course, I do."
"Cool," I smiled, "and do you pay rent?"
Frank bit his lip. His brow creased together; he raised one of them. He looked like he knew what I was getting at. Or at least I hoped so. It was clear as day. "Tenants pay rent," I said as I leaned against the counter, my hands cupped in front of me. "No one living here is a tenant. Employees, yeah. Prisoners, well," I sighed and clapped the stop the awkwardness before it had the chance to settle, "I just got here so I have no idea on that part. I'm just the outsider looking in."
"You're not an outsider." Frank took a step toward me. "You have no idea how happy Lyons is that you're here."
"Mhm." I bit my lip as Victoria stepped away, continuing her tour of the apartment on her own. I never broke eye contact with Frank. I thought it was time I moved to his level. No more avoiding the topic at hand, couldn't keep beating around the bush. I was here, I was needed, and based on what Victoria had told me and what I saw downstairs, this was an issue that needed fixing. Now.
"When do we get down to business?" I asked. His eyes widened and I smiled. "I'm here, y'all are happy, so," I clapped my hands once, "when do I get started?"
Frank scratched the side of his head. He came around the island to stand next to me, his lips pushed up to his nose. Funny. He hadn't thought I'd be ready so fast. If it wasn't for Victoria, I would've been on the road and halfway through the habitable parts of the country.
"I'll follow up with my superiors when I leave here, but," Frank pulled out his phone, glancing at the screen as he tapped a notification at its top, "I think you'll start first thing tomorrow, like I said earlier.
Sure.
"Cool, cool." The island had its own set of barstools to sit on. Black and white, matching the living room's aesthetic. Pulling one of them closer to me, I sat down and nodded at Frank. "I'll need some things before I get started."
His brows lifted again. He'd done it so much; I was afraid he pushed his hairline back. Poor guy. "Another request?" he asked.
"No," I pressed my lips into a thin line, "this is work-related. I'll just need the full data of the androids' oldest updates, the latest patch, and..." I paused, slowly nodding. "I'll need my father's original work."
"Your father's—" Frank leaned against the island, narrowing his gaze at me. His head tilted to the side. His fingers interlocked together. "Elijah, your father's work is Lyons' property. I don't think I can get that far you."
"Oh, question, Frank. Do you believe everything they tell you?" I gave him wide eyes and a fake smile.
Frank frowned. His eyes were filled with disbelief. "Of course, look," he pointed at the kitchen, the living room, and the large TV hanging on the wall, "they give us everything, and all we have to do is listen. Do what they want. They're trying, Elijah." He closed his fist as if it would get me to believe him. "They make us comfortable while they do their best."
"So, you believe them?" I asked again. "You think everything they say is true."
He straightened. "Yes..."
Why was there a pause?
The sound of Victoria's shoes walking back toward the kitchen echoed. I glanced at her with a small, frustrated smirk, before looking back at Frank. I slowly shook my head. "They lied," I said. "They stole my father's work, so technically it's mine."
Frank moved back. He looked around for a second. I wondered if he was processing what I said, Had to. I snorted because when he looked at me, I thought I saw a piece of his veil lift away from his eyes.
It's all right, Frank. I felt like that this afternoon.
I leaned back, stretching my hands in front of me. "I don't care how you get it, but I need it."
He licked his bottom lip. "And if I can't get it?"
"I'll leave," I said without hesitation.
"You..." Frank cleared his throat. "You can't leave."