"What happened on our testing floor isn't a standard occurrence, Mr. Garret." A slender woman with fiery red hair looked at me from across a large matte table. Her hands cupped under her chin, the kindness in her eyes had to have been trained. No way was it real. "I do want to apologize for this being your first experience with Lyons Corp."
I wanted to burst out laughing. This wasn't my first time dealing with Lyons but the chaos and single-minded behavior for one's self and not others was very on brand.
After watching a man's neck snap in two, their solution was to bring me up to the fiftieth floor with no immediate medical treatment for my legs. I hadn't gotten the chance to see where they'd taken Reginald. The only reason Victoria sat beside me, was because I didn't let her go.
"Normally, when a new employee begins at Lyons—"
Was I an employee? I didn't see it that way.
"—We would schedule a meeting. A moment to touch base with expectations between us and the newest member."
I glanced over at Victoria. She kept her hand on my knee. The pressure she applied relieved some of the pain. Without any medical tools, it was hard to treat me. I appreciated her attempt.
"Now that we're here, my name is Katherine Bigon, and I will facilitate this meeting. So, please, tell me how I can make your time with us pleasant."
Pleasant wasn't a word to use. A man just died in front of me, at the hands of an android. Was it wrong that I thought the worker had it coming?
I'd never thought of this company as pleasant. Paired with the government, Lyons was one half of an evil powerhouse. Just the lesser of two evils.
I leaned forward in my seat. "The android, Reggie, where is he?"
Katherine's brows lifted. There was no change of emotion on her face. "The Assembler Prototype?"
Assembler? That was new. But I realized quickly she hadn't acknowledged the main description—the name I gave him. "Yeah, Reggie. I want to see him."
Katherine's brows shot up higher. With the large windows surrounding her oversize, metallic, and clean Lyons office, the sunlight hitting her eyes should have been alluring. The brown was a nice color. Too bad I wasn't feeling this first introduction.
"Unfortunately, the Assembler is in transit for disassembly and deletion. We can't tolerate the type of violent behavior exhibited today." She placed her hands on the table. "I hope you understand."
"No, I don't." I folded my hands in front of me; two tight fists to hide my true thoughts. Being here was my opportunity to say what needed to be said. I owed that to Victoria and those like her. Lyons needed me to fix their mistakes. They couldn't get rid of me for speaking against them.
Could they?
"See, Miss Katherine, can I call you that?" I glanced at her. When she nodded, I continued. "Have you ever seen an angry dog?"
Katherine blinked. She relaxed her hands and shrugged, confused. "I have, sure, once or twice in my life."
Slowly, I nodded. "Do you think that dog was born angry?"
"Well, I don't think so." Katherine pursed his lips. "What does this have to do anything?"
"Everything." I scratched my chin with my thumb, looking at her still, never breaking my gaze. "What about an angry person? Someone with rage. Hostility."
"Mr. Garret—"
I forced a smile. "Answer the question, Miss Katherine."
She sighed. The look of frustration was obvious on her face. "I haven't," she said. "But in a person, if you're trying to say that one's anger issues are the same as a dog's or the Assembler we'll take apart today, then I need to tell you it is different."
I chuckled. She was good, following along, but not enough to connect the dots. "If you poke a dog long enough, what does it do? It attacks. And a person who attacks, who kills—"
Katherine huffed, leaning back in her seat. "Mental illness cannot be used in this situation."
"It's not mental illness. Or irrational. It's about mistreatment, neglect, all the things that would make a person snap. Like any animal, one would react to defend themselves."
"Mr. Garrett, what does this have to do with the assembler?" As she repeated the same question, her nails tapped impatiently against the table.
"I'm not sure if you're aware of the things your 'workers' do, but if this continues, the outcome will be the same," I said, straightening in my seat. "So, that assembler reacted the way anyone else would."
"You're telling me you'd attack someone if they bothered you?" Katherine slowly shook her head.
"I'm saying anyone can, and shit," I laughed, unable to keep my professionalism, "if I'm backed into a corner long enough with someone berating me, poking me, and telling me I ain't worth a dime, then maybe. Yeah, maybe I would."
Katherine didn't have a response. She stared at me; tongue pressed into her cheek. Her nails never stopped tapping. She never broke our stare. Not even when the office room door opened, and feet stepped in. I turned and looked. Victoria did, too.
Out of the corner of my eye, I felt Katherine's continuous gaze.
"Mrs. Bigon." A woman approached the table with a tablet in her hands. Her short curly hair bounced as she moved. She glanced at me with a small smile before returning her attention to the woman in charge. "I've brought the files you requested for the Assembler 700 series," she said. "He's already arrived at the base. We're awaiting your approval for immediate dismantlement."
Katherine didn't look at the tablet. She continued to stare at me. A part of me felt this was a game of chicken; I wouldn't be the first to look away. I wasn't going to back down.
"Maddie, thank you," Katherine said to the younger, "but I need you to call the base and tell them to release the android."
I blinked. The game was done that fast, huh? She made the first turn and looked away. "Please have it placed in one of the instructional bays on floor 2B. Mr. Garret will be there at some point today to look at it," she looked back at me, top lip curled up with a forced smile, "as you requested."
Was it that easy? There would be something attached to this; a turn against me. I didn't know what it was, but her giving in without too much of a fight would come back and bite. Glancing at Victoria and her concerned face, I knew I had to figure out how to resolve the issues between humans and machines. And fast.
"Frank—" Katherine looked back at the door. I hadn't realized Frank was here, too, having walked in with Maddie. He looked nervous, just as concerned as Victoria. We locked eyes as Katherine spoke to him.
"Can you escort Mr. Garret to the medical bay for treatment? Then you can take him to the Instructional rooms."
"Yes, ma'am." Frank nodded once before approaching me. He didn't give Maddie a passing glance even though she smiled at him. I understood Katherine—I wouldn't have given her another look, either—but Maddie, she seemed nice.
"Do you need help, Elijah?" he asked, extending his hand. "I can help you walk."
He locked eyes with me. It was the first time since meeting him that I swore there was something behind the look. The love for his company was a mask, wasn't it? There was no way he'd been here for however long he'd been employed and not seen that mistreatment.
Maybe it was me. I had already lifted the veil.
"I will help him." Victoria stood, reaching under my arm to help me stand. When I did, Frank came around to the other side, gently cradling my arm.
Victoria looked at him. "Be careful. His injury should have been treated at the moment it occurred," she glanced back at Katherine, "and this meeting could've waited."
Katherine looked over at us as I leaned against Victoria, using Frank for partial support. Her red lip curled at the three of us before she sighed. Victoria had a point—my health should've been a priority.
"Mr. Garret," Katherine called to me as we walked to the door, "please email me when you're ready to re-do our introductory meeting."
I raised my brows, nodded slightly, and said with all the politeness I had left. "Sure."
***
The medical bay smelled like alcohol. It was also empty, except for the few nurses that made their rounds refilling medicinal trays and bandages. The nurse who'd come for my leg wrapped it up pretty tight and told me not to apply pressure; to take it easy.
Sure, sir, if only.
"Elijah," Victoria kneeled in front of me, double-checking my bandages and small brace, "what are you going to do?" she asked.
There was so much to her one question. What was I going to do about Reggie? Or with the Lyons situation as a whole? I honestly asked myself the same thing the second she did. What was I going to do?
Lyons recruited me for my background with androids and my family's history with them. After stalking me, and watching me, they knew what I was capable of. But after Victoria told me about why the androids were rebelling, it was more than just a patch to correct the errors made by previous technicians. Creating the newest update for a new batch of androids wouldn't fix the issue; the humans needed to change for this to work.
Why is my species like this?
I looked at Victoria with a weak smile. "I don't know " There wasn't a reason to lie to her. "I know what needs to change, but I wouldn't know where to start..."
Pressing gentle hands against the side of my leg, Victoria gave me the softest look in her eyes. It hit me, radiating through me; I felt the care in that one look. "We just got here, Elijah," she said as she balanced her chin on my knee. "If there is one thing I know about you, it's your willpower. You won't give up until you fix the problem."
I chewed on the insides of my cheeks. She was right. I'd always been that way; finding a problem and making it my own. I'd never feel happy until everything ran right.
Why did I change that? Lyons, that's why.
Victoria batted her lashes until I laughed. "How do you think I'm here?" She giggled.
I touched her cheek. I'd spent years fixing her until she looked at me the way she does. It wasn't about making her superior, a balanced mix of every series created since her. My goal had been to make her feel included, with humans and androids.
Lyons needed to have the same thought process with their machines.
Standing near the medical bay's doors, Frank watched us the entire time. He had helped me sit and feel comfortable, but the moment the nurse got to work, and Victoria took over, he hung back. He stayed against the white wall with his arms folded across his chest.
I looked at him and met his gaze. He gulped. "Do you think you can make an update to fix this?" he asked.
Frowning, I shook my head. "An update to fix people?"
Frank's jaw dropped slightly. He had to know what I meant. He saw the issue. He was there. "Do you think it's people that's the issue?"
I cocked a brow. "You'd be dumb to think differently."
"Um..." Rubbing the side of his face, Frank reached for a chair near mine and pulled it in front of me. Victoria looked up at him before pursing her lips. He glanced at her before sighing and looking back at me. "I've worked here for five years."
"Do you want a medal?" He wouldn't get one from me.
"No... I don't. I'm just," he sighed and covered his bottom lip, "My parents worked for them and left, or disappeared, abandoning me with no one. If it wasn't for Lyons, I'd be dead."
Hm. His parents vanished after being employed by them. Sounded like my family. But judging by the look in his eyes, I couldn't pry. Not yet. If we saw each other enough, he'd open up.
"Okay, fine, that's good to hear." Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I looked at his face. "So, tell me, what do you think the problem is? You've been here for five years, so," I waved my hand beside my head, coaxing the real answer out of him, "tell me."
"I..." He looked at his hands.
I snorted, shaking my head. "You know, you're just afraid." Leaning back in my seat, I clenched my jaw as a slight pain shot up my leg. "By the way, is there a reason you're here with me?"
Frank lifted his gaze. "I'm, um, your assigned agent. Anything you need between the androids and headquarters, I'm to relay the message. Your point of communication."
"Hm." I chewed on my lip, thinking about what he said. "So, everywhere I go, you go?"
"Basically," he said.
Perfect. "Good. So, you'll get a chance to see what the problem is. And when that happens, you can help me tell them."
As I stood, he watched me. The look on his face meant he was processing what I said. Either that or he just naturally looked confused when he was speechless.
Leaning against Victoria, I looked down at Frank and pointed at the door. "Let's go see Reggie, Frank."
He blinked at me.
"Or are you scared?"