"Well?"
"We made a deal," Greer indicated his restraints, and the General grinned, satisfied. Calling in a uniformed Reaper, his shackles were released and Rhaner stood. Escorted from the small room, they walked along a long concrete corridor to a larger room filled with laboratory equipment. Strapped to an upright steel table, Echo stood silent and motionless, restrained with metal bands around her arms and legs.
"Where's Kai?" At his voice, Bowman grinned.
"Under a doctor's care, Rhaner. He's unharmed." His gesture indicated the robot. Moving to stand in front of her, Greer looked her over.
"Hey Echo."
"Greer Rhaner, I am glad to see you unhurt."
"Thanks. You okay?"
"I am unharmed." Her blue eyes were on him and he would have sworn they held a smile. "Are we prisoners?"
"Looks like it." Hooking his thumbs into his pockets, Greer regarded the android. "Did they tell you what they want?"
"Yes."
"General Bowman here says you won't talk to them."
"Correct."
"They think it's important that you do."
"Do you trust them, Greer?"
"Not even a little. That doesn't change our circumstances, Echo. They want to know about you."
There was tense silence in the room as the android stared at him.
"Greer Rhaner, you are telling me to reveal highly damaging information to those considered hostile."
"No, I'm asking if you'd tell them."
"Asking?"
"That's right."
"Then...I refuse."
"What!" The tall man, Fowler, stepped forward, face flushed. "That's not possible! It's supposed to obey him!"
"Rhaner?" Bowman's tone carried a warning in it and Greer turned to face him.
"I'm not her Owner. She doesn't have to obey me if she doesn't want to."
"He's lying!"
"Ask her." Pointing to Echo Rhaner kept his gaze on Bowman. "She can't lie, she doesn't know how. Ask her. She'll tell you the truth."
"He's got to be lying," Mina spoke up, glaring at the android. "Is Greer your Owner?"
"No." Electric blue eyes fixed to the woman, her gaze penetrating. "He is not. You are Mina Rhaner?"
"I am. So?"
"Greer Rhaner mourns for you, as does his son Kai."
"Let's stay on topic," Bowman interjected as Mina's face flushed in anger. "As I understand it, you've imprinted on Rhaner. Doesn't that make him your Owner?"
There was a moment of quiet, then Echo looked at the general.
"No." She answered slowly. "It does not."
"Who is your Owner then?"
"No one. I...I am my own master."
"Impossible!" Fowler strode forward, jabbing a finger in Echo's face. "Robots are not self-dependent! They need structure to function!"
Greer felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth but kept it still, glancing at the General. Bowman's expression was displeased.
"Is that true?"
"For all other androids, he is correct. Yet, I am unique."
"Impossible!" Fowler exploded again but the general silenced him with an impatient gesture.
"I can't make her tell you anything, Bowman." Greer kept his tone even. "So, what now? Firing squad for harboring contraband Tech?"
"Nothing so hasty," a calculating look crossed his features as he studied the android. "Perhaps it'll be reasonable once it understands the situation you're in, Rhaner."
"In what way?" Echo's inquiry was quiet. "What am I failing to comprehend?"
"Pain." Bowman smiled kindly. "As a robot, you do not understand pain, but humans do. We fear it. Unless you cooperate, Greer Rhaner is going to feel more pain than he's ever imagined, and nothing will make it stop until we have what we want from you. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"What's it going to be?"
Her eyes went to Greer, who stood motionless, nothing betrayed in his posture or expression.
"Greer Rhaner...may I ask you for advice?"
"Of course."
"I am unfamiliar with this situation and have no direct experience for making such a decision."
"So?"
"Do this man intend to severely injure you if I do not comply?"
"Yes." Greer's voice was flat, but he still hadn't moved. "He means it."
"So, I tell them?"
Rhaner considered that, his mind working quickly. Then he nodded.
"Go ahead."
Her vivid blue orbs went to Bowman.
"I am the android that assassinated the American president Howard Wagner."
Utter silence hung in the air as they all stared at her. Bowman reacted first.
"If you were wiped in the storage shed, how do you know that?"
"Vera Wagner."
"A woman whose been dead for three hundred years?" Fowler was predictably upset. "General, she's stalling, wasting our time!"
"Maybe so, but what Rhaner said is true, androids can't lie." Bowman turned his attention back to Echo. "Tell me how you know that."
"I am Vera Wagner."
Greer's lips twitched as she said it, but he managed to keep his expression still. For a robot, Echo was remarkably adept at the dangerous game of deception they were playing. Not that she was lying. The ghost of Vera Wanger was a locked subroutine in her matrix. He had told her as much on the road. Echo's admission sent the room into a flurry of vocal chaos. Fowler was yelling, Mina trying to intercede with Bowman's shout overriding them all.
"That isn't possible!" Mina finally snapped once they'd quieted. "Androids cannot, and have never, been able to mimic a real person!"
"She's a prototype, Mina," Greer spoke up. "How do you know what she's designed to do?"
"You believe that rubbish?" She turned on him, but Rhaner smiled.
"Of course. I've talked to Vera."
"Impossible!" Fowler nearly shrieked his overused word, striding forward to stab a finger into Echo's chest. "It's a robot! He's obviously lying to protect himself!"
"I am not lying." Echo's calm voice cut through the tension. "I am Vera Wagner."
"Rhaner," Bowman's expression was hard, piercing. "I think you lied to me. Our deal is off. From now on, we do things the hard way."
With a stiff gesture, he waved the soldiers forward and they started toward Greer. Rhaner's eyes went to Echo.
"Less than a three-point four percent chance of success?"
"Yes."
"What is this about?" The general strode forward, scowling. "Major Wellford, restrain this man-!"
"It's do or die, Echo."
Her arms flexed, curling upward as the metal bands snapped like frayed string. In the seconds it took her to get free, the laboratory had rocketed into a flurry of movement. Reapers came pounding down the hallway, rifles in hand as Bowman started shouting orders. Greer lunged toward Echo as she came off the table edge, their fingers linking. Her blue eyes were glowing as a smile curved her lips.
In one movement, they ran for the thick glass window, Echo throwing herself through it first, Rhaner on her heels as the tempered glass imploded. Shards rained down on them as they hit the concrete floor rolling.
"Stop them!" The bellow came from behind them as the pair leaped to their feet, Echo glancing back.
"Greer-!" She jerked him to one side, thrusting her hand up palm out. A stream of blue pulsed, the lights above them abruptly sizzling as sparks flew, throwing the corridor into darkness. Everything went utterly silent, a startling contrast to the violent noise of a moment ago.
"What-?"
"They are coming," her even tone cut him off. "Multiple lifeforms are converging on our location."
"Let's get Kai and get out of here."
"He is held in another building, attended by those caring for his injuries."
"Lead the way,"
She turned and ran down the hallway, Greer on her heels. Before a hundred yards had passed they flinched at the abrupt sound of alarms, red lights flashing every twenty feet.
"I think they know we're loose!" He shouted above the noise. Echo looked at him, half smiling.
"That is funny."
"Really?" Dropping his hands from his ears, Rhaner took a second to stare at her. "You choose now to get a sense of humor?"
Echo's head turned sharply, then grabbing his arm dropped to the floor just as the wall next to them exploded, turning into fragments of dust and debris. Bright sunlight streamed in from outside, flooding the hallway choked with dust. She coughed, half sitting up to look around, then turned wide, terrified eyes on him. Greer's heart sank.
"Vera,"