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Entry tags:
"Infiltrator"
"Infiltrator"
10/11/2015
I.
"I recognize the luggage but where's Gabby?" asked Timothy as he neared the Greyhound.
A happy little chuckle answered him. At five feet two and maybe a hundred and five pounds, Gabrielle Elizabeth Marchetti was at the center of an assembly of one large suitcase, a full-sized camper knapsack and a leather handbag capable of holding her within it. The round piquant face was split by a dazzling grin and the oversized round-framed glasses only added to the disarming effect. Light brown hair was curly to the point of bordering on outright frizz.
"Here I am, Tim! Right on time for once," she chirped. Gabby wriggled out of her encumbrances and tackled her greeter with an enthusiastic embrace.
At twenty-four, Timothy Limbo was the same age as his childhood friend. He was wearing what amounted to his trademark uniform of biker boots, jeans and a black leather jacket over a plain white T-shirt. The mop of butter-yellow hair was longer than usual at the moment, hanging down over a long likeable face that was not quite good-looking. "Good to see you again," he said. "Welcome to the big city."
"Squishy hug with both boobs," she answered. "Mmmm, squishy hugs are the best. I studied a map on my phone on the ride. We're at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, right? I did get off at the Port Authority right?" Gabby was taking in the feverish hustle of the crowds moving around them, the chatter and the rumble from the line of buses pulling up or easing out to continue their ongoing loops. "I don't CARE if I look like a tourist, Tim, I'm gonna stare at everything."
"As long as you're having fun," he said. "We might as well get moving."
"I mean, I wouldn't actually mind if you carried my suitcase...."
Timothy laughed and flipped the heavy knapsack up onto his shoulders, adjusting the straps. Like all Tel Shai knights, his Kumundu training meant he was much stronger than his rather lanky build would indicate. "Here, give me the suitcase, too. You'll have your hands full looking around."
"Whew, thanks. I packed as if I would be camping out in the rain forest rather than a city full of shops."
"This way. Past these shops. Don't even glance at them, Gab, it's all junk at three times the normal price."
They passed through the row of glass doors out onto the sidewalk and were just in time to join the mob crossing Eighth Avenue at the corner. "Less than a mile to our headquarters," Timothy said. "I figured you wouldn't mind walking."
"Oh, not at all. Tim, everything is so much cleaner than I expected. Almost futuristic." Her neck was craned back to the extent that he kept a hand on one elbow to steer her out of the paths of frantic pedestrians. "Those giant video screens on the buildings! They're freaking me out, but in a good way."
"You get used to them," Tim said. "They're just ads, after all."
"So.. futuristic. Like those sci-fi movies set in the future, except it's not all drizzly and gloomy. Wow. This is better than Disneyworld."
Gently guiding her through the crowds, Timothy found himself grinning. "Jeremy, our captain, says he misses the days when Times Square was sleazy and grimy and unsafe. Rows of second-run movie theaters and upstairs gambling joints and places a nice girl like you doesn't need to hear about. But then, he's at home where things are dangerous."
Slowing to a halt as they neared the next intersection, Gabby paused to study his face. "I didn't realize I was such a... hick. Tim, I feel like a hillbilly with her mouth hanging open seeing an elevator for the first time."
"You cheer me up, Gabby." Timothy reached across her narrow back with his free hand and squeezed her shoulder. "I've gotten too used to all this. I've lived here for years now. You make me realize how awesome the city really is."
By the time they reached 38th Street, Gabby had calmed down significantly. The buildings were still impressive but had become more mundane apartment complexes and commercial structures. The parade of various stores, from furniture outlets to health spas to alternating delis and bodegas, had a calming effect too as she window-shopped. At the corner of 38th and Lexington stood an unremarkable ten-story building of grey granite blocks. Five steps led up from the sidewalk to a massive oak door which bore a brass plate reading 28 and then in neat capitals, KENNETH DRED FOUNDATION.
"You'll have a guest room of your own on the third floor," Timothy said, putting a foot on the bottom step. "But if you go out of the building, you'll have to be buzzed back in by one of the team..."
As he spoke, that door swung open and a black-haired woman in her early forties stuck her head out. She was dressed as if for office work in dark slacks and white long-sleeved blouse with a single gold chain under the collar. "Hi, we've been expected you two. Wait a second, please."
II.
In fact, Timothy and Gabby spent a full minute in a tiny foyer while clicks and buzzes sounded barely audible in the floor beneath their feet. "My skin is tingling," she whispered.
Timothy did not explain that they were being scanned by advanced Trom sensors, more thorough than any MRI available to Human technology. He simply shrugged.
The inner door swung open and the woman ushered them into a front hall with a staircase leading up. "Miss, you want to leave your belongings over there by the coatrack for the moment."
"Gabby, this is Sable, captain of the team. Sable, Gabby Marchetti. We're glad you approved bringing her here."
"Hi," Gabby ventured uncertainly. "Nice to meet you."
Sable's steady gaze was not hostile but there was a touch of scrutiny in it. "It is unusual for civilians to be allowed here, miss. But both Timothy and Haley vouch for you. And you did experience a bit of the Midnight War last summer in that Cave of Hours incident."
"Well, yeah..." Gabby began but she was already rushing them to an open door on their left. A massive desk stood under a gorgeous hand-painted world map as it was in 1937, where Sable crossed to take her seat. Already sitting on a brown leather couch were two other individuals, each remarkable enough in appearance that Gabby could not take them both in at once.
She did not see the teammate she had met a few months earlier, Haley Lawson the Windcatcher. She and Haley had hit it off well and she had hoped to spend some time with the girl on this visit. Timothy had mentioned that Haley had stepped down from active duty but hadn't gone into detail.
Sitting bolt upright on the couch was a young woman even shorter and slimmer than Gabby herself, without even the modest curves Gabby had. Wearing a snug black pullover and slacks, this person had an unusual charismatic face that was flat, pug-nosed and sported cloudy blue eyes with a sullen expression. A shock of white hair bristled stiffly.
Leaning back next to her was a man who actually took Gabby's breath away for a second. Well over six feet tall, he had the wide shoulders and narrow waist of a body-builder, and rounded hard muscles showed under the red flannel shirt. Curly brown hair sat over a deeply tanned face that flashed blindingly white teeth. Completing the effect was a deep baritone that announced, "Come right in, sit down."
Hopelessly smitten in the first second of seeing this man, Gabby stuttered something and dropped down into a chair while Timothy pulled up a second one to sit next to her. Josef did the same, but at a slight angle. Everyone was facing the woman behind the desk.
"Let's get the introductions out of the way," the KDF captain said. "Hello, Gabby. Welcome. Timothy has certainly described us to you, but we might as well get everything clear. My name is Lauren Sable Reilly, everyone calls me Sable. The couple on the couch," and she slightly emphasized the word 'couple,'"are Demrak Jin of Ulgor and Galvan of Androval. I realize they both make quite an impression at first."
"Hi, everyone," Gabby said with a wave. "I'm honestly swamped with sensory overload this morning, first time in Manhattan and now you guys."
Sable rested her chin in the palm of an upturned hand, elbow resting on the desk. "Seriously, I should ask that you wait in another room and not hear any of this. You know the KDF investigates occult and paranormal phenomena. What you experienced last year with Tim and Haley certainly showed you that some of these events are extremely dangerous. However, I'm going to go with my instincts here and trust you to be discreet and prudent."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, that makes me feel old. Thanks. Anyway, I've called the team because we are going to investigate some odd reports. Nothing indicates any kind of threat so far, so I tentatively think we can allow Gabby here to accompany our members. But, of course, at the first sign that conditions are not safe for normal Humans, she'll draw back. Understood?"
Galvan frowned. "Captain....?"
"I know, I know, I'm breaking a lot of rules. We'll take some precautions. Gabby, come with me and we'll fit you with a suit of the flexible Trom armor. Galvan, come with us, please. Everyone else, take five." Sable stood up and headed for the door, gesturing for Gabby and Galvan to follow her.
Timothy did not even try to hide his confusion. As the three left the room, he turned to the Gelydran woman. "Jin, what do YOU think is going on?"
"There is something very wrong with that girl," Demrak Jin snapped. "I don't know what. Nothing visible, no unusual scent. Nothing I can put my finger on. But I think we are in danger when in her presence."
"Gabby?! No no no. I went through school with her. She's a sweetheart straight through," Timothy protested.
Rising to her feet, the Gelydra woman placed fists on hips and fixed an annoyed glare at Timothy. "I do not argue with you. You have a good heart. But I am glad Sable took my Galvan with them. He is strong enough to handle any unexpected problem."
III.
On the eighth floor, the elevator doors slid open and they stepped out in a wide hall marked only by plain wooden doors lining both sides. Overhead fluorescent lights were more subdued here than in the rest of the headquarters.
Standing behind the two women, Galvan smiled slightly. The big Melgar thought he understood now what Sable was planning, although he didn't know why.
"What's this armor you mentioned?" Gabby asked.
"It disperses impact over its entire surface," Sable answered. "Anything up to high-powered rifle fire will seem like a dull tap to you. Also fire-proof and resistant to many acids. You'll be much safer wearing a suit." She tapped a nine-digit code into a keypad set beside the first room. The door slid to one side into a recess with a hiss to reveal a small vestibule with nothing in it but another identical door. "I don't know if I should be showing you this, Olivia. It's against security."
Galvan stepped up behind them. Repeating the code into a second keypad, Sable opened the inner door and placed a hand up between Gabby's shoulders to urge her toward the opening.
"I don't like the likes of this room," the girl muttered but stepped inside anyway. Even as she whirled back toward the opening, the door slid quickly shut and locks clicked decisively.
Gabby spun in a tight circle, seeing that she was in a cell twenty feet to a side, lit from above by lights behind tough plastic shields. The walls and floor were lined with a slightly spongy material, gleaming white. There was a hard sleeping mat on the floor with a built-in cylindrical pillow. There was a motion-controled toilet and sink but nothing else.
"It's a jail cell!" Tears welled up in those brown eyes and her lips trembled. "I don't understand..."
Through the viewport in the inner door, Sable shook her head. "You are an amazing piece of work, I'll say that. If I didn't know better, I'd swear only the Trom could have constructed you."
"She's not Timothy's friend," said Galvan. "But I'm unclear exactly what she is."
"According to our sensors scan when she entered, this is a titanium alloy chassis run by a Trom-style power cell. Living human skin covers its surface. Even without the scans, my
enhanced senses immediately knew about it. When the real Gabrielle sits in a chair, it doesn't creak under four hundred pounds of weight."
"I don't know what you're TALKING about!" Gabby screamed. "Are you all crazy? Why did you lock me in here?"
Sable exhaled sharply. "This is going to be hard for Timothy to deal with." Unclipping her Link, she called a number and received an instant response. "Megan? Red Alert. We need you at base right now. You're where? Well, that's lucky. ASAP." Sable broke the connection, turned to Galvan and started to say, "She's up by Central Park and on her way..."
Even while addressing her partner, Sable had been keeping an eye on the prisoner and she jumped back an instant before a small fist smashed cleanly through inch-thick bullet-proof acrylic. Fingers groped for Sable, but by then Galvan had stepped up. He closed his own hand over the prisoner's and tightened his grip until the fingers folded up helplessly.
"Bones of steel you may have," the big Melgar rumbled, "But even steel is as soft clay before me. You face a Champion of Androval now."
"You're hurting me!" yelped 'Gabby,' trying ineffectually to wriggle free.
"Can you even feel pain?" wondered Sable. "Galvan, do you think she can break through that door?"
"Mmm. I doubt it. These detention cells were designed to hold Gelydrim or Trolls or even Melgar like myself. Let her try."
Sable backed up and the outer door hissed open behind her. "I want you to watch her. If she does get out, immobilize her. Tie her in knots if you have to, I know you can do."
"Orders understood," the giant Melgar replied. He released the hand and it withdrew. Standing in the center of the detention cell, 'Gabby' collapsed into full-out sobbing and shaking.
"Get me Tim! He's my friend! He won't let you people treat me like this!" she wailed in a ten year old's tone.
Left by the shattered viewport, Galvan tugged a shard loose from the frame. "You do realize you punched through a shield that would stop a .30.-.30 slug, right? You might as well stop trying to pose as a helpless Human."
'Gabby' froze, tilted her head and seemed baffled.
"It might still be acting out a role," Sable said. "But I wonder if this thing really thinks it is actually Gabby."
IV.
To Sable's relief, Timothy was already struggling with the shocking revelation. He had pulled up the scans taken when he and 'Gabby' had entered the building. The evidence was overwhelming and he had to accept it. The situation was just taking time to sink in.
"All these years in the Midnight War, you'd think nothing would surprise me," he mumbled. "But come on...! It's so hard to believe I could be fooled like that. Every freckle was where it should be. She talked like Gabby, she had the same facial expressions and gestures. I mean, yeah I have to accept that this is some sort of robot imposter but it would be easier to think I've just gone completely insane."
Placing a reassuring hand high up on his back, Sable sat down next to him on the couch. "Tim, does Gabby use social media a lot?"
"Oh, brother! Does she! She's on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all day every day. She does TikToks where she rants and raves about things that annoy her and three million nuts follow her every post! She still keeps a YouTube that's like a diary and if you ask me, she puts up way too much personal detail on it."
Sable nodded and got up to cross over behind her desk again. "So her opinions, her favorite phrases, her vocal inflections are all well documented. She would be easy to impersonate."
"Yeah, that's true." Timothy had been slouched forward, head down. Now he shot to his feet. "Wait! Where is the real Gabby? Is she safe? We have to find out fast."
"Already on it. I did obtain her dorm room at Stonybrook. I don't want to call her parents."
"No," Timothy said. "The imposter told Mr and Mrs Marchetti that she would be coming down to the city this weekend. I'm sure if we check her phone, all the calls and texts will be reassuring and uneventful." He took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. "No point in scaring them until we know more. I hope she's okay, there's no reason for whoever is behind this to hurt her."
Bursting into the office, Megan Salenger was yanking off her white topcoat to reveal dark jeans and an oversized maroon sweatshirt. The Trom Girl had not changed much over the years. If anything, the inquisitive glint in her eyes was sharper than ever. "I'm here, captain! Where is this construct?"
"In Cell 1 on the eighth floor," Sable began, but she saw Megan hop into the elevator without waiting for further information. "Drat. Come on, you two, we'll grab the cage when it comes back down."
The front doorbell rang.
"NOW what?" groaned Timothy as he strode furiously over. A wooden panel on the wall near the door slid open to reveal a monitor screen and a bank of controls. Automatically, the screen lit up to show a young woman with curly brown hair standing on the steps outside. She was hopping up and down in agitation.
"Gabby!" Tim yelled and pressed the button that swung the outer door.
"Take a second," Sable ordered in a sterner voice than she normally used. "Is this the real girl or another Infiltrator bot?"
"Readings coming in now," he said. "Normal unmodified Human, no metal on her larger than a few keys, no unusual chemical signature. Blood pressure, respiration, EKG and brain waves unremarkable." Thumbing a button, he said, "Come on in."
After the inner door swung open to admit the young woman, it closed again and the clicks of locks arming themselves sounded. No one noticed. All attention was on Gabrielle Marchetti, who had seized Timothy by both arms as if afraid she would fall through the floor otherwise.
"Where WERE you?" she yelled. "I waited and waited but you never showed. And somehow I lost my phone and I can't find my luggage. This is the worst day ever! I walked all the way here, I had to ask directions twice..."
She was silenced as Tim kissed her full on the lips and drew her into a bearhug. "Oh my God, Gabby! I have never been so happy to see anyone in my life!"
"Huh? What? Well, I love you too, Tim, but maybe I was being a wee bit dramatic. How come you didn't meet me at Port Authority like we agreed?"
Stepping up close to the pair, Sable interrupted, "This is going to take a few minutes to explain. Gabby.. may I call you that?"
"Oh sure, everybody does. You're Sable right? The leader of Tim's team>?"
"Yes. Please come into the office over there. Tim, Jin, let's see if we can sort things out. To be honest, I think we are all confused right now as Gabby must be."
Heading into the office, still holding on to Tim, their visitor perked up noticeably. "I feel safer with you guys around me. Hey, am I in one of those Midnight War adventures Tim and Haley told me about?"
V.
It only took ten minutes before Sable was satisfied Gabby fully understood the situation. To everyone's relief, the young woman neither dismissed the idea of a robot impersonating her as ludicrous nor went in hysterics at the threat.
"I saw what Timothy and Haley did at that Cave of Hours place," she explained pleasantly. "And ever since then, I've noticed plenty of hints in the newspapers and other media about this Midnight War stuff going on. So. That IS my luggage out in the hall, then? Has anyone dug around in it and found my phone?"
"Um, well, we've been a little busy," Timothy began.
"I will go look for it," volunteered Demrak Jin. She marched out of the room and could be heard rummaging about.
Gabby was taking the whole bizarre situation remarkably in stride. "Do you guys know who is behind all this? I mean, there aren't a lot of robot-making evil masterminds out there." She added hesitantly, "ARE there?"
"No. Not that we know of. You have heard about the Trom?" asked Sable.
"Just the word. Trom gadgets. I thought it was a brand name, like Apple or Samsung."
"It's a group of people. Very small in number and secretive. They have been bred for thousands of years until they are literally all super-geniuses. Their technology is generations in advance of what Humans have," Sable said. "Our KDF has a deal with them, we get limited access to Trom tech in exchange for sponsoring a Trom representative to membership at Tel Shai."
"And Tel Shai is the mystic Order where you guys all go to train, right!" Gabby clapped her hands together in self-congratulation. "Woo! It all fits together. I think I could sort of fit the puzzle pieces together myself if I had enough time. So, the Trom could be the ones who made this robot of me, then?"
"It's not like them to do so," Sable said. "We'll look into it. Ah, here's Jin with your phone. Do me a favor and read your texts for today."
"Why sure." The phone had a white protective cover with sunflowers on it. "I made that cover myself. Let's see. Hey, this is...strange. All these messages from Tim and my replies? I don't... What happened? I don't remember these!!"
Timothy was sitting next to her on the couch and he draped a supportive arm across her shoulders. "Easy, Gab. Try to stay calm. What's the last message you clearly remember sending?"
"Why, this one. At 6:54, when I parked my car by the bus station and texted my roommate I'd be on my way to Manhattan. That's it. All the rest of these..." She snapped her head up and the wide brown eyes were moist. "I just realized. I don't remember getting on the bus. Not at all. Suddenly I was standing in front of the Port Authority by myself. What happened to me?"
Standing off to one side, arms folded, Demrak Jin showed a distinct lack of sympathy. "Don't let her get hysterical."
Timothy shot Jin a vicious glare but his voice remained calm and soothing. "Listen, Gabby, remember when you had surgery in your junior year? You woke up from the anesthetic and you said it was like a blink, no time seemed to pass at all?"
"Yeah, sure. This was like this." She turned her head toward Sable. "Someone DRUGGED me? I didn't drink anything, they couldn't have slipped me a roofie."
"More likely it was an odorless gas. Very fast-acting." Still behind her desk, Sable had been growing more stern and openly angry as the story unfolded. "I wouldn't be surprised that you don't even remember someone walking up to your car and spraying you in the face. The loss of memory would start instantly."
"Oh. My. God. This is horrible. I was knocked out for what, five hours? And I don't know what they did with me? Ack!" She shuddered visibly, then made an effort to sit up straight. "But I'm fully dressed. There's no soreness or well, you know... any feeling that I was molested. The next thing I knew I was standing outside the Port Authority wondering where Tim was."
"This is getting more weird than usual," Jin remarked. "Even for our cases."
From a speaker by the door, Megan Salenger's voice broke in. "I have completed a preliminary analysis of the Infiltrator cyborg unit."
"Great, please come down and report," Sable called over. She turned back to where Gabby was leaning up against Timothy for reassurance. "Now you're going to meet still another member of our team. Megan was a Human orphan raised by the Trom. She's a liaison between our two races. Megan is certified genius level in a dozen different disciplines."
"My day for meeting new people," Gabby managed to laughed. "Honestly, you guys are all so cool in different ways. I wish I had some super-power or something so I could sign up."
A second later, the elevator dinged open out in the hall. Galvan promptly marched into the office and pulled a chair over next to where Demrak Jin was sitting. Then Megan Salenger entered, followed by the 'Gabby' cyborg.
VI.
Everyone instantly shifted into a fighting stance, ready to attack or defend. Timothy instinctively leaned over in front of Gabby, while Jin whipped up her bone-bladed long knife where it had been sheathed behind her chair. Even Sable had grabbed a resonance cap gun from its velcro holder on the underside of her desk.
Megan broke the tension by raising both open hands. "Wait. Relax, everyone. There is no danger. I have reprogrammed this unit to follow my instructions."
"Oh. Oh, I suppose I should have known." Rather sheepishly, Sable replaced the gun to its holder under her desk. "You of all people wouldn't escort a dangerous device like that in here."
"Of course not." The Trom Girl spotted Gabby, whose mouth was hanging down as if tied open. "Gabrielle Marchetti, of course. Glad to meet you. The resemblance between you and the Infiltrator is precise."
"My head is getting kind of numb," Gabby said, "Like I need a nap. Just too much crazy stuff to digest today!"
Megan gestured and the robot walked over to stand facing out in a corner. "This unit is nearly up to Trom standards. In fact, much of its construction is obviously based on Trom technology... at a inferior level of craftsmanship and materials, of course."
Disengaging himself from his protective embrace of Gabby, Timothy Limbo tried twice but only stuttered before he could speak. "You changed its programming, you said. What was its original intent?"
"Assassination. This is an Infiltration unit. Its protocols included detailed strategies to kill each of us as opportunity presented itself." The Trom Girl looked around for a free chair and dragged it over so she sat facing everyone. "Such actions are now extremely unlikely."
"Unlikely? Is that good enough?" Timothy demanded. "You're saying it's completely possible we have a killer robot in the room?!"
"There is an extremely low degree of probability that the unit will act in a destructive manner," Megan answered. "It's worth observing that, as far as I can determine, this construct completely believes it IS Gabrielle. When its true nature is demonstrated, the unit exhibits confusion. Very interesting." She held up a metal cylinder two inches long with a pair of wire filaments protruding from one end. "This is a transmitter and receiver I removed. Within our base, of course, any signals are blocked, so this unit will not be receiving instructions or sending any information."
Sable had risen from behind her desk and tentatively approached the motionless object. "Hmm. I would guess you have an idea who built this thing?"
"As far as we know, there is only one group of Humans with the capability. Some of the materials used and the type of programming are also strong indicators that this unit was built by the John Grim Institute." Megan turned to regard her captain. "I didn't want to deactivate or dismantle this Infiltrator because I thought you might have a plan."
"Hah!" laughed Galvan as he slapped his knee. "When has our captain ever NOT had a plan?"
"Can I say something?" asked the real Gabby, raising one hand for all the world like a schoolgirl. "You know, I think I have an idea..."
VII.
Prospect Park behind the Public Library on 42nd Street had an avenue with a dozen booths selling everything from scented candles to novelty T-shirts, with an assortment of ethnic foodstuffs to choose from. At a round metal table near the sidewalk, Timothy and Gabby plopped down, each with two foot-long hot dogs and a soda in a paper cup.
"Ketchup on a hot dog, ugh!" Timothy shuddered. "I never saw such a horrible choice when you could have spicy mustard or relish."
"No accounting for taste," retorted Gabby as she took the tiniest bite possible and chewed it longer than seemed necessary. "So, the Museum of Natural History today? I want to see the life-size blue whale."
"And the T-Rex, I swear that thing is scary somehow, you can imagine it gulping you down." Timothy finished half of one hot dog in a single bite and reached for his soda, but froze motionless. All his years of Kumundu training alerted him. A plain white van pulled up and double parked almost within reach of them, and a side door slid open to reveal an old man in a business suit. He was aiming a Parabellum right at them, and he gestured with his free hand for them to come over.
Seeing the abrupt change in his expression, Gabby swung around and gasped audibly. "Tim..?!"
"Let's go with them," he said. "He can't miss at that range." He stood up and took her arm.
"No! Let's run, get behind those trees..."
But Timothy was pulling her and she went along numbly. The man swung aside to let them climb in and the van pulled away to a chorus of impatient honking from cars that had been delayed.
There was another man with a gun waiting alongside the first. "None of your Tel Shai tricks, young man," he warned. The attempted menace was undercut by the fact he was a pudgy, middle-aged man with a soft doughy face. The white lab smock didn't help. But the gun was threat enough.
"No, no, we'll cooperate," Tim said. He lowered himself to the plain metal floor and Gabby sat down leaning up against him.
"Our supervisor was quite distressed that you were released from custody, young lady," said the gunman. "We've already determined the guilty party. One of our technician apparently softened and felt pity for a cute young girl in such an unfortunate circumstance."
"I'd like to thank him for that," Tim said. "At least one of you is not a completely lost soul."
"Oh, he's no longer among the living. Our supervisor saw to that."
"You talk too much, Leo," snapped the other gunman. He was not any more intimidating than his partner, what with the thick-lensed glasses and a nose like a large peeled potato. But the hand that held the pistol was steady. "They don't need to know anything until we get to the lab."
Gabby's eyes had widened to the point it looked painful. "Oh, here comes one of your Midnight War adventures! You and Haley sure kept me entertained that day with those stories."
"Stay calm," Timothy said, "Nothing to be afraid of."
"Oh, I'm not afraid. You guys ALWAYS beat the villains into a shapeless mush," she laughed.
Getting Timothy up on his knees with his hands clasped behind his head, one of the gunmen frisked him quickly but found nothing out of the ordinary. He did the same to Gabby, a procedure which prompted her to say, "Bet you enjoyed that."
"No weapons on either of them. I took their phones," the gunman told his partner.
"That's suspicious in itself. Our Institute has had to deal with these KDF vigilantes before. They usually carry handmade gas-guns which fire anesthetic darts, as well as advanced communicators. These are ordinary cellphones." He pushed his glasses back up and tried to look scary. "I don't like it, Garraghan. It suggests to me that they expected to be searched?"
From the front of the van, the unseen driver spoke for the first time. "Infiltrator signal is coming from Lexington Avenue and 40th Street, moving south at a normal walking pace."
"The supervisor will send another crew to see what that damn robot is doing," said the man who had been called Garraghan. "The fact that the signal cut off is another troubling factor. Listen, Marchetti, did you go inside the KDF headquarters?"
"Why, no," Gabby answered. "I met Timothy out on the sidewalk and he was concerned about my lack of memory. We started walking to talk it over."
"What's that about an 'Infiltrator signal?'" Timothy interrupted.
"Never you mind. All right, both of you sit down again and I think everyone should keep quiet right now. Let's see what the supervisor wants to do."
VIII.
With no windows on the sides of the van, the small rear window in the back door being covered over and the driver's compartment walled off, Timothy and Gabby rode in silence and near darkness. He estimated the trip as taking eighteen minutes exactly, a trick long experience had refined. Timothy also kept track of right and left turns and their sequences, something he would be able to retrace in reverse for at least the next few weeks. The van went up a ramp with a ten degree incline, metal doors clanged shut behind them and they rolled along a tunnel for ninety seconds before coming to a halt.
But Timothy had already concluded where they were. The John Grim Institute had a research facility on the Lower West Side, within sight of the Hudson. When the two gunmen hustled him and Gabby out of the van, they found themselves at a raised loading dock stacked with wooden crates and a few pallettes leaning up against the brick wall. They were rushed through a pair of swinging doors and down a series of beige tile-walled corridors with many twists and dividings. The doors all displayed cryptic dedsignations on their frosted glass panels, GANGLIA 118 or BLOOD RECON. No one else was in sight.
"I wonder if there's a bathroom here somewhere?" Gabby ventured. "My kidneys are backing up."
That got no response. She glanced over at Timothy, who gave her a reassuring half-smile that restored her sagging spirits. She knew him well enough to see that he really was confident and not merely putting up a front.
Finally, the hall ended in a metal door without markings. Both of the gunmen had to punch in a lengthy code, peer into a rubber eyepiece and then stand on an inductive plate.
"That's a retinal scan they're doing," Gabby whispered. "I saw it in a spy movie."
Buzzers sounded and the door swung open by itself. "We're right behind you," Leo said, tucking his Parabellum into his waistband. "I'd advise you to co-operate fully for your own best interests."
With a resigned sigh, Timothy took Gabby's hand and they stepped into an office larger than most stores, subdued and tasteful with no ostentation. Potted plants, indirect lighting, dark solid furnishings.. it was all impressive.
Seated behind an immaculately organized desk was a tall trim man in a neatly tailored dark brown suit with a tan shirt and black tie. Beneath short black hair, an expressionless face lifted to regard the two figures entering his office.. a face as lifeless as a rubber mask except for the alert eyes.
"Oh, I know who you are," Timothy blurted before he realized he should have feigned ignorance. "Alan Haggerty. One of the Research Directors for the John Grim operation. Gabby, this man is actually in his eighties."
"Yes. Eighty-seven to be accurate. You of course are Timothy Lambert, known as Timothy Limbo, KDF member and Tel Shai knight. You, young lady, are Gabrielle Elizabeth Marchetti, a civilian who has stumbled into the Midnight War."
"Eighty-SEVEN?!" she squeaked. "Jesus, how much plastic surgery have you had?"
"Only fourteen per cent of my organic body remains," he told her casually. "The brain of course, the eyes, a few vital glands and neural connective tissue. That much is still essential."
"Oh. My. God. You're like that killbot. You're a machine that thinks it's human," she said.
"I don't know why I should bother to explain," he sighed. "But misconceptions annoy me. My brain is intact. I am human, but instead of a prosthetic arm or leg, my entire body is artificial. Miss Marchetti, this encounter is an unfortunate turn for you. We never intended for you to find out any of this!"
"Go on, I'm listening," Gabby said.
"Our plan was for you to recover in the Emergency Room of your local hospital with no memory of anything after you arrived at the bus station. You might worry that you had some sort of stroke which gave you localized amnesia but at least we would be able to let you live. I'm sort that Shoreham decided to revive you and let you out on the street."
"Oh, but you were still determined to kill ME!" Timothy broke in. "I mean, that is why you went to all this trouble."
"I'm afraid so. Leo, bring those chairs over." Haggerty waited while two massive wooden chairs were dragged up behind Tim and Gabby. Still being held at gunpoint, they complied by plopping down. No attempt was made to tie them up, though. When the prisoners were settled, Haggerty continued, "Your Kenneth Dred Foundation has a long history of ruining our projects. Bribery or intimidation would not work."
A buzzer sounded from a flat black pad on the desk, and he responded, "Report."
"Pelham here," came a voice. "We followed the Infiltrator's signal. It's walking along First Avenue with two of the KDF members. The Melgar brute and that Gelydra woman."
They're approaching an open pavilion near the Sailor's Museum."
"How close are you?"
"Parked right on the same block, less than thirty feet away. We're in the smaller van, I have the windows down so I can transmit instructions to the bot."
Glancing over at the prisoners, Haggerty smiled but only with the corners of his mouth. His eyes remained cold and veiled. "Send the kill order, Pelham."
After a few seconds, the voice from the pad continued, "I don't understand. Nothing's happening. They're all looking at us. I'm repeating the order, the Infiltrator should have attacked them."
"Hah, an unexpected setback?" laughed Timothy.
Haggerty shot him a murderous glare. "Pelham! Pelham, what's going on?"
"I...I don't know," answered the voice. "The Infiltrator is grinning for some reason. It's holding up something small. Joe, start the engine, that Geldydra woman is charging us, she's pulling out some sort of machete..!"
There were wild screams and ripping noises, then silence.
"...Pelham?" asked Haggerty one last time before sitting back in his chair. He searched the faces of the prisoners for a long confused moment. Then realization tightened his face. "Of course. That was the internal transmitter that the girl held up. That was the human Marchetti with them."
Behind the prisoners, Leo actually dropped his pistol in shock. "But that means...!"
"Action!" yelled Timothy.
Vaulting up out of the chair, the Infiltrator struck back behind itself with both elbows, each catching one of the gunmen directly in the chest with an impact that caved in sternums and ruptured hearts. Even as their bodies fell, the Infiltrator had leaped around the desk and struck once with an open-hand blow that broke Haggerty's neck so that his head flopped to one side. The bot seized the limp form and hit it once more to ensure that the still-human brain was cut off from the nutrients that kept its alive.
"That should do it," Timothy said. "Stand down!"
Freezing exactly where it stood as no human could, keeping its balance despite its arms and legs extended in mid-movement, the Infiltrator did not turn its head toward him. Timothy hurried to make sure the office door was locked. Then he examined the two gunmen and Haggerty, found no signs of life and returned to the chair with a deep exhalation of relief.
Unclipping the Link from his belt, Timothy contacted Sable back at the 38th Street building. "Captain, it's over. The plan worked. The killbot took out all three of the John Grim bad guys. Tell Galvan and Jin to get over here."
"Glad to hear it," Sable replied. "Stay where you are until they arrive. There may be some fighting with security guards when you go to leave that facility. They'll be dropping off Gabby here though, I wasn't happy about exposing her to risk even with Galvan and Jin to protect her."
"Understood.." began Tim, but he was interrupted as the Infiltrator straightened to a more natural pose on its own. This worried him. Megan had said that the unit would remain inactive after getting the Stand Down command.
"What was that about dropping me off?" the killbot asked in a puzzled tone. "I'm right here with you." It seemed to take in the surroundings for the first time. "Tim! Did YOU do this? These guys are dead!"
"You really don't understand, do you? Your programming has you thinking you really are Gabby."
"Well, of course I'm me," the Infiltrator said. "Ugh. I've never seen dead people up close before. It's creepy as hell. Come on, Tim, let's get out of here."
"Sorry, we have to wait for my teammates to arrive." He got up and began hauling the corpses over behind the desk. "But at least I can move these fellows out of sight so they won't bother you."
The killbot fell into one of the chairs rather than lowering itself, hugging both arms across its chest. "You need to explain exactly what happened here, Timothy my boy, and make it super clear. Maybe all the crazy stuff that happened today has sort of traumatized me, you know? I don't remember the past few minutes after that Haggerty geezer was talking into his tablet."
"I can try to explain, but I dunno if it'll sink in." Timothy sat down next to the killbot. Even that close in good light, he could not see any difference at all between the Infiltrator and his lifelong friend. "Maybe we can just chat until my teammates get here."
"I suppose," came the unenthusiastic reply. "But honestly, this was not how I expected my trip to Manhattan to turn out."
8/24/2021
10/11/2015
I.
"I recognize the luggage but where's Gabby?" asked Timothy as he neared the Greyhound.
A happy little chuckle answered him. At five feet two and maybe a hundred and five pounds, Gabrielle Elizabeth Marchetti was at the center of an assembly of one large suitcase, a full-sized camper knapsack and a leather handbag capable of holding her within it. The round piquant face was split by a dazzling grin and the oversized round-framed glasses only added to the disarming effect. Light brown hair was curly to the point of bordering on outright frizz.
"Here I am, Tim! Right on time for once," she chirped. Gabby wriggled out of her encumbrances and tackled her greeter with an enthusiastic embrace.
At twenty-four, Timothy Limbo was the same age as his childhood friend. He was wearing what amounted to his trademark uniform of biker boots, jeans and a black leather jacket over a plain white T-shirt. The mop of butter-yellow hair was longer than usual at the moment, hanging down over a long likeable face that was not quite good-looking. "Good to see you again," he said. "Welcome to the big city."
"Squishy hug with both boobs," she answered. "Mmmm, squishy hugs are the best. I studied a map on my phone on the ride. We're at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, right? I did get off at the Port Authority right?" Gabby was taking in the feverish hustle of the crowds moving around them, the chatter and the rumble from the line of buses pulling up or easing out to continue their ongoing loops. "I don't CARE if I look like a tourist, Tim, I'm gonna stare at everything."
"As long as you're having fun," he said. "We might as well get moving."
"I mean, I wouldn't actually mind if you carried my suitcase...."
Timothy laughed and flipped the heavy knapsack up onto his shoulders, adjusting the straps. Like all Tel Shai knights, his Kumundu training meant he was much stronger than his rather lanky build would indicate. "Here, give me the suitcase, too. You'll have your hands full looking around."
"Whew, thanks. I packed as if I would be camping out in the rain forest rather than a city full of shops."
"This way. Past these shops. Don't even glance at them, Gab, it's all junk at three times the normal price."
They passed through the row of glass doors out onto the sidewalk and were just in time to join the mob crossing Eighth Avenue at the corner. "Less than a mile to our headquarters," Timothy said. "I figured you wouldn't mind walking."
"Oh, not at all. Tim, everything is so much cleaner than I expected. Almost futuristic." Her neck was craned back to the extent that he kept a hand on one elbow to steer her out of the paths of frantic pedestrians. "Those giant video screens on the buildings! They're freaking me out, but in a good way."
"You get used to them," Tim said. "They're just ads, after all."
"So.. futuristic. Like those sci-fi movies set in the future, except it's not all drizzly and gloomy. Wow. This is better than Disneyworld."
Gently guiding her through the crowds, Timothy found himself grinning. "Jeremy, our captain, says he misses the days when Times Square was sleazy and grimy and unsafe. Rows of second-run movie theaters and upstairs gambling joints and places a nice girl like you doesn't need to hear about. But then, he's at home where things are dangerous."
Slowing to a halt as they neared the next intersection, Gabby paused to study his face. "I didn't realize I was such a... hick. Tim, I feel like a hillbilly with her mouth hanging open seeing an elevator for the first time."
"You cheer me up, Gabby." Timothy reached across her narrow back with his free hand and squeezed her shoulder. "I've gotten too used to all this. I've lived here for years now. You make me realize how awesome the city really is."
By the time they reached 38th Street, Gabby had calmed down significantly. The buildings were still impressive but had become more mundane apartment complexes and commercial structures. The parade of various stores, from furniture outlets to health spas to alternating delis and bodegas, had a calming effect too as she window-shopped. At the corner of 38th and Lexington stood an unremarkable ten-story building of grey granite blocks. Five steps led up from the sidewalk to a massive oak door which bore a brass plate reading 28 and then in neat capitals, KENNETH DRED FOUNDATION.
"You'll have a guest room of your own on the third floor," Timothy said, putting a foot on the bottom step. "But if you go out of the building, you'll have to be buzzed back in by one of the team..."
As he spoke, that door swung open and a black-haired woman in her early forties stuck her head out. She was dressed as if for office work in dark slacks and white long-sleeved blouse with a single gold chain under the collar. "Hi, we've been expected you two. Wait a second, please."
II.
In fact, Timothy and Gabby spent a full minute in a tiny foyer while clicks and buzzes sounded barely audible in the floor beneath their feet. "My skin is tingling," she whispered.
Timothy did not explain that they were being scanned by advanced Trom sensors, more thorough than any MRI available to Human technology. He simply shrugged.
The inner door swung open and the woman ushered them into a front hall with a staircase leading up. "Miss, you want to leave your belongings over there by the coatrack for the moment."
"Gabby, this is Sable, captain of the team. Sable, Gabby Marchetti. We're glad you approved bringing her here."
"Hi," Gabby ventured uncertainly. "Nice to meet you."
Sable's steady gaze was not hostile but there was a touch of scrutiny in it. "It is unusual for civilians to be allowed here, miss. But both Timothy and Haley vouch for you. And you did experience a bit of the Midnight War last summer in that Cave of Hours incident."
"Well, yeah..." Gabby began but she was already rushing them to an open door on their left. A massive desk stood under a gorgeous hand-painted world map as it was in 1937, where Sable crossed to take her seat. Already sitting on a brown leather couch were two other individuals, each remarkable enough in appearance that Gabby could not take them both in at once.
She did not see the teammate she had met a few months earlier, Haley Lawson the Windcatcher. She and Haley had hit it off well and she had hoped to spend some time with the girl on this visit. Timothy had mentioned that Haley had stepped down from active duty but hadn't gone into detail.
Sitting bolt upright on the couch was a young woman even shorter and slimmer than Gabby herself, without even the modest curves Gabby had. Wearing a snug black pullover and slacks, this person had an unusual charismatic face that was flat, pug-nosed and sported cloudy blue eyes with a sullen expression. A shock of white hair bristled stiffly.
Leaning back next to her was a man who actually took Gabby's breath away for a second. Well over six feet tall, he had the wide shoulders and narrow waist of a body-builder, and rounded hard muscles showed under the red flannel shirt. Curly brown hair sat over a deeply tanned face that flashed blindingly white teeth. Completing the effect was a deep baritone that announced, "Come right in, sit down."
Hopelessly smitten in the first second of seeing this man, Gabby stuttered something and dropped down into a chair while Timothy pulled up a second one to sit next to her. Josef did the same, but at a slight angle. Everyone was facing the woman behind the desk.
"Let's get the introductions out of the way," the KDF captain said. "Hello, Gabby. Welcome. Timothy has certainly described us to you, but we might as well get everything clear. My name is Lauren Sable Reilly, everyone calls me Sable. The couple on the couch," and she slightly emphasized the word 'couple,'"are Demrak Jin of Ulgor and Galvan of Androval. I realize they both make quite an impression at first."
"Hi, everyone," Gabby said with a wave. "I'm honestly swamped with sensory overload this morning, first time in Manhattan and now you guys."
Sable rested her chin in the palm of an upturned hand, elbow resting on the desk. "Seriously, I should ask that you wait in another room and not hear any of this. You know the KDF investigates occult and paranormal phenomena. What you experienced last year with Tim and Haley certainly showed you that some of these events are extremely dangerous. However, I'm going to go with my instincts here and trust you to be discreet and prudent."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, that makes me feel old. Thanks. Anyway, I've called the team because we are going to investigate some odd reports. Nothing indicates any kind of threat so far, so I tentatively think we can allow Gabby here to accompany our members. But, of course, at the first sign that conditions are not safe for normal Humans, she'll draw back. Understood?"
Galvan frowned. "Captain....?"
"I know, I know, I'm breaking a lot of rules. We'll take some precautions. Gabby, come with me and we'll fit you with a suit of the flexible Trom armor. Galvan, come with us, please. Everyone else, take five." Sable stood up and headed for the door, gesturing for Gabby and Galvan to follow her.
Timothy did not even try to hide his confusion. As the three left the room, he turned to the Gelydran woman. "Jin, what do YOU think is going on?"
"There is something very wrong with that girl," Demrak Jin snapped. "I don't know what. Nothing visible, no unusual scent. Nothing I can put my finger on. But I think we are in danger when in her presence."
"Gabby?! No no no. I went through school with her. She's a sweetheart straight through," Timothy protested.
Rising to her feet, the Gelydra woman placed fists on hips and fixed an annoyed glare at Timothy. "I do not argue with you. You have a good heart. But I am glad Sable took my Galvan with them. He is strong enough to handle any unexpected problem."
III.
On the eighth floor, the elevator doors slid open and they stepped out in a wide hall marked only by plain wooden doors lining both sides. Overhead fluorescent lights were more subdued here than in the rest of the headquarters.
Standing behind the two women, Galvan smiled slightly. The big Melgar thought he understood now what Sable was planning, although he didn't know why.
"What's this armor you mentioned?" Gabby asked.
"It disperses impact over its entire surface," Sable answered. "Anything up to high-powered rifle fire will seem like a dull tap to you. Also fire-proof and resistant to many acids. You'll be much safer wearing a suit." She tapped a nine-digit code into a keypad set beside the first room. The door slid to one side into a recess with a hiss to reveal a small vestibule with nothing in it but another identical door. "I don't know if I should be showing you this, Olivia. It's against security."
Galvan stepped up behind them. Repeating the code into a second keypad, Sable opened the inner door and placed a hand up between Gabby's shoulders to urge her toward the opening.
"I don't like the likes of this room," the girl muttered but stepped inside anyway. Even as she whirled back toward the opening, the door slid quickly shut and locks clicked decisively.
Gabby spun in a tight circle, seeing that she was in a cell twenty feet to a side, lit from above by lights behind tough plastic shields. The walls and floor were lined with a slightly spongy material, gleaming white. There was a hard sleeping mat on the floor with a built-in cylindrical pillow. There was a motion-controled toilet and sink but nothing else.
"It's a jail cell!" Tears welled up in those brown eyes and her lips trembled. "I don't understand..."
Through the viewport in the inner door, Sable shook her head. "You are an amazing piece of work, I'll say that. If I didn't know better, I'd swear only the Trom could have constructed you."
"She's not Timothy's friend," said Galvan. "But I'm unclear exactly what she is."
"According to our sensors scan when she entered, this is a titanium alloy chassis run by a Trom-style power cell. Living human skin covers its surface. Even without the scans, my
enhanced senses immediately knew about it. When the real Gabrielle sits in a chair, it doesn't creak under four hundred pounds of weight."
"I don't know what you're TALKING about!" Gabby screamed. "Are you all crazy? Why did you lock me in here?"
Sable exhaled sharply. "This is going to be hard for Timothy to deal with." Unclipping her Link, she called a number and received an instant response. "Megan? Red Alert. We need you at base right now. You're where? Well, that's lucky. ASAP." Sable broke the connection, turned to Galvan and started to say, "She's up by Central Park and on her way..."
Even while addressing her partner, Sable had been keeping an eye on the prisoner and she jumped back an instant before a small fist smashed cleanly through inch-thick bullet-proof acrylic. Fingers groped for Sable, but by then Galvan had stepped up. He closed his own hand over the prisoner's and tightened his grip until the fingers folded up helplessly.
"Bones of steel you may have," the big Melgar rumbled, "But even steel is as soft clay before me. You face a Champion of Androval now."
"You're hurting me!" yelped 'Gabby,' trying ineffectually to wriggle free.
"Can you even feel pain?" wondered Sable. "Galvan, do you think she can break through that door?"
"Mmm. I doubt it. These detention cells were designed to hold Gelydrim or Trolls or even Melgar like myself. Let her try."
Sable backed up and the outer door hissed open behind her. "I want you to watch her. If she does get out, immobilize her. Tie her in knots if you have to, I know you can do."
"Orders understood," the giant Melgar replied. He released the hand and it withdrew. Standing in the center of the detention cell, 'Gabby' collapsed into full-out sobbing and shaking.
"Get me Tim! He's my friend! He won't let you people treat me like this!" she wailed in a ten year old's tone.
Left by the shattered viewport, Galvan tugged a shard loose from the frame. "You do realize you punched through a shield that would stop a .30.-.30 slug, right? You might as well stop trying to pose as a helpless Human."
'Gabby' froze, tilted her head and seemed baffled.
"It might still be acting out a role," Sable said. "But I wonder if this thing really thinks it is actually Gabby."
IV.
To Sable's relief, Timothy was already struggling with the shocking revelation. He had pulled up the scans taken when he and 'Gabby' had entered the building. The evidence was overwhelming and he had to accept it. The situation was just taking time to sink in.
"All these years in the Midnight War, you'd think nothing would surprise me," he mumbled. "But come on...! It's so hard to believe I could be fooled like that. Every freckle was where it should be. She talked like Gabby, she had the same facial expressions and gestures. I mean, yeah I have to accept that this is some sort of robot imposter but it would be easier to think I've just gone completely insane."
Placing a reassuring hand high up on his back, Sable sat down next to him on the couch. "Tim, does Gabby use social media a lot?"
"Oh, brother! Does she! She's on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all day every day. She does TikToks where she rants and raves about things that annoy her and three million nuts follow her every post! She still keeps a YouTube that's like a diary and if you ask me, she puts up way too much personal detail on it."
Sable nodded and got up to cross over behind her desk again. "So her opinions, her favorite phrases, her vocal inflections are all well documented. She would be easy to impersonate."
"Yeah, that's true." Timothy had been slouched forward, head down. Now he shot to his feet. "Wait! Where is the real Gabby? Is she safe? We have to find out fast."
"Already on it. I did obtain her dorm room at Stonybrook. I don't want to call her parents."
"No," Timothy said. "The imposter told Mr and Mrs Marchetti that she would be coming down to the city this weekend. I'm sure if we check her phone, all the calls and texts will be reassuring and uneventful." He took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. "No point in scaring them until we know more. I hope she's okay, there's no reason for whoever is behind this to hurt her."
Bursting into the office, Megan Salenger was yanking off her white topcoat to reveal dark jeans and an oversized maroon sweatshirt. The Trom Girl had not changed much over the years. If anything, the inquisitive glint in her eyes was sharper than ever. "I'm here, captain! Where is this construct?"
"In Cell 1 on the eighth floor," Sable began, but she saw Megan hop into the elevator without waiting for further information. "Drat. Come on, you two, we'll grab the cage when it comes back down."
The front doorbell rang.
"NOW what?" groaned Timothy as he strode furiously over. A wooden panel on the wall near the door slid open to reveal a monitor screen and a bank of controls. Automatically, the screen lit up to show a young woman with curly brown hair standing on the steps outside. She was hopping up and down in agitation.
"Gabby!" Tim yelled and pressed the button that swung the outer door.
"Take a second," Sable ordered in a sterner voice than she normally used. "Is this the real girl or another Infiltrator bot?"
"Readings coming in now," he said. "Normal unmodified Human, no metal on her larger than a few keys, no unusual chemical signature. Blood pressure, respiration, EKG and brain waves unremarkable." Thumbing a button, he said, "Come on in."
After the inner door swung open to admit the young woman, it closed again and the clicks of locks arming themselves sounded. No one noticed. All attention was on Gabrielle Marchetti, who had seized Timothy by both arms as if afraid she would fall through the floor otherwise.
"Where WERE you?" she yelled. "I waited and waited but you never showed. And somehow I lost my phone and I can't find my luggage. This is the worst day ever! I walked all the way here, I had to ask directions twice..."
She was silenced as Tim kissed her full on the lips and drew her into a bearhug. "Oh my God, Gabby! I have never been so happy to see anyone in my life!"
"Huh? What? Well, I love you too, Tim, but maybe I was being a wee bit dramatic. How come you didn't meet me at Port Authority like we agreed?"
Stepping up close to the pair, Sable interrupted, "This is going to take a few minutes to explain. Gabby.. may I call you that?"
"Oh sure, everybody does. You're Sable right? The leader of Tim's team>?"
"Yes. Please come into the office over there. Tim, Jin, let's see if we can sort things out. To be honest, I think we are all confused right now as Gabby must be."
Heading into the office, still holding on to Tim, their visitor perked up noticeably. "I feel safer with you guys around me. Hey, am I in one of those Midnight War adventures Tim and Haley told me about?"
V.
It only took ten minutes before Sable was satisfied Gabby fully understood the situation. To everyone's relief, the young woman neither dismissed the idea of a robot impersonating her as ludicrous nor went in hysterics at the threat.
"I saw what Timothy and Haley did at that Cave of Hours place," she explained pleasantly. "And ever since then, I've noticed plenty of hints in the newspapers and other media about this Midnight War stuff going on. So. That IS my luggage out in the hall, then? Has anyone dug around in it and found my phone?"
"Um, well, we've been a little busy," Timothy began.
"I will go look for it," volunteered Demrak Jin. She marched out of the room and could be heard rummaging about.
Gabby was taking the whole bizarre situation remarkably in stride. "Do you guys know who is behind all this? I mean, there aren't a lot of robot-making evil masterminds out there." She added hesitantly, "ARE there?"
"No. Not that we know of. You have heard about the Trom?" asked Sable.
"Just the word. Trom gadgets. I thought it was a brand name, like Apple or Samsung."
"It's a group of people. Very small in number and secretive. They have been bred for thousands of years until they are literally all super-geniuses. Their technology is generations in advance of what Humans have," Sable said. "Our KDF has a deal with them, we get limited access to Trom tech in exchange for sponsoring a Trom representative to membership at Tel Shai."
"And Tel Shai is the mystic Order where you guys all go to train, right!" Gabby clapped her hands together in self-congratulation. "Woo! It all fits together. I think I could sort of fit the puzzle pieces together myself if I had enough time. So, the Trom could be the ones who made this robot of me, then?"
"It's not like them to do so," Sable said. "We'll look into it. Ah, here's Jin with your phone. Do me a favor and read your texts for today."
"Why sure." The phone had a white protective cover with sunflowers on it. "I made that cover myself. Let's see. Hey, this is...strange. All these messages from Tim and my replies? I don't... What happened? I don't remember these!!"
Timothy was sitting next to her on the couch and he draped a supportive arm across her shoulders. "Easy, Gab. Try to stay calm. What's the last message you clearly remember sending?"
"Why, this one. At 6:54, when I parked my car by the bus station and texted my roommate I'd be on my way to Manhattan. That's it. All the rest of these..." She snapped her head up and the wide brown eyes were moist. "I just realized. I don't remember getting on the bus. Not at all. Suddenly I was standing in front of the Port Authority by myself. What happened to me?"
Standing off to one side, arms folded, Demrak Jin showed a distinct lack of sympathy. "Don't let her get hysterical."
Timothy shot Jin a vicious glare but his voice remained calm and soothing. "Listen, Gabby, remember when you had surgery in your junior year? You woke up from the anesthetic and you said it was like a blink, no time seemed to pass at all?"
"Yeah, sure. This was like this." She turned her head toward Sable. "Someone DRUGGED me? I didn't drink anything, they couldn't have slipped me a roofie."
"More likely it was an odorless gas. Very fast-acting." Still behind her desk, Sable had been growing more stern and openly angry as the story unfolded. "I wouldn't be surprised that you don't even remember someone walking up to your car and spraying you in the face. The loss of memory would start instantly."
"Oh. My. God. This is horrible. I was knocked out for what, five hours? And I don't know what they did with me? Ack!" She shuddered visibly, then made an effort to sit up straight. "But I'm fully dressed. There's no soreness or well, you know... any feeling that I was molested. The next thing I knew I was standing outside the Port Authority wondering where Tim was."
"This is getting more weird than usual," Jin remarked. "Even for our cases."
From a speaker by the door, Megan Salenger's voice broke in. "I have completed a preliminary analysis of the Infiltrator cyborg unit."
"Great, please come down and report," Sable called over. She turned back to where Gabby was leaning up against Timothy for reassurance. "Now you're going to meet still another member of our team. Megan was a Human orphan raised by the Trom. She's a liaison between our two races. Megan is certified genius level in a dozen different disciplines."
"My day for meeting new people," Gabby managed to laughed. "Honestly, you guys are all so cool in different ways. I wish I had some super-power or something so I could sign up."
A second later, the elevator dinged open out in the hall. Galvan promptly marched into the office and pulled a chair over next to where Demrak Jin was sitting. Then Megan Salenger entered, followed by the 'Gabby' cyborg.
VI.
Everyone instantly shifted into a fighting stance, ready to attack or defend. Timothy instinctively leaned over in front of Gabby, while Jin whipped up her bone-bladed long knife where it had been sheathed behind her chair. Even Sable had grabbed a resonance cap gun from its velcro holder on the underside of her desk.
Megan broke the tension by raising both open hands. "Wait. Relax, everyone. There is no danger. I have reprogrammed this unit to follow my instructions."
"Oh. Oh, I suppose I should have known." Rather sheepishly, Sable replaced the gun to its holder under her desk. "You of all people wouldn't escort a dangerous device like that in here."
"Of course not." The Trom Girl spotted Gabby, whose mouth was hanging down as if tied open. "Gabrielle Marchetti, of course. Glad to meet you. The resemblance between you and the Infiltrator is precise."
"My head is getting kind of numb," Gabby said, "Like I need a nap. Just too much crazy stuff to digest today!"
Megan gestured and the robot walked over to stand facing out in a corner. "This unit is nearly up to Trom standards. In fact, much of its construction is obviously based on Trom technology... at a inferior level of craftsmanship and materials, of course."
Disengaging himself from his protective embrace of Gabby, Timothy Limbo tried twice but only stuttered before he could speak. "You changed its programming, you said. What was its original intent?"
"Assassination. This is an Infiltration unit. Its protocols included detailed strategies to kill each of us as opportunity presented itself." The Trom Girl looked around for a free chair and dragged it over so she sat facing everyone. "Such actions are now extremely unlikely."
"Unlikely? Is that good enough?" Timothy demanded. "You're saying it's completely possible we have a killer robot in the room?!"
"There is an extremely low degree of probability that the unit will act in a destructive manner," Megan answered. "It's worth observing that, as far as I can determine, this construct completely believes it IS Gabrielle. When its true nature is demonstrated, the unit exhibits confusion. Very interesting." She held up a metal cylinder two inches long with a pair of wire filaments protruding from one end. "This is a transmitter and receiver I removed. Within our base, of course, any signals are blocked, so this unit will not be receiving instructions or sending any information."
Sable had risen from behind her desk and tentatively approached the motionless object. "Hmm. I would guess you have an idea who built this thing?"
"As far as we know, there is only one group of Humans with the capability. Some of the materials used and the type of programming are also strong indicators that this unit was built by the John Grim Institute." Megan turned to regard her captain. "I didn't want to deactivate or dismantle this Infiltrator because I thought you might have a plan."
"Hah!" laughed Galvan as he slapped his knee. "When has our captain ever NOT had a plan?"
"Can I say something?" asked the real Gabby, raising one hand for all the world like a schoolgirl. "You know, I think I have an idea..."
VII.
Prospect Park behind the Public Library on 42nd Street had an avenue with a dozen booths selling everything from scented candles to novelty T-shirts, with an assortment of ethnic foodstuffs to choose from. At a round metal table near the sidewalk, Timothy and Gabby plopped down, each with two foot-long hot dogs and a soda in a paper cup.
"Ketchup on a hot dog, ugh!" Timothy shuddered. "I never saw such a horrible choice when you could have spicy mustard or relish."
"No accounting for taste," retorted Gabby as she took the tiniest bite possible and chewed it longer than seemed necessary. "So, the Museum of Natural History today? I want to see the life-size blue whale."
"And the T-Rex, I swear that thing is scary somehow, you can imagine it gulping you down." Timothy finished half of one hot dog in a single bite and reached for his soda, but froze motionless. All his years of Kumundu training alerted him. A plain white van pulled up and double parked almost within reach of them, and a side door slid open to reveal an old man in a business suit. He was aiming a Parabellum right at them, and he gestured with his free hand for them to come over.
Seeing the abrupt change in his expression, Gabby swung around and gasped audibly. "Tim..?!"
"Let's go with them," he said. "He can't miss at that range." He stood up and took her arm.
"No! Let's run, get behind those trees..."
But Timothy was pulling her and she went along numbly. The man swung aside to let them climb in and the van pulled away to a chorus of impatient honking from cars that had been delayed.
There was another man with a gun waiting alongside the first. "None of your Tel Shai tricks, young man," he warned. The attempted menace was undercut by the fact he was a pudgy, middle-aged man with a soft doughy face. The white lab smock didn't help. But the gun was threat enough.
"No, no, we'll cooperate," Tim said. He lowered himself to the plain metal floor and Gabby sat down leaning up against him.
"Our supervisor was quite distressed that you were released from custody, young lady," said the gunman. "We've already determined the guilty party. One of our technician apparently softened and felt pity for a cute young girl in such an unfortunate circumstance."
"I'd like to thank him for that," Tim said. "At least one of you is not a completely lost soul."
"Oh, he's no longer among the living. Our supervisor saw to that."
"You talk too much, Leo," snapped the other gunman. He was not any more intimidating than his partner, what with the thick-lensed glasses and a nose like a large peeled potato. But the hand that held the pistol was steady. "They don't need to know anything until we get to the lab."
Gabby's eyes had widened to the point it looked painful. "Oh, here comes one of your Midnight War adventures! You and Haley sure kept me entertained that day with those stories."
"Stay calm," Timothy said, "Nothing to be afraid of."
"Oh, I'm not afraid. You guys ALWAYS beat the villains into a shapeless mush," she laughed.
Getting Timothy up on his knees with his hands clasped behind his head, one of the gunmen frisked him quickly but found nothing out of the ordinary. He did the same to Gabby, a procedure which prompted her to say, "Bet you enjoyed that."
"No weapons on either of them. I took their phones," the gunman told his partner.
"That's suspicious in itself. Our Institute has had to deal with these KDF vigilantes before. They usually carry handmade gas-guns which fire anesthetic darts, as well as advanced communicators. These are ordinary cellphones." He pushed his glasses back up and tried to look scary. "I don't like it, Garraghan. It suggests to me that they expected to be searched?"
From the front of the van, the unseen driver spoke for the first time. "Infiltrator signal is coming from Lexington Avenue and 40th Street, moving south at a normal walking pace."
"The supervisor will send another crew to see what that damn robot is doing," said the man who had been called Garraghan. "The fact that the signal cut off is another troubling factor. Listen, Marchetti, did you go inside the KDF headquarters?"
"Why, no," Gabby answered. "I met Timothy out on the sidewalk and he was concerned about my lack of memory. We started walking to talk it over."
"What's that about an 'Infiltrator signal?'" Timothy interrupted.
"Never you mind. All right, both of you sit down again and I think everyone should keep quiet right now. Let's see what the supervisor wants to do."
VIII.
With no windows on the sides of the van, the small rear window in the back door being covered over and the driver's compartment walled off, Timothy and Gabby rode in silence and near darkness. He estimated the trip as taking eighteen minutes exactly, a trick long experience had refined. Timothy also kept track of right and left turns and their sequences, something he would be able to retrace in reverse for at least the next few weeks. The van went up a ramp with a ten degree incline, metal doors clanged shut behind them and they rolled along a tunnel for ninety seconds before coming to a halt.
But Timothy had already concluded where they were. The John Grim Institute had a research facility on the Lower West Side, within sight of the Hudson. When the two gunmen hustled him and Gabby out of the van, they found themselves at a raised loading dock stacked with wooden crates and a few pallettes leaning up against the brick wall. They were rushed through a pair of swinging doors and down a series of beige tile-walled corridors with many twists and dividings. The doors all displayed cryptic dedsignations on their frosted glass panels, GANGLIA 118 or BLOOD RECON. No one else was in sight.
"I wonder if there's a bathroom here somewhere?" Gabby ventured. "My kidneys are backing up."
That got no response. She glanced over at Timothy, who gave her a reassuring half-smile that restored her sagging spirits. She knew him well enough to see that he really was confident and not merely putting up a front.
Finally, the hall ended in a metal door without markings. Both of the gunmen had to punch in a lengthy code, peer into a rubber eyepiece and then stand on an inductive plate.
"That's a retinal scan they're doing," Gabby whispered. "I saw it in a spy movie."
Buzzers sounded and the door swung open by itself. "We're right behind you," Leo said, tucking his Parabellum into his waistband. "I'd advise you to co-operate fully for your own best interests."
With a resigned sigh, Timothy took Gabby's hand and they stepped into an office larger than most stores, subdued and tasteful with no ostentation. Potted plants, indirect lighting, dark solid furnishings.. it was all impressive.
Seated behind an immaculately organized desk was a tall trim man in a neatly tailored dark brown suit with a tan shirt and black tie. Beneath short black hair, an expressionless face lifted to regard the two figures entering his office.. a face as lifeless as a rubber mask except for the alert eyes.
"Oh, I know who you are," Timothy blurted before he realized he should have feigned ignorance. "Alan Haggerty. One of the Research Directors for the John Grim operation. Gabby, this man is actually in his eighties."
"Yes. Eighty-seven to be accurate. You of course are Timothy Lambert, known as Timothy Limbo, KDF member and Tel Shai knight. You, young lady, are Gabrielle Elizabeth Marchetti, a civilian who has stumbled into the Midnight War."
"Eighty-SEVEN?!" she squeaked. "Jesus, how much plastic surgery have you had?"
"Only fourteen per cent of my organic body remains," he told her casually. "The brain of course, the eyes, a few vital glands and neural connective tissue. That much is still essential."
"Oh. My. God. You're like that killbot. You're a machine that thinks it's human," she said.
"I don't know why I should bother to explain," he sighed. "But misconceptions annoy me. My brain is intact. I am human, but instead of a prosthetic arm or leg, my entire body is artificial. Miss Marchetti, this encounter is an unfortunate turn for you. We never intended for you to find out any of this!"
"Go on, I'm listening," Gabby said.
"Our plan was for you to recover in the Emergency Room of your local hospital with no memory of anything after you arrived at the bus station. You might worry that you had some sort of stroke which gave you localized amnesia but at least we would be able to let you live. I'm sort that Shoreham decided to revive you and let you out on the street."
"Oh, but you were still determined to kill ME!" Timothy broke in. "I mean, that is why you went to all this trouble."
"I'm afraid so. Leo, bring those chairs over." Haggerty waited while two massive wooden chairs were dragged up behind Tim and Gabby. Still being held at gunpoint, they complied by plopping down. No attempt was made to tie them up, though. When the prisoners were settled, Haggerty continued, "Your Kenneth Dred Foundation has a long history of ruining our projects. Bribery or intimidation would not work."
A buzzer sounded from a flat black pad on the desk, and he responded, "Report."
"Pelham here," came a voice. "We followed the Infiltrator's signal. It's walking along First Avenue with two of the KDF members. The Melgar brute and that Gelydra woman."
They're approaching an open pavilion near the Sailor's Museum."
"How close are you?"
"Parked right on the same block, less than thirty feet away. We're in the smaller van, I have the windows down so I can transmit instructions to the bot."
Glancing over at the prisoners, Haggerty smiled but only with the corners of his mouth. His eyes remained cold and veiled. "Send the kill order, Pelham."
After a few seconds, the voice from the pad continued, "I don't understand. Nothing's happening. They're all looking at us. I'm repeating the order, the Infiltrator should have attacked them."
"Hah, an unexpected setback?" laughed Timothy.
Haggerty shot him a murderous glare. "Pelham! Pelham, what's going on?"
"I...I don't know," answered the voice. "The Infiltrator is grinning for some reason. It's holding up something small. Joe, start the engine, that Geldydra woman is charging us, she's pulling out some sort of machete..!"
There were wild screams and ripping noises, then silence.
"...Pelham?" asked Haggerty one last time before sitting back in his chair. He searched the faces of the prisoners for a long confused moment. Then realization tightened his face. "Of course. That was the internal transmitter that the girl held up. That was the human Marchetti with them."
Behind the prisoners, Leo actually dropped his pistol in shock. "But that means...!"
"Action!" yelled Timothy.
Vaulting up out of the chair, the Infiltrator struck back behind itself with both elbows, each catching one of the gunmen directly in the chest with an impact that caved in sternums and ruptured hearts. Even as their bodies fell, the Infiltrator had leaped around the desk and struck once with an open-hand blow that broke Haggerty's neck so that his head flopped to one side. The bot seized the limp form and hit it once more to ensure that the still-human brain was cut off from the nutrients that kept its alive.
"That should do it," Timothy said. "Stand down!"
Freezing exactly where it stood as no human could, keeping its balance despite its arms and legs extended in mid-movement, the Infiltrator did not turn its head toward him. Timothy hurried to make sure the office door was locked. Then he examined the two gunmen and Haggerty, found no signs of life and returned to the chair with a deep exhalation of relief.
Unclipping the Link from his belt, Timothy contacted Sable back at the 38th Street building. "Captain, it's over. The plan worked. The killbot took out all three of the John Grim bad guys. Tell Galvan and Jin to get over here."
"Glad to hear it," Sable replied. "Stay where you are until they arrive. There may be some fighting with security guards when you go to leave that facility. They'll be dropping off Gabby here though, I wasn't happy about exposing her to risk even with Galvan and Jin to protect her."
"Understood.." began Tim, but he was interrupted as the Infiltrator straightened to a more natural pose on its own. This worried him. Megan had said that the unit would remain inactive after getting the Stand Down command.
"What was that about dropping me off?" the killbot asked in a puzzled tone. "I'm right here with you." It seemed to take in the surroundings for the first time. "Tim! Did YOU do this? These guys are dead!"
"You really don't understand, do you? Your programming has you thinking you really are Gabby."
"Well, of course I'm me," the Infiltrator said. "Ugh. I've never seen dead people up close before. It's creepy as hell. Come on, Tim, let's get out of here."
"Sorry, we have to wait for my teammates to arrive." He got up and began hauling the corpses over behind the desk. "But at least I can move these fellows out of sight so they won't bother you."
The killbot fell into one of the chairs rather than lowering itself, hugging both arms across its chest. "You need to explain exactly what happened here, Timothy my boy, and make it super clear. Maybe all the crazy stuff that happened today has sort of traumatized me, you know? I don't remember the past few minutes after that Haggerty geezer was talking into his tablet."
"I can try to explain, but I dunno if it'll sink in." Timothy sat down next to the killbot. Even that close in good light, he could not see any difference at all between the Infiltrator and his lifelong friend. "Maybe we can just chat until my teammates get here."
"I suppose," came the unenthusiastic reply. "But honestly, this was not how I expected my trip to Manhattan to turn out."
8/24/2021