Killjoy group
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Ruslan (short blonde hair, 6’7”) – Leader
Serafima (dark red head) – support/medical
Karina (blonde Hair) – Sharpshooter sniper
Timur (Dark hair 5’2”} – computer/hacker expert
Egor- Electronics expert
Stas – Explosives expert
Pibald group
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Evelyn (Auburn hair) – Leader former wife of General Gance/sniper
Christine/Chris (blonde) – personal combat expert- Evelyn’s daughter
Trina (red head) – Tall muscular, armed combat, Chris’s lover
Betty (Dark brown hair) – Recon/explosives expert, sister of Cathy
Cathy (Light brown hair} computer/Electronics/hacker expert
Diane (Dark brown Hair) short, mistress of deception/assassination
S.H.E.I.L.A. – synthetic, humanoid, enlightened, inquisitive, living, android
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I quickly pulled the unconscious body of the dark brown-haired female in the building. Looking at Sheila I saw that she was still in shut down status. Cursing, I got the woman against the wall. I started to look for something to tie her up, shit this place was more bare than I thought.
I finally found some cord that had been outside the door. Wrapping it around her arms and chest I suddenly noticed that the woman was somewhat endowed. Shrugging it off I continued to wrap the woman in a near cocoon.
Again, I shrugged as I looked over my handy work. I suddenly heard a whirring as Sheila sat up. “Confirming adjusted energy signature. Signature operating as .02 percent lower frequency. Energy output increasing. All units report.”
{Compliance secondary control. Second level attained one hour twenty-three minutes sooner. Control has faster reflexes as per previous secondary control’s orders.} The nanomites reported.
What the hell, I thought I was already at level two? No wonder I had hit her as hard as I did.
Sheila stood a minute later as she scanned the room and the area around. “Area secure for the moment. Doctor Gance you have accomplished much while I was adjusting.”
I looked over to the unconscious woman as I nodded. “I thought she was here to kill me, so I hit her. I guess I did it a little hard if she is still out.”
“No Doctor Gance, the female is conscious. She has been for fourteen seconds.” Sheila replied as she scanned the females face. “I am running facial recognition now.”
I heard the woman start to laugh after Sheila had said that. “Good luck with that, I don’t ex…”
“Betty Thomas, member of a trouble shooting group called the Pibald group for the US Government. At present they are on a seek and destroy mission for the both of us. Ms. Thomas is a Recon/explosives expert. She is considered one of the best. She has a sister who goes by the name of Cathy Thorndyke. Ms. Thorndyke is a computer/Electronics/hacker expert.”
I was nodding as Sheila went through all of this information. Sheila suddenly stopped as she turned toward me. “They are led by a woman by the name of Evelyn Tamble. She is…”
I sat up when Sheila mentioned the name, “Tamble?” When Sheila nodded I started to curse. Both Sheila and the woman looked at me strange a moment. “That asshole!” I said as I shook my head.
The woman named Betty was suddenly intrigued. “Ok you’ve peaked my curiosity. Do you know her?”
I turned toward her with a smirk on my face, “Oh yeah, I know her. Almost as well as the asshole who ordered you after me. He is my sadistic asshole of a father. She is my mother, or rather she was, now? I don’t know anymore. That son of a bitch has her chasing me also.”
Betty did her best to hide the shock that she was feeling. She knew that the General was a hard boss, though she never thought he’d hunt his own son. Then again, she thought he was pretty sadistic at times
“So, what are you going to do with me?” She asked as she watched the Doctor pace the room.
“If you’re afraid we’ll kill you, don’t be. I intend to let you go when I can. For now, you’ll have to stay…” I was saying.
“Warning! Warning! I am detecting several tracking devices on her.” I heard Sheila say, then she had clipped Betty, knocking her out. Rapidly she removed all of Betty’s clothes as I tried to watch without becoming aroused. Then Sheila was pulling several devices from the woman. This included two from her vagina, three from her rectum. Then there were several just below the skin under her breasts.
I could only gawk as the pile grew. Finally, Sheila redressed the woman rewrapping her with the cord. “I removed all but one. That one would require surgery to remove. It also might render the female sterile as it is near her uterus.”
I was nodding; that sounded about what my father would do then, I thought further. No, he would have explosives with the tracers. This didn’t really sound like mother though I hadn’t seen her in years. She just might have changed in that time.
Sheila looked over at me with a questioning look. “Doctor Gance are you well? You seem to be experiencing pain in your lower pelvic region.”
I heard Betty moan then start to laugh. “You obviously took my clothes off. He is experiencing what is called a hardon, a boner? An erection? Ah!” Betty said when she saw Sheila’s face comprehend.
Looking at my crotch Sheila reported, ” a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, and endocrine factors, and is often associated with sexual arousal or sexual attraction, although erections can also be spontaneous. The shape, angle, and direction of an erection varies considerably in humans.”
Betty shook her head when Sheila finished. “Is she always this literal?”
“Yes, I find it refreshing that she is always learning.” I told Betty.
“Shit! Give me a few hours with her I’ll have her up to speed in no time. So, I have to ask you Doc, where is the robot you have that the General wants destroyed?” Betty said as she looked around the room.
I shook my head as I pointed to Sheila, “You’ve been talking to her. Please, she is an android not a robot.”
“What!? She has emotions I…” Betty started.
I nodded as I interrupted her, “Yes, that’s why father wants her destroyed. At the moment she is close to total sentience.”
“Sentience?” She asked. “What exactly is that?”
Sheila spoke up, “Sentience the capacity to feel, perceive or experience subjectively. The ability to experience sensations. It is also a metaphysical quality of all things that require respect and care. A multidimensional subjective phenomenon that refers to the depth of awareness an individual possesses about himself or herself and others. The simplest explanation is that I am self-aware therefore I am alive.”
Betty was gasping at all that been said; a machine that was alive? Impossible.
“When you think about it, humans are in fact biological machines.” I told her.
Again, her mouth was hanging open as she was vehemently shaking her head no. “You really do need to die. Living machines? What a nut case!”
Shaking my head, I sat a good way from her as she stared at me like I was crazy. Looking over to Sheila I stated, “We’re going to have to knock her out again if she keeps up like this. I’m not sure I can handle being ridiculed by someone who obviously knows nothing of my work.”
Betty stopped laughing a moment as she said, “I know all about your work Doctor. You are a stellar scientist though these theories are beyond science fiction. For her to react as she has, it would take a massive program to…”
“For your information she has that. It took me fifteen years to write the basic emotion program. I worked on it every day. Sometimes foregoing sleep for days at a time. I will tell you though what I created is nothing compared to what she has in her now. A far more complex massive program that I am just beginning to understand.”
Betty’s mouth was hanging open as she stared from me to Sheila, then back and forth. Looking closely at Sheila she just shook her head. “That would require hundreds of terabytes. She doesn’t seem to have the capacity for…”
“I have many micro-processors. With them I have managed to upgrade my system to thousands of terabytes.” Sheila informed the woman.
Still not believing, the woman could only shake her head. “If my sister were here she could confirm or,” here she looked at both of them. “Deny that what you said is the truth or pure science fiction.”
A moment later a voice came from the radio that had been on the woman. “Sister? Where in the hell are you? Leader wants us all to report in for a meeting. Sister!” There were a few moments of shuffling then another voice came on.
“It is obvious that my team member has been captured. Know that we will take retribution for her death.” The woman leader’s voice said.
I started laughing when I pressed the send button. “A little late for that don’t you think mother? You are after all out to terminate me. Oh, by the way Cathy give it up, you won’t trace this.”
I heard a female voice in the background grunt then start to curse. “That little bastard! I’ll kill you myself!”
“Cathy, shut the hell up!” I heard my mother shout at the other voice. “So, Roger, you got a hell of a lot further than we at first thought.”
“Oh yeah, the old bastard wanted me to make a death squad of my creations. That’s not going to happen, especially after I destroyed more than half the prototypes. Yeah, the bastard is pissed, I can also assume that he is in trouble with Washington, as if I care. Yeah mom, I know about the seek and destroy mission.”
“You can come to us Roger, we can talk this…” she started.
Again, I started to laugh, “Not likely mother. As long as that son of a bitch has a yoke around your neck, no dice. Cathy, stop already, we’ve removed all but one of the trackers.”
“What!!! You son of a bitch! If you harmed her I will make you suffer as long as possible before I gut your damn ass! You hear me! I’ll kill you!” I could hear the really pissed off sister of the woman tied up.
“Enough Cathy!” I heard my mother yell. “The offer stands Roger, turn yourself in, I can hide you.”
I started laughing harder, “My god he really has a damn death grip on you. Don’t worry mother, when I can, I’ll kill him myself, especially after what happened with him getting Chris killed. My android is a tribute to her, though she looks more like Sharon Stone.”
“Roger wait…” She started.
“Good bye mother.” I said as I clicked off the communicator then smashed it.
“How the hell do you expect them to find me?” I heard Betty say with heat in her voice.
“You still have a tracker in you. They will find you, from the sounds of your sister it won’t be long after we leave.” I told her as I grasped the data cube. I saw several programs flash before my eyes then I nodded. “Damn your sister is persistent.”
Betty’s eyes opened wide when she saw me grasp the data cube with it lighting up. “You’re part machine! Only a machine can access a data cube.” I turned toward Betty seeing the look of terror on her face. Then she was trying to withdraw from my touch. “My god I let you touch me, you saw me naked! I feel so unclean!”
I could only grimace as I shook my head at her. Here she called me strange, laughing at me, now she was terrified.
“I am not a machine like Sheila is. I am almost like you though I do have a conscience. unlike my mother and father who could care less about human kind.” I turned away with a sigh. Mother had been a loving person at one time, no thanks to my father, that woman seemed to be long dead.
Sheila and I gathered up all we had brought with us as we left the building. Even as we were leaving, Betty still had to take a shot at me. “You had best hope that the others find you before I do! I am going to enjoy killing you as slowly as possible. Better start praying bastard, you’re going to regret not killing me!”
I stepped back in leaning close to her I whispered, “Unlike you, I am not a soulless, remorseless killer.”
Walking away I slammed the door before she could start in again. Sighing, I walked with Sheila toward the city.
Evelyn was surprised when they hadn’t received a report from Betty. Then again, it was nothing compared to when she heard her son’s voice. Then even more shock when he had removed all the tracking devices. Cathy had been seething when she couldn’t track her sister at all.
Shaking her head, she’d almost had to handcuff Cathy to the vehicle to keep her here. Then she shook her head, Roger thought that his sister Christine was dead. Killed by the actions of their father. Then Christine thought that their father had her brother executed years ago. That is what had started her on her rebellion against both him and her.
Roger was right, that bastard did have a yoke around her neck. It would take his death to alleviate that condition. That wasn’t about to happen soon. Not as on the move as he always seemed to be. No, if anyone could kill him it was Roger, damn but he was a hell of a lot smarter than she had thought he was.
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It was almost an hour later when Cathy started to shout that she was picking up her sister again, though, it was only on one tracker. This of course set her off again, with her violent temper, she was threatening to shoot up most of the city to find her.
Gathering all of the team up, they set out with Cathy in the lead. Pressing Diane to drive faster, the short woman laughed with sadistic glee. They arrived less than twenty minutes later. Cathy pointed to a warehouse across the road.
All of them disembarked their vehicles, weapons drawn. doing a short recon Diane came back nodding her head. Trina made sure they were all ready as she bulled her way through the door. Betty started to yell as soon as she saw the team.
“Get me out of here! I need a bath, a scrubbing, I have to sterilize my skin! Leader you should have heard all the crazy shit that bastard was talking about. Living machines? Humans are biological machines? That…” Betty suddenly stopped, staring at Chris. “My god! You look almost like her. Had I not known better I would have said it was you.”
Chris looked confused, at first Evelyn, then Betty, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “Bitch! What in the hell are you on about? I look like who?”
“Like that thing he built, my god you could be sisters almost. That is if that machine was human.” Betty said in near shock hardly able to believe her eyes.
Cathy had already whipped out a large knife, cutting the cord that Betty was bound in. “So help me god, if he has hurt you I’ll make him suffer to no end.” Ripping the last of the cord loose, she yanked a still shocked Betty to her feet. “Damn it! I was so afraid that I had lost you. Don’t you dare do that again!”
Betty shook her head then hugged her sister back. “Sorry sis, he was a hell of a lot faster than I thought he was. My god sister I saw him access a data cube! He can’t be human, not and be able to do that.”
Evelyn shook her head, they needed to regroup, so Betty could brief them. They had just gotten into their vehicles when the attack came.
Trina started to return fire picking her shots as Evelyn brought her rifle into play. Ten minutes later Egor and Stas were dead on the Killjoy side. Trina was down with wounds to both arms, along with Diane who went down trying to flank the other group. She was alive though bleeding badly.
Another twenty minutes passed with neither side getting an advantage. Finally, Evelyn and Ruslan worried about the locals getting involved, called a truce. Both groups walked out weapons at the ready.
“Ah! Comrade Evelyn, it would be good to see you under other circumstances. At present though we are fighting to stay alive.” Ruslan said as he saluted Evelyn.
“So it seems, are we. It appears he has pitted us against each other, to rid him of all of us, plus the two we both seek. I thought he capitulated far too easy.” Evelyn snapped out with a look of anger on her face.
Ruslan was rubbing his chin a moment thinking over what she had just said. “Da, it appears to be as you say. Though I can not see both groups working together. Most of yours hate males, mine do not trust Americans. It appears that for the moment we both are at an impasse.”
Evelyn’s head was nodding as he was saying this. Suddenly they heard Karina shout “Der’mo! Eto merzost’!” (Shit! It’s the abomination!) This brought up weapons on both sides though a few were pointed at Chris.
Evelyn’s eyes got big as she and Ruslan walked in front of Chris. “Put your weapons down, this is Chris my daughter!”
“Nyet! I shot that monstrosity twice! I will not miss again.” Karina stated as her finger tightened on the trigger.
Ruslan ran to her moving the barrel up even as she was firing a shot. “So, you have seen it also. Then it is true, he did build it to resemble her as a tribute. Damn it ,why in the hell did you do that, Roger?”
They had already loaded their injured and dead getting away just before the authorities arrived.
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Both Sheila and I had walked all the way to the University of Alberta: Department of Computing Science. Sheila had fabricated technician IDs that looked as if they were the real thing. Walking in we were met by the head of the department who smiled then led us to the computer room.
“We’ve been having a lot of slow speed lately. I trust they briefed you on the new servers that are going online, as soon as you are finished with your upgrades.” The head man said.
Sheila took over as she said, “We are mainly here to focus on ALL the problems that you have had. I take it no one has caught the hacker yet?”
The department head’s face blanched as he slowly shook it no. ” No one knows about that but university security… ” The man suddenly was quiet as he started to shake. If they were with the security force, he could be in deep shit if he said any more.
Sheila gave the man a smile that only seemed to make him shake more. “I trust that we won’t be disturbed the few hours that we are here? I also trust, no alarms will be raised if the security system goes off for a bit?”
The man looked from Sheila to me, I had sat with a shit eating grin on my face. “No, there will be no disturbing you,” the man said as he hurried to get out. He then turned and left in quite a hurry.