Code of Vengeance: The Complete Collection, page 11
Bryce nodded. “My office. It’s small, but it’s secure.”
Mr. Proskey gestured for Bryce to take the lead, which he did, his mind still churning over possibilities. What was really happening here?
They stepped into Bryce’s office and the detective closed the door. The two men sat down, their knees almost touching each other.
Bryce remained silent. Long ago, he had found it to be one of the most powerful interrogation techniques. It worked just as well today, making Mr. Proskey visibly uncomfortable. His eyes darted around the room, trying to find something to make small talk about. But there was nothing. Bryce’s office was just an office to him. He didn’t even have a picture of Cynthia on the desk.
After about five seconds, Mr. Proskey broke. “I’ve been led to understand that you are investigating the possibility that a robot may have been involved in Mr. James’ murder.”
Bryce’s eyes narrowed. He had shared his notes on the investigation with Captain Johnson, but that was it. How much had the businessman and his captain talked about before he came into the room?
He had to play his hand carefully here. To openly suggest that a robot was capable of murder was likely to get him sent straight to a department psychologist. But Mr. Proskey seemed to imply he knew something about what Bryce was investigating.
“That’s perhaps a little strong, Mr. Proskey. However, there was an anomaly at the crime scene that I am investigating.”
Proskey flashed him that same grin again. “I’m not stupid, Detective, but I understand your discretion. Implying that a robot in any way harmed humans is a serious charge, and one that, in this current climate, would bring even more pressure on you. I understand.” He held up his hand to silence Bryce’s argument. “What if I told you that you’re right?”
Bryce stopped mid-thought. He was so surprised that he didn’t even have time to think about what came out of his mouth next. “You think I might be right?”
“Yes, at least possibly. I believe that a robot and a hacker are in some sort of relationship. I can’t say exactly what that is, and my internal security hasn’t been able to find the answers yet either. As unlikely as it seems, I worry that perhaps the hacker has managed to override the robot’s safety conditioning.”
Bryce leaned back in his chair. If such a thing was true, the consequences were far-reaching and enormous. Artificial Intelligence had to be safe. There were military bots who could harm humans, but their programming was exceptionally specific. Commercial robotics had to be one hundred percent risk-free for their owners. Otherwise the robotics companies that drove the economy would collapse.
Bryce hadn’t gotten good at his job by being closed-minded. The story wasn’t one he had considered, but he could make the facts of the case work… if Proskey was telling the truth.
“Do you have anything to support this?” he asked. “Or is this something else too secret for me to see?”
That perfect grin was there again, and again Bryce couldn’t bring himself to trust it.
“I know it must be frustrating, not being able to have all the information at your disposal, Detective, but yes, I do have some evidence that I can show you. I can’t let you have a copy, for obvious security reasons, but I can show you the video from our break-in last night that led our own security team to think a robot was responsible.”
Despite himself, Bryce leaned forward.
Proskey produced a data key from a suit pocket and gave it to Bryce. The detective eagerly plugged it into his desktop computer. There was nothing else he needed to do. The video opened and started playing.
The video showed a corridor with five guards stationed in it. Bryce noticed the body armor and the weapons. Proskey Enterprises was no joke, that much was for sure.
A man in a hoodie came onscreen, his movements blindingly quick. Bryce watched, amazed. He was no slouch when it came to self-defense, but he had never seen anything like that before.
His eyes were glued to the screen the entire time. A few seconds later, he almost jumped as Proskey spoke up. “Watch the next bit carefully.”
The two final guards shot their Tasers into the man, to absolutely no effect.
In what seemed like no time at all, the video was over, the man having left through the door.
The video automatically closed. Bryce didn’t even bother trying to open it again and replay it. He was certain it was encrypted to play only the once. He closed his eyes and replayed the scene mentally, trying to store as much of it in his memory as he could.
When he opened his eyes, Proskey eyed him with interest.
“A meditative practice I learned much earlier in life. It helps me to keep focused when I get cases as unique as this one.”
“I understand. I’m a frequent meditator myself.”
Yet another interesting fact. Bryce still distrusted Proskey, but the businessman was growing on him. In an AI-driven world, it was hard to find people who were successful and who meditated. “So you believe you’re dealing with a robot because he didn’t get shocked when he was tased?”
“Among other facts, yes.”
“What if he just had high-quality body armor that dispersed the charge?”
“A possibility. But there is something else that you can see in the video. Proskey Enterprises doesn’t hire rent-a-cops. All of our security is ex-military, part of our commitment to our veterans. We’re selective, bringing in only the best of the best. For one man to go through five of our guards is no small feat. Based on the movements we saw in that video, our experts believe the attacker wasn’t human. The reaction speed is too fast.”
Bryce took a deep breath. The information was key to his case. There wasn’t any doubt about that. He wasn’t sure exactly what it meant yet, but the picture was becoming clear, one puzzle piece at a time.
“Thank you for bringing this to me, Mr. Proskey. It’s nice to know I’m not as crazy as I think I might be.”
“You’re welcome. I would like to ask a favor, if I may. Would you keep me updated on the progress of the case? I’m not going to ask for any confidential information, or anything that compromises your ethics, but whatever you can share, whenever you can share it, would be greatly appreciated.”
The request was reasonable, and there wasn’t any reason to deny it. Bryce agreed, and Proskey stood up.
“Thank you for your time, Detective. I know this is a difficult case, but Captain Johnson assured me you are the best on the force for a case like this. I appreciate it, and if there is any way I can be of assistance, please let me know.”
Then like a gust of wind, the businessman was gone, leaving Bryce with still more questions and fewer answers.
The main question was, he figured, whether he trusted Proskey. His gut told him no, and after his years of experience, he had learned to follow it.
But Bryce had to admit he had been given another story, another “why” that made sense and fit the facts. He would be foolish if he didn’t follow it to see where it led.
The detective sat in his office for almost a half hour after the businessman left, letting his mind turn over the problem. He faced his monitor and moved the mouse to keep the screen on, but he wasn’t doing anything except thinking.
Proskey was another node in his case, a person who would play a vital role. He was certain of it.
The way Bryce saw it, there were two possibilities. Either Proskey was the victim, or he was the target for vigilantes who knew about his Sapiens First connections. Based on his inherent distrust of the man, Bryce preferred the latter. He wouldn’t push aside the other story, though, just because he didn’t love the guy. The truth wasn’t always what he wanted it to be.
Either way, Proskey’s visit had given him a new avenue of investigation and the primary person of interest: Proskey himself. If he was a victim, he was bait for the criminals. If he wasn’t one, a close watch on him could still yield new clues.
And now Proskey had conveniently made sure that whatever requests Bryce submitted would go through, with haste.
He chuckled at the irony.
Bryce pulled up requisitions on his screen. He assigned the department’s drone units to maintain a 24/7 watch over Clive Proskey. They wouldn’t follow him indoors, but they’d always have his building in sight with constant AI monitoring. If anything happened, Bryce would be the first to know.
A warning popped up, of course, but Bryce ignored it. Under normal circumstances, his request wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell. He’d get called into Dick’s office and receive a butt-chewing. But thanks to an intervention from up high, he’d get approved.
Sure enough, a few minutes later his phone rang.
Dick didn’t even take the time to say hello.
“What the hell are you doing, requesting that type of support for your case?”
Bryce almost sympathized. The drones were incredibly useful, but expensive. Dick would catch hell for this as soon as he approved it.
“Mr. Proskey told us we’d have everything we needed. He and I spoke briefly after our meeting, and I’m convinced he isn’t safe from Kleon’s murderers. This serves both as our protection and as a potential lead in this case.”
Dick bought the half-truth.
“Fine, just get some results. I’m already tired of this case.”
He hung up without another word, and Bryce sighed. This case was the most interesting he’d worked in years. He dove back into his work.
Chapter Ten
Br00-S filtered through the information he had on Proskey. There were terabytes of information, but very little of it seemed meaningful. He had interviews, both video and audio, as well as transcripts and memos from hundreds of public meetings. There were articles, blog posts, and even a few essays written about him.
With Nat’s help, he found even more information not available to the public. Nat didn’t dare dig too deep into Proskey’s security, but even skimming the surface of the company’s files gave the robot the tools he needed to understand his new target better. Nat had unearthed secret memos, private emails, calendars, and more.
All of it painted a picture that Br00-S’ pattern recognition software was trying to assemble.
Most of it came together well. If not for one damning fact that changed everything else, the patterns fell into place easily. There was only one piece that didn’t fit, and it threw everything else into question. Proskey, for all his power and influence, wasn’t the leader of the local Sapiens First cell.
The problem was a pattern mismatch. Proskey had been at the head of the table in the meeting. He had the resources, and he’d recognized Br00-S. All indicated a man in charge. But there was nothing else. Proskey had been incredibly careful to never talk about his political beliefs regarding the Sapiens movement. In the early years, intrepid reporters had frequently asked him about it, trying to link his beliefs to those of his father.
His answer was always the same. “My father had his beliefs, and I have mine. I prefer to keep mine to myself.”
While problematic, the robot understood that the piece might never fit. If Proskey was the leader of Sapiens First, there was a high likelihood he would keep that information secret. If the secret was kept well enough, it would be understandable that it wouldn’t add up with the rest of Br00-S’ information.
But nothing happened in a vacuum. Everything was related. If Proskey was the leader of the Sapiens First cell, there should be evidence in other places. There would be communication with people outside his circle, or gaps in his calendar that couldn’t be explained. There would be something, but Br00-S and Nat found nothing. No one kept a secret that well.
There was another problem, one that Br00-S had a much harder time accepting.
After analyzing terabytes of data, he didn’t think Proskey had the personality type to be the leader of a Sapiens First cell.
Br00-S believed Proskey wasn’t a leader in any sense of the word.
Yes, he was the CEO of his company, but he surrounded himself with smart businessmen and women. Every decision the company had made throughout Proskey’s reign could be traced back to someone else. He was a figurehead and little else.
Br00-S’ pattern created a theory: Proskey was a smart man. He understood how little he knew. There were some hints that he had never wanted ownership of his father’s company. But the position came with perks, too many to ignore. He surrounded himself with people who actually ran the business day to day. They ran it from the shadows, racking up healthy amounts of wealth while Proskey was the actor who stayed in the spotlight.
Like any theory, Br00-S couldn’t be certain he had it right, but the pattern seemed to fit.
Proskey was a professional poster boy.
He wasn’t the sort of man who would figure out how to lead a Sapiens First cell. His position was high-profile enough that the complications would have been enormous. Just keeping his involvement a secret would require a small army of assistants.
Br00-S brought his concerns to Nat, who shrugged them off.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my life, it’s that people never make as much sense as we would like them to.”
Br00-S got frustrated and pounded his fist against the wall of their subbasement room. That got Nat’s attention. He noticed that her heart rate spiked.
He ran the entire process again. “You can’t simply dismiss information that doesn’t fit patterns. It’s illogical.”
Nat gave him more of her attention. “But that’s what I’m trying to say. As a robot, you operate in a space where logic is more important, but humans don’t. We operate on emotions. We’re naturally irrational. If something doesn’t fit into your pattern, it’s probably because you’re discounting that fact.”
Br00-S considered the argument and then rejected it.
“Patterns are patterns, whether or not they are logical. Everything should still fit.”
Nat shook her head. “I think your models are too simple.”
There wasn’t going to be any winning the argument, so they left it at that as Br00-S continued analyzing all the information he could find, letting it run through his software over and over, trying to find deeper patterns hidden inside.
Eventually he realized he wouldn’t get any closer to the truth without more action. If they suspected Clive Proskey was the leader of Sapiens First, confronting him was the most direct route.
Br00-S considered telling Nat his plan but decided against it. She was human, and because of that she tried to complicate otherwise simple tasks. If she encountered a door, her first action would be to scan the security and try to figure out ways to either pick or hack the lock. She wouldn’t try the handle first.
There were some details in Proskey’s life that Br00-S could use if he wanted to interrogate the man. He was an avid cyclist, eschewing motorized transportation whenever he could. He biked to and from work every day, even in the frigid Midwestern winters.
Proskey had a security detail, but it was a light one most of the time. As near as Br00-S could tell, just two people watched the businessman most of the day.
The commute home seemed to be the best time to attack. In traffic, there would be all sorts of complications for the security detail. All Br00-S had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity and make his move.
He thought again about telling Nat but decided against it.
She’d just try to stop him.
He had switched out his black hoodie for a gray one. It wasn’t much of a change, but he hoped it would be enough to deter suspicion for a while. He needed to hide his face from people, and he didn’t know a better way that was less obvious. It was still far too hot out for a hoodie, but it attracted less attention than a ski mask.
For two days he had gone out in the afternoon, telling Nat he was going for a walk. He could tell she didn’t believe him, but she didn’t ask him any questions.
His ability to understand her was improving day after day. He was building up more patterns of behaviors for humans and was having an easier time deciphering them.
He didn’t care whether or not Nat believed him, so long as she didn’t take any action to stop him or follow him. Privacy was all he needed.
Both of the past two days had been failures.
Proskey had biked home, and Br00-S had acted like a jogger, running on a path that intersected Proskey’s in several places. Because Br00-S knew Proskey was heading home, he could predict where his target would be at different points in time.
However, the security had always been tight, following right behind.
There were ways to get rid of them, but Br00-S didn’t want to start a commotion if he could help it. They had already attracted enough attention. Staying out of the spotlight was necessary.
He considered asking Nat to hack into the bodyguards’ car and disable it for about five minutes, enough time for him to do what he needed, but he still refused to ask for her help. He would have to tell her why, and he didn’t want to.
It occurred to him to wonder why he didn’t want her to know. She couldn’t stop him, so there was no logical reason not to tell her. For lack of a better reason, he didn’t want to.
The emotional response bothered him, and his reaction was to ignore the response.
Maybe someday he would ask, if this didn’t work soon.
Br00-S still struggled with patience.
His break came on the third day. He was jogging along downtown, following about a block behind Proskey as he made his way home.
At the edge of downtown, there was a traffic accident. Somehow, a human had driven into one of the autonomous trucks responsible for supporting the supply chain of the city. The truck and the car were stopped in the middle of the intersection, and police bots were scanning the area for forensics and trying to clean as fast as they could.
Proskey biked around with ease, his head bobbing as he listened to music through his headphones.
