Robocop Fan fiction Saga episode 3
Programming
part one
Written: by Impfac
Edited by: DragonPeaceEnvoy
Story by:
Impfac
Sentry
Eva the Diva
Major thanks to our new editor, DragonPeaceEnvoy, for all the help! You made this a much stronger work.
Previously:
He fumbled for his cell phone on the night stand then froze in horror. Underneath the phone sat a series of pictures. Of him. And some strange woman.
Numbly, he picked up the phone. "Johnson."
"Have a good time last night?" Xui said, gloating. Without pausing for a response, he continued, "I wonder, what would you're wife think of all this? A nice Catholic couple like you two..."
"Goddamn you." Johnson managed, tears starting to sting his eyes.
"Bring what you found to the old man, and I'll destroy you. Understand, Johnson? This is bigger than you. Bigger than me. Play nice and no one gets hurt. Got it?"
"Yeah," Johnson said, coldly. "I got it."
It took him a moment to remember what he had been attempting to do. When he pushed upright he saw that he'd succeeded-he was on the sidewalk outside the club. His cruiser was in his periphery vision, tires flattened, engine gently smoking. But all this he barely noticed-he had only a scant second pushed upright to registered the hulking behemoths just ten feet before him.
Then the three ED-209s open fire.
And now, episode 3
Then the three ED-209's open fire.
The wall behind Robocop, already sporting a gaping hole, disintegrated under the combined barrage. Robocop heard the thugs behind him screaming their bodies liquefied. Chunks of criminal splattered the walls. From behind the club he could hear another ED-209 open up and more screaming.
WARNING, Robocop's computer flashed, CRITICAL DAMAGE. HYDRAULIC PRESSURE CRITICAL
The lead ED-209 strode past him and ducked inside the building. A grenade jingled across the ground and landed beneath its foot. It exploded, blowing two of its toes off and eliciting a piecing cry, but the machine hobbled forward on its ruined leg, continuing to fire.
Sirens drew close. With effort, Robocop was able to stumble to his feet. Hydraulic oil seeped from rents in his shining armor.
Three cruisers screeched to a halt in front of the club.
The cavalry had arrived.
"Welcome to media break! You give us three minutes; we'll give you the world!"
Casey turns toward the camera, smiling turning to a slight frown. "Today, Al Qaeda struck in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber detonating an IED at a school, retribution for the killing of one of its members in Iraq six days ago. Sixty three children were killed." The camera pans to a smiling Jess. The image in the corner changes from rows of covered bodies to the OCP logo.
"Also today, OCP continues to shake up its board. As the final details of Delta City are hammered out and construction begins in crime plagued old Detroit, three more board members have been dismissed for undisclosed reasons. OCP's CEO:"
The image of the Old Man filled the screen. "OCP continues its reconstruction in the wake of recent events. What we're witnessing is the largest and fastest corporate overhaul in business history." Instantly a barrage of questions hit him, but the camera cuts back to Jess.
"The war of words between the United States and China escalated today as China vowed to quote "defend its national unity at any and all costs," a reference to the renegade island nation of Taiwan. It is widely feared that an attempt to officially separate from China could result in a war that would ultimately involve the United States."
"And now this."
The boxed image changed again, this time to a futuristic skyline. Gleaming cars on huge swooping highways moved fluidly. The camera panned, revealing more of the skyline and finally settling on a huge tower with the OCP logo emblazoned on it, the very tower now breaking ground at the heart of Old Detroit.
"Delta City." A huge, godlike voice rumbled, "The future has a silver lining."
The camera cut back to Casey. Robocop appeared in the corner.
"A raid last night by Delta City's top cop, Robocop, yielded fruit as several of Old Detroit's most wanted were killed or arrested. Although slightly damaged, Robocop had this to say;"
"This lawlessness won't last; I'm still on the streets."
"And now this."
The image changed to a man whose face contorted in disgust and he shovels live stink beetles into his mouth and chews. In the corner two counters ran, one indicating stink beetles eaten and another dollar total. In the background people chanted rhythmically, "Blow, blow, blow!" Then he turned away from the camera and started retching to the cheers of the off-screen crowd. The counters both dropped to zero and the large red letters LOSER flashed.
"It's disgusting!" An enthusiastic voice announced. "But it's all REAL! It's the new sensation sweeping the nation, "I'd eat that for a dollar!""
The image morphed into an ED-209 with red and black stripes and green stars. "Finally tonight, the Iraqi government approved the deployment of almost 500 new ED-209 Urban Pacification Units in major cities around that crime ravaged nation."
"That's it for media break tonight. Next on, America's funniest tragedies."
"Good girl, hon." Joshua Raheem said, patting the leg of the ED-209 as it whirred and hissed, its systems running their shut down diagnostics. The two side toes were missing and the front one barely hung on, but it had managed to hobble the two miles home. It was a shame how media break emphasized the occasional break down or mistaken shooting-they were really tough, reliable machines when you got down to it.
To sabotage them in any way broke his heart. It wasn't part of his original agreement to upload code into the machines. He wasn't sure what the decompiled code instructed the ED-209's to do, but it couldn't be good-but he needed the money badly. Debts were debts.
The diagnostic kit he had beeped as the last of the code he was uploading was accepted. When plugged into the mainframe to receive updates to the ED-209's programming, it would upload its own set of new instructions, which would be spread to the other ED-209's in Detroit.
Raheem sighed deeply. "I'm sorry baby, I really am."
Robert McCain blinked back tears as Xui, along side the Old Man, read the list of accusations. Embezzlement, fraud, working directly with Dick Jones, sabotage; the list was long. The evidence was air tight-memos, emails, faxes, files, huge deposits to his accounts. Everything pointed to the board member being guilty.
His tears, however, were not tears of grief. They were tears of helpless rage. He'd never done any of the things listed, never written one of those memos, never cooked one book. He had been totally honest in his nearly twenty years at OCP.
"McCain," the Old Man said after a long pause, "You know I like you. I don't want to put you in jail. But clearly your tenure as an executive is over."
"But it isn't true!" McCain blurted. "I don't care what evidence you have-it isn't true!"
"Robert-" Started Xui.
"Fuck you." McCain said sullenly. "I know you're behind this."
"That will do," The Old Man said gently. "Turn over your stock options, relinquish any claim to your severance, agree to the black list, and this will all go away."
"What choice do I have?" McCain said, standing. This morning he'd slept with his wife, ruffled his kid's hair before they went off to school. Now he was unemployed and unemployable, stripped of everything he'd worked so hard to build. "But I'm telling you, I didn't do anything wrong."
"That," said Xui, "Is what they all say."
Xui and the Old Man walked shoulder to shoulder down the long, shining halls of OCP.
"Sir," Xui said, "I greatly appreciate your support. With a board of my choosing, reforms at Security Concepts should be fast tracked. You would see results almost overnight… but for Johnson."
"Johnson is a good man." the Old Man said. "I don't see any reason to remove him."
"No, of course not. But I think a man like Johnson is more suited to a role within the board, don't you? He's never been in a leadership position before."
"Between you and me Xui, I really think of you as the leader of Security Concepts. But no one man can have too much power."
"Of course not sir, but-"
"Johnson is a check on your power. That is something we have to have, however inconvenient it may be."
The Old Man didn't see the twitch in the corner of Xui's eye.
"Yes sir, I understand. Still, he has tried again and again to block my board appointments."
"Most of the board has been appointed by you anyway." The Old Man noted.
"Yes, but-"
The Old Man stopped. "I'm sorry, Xui. Johnson stays where he is. That is final."
"Yes," Xui said slowly, forcing himself to unclench his fists. "I understand. Perfectly."
Robocop's vision jumped as his breast plate was tightened with the air ratchet. Lewis stood by frowning. Robocop wasn't sure were she got the information that he'd been badly damaged, as he never would have told her himself and caused her such undue worry, but she'd come down at once.
Her recovery was going well. She could walk without crutches and even jog. She was only a few weeks away from returning to the streets with him-a prospect that made him shudder.
"Sarge told me that a half dozen of Detroit's most wanted were killed last night," Lewis was saying. "Already some gangs are coming apart."
"Only more opportunity for this Rojano to consolidate power." Robocop noted sadly.
"Well, the more powerful he gets the more gang violence will be reduced. I just can't figure why he'd put his neck out like Boddicker just to kill cops. It doesn't make sense."
"No." Robocop agreed. "But it does humiliate OCP." Lewis raised an eyebrow. "Not that I am jumping to any conclusions."
Suddenly a cell phone chirps loudly, making Lewis jump. She reached inside her pants pocket and pulled a small silver flip phone out.
"Ha, it's my mom. That can wait." She placed the phone on Robocop's food dispenser.
"Listen Robo, you need to be more careful. You must be numero-uno on Rojano's hit list. If the ED-209's hadn't been tracking you-"
"We've been through this before. I can't shelter myself."
Lewis frowned deeply, a look of stubbornness Murphy dreaded. "You can't go charging into things alone either, Murphy." Neither noticed the tech raise his eyebrows at the name Murphy, nor could either know the trouble he would cause them later.
In a more gentle voice, Lewis added, "I don't want to loose you again."
He placed hand tenderly on her shoulder. "You won't."
"Are we any closer to determining what is causing your malfunctions?"
"No."
Lewis let out a ragged sigh. "It's so frustrating, not being able to do anything!"
"Don't worry, they'll fix me. They fix everything."
It had been more than two days and there had been no word from Xui. Johnson had not resigned. Nor had he brought the incriminating documents to the Old Man. He'd simply called into work sick. His wife wondered why, since he never missed work even when sick, but Johnson said nothing.
He knew Xui was evil. He knew Xui wanted OCP. But to stop him he may well have to give up his marriage. And there was always the chance the Old Man wouldn't believe him and all his risks would be for nothing.
"Hun?"
Johnson snapped out of his reverie. His wife stood in the doorway to his office, head cocked.
"Is there something we need to talk about?" She asked.
"No-Yes! I… I don't know." Johnson said at last.
"Something is wrong, I know that much." She came into the room and placed a hand on his tense shoulder. "And it isn't just work, either. You've been acting funny, Don."
"I know, baby."
"Whatever it is, we can talk it out. Whatever it is."
God, thinks Johnson, this is her way of telling me she already knows.
With a deep breath, Johnson plunges ahead. "Baby, Xui is trying to get rid of me. He got me-well, I guess I got me drunk at his party…."
"And?" She prompted gently.
Johnson wipes the tears from his eyes. "And I'm so sorry babe-"
"I know. I know you, Donald. You're a good man."
"If I take him on, it may destroy me."
"I know. But, it's what you have to do. That's your duty."
Slowly, Johnson nodded. "It might destroy… us."
"What is her name?" She asked suddenly.
Johnson's jaw dropped an inch.
"I figured there was a woman involved in this. Was it your secretary? She doesn't seem your type…"
"Love, I'm not having an affair! I mean… I don't remember, but there are pictures of me… with… another woman. From Xui's party. I think he did something to my drink, I've never gotten drunk that fast! I-" He trailed off, studying his wife's face. "Aren't you angry? Hurt? Something?"
"Oh, I was. I knew from your behavior you'd done… something. I just didn't know what. But I could see the anguish in you're eyes-that's how I figured out it was a woman-and I knew you were truly sorry. I was just waiting to see if you'd confess. So, it isn't your secretary? That's not the reason you're not going to work?"
"No, it Xui. He… he's up to something. Something big-huge. I have the proof, but he has those pictures."
"Honey, we've been married a long time, and I love you. I trust you to do the right thing."
Johnson nodded.
Miles away, in his office, Xui nods too, shutting off the sound from the bugs. His plan has failed. It is time for plan B.
Robocop sleeps, unguarded, unmonitored by humans. Machines hum quietly and tomorrow people will come to collect the paper and electronic data, largely in the hunt to isolate the malfunctions that have plagued Robocop with seizures. But again they will be frustrated by failure.
Three men are huddled around equipment hooked directly into Robocop's electronic brain. Thick cables snake from the back of Robocop's head to a special CPU box hooked
into a laptop. The status monitor blinks, displaying the three prime directives.
The men are young, none over 35, all tech heads hired for this mission. They've practiced for months on simulated units, but now that the real thing is here they're in high gear, operating at peak efficiency, largely out of fear of getting caught.
All three men jump when a clattering wrench rings out from behind them. Ann Lewis's fingers had brushed the table near the hall and knocked the item free. The cell phone she had returned for sat unnoticed on Robocop's food dispenser. Now she stood, staring dumbly at the screen that now displayed five directives, momentarily frozen.
Then the men jumped up and her inertia was broken. She turned to run but knew instantly she wouldn't make it.
She shouted for help as the fastest of the men tackled her from behind. Stars dazzled her vision as her head connects solidly with the concrete. She tries to struggle but her body is still weak. She turns her head to the side, just in time to see a booted foot followed by blackness.
Robocop wakes with a jerk. Instantly he knows something is wrong, something has changed, and that his horrible dreams last night were more than dreams. Nothing in the room has changed. The two techs barely notice that he's woken up, they just idly note on the constantly growing printout "awake."
He opens his mouth to ask if anything unusual happened last night, but his vision fills with static and he jerks backward into his seat.
PRODUCT VIOLATION, his computer warns him, and a new directive he's never seen before appears; "Do not communicate with anyone."
"Shit," One of the techs said, "They recalled even more 6000 SUX's. I guess I should have listened to my wife and gotten a Takuro."
The female tech snorted in response. "I'm pretty happy with my Buick, thank you. I told you not to get a Chrysler spin off."
Command: List prime directives. Robocop felt ill as he reads his new set of prime directives. But he has no choice; he must obey. He stands and walks stiffly to the garage. No one tries to stop him. No one tries to talk to him. Most people aren't sure whether to treat him like a man or a fancy toaster.
He takes the keys to one of the faster turbo-charged SHO cruisers and a moment later peels out, vision intermittently filling with static. He tries to force himself off the road but his program keeps overriding him, making his body twitch spasmodically each time. WARNING, the computer warns him, PRODUCT VIOLATION: SOFTWARE CONFLICT. SEEK IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE.
"I ain't killing a cop and that's final!"
"She saw us dickhead! You want to get turned in?"
Ann Lewis blinks heavily, vision clouded by a gray fog as she comes back into consciousness. She is in a vehicle, moving fast. Its suspension is old and worn. Two of the three men she saw earlier are huddled around the driver's seat of the cheap cargo van, the third presumably is driving. She tries to sit up but discovers her hands and feet are bound, but with large, loose, overly complex knots tied by someone that is wracked with paranoia but not burdened with knowledge.
"We'll be long gone. We've got a midnight flight to-shit, she's awake." The driver says, looking into the rearview mirror. All heads turned towards her.
"Fuck her," the driver says. "We leave her in the van. The ED-209s will get her."
That seems to decide the issue. Lewis struggles to look at the radio clock; 8:55. She had two hours to stop Robocop before he gets to OCP tower, to see if she can reach him somehow and overcome his malicious new programming. Then she would have to return to Detroit international airport and try to stop her kidnappers' flight.
What, she wonders, did they mean about the ED-209s?
She starts working on the knots as quickly as she can without moving too much. Slowly, they start to unravel.
9:00:00 PM-two hours remaining.
Two ED-209s guard OCP tower. Quietly, their huge engines thrum with power. From their perspective, a neon green HUD displays vital information such as hydraulic pressure, computer integrity, voltage output, et cetera.
With a beep, a new dialogue appears.
2:00:00….1:59:59….1:59:58…
The countdown has begun.
THE END
Of episode three
To be continued
Feedback welcomed!