Disclaimer: I don't own Big O, but I love it.

This story is one of a series of short stories and vignettes being posted to the "Story a Day" thread in the Amadeus Bar and Grill forum at the Save Big O website (see my profile for the link since the site won't let me put it here) . It was intended as a one shot, but one of these days, I may revisit Jason Beck and his evil plan.

Feedback is welcomed.

Beck Strikes Back

Beck took a long drag off his cigarette. So, Crow Boy was on the job. He spat in disgust. This meant a great deal of additional inconvenience.

Roger Smith. Hah! Jason Beck had once had ideals. Unlike Smith, though, he hadn't had rich foster parents to put him through school and make sure he met all the right people.

People like him made Beck sick, so high and mighty and sure of themselves. What did they know about suffering? An empty belly did wonders for making one's morals slightly more flexible.

He'd like to see how Roger Smith would fare should the tables be turned. The fantasy gave him a great deal of satisfaction. He could picture himself dressed in an expensive suit, perfectly tailored, with a solid, respectable job--a banker, perhaps!

He could just imagine Roger Smith staggering in as a sorry bum; no money, no android, and more importantly, no megadeus. Who would Mr. Paradigm City Negotiator be then? He'd be like Beck was now, a two-bit nobody hustling to survive.

In his fantasy, Jason would be kind, patient and understanding. After all, he knew what it was like to be without. And then he'd have security throw Smith's sorry ass right back out on to the street!

He frowned. Landing such a job was highly improbable. With his background, a bank wouldn't likely trust him to empty the trash, let alone manage money. There had to be a way of taking Smith down a peg, though!

A sudden thought struck him. Roger Smith's ace in the hole was his reputation. Beck had previously toyed with the idea of starting a rumor that Smith had welshed on a deal or taken a bribe, but had regretfully decided that no one would believe it, especially not coming from him.

Smith now had a weak spot, though, in the petite form of R. Dorothy Wayneright. Beck had inspected her programming thoroughly, and to put it in the kindest possible terms, Timothy Wayneright had been a complete pervert.

The virginal-looking creature that Wayneright had paraded through the city as his granddaughter was a veritable walking Kama Sutra, fully functional and solely designed to make a man's eyes roll back in his head and leave him screaming for mercy.

She likely hadn't said anything to Smith about it--she was clearly enjoying playing Lady Fair to his Knight in Shining Armor. Beck couldn't really blame her. After living as the plaything of a disgusting old man like Wayneright, she probably wanted to completely forget about those particular experiences.

Still, Beck found it hard to believe that Crow Boy hadn't at least sampled her charms. Why else would he have been so embarrassed and defensive when Beck had referred to her as his android lover?

Jason wouldn't have hesitated had he been in Smith's shoes. R. Dorothy Wayneright was, after all, the ultimate in high tech toys. Beck adored high tech toys, and played with them at every opportunity.

People were already whispering about Smith's relationship with his android. It would be very easy to turn those whispers into outright gossip, especially if he arranged for them to be caught in a compromising situation.

Once word got around that Smith was doing the horizontal Lambada with his mechanical maid, that would be the end of his credibility. Mr. Paradigm City Negotiator would be lucky if he could get a job negotiating groceries into a paper bag after that.

Even more to the point, Smith would be the laughingstock of Paradigm City, and that alone made it worth pursuing.

It should be simple enough to arrange. The android fancied herself in love with Smith already. It would be very easy to implant a couple of triggers, to be activated at the proper moment. The artistry of it appealed to him. He didn't even have to kidnap her, all he had to do was transmit the necessary commands. Since she was already leaning that way, she would have no idea that he had tampered with her.

"Jason Beck, you're a genius!" he congratulated himself as he clapped his feet gleefully. When he'd finally composed himself, he got up off the ground and took one last drag of his cigarette. He tossed the butt down to the ground and stepped on it before heading back inside.

To be continued?