Page 27 of Operation Iron Heart

Marci knew straight away who, or rather what, he was referring to. Hybrid soldiers like Will who, unnoticed by the general public, had lost their lives because of the government’s cost-saving measures. She wanted to leap up, spit on the ground in front of him and rail against inhumane greed and the atrocities that lay behind these strategies, but she knew that it would take a hundred Jacks to protect her from the likely consequences. Jack sensed her agitation and gave her knee a firm squeeze, immediately calming her down.

Marci’s pulse was still not steady a few minutes later when Montgomery MacIntyre suddenly appeared at their table, accompanied by a very young Asian woman whose flawless appearance suggested that she was a robot. Dressed in a whisper of silver fabric that emphasised her boyish figure, her black, waist-length hair covered up her virtually flat chest.

Whereas Jack stood up and politely offered his seat to the robot girl, treating her with the same respect as a human, MacIntyre completely ignored both robots. He seemed far more interested in Marci, greeting her so effusively that she felt totally unsettled, fearful for a moment that he might have recognised her. But that was impossible. If he had, she would have been marched off by his robot soldiers who were keeping an eagle-eyed watch on everything.

Marci couldn’t help but remember that Rochelle had always referred to him behind his back as “the pig”; even during their marriage, he’d preferred to take his pleasure with submissive female robots with whom he played perverse games that were so hideous that even Rochelle had never talked about them.

Fortunately, MacIntyre couldn’t tell what was going on in her head. “Ms Rosebud,” he purred, putting his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of peculiar intimacy as the frowning Governor and the two other women looked on. “How lovely to finally meet you,” he added with a honeyed smile, taking her hands in his without asking. “I hope it’s OK if I call you Skyla? Your management team said you’d be the surprise of the evening. If I’ve understood correctly, you’re looking for a strong financial partner for your new company. Your balance sheets certainly look promising; my ex-wife worked on a similar idea that I initially thought was completely ridiculous.”

He spoke without pausing and Marci was astonished that he didn’t once mention Rochelle’s death. With a mixture of fascination and repulsion, she stared at his expressionless face. It was neither handsome nor ugly but his brown eyes were so empty that it sent a chill down her spine. She glanced sideways at Jack, needing the reassurance of his presence but knowing that the feeling of safety it gave her was only imaginary – Jack wouldn’t be able to help her if MacIntyre found out who they were. She nodded smoothly as her contact in the rebel headquarters prompted her with more information that MacIntyre wouldn’t be able to verify.

“It’s not about financial support,” she stated confidently. “Once word of our escort robots starts to spread, we won’t have sufficient capacity to ensure a rapid supply to the market.” She hoped the bold prediction would arouse his interest and added some casual flattery. “We’ve therefore been advised to seek out a collaboration with a large company like MacIntyre LLC. I’ve heard how quickly and efficiently you produce your fighting machines and that there’s barely any difference in terms of their appearance and design with a real human. There’s also the fact that your robots’ size and proportions match those of an ideal man for ninety-five per cent of our clients. Our newly developed software is easy to integrate into any existing processor and transforms an aggressive fighter into a smart, courteous gentleman in the blink of an eye.”

“Are you certain that it works?” interrupted Atkinson. “Where did you get your prototypes from? The army’s scrap heap?”

He cast an appraising look at Jack that didn’t escape MacIntyre’s notice and Marci could have done with some assistance from the rebel base, but the connection to her implanted chip had been interrupted again.

“He’s one of a kind,” he replied hastily. “He’s based on a decommissioned combat robot and I designed him with the help of my chief engineer once she’d analysed potential clients’ requirements. That’s why we want to use professionally recycled combat robots in the future, not only to make the whole thing more affordable but also so that we can speed up production when we need to. That’s why I’m here looking for suitable business partners.”

“What makes you so certain that you can trust a robot like that?” asked MacIntyre curiously.

“My own experiences and the fact that I’ve been making use of his abilities for quite some time now. I value my own life. Or do you think I’d happily sit at this table with a killing machine?” She directed a glowing smile at Jack that wasn’t difficult to put on. He smiled back, albeit slightly more reticently.

“This man does everything I demand of him and I can state without a doubt that I’ve never had a flesh-and-blood guy who’s acquitted himself quite so well.”

Jack tried not to let it show how he felt hearing this praise from her lips, but her enthusiasm about her product – possessing the appearance and charm of an action hero – visibly fuelled Jill Ambush’s fantasies.

“I would happily put myself forward as a tester,” the sister of the President’s wife announced enigmatically, to everyone’s surprise, looking at Jack with a wolfish expression. “Just imagine, Lorna, I’d finally have someone to accompany and protect me on all my business trips. And I’d get to have a bit of fun when we got back to the hotel room in the evening.”

“That’s sick,” declared Atkinson. “He’s a machine, remember? He was created to kill, not fuck.”

“For God’s sake, Doug, why should we women miss out on all the pleasure?” Jill Ambush shot back huffily. “Especially as you men don’t pass up this kind of opportunity. It’s high time there was an alternative on the market to all the submissive robotic pussies. A product that’s designed for women’s needs, that brings more sex and romance into their lives. Regardless of whether they’re married, what they look like, how old they are, and whether their guy still does anything with them or not.”

Everyone was momentarily silent. Lorna shot her an anxious glance but Jill seemed to have just got started.

“Can he clean and cook as well?” asked Atkinson sarcastically, having missed the women’s earlier conversation with Jack. “I mean, then Lorna could get rid of me and her domestic robot.”

“Of course he can, Mr Atkinson,” Marci replied, pleased that Jack was refraining from answering for now. “Our robots can hold their own in any situation.”

Jill grinned broadly. “I do wonder, though, whether a woman would even think of housework with a guy like that. He’s intended more for the pleasurable things in life.”

“I have an idea,” murmured MacIntyre, who had been listening intently to the conversation and now gave Jack an assessing look. “Skyla, how about letting Jill Ambush have your robot for the night? I’ll pay for the suite and Jill can write a test report for our ‘CyberWar’ magazine. If he does what you say he can, it’ll be the best advertising you can imagine. What do you think?”

Marci swallowed nervously. She was surprised how quickly their mission was heading in the right direction, but she didn’t like how Jill’s eyes widened with delight, looking as if she had literally won the jackpot. “Oh, Monty!” she gushed. “You are a darling. What a wonderful idea!”

MacIntyre’s twisted smile should have warned Marci, but she and Jack didn’t have any other option but to go for it. While the voice in her head gave a clear ‘Go’, she was tempted to put her foot down and call off the whole thing. Despite, or maybe because of, the fact that they were so close to achieving their aim, she felt a burning in her chest that could definitely be called jealousy.

Without pondering it any further, she cast a questioning look at Jack. What precisely was she expecting? That he might say no? Definitely not.

Quite the opposite; he looked completely relaxed about what might happen next. After all, he was the robot and he had to follow her instructions.

“Well?” asked MacIntyre when Marci didn’t immediately answer. “Have you got cold feet, Skyla, about handing your robot over to an independent, influential tester? Are you worried that he won’t follow her orders? Or maybe he’s not got the goods? I mean, he doesn’t just have to be brilliant at fucking, he also needs to be skilled at all kinds of sexual games. Some women harbour the strangest desires, after all.”

No, Marci wanted to shout. He’s actually too good to be true, but I don’t want to share him, especially not with that bitch.

“He can certainly manage all kinds of positions, believe me,” she replied dismissively.

MacIntyre leered at the woman next to him. “What do you say, Jill? I mean, motionless dolls that look like real men and talk crap in one hundred and forty different languages have been around for a while. But male robots that act as if they have a soul and respond to a woman as if she were his? Now that’s something new. I mean, a man could be jealous of a robot like that. Isn’t that right, Doug?”