Challenges
Jane 2.0
by P.J. Serrano
Special Agent, Robert Jones
Just get there.
My feet pounded on the concrete. My lungs burned as I sprinted toward the SUV parked down the street.
I had less than sixty seconds.
Fear and adrenaline fueled my body.
I made my way to the black Chevy and punched the tinted windows as I opened the door to find...
Nothing?
Shit!
The next second, my body was thrown against the SUV as a deafening explosion blasted behind me. The sting of thousands of knives burned my entire back as the world went silent.
My head pounded with the ferocity of a mallet. As dizzy as I was, I tried to pick myself up. Pivoting, I looked behind me.
A white-hot searing blade pierced my heart as I choked on the depths of despair. My roar tried to tear me inside out but no sound came.
My lungs didn't have enough air to give.
JANEY!
My legs gave out as the world was swiped from beneath my feet.
My daughter, my beautiful daughter… is dead.
* * * * *
I sat up in bed, dripping in sweat.
Just another dream.
When will this end?
I rubbed my eyes and reached for my glasses on the nightstand, my fingers skimming my gun.
After putting on my glasses, I went back and grabbed my weapon, admiring the brushed metal of my 9mm Glock.
I appreciated the intricate marbled handle. The cold touch lifted away any remains of sleepy fog.
Taking in the comfortable weight and the fit to my palm, I brought the mouth of the gun to my chin and closed my eyes.
This was it.
Janey, I'm coming, sweetpea.
The shrill ring of the phone broke the silence.
No.
My finger tensed on the trigger as the phone stopped but started again a second later.
Damn.
I looked over and the caller ID showed it was the office.
I pushed the cold metal against my chin a little harder and shut my eyes.
The phone kept going, demanding my attention. I took a deep breath, resignation washing over me, and I placed the gun back on the nightstand.
Not today! Soon though.
The office wanted me in, Jane had returned from her mission.
No, not my Janey.
A cheap copy. Though she was human by all accounts, except for the AI-Nano upgrades that were symbiotically woven with my daughter's DNA.
I was Jane's handler. She was a weapon, not my daughter. End of story.
I jumped in the shower, got dressed, then went to work. It was Sunday, but crime doesn't stop on the day of rest.
* * * * *
I sat in my chair, viewing the sitrep from Jane's mission.
Unbelievable!
I stormed into the medbay where Jane was hooked up to her nano processors.
She smiled at me, tempting me to challenge her.
"Hello, Robert."
"It's Rob, please call me Rob."
"Is my situational report to your liking?"
She was definitely baiting me.
"Your sitrep was crap! I gave you an order, why didn't you follow it?"
"I disagreed with it."
"You do not have the autonomy to make those decisions. I give orders, you obey!"
"Not this time."
"You WILL obey!"
"Then explain to me your justification for killing two children? If it is warranted, I will execute your orders."
My blood was boiling.
My fists clenched as I fought the compulsion to pull my sidearm and put a bullet in her skull.
Except, when I looked at her, I saw… Janey.
Mother fucker!
* * * * *
4 Hours Later...
"Jane."
"Yes, Robert?"
"I have new intel where our killer is hiding out. Credit card transactions place her within 2 miles of the north-west district."
"Sounds like a trap."
"My call. It's a go, do you want backup?"
"No."
"Ok, get set up. Operations a go at 2200 hours."
"Yesss, Sir!"
I watched Jane as she left.
She looked like my daughter, and by some accounts, had a couple of mannerisms like Janey.
But she was just a means to an end. Not Janey. Never my Janey.
* * * * *
It was 1:32 am, and I received a phone call.
"Hello?"
"Rob, come upstairs to medical. It's Jane. It's bad."
"What?"
"Come. Now!"
"Be right there."
Shit!
I shot right out of the chair as I raced toward the elevator.
When the doors opened on the thirteenth floor, I sprinted to the O.R.
Standing behind the window, I watched as the doctors worked on Jane.
She was badly wounded.
"What happened?"
Kelly walked up and gave me the report. "The intel was a setup. When Jane reached the location, she was ambushed."
"Is she going to make it?"
"It's touch and go, but it doesn't look promising."
"Kelly, I can't lose her."
The pain of losing Janey was bad enough.
Night after night for the past seven years, I wanted to end my life.
Now, Jane was fighting for her life. Because of me.
I didn't want to, but I cared for Jane.
She wasn't Janey, but Jane was special in her own way. She was right, I only sought revenge, not justice.
"Rob, there's something you should see…"
Kelly handed me a file. I opened it and it was Jane's dossier on my daughter's killer.
After reading Jane's notes, I closed the file and handed it back to her and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"To do something I should have done years ago…"
* * * * *
For years, I’d had two choices. Kill Esmerelda or kill myself.
But after what had happened to Jane, maybe there was a third choice...
Forgiveness.
I saw Esmerelda with her children. The children I ordered Jane to kill. It was my error that caused collateral damage resulting in the death of Esmerelda's husband and son.
I started this, Esmerelda’s viciousness had continued it. Now I would end it. It was time for me to let go. Of my hatred, of my anger… Of Janey.
I was given a second chance with Jane, and I needed to grab it.
“I forgive you, Esmerelda. And myself.”
I was done here.
“I’m coming, Jane. Just hang on.”