CHAPTER 2

"WHAT IS IT?" a gruff voice answered over the deskcom.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, sir, but Sergeant Flores is here and has requested a few minutes of your time," Sergeant-Major Kelley said, looking approvingly at the soldier standing in front of him. The man's uniform was immaculate, tailored to display a fit, well-toned body. Two sharp creases ran from the shoulder to the black belt where his shirt disappeared into his neatly pressed slacks. Several medals adorned his left chest while his name tag was displayed above his right pocket. Hat tucked under his left arm, he stood at attention staring at the wall above the Sergeant-Major's head.

"Send him in."

"Yes sir. Go on in, Flores. A word to the wise, though. Cranley's not in the best mood today, so I hope you're not here to give him bad news."

"No, sir... At least, I don't think so, sir."

"That's reassuring. Well, don't keep the old man waiting," Kelley said, motioning toward the door on his left.

*  *  *

Striding into the oversized office, Sergeant Flores stopped in front of Colonel Cranley's desk and snapped to attention, his right hand raised in a salute.

"Sergeant Flores reporting, sir. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

"At ease, Sergeant. What can I do for you?"

"Sir, I'm here about Agent Wone."

"What about it... her?"

Colonel Cranley threw his pen down on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

Un oh, Flores thought, hoping Cranley's action was more about a bad day than the topic.

"I don't think she's ready to take on such a difficult mission, sir."

"Has she done or said anything to make you think that, Flores?"

"No sir, but she's just detailed part of it. It's impossible for anyone in our unit to accomplish in such a short time, and we've had years of experience. She's only been active one year."

"I'm aware of that, Sergeant. I'm also aware that Primeris passed all the physical and mental tests in our program so there's no reason to keep... her in the program for another twenty-four months. Her record indicates she excelled in situational problems. If I remember right, you were in charge of that phase of her training and gave her high marks."

Flores found Colonel Cranley's difficulty in accepting the Hubot's gender interesting. He had no trouble thinking of Primeris as a woman.

Probably because she looks and sounds like one, he thought. And is about as cold as the rest of the females in the unit. The sergeant was actually grateful the women were rather emotionless. It made them easier to work with. Realizing Cranley was waiting for a response, he tried to remember what the colonel had just said.

"Is there something wrong, Sergeant?" Cranley asked.

"No, sir, I was thinking about the program. It's true she performed well but —"

"Do you have doubts about SU33's training regimen?" The veins in the colonel's neck began pulsating, a clear indication he was losing patience with the conversation.

"No, sir," Flores said, stiffening slightly. "SU33 has the best trained men and women in the world. I'd place my life in any of our people's hands."

"Good, because I would be extremely disappointed if I thought you believed otherwise. Listen, Sergeant," Cranley said, relaxing back into his chair. "Agent Wone has proven it... herself to be a capable trainee. Now she needs to prove she can be a competent soldier, not that she's entitled to a rank. Fortunately, the Committee agreed with me on that one, even though I, too, have voiced my concerns about her readiness. My orders are to test her in a way that will task her skills and intelligence without jeopardizing SU33... or revealing the existence of the Committee. This mission will do that."

"I understand, sir. Ummm... Permission to speak freely, Colonel?" Flores asked, hesitantly.

"Of course. I'm always interested in what my troops have to say."

"Thank you, sir. This assignment makes no sense to me. Why would we jeopardize a multi-million dollar investment to take out a civilian drug czar in another country?"

For the first time, Colonel Cranley lost his serious expression and smiled.

"A very good question. You're smart, Sergeant. I like that. I think you're going to go far in SU33. To answer your question, I'm quite aware and prepared for Primeris to fail. Between you and me, I hope she does. I don't trust any machine to make the right decision in life-threatening situations. Our men and women depend on teamwork. We don't exist as individuals. If one soldier is injured, we all feel the pain. If one of us dies, we all die a little. Machines don't feel. How can they understand the closeness, the unity we've developed over years of dedication and service?"

"I hadn't thought of it exactly in that way," Flores said. "I just assumed Hubots would give us an advantage over our enemies. I mean, Wone is stronger than any guy I've ever met. She's able to analyze situations quickly and come up with strategies that satisfactorily resolve the problems."

"True, but as you pointed out earlier, Primeris has never been in a real-life situation. Her mistakes won't jeopardize anyone's life. Can you honestly say you trust her to make the correct choice between her mission and possibly saving a comrade?"

"The mission always comes first. She should automatically choose that."

"Yes, but how many soldiers would she sacrifice unnecessarily to complete the mission? Our goal has always been to accomplish the assignment with minimal casualties. Why should Primeris worry about casualties?" Holding up his hand, Colonel Cranley stopped Flores before he could answer. "She wouldn't. She can't because she's a fuckin' machine. It's like putting your life in the hands of a vacuum cleaner or something. Would you do that, Flores?"

"No, sir."

"Like I said, you're a smart man. Neither would I, so I have no intention of putting my people in harm's way until Primeris proves herself. No one will suspect SU33 of going after a drug lord, but he's the perfect test candidate. His security system is state-of-the-art and his guards are the best in the civilian world. If she fails, no one will know who she's working for and I'll have proven that Hubots aren't ready to be deployed in the field. If she completes the mission, which I seriously doubt will happen, then I'll send her on another... and I'll keep doing that until she either proves herself or gets destroyed in the process."

"It's a great plan, Colonel, but do we want her falling into the hands of our enemies?"

"Absolutely not. If Primeris doesn't complete her mission within six hours of the allotted time, I've been authorized to neutralize Guiterrez's compound. Two S-45 Dragons will be on standby with orders to destroy his base. Now, any more questions, Sergeant? If not, you have a job to complete."

"No sir. Thank you for clarifying things for me. Do you have any special orders for me?"

"Special? Oh, you mean... No, no. This is all above board. For now, Primeris is to be treated as one of us. If she fails in her mission, it will be because she screwed up. No one can blame us, understand?"

"Understood."

"Dismissed. And Sergeant, this conversation never took place."

"Yes, sir." Standing at attention, Flores saluted the colonel, did an about turn and left.

Smart man, Flores thought. I'm glad he's on our side. He really cares for his troops.