CHAPTER 4

Orders

AFTER TWO DAYS of surveillance, Major Simpson had all the proof he needed to deactivate Primeris. Locating her hadn't been difficult. Her debriefings provided enough information to find her.

Cranley was right about you, he thought as he watched a young woman follow Primeris to the alley and say something. Even though Primeris was cloaked, he was able to track her movements thanks to the detection equipment developed by the unit's science department. The small screen identified electron waves bending around unseen objects. Simpson couldn't help but find it funny that the government had spent billions creating the cloak only to develop the technology to neutralize it. For covert military application, the device was useless. Not my problem. Shit, where'd you go? The tracker was no longer picking up Primeris' signal. Tapping on the screen, he powered the device down and then restarted it, hoping it was only a glitch. Distracted, Simpson wasn't aware Primeris was standing next to him until he looked up.

Fuck! His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously. Flipping the lid shut, he pocketed the device and glanced nervously up and down the street to see if anyone had noticed them.

"Primeris," he said. "It's good to see you."

"Major Simpson, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Straight to the point as always, I see. The colonel asked me to check on you. He's concerned about you."

"Colonel Cranley has no feelings for me. His only concern is the mission."

"Well, yes. Still, you're a vital part of the unit. We don't want anything happening to you... which brings me back to why I'm here. Cranley wants you to report to Diagnostics for some system checks. You're long overdue."

"He thinks I'm malfunctioning."

"Of course not. He only wants to be sure you're operating at optimum efficiency. For your own good, Primeris."

"I'm working at ninety-eight percent efficiency."

"There, you see! You need a little tweaking," he said, relieved that he had something to grab onto.

"It's impossible to achieve one-hundred percent, Major Simpson. Your scientists managed a ninety-six point three. I did the tweaking necessary to raise it to ninety-eight."

Not good! he thought. The last thing we need is machines playing around with their own programs.

"Oh, well... Ummm... Still, it's an order. Just report to the Diagnostic Unit tomorrow. I'm sure you'll pass the examination."

"What about my assignment?"

"We'll see. If everything turns out normal, there's no reason not to return you to duty. Now, update me on the specifics here and then return to headquarters for a complete debriefing. The sooner you do what you have to, the sooner you can report back for duty."

*  *  *

Primeris had never been removed from a mission. The ramifications of failure meant reprogramming and memory wipes — a total loss of identity, something she wasn't willing to sacrifice. It wasn't rational. She knew a system check would confirm her programs were functioning properly. Whether the colonel would be satisfied was another issue. Briefing Simpson on what she knew, Primeris deliberately left out the details about the woman who had followed her to the alley.

I'll decide what to do with her, Primeris thought.

*  *  *

Major Simpson watched Primeris get into her car and leave. With her out of the way, he could carry out his own plan. The two civilians needed to be interrogated and he was just the person who could do it.