Standard-Issue Partner

By John Saye

Flint has to change or die. He's a police officer on the beat for the last seventy years, still physically young due to advances in medical science, it's all he's ever known. 
Around him, all the new recruits have robotic partners who do their paperwork and chase down the more agile criminals for them. 
After he loses his partner, he's got to choose. To continue on the force, he'll have to take on one of these new androids, but he doesn't it's forced retirement.
To avenge his partner, or leave the force? There's at least one more job to do. The robot's got that long. It better be good. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Saye
• Release date: Dec 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393136286

John Saye

JOHN SAYE is a writer who escaped death, five months on a ventilator, and total-body paralysis to bring you his brand of surrealistic science-fiction and fantasy. His immune system tried to kill him, then attempted to burn his nerves away, nearly disconnecting his mind from his body. The treatment and slow nerve re-connections resulted in visions, dreams, nightmares, and numerous reality checks along the way, many of which are now working themselves into my stories.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Flint and Roberts sat , thirty stories in the sky. It was raining as the other hovercars sped around them. Roberts repositioned the vehicle, moving it closer to the edge of the high-rise building, and under a short ledge, out of the rain. Flint fiddled with the controls in front of him, and an image came in, fuzzy at first, on a screen in front of them.

I've got him, said Flint.

Are you sure?

Images on the screen flickered. It looked as if several people were eating dinner in an Italian restaurant.

That's him. Flint waved at the screen.

So it is.

Roberts hooked the hovercar into the side of the building, and engaged a clamp mechanism, locking the car to the side of it. Rain poured down all around them. The night was settling in, and the only light was flickering on them from their instrument screens, and from hover cars speeding nearby.

How is the robot doing? asked Roberts.

Not that bad considering. It's got a good bead on them.

Not like those new ones?

I suppose not. They aren't right.

Yeah, your partner should be human at least.

It's just the way things are going these days. Flint adjusted his monitor.

Yeah, everybody thinks the robots are the way to go.

But for a partner? It just doesn't work.

I know.

Have you seen what they can do?

I haven't looked. I don't care.

I guess one day we'll all get replaced.

Then what will we do?

Sit back in luxury?

Not likely.

Why, what are you going to do?

Become a robot repairman. What else will there be?

I don't know.

It's funny though.

Yeah?

Yeah. It's funny. You'd think they'd be nothing like us.

But they are.

I'm not so sure about that, but they're damn good, and almost everybody is using them for a partner these days.

True.

How can you talk to a robot though?

What do you mean?

I'm talking about the little things, or maybe they aren't so little. Your little girl for instance.

What about her?

Do you think a robot could relate? Do you think they can understand what it's like to sit up all night while their wife is in labor, or when a child gets the first tooth? With a robot, I don't think there can be as clear a connection. You to Be able trust your partner.

And to do that you have to know them.

And if you don't know them how can you ever trust? I mean, could you ever put your life in the hands of something made of steel rather than flesh and blood?

I don't know.

I guess you never know.

Some of the other guys don't seem to have a problem with it.

I'm just not sure.

Roberts tapped the monitor. What's Roman up to in there?

Looks like lasagna.

There has to be a better way to do a stakeout.

I dunno. He's got to move soon.

Roberts pushed back in his seat, laying it back. Got to stretch.

Flint shifted in his seat and sipped from a safety sealed coffee mug. I hate these things. He shook the mug, a feeble dribble of coffee came from the lip. He sipped it from the side as it trickled down.

The screen chirped to life with a crackle.

Roberts sat up and looked forward.

Flint turned the screen, He's on the move.

Roberts gunned the engine and released the claw from the building, bobbing the hovercar down into the pouring rain. Good deal, it's about time we got off of this building. Where is he?

Looks like he's heading for the south street.

Well, one way or another he's going down tonight.

Don't jump the gun, he'll see us too soon.

Nobody's going to see me too early.

Roberts maneuvered the car into the rain and dived into the streets below. You got him locked? asked Roberts.

Locked and ready.

Looks like the car's navigation is getting a bead on him. Should have a solution in just a moment.

I can see him!

Where?

Just over there, on the other side of that billboard. He's gone. The computer beeped and a screen flashed. We've got a solution.

Roberts looked down at the tangled web of turns and twists and frowned.

No good? Flint tapped the controls.

I've got a faster way.

Roberts veered off to the left, taking a side tunnel between two buildings usually used for garbage pickup, and twisted through a tight passageway.

The computer piped up. Of route, recalculating.

Roberts slapped the navigation computer. Useless. He switched it off.

Hey, we need that! It's tracking him! Flint switched the machine back on.

Acquiring satellite.

I hate that thing. Roberts pulled the steering yoke and leveled out the aircar. There he is.

Flint looked up. Ahead of them was an aircar, much bigger than theirs and in the style of a limousine. It was lumpy in appearance, smooth around the edges like a large mass of plastic bubbles.

Target acquired.

Roberts rolled his eyes at the computer I think I know that. Flint, can you get a picture in there?

Let me try.

Flint turned knobs on his control panel and twisted dials. A fuzzy picture of Roman came into focus. I guess robots are useful for something. I've tapped into one of their photoreceptors.

He's got robots in there?

Yeah, at least five. They seem like standard bodyguard style.

That should be interesting.

Roman's face appeared on the screen, fading in and out. For a moment his face is clear and the audio of him sharpens. And that will be the last of them, he said.

What's he planning? asked Roberts.

I don't know.

You think he knows he's being followed?

I don't think so. The rain beat down upon them. Roman's limousine was nothing but a wash of color in front of them trailing red brake lights.

Lighting streaked across the sky. It flashed right in front of them. Roman pulled to the right Whoa. they spun around, and then straightened up.

Roberts looked around, Where did he go?

Flint shook his head and blinked, rubbing his eyes to return his vision. Blue patches hung before his eyes in streaks. Dammit!

Roberts flung out a pointing finger. There! he turned the aircar and dived down into the sub-streets below the city. Under levels of old physical streets and bridges, the rain lessened, only pouring in around them as the bridges and streets above them permitted. It created a kind of a stained glass effect around them distorting lights and movements.

The computer came to life tracing their flight in three dimensions as they careened through the water. Warning lights blared and alarms whistled.

You're too close to the wall. Flint hung onto the dashboard.

We've almost got him.

I am too old for this...

No you're not, you're only ninety-six.

What's your point?

You're not too old. Hell, I'm only a hundred and two. Roberts turned the wheel and followed Roman's limousine down through a circular tunnel. I agree we're not in our fifties anymore, but it's not like it's time for a mid-life crisis or anything.

Flint ignored him. Medical technology had come a long way since he was a child, that was true, but he wasn't sure that they were in quite that good of condition. He checked his badge and the power on his laser pistol.

Roberts flipped the ship upside down, slinging it through a series of pipes, barely missing an electrified laser gate.

I don't know about you Roberts, but I'm looking at seventy years on the force, and I still can't seem to get enough together to retire.

You're ready to retire?

I didn't say that!

It's what I thought I heard.

It's just that seventy years of anything gets old after a while.

You mean like being partnered with me?

That's not what I said.

Maybe you want one of those new robotic partners. That way you could pop in another personality cartridge anytime you got bored with them.

Lett's just drop it.

I think you're just tired of me!

Jeff!

Roberts stopped. It had been at least thirteen years since he'd heard his own first name, and it stopped him for a moment. He wasn't really sure how long it had been.

What?

Drop it. We're almost on Roman. Let's bring him in, then we can duke this out later.

Agreed.

Look, there he goes.

Roman's limousine plunged into a series of underground caves. Roberts followed him, keeping close to the ceiling of the cave, and inverted, so they could look down at Roman's limousine from above.

He's stopping, activate the cloak.

Flint hit a switch on his panel and the car's hull shimmered, and then appeared as if it were a part of the cave ceiling. They clamped onto the roof of the cave and powered down the ship.

Below them, The doors of Roman's limousine opened and out stepped five robot bodyguards. They formed a line, and Roman exited the vehicle, walked past them, and through a small door. The robots followed him, and soon the limousine took flight and went down a small corridor. All was dark, save for the dripping of water from the cave ceiling.

Roberts and Flint opened the canopy of the aircar, and seat belts in place, they did not fall to their deaths. Instead, they each reached for a small latch at their side and hooked into it, then, releasing their belts, they rode a thin strong cable to the floor a hundred feet below. Twisting like bored acrobats, they touched down on the ground like it was second nature to them. They released the lines which slid neatly back up to their ship. Flint pulled a remote control from his belt and punched a button on it causing the canopy on the ship to close. The cloaking unit still activated, it blended into the ceiling and disappeared.

Roberts checked his laser pistol's power level and tucked it away. Ready?

I always am.

They pushed through the door and found themselves in a dank corridor. Lights flickered around them, and drips from the ceiling penetrated their clothes and slipped in through gaps at their neck and wrists.

They can't be much farther up now. Why do you suppose they would come all this way?

Not sure. It can't be for a good reason though, and what about all those robot guards?

How many are there?

Five.

That seems like a lot of firepower.

For anything except a massacre, yes, I suppose you're right.

Roberts smiled. I haven't been on a bust this big for a while.

Feels good doesn't it?

The tunnels twisted and turned. Flint opened a small device latched into his wrist, and checked to mark the progress of the guard robots he was tracking. They're not far off.

No, they can't be.

It's got to be right up there.

Ahead of them was a door with a frosted window. Lights danced and shimmered across it as if from a great bonfire in the distance. They could smell the smoke in the back of their throats. The air began to feel warmer.

Flint loosened his cuffs.

Roberts shook his head and adjusted a visor over his eyes. It gave him a thermal readout of the scene ahead of him.

The door was warm to the touch. It blinded Roberts's thermal relay, and he discarded it for a moment. It was warm, but not hot, it was possible.

You ready?

Let's get in there.

They cracked the door and saw no one except a guard robot on the inside. It noticed them, and Roberts took it down so fast it never had a chance to send a relay message.

Roberts swung up and connected with the robot's power pack, which every cop worth a paying wage knew about. It confused the robot long enough for him to pull the power, and then carefully lay the robot on the ground.

Flint knew his part in all of this, he pried open the robot's chest plate, and dug his hands into the wires, cutting some, and twisting others, until he pulled enough of them away to get to the central hub of sensory input. He plugged in a small round device that he pulled from an inside pocket. When it connected a small green light lit up. He was in. Within seconds the chest plate was back in place, and they were hoisting the robot back onto its feet.

You get the memory circuits? asked Roberts.

Not only will it not remember us, but it's programmed to never remember seeing or hearing us in the future.

The robot stood up and returned to its post, looking right past them. The two old men, still appearing roughly in their forties despite their real age looked over a short ledge behind the robot, with the robot's eyes feeding into their visors.

Below them, a large bonfire lit the room. Around it stood a variety of crooks and thugs. Most of them looked like ordinary folks, and others looked like more high-profile bounty hunters and some of them looked like they were made of money and bad intentions drove their daily use of it. Roman stood at the head of the group, pacing in front of them.

Roman cleared his throat. It seems gentlemen that this town is not long from ours. It seems to me that given just the right leverage and use of our tools and talents that we could run this town to the betterment of us all. We are useful, talented, devious people in desperate need of making a living aren't we?

The thugs and bounty hunters watched him with their arms folded. Some nodded. Flint watched them in his visor. It looked like they were still deciding whether or not to take the bait or turn on Roman. Roman continued to pace.

Are there any questions? Roman asked.

One of the thugs raised his hand.

Yes?

Well, What about the robot cops?

What about them?

They are getting harder and harder to avoid.

The robotic cops are of no concern. They are no more than bodyguard partners for the few remaining cops that they have left to work the streets for real. They are not a threat. If anything we should thank them for spreading the local police departments as thin as they have done. Anyone else?

What about our bodyguard robots?

"They are as useful as they can be, but remember that a human mind is