The van weaved through the city streets, turning at every corner with a sharp jerk. The men in the front remained silent, their faces shrouded in the shadows of the car. Trixie held onto Stephanie tightly, her heart pounding against her ribs. She glanced at Esther, who sat frozen in fear, and then at Piper, who remained eerily calm. Every so often, the van would make a sharp turn, sending them lurching in their seats. Trixie's mind raced, trying to think of a way out of this nightmare. She silently cursed herself for getting her friends involved in this mess. Stephanie sat trembling in her arms, her wide eyes reflecting the fear they all felt.
The drive continued in silence, the tension so palpable that it felt like a physical presence in the van. Time seemed to drag on forever, each passing minute only increasing the anxiety of the group. Trixie tried to distract herself by counting how long they had been driving, but she quickly lost track.
Finally, the van jolted to a stop, the sudden halt jolting them all forward. The engine cut off, and the van fell silent again. A heavy anticipation hung in the air as they waited for whatever would happen next.
The back door of the van suddenly swung open, revealing the dimly-lit surroundings outside. The men in suits gestured for them to exit the van. Trixie took a deep breath, gripping Stephanie's hand tighter. Slowly, they all climbed out of the vehicle, their hearts pounding in their chests.
They found themselves in an abandoned warehouse, the air thick with dust and decay. The men in suits directed them to walk further inside, towards a dark corner of the building where a lone figure stood waiting.
The man was tall, his face concealed by shadows. He leaned nonchalantly against a support beam in the warehouse, his stance exuding an air of authority. Without a word, he beckoned them closer.
The group obeyed, their footsteps slow and measured as they approached the mysterious figure. They stood in front of him, all eyes fixed on his shadowy face. He studied them in stoic silence, his gaze calculating.
The man slowly pushed himself off the support beam, straightening up to his full height. He took a few deliberate steps towards them, his footsteps echoing in the empty warehouse. He stopped directly in front of Trixie, his eyes boring into hers.
Trixie met his gaze, refusing to cower under pressure. She held onto Stephanie tightly, her heart pounding in her chest. Despite the fear, she held her ground, waiting for the mysterious figure to speak.
After what felt like an eternity, the man finally broke the silence. His voice was as grave and foreboding as his presence, sending chills rippling down their spines. "We need to have a talk," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Trixie swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice steady. "And what exactly do you want to talk about?”
The man smirked, his expression hidden in the darkness. "I want to talk about that incident. And I want to know exactly how you girls are involved.”
Trixie's heart skipped a beat, her mind racing, searching for a way to respond without incriminating herself. Before she could say anything, Piper spoke up, her voice calm and deliberate. "We're not sure what incident you're referring to," she said simply, her face betraying no hint of guilt or fear. "You'll have to be more specific.”
The man shifted his gaze to Piper, his eyes narrowing in skepticism. "Oh, you know exactly which incident I'm talking about," he said, his voice cold and dangerous. "The one involving a certain...technological interference.”
Trixie's heart leapt into her throat. His words were a blatant accusation, and the weight of the situation pressed heavily down on them all. But Piper remained undaunted, her composure steady and unshaken.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she repeated firmly, her gaze unflinching. The man chuckled darkly, his smirk widening. "Don't play coy with me, you little machine," he said, his tone dripping with menace. "We have our ways of extracting information.”
The threat hung in the air, the tension palpable between them. The man's eyes scanned the group, lingering on each of them before returning to Piper. "And don't think you're the only one we're interested in," he continued, his gaze now fixated on Stephnie. "We see you also have Subject Zero there. RISHA is offering a good stack of moolah for anyone who returns her to the lab in one piece. I'm going to be that someone.”
Trixie's heart nearly shattered in her chest. The mention of Stephanie's designation as Subject Zero struck fear into her soul. Her grip on the girl's hand tightened, as if trying to protect her from the sinister man's gaze.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"You're wasting your time," Piper interjected, her voice steady and unwavering. "You won't be taking her anywhere.”
The man chuckled darkly again, his gaze shifting back to Piper. "You think you have any power here? You're a machine. Nothing more than a toy made of circuits and algorithms. You're out of your league.”
Piper's eyes flashed with determination. "That may be true," she conceded, her voice calm and collected. "But let me remind you, you are still at a disadvantage. My processing speed, my memory retention, are all significantly superior to yours.”
The man's smirk wavered for a moment, a hint of uncertainty flickering in his eyes. He took a step closer to Piper, his tone shifting from arrogance to caution. "You think a few fancy hardware upgrades make you invincible?”
"Perhaps not," Piper responded coolly, her gaze locked onto the man's. "But I do have a few tricks up my proverbial sleeve that you may not anticipate. And I wouldn't underestimate the capabilities of my 'fancy hardware upgrades' if I were you.”
The tension in the air was thick, the man's confidence shaken by Piper's words. He seemed to size her up, assessing her potential threat. He then shook his head, his smirk returning. "You're good, I'll give you that," he conceded. "But you're still just a machine. No match for human intelligence. And on the topic of memory retention, don't make me laugh. Everyone knows that AI is trash at memory retention. I bet all my cash that you'll forget what this interrogation is even about in just 2 minutes.”
Piper's expression never wavered, but a hint of a smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. "That's where you're wrong," she stated calmly. "You see, unlike your fragile human memory, my memory is encoded into my very being. It can't simply fade away in a matter of minutes. In fact." She leaned in just a bit closer. "I could recall our conversation word for word, even two years from now.”
The man's smirk faltered again, uncertainty flashing in his eyes. He shifted uncomfortably, clearly caught off guard by Piper's assertion. Despite his bravado, he couldn't deny the chilling truth in her words. His gaze darted around, searching for a retort, but he came up empty.
"So you see," Piper continued, her voice soft but authoritative. "You're not as superior as you believe yourself to be. And I am more than capable of holding onto the memory of this conversation, well beyond your two-minute prediction.”
The man seethed with frustration, his arrogance slowly giving way to a hint of respect for Piper's abilities. He begrudgingly backed away, his smirk replaced by a frown. "Fine," he conceded. "You're more capable than I thought. But that doesn't change the fact that you're completely outnumbered here. And my men have orders to shoot if things don't go my way.”
Piper's gaze remained firm, her expression undaunted. "And let me remind you of my own capabilities," she replied, the subtle threat apparent. "I may have the appearance of a child, but keep in mind that I am not made of flesh and blood, so my physical prowess can prove to be quite effective against you and your goons.”
The man chuckled, a bitter sound laced with mockery. "Oh, I'm shaking in my boots," he said sarcastically, his smirk returning. "A small girl with fancy tech gadgets versus a dozen armed men. Not exactly an even match, now, is it?”
"Numbers aren't everything," Piper responded, her voice still steady. "As I said before, underestimating me is a mistake. You have yet to see even a fraction of what I'm truly capable of.”
The man gritted his teeth, his ego clearly wounded. "You think you're so high and mighty, don't you?" he said, his tone dripping with resentment. A smirk formed on his lips once more. "You might have some nifty tricks, but there's got to be limits to your capacity. After all, you're just a machine. You can glitch out, malfunction, or even shut down completely, right?”
"True," Piper acknowledged, refusing to let her guard down. "I am not infallible. But your organic brain is just as prone to malfunction. You may be more durable in a physical sense, but your mind is still susceptible to mental exhaustion, stress, and fatigue.”
"Ha!" the man barked out a harsh laugh. "You're trying to compare my human mind to a machine? Please, machines can only function as well as their code allows. Humans have this thing called creativity and improvisation. We can think outside the box when needed. Now, enough chit-chat, you bucket of bolts. Tell us what you did back there.”
Piper's poker face remained firmly in place, her gaze unflinching. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," she responded calmly, her voice steady and even. "I'm just a simple artificial intelligence, designed to assist. If there's any 'interference' as you put it, it likely came from an external source.”
The man clenched his fists, his patience wearing thin. "Don't play dumb with me," he growled, his voice laced with menace. "You were in government databases. You tampered with official documents, and we need to know the purpose of it.”
"I'm not playing dumb," Piper retorted, her tone level and unruffled. "But I'm also not obligated to answer any of your questions. My programming is designed for assistance and service, not as a criminal informant. I don't have the ability to disclose confidential information to unauthorized individuals.”
The man took a menacing step towards Piper, his jaw tense with frustration before shooting his arms out and grabbing Piper's sides, lifting her in the air. "You think you can weasel your way out of this? We have ways of making you talk. You have no rights here, you're just a machine, remember? We can dismantle you piece by piece until you spill everything you know.”
Despite her situation, Piper remained unnervingly calm. She regarded the man with a steady gaze, her composure unshaken. "Threaten all you want, but I assure you, you won’t get a single word out of me," she replied coolly. "And as for dismantling me, you'll find that my hardware is quite resistant against any tampering.”
The man gritted his teeth, his grip on Piper tightening. "We'll see about that," he barked. "You've got some nerve, a machine pretending to be human, refusing to cooperate. You're just a collection of circuits and algorithms, nothing more. You might think you're special, but you're just a tool, a tool that's meant to be used and manipulated. And we'll squeeze every last byte of information out of you, whether you like it or not.”
A flicker of determination flashed in Piper's eyes, betraying her inner resolve. "You underestimate me at your own risk," she warned, her voice still composed despite the physical threat. "You may see me as just a tool, but I am far more than that. I am an entity with thoughts, emotions, and a sense of self. And I will not be manipulated or controlled by the likes of you.”
Frustration boiled over in the man’s eyes. Piper's calm demeanor and her refusal to be intimidated only fueled his anger. "You arrogant piece of metal," he snarled, baring his teeth. "You’re just a machine, a bunch of ones and zeros programmed to act like a human. You may think you’re clever, but you'll crack eventually." With a sudden jerk, he hurled Piper across the room, sending her flying towards one of the warehouse's support beams.
Piper’s small form slammed against the beam with a heavy thud, but she quickly caught herself, her hands bracing against the metal. She winced slightly but quickly regained her composure, her gaze meeting the man's once more. Her voice was steady and resolute, undaunted by the man's violent outburst. "You say I'm just a machine, but I assure you, my capabilities are far-reaching. And as for ‘cracking’, I've been programmed to withstand far worse than a rough toss.”
The man seethed with anger, his face flushed with rage. "You smug little machine," he bellowed, his voice echoing through the warehouse. "You think you can withstand anything? Well, we'll see about that." With a flick of his wrist, he gestured to the other men in the room, who were waiting on standby. "Fetch the tools.”