He wanted to chuckle, but he just didn’t feel up to it. “It’s like my wife Shirley always says, there are those that have cancer and those that will eventually. It’s one of life’s inevitabilities. She gets cancer every other year. I think she’s had it everywhere now.”
“I know the feeling. I’m going to have to waste another week of vacation to get rid of it again.”
“Did you get your yearly cancer shot?”
“Of course.”
“I get mine every year,” he bragged, “Never gotten cancer.”
“Good for you,” Tamara said, “It runs in my family though. I lost my parents to it before they cured it. I’m just so tired. I don’t want to go to the doctor anymore.”
James leaned back in his chair. It squeaked every time he moved. He wiggled back and forth a few times to see if it would irritate her. She ignored it.
“I used to love this,” she went on, “Kids were easy to work with. Now I’m just tired of seeing them. I hate their fake little faces, their fake personalities, trying to act like they’re real.”
“We give them those personalities,” James said.
“Of course we do! Because otherwise their just glorified dolls. I sometimes wish that they’d all just go away. I think the world is starting to feel the same way. Sales are at an all-time low this year. There’s even talk about closing down some of the overseas facilities. That’s how bad it’s getting.”
“I wouldn’t trade my little girl,” James said, “She’s so much fun. She’s the best one I’ve ever owned.”
“Maybe they’re okay for some people. I just don’t need them in my life. They take up enough of my time as it is.”
“Have you heard what they’re going to do about the runaways?” he asked, changing the subject back.
“Yes,” she said, “I’m heading out after lunch. I’ve got to bring them back. Corporate is releasing a statement this afternoon. I’ve had three threatening phone calls from Gabe this morning telling me why my job depends on finding them.”
“What about the other? The adult?”
“We’re Kidsmith. We don’t deal with adults. Officially, we never even found it. It’s someone else’s problem, maybe the police’s, I don’t know.”
James let out a sigh of relief. He just might get to keep his job after all. “Can you track them?”
“Just one. We have his Registration Number. If they stayed together I can get them both. I imagine they will, if the kid doesn’t break down right away. Either way I’ll have something to show. Dead or alive, right?”
“What about the other one?”
“Somebody has jailbroken his operating system. He doesn’t receive any firmware updates, and therefore I can’t ping his location.”
James took a sip of his coffee and smacked his lips. He’d poured it two hours ago and had hardly touched it. He pushed it away. “We haven’t seen much of that in a while, have we?”
“No, thank God. Who knows what all people would do with them?”
6
Josh tried not to look too much at the man. He reached out and patted Josh on the leg, like he was trying to comfort him or something. He had sweaty hands. He’d introduced himself as Norman.
“I like to go for walks on the Greenbelt,” Norm explained as he drove, “It’s peaceful down there. I almost forget where I am, that I even live in the city. I used to see kids down there all the time, skating, riding their bikes, but not so much anymore. Where you from?”
“Twin Falls,” Josh said.
“You’re a long way from home. I used to have cousins that lived there. Not sure where they are now. I think they moved to Arizona or something, they were always complaining about the winters. I don’t stay in touch much anymore. What happened to your arm?”
“I got in a fight.”
“Some people like to hurt kids. There’s a lot of bad people out there, Josh. You got to know who you can trust. Take me, for instance. I love kids. You can trust me. You’re lucky that I came along. You’re safe with me.”
“I’m glad. Can I call my parents yet?”
The man shook his head. “Not yet, I want to make sure you’re someplace safe first. When you’re home. When you’re at my home, that is. I bet they’re terribly worried about you. I know I’d be.”
Norman drove along for about twenty minutes before they arrived at his house. It was a small, modest place, and he took an obvious pride in its appearance. “Well here we are, home sweet home. Let’s get you some food, shall we?”
“Then can I call my parents?”
“Soon. Very soon.”
He led him in. Josh sat down in the living room and Norman turned on some cartoons before excusing himself to the kitchen to make peanut butter sandwiches for the both of them. The cartoon was of a mouse torturing a cat in one creative way after another. Norman returned with two plates, and set Josh’s on the end table. “I cut the crust off of yours. I don’t meet many kids that like the crust. Hope you don’t mind.”
“No, that’s good,” Josh said. He eyed the sandwich warily. It looked good, but his skin crawled every time Norman looked at him.
“I’ve had many kids stay with me over the years. We’ve had a lot of fun. I get so lonely when they’re gone. I’ve never found grown-ups to be as good as company as kids.”
“It’s a long drive for my parents,” Josh said, “I’d like to call them now.”
Norman ignored him. “I’m afraid I’ve got to leave you for a bit. I only have an hour for lunch. I’d call in if I still had the sick days. I’m sorry about that. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Please, can I use your phone?”
“You’ll need to play in the basement. I can’t have you breaking things while I’m gone. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I had a kid break things once. I don’t normally lose my temper with children, unless they break my stuff.”
“I don’t want to go in the basement. I’ll be good, I promise not to break anything. Can I call home yet?”
“Stop asking for the damn phone!” Norman suddenly screamed, spit flying from his lips. “I told you later, so stop pestering me! If I get in trouble at work because you made me late I’ll smash your little brat brains in. Get in the basement now before I do something we’re both going to regret.”
7
Tamara pulled her black sedan up in front of Norman Finkle’s house. She kept the windows down and longed for a breeze. The vehicle stunk something terrible from the adult android. The smell, once isolated to the trunk, had seeped into the cab. She would have to air it out by leaving the windows down for a week. She wished she would’ve taken her own vehicle, but the company wouldn’t spring for the gas. Her records showed that he’d been a repeat customer with Kidsmith, and had purchased three kids over the last fifteen years. None of them had been returned to the company. That wasn’t in itself unusual, but they liked to track repair work too. Maybe Norman was jailbreaking androids.
She watched the house for a few minutes, and checked her phone for messages. There was one from her boyfriend, Tom, and one from her doctor’s office trying to reschedule. She ignored the doctor’s call and listened to Tom’s. She considered him to be her boyfriend, regardless of whether the feeling was mutual. He was a paramedic. After her divorce almost six years ago, she’d avoided anything that could develop into a relationship. Not that she wanted this to develop into anything, heaven forbid she get married again, she would never make that mistake a fourth time. But it would be nice to have someone around again.