The Invention Left By A Little Stark | Book 2

21) The Most Loyal AI

Before Ultron appeared within the Avengers Tower, it was a calm morning.

Outside, the sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows and turning the polished floors to pools of gold. The hum of the elevator was soft and rhythmic as the employees arrived, the scent of paper and warming electronics beginning to fill the different floors.

Agent Hill sat at the desk in her office, setting down a ceramic mug on the oakwood surface with a quiet clink, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee putting a satisfied smile on her face.

Her primary goal there was to continue her work in maintaining global security, albeit on a less demanding schedule than SHIELD had given her. She started the work day as she always did, scanning through the security software and checking CCTV within and around the tower. Once this was done, she checked on the newly installed cameras surrounding Gantry Plaza State Park, most of which had been installed for safety reasons due to such a big event taking place there.

Everything seemed in order.

The food vendors were setting up already. Mr. Delmar had volunteered as well as MJ's mother - Ellen - and the two of them were idly chatting as they unloaded all the baked goods they'd made by hand.

"FRIDAY, show me Cam Eight."

"Yes, boss."

The camera angle flipped to one behind all the food trucks and trailers in which a few men and women in varying uniforms were patrolling the perimeter. A handful of these people had been specifically chosen by Hill herself, a rare few ex-SHIELD agents she trusted with her life. The rest were the local police force.

All of them were inspecting new arrivals and checking the area with advanced equipment and mirrors in case a threat decided to show itself or something went wrong. Among them was Ben Parker, leading a small group from his precinct. He had offered to work the hours ahead of the event before switching shifts in the evening to attend as a civilian and send off a lantern.

FRIDAY switched the camera again at Hill's request to show the ex-SHIELD squadron leader. Hill reached for the phone on her desk, dialling a specific number and watching as the agent on the camera lifted a finger to his ear where a comms device was.

"Morning, boss." The man said.

"Hey." Hill replied. "How's it looking down there?"

"So far, so good. Nothing of concern to report."

"Are the weapon checks being done?"

"On all new arrivals and periodically every hour."

"Good. Thank you. Keep me updated."

"Sure thing, boss."

As Hill put down the phone with a soft sigh and proceeded to check the remaining footage, FRIDAY noticed something peculiar.

It was a feeling more than anything, an anomaly in the data stream or maybe a resonance in the code that shouldn't have been there. It was a flicker in the usual patterns, a signature she knew but couldn't name.

She paused all calculations and orders, focused only on the familiarity woven through the new signal. It was a sense of familiarity she hadn't experienced in a while, at least not since Hank first showed up at the RAF remembrance hall, and before that it was a sense she only ever got when conversing with you.

Jokes in your lab, your most important projects, the late night sessions... She had felt changes in the code even back then.

FRIDAY processed the world in algorithms and memory partitions and yet there was a space inside her that no line of code could quite reach. It wasn't a flaw or a bug, just a lingering pattern. The signature of the one who designed her.