The Adventures of Will Irving: Automaton Trouble

Chapter 21

Arthur checked his watch: nine p.m. Over three hours had passed since he had radioed Jim to let him know that he had spoken to Claire's roommate and learned that Claire had left nearly a week ago for a vacation. That was the only information that he had been able to ascertain. Where had Claire gone? If she had decided to come home, why hadn't she told him? Arthur's mind had been racing through questions such as these, and he had not been able to focus on his work.

"Damn it!" Arthur shouted as he angrily swatted a bunch of documents off of his desk and onto the floor.

Arthur put his head in his hands and sat quietly for a few moments. Finally, he rose brusquely from his chair and left his office. He walked quickly down the hallway and passed the large room where he had spoken to Jim earlier. Eventually, he entered the garage and made his way to his car.

"Going somewhere, doctor?" said a voice behind Arthur as he opened his car door.

Arthur quickly turned to find Sal standing a few paces away.

"Hey, Sal," Arthur greeted. "Yeah, I'm..."

"I'm afraid you won't be able to leave," Sal interrupted.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur questioned.

"I have orders not to allow you to leave the premises," Sal explained.

"I see," Arthur replied. "So I'm a prisoner once again."

"Not a prisoner," Sal contradicted. "It simply isn't safe for you to leave. I'm sorry, but it's for your own good."

"If I don't have a choice, then I am a prisoner...and you, Jim, and anyone else who tries to stop me is no better than Moe, himself," Arthur argued.

"Be it as it may, I have my orders," Sal said firmly. "And you will not be allowed to leave."

"What if you were in my place, Sal?" Arthur asked, almost pleading.

"I'm sorry about your daughter, doctor. Really, I am," Sal empathized. "But what do you think you can do to help her? Mr. Wesson and Atticus will find her. They found you, didn't they? I don't think you have anything to worry about. Besides, we need your expertise here. We just finished running our latest test, and it was successful. All systems are operational, except for the transfer protocol. Lana and Diego are still having trouble, but I bet you could help them straighten things out in a jiffy. Why don't you head over there now?"

Arthur stood with his hand on his car door and thought for a moment.

"I'll see what I can do," Arthur finally said as he shut his car door and began walking toward Sal.

"We're all in this together...nothing personal..." Sal said as he put out his hand for Arthur to shake.

"I understand," Arthur said, shaking Sal's hand.

Arthur and Sal made their way back through the hallway until Sal stopped at a door and put his hand on the door knob.

"In a few days, we'll make history, Dr. Ferryman," Sal said excitedly, smiling. "This world will be a much safer place...and it's all thanks to you!"

Arthur returned a forced smile and then continued walking down the hallway until he turned into another large room where several men and women were hovering over a piece of machinery.

"How's it going, Lana?" Arthur asked one of the women. "Sal said you were still having trouble."

"Not so good, Dr. Ferryman," Lana answered in a discouraged tone. "The transfer protocol keeps getting interrupted, and the core is still overheating. We just can't seem to get the calibration right."

"Hmmm...give me the report from your last test," Arthur requested.

"Here you go, doc," said a young man as he handed several pages of paper to Arthur.

"Thank you, Diego," Arthur said as he took the papers. "Why don't you all take a break while I look over these figures? You've been at it for a while now."

"Really? Thanks, doc!" Diego said, smiling.

"Sure thing! Come back in an hour or so, and we'll run another test," Arthur said.

"Thank you, doctor," Lana said. "It's great to have you back, by the way!"

"Thanks, Lana," Arthur replied.

Lana, Diego, and the four other members of their team left the room. Arthur also left the room and made his way back to his office where he tossed the report onto his desk and then began to rummage through several cabinets filled with electrical and mechanical components.

Nearly an hour later, Lana, Diego, and their other teammates were finishing up their dinner in the mess hall when an alarm suddenly began to blare throughout the facility.

"The lockdown alarm!" Diego exclaimed with a look of dire concern.

"Come on, let's go!" Lana shouted as she jumped up and ran out of the mess hall, the others close behind.

As Lana, Diego, and the others ran down the hallway, they were met by Sal.

"What's going on?!" Sal shouted over the alarm.

"We're not sure, sir," Lana answered. "It's the lockdown alarm. Something must have happened in the lab."

"But you're all here...so who's in the lab?" Sal asked, confused.

"Dr. Ferryman was looking over the results of our last test and told us to take a break," Diego explained.

"Shit!" Sal exclaimed.

As they all rounded a corner, they were stopped by a large iron door that had sealed off the hallway ahead.

"The containment door!" shouted Diego, who was at the head of the group.

Sal pushed Diego aside and began to utilize a passcode panel that was on the wall near the door. A few moments later, the door opened, and they continued on their way. This time, Sal took the lead, and he was only several yards away from the door to the lab where Lana and Diego had left Arthur when an explosion suddenly rocked the facility and blew out the lab door, knocking everyone to the floor. A moment later, the fire sprinkler system was activated, and water began to spray everywhere.

"Is everyone ok?" Sal finally called after he had shaken off the initial shock of the explosion.

"We're all fine, sir," Lana answered. "You?"

"I'm ok," Sal replied.

"What about Dr. Ferryman?!" Diego shouted as he leapt up and rushed toward the lab.

"Diego, wait! It's too dangerous," Lana shouted.

It was too late. Diego had already entered the lab.

"Stay back, and wait until I say it's safe," Sal ordered Lana and the others.

Sal carefully made his way into the lab. The scene inside the lab was a disaster. Smoke filled the room and there were some flames scattered around, but the sprinkler system had already done an excellent job of extinguishing the bulk of whatever fire the explosion had caused. Debris consisting of a mix of furniture, equipment, and components littered the floor.

"I don't see any sign of Dr. Ferryman," Diego said as Sal joined him in the middle of the room. "I'll go check his office."

"Don't bother...I'll do it myself," Sal stated as he looked around the lab and spied a gaping hole in the back wall. "Besides, I don't think we'll find him there either."

Diego looked at Sal with a puzzled expression.

"Get the others, and clean up this mess," Sal ordered as he turned around and began to walk out of the lab.

"Yes, sir," Diego replied.

"Mr. Wesson's going to be furious," Sal muttered to himself as he made his way toward Arthur's office.