Rogue Robot

The Enemy

It was the dead of night, silent as it could ever be. He didn't know why he was awake at this time- it had to be one in the morning, at the very least. Never the less, his eyes were open. He rolled over and sat up as quietly as possible, allowing his eyes to adjust. There was a dim light coming from under the door, allowing him to see very little. He looked around for what may have woken him. The room was as it had been earlier. Nothing had been touched as far as he could see. So what had woken him?
He swung his legs out from under the blanket, and out of the bed. He bumped his knee against his little metal table and swore softly. He was glad that it was night- otherwise he would have been punished for such language. He found his shirt, threw it on and opened his door carefully. The metal made no sound. He stepped into the dim night-time light of the white hallway. He knew where to go.
he made the journey through the twisting corridors and ended up at a familiar door. It too was metal, but locked and flanked by a large window with holographic technology. He stepped up to the window, looking through the glass into the room beyond. Subject IC29R was clearly visible, as well as NW84 . He rubbed his temple, still confused. There wasn't many other subjects except for those two. Nothing seemed to be out of the norm. He blinked, about to turn away when IC29R shifted.
He didn't know why he stopped, but he just did. He froze, turned back around and frowned, staring at the subject. IC29R moved again, hardly enough to catch anyone's attention, unless they were looking. The scientist tapped the glass, pulling up  a magnifying application and zoomed in on the cyborg. The man's head moved, and then he sat up all together. He squinted at the scientist, raised his eyebrows and walked up quietly to the glass.
"Doctor Jackson?" the voice was barely audible, but it came from the cyborg on the other side. Jackson held up a finger, went to the door and unlocked it. He gestured for IC29R to follow him, and went to a smaller sound-proof room. Jackson gestured for the cyborg to sit in one of the chairs and took the other.
"What are you doing up?" the subject asked, frowning. Jackson noted that his voice was unusually raspy.
"I might ask you the same thing." Jackson countered.
"I couldn't sleep." IC29R admitted sheepishly.
"And why not?"
"I'm not entirely sure why, sir. I just couldn't- or can't I should say." the cyborg eyed Jackson carefully, and guessed shrewdly, "That's your case as well, no?"
"Not entirely. I was woken up by something."
"What was it, sir?"
"Probably a bird of some sort making noise." Jackson paused, and then asked something that had been on his mind for quite a while, "Mr. Garent may i ask how you ended up as an illegal cyborg? You never did share that with us."
A heavy silence fell over the room. It was obvious that Garent was thinking long and hard. Finally he spoke up.
"I might as well say now." he said almost to himself, and then continued, "It was some time ago,sir. I had been attacked and was bleeding to death. I managed to stumble my way to one of the...black market mechs, I guess. As you very well know, sir, at the time I was not welcome in such places as hospitals. A man in the black market tended to me, stopping the bleeding and replacing the mauled parts with metal." his tone was overly polite and formal, but he was obviously telling the truth.
Sure, he lied about many things- how long he had been in the facility, who the people where, where they are and such, but this time he told the truth. It felt good to share the burden with someone else, even if they were a no good for nothing piece of filth. 
"Interesting. I had always wondered how you got help, considering your record." Jackson paused. "Are you getting along with NW84?"
"NW...," the question died in his throat as he realized who NW84 was. "Oh. I guess so, sir. She seems alright."
"Well, thank you for the talk. If you'll excuse me I would like to get some sleep tonight." Jackson slid out of the chair, lead the now silent subject back to his room and strode to the left. 
But he didn't go back to his room. In fact, he hardly headed that way. Instead he marched through the maze of corridors, until he came to a solid, white, wooden door. He opened it and closed it behind him, turning to survey the room. It looked like everything else in the facility- tidy,white and bleak. There was a metal table at the other end. A man stood there, slightly hunched over in the same white lab coat, black trousers and clean shoes that everyone wore.
"Jefferson." Jackson said softly."Jefferson..." he repeated a little louder. The man, Jefferson, twitched a little, straightened up and swung around to see who was peaking to him. Jackson stared calmly into the face of his co-worker, who was a pale man with dark eyes and darker hair that brushed his narrow shoulders.
"Hmm? Ah, yes, Jackson. I didn't hear you come in." Jefferson's voice was a slight rasp, as it always was. 
"I can see that. What are you working on?" Jackson asked, trying the walk around the other man.
"You know full and well what it is. And that you don't have the authorization to see it." 
"Ah, well yes. I just thought I might be able to get a quick glimpse." Jackson stepped back a little and Jefferson snorted.
"What do you want Jackson?" he sounded tried- obviously hadn't gotten enough sleep lately.
"I thought you might want to know that subject IC29R has finally told me about how he became a cyborg. It was a rather interesting little story."
"May I hear it?" Jefferson had a hunger in his eyes. Jackson studied the man- everyone at the institute knew he was somewhat deranged, a little mad. But not much.
"If you let me see how the project is coming."
"And why do you want to see it? You hardly even know how it works." Jefferson snarled, stepping back a little. Jackson shrugged, sauntering towards him.
"I just want a look. Maybe hold it. Nothing more, nothing less." 
"Well...I guess it couldn't hurt to let you see." Jefferson gave in, stepping aside. Jackson always knew that if you had the right info he was easy to convince. 
Upon the metal table was a black cube with indented lines all over it. they were arranged in a strange pattern. Jackson picked the cube up, running his fingers over it. It lit up green, buzzing softly. He tapped the right side, and the green became blue. A small wound-up robot started to walk across the desk. he had been turned off a moment ago. Jackson tapped the left side and the colour went back to green. the robot shut down, and something inside of it spat sparks.
"Enough." came Jefferson's voice. 
"I see it is working."
"of course it is. now I would like to hear that story."
"There's not a lot of details- apparently it had been the black market and he was bleeding to death. But something about it bothers me. There's something he's leaving out. Perhaps you could help me find out."
"I guess so." Jefferson shrugged. "But this project- it still needs fine-tuning. I need to focus on it, not to chase your leads." he turned back the cube, blocking it from view.
Jackson pulled a scalpel from his lab coat. he turned Jefferson around by the shoulder, held the blade against the other man's cheek.
"That wasn't a suggestion. It was an order. Or I'll stick you like the swine you are. Understood?" 
Jefferson merely nodded, eyes wide, face even paler than before. Jackson let him go, allowing the man to lean against the table.
"Speak of this to no one." and he strode out the room, closing the door behind him.
Not the cleanest job he had done, but perhaps one of the more effective.
Garent had information he needed.
*
Viggo glanced over at Eve. She was such a quiet sleeper. Of course she is- she's a robot he thought to himself. He still couldn't sleep. Spilling out that story- it didn't happen often. His mind, everything he had ever known rebelled against what he just done. he had told the enemy about his near fatal accident. Everything else, every other lie he had set up seemed useless now. What's the point of hiding your origins when you're just going to spit it out anyways?
At least he knew where he came from. Eve didn't. Maybe they would tell her in time. Or maybe she would have to work it out for herself. Viggo had a vague idea of where she might be from, but didn't want to mention it. He wanted to give her hope, but not false hope. That was a last resort, and they were not there yet. there was still a chance of getting out of this mess, however slim. Tomorrow they might even discuss it. They might form a plan.
Doubtful, but he needed something to hold onto. He heard footsteps again, but he knew that the screen would be darkened. Perhaps Jackson had gone to get a drink or relive himself before heading to bed. Viggo knew the bathrooms were insanely far from this room.
Finally he felt sleep taking him and went willingly.
~
Author's note.
Another short chapter. Sorry!