Chapter 4

 

At the sound of my voice, LED lights lit up across the front of the deadly drone. My clenched stomach relaxed. Part of me always expects him to shoot me dead. “Voice recognition complete, facial recognition complete. Hello AJ,” it said in a quiet, slightly tinny voice. I had wanted to change that to an Nepali-accented voice, but there was only so much reprogramming I could do without messing up Rikki Tikki’s best features.

 

“Target is 55 Broadway,” I said, keeping my voice just above a whisper.

 

“Currently seven drone units between this location and target. Sensor override ninety-six percent likely to succeed. Distance point-four-eight kilometers.”

 

Rikki Tikki was my ace in the hole. A reprogrammed drone whose processor was sophisticated and powerful enough to override the base programming of many of the drones still in the Zone. At least, within ranges that were up close and personal.

 

 

That’s it. The rest is coming in July or August. Stay tuned. JC