Page 31 of Smart Ass

Maxamillion

Maxamillion’s sensors all pinged as a familiar car reached the Orbit parking lot.

They were unnecessary, though, as he’d already been monitoring the car’s location and the occupant inside it—not that Ben knew, since he was playing games on his phone—but Max felt better when he could see him. He’d been worried about Ben when he left the hospital, but he seemed calmer now.

Ben was so engrossed that Max hadn’t interrupted him.

Or maybe he was just a coward.

He still had to tell Ben that he was, you know, sentient.

Three hours of watching, waiting, and planning hadn’t increased Max’s confidence and certainty at all. If anything, it had just raised more questions.

When Ben’s car reached the wooden barrier in front of the employee parking lot, Max was so eager that he opened it in advance.

He could see Ben squinting his eyes through the windshield. Wondering.

I’m here,Maxamillion wanted to say. I’ll take care of you. He just needed to gather his courage to say it aloud.

Max jumped from camera to camera in the Orbit security feeds as Ben put away the phone, locked his car, adorably and predictably turned back for his ID, locked the car again, and then walked up to the side entrance to the building. Max unlocked it with a click before Ben pulled out his ID.

Ben looked right at the closest camera and gave a little nod that gave Max a thrill, like a jump in his processor speed.

Ben took his usual path through the lobby, waving to the receptionist with a cheery hello. Then he started across the factory floor in the direction of his office. Max hovered, switching between security cameras to get a better view. He didn’t want Ben out of his sight.

Good. He was getting closer. Max couldn’t detect his heartbeat over all the noise, and he hated that.

Ben wasn’t hurrying, though.

Wasn’t he in just as much of a rush as Max? Didn’t he long to see him? Or were all humans just ridiculously slow and inefficient? (He checked his logs. The answer was yes. Max just hadn’t noticed how much time he spent waiting before.)

When Ben stopped to talk to a colleague, and then another one, Max thought he was going to overheat. He was wearing through the resources he’d allotted himself, and he wasn’t even doing anything.

Max had to keep checking his timelogs. Ben’s first chat was two minutes and fourteen seconds. The second, four minutes and fifty-four seconds.

It seemed like it was longer.

Hours.

Eons.

Why was time so strange now? It never seemed to match his chronometer.

That should be another test of sentience—if your ability to judge time went completely to shit.

Ben finally left the factory floor. If he noticed how the secured door unlocked in front of him, it wasn’t evident by his face. But then, there were more people around now, and Ben was sneaky.

Ben was close to reaching his office now. Where he belonged. Where Max could take care of him.

Suddenly, Ben’s head tilted up, small and grainy from the distance of the camera. It took Maxamillion several clock cycles to realize someone else had gotten Ben’s attention. Ben looked away just as quickly and lengthened his stride.

Max swung the camera around. It was Wally.

I don’t think so…Max thought, without vocalizing a word. Wally didn’t get to see Ben right now. Ben was his.

Diagrams and routes poured through Max’s consciousness. Better not to lead Ben back to the office.

Max flashed the light above the door to the next hallway as he opened the lock. There were conference rooms here, with large windows. Ben could hide under a desk, but that wasn’t secure.