Page 22 of Whisper Through the Pines

Not liking this robot at all, Jenna stepped out into the hallway. Heart pounding, she walked to Kane’s side and took a deep breath. “MARA, we will wait in Wolfe’s office with our dog. Stand aside now and inform Wolfe of our location when he returns.”

Jenna sagged against Kane when the robot stood back against the wall and allowed them to pass. She rested a hand on Duke’s head and without looking at Kane headed to Wolfe’s office. She dropped into a chair and wrapped her arms around the trembling dog. “Poor Duke, he’s terrified.”

“I was getting ready to blast a hole in the darn thing.” Kane closed the door behind him. “It’s not programmed to be aggressive. It’s supposed to take orders.”

Jenna shuddered. “I don’t like it at all. It’s creepy.”

“Maybe it was just following orders.” Kane’s fingers tapped once against his thigh then stopped. “It’s all so new. I guess Wolfe gave a specific order and it followed the order. When we were briefed about the unit, they said it would learn as it went along. It’s made to learn and adapt to situations.” He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. “One thing, when I asked it who I was, it gave my current name, not the code name I used on the mission. So that part of its memory must have been erased—although, I don’t honestly believe AI brains delete anything.”

Twenty-Three

After a stressful encounter with the bereaved next of kin of the victims, Wolfe left Webber to return the bodies to the morgue and walked through the foyer and into the main building with Emily. He forced his mind to focus on the next task and could see Emily gathering herself. She’d ensured, by using her skills with makeup on the victims, the viewings and identification would be as painless as possible, but seeing people devastated took a toll on everyone. He hoped seeing Jenna and Dave would lighten the mood. He stopped to talk to MARA. “Have Kane and Jenna arrived yet?”

“Deputy Kane refused to go to examination room three.” MARA held out both arms palms up as if in distress. “Sheriff Alton insisted they wait in your office. They are in your office with a dog.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to watch the CCTV footage of that encounter.” Emily barked a laugh.

Wolfe rubbed the back of his neck, imagining Kane’s reaction. “MARA, you may take orders from Jenna and Dave Kane. The dog’s name is Duke. He is a K-9 unit and allowed to wait in my office. I should have explained. Thank you. I don’t need you right now.”

“I will remember.” MARA turned its head away. “Returning to docking station.” It walked into an alcove.

“Do you figure it has feelings?” Emily exchanged a look with Wolfe. “It seems sad.”

Perplexed, Wolfe raised both eyebrows. “It’s likely confused. It’s been programmed for autopsies and retrievals. All this human interaction is new, so it’s learning. They become emotionally intelligent by mimicking our emotions, but actually experiencing them? No, they don’t have hormones or fear, love, etcetera that humans have to determine feelings.”

He led the way to his office and walked inside. “Ah, there y’all are. Sorry for the delay, we had the sad job of allowing the next of kin to view the current victims. I have a positive ID. The younger man was Trace Byer and the older Lyle Thorn. I’ve uploaded all the information to the server.” He went to the coffee machine and fed in pods. “Now, Dave, what’s the problem? You said you needed treatment.”

“My left shoulder is a little stiff.” Kane rubbed it absently and then dropped his hand. “I figured maybe you can give me a shot?”

Wolfe rubbed his hands together. “Oh, my recent acquisitions are way better than a shot.” He winked at Jenna. “Emily will make you a cup of coffee. This won’t take long.” He turned to Kane. “Head down to my dungeon—ah, I mean examination room three. That’s where I keep all the good stuff.”

“So I’m going to be a test subject?” Kane stood slowly. “Is this legal?”

Wolfe followed him out the door, noticing his usual casual walk had become a little stiff. “Yeah, it’s legal but some of what I’ve been asked to trial isn’t in practice yet. Get onto the exam table. This is the room we use for the living.” He stood to one side as Kane complied. “Remove your jacket and shirt. I need to see what’s happened.” He plucked examination gloves from a box on the counter and pulled them on.

Having a patient who never complained of his injuries had always been a problem. Trying to drag symptoms from him had become a near impossibility. The fact Kane had asked for help meant his friend was suffering intense pain. Wolfe walked around him as Kane sat on the edge of the table, with his jaw clenched so tight a nerve in his cheek jumped. His left shoulder hung a little lower than the right. He’d carried a man for five miles and never complained once but now he could see the pain had settled in, like a knife under the bone. He turned away and set up the ultrasound scanner. “I’m gonna put some gel on your shoulder. It’s gonna feel a little cold.” He applied the gel. “Hold still.” He ran the scanner across Kane’s shoulder and the screen lit up with a ghostly high resolution of tendon fibers. The pain would be significant but Kane didn’t so much as inhale. “You’ve overloaded the supraspinatus. You have micro tears. It’s nothing catastrophic but you’re not lifting anything heavier than a sandwich for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Just as well it’s my left arm. I can still shoot with my right.” Kane turned his head to look at him. “My right shoulder is just fine. The left isn’t that bad. I’ve had worse. Just give me a shot and I’ll be fine.”

Wolfe moved around the table to look at him. “You can barely raise your arm and a shot won’t help you this time.”

“Shane, don’t mess around. What are you really seeing?” Kane stared at him. “How bad is it?”

Setting the scanner to one side, he opened the drawer and took out a slim wand-like device and turned it on. When he thumbed on the activation switch, it admitted a faint red glow. “Bad enough but I have some new technology I’ve been given to trial. So, you came by at just the right time.”

“What is that thing?” Kane eyed him suspiciously. “Who else have you lured in here to experiment on?”

Wolfe smiled. “Well, if anyone heads in to see Doc Brown with similar injuries, I’ve asked him to refer them to me.” He stepped closer. “What this little beauty does is called cold laser therapy. It stimulates cellular repair and reduces inflammation, and before you ask, no, it doesn’t give you superpowers.” He moved the laser slowly over the injured area. “You should be feeling warmth seep into the joint.”

“Yeah, I can feel it.” Kane turned to look at him. “Can I go now?”

After giving the shoulder a couple more passes, Wolfe placed it on the counter, took out a syringe, and attached a needle. He grabbed Kane’s right arm. “Next I’m going to do PRP.” He attached a rubber torniquet to just above the elbow on Kane’s arm.

“Why are you drawing blood and what the hell is PRP?” Kane gave him a look that would stop most men in their tracks. “What’s my blood got to do with a sore shoulder?”

Wolfe ignored his death look and swabbed his arm. He understood Kane very well. He just happened to be the toughest man he’d ever met and the worst patient, as if being injured was a sign of weakness. He’d expected resistance and smiled at him. “I’ll put this blood sample into the centrifuge and extract platelet rich plasma. It accelerates healing better than cortisone and it won’t mask the pain so much that y’all do something stupid.”

“Define stupid.” Kane watched as he extracted the blood, spun it, and then drew up the concentrated platelets into a syringe.