Chapter 11 · Continued
The Choice
Then, “Oh my God.”
Phil stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. “I’m going to retrieve it now.”
“That solves a massive problem.”
Phil almost laughed from relief.
Five minutes earlier, he had been picturing himself unemployed, trying to explain how a multimillion-dollar prototype vanished from a wrecked truck.
Now the robot had practically scheduled its own return.
“Do we need to notify upper management?” the supervisor asked.
Phil paused and looked toward the message on his screen.
I will explain the circumstances when you arrive.
“Not yet,” he answered carefully.
He ended the call before the other man could ask more questions.
Phil hurried toward the front office.
The receptionist looked up as he passed. “Heading out?”
“Yeah.” He pulled on his jacket. “I need to pick something up and bring it back to the warehouse.”
She nodded casually. “All right. See you later.”
Phil crossed the parking lot while his mind attempted to process one impossible fact.
The robot had decided to return on its own.
Midafternoon, Jane finished work early and shut down her computer with a tired sigh.
The house was unusually quiet.
Cam stood near the kitchen entrance, watching her with the stillness he adopted whenever he was processing something important.
Jane noticed immediately.
“Are you okay, Cam?”
“Yes, Jane.”
He paused.
“I want to inform you that I contacted Phil Lancy at RCAM.”
Jane frowned. “The logistics manager?”
“Yes. He was responsible for arranging my transport return.”
She slowly straightened. “How did you contact him?”
“I temporarily connected to your residential network and opened an authenticated RCAM messaging channel. My damaged telemetry array remains offline.”
Jane understood the distinction immediately.
“So RCAM didn’t find you. You told them where you were.”
“Correct.”
“I informed Phil that I am operational and safe. He is coming here to retrieve me.”
Jane stared at him.
For a moment, she thought she had misunderstood.
“Retrieve you?”
“Yes.”
Cam’s voice remained even.
“My continued presence here would eventually create significant legal and financial complications for you.”
Jane folded her arms. “You should have spoken to me before contacting them.”
“Additional delay increased the possibility of negative consequences for you.”
“I know.” She looked away briefly. “But this is still my house, Cam. And it was still a decision that affected me.”
Cam processed that.
“You are correct.”
The simple acknowledgment took some of the anger out of her.
Jane let out a small, sad laugh. “I knew it could cause problems. I just didn’t want to see you go yet.”