"Damn it, I want answers. Someone has to know what's going on!"

Dunker continued to hammer at his keyboard, avoiding Delancy's blistering glare. As head of MIS, the system crashes were his responsibility, but no amount of training or experience could have prepared him for this. Up to fifteen minutes ago, everything had been perfect. Now, all across the country, banks were loosing account access, companies were losing whole databases, and news networks were losing all broadcast communications. It was as if a terrible storm had ravaged the countryside, knocking out all relay stations, CO's, and power grids. Dunker could not even access BRAIN from a direct terminal. Slamming his fist into his keyboard, he looked up to see the veins in his boss's neck bulging like purple worms.

Delancy whipped his pen at the window behind him, nearly shattering the glass as the board members gave a collective flinch. "What are we going to do boys? Look at your VID screens. Already GFPN is blaming UltraTech, and their broadcast is barely getting through. I can't even get on the Internet to get a better feel for the problems. Our customer service phones are queued up fifty calls deep. We have to correct this, and now!"

Daniels, V.P. of marketing, was typing as fast as he could, trying to write a press release to calm the public down. "I'm almost there. I'll have the…"

"Almost where Daniels?" Delancy was screaming now. "What the hell are you going to say? Forget it, we don't need any explanations until it's fixed. Anything less and we look worse than ever!"

Duncker shook his head and rubbed his stinging eyes. How the can this be happening? How the hell can we lose the whole pie? Just doesn't make sense.

When he looked up again, his VID screen was blinking. He punched the "P" key to answer the call.

"The director of Research and Development wishes to address the board. What should I tell him? He's very persistent"

Duncker paused, then typed back, "Who, Jerome?"

"Yes"

"Tell him we are much too busy."

The screen beeped again, "He won't leave. He says he knows what the problem is, and how to solve it."

Again, Duncker shook his head. What would Jerome know about this? I don't have time for…

"Duncker, do you have something there or are you typing your resume?" Delancy's voice boomed.

"No sir. My director of R&D claims to know what the problem is. He wants to present his findings to us."

"Well, get him in here, what are you waiting for?"

Duncker nodded and began typing.

A few moments later, Adam Jerome strolled in. With a nod and a smile to Duncker, he gently placed his portable VID screen on the cherry conference table and unbuttoned the jacket of his neatly pressed three-piece suit. In one fluid motion, he removed his jacket and draped it over the back of Dellancy's leather chair before seating himself at the head of the table. Dellancy glared.

"Good afternoon gentlemen. I have some good news for you all. Unfortunately, some bad news as well." Jerome reclined himself, placing his hands behind his head and his feet upon the conference table. "The complete breakdown that everyone is experiencing is a result of a hardwired virus that was implanted into all of UltraTech's products, thanks to the massive upgrade campaign that was so brilliantly executed by our marketing department and Mr. Daniels."

"What? Duncker, what is he talking about?" Delancy's face graduated from a slight rosy hue to a full-blown tomato red. Duncker shrugged as Jerome went on.

"I must say you did a wonderful job. I certainly couldn't have done it better myself. The virus that I implanted into all of these products was activated two hours ago when I typed in the activation code. This, my friends, is what has brought the country to its knees."

Delancy was stuttering now. "Wha, wh…"

"Why, mister Delancy? I have plans. Big plans, you see. This was just the easiest way to achieve them. And the best thing about it, you're all helpless! Only I know anything about the bug and how to reverse it. So you see mister Delancy - may I call you Patrick? - you are at my mercy. Are you getting the idea here?"

Delancy ground his teeth, his face a mixture of comprehension and disbelief. "I think I get the general idea. Just exactly what do you want Mr. Jerome?"

"Why, UltraTech of course."

Duncker's stomach rolled. "Adam, are you nuts?"

"Be quiet Bill," Jerome said, his countenance slipping, "you never did appreciate anything I did. You're just as responsible as the rest." He paused. "I'm afraid you all have to go gentlemen. UltraTech belongs to me now, and there isn't a damn thing any of you can do about it."

Delancy took a step towards him as the other board members whispered dangerously. "Do you really think that we will all just stand up and turn everything over to you? I have worked too hard, and too long to just hand over my company."

Again, Jerome smiled and opened his portable VID. He typed in a few commands. "If you will all look at your VID screens, you'll see I have accessed each of your bank accounts. I have already entered the passwords, and since all networks are currently down, including the banks, I can easily authorize a transfer of all funds to my personal account."

Several board members gasped. Duncker felt his jaw drop. Delancy, a ball of hot emotion a few moments ago, now stood deathly still, his face pale and his eyes sharp.

"However, what I am offering all of you instead is an additional transfer of funds, to each of your accounts for the sum of, oh, two million dollars. I will of course leave everything else that was already in your accounts. Let's call this two million.... a severance package shall we?"

Jerome typed in a few more commands and before long, everyone's VID screen was beeping. Duncker, mouth still agape, watched as his account balance increased, adding two million dollars to the meager sum he had previously saved. When the transfer was completed, the account totals were displayed. The room was dead silent.

Jerome spoke first. "You see, when you know the counter code, you have complete control. But only I can access your accounts. With the virus in place, you won't even be able to check your balances. Only I can do that with the override in place. So, do we have a deal gentlemen? Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, part of the deal includes that all of you leave Washington. I can't afford to have any of you around here to spoil my plans. Once you agree, and have left the building, I will simply override the virus, then make a public announcement, telling GFPN what I found.

"And what will that be?" Delancy growled.

"That I uncovered a plot by this board to take control of the country, but I discovered the plan, and personally countered it. You my friends, will be hated, and I will be a hero!"

Duncker held his breath. Jerome must have gone insane somewhere along the line. How did he expect to get away with this? If he expected Delancy to go along…

"Very well."

Shouts filled the room as the board members erupted. Delancy turned to them and gestured for silence.

"Very well," he repeated. "All of you leave the room."

Delancy signaled towards the exit. One by one, disbelief and anger etched on their faces, the board left the room.

Duncker stopped by the doorway and watched as Delancy moved in on Jerome, the big man's face only inches from the new owner of UltraTech Inc. "This is personal Adam. You haven't heard the last from me. I will find a way to get even, I promise you that."

Adam smiled as Delancy left the room, "I'm sure you will Patrick." Sitting down, Adam quickly began typing instructions into his VID. After several commands he stopped and picked up the phone, he called security to make sure that Delancy and his partners were off the company grounds. Satisfied that they had left, he hit the enter key, thus entering the deactivation to his virus. Moving to the other side of the conference table, Adam picked up the remote and turned on the Holo-VID, GFPN was already reporting that computers were coming back on-line.

"Now to arrange that press conference," smiled Jerome.

* * * * *

As the two limousines drove through the UltraTech gates, one pulled next to the other, both stopped. The window on Delancy's car came down, as did the other car's window. "Go home, pack your things as quickly as you can, travel light. Networks are back on-line, GFPN is already reporting, then go to your banks, withdraw a couple of thousand in spending money, transfer the rest to this account." Delancy passed a piece of paper to the other limo. "Jerome maybe smart, but he knows nothing of my personal Swiss bank accounts. Save your transaction receipts, I have a plan, but we must move fast. Meet me at the airport in exactly one and a half hours. If you aren't there, we leave without you, just be there, Adam hasn't heard the last from us."

After dropping off his two partners, the limo pulled up to Delancy's condo. Quickly packing several suits and other personal effects, he grabbed an empty duffel bag. Picking up the phone, he called his personal pilot and told him to have his learjet fueled and ready for takeoff in one hour. Satisfied, he packed a few more belonging, then shredded any company documents and other personal papers. Then he lit the shred on fire, he couldn't afford any mistakes. Grabbing his things, he headed back to the limo, the bank was his next stop.

Transferring funds to his Swiss accounts, Delancy cashed in five hundred thousand and stuffed it into the empty duffel bag, and headed for the airport. GFPN was getting ready to air an UltraTech press conference in thirty minutes. He didn't have much time, presumably Jerome would announce that he had uncovered a scheme by himself, and blame Delancy. Then the authorities would be notified, he had to be gone before they checked the airport. At least he wouldn't be flying commercially.

Arriving at the airport, Delancy already found Duncker and Stern waiting. Quickly he checked and found his pilot had fueled his jet, and was waiting for him. Getting their luggage loaded, Delancy ordered a round of drinks while waiting for his three other partners.

Duncker broke the silence, "So what's your plan Patrick, where are we going?"

"In good time, Bill, let's just wait till everybody is here, then I will tell you all." smiled Delancy.

Next to arrive was Thomas Barton, the Chief Operating Officer, followed by Chief Legal Counsel James Firake. Daniels the Vice President of Marketing and Vincent Hall, Vice President of Human Resources walked in together. This completed Delancy's board of directors, they could board the plane. Delancy hurried them out to his waiting jet. Time was of the essence, Jerome had his press conference blaming everything on Delancy and the board. The authorities had been notified, they would be looking for them, it was a matter of time before they would be at the airport. It was a good thing Delancy had a private non-company jet.

As the jet was taking off, Delancy addressed his friends, "Obviously none of us could stay, Jerome was nice enough to give us that head start. Even outside of Washington, we will be hated men, it's a good thing I have provided for just such an occurrence. Some time ago, I purchased some land in Texas, I have always loved Texas. Such a history, the wild west, the Alamo, you should all read a good western tale when you get the chance. Anyway, I purchased an old abandoned Naval Air Station in south Texas. Complete with a runway, so my plane can land, twelve hangers, an old tower, a dozen out buildings, emergency equipment and firehouse, barracks, and a fallout shelter. All this surrounded by a twelve foot chain link, barbed wire topped and electrified fence. I've had this property for several years, and have had enough time to rehab most of the buildings, including the hangers. Gentlemen, this is where we will start again. We will rise up, and exact revenge on Adam Jerome and UltraTech."

Barton spoke first, "What did you have in mind Pat? We have nothing except our money."

Delancy replied "Exactly Tom, we have our money, money to start all over again. What does this country need right now?"

"Less control from large corporations?" suggested Firake.

"That's it James, less control, but how do they get less control? With firepower, that's how. We will manufacture new weapons, with new technology, then sell them to the masses. I can see it now, a modern version of a Colt 45, an old Winchester or a Springfield rifle. Guns with the look and appeal of the old west with the technology and power of the future."

"The look of the old west?" asked Stern. "Why the look of the old west, what's the attraction Pat?"

"I have always been enamored by the old west Jack. Think of it, we will build a new empire with weapons manufactured by WestTech, which we can supply to an army. An army that will destroy Adam Jerome and UltraTech."

"Excuse me Pat, but it seems that this will take some time, a lot of time." replied Duncker.

Delancy had a glazed look on his face, "No, not really Bill, I already have contacts, Vince will take care of recruiting some top weapon smiths from around the world." the excitement was building, "Think of it gentlemen, when we are ready to seek our revenge on Adam, the Magnificent Seven will ride again!"

Now James spoke up, "WestTech? This is what you want to call this company Pat?"

"Exactly, when I purchased this property, it was with a small firm called WestTech Systems Inc. You see, I never used my real name to make the purchase. This was how I hid it all these years."

The plane was suddenly quite as they all pondered what Patrick had just revealed to them. Each looked at the other searching for some sign of acceptance. Then Duncker stood, "Let's do it, I kind of like the idea, I always played cowboys and Indians when I was little. Sounds like a superb way to live out a fantasy."

One by one, they all lent their support to Patrick's idea. Soon the plane was a buzz with all the talk of preparations, and what should be done first. Delancy turned to Vince, "Vince, I have already made contacts in Europe, with Heckler & Koch. In the US, I've made a few contacts at Winchester. I even have the names of several top weaponsmiths from these companies. Once we land and get settled, I'll need you to make some calls and offers of employment to these guys. Tom, I have also compiled a list of companies that can supply us with the equipment, you know, manufacturing machines for weapons. We need to get this stuff in and set up, and get some people hired to run them. Oh, I almost forgot, we also need materials, I'll need you to make those calls to, I have all the information and contacts in Texas. As you can see, I have had this plan in the back of my mind for sometime, I would routinely update my contact info to keep it all current."

Just west of Corpus Christi Texas, as the sun was setting, Delancy's jet touched down at what used to be Orange Grove Naval Air Station, just outside of Orange Grove Texas. As the jet taxied over to a row of buildings, a single man wearing a jump suit came out to meet the plane.

As the door to the plane opened, Delancy moved onto the stairs, taking a deep breath he spoke, "Ahh, smell that gentlemen, that's the smell of opportunity and revenge. Oh, Alex, good to see you again, is everything ready my friend?"

"Yes Mr. Delancy, all power is on, I have made my rounds twice, everything is in top working order. All of the air conditioners have been on for at least three hours. Every room should be comfortable by now, it's good to see you again sir."

"Thank you Alex, very good, it looks like you have taken care of everything quite nicely. Be sure you stop by my office on Friday afternoon. That will be all."

Grabbing his bags, Delancy moved down the stairs, turning back to the plane he said, "Allow me to show you all to your rooms, Alex has gone to great pains to give each of us a most comfortable place to stay. Each one of us will have his own barracks as his own place. This is temporary of course, these barracks will be used to house our new employees and manufacturing once we get ready for production. By then, we will have new places to stay on the other side of the base. Those buildings over there have not been finished, they still need a little more work before we can move into them."

Delancy showed each to his temporary home, then after dropping off their luggage, he took them on a tour of the base. The tour lasted only an hour, and it was getting late. They returned to their barracks with Delancy reminding them that breakfast would be at 8 a.m. in the administration building. He then bid them a good night.

After breakfast Delancy showed everyone to their offices, all in the administration building. There was even a large conference room, just like at UltraTech. Each office was fully equipped with a state of the art UltraTech computer, Holo-VID, phone, fax, desk, and filing cabinets. Delancy then lead them to the conference room for a brief meeting.

"OK, we are now ready to start, Tom, everything you need to get started on the purchase of equipment is in your office. You will find a folder with everything you need. Vince, the same goes for you, a folder contains the names of the weaponsmiths I spoke about. Also contact information for the local newspapers in Corpus Christi, we will need machinists and others to run the equipment. In each folder there is a bank account with access codes for each of you, use this account to pay for everything. But do drive a hard bargain, no need to be frivolous. Both of you have your own personal access code, this way we can keep track of who is spending what. Jack, you have a folder listing all the banks in the area including Corpus Christi. I need you to see about financing, we can't pay for everything with our own personal money.

Are there any other questions?"

"Yes" replied Duncker, "What do the rest of us do?"

"Glad you asked. James will make sure all deals that Vince and Tom make are proper and binding. John, you can work with Vince, come up with some clever slogans for the company and to help recruit workers. Bill, we will need some IT professionals, work with Vince to hire some, I have left you a folder in your office detailing our needs. Remember gentlemen, we have to keep a close watch on everyone we hire, we don't want another Adam Jerome on our hands. That's it, let's get to work! Oh, and Bill, I suspect you'll want to see me soon. I will be back in my office by one, see me then."

Standing up, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, don't use your real names. Remember we are wanted men," said Delancy, "Hey, I think I like the sound of that!"

Bill was waiting outside Delancy's office when he returned. Following him into the office Bill spoke up, "I have to tell you Pat, I'm more than a little confused."

"I thought you would, please, sit down Bill," said Delancy as he closed the door. "You see, I'm also interested in enhancing the human body. I've read extensive articles and journals on the subject, and I'm very intrigued. What we are going to need is a couple of experts in cybernetics and nanotech. This is in the strictest confidence, I am personally funding this project. You have access to a different bank account than the others, and I would appreciate it if you would be discreet about all of this until we have something more concrete to show everyone. Then we can let the company take over the funding."

Bill was concerned, "But where will we do all this so no one suspects anything?"

Smiling, Delancy answered, "On the far side of the station there is an older hangar that will be used for the project to start. It's far enough away that no one will know what's going on, and with all the other activities, the extra people will never be noticed."

"Well, OK," said Bill, "So how many people are you looking for? I really can't say I have any knowledge in this area Pat."

"That's perfectly fine, I have left in your office all the articles and journals that I read. Familiarize yourself with the subject, then start making calls. You will also find a file of prospective scientists to call. There is no big hurry, hopefully we can have three to five people on staff within the next two to three months."

"All right," replied Duncker, "I'll get started on it right away."

Things began to get very busy around the old Naval Air Station, it had been six months since they all had arrived. Machinists were now overseeing the start up of the machinery needed in the manufacturing of weapons. Security guards patrolled the grounds and manned the gates, while the administration building now held office clerks and administrative assistants. Cooks and servers had been hired, and the old mess hall was filled with the scent of food.

Vince Hall had struck a deal that had Stefan Hauptmann formerly from H & K already designing handguns. In fact, a very simple six shooter had been designed, and was just starting to be produced. Marc Merrelo from Winchester had just signed a contract and was on his way to Texas.

The First National Bank of Texas had opened a line of credit for Jack Stern. Money had already been used to purchase equipment and supplies. Raw materials were being shipped to the base on a regular basis.

Delancy's secret project had three scientists on board, and were busy setting up their hangar laboratory. Equipment had been purchased, and experiments were starting. Things were looking up, Delancy was quite pleased, their location was still a secret. Contracts were being negotiated for the sale of small arms, and no one seemed to know who owned WestTech Systems Inc. Even GFPN had stopped running reports on the missing board of directors from UltraTech.

Work progressed rapidly after that, designs were drawn, and re-worked. Prototypes were being tested and demonstrated. The old air station soon had a work force that numbered over three hundred. Daniels was advertising, and prospective clients were looking into the weapons. Advance orders were being taken, the arms they were turning out had mass appeal. The old western six shooter was in demand, sales weren't large, but they were promising. Merrelo had designed a new rifle that was being field tested. Designs called for this weapon to hit a one inch bullseye at one thousand meters. The working name for this weapon was the Westchester Rifle.

Sales were up, orders were coming in faster than they could be shipped. It had been eleven months, the base was fully operational. The product line contained three handguns, called six-guns, old western replicas with the efficiency of modern technology. Shooting a heavier load, and packing a more powerful punch, one even had a laser sight. The Westchester Rifle was now in its second version, and a new machine pistol dubbed the Shootin Iron' was being field tested.

The first big contract came from a relatively new company called the Beneficent Light, which appeared to be nothing more than a cult group from Arkansas. But business was business, Delancy cared not if a former Ku Klux Klan member wanted his weapons or some little old lady, the orders would be filled. And they made a large order.

Delancy's secret project was no longer a secret, a vote had been put to the board, and all approved it for company funding. Lab tests were now beginning on larger subjects, chimpanzees were being outfitted with bionic arms and legs. In fact, the project had expanded to a second hanger.

On the morning of WestTech Systems Inc.'s one year anniversary, Delancy called a board meeting. Raising a glass of champagne, Delancy spoke, "Good morning gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate all of you on this day, the one year anniversary of WestTech Systems Inc." Taking a drink, Delancy's arm sort of twitched, causing him to spill a little champagne. "I have good news, and bad news to share with you today," he began, "Business is good, actually, it's very good, which is the good news. The bad news is that we cannot keep up with production."

Thomas replied, "We'll just hire more people, and get more machines. That will solve the problem Pat."

"I'm afraid not Tom, that would cut into our profits too much. I have talked it over with our scientists, and we will begin a new area this week. Vince will be looking for some people who specialize in robotics. Gentlemen, we will automate our production line, cutting out the human element and saving a bundle on salaries and benefits."

Now it was Stern's turn, "You see, with robots providing the manufacturing, we can increase the production output. We can catch up on the backorders, and bring in more cash. It's very simple, the automotive industry started using robotics in the twentieth century."

Sitting down, Delancy's arm twitched again, "That's right, we still have a couple of empty hangars, we will install the equipment in them. We will continue to hand craft the weapons until we become fully operational. Then only special orders and one of a kinds will be built by hand, the rest will be built by robots."

"How much will this all cost," asked Duncker.

"Not as much as you think," replied Jack, "I have made inquiries, and forwarded a list to Tom's secretary. He can make the arrangements."

"Gentlemen, this is a good day indeed," said Delancy as his arm convulsed again, "We will continue with our original experiments, in fact, early tests have been very successful. Thank you, that will be all."

Once again WestTech moved at a rapid pace, with more engineers that had robotics experience being hired. New equipment was purchased, installed, and with the operations expanding, in less than six months, one quarter of all weapons being manufactured were made by the robots. Quality control was easier, with less mistakes by the machines. With every passing month, less weapons were being made by hand.

New weapons were added to the product line, the six-gun line was increased to four weapons, including an experimental laser firing model. This gun had been a joint venture between the scientists and Stefan Hauptmann, with tests still being conducted on the prototype. The Westchester rifle was into it's fourth version, and the Shootin Iron' machine pistol was in it's second variation. Designs were being drawn for a much heavier weapon, a gatling gun.

On the other side of the base, testing had begun on human subjects. With the new robotics production equipment, lay offs had been eminent. All were given the option of volunteering for this testing, about eighteen were accepted. Acceptance meant that they had to be single with little or no family in case of an accident.

Adam Jerome had taken over UltraTech in March of 2115, and as Texas moved into the fall of 2117, life in the United States had deteriorated. The New England area was a toxic wasteland that had spread to the midwest, even causing fires to erupt on the great lakes. UltraTech was larger than ever, controlling most technology. Corporations had grown into Mega Coms as they swallowed their competition, influencing consumers purchase patterns by force. Control of the country had fallen to a few of these Mega Coms, the government didn't even collect taxes anymore.

Through all of this WestTech thrived, getting bigger as they bought out smaller arms manufacturers in America. But along with this wealth of business, word had spread to Texas of a lethal virus that had spread to northern Mexico from Central America. Hundreds were dying daily to this plague, and no one knew where it started, nor was there a cure. People in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona were packing up and leaving, some were even going underground. As the virus spread north, Delancy took precautions by quarantining his workers to the air station, no one was allowed to leave. Delancy's plan worked, WestTech endured with no losses. Soon, the area around the base became a wasteland, with south Texas largely deserted, Delancy spread the borders of the base outward.

Delancy's scientists needed more subjects for testing, the original volunteers were either dead, or they had become useless. But subjects were hard to find thanks to the virus, so it was at this time that Delancy unveiled his most perverse of plans. A plan that solved the problem of finding test subjects, but a plan that called for more expertise in a whole new area.

Recruitment of new scientists and engineers, men with experience in artificial intelligence, neurology, surgery, and virology. Top experts in their fields, no expense was spared as Delancy's new plan called for the animation of dead corpses. With the lack of live subjects, and of course the betrayal of Adam Jerome, Delancy saw an army of walking dead, controlled by computer technology as a means to his revenge without any emotions or schemes to get in the way. At first his board of directors had trouble accepting this idea, but soon, they saw the genius in it.

"Basically gentlemen, we'll just be building robots. But we will save a bundle on materials because we won't have to build the bodies," said Delancy.

Tom spoke up, "You have a point Pat, the cost of materials alone to build an army of robots would be astronomical. We save millions this way, and I don't think we will ever have a shortage of supplies, ha ha!"

"But wait a minute," shouted Stern, "Just how do you propose to animate dead bodies."

Now Duncker spoke up, "Simple, we've been conducting experiments on the chimpanzees that died, and recently we.... ah....um.. we've been studying the unfortunate volunteers that didn't make it through are bionic experiments. Actually we have promising results. With the new help, we should make even better progress."

The years continued to pass, emphasis had shifted to creating Delancy's army of walking dead. First designs were drawn for the replacement of limbs in living hosts. Most of these early tests were not completely successful, including the tests on the chimps. But as time passed, the designs were perfected, soon entire limbs were working, there was even one subject that had both legs replaced. In fact, Delancy became a test bed for his own scientists. His left arm had been enhanced with a cybernetic control circuit that provided a regional override of his own nervous system.

"Ahh, you are awake, good, how do you feel Mr. Delancy?" asked Piotr.

Blinking his eyes, Delancy laying in the hospital bed answered, "OK, I guess, I feel a little light headed. How did everything turn out?"

Piotr was excited, "Splendid, splendid, no trouble at all. Our success will of course be determine by how well you function with you new limb. Your head will feel better soon, its just the anesthetic. Are you feeling up to trying out the arm?"

That woke Delancy up, "Yes, I'm fine, let's proceed, what's first?"

Piotr picked up his clip board and replied, "First we test the fingers, start with your thumb and move it back and forth." Delancy moved his thumb with no effort. "Perfect, now do the same with each finger." Piotr added as he quickly wrote on his clip board. Each test was performed with no effort on Delancy's part, including the hand and the elbow. It was time to check the shoulder joint where the cybernetics actually attached to living tissue and bone. As before, Delancy raise him arm, flexed, and rotated with little effort.

"Wonderful, it all seems to be working quite well." replied Piotr as he continued taking notes. Suddenly the clip board was knocked out of Piotr's hands, Delancy's arm was convulsing uncontrollably. Piotr managed to grab hold of the arm, and after a few short seconds, the spasms stopped. "We must keep an eye on this, it could just be from the trauma of the surgery, otherwise, I can make some adjustments." Exhausted, Delancy fell back into an anesthetic induced sleep.

The man responsible for this achievement was a Russian neurologist named Piotr Syjecko. His scheme for incorporating cybernetic devices into human tissue was indeed brilliant. But there was one problem he could not have foreseen, that was Delancy's developing case of Parkinson's Disease. It seems that the twitch in his left arm had been getting worse, but with medication, only the board of directors had suspected there was a problem. The board hadn't known about Delancy's enhancement until after it was completed, and once that was done, whenever the Parkinson's acted up, Delancy's arm went into uncontrolled spasms. This failure of sorts caused Syjecko to pay the ultimate price, a bullet through his head, right in the lab.

Delancy had his own way of dealing with failure, mistakes, and employees who wished to quit, he did not tolerate screw ups, they all resulted in death. In fact, Delancy now dressed as a cowboy, the duster coat, wearing a six shooter on his hip, and a Shootin Iron' under his shoulder. Within a few years, there were few scientists left, most had died by Delancy's hand. However, a brilliant new man by the name of Jonathan Voorhees had been recruited right out of the Bell Combine Computer Academy and had started to make some headway. His specialty was artificial intelligence, and he had graduated at the top of his class. Jonathan had joined the team when Syjecko was still alive, and he learned much from the neurologist. Along with Voorhees and Syjecko was Simone Timmons the virologist, a surgeon, Jeff Turner, and Roberts the nanotech expert.

After Syjecko's death, the four remaining men were driven by fear to make great strides, however, Turner had proved to be a liability and Delancy dealt with him in his usual way. It was around this time that Delancy changed directions of WestTech, and had started a new corporation that bought out the old, thus was DeadTech Systems Inc. started. Even weapon names changed, as the Westchester, became the Deadchester rifle. Weapons manufacturing was now only done by robots, few of these were sold, as most were being stockpiled for Delancy's coming army. There were very few employees now, the base was a far cry from the early days.

Working off of Syjecko's designs, the nanotech expert Roberts, had succeeded into getting the lab cybernetics to operate flawlessly in living subjects. Delancy's spastic left arm was better than ever, so good that now he sported a new plastic and metal left hand that was incredibly powerful. Now work on non-living subjects were beginning to see considerable success. But in the end, Roberts had not been able to design a circuit good enough to control robotic dead bodies. So for his failure, Delancy dealt with him in his usual fashion, the hand that Roberts had designed for Delancy crushed his head.

Out of fear more than anything, Jonathan Voorhees succeeded were all had failed, building upon the dead Russian's notebooks, Voorhees came up with the robotics control solution. Following the human nervous system, he synthesized a new batch of nanites to retrofit an intact human nervous system as a control circuit to be operated by the artificial intelligence unit he had also created. The CPU containing the AI unit was small enough to fit on a belt pack. With each new version of the control circuits and AI, the unit decreased in size until it was small enough to fit within the skull of the test subject.

Jonathan perfected the control circuits so that the dead host could actually function as a thinking human. Making decisions based on an elaborate logic program, the subjects could make decisions, then react to a situation faster than a human. But there was only one problem, Voorhees knew nothing about shooting a weapon. His targeting program would abend every time, the AI unit could not acquire a target and react. He needed to know more about firing a gun, but he couldn't tell that to Delancy, that would mean failure and death.

***** Voorhees Meatpuppet BIOS v0.43a - Welcome Jonathan

***** System Check completed

***** Co.R.P.S.E circuit activated ……….on-line

***** Starting Deadboy v0.1a7

*****

*****

***** System Error - General Protection Fault - source "Deadboy:Gunhand"

"Dammit," yelled Jonathan as he threw his pen. Nothing he could do seemed to work, he just couldn't get the program to function. Now that his AI was pulling a gun and trying to track a moving object, the gunhand targeting subroutine would lock up each time. He just didn't know enough about firing a gun.

"So Jonathan. Progress please." It was Delancy, "You do have progress don't you?" as he circled around to face Voorhees. Jonathan hadn't even heard his employer enter the lab. Delancy had always been a rather striking man, but now he was awesome. Underneath the long coat that he favored was a hulking form that fairly bristled with ill intent. Each movement Delancy made caused an array of cybernetic weaponry to be revealed by the shifting coat. Voorhees knew all to well what those weapons could do as he had installed most of them and seen them used first hand.

Duncker, Stern, and Barton moved into the hanger as Delancy continued questioning Voorhees. These men were perhaps even more frightening than Delancy as they had even more cybernetic modification. Duncker had lost his right eye during one of Delancy's tirades from a ricocheted bullet, that eye had been replaced with a computerized version that actually calculated ranges, much like a sniper scope. Along with that, he sported a Shootin Iron' in place of his right hand, and a pair of augmented legs which allowed him to run a two minute mile. Then there was Stern with two robotic arms, hands made of stainless steel, and both hands that could crush a coconut in the blink of an eye. Last was Barton, he too had both legs enhanced, only his were for strength and power, which went along with the augmented arms. The combination gave Barton sub-human strength with no match.

"Yes sir, progress is ah…going well." replied Jonathan, "As you can see from this test run here, the CoRPSE circuit is now fully integrated with the Meatpuppet unit's BIOS and the Deadboy combat AI is almost fully functional…"

"That isn't new Jonathan. You told me the same thing last month. We won't live forever Jonathan, we need results" said Delancy as he moved a step closer to Voorhees.

"Well you see sir, it's the targeting system, it…I…my...my lack of experience with a gun... and I just don't know how to program it and every time Deadboy locks, the CoRPSE interface socket fries and I need a new body." Voorhees stopped to draw a breath. "In fact, I will need quite a few bodies to get it right."

"More bodies you say, Jonathan? How novel, I will speak with Simone. I am certain she can provide us with a suitable agent to get you your bodies!" The last two words of Delancy's statement were made as the man flashed forward in a flurry of steel and plastic to stop inches from Voorhees' face. "See to it that you put them to good use Jonathan, all of them." Delancy turned and headed for the door, "Oh, and Bill, make sure that we give Mr. Voorhees some lessons on how to shoot everything in our arsenal."

After the door closed on the last of Delancy's board members, Voorhees picked up the gun from the now cooked test zombie on the workbench. It was supposed to be a good gun, the latest design out of the robotics factory. It was even marked with the new company logo, "DeadTech Systems." "Time to figure this damn thing out, Jon old boy," said Voorhees as he lifted the considerable weight of the gun toward the target at the other end of the hangar. *Bang*