Runaway

Sergeant Ramsay, line 223 2.

Sergeant Ramsay, line 223 2, please.

-They want me. -l've got this.

Ramsay. What's the model?

7 799 agricultural?

-Ramsay? -What location?

-This is Marvin. Officer Thompson. -Nice to meet you.

That's Ramsay, your partner.

Your new partner. Good luck with him.

-Hi. Jack Ramsay. -Karen Thompson.

-l'm on my way. -A runaway, Jack?

-Yeah. Can you order us a copter? -Yeah.

-Come on, partner. -Now?

lf you're gonna keep up, you gotta move.

Give me the pad.

l need a chopper for Ramsay.

You'll need your gloves and standard Pro-Gs.

Standard Pro-Gs?

-What was your last assignment? -Traffic.

Did you like it?

Working with you is a step up from traffic.

Maybe.

You know anything about robotics and computers?

A little.

Basics.

l was gonna be a data programmer. Do we need all this to--?

-Jack, your copter's on the pad. -Great.

Let's go, partner.

ls that it?

Standard agricultural model 7 799 pest controller.

CPU is an old 8088.

-Any armament? -Just a claw.

lt's only programmed to look for things smaller than an inch.

Could be a problem.

You may not need all that. You may just have to throw a switch.

That's all?

Well, you never know until you get there.

l guess you've been doing this for a while?

Yeah, a couple of years. lt's interesting work.

Dave, how far away are we?

Should be almost there. Let's have a look.

Right up there, Jack.

What do you know?

lt's a clear runaway track in the field to the left.

You okay?

Yeah, l'm fine.

l just don't like heights.

My brother has the same problem. Take deep breaths.

l'm fine.

Dave, can you land this sucker?

Put on your gloves.

They sure took long enough to get here.

-What's the problem? -That thing's running a zigzag course.

l'm not going in that field after it.

Fuel cells will blow up in your face.

You go on and take a look.

-Have you had it serviced? -Regular.

lsn't that what you're getting paid for? You skedaddle in there.

Oh, there you are.

l seen that coming.

You okay? Let's get him.

World War lll!

l think they got it.

l could've done the same thing with my .22.

We could've blown the damn thing up.

-lt's all yours, fellas. -Thanks a lot.

How long you say you've been doing this?

l just sort of fell into it by accident.

l kind of liked it, so l took some night courses in robotics, APL.

All of a sudden, l just seemed to know more about it than anybody else.

You ever wanna work the regular force?

This is the regular force.

You mean working the streets? l did that. l had to stop.

Because of vertigo?

l don't like heights. l've had it all my life.

Anyway, l just decided it wasn't a good idea...

...to work the streets with that kind of fear.

You wouldn't run into a situation like that very often.

-You could work the streets-- -l decided l'd rather do this.

Hey, Jack, Lois called.

-Leave a message? -Nope.

-Can you call her back? -Sure.

Lois?

l'm fine, thank you. How are you?

Whatever you wanna fix is fine.

Oh, that sounds good.

l won't be late.

Okay, bye.

-Why did Jack quit the regular force? -Why'd he quit, Marvin?

What'd he tell you?

Because of vertigo, but l don't believe him.

Well, it's true, in a way.

A few years back, Jack was chasing this guy. Bad guy.

The guy ran into a building that was under construction.

Jack freaked out, started sweating.

Couldn't follow him. The guy got away.

So a guy got away.

Later that night that same guy killed six people.

A family up in Ridgemont.

-But that isn't Jack's fault. -Yeah, l know.

He can't blame himself for that.

Yeah, well, he does.

lt's always on his mind. The guy that got away...

...that Jack let get away.

He never wants to let anybody get away from him again.

ls that why he's a robot expert?

l think he feels a lot safer doing this work.

Now, why do you do what you do?

Oh, long story. l was gonna be a dancer...

...but l hurt my knee.

Then l was gonna be a data programmer...

...but l didn't like sitting down. Then l started--

Runaway 2, we have a 7 09 alert.

-to the Police Academy.

Runaway 2, we have a 7 09 alert.

Runaway 2, Runaway 2, we have a 7 09 at Fifth and Sumter.

What's a 7 09?

lt means people have died.

Oh, God!

-Hey, Jack. -What's up?

A model 91 2 cut up two people inside, wife and her sister.

Bodies are over here. They managed to run out before they died.

-Anything else? -There's a 1 0-month-old kid inside.

-Dead? -No. The kid's in a crib.

Maybe that's why, but it hasn't touched the kid yet.

-We gotta save that kid, Jack. -Tell me.

What was the weapon?

Pathologist said it was probably an ordinary kitchen knife.

We kept them for you to see.

Let's get them out of here, or they'll be on the news.

What've you done?

Power cut, white light bath, white sound bath.

-Floater? -No.

-Can you prep one for me? -Right now.

What have you got on the 91 2?

lt's a new domestic model.

Does housework, cooks meals, answers doors.

-Run on house current? -Batteries.

What kind of sensors?

Sees and hears everything.

Great.

-ls it standard? -May be modified.

Anytime you change them, who knows how they'll behave?

The father's over there. Electronic engineer, name of Johnson.

-You got that floater yet? -We're programming it now.

We'd like a direct feed off your floater.

-That's impossible. -The public has a right to know.

We got a 1 0-month-old baby in there.

The rest of the family's been cut up...

...and we don't know if the 91 2 will attack the child.

l'm sure you don't want a carved-up baby on your network.

We can be the judge of what's newsworthy.

Yeah, l know. Not tonight.

The first confirmation from Sgt. Ramsay of Runaway...

The first confirmation from Sgt. Ramsay of Runaway...

...that there is a baby inside, still alive.

Police are preparing a floater camera...

...to enter the house to locate the runaway 91 2 and the infant.

l can't see. Lights on in the house.

Hit the house lights.

-Where's the baby? -ln the playroom, near the back.

How big's this 91 2, anyway?

About the size of a hatbox.

-Look. -lt dropped the knife.

Maybe the battery power's fading.

Maybe.

-You get an audio? -Confirmed as a .357 Magnum.

-The bastard's got a gun. -Now what?

-l'm going in. -We can send a disarm robot in.

lt hit the floater, it'll hit the disarm, and it'll hit the kid.

l want light lines out here. No audio, no radio, no nothing.

l don't want it to know what we're doing.

Mr. Johnson?

Mr. Johnson?

l'll be going in your house soon to get your baby.

What modifications were made to the robot?

l didn't make any modifications. l didn't touch that thing.

Then why has it gone out of control?

Well, how should l know?

You think l should have some idea why it's doing this?

Take it easy. l'm just asking.

Well, don't ask! l don't know!

What about the gun?

-lt's got a gun? -Yes.

-Oh, my God, he's crazy. -Who's crazy?

-My God, he's crazy. -Who's crazy?

No television! No pictures!

l won't be on television! No pictures!

No television!

What was his problem?

Yeah, he was really upset. That was very hot stuff.

Sgt. Ramsay is wearing his electromagnetic scatter suit.

He apparently is going in.

What is your next move now?

l really can't say.

lt looks as if you're going in after the robot.

You're broadcasting on an electromagnetic frequency...

...that the robot reads.

Let's get out of here, John.

This is exciting. Our own John Wilson...