The house projected its voice toward the mouthpiece. "Please, let me speak to—"
The man removed a weapon from his tunic. The phone and visiscreen vanished, leaving only small metal fragments that fell to the carpet.
"It was using the phone!" the woman exclaimed shrilly, trembling in the darkness.
"Don't worry," the man said. "They didn't have time to trace the call. The room was dark; they couldn't see who was calling."
After a brief silence, the man warned, "House! See this thing in my hand? You behave yourself or I'll disintegrate your...." He let the sentence dangle, unable to think of what he would disintegrate.
"Yes, sir," the house replied. It was an automatic response to any statement.
"Now, turn the lights on or I'll use this gun to make one big mess of your floors and walls. Your owners wouldn't like that, would they?"
"No, sir."
It turned the lights on. If it didn't, they would use their flashlights, and by turning them on it might prevent some destruction.
The woman chuckled. "You're a genius!"