Chapter V
When they returned to Gus's workshop, he was seated in a little armchair and drinking a little cup of coffee. He did not seem surprised to see them back again and merely asked which service Tetsuko wanted performed first. She decided she would prefer to have the basic maintenance done before the arm repairs, to which Gus replied with his now trademark "Humph."
For the full body scan, Tetsuko was required to remove her cloak and stand inside of a large, clear, cylindrical stall about the same size as a phone booth. She had to remain motionless with her arms held out from her sides as blue rings of light moved around her. This created a large, three-dimensional X-ray image of her cyborg body, which appeared on the holo-screen of Gus's computer. From this image he learned and revealed that only Tetsuko's arms and legs were machines. Her head, torso, and all of their contents were entirely human.
After the scan, it was time for the basic maintenance service. Tetsuko had to put on protective goggles and a breathing mask, which was not easy to do with only one hand. Then she stepped into another room and sat down in a large and uncomfortable chair. There were robot arms lining the walls and one large window in front of her. On the other side of this window, Gus took a seat behind a computer console and spoke to her through an intercom to let her know what was about to happen. Then he began sending various commands to the robot arms. Each arm was equipped with a different tool for the job. One bore a polishing brush, another bore an electric screwdriver, another administered a rust proofing spray.
Tetsuko found all of this very humiliating and physically uncomfortable. However, she did not complain once because Jack was always within sight. Seeing him hover over the little gremlin mechanic made her feel both more and less nervous. Yes, it was embarrassing for her to have him watching her while Gus's machines did their work, but it was comforting to know that if anything went wrong she could count on Jack to come to her aid.
Once the maintenance service was done, the robot arms prepared to detach the upper half of Tetsuko's broken right arm from her shoulder. Gus warned her beforehand that this part would be extremely painful, and it was. As soon as the wires were detached from her nerves, the entire right side of her upper body was on fire. However, she did not scream. Instead she bit down on her lower lip hard enough to taste blood.
A large bandage was then applied to Tetsuko's empty right shoulder socket to protect the open wound. Gus took both parts of the arm to yet another room and locked himself inside, saying he was not to be disturbed while he was performing this most delicate of operations. In the meantime, Tetsuko was welcome to rest on a cot.
However, the now one-armed cyborg felt dizzy on standing from her chair, too dizzy to walk to the room where the cot was. This was when Jack's assistance was needed. Pulling her left arm around his shoulders and wrapping his right arm securely around her waist, he helped Tetsuko stumble down the narrow hallway and into the room with the cot.
Once she was lying down he started to leave to let her rest, but her weary voice stopped him. "Hey …"
Jack looked back at her, dark brows furrowed with concern. Her eyelids were drooping and her breath was labored.
"You promised you'd stay…"
There was only one other piece of furniture in the room, a simple wooden chair in a corner. Jack sat down on it. Tetsuko did not say anything after that.
By the time she was waking up, Gus had finished repairing her right arm and was ready to reinstall it. This time Tetsuko was able to stand up and walk on her own, but again the gremlin warned her that the installation would be extremely painful. Again she bit her lower lip to fight through it, again she had to lie down on the cot afterward, and again she wanted Jack to stay in the room with her.
As she slept, Jack watched her face. She looked completely exhausted, and he could not blame her. Everything that she had gone through up to now looked incredibly stressful. Her face was red and sweaty, and her bangs were sticking to her forehead, yet she still managed to look attractive somehow. Her figure was undeniably female without her loose-fitting cloak to cover it, and her newly cleaned limbs had a smooth shine to them. She almost looked beautiful.
Wait. Why was he thinking like this? What was happening? Could it be that, against his better judgment, he was developing feelings for Tetsuko? No, that was totally impossible. She was not his type, not by a long shot. He was usually attracted to more courteous, refined women, or at least those who pretended to be so. Tetsuko was not like that at all. She was impolite, obstinate, cynical, bad-tempered, and never attempted to pretend she was anything other than that.
And yet, he could hardly imagine anyone, man or woman, who might be able to endure the ordeal she was currently going through. Most people would have been reduced to a weeping, sobbing mess after having a limb torn off. He shuddered to think of how he might respond in such a position. If he had known how excruciating the procedure would be, he would have thought twice before putting her through it.
Jack frowned, silently rebuking himself. The more he tried to deny it, the more he realized he was growing too attached to Tetsuko. What a fool he was to think he could resist a female's charms, even one as charmless as this one. He made up his mind then and there that he would leave this city far behind him the next morning. He could not afford to risk another day alone with Tetsuko. The longer he stayed the harder it would be to leave.
He spent the rest of his time meditating, trying to clear his mind of all thought and forget about the sleeping cyborg woman on the cot beside him. A deep, hoarse coughing sound from the doorway brought him back to reality. It was Gus, riding in a tiny hovercraft about three feet above the ground. The look on his round, wrinkled face was grim. "Hey, mister. I got somethin' to show ya."
Jack frowned again, sensing bad news. He looked to make sure Tetsuko was still asleep before he followed the gremlin out into the hallway back to the first room, where the scanning machine was. Gus brought his little hovercraft up to his little computer console and began typing on the little keyboard. Soon the X-ray images from Tetsuko's body scan appeared on the holo-screen.
"Humph. There's somethin' real fishy about your lady friend's parts, mister." Gus said. "They're way too advanced to be from any secondhand cyborg shop. Parts like that cost money, lots more than most people have. And that's not all. Here, take a look at this."
He selected one of the images, a close-up of Tetsuko's right forearm. Jack squinted at the image, looking for anything out of the ordinary. It took a moment for him to notice it, but the longer he looked the clearer it became. Built into the forearm was a long, flat, and pointed triangular form stretching from the wrist to the elbow. Jack's eyes widened with surprise. "That is a blade!"
Gus nodded his bald, horned head. "It's an automatic switchblade, to be exact." He selected three close-up images of Tetsuko's other limbs. "She's got another one just like it in her left arm, and a matching pair in both her legs. Did she say anythin' about these before?"
Jack shook his head. He frowned at the images some more, rubbing his chin broodingly. "Did you find anything else unusual?"
Gus shook his head. "No, and that's what's really unusual. She doesn't have any kind of identifyin' marks on her, not even a serial number. Whoever made her like this didn't wanna be found out."
Jack pondered all this new information carefully. From what Gus had told him, the maker of Tetsuko's parts had to be someone wealthy, sinister, and dishonest. But if that were the case, why would he go to all the trouble of making her this way only to abandon her in the city junkyard with no memory? None of it seemed to add up, and Tetsuko was not likely to remember anything about it. Nonetheless, she deserved to know the truth.
He straightened himself. "I must give her this information when she awakens."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Gus said.
Jack looked back at him, confused.
"It might be a bad idea." the gremlin went on. "The only times I've seen unlabeled cyborg parts with secret weapons installed in 'em is in professional assassins. If you tell her you know about this, and the amnesia story's just a hoax, you could be in big trouble."
Jack frowned even more at this. "I do not believe that."
Gus returned his stern expression with just as much seriousness, if not more. "Listen, mister. I know who you really are. I know what you're tryin' to do, and that's the only reason I agreed to help you and your lady friend out. I'm no fan of Aku, it's 'cause of him that I have to live like a hermit and work in secret. If the lady's amnesia story really is true, then you might be safe with her. But if you're smart, you'll get the heck away from her and out of this city as soon as you can. There's no tellin' what she might be capable of."
Jack tightened his fists. He had to admit, Gus's theory could be true. It would not be the first time a woman had deceived him in order to destroy him in service to Aku. But he simply could not see Tetsuko doing the same thing. None of what he knew of her and what Gus had said seemed to connect. Still, the gremlin had a valid point. It would be wise for him to stick to his plan and leave the city as soon as possible.
By the time Tetsuko was awake again, evening had come. She seemed to be feeling much better now, but before she could leave Gus wanted to make sure her newly repaired right arm was working properly. Jack watched as Tetsuko moved her formerly dead hand and fingers, flexed them, straightened them, took hold of a rubber ball and squeezed it. The more she used her repaired arm, the happier she became.
The last test was one of dexterity. Gus provided her with a piece of paper and a pencil, and instructed her to write on it.
"What should I write?" she asked.
The gremlin shrugged his small shoulders. "Humph. It's up to you."
She lifted the pencil and held it between her fingers with no trouble. For a moment she just looked at the blank piece of paper and tapped the pencil on the tabletop. Then she looked at Jack, who was by her side again. "Hey, Jack. How do you spell 'Tetsuko'?"
He blinked at her in surprise before he answered her question. It was unlikely she would know how to write the name in his native language, so he spelled it for her in the modern alphabet. "T-E-T-S-U-K-O."
She concentrated hard as she slowly wrote each letter, one by one, in large capitals, sounding them out to herself under her breath. "T … E … T … S … U … K … O …" Finished, she held it up for him to see. "Did I get it right?"
Jack looked at her writing. It was wobbly and clumsy, like the work of a schoolchild, but it was legible and clear. "Yes, that is correct."
Beaming with pride, she read the name aloud. "Tetsuko." She put the pencil down and folded the piece of paper up into a square. "Good. I'm gonna keep this, so I don't forget it."
She then got up to get her cloak. While she was doing this, Jack turned to Gus in his hovercraft to discuss the subject of payment. "How much do I owe you?"
"Nothin'." Gus said. Before Jack could argue, the gremlin raised his hand to cut him off. "I mean it. I'm not takin' a cent from you."
Jack put his hands together and bowed deeply in gratitude. "Thank you, sir, for all you have done."
"Humph. Don't mention it. Now get going before I change my mind."
By the time they left Gus, night was falling in the city. As they walked the streets bright lamps and neon signs lit the way, and they could hear the sound of night clubs coming alive. Hover-cars sped by with their headlights on and stereos thumping. Along with these sounds, Tetsuko was humming. Jack recognized the tune as the same one from that morning, when he had accidentally spotted her washing herself with water from an old bucket behind her shack in the junkyard. She was also bending and flexing her right arm and twisting it around in the same way a young child might play with a new toy.
Jack smiled, feeling a pleasant sense of fulfillment. He had kept his promise to her, and she would be better off now because of it. Even if Gus was right about her, even if she was not what she seemed, he still felt glad that he had been able to help her somehow. And yet Jack still felt a twinge of guilt. He still had not told her any of the information Gus had given him in secret. His thoughts were torn between his feelings of friendship toward the girl and his growing concern that she might be an enemy.
Neither of them had spoken much since leaving the mechanic. Jack decided now might be a good time to talk. "How do you feel, Tetsuko?"
From under her hood, she grinned up at him. "I've never felt better in my life! I feel like I could take on a hundred of Aku's drones by myself!" Her grin became a playful smirk. "Heck, I bet I could even take you on! Wanna arm wrestle?"
Jack chuckled a bit nervously. Although she was clearly joking, the last thing he wanted was to start some kind of confrontation that might end badly. He decided to change the subject. "Good. I am glad you are well again, because I must leave the city tomorrow."
Tetsuko's smile vanished suddenly. "Tomorrow?"
He felt his guilt sinking down into his stomach. He tried to reply anyway. "Well … I have fulfilled my promise to have your arm repaired. You no longer need me to stay with you …"
She turned her hooded head forward again and continued to walk. Jack worried that he might have hurt her feelings. He began trying to think of something else to say that might make her feel better, but could not think of anything.
Eventually it was Tetsuko who broke the silence. "I think we're lost."
Jack became more worried. "What?"
She took their map out from her cloak and moved under a street light to see it better. "This doesn't look like the way we came. See that bar across the street? We didn't pass any bars before."
Jack looked at the bar. She was right. He had not seen it when they were looking for Gus's shop earlier that day. In fact, all of their surroundings looked unfamiliar. The buildings here were less small and old than the ones in the mechanic's neighborhood, and the entire area was much livelier.
Tetsuko groaned. "Ugh, I don't believe this. We must've made a wrong turn somewhere. Now I can't tell where we are."
"Perhaps we could retrace our steps back to where Gus lives?" Jack suggested.
She shook her head. "No, that would take too long. This is when all the creeps come out. We could get mugged before we ever got there."
Jack looked at the map in her hands, then back at the bar. "It seems we must ask someone here for directions."
She looked back at him as if he had lost his mind. "Are you kidding? Look at these people! You really think they're gonna help us?"
She had a point. Not one of the passersby around them looked like people Jack would want to associate with. Aliens, robots and humans of all shapes, sizes and colors were everywhere, sporting radical hairstyles, clothing, tattoos and body piercings. Some even had clearly visible weapons. Most of this lot was loitering around the bar, and they all appeared to be either drunk or planning to become drunk.
Without consulting Tetsuko, Jack made his way across the street and toward the bar. Not wanting to be left on the sidewalk by herself, she followed him. "Men." she grumbled. "They'll be the death of me someday."
To be continued …