Ch. 5: Getting the Case

Previously on Inspector Gadget: Reboot

"Well maybe this will jog a few circuits," Shelby said, sounding hopeful. "You were a security guard at UniTech before the explosion. There was a robbery there and you gave chase only to get caught in an explosion. You were taking to the Detroit Mediplex where you flat lined. UniTech took your body and made you into Inspector Gadget. Did that do anything to jumpstart your memories?"

"It certainly had. All of a sudden images were flashing in front of my eyes. I remembered the break in at UniTech, getting in my interceptor and pursuing the retreating van only to end up on the receiving end of an oil slick when a limo pulled out in front of me. I had crashed and someone came out through the sun roof of the limo. The face was the only thing that was still blurred. He had disabled the electronic systems and attached a bomb to the interceptor. I hadn't gotten away in time. I came back to reality after the flashback ended with a gasp. I was covered in cold sweat and it took a few deep breathes to calm my racing heart.

"Are you alright?" asked Shelby.

I looked at her and saw the concern in her chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm… fine. What you told me… caused a flashback. It wasn't exactly… pleasant."

We could've continued our discussion but dispatch chose that particular moment to interrupt us.

"Available units please respond. Warehouse robbery in progress at DeLorean Avenue."

"I'm sorry," I said as I looked at Shelby sheepishly. "I have to go. You can drop by Metro South or my house if you want to continue this conversation."

Shelby smiled understandingly, got a pen and paper out of her purse and hurriedly scribbled something down on it.

"Here's my number, call me," she said before getting out.

"I will," I assured as I glanced at the number and put it in my breast pocket. "Dispatch, this is Gamma One, am en route to warehouse. ETA: four minutes."

The warehouse robbery was taken care of quickly. It was several days later and I had yet to call Shelby due to my overly busy schedule. Crime in Detroit was on the drop but even I couldn't be everywhere at once. I was driving around aimlessly and thinking about the conversation I had had with Shelby. It had taken all of my strength to keep from stuttering or showing how nervous I was in her presence. Me, a super cyborg cop, nervous in the presence of a woman. It certainly didn't help that she was extremely pretty. I was driving in the general direction of UniTech when I turned onto a street that caused me to have another flashback.

I hit the brakes and rode the flashback out. In my mind's eye I could see myself in the interceptor as I hit the oil slick left by the limo. The interceptor flipped over and ran hood first into a bill board poll. The owner of the limo stood up through the sunroof and tossed a magnetic explosive at the interceptor before activating the charge and departing. I got out but hadn't run far enough when the bomb detonated.

I was brought back to reality by Gadgetmobile.

"Inspector? Inspector, are you alright? Inspector?"

"I'm fine Gadgetmobile. I just… had a flashback. I'm gonna get out for a minute."

I stepped out and looked at the street. The forensics team had been through months ago and cataloged everything. Now you'd never know that an explosion had taken place there apart from the blackened area on the asphalt and poll. I walked towards the poll and still saw my interceptor wrecked against it. The light of a nearby lamppost was being reflected off of something and caught my attention. It was partially buried in the dirt surrounding the base of the poll. I dug it out and dusted it off. It was a small velvet box that had come open revealing the diamond ring that it held. The sight of this ring was enough to jumpstart my memories. The dam that was blocking them broke and I was overtaken by the flood. I dropped to my knees clutched my head.

I remembered buying the ring at an expensive jeweler's a week before the explosion. Shelby and I had a date planned for that night. I was going to propose but never got the chance. The rest of my memories followed that, starting with my childhood and moving forward. I remembered meeting my friends and eventually Shelby in middle school; my high school years followed as did my memory of getting my driver's license; college flashed by next and finally getting into a serious relationship with Shelby after years of harboring a crush on her. It all flashed in front of me in the space of a few seconds. It was almost like an out of body experience. When it was all over I had a multitude of conflicting emotions. But the dominant one was anger. Anger at the one who tried to take my life and in a way succeeded. He took away my human life, a life I could not return to. I looked up at the stars and let out a yell of pure rage. The man hunt had begun.

While I was starting on a crusade for vengeance, Dr. Xavier was busy in his private lab. Dr. Kenneth walked in pulling the prototype android which had had some alterations made to the face.

"I've finished the alterations you've requested, doctor. I have to say that the resemblance is uncanny. No one will be able to tell them apart. But I still don't know how you plan to make this work without the processor."

"You needn't worry about it Kenneth. It's well in hand."

Dr. Kenneth looked at the computer monitor on the work desk and saw the specs displayed.

"Is that Dr. Ramirez's private research?"

"Yes, it is. I hacked her files and stole the data."

"Does this mean that you've made the chip?"

"I've just finished it," Xavier grinned evilly as he held up a glowing quarter inch thick blue disc. "The blueprints have been fed into the assembly machines and the orders can be met on schedule."

"And the prototype is ready as promised as well," Kenneth added.

"Excellent, it's time for a test run."

Kenneth turned the modified android around to face them. It's face had been altered to resemble my own. Xavier inserted the Neural Wave Amplifier into the chest cavity and rotated clockwise until it clicked into place. The effect was immediate. Indicator lights winked on, a whine could be heard as the systems powered on, the built in weapons primed themselves and the eyes lit up with a red glow.

"Robo-Gadget," Xavier said, "you have just been activated by the most advanced computer technology in existence. Do you know what your function is?"

"Affirmative," the drone answered in a voice that mirrored my own. "I am an Ion Technologies Series 100 Model 1-A Battle Android. I am programmed for combat and destruction and accept any and all instruction with no questioning."

Xavier let out a long maniacal laugh. "Ha-ha-ha-haaa! Success! No one can stop us now! Not even Inspector Gadget!"

I walked into the precinct and headed to Chief Steele's office. I was going to get the Ramirez murder case!

"Got a minute chief?" I asked as I stuck my head through the doorway.

"Sure, what can I do for you Gadget?"

"I want to be assigned to the murder of John Ramirez."

"I'm afraid that's a no can do."

"Why?"

"The case was closed shortly before you cam online. There wasn't enough evidence to convict someone, let alone find a perpetrator."

"Can't you reopen the case? I'm sure I can find something that'll give us a suspect."

"There's not enough evidence!"

"But chief…"

"But nothing Gadget! Why do you want this case so much?"

"Before I was caught in the explosion I promised Taylor I'd find the ones responsible for her brother's murder. I have every intention of keeping that promise."

"While I respect and admire your loyalty, I still can't help you. Our best detectives couldn't find anything and they've been on the force for years. Before you became Inspector Gadget you weren't even a real cop! You were a security guard. Even now you lack the necessary training to be a real detective. You're a fine cop, but not a detective. And because you have no real training as a detective, you will leave this case to real detectives!"

"Sir—"

"NO GADGET! I'm not reopening the case and that's final! Now get out of my office!"

I stormed into my maintenance lab in the precinct with anger literally radiating off of me in near palpable waves.

"What happened to get you all riled up like this?" asked Jay.

Dr. Jay Powell was a rather eccentric individual. He was as tall as I was and had a wild mane of brown hair that perpetually managed to look like he had just rolled out of bed and combed at the same time. The only words to describe his near indescribable hair were organized chaos. He truly did have a brilliant mind but his behavior was rather erratic and he had a tendency to spout random words on his off time. You could be in the same room as him and he would not move for some time. Then you'd start to see if he was alright and he'd suddenly throw up his hands and say something completely random like 'spaghetti!' Needless to say his behavior on his off time got on a few people's nerves. I managed to get on his nerves on his first day at the precinct by mentioning Star Trek. Turns out he was a diehard Star Wars fan. We got into a heated debate (the only subject that came up that I conceded on was that the hyper drive was far superior to the warp drive (trekkies, don't hate, it's true. The hyper drive can take you from one side of the galaxy to the other in a matter of weeks while it was going to take Voyager a predicted seventy-five years to get from the Delta Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant at maximum warp.).) that only ended when I was pulled out on duty. Despite the difference in sci-fi preferences the two of us became fast friends.

"I asked the chief to reopen the Ramirez case and he refused, saying that there wasn't enough evidence to even find a suspect."

"That sucks, but why do you want the case?"

"I got my memories back last night and I remembered that I'd promised Taylor I'd find the ones responsible for her brother's murder."

"Well there's not much I can do to help you there but I do have a new gadget for you," Jay said as he grabbed my flat brimmed fedora off my head and tossed it over his shoulder.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I like that hat."

"Well you don't need it anymore, it's obsolete."

"What do you mean it's obsolete? Hats don't become obsolete!"

"They do now," answered Jay as he pulled an identical flat brimmed fedora out. "This is your new hat. I got the idea for its capabilities while watching Goldfinger. Take it to the shooting gallery and throw it at one of the dummies Frisbee style."

We made our way to the shooting gallery and I did as instructed. My new fedora cleaved right through the neck of the dummy, hit the wall at the far end and bounced right back to my waiting hand.

"How did it do that?" I asked.

"It's a special metal. It's normally relatively flexible but becomes very hard when electricity is passed through it. The micro generator is hidden underneath the band and has different settings so that it's not lethal when you throw it."

"You're a genius," I commented with a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to."

I left the gallery and headed straight to information storage where the entire police record archive was kept on a computer. There were also evidence lockers in the room and I was sure that the evidence collected from the Ramirez case would still be there. I was lucky that no one else was around when I got there. I approached a computer terminal and activated my computer interface jack which extended from the top of my hand. I interfaced with the computer and downloaded all the files relevant to the Ramirez case before getting the locker number for the evidence collecting that as well. I stuffed the evidence in my coat pockets and made my way back out. I went to the car lot and got back into Gadgetmobile.

"Take over Gadgetmobile," I said once we hit the road. "I've got to go over these files."

I interfaced with the computer and the case files scrolled down the screen at high speed. After completing the reading I turned my attention to the solid evidence. There wasn't much, just some scrap metal that must have come off one of the drones when it rammed through the wall and pictures of tread marks that the drones had left in the dust from when they smashed through the wall. The fact that it was ordinary reinforced sheet metal with nothing special about it suggested to me that the drone had been designed to be taken apart and disposed of quickly, neatly destroying anything that could connect the culprit to the murder.

I removed a piece of the scrap metal from the evidence bag and turned it in the light. It reflected off of something engraved on the metal that caught my eye. It was tiny but I zoomed in on it until I could read it. It looked like a manufacturer's logo that read 'IT.'

"I-T," I muttered to myself as I pinched the bridge of my nose, thinking. "Gadgetmobile, pull up a list of businesses in Detroit that use the letters 'I' and 'T' in their logo."

The list scrolled across the monitor. Twenty-four thousand results.

"Just show the ones that specialize in electronics."

Twelve thousand results.

"What are you looking for inspector?" asked Gadgetmobile.

"I'm trying to find the company whose logo is on this piece of scrap metal," I answered. "Eliminate the stores and show the corporations."

Five hundred results.

"Display the corporations that manufacture and sell drone technology.

One result: Ion Technologies.

A/N: The plot thickens. Gadget has a clue that's leading him to Ion Technologies. What will he find there? Will he be alright? And will Claw succeed in ruining his reputation as a crime fighter in Detroit with Robo-Gadget? If there's one thing I can promise you it's that the fight between Gadget and his evil robotic counterpart will be much more epic than the one in the movie. Review to find out what happens next.