Badass II Chapter 4
Dr. Laura frowned as she continued to watch numbers scroll across the screen. This was not good. All of the Class IV cyborgs were failing in large numbers and she didn't know why. She looked up when she heard the door open. Sam greeted her with a smile.
"How's my favorite sister?" he asked.
"Your only sister," Laura answered absentmindedly, continuing to watch the monitor.
"Okay, sis, leave the electronics alone. How are you?"
"Frustrated. The cyborgs are failing." Sam recoiled in mock horror.
"No! My brilliant sister has failed cyborgs on her hands?"
"Hush. The problem is, I can't figure out why. It's like their circuits are suddenly fried."
"Bad wiring?"
"No. We checked the wiring and it's good. They're melting down but we can't figure out why."
"What do you do for something like this?"
"Issue a recall," Laura said, looking up at her brother with certainty. She knew this was the right course of action. "We break them down, study their parts, then start again with the next class."
"Do you keep any of the personalities they have?"
"Oh no. When we recall a cyborg, Sammy dear, it's as if someone has died. They cease to exist altogether. When rebuilt they are completely new."
"This doesn't cause a problem, Laura?" Sammy asked. Laura looked at him in confusion.
"Why should it? It isn't as if they've developed any strong emotional ties." Laura went back to frowning at the monitor. She reached for her phone. Sam watched her a moment longer then walked to the door.
"Bye sister dear. Have a good day," Sammy waved to Laura. She waved back at him.
"I need to call Lt. Cavanaugh. Maura needs to be brought in," Laura muttered to herself.
Jane woke up, frustrated by her lack of sleep and continued worry over Maura's future. She noticed the battery flashed green on Maura's chest indicating the medical examiner had been fully charged and unplugged Maura from the electrical outlet. Maura's eyes blinked and slowly came into focus.
"Good morning, Jane, how did you sleep?"
"Not good, Maura. How are you?"
"Wonderful," Maura replied in a husky voice and rolled over to slip her arm over Jane's body.
"Want to play kitten?" Maura asked seductively.
Jane threw the blankets off of her and swung her legs out of bed. "No, Maura, 'kitten' does not wish to play," she said and went into the bathroom. "At least one of us is fully charged and ready to go," she muttered under her breath as she turned on the shower.
Lt. Cavanaugh cleared paperwork off his desk, piling old case files in a corner to be archived. Closed cases required his final signature to indicate the suspect caught and convicted and that Boston PD completed all assignments correctly. His phone buzzed and he noted the caller's name in surprise.
"Good morning, Dr. Ross, what can I do for you?" he greeted the caller by name.
"Unfortunately Lieutenant I need to ask you to bring Dr. Isles into the Institute."
"Is anything wrong?" he asked.
"Yes I'm sorry to say Maura's class of cyborgs are failing across the board. We need to recall them."
"Failing how? We haven't had any problems with Dr. Isles."
"All Class IV cyborgs are experiencing computer failures and complete hardware meltdowns. Since Maura is your chief medical examiner I thought I'd contact you first. I don't want our mistake to cost you any convictions because she didn't do her job correctly."
"That is a major concern of mine, Dr. Ross. Dr. Isles isn't in yet so I'll give her a call and ask her to go directly to the Institute instead of our morgue."
"Thank you, Lt. Cavanaugh. I hated to have to give you this news. Right now we're trying to isolate the problem. When we do I'll let you know and we can replace Dr. Isles."
Jane walked into the bedroom, reached over and lightly swatted Maura's butt. "Shower's ready for you, let's get moving," she said. Maura rolled over and winked at Jane.
"A few more of those and we could be enjoying ourselves today," she said seductively.
"We have work to do, Maura. I have a couple of interviews for some cold cases scheduled today and you have a small backlog of autopsies to get through."
Maura pouted a moment, flounced out of bed and into the bathroom. Jane dressed quickly. She wanted a large cup of coffee before they left.
Maura's cell phone buzzed. Jane picked it up off the nightstand and glanced at the caller ID. Surprised, she answered.
"Rizzoli. Good morning, Lt."
"Oh hi Jane. I'm calling Maura to let her know she needs to report to the Institute this morning instead of coming in." Jane felt panic growing in her chest.
"She has a large backlog of autopsies to complete, Lieutenant, since she was sick yesterday afternoon."
"I called in Dr. Pike for her replacement. Dr. Ross thinks there's a problem and wants to check Maura's wiring."
Jane struggled to find a reason to deny the request. "But sir, Maura is assisting me on a couple of cold cases."
"No buts, Rizzoli, we can't have the chief medical examiner for Boston catching fire while out in the field. Dr. Ross is waiting for her." Cavanaugh clicked off the call and Jane felt a full panic attack coming on. She knew she couldn't let Maura go to the Institute-not without some guarantee from Laura Ross that Maura wouldn't be completely dismantled.
Jane scrolled through her contact list, looking for Dr. Ross' direct line when her cell rang.
"Rizzoli," she said and listened. "Okay be right there, Frost. I'll bring Maura with me."
Great, Jane thought, a new case. I don't have time to take Maura to the Institute. Maybe Frost, Korsak and I can think of some way to save Maura. At least this gives us some time.
Jane stepped over to the bathroom door and knocked. "Let's go, Maura, we have a case!" she called out.
Maura opened the door. "I'll be right with you, Jane. I just need to put on my face and do my hair."
Jane groaned. Maura's grooming habits could take awhile she knew. Jane went into the kitchen and poured herself a large cup of coffee and texted Frost they'd be there soon. Putting her phone down she concentrated on finding a way out of turning Maura in to the Institute without a guarantee she'd get the same Maura back.
Thirty-five minutes later Jane pulled up to the crime scene. Maura exited the passenger seat and strode over to the body. Frost looked at Jane with a stern look until Jane put her hand up.
"I got her out of the house as soon as I could, Frost."
"No Jane, that's not it." Frost started to continue the conversation but they heard an argument start up.
"I am the chief examiner, Dr. Pike. This is my crime scene. You are not needed here." Maura's strong voice reached Jane's ears.
"I should have been the chief examiner, Dr. Isles, but I was overlooked because I am a white male. I have superior skills." Frost rolled his eyes.
"Dr. Pike you are incompetent in your skills. As your supervisor I am ordering you back to the morgue." Jane and Frost ran over to the two battling doctors. As she reached Maura's side Jane put her arm on Maura's, cautioning her to calm down. Jane noticed Maura's arm was hot to the touch.
"Frost, take Maura over to my car will you please?" Jane asked. Frost reached out to Maura and pulled his hand back quickly.
"She's a little overheated," he said in a low voice. Jane nodded.
"Come on, Dr. Isles, let's get you some water and you can calm down," Frost said. He guided Maura away from the crime scene as gently as possible.
"Of all the nerve, Frost, he's insinuating I can't do my job!" Maura yelled.
"Not if you're on fire," Frost muttered.
"We know he's wrong, Dr. Isles, but you need to calm down."
"I am a little flustered," Maura said. "Goodness my temperature must be over a hundred degrees." Maura put her hand to her forehead.
"I think you're a little hotter than that," Frost said. "Have some water." Without warning he threw a bottle of water in Maura's face. Steam rose over her head. He did it again and noticed a smaller amount of steam rising from the top of her head. Touching her arm again he noticed Maura's body temperature must be cooling. She was no longer hot to the touch.
Jane couldn't concentrate on the crime scene. She kept glancing back at Maura. What could she do? The love of her life might be leaving her and Jane felt helpless to stop the situation. If Maura's circuitry was overheating from a small argument with Dr. Pike, what would happen if they were in a more dangerous situation?
Korsak looked up from his notes to say something to Jane and saw Jane's preoccupation with Maura.
"Jane, go take care of Maura. Frost and I can take care of this. We'll fill you in later."
Jane nodded and walked over to her car. With every step she took she felt she was sealing Maura's fate and their future. She had to take Maura back to the Institute.
TBC