Ch. 8: Introducing Inspector Gadget Pt. 2
"What else is going to be popping out of my body besides a helicopter?"
"There's a lot. It's all here on this tablet."
"There are thirty-thousand pages on this thing," I commented.
"Well there's a lot you need to know," Jay smiled as though he was taking some minor enjoyment from my suffering.
"No kidding, how am I gonna read all this?"
"Like I said, you'll have to do most of your learning on the job. But for right now all you really need to know are the basic weapons and defense system. You'll also need this before you go on duty," Taylor reminded me and took a long box out of the cabinet and gave it to me.
I opened the box and found a long barreled high tech looking gun with extra ammo magazines. I was no stranger to firearms and their weight but this piece seemed rather light to me as I picked it up.
"It's a .45 caliber A-2 Auto Gun, capable of automatic firing and it can also fire one or two bullets per pull of the trigger depending on the setting. The last thing you need to know about is already at Metro South. I'd say it's as important as you are."
"When do we leave then?"
"As soon as you put on your new outfit," Jay smirked.
My face fell. "Seriously, do I really have to wear the hat?"
A Mercedes-Benz executive limo followed by several vans sporting the Archangel logo pulled up outside the Metro South precinct. Inside a drunk was rambling on to the annoyed desk sergeant.
"You can do what you want with me, I don't care! I serve a higher power than you can ever comprehend."
"Shut up, asshole."
"I refuse to shut up, I have my orders and I will carry them out!" the drunk slurred as he leaned heavily on the desk.
"Yeah, whatever. Lock him up, Tanner."
As the inebriated man was hauled off Archangel staff started entering the precinct carrying or pulling equipment with them.
"All right, get everything set up in a holding cell for now. I want it ready for observation immediately! Jay, bring him in!" ordered Taylor.
"Hey, what's this all about?" asked the sergeant.
"It's all right, sergeant, they have authorization from Archangel," Chief Steele assured as he walked in on the scene. "Dr. Ramirez, are you sure he's ready?"
"As sure as I can be, Chief Steele. He started relearning to walk almost immediately and he's already made progress without the therapy we thought he'd need so he can be on the streets a matter of hours from now."
"I'm glad to hear it. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep the rest of the department from striking. I'm hoping very much that this man is the answer we need."
"As do we, Steele. Without police Detroit would destroy itself so we'll do whatever we can to keep that from happening."
"And speaking of police, here's the wonder boy himself," announced Jay as he dragged me inside.
"Hi chief," I grumbled, still a bit disgruntled at Taylor's choice of wardrobe for me. She must have read way too much Dick Tracy as a kid.
"Harder, it's good to see you again. How do you feel?"
"Better than I've felt before although I think the people at Archangel could have done a bit of a better job on the outfit."
Chief Steele stifled a chuckle and Taylor shot me a withering glare.
"Anyway, I think we should give the inspector one last check up before we unleash him on the unsuspecting criminals of Detroit," Jay said to break the slight tension that had suddenly appeared. "What do you think, Taylor?"
"Sure, let's go," she assented.
"OK, let's do some preliminary tests of your more basic functions. Give us a targeting grid," Jay said.
The requested targeting cross appeared in the center of my vision.
"Check," I confirmed.
"Target this stylus," said Taylor as she held up the object a few feet away from me.
"Check."
Taylor moved the stylus farther away and I got another target lock.
"Now try recording," she said.
Text scrolled across the upper left corner of my vision that read 'recording.'
"It works," I confirmed again.
"Excellent, now try the vocal stress analyzer," said Jay. "Ask me a question.
"What's your name?"
"Jay Powell."
ANALYZING VOCAL STRESS…
CREDIBILITY: 100%-TRUTH
"That works, now lie. What's your favorite food?"
"Broccoli."
ANALYZING VOCAL STRESS…
CREDIBILITY: 7%-LIE
"The analyzer works perfectly. What's next?"
"Flip through your different vision modes: x-ray, infrared, ultraviolet and thermal," Taylor ordered.
"They all work."
"Perfect, now we just need to test your piece so let's go to the practice range."
Ashley was plugging away at one of the practice dummies as it got progressively closer to her until she heard the click of her empty gun. Her shots had been well grouped and her arrest record was up but it did little to get rid of the worry that had gathered inside of her. She was still haunted by the news of the bomb that had severely injured me. She also heard about Archangel's interest in me from Shelby but they were both largely in the dark. What was going to become of me? Ashley sighed as she reloaded her piece and got ready to try again. She had only squeezed off another few rounds when she became aware of something else through the ear muffs and roar of the other guns being fired. It was a bit louder and, to Ashley, sounded somewhat like a cannon. She wasn't the only one to notice the new sound because other officers were looking down the field at the advanced shooting practice lane and saw someone who looked like a gumshoe out of a thirties movie firing a big gun at the targets. From what she could tell at this distance Ashley would have guessed that the machine was at its hardest setting. Even the veteran cops had trouble at that setting. Curiosity was definitely getting the best of her and she joined the other cops in going to see what all the noise was about.
What she saw was not quite what she was expecting. A man dressed like a detective from a 1930's movie was firing some crazy big gun at the target dummies and shredding large holes right through them. The man's back was to her so she couldn't get a decent look at him. Finally the gun clicked on empty and what Ashley saw next surprised her. The man spun the gun before returning it to its holster, which she vaguely recalled was in his leg. The wheels in her head started turning and she remembered one of the conversations that had come up on the night out to celebrate arresting the most dangerous criminal in Detroit.
"So, what are your hobbies, David?" she had asked.
"I don't have too many, just reading and writing mostly."
"Really? What do you write?"
"Science fiction-mystery stories mainly and some supernatural."
"Tell her about your other hobby," Shelby said after taking a sip of some wine.
"What other hobby?"
"You know, the shooting."
"Oh, that. Well that's not exactly a hobby, I do it because I'm part of that club."
"What club is that?" Ashely inquired.
"He's part of a fast draw club," answered Shelby.
"Yeah, I joined it the same year I became an officer as extra motivation to improve my draw and accuracy."
"Have you won any awards?"
"A few, I was runner up for the Fast Draw world title three times and was voted the Gun Spinning World Champion once. The medals are hanging on my fireplace mantle at Shelby's insistence. So at times you may see me practicing the spinning trick when I'm off duty but I mainly practice at home with a replica Remington New Line Percussion revolver."
"Isn't that the gun Clint Eastwood used in Pale Rider?"
"I believe it is and I really like that gun."
"And you practice the spin while you're off duty sometimes?"
"Every now and then. Just watch and you may catch me in the act," I smiled.
Ashley came back to reality as Taylor led me away to show me the last thing I'd need before hitting the streets of Detroit. She wanted to follow, but something she couldn't discern was holding her back.
"You've performed beyond expectation so far," Taylor gushed with a large grin. "There's just one last thing for you to have and then you can go on duty."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Taylor and Jay led me into a garage in the back of the precinct. When they turned on the lights I was greeted with the sight of a metallic light blue Mustang GT.
"Wow, I've always wanted to drive one of these," I smiled as I walked around the car.
"This is a one of a kind car and the second most expensive undertaking for the Gadget Project after you."
"What makes it so special?"
"It has something that puts it in a league of its own and that doesn't include the James Bond style accessories."
"James Bond style accessories? I think you missed the girl in the passenger seat," I quipped as I looked inside.
The interior was done in gray leather and the dash looked like something from a science fiction movie.
"Here are the keys," Taylor said as she tossed them to me from the other side of the Mustang.
"Thanks, what's the red button to the side of the touchscreen for? Is it something I shouldn't push? Because I can guarantee you I will push it if I'm not supposed to."
Taylor laughed before giving me the answer. "If you ever need some extra speed then push it and it'll release a special chemical into the engine. It acts like nitrous but has more of a punch. Just don't use it for more than three minutes or you'll melt the engine block. Of course, you shouldn't need it often because this vehicle has a fifteen hundred horsepower V-10 engine and can do up to two hundred and ninety miles-per-hour. Knot to sixty take two point four seconds and it's all made possible by the specialized turbo and super chargers that have been fitted."
"That can't be good for mileage."
"It still gets forty-five mpg."
"That's now bad but it's going to be a chore to resist drag racing this thing now that you've told me that."
"Well don't worry, he won't let you crash."
"He?"
"While what I've told is impressive, what truly makes the Gadgetmobile unique is that it has been equipped with an A.I. unit. He can drive himself and talk once activated."
"Well now I feel like Michael Knight in the second episode of Knight Rider."
"Gadgetmobile can most certainly give KITT a run for his money any day as you'll find out soon enough."
"I can't wait," I grinned as she got out and I started the engine which came to life with an appropriately futuristic hum instead of the roar I was expecting. "Time to show Detroit that justice has an upgrade."
I grinned to myself before stomping on the gas and pulling out of the garage and into the traffic of Detroit.
"Activate artificial intelligence, authorization Gadget one," I spoke after driving for a few minutes.
A new window opened on the touch screen with a line in it. It fluctuated when a British accented voice was pumped out of the speakers.
"Greetings, inspector. I am the voice of the Gadgetmobile. Do you need anything at the moment?"
"Just a bit of crime to clean up. I just got out of recovery hours ago and want to see what I can do."
"Then you should like this incoming call from dispatch. Mob boss, Alec Bern and a few of his men have just taken the Mayor and several of his staff hostage at City Hall."
"Red alert, arm the photon torpedoes."
"I'm not sure I follow you, inspector. Photon torpedoes are a fictional weapon and-"
"It's just an expression, turn on the siren and let's get to city hall as fast as we can."
A/N: Inspector Gadget is on duty! Criminals of Detroit beware!
Gadget: I'd worry more about your own life.
Me: You're still sore about that?
Gadget: Yes.
Me: Well if you'd be more cooperative it wouldn't have happened.
Gadget: Well if you need me I'll be looking up 'slow and agonizing deaths' online.
Me: I'm gonna have to sleep with one eye open tonight aren't I?
Gadget: Probably.
Me: Am I going to have to wipe my computer's memory?
Gadget: Oh, Chinese water torture sounds good.
Me: It might be a while until my next update. Leave a review to get the next chapter.