Young Offender, Part 52:
"Jet! There you are," Francoise said, waving at him across the crowded train platform. She split off from the rest of the Swiss ballet company after bidding them farewell and jogged over towards Jet. She quickly hugged him and said, "Happy Birthday!"
"Oh... don't remind me. I still don't look a day older," Jet said, taking Francoise's suitcase from her.
"Let's get back home. It's cold," she said. As they walked towards the car, she asked, "So Albert was able to call around Christmas? How is he?"
"Naturally, doing fine. The old crab apple and that demon dog of his are up to their neck in snow, he said."
"You should try to make friends with Gertrude. She's really sweet."
"She growls at me for no good reason. Albert says it's because I'm a city boy, but I think it's because she's plotting against me," Jet complained. Francoise laughed at Jet's ongoing struggles with Albert's work dog. "Hey, never mind about Al's stupid mutt. How about that good news? About Ivan getting patched up?"
"That is wonderful news," she said, getting into the car while Jet loaded the trunk with her suitcase.
He got into the driver's seat and said, "We'll have to pull another job. They need something for Ivan."
"Of course," she said, feeling dour. She still despised the act of stealing, but it had become a necessary evil in her life. It was something that helped support them and erode money from the Black Ghost. Still, it was pretty risky. "When Albert gets back?"
"Naturally. So, how about something to eat? I'm starving."
She brushed away her troubled thoughts and made a suggestion about a restaurant. Of course, Jet gave her a not too subtle reminder about cake. She laughed and promised to make one when they got home.
"But the skin is the problem. A spy cyborg that can change shape sounds good in theory, but every test has failed with the 007 theories. The technology just isn't developed enough," Gaia said, reporting their weekly progress by phone.
"You don't have to worry about that. We have a team on that one already. Your job is building the frame," Gamo replied over the receiver. "Anything else to report."
"Yes. We still would like to make a suggestion for a ninth model. We'd like to suggest a cyborg centered around an acceleration device."
"Too expensive! Besides, we never did recover 002's specs."
"Yes, but years down the road, when we've recovered our fortunes, we can use what we plotted out from 002 and improve it."
"I'll mention it to Scar and let you know if he likes your idea. Who knows? If he likes your suggestion, he may let you come back to Ghost Island," Fyodr Gamo said.
"Excellent," Gaia said and hung up the phone. He turned to Uranus and said, "There is an opportunity for us to get back in the main circle at the Black Ghost."
"So Fyodr liked our idea for a ninth cyborg?"
"Certainly. I'm sure Scar will like it, too. Once we're back there, we'll have access to better equipment and we can push our Olympians project."
"It'll be nice to be able to get those children out of cryogenic sleep and advance them."
"Soon, I can feel the winds of change picking up."
Albert knocked on the door of the Sicilian villa. Gilmore flung open the door, and Albert was taken aback by the silvering in Gilmore's dark brown hair, along with a few more wrinkles. He shook it off and looked over his shoulder at Francoise and Jet. They hadn't aged any, and neither had Albert. It disoriented him a little more than Francoise and Jet, he was sure. Albert spent a great deal of time isolated from others, only seeing his two younger companions. Jet and Francoise both worked with the public so they were probably not noticing Gilmore's changes.
"004! Great to see you. Come in, come in," Gilmore urged int excitement as he stood aside. "003, you're looking fetching today. And you, 002, I'm glad to see you, too."
"Ivan is a top priority to us. I wouldn't miss this," Jet said.
"Well, let's have some lunch and we'll talk about the next steps to reviving him."
It wasn't long before Albert was at the kitchen table with a bowl of Zuppa Toscana. Gilmore and Kaminari were seated across from the three cyborgs. Gilmore looked thrilled, but Kaminari was dour.
"So you said something about a job you need us to do so you can get around to fixing Ivan up?" Jet finally broke the silence, before finishing his own soup.
"Yes, 002. It's on a small, remote South Pacific island. Masamura Technologies is the only industry there, to be precise. They've developed a new computer chip that can help stabilize his brain structure. IBM came out with them over two years ago, but Masamura has improved on the design a great deal."
"Best part is, the owner is Hitomi Kitagawa," Kaminari said, gleefully.
"Who's that?" Jet asked. Francoise took a sharp breath and almost dropped her tea mug.
"Jet, that's the lady with Mrs Gamo who helped capture us the second time." The color had drained from her face. Albert glanced over to see Jet's eyes grow stormy, that bitterness in him was stirred.
"Oh, yeah. We'll hit her business alright. Burn it to the ground while we're at it."
"No, we steal what we need and get back here quickly. I don't want to leave Ivan waiting longer than he has to," Albert insisted. "Don't worry. There'll be other days to deal with that woman."
"Do we have to, Doctor?" Francoise asked. "That woman... she was so cold and hateful, even. Very dangerous."
"Yes. His brain is in a delicate state from all the tinkering his father did with it last time. This will allow us to do his final maintenance all at once."
"Don't whimp out, Frannie. This lady is going to pay!"
"Remember how horrible that time was? Well, I don't want any of us to go back!" she said, towards Jet.
"Albert, tell her..."
"Jet, I told you years ago you'll have to sort out any disagreement with Francoise on your own. You two are grownups. Talk it out like grownups. But I'll let you know, I'm in favor of getting the chips Ivan needs."
"Me too!" Jet said. "Let's go get them."
"Kozumi will meet you at the airport. The island is close to Japan. Once you're finished, you can pick up Kozumi and we can get started." Gilmore said. "003, if you'd like to stay here, I could use your help with 001's frame."
"Fine. You boys go, but you better come back," Francoise warned, in an anger-tinged tone Albert didn't mistake for anything other than worry.
Getting to the small, unnamed island had been a problem Albert hadn't expected. It was surrounded by whirlpools and was far from civilization. They had rented a small plane, and Jet flew it in low from the north under the cover of night. Albert could tell Jet really missed flying planes and was enjoying every minute he could.
When they landed, they covered the plane with a tarp. Jet then grabbed Albert and they were in the air by the power of Jet's boosters. In no time, they spotted the only building on the island and headed towards it. No signs of life, the factory appeared abandoned to Albert, but he was still cautious.
Jet landed on the roof of the Masamura Technologies building, letting go of Albert. He looked around for any signs of danger, but nothing was forthcoming. Jet took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. Albert pointed to the door for the roof access and walked over.
"003 would be useful right now," Jet griped.
"We can manage. She deserves a break after all the years she's put up with," Albert said, with a lop-sided grin. He opened the door slowly. No alarms or anything else to worry about, so Jet followed Albert down the dark, concrete stairwell.
"This should be a cake walk," Jet whispered.
A mechanical rumbling came from their left. A tall, black robot with red, glowing eyes approached. Its spindly legs and broad shoulders made it look ridiculous, but Albert drew his gun anyway. The robot didn't engage, just observed.
"What is it?" Jet asked.
"Don't know, but we've got to move. I don't like the looks of that robot," Albert said.
They moved away from it, but the robot followed them. "Let's blast it!" Jet said, drawing his own ray gun.
"No! So long as it doesn't attack us, we're fine. If we blow it up, it could set off an alarm."
Jet nodded grudgingly and followed Albert down the corridors. They checked empty laboratory after empty laboratory. When they came to the end of the first hallway, Albert pounded his metallic fist against the wall.
"Damn it! I wish I knew were those computer chips were," Albert said.
The robot's eyes glowed brighter. It swirled around and went to the elevator. Albert and Jet shared startled glances when the robot hit the button for floor three. The robot held the door back as if waiting.
"What do you think?" Albert asked, still amazed.
"Why not?" Jet asked back and walked over to the elevator.
To be continued.