Chapter 10

Ellen wasn’t surprised to see the somewhat strange scene with Gregory staring at Natalia’s half exposed, curvaceous chest, but she was pleased to see that Pamela and Natalia both were smiling.

“I see you girls are happy,” Ellen purred, “Did Gregory behave himself?”

Gregory chuckled and said, “I had to if I wanted to have any chance to survive: they are a lethal couple.”

She laughed when Natalia rolled her eyes as she said, “Well, Pam didn’t mince a single word. But she was funny.”

“Hey!“ Pamela said with smirk edged on her face, “I only just told the truth.“

Ellen touched Natalia’s arm as she said with a serious tone, “I bet you did Pam. So did you manage to get things sorted?”

“Actually we did,” Gregory answered, “I’m going to convince the Enzuins that Natalia’s symbiotic relation with Pamela needs to have a boost.”

“Hmm,” Ellen remarked surprised, “That might just be the right way to approach them.”

“I agree,” Natalia said, “We have to make sure that we avoid begging the Enzuins for a favor. They need to get the feeling that they will benefit by our proposal.”

Gregory chuckled as he stared at Natalia’s almost haughty posture, “Wow, I wonder why your ex-boss did let you go.”

Natalia grinned as she replied, “Actually, he tried to get me back as soon as he found out what was at stake.”

“You played it extremely well, Nat, “ Pamela said, “You truly had him by the balls.“

Ellen giggled as she saw Gregory’s unsettled expression and said soothingly, “Don’t worry Gregory. Her ex-boss was a pain and he deserves to suffer the consequences.”

“I see,” the man replied, “I better try to keep you happy.”

Natalia laughed but then straighten her face and, as she looked at Ellen, she asked, “So, Ellen what brings you here?”

“Well,” Ellen responded frankly, “I think chat time is over now. You’re expected at the dojo to have your first lesson with Jeanette.”

“Fantastic,” Natalia grinned, “Let me get dressed for the occasion.”

Gregory walked in the long and narrow corridor which would bring him to the resonating chamber, the specially designed room to have contact with the Enzuins.

It had been less than a week that he had taken the 20 minute walk to the oval chamber. He always had wondered why the Enzuins had created such an elaborate construction until he had realized that it would give them time to prepare for his definite arrival. In the beginning he hated the long walk, thinking it was a waste of time but the more times he went the better he had used the time. Now the journey put him into a kind of trance, the regular pace, the reverberating sound of his shoes on the immaculate white floor was strangely soothing. Even this time the sound of his shoe’s heels hitting the floor with regularity like an old clock, gave him the tranquility and his mind was cleared from all the distractions.

Totally focused he stood in front of the massive doors which led into the sparsely lit room. It took just a few seconds later before the heavy doors silently open outwards, revealing the Spartan oval room.

There were three chairs all a different size and Gregory always had chosen the largest one because the other two were not as comfortable.

“Your visit is rather unexpected.”

The eerie and thin whisper always gave Gregory goose bumps which eventually disappeared, but this time he felt really uncomfortable.

“It is,” he said with a slight tremor in his voice, “Some unexpected events have brought me here today.”

“Speak,” the Enzuin responded, its voice almost directly piercing into his head, “We will listen.”

He cleared his throat, cursing to himself as he realized he had forgotten to bring his bottle of water.

“The last recruit, Miss Bloom,” he started, “has become a rare situation. It seems that she has inadvertently received a different batch of nanites than expected.”

There was a long silence and just at the moment Gregory wanted to continue the voice sneered, “Who is responsible for the mistake?”

Gregory was surprised how fiercely the Enzuins had responded and he had to bite his lip not to fall into the trap of an instantaneous response. He took the time to come up with an answer which would divert them from their question.

“This incident is caused by an extraordinary turn of several events which might be beneficial for Miss Bloom and the GIS.”

There was a long silence which made Gregory state of anxiety even worse.

“We assume that the emotional spikes of android A3452 correlates with your findings about the faulty nanites administered to Miss Bloom.”

Gregory hated the fact the Enzuins always referred the type A androids by their number and not by their given name.

He took a moment to calm down before he responded flatly, “Yes, Miss Brandt had sensed that Miss Bloom had received a different kind of nanites. We think there’s an interesting opportunity to explore this unique situation.”

The voice sounded contemptuous as it retorted instantly, “We don’t agree with your findings. This is not beneficial because it does not serve our purpose and intentions. Miss Bloom should order the purge and she will be eligible to receive a new batch of nanites. Make sure she receives the correct ones this time.”

Gregory was dumbfounded by the rash decision and stammered, “But, but this unique situation has a huge potential.”

He sighed as he knew that his plea had been utterly useless because the Enzuins had already closed their connection. He sighed deeply as the large doors opened again knowing he had to face the long walk back to his office. It was at those moments he’d wished the Enzuins had chosen Jack as the negotiator.

With lead in his shoes, he stepped into the narrow corridor realizing he was going to disappoint so many people.

Ruben was shaken by his telephone’s loud ringtone. Upon seeing the unknown caller on the screen, however, his foul mood changed in an instant. There were only a few who knew this number and he knew who had finally called him.

“Hello, darling,” he answered the caller with a low husky tone, “It has been a while.”

“Hi love. Hmm yes, it has been slow going the last couple of weeks, but since yesterday there’s a new recruit. Her name is Natalia Bloom, Caucasian, red hair, likes to dress like a Goth girl.“

“Alright,” Ruben said as he jotted the name down, “Is she active already?”

“No, not yet. But I think this girl is going to excel in a lot of disciplines if I have to believe my resources. I reckon within a month or so she will be active.“

“Do you know who her accomplice is?”

“Yeah, an older woman, Ellen; don’t know her surname, but I think she’s not going to be involved.“

“Oh?” Ruben asked, “That’s unusual.”

“Indeed and I’m not sure how she is involved with Bloom because I’ve never seen her here before.“

“Alright baby, I think I have enough info to tackle it.” he said softly, “Be careful out there. I miss you.”

“Don’t worry love. I’m in the city calling you from a payphone. When are we going to see each other again?“

“We can’t risk it honey. First we need to cripple their organization and then I promise you: we’re going to enjoy a well-earned holiday.”

“Okay babes, be careful. I love you.“

“Ditto,” he replied calmly, “Call me as soon as she’s going to be involved.”

“I will. See yah.“

Ruben ended the call and sighed being pleased his informant was still willing to provide him information. She was a cute girl and with his looks and charms he had easily wooed the woman who willingly became his lover. He knew she was involved with the organization and managed to manipulate her to become an inside informant.

He knew that he had to be extremely careful and he had to avoid having contact with her as much as possible. Ruben had learned from previous mistakes: too many physical contact moments with an informant had resulted in losing her. It was as if they had vanished from planet earth.

She was the third one and he knew sooner or later she would disappear as well but not before he had seriously crippled the organization.

He wondered why the new recruit would be so special and decided to take the risk and Google her name. He whistled as soon as he saw the pretty face of his new target and he knew for sure his allies wouldn’t have any objections to having some fun with her.

Rivulets of sweat were streaming down Natalia’s face as she had been trying to follow her teacher’s movements for at least a half an hour. She couldn’t believe that a ‘simple’ kata could be so tiring but she was determined to keep at it no matter what her body was saying otherwise.

“Oh, My God, “ sighed Pamela, “This is so bad!“

“Stop complaining, Pam,” said Natalia between two pants of breath, “Maybe you should sever the connection.”

“Ignore her complaints,” said Jeanette with a lilting voice, “Even when she had her own body, any effort was already too much for her.”

“No no, “ said Pamela resolute, “Jeanette is really aggregating here! I promise I’ll keep my mouth shut but can’t we just take a short break?“

Natalia snorted, “Taking a break? How on Earth will I ever get in shape if I stop every 5 minutes.”

Jeanette turned around to face the brave woman and was completely taken aback to see the girl soaked in sweat. It took her only a few moments to understand what Natalia wanted to achieve and said with a maternal pride, “Alright. Let’s take a break. You’ve done very well.”

Natalia huffed as she wiped the sweat off her forehead, “You’re not going to fall for Pam’s complaining, are you?”

Jeanette praised the woman for her willpower and said slowly, “No, but if you’re overdoing it, I think she might be the one who has to fix your damaged muscle cells.”

“See?“ Pamela said smugly, “I told you it was time to take a break.“

Natalia sighed deeply and couldn’t stop a moan escaping as her body felt all cramped and twisted, knowing all too well her stubbornness was her biggest pitfall.

“Please Nat, “ Pamela begged, “don’t do this again. It feels so horrible.“

“I’m sorry Pam,” Natalia said softly, “but I need to get into form again.”

Jeanette rubbed Natalia’s arm as she said, “Take the green doors and you’ll end up at the bath facility. I’ll bring you some clean clothes and a fruit which help speed up your recovery.”

“Thanks, Jeanette,” Natalia replied, “I’m sorry I didn’t do so well today.”

Jeanette laughed and said, “Most of my new students had to stop after ten minutes but you managed to keep it up for almost a half hour. You’ve done exceptionally well.”

“Yes, maybe but Pam and I are going to pay the price for that.”

“Don’t worry,” Jeanette said soothingly, “Pam knows about the fruit I’m talking about and what it does.”

“Let’s go, “ urged Pamela, “I’m longing for a long hot soak. I sincerely hope the master bathroom is free.“

“The master Bathroom?” echoed Natalia as she walked towards the green door.

“It’s the biggest bathroom which has a bath which is almost a small swimming pool.“