Chapter 9

Ellen stepped into the hall of Enzuinia and directly walked towards the golden yellow door which led to the main office building. She had been thinking about the situation and she wanted to have a frank discussion with Gregory. Nothing had shocked her more than the hideous state Pamela was in. She wanted this cleared as soon as possible.

The door opened silently and to Ellen’s relief she saw there was a light shining under the door of Gregory’s office.

She knocked politely knowing he hated loud noises.

“Enter,” sounded his baritone voice gruffly.

Ellen knew instantly from the inflection of his voice that she had to tone down her demand if she ever would have a normal conversation with him. With a smile she entered the office and said with an upbeat tone, “Good morning Gregory.”

“Ellen,” the man said with a smirk, “You are early. Have you eaten already?”

“I’m fine thanks, but I was hoping you might have a few minutes to listen to what I found out last night.”

He looked at his watch and asked, “Can we discuss this while I get something to eat?’

“Pamela’s count is down to 35%.” Ellen said flatly, “You can think about it while we walk to the officer’s mess.”

“Jesus!” he gasped, “How’s that possible?”

“I think Pam used her nanites to get herself injected into Natalia. Have you checked the jars?”

“Yes, that was the first thing I did and somehow it seems that Pamela’s jars are gone.”

“And the jars you’ve used for Natalia?”

Gregory sighed and replied, “They are still there on the designated shell in the cupboard. It really doesn’t make any sense unless Pamela has changed...”

“Exactly,” interrupted Ellen bewildered, “She has used her nanites to change the appearance of her jars!”

“Oh dear,” Gregory hung his head as he said, “No wonder her count is that low.”

“You need to get her count replenished, Gregory.”

Shaking his head slowly he looked up to Ellen and muttered, “I’m afraid they will not grant such a request.”

“Nonsense,” Ellen spat, “This is a completely different situation!”

Gregory looked at Ellen for a moment before he said, “Remember Julia? For weeks I have been trying to negotiate with them and in the end they simply declined the request because type R androids were obsolete.”

“But Pam is in a human body, surely that must be reason enough,” said the old woman incredulously.

“Their answer will be to purge Pamela’s nanites and provide Natalia with a normal set of nanites,” Gregory said flatly.

“You know that is not going to happen,” answered Ellen curtly, “Natalia will never allow Pam to be purged out of her body.”

Gregory sighed and said with a defeated tone, “If that is the case I think they should reconsider their options and think really hard whether their symbiotic relationship is going to work.”

Ellen huffed and sneered, “I see. Nothing had changed since the last time we wanted something organized for one of my fellow peers. Well good luck with it because Natalia will come with the same questions and I’m afraid she might be a lot more persuasive than I am.”

Gregory’s face became as white as a sheet and almost begged, “Surely as an anchor, you can help her see that this case is set in stone.”

Ellen sighed, realizing it was a huge burden for Gregory, and she conceded, “I’ll try Gregory, but please understand that my function as an anchor is rather limited. I can only provide her information and guidance if she asks for it.”

“Well in that case I better prepare myself for the worst case scenario,” Gregory said with a weak smile plastered on his face, “care to join me for breakfast?”

Ellen sighed deeply, knowing there was little more she could do before Natalia broached the subject with him later and said, “Sure, I definitely need a cup of coffee.”

Natalia looked at herself via the mirror, amazed how a few sharply defined lines could change her look completely. She had given Pamela the green light to do the makeup this time. Her companion used fine gothic features with a touch of red which resulted in a sophisticated transformation of her face.

“This is amazing, Pam,” gushed Natalia, “thank you so much!”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ve tried to take the best of the Goth world and the current trends.“

“Current trends?” Natalia asked curiously.

“Hmm yes, “ Pamela said, “So far you’ve looked at 62 women and I managed to look at 200 more so I do have a general indication what is trending.“

“It’s shocking to know I’ve looked at so many women.”

“That’s nothing compared by the number of men you have studied the last few days.“

“Oh dear,” giggled the redhead, “I don’t think I want to know.”

“Clearly your preference goes to a tall well build man with a lush head of hair.“

“Very well observed, my dear Pam,” Natalia responded, “But we need to get ready.”

“Well my dear Natalia, “ Pamela said with a haughty voice, “I think you should ware those lovely Victorian ankle boots. It will make you look hot and untouchable at the same time.“

“I can agree on the hot part but untouchable? I’m not sure,” as she walked back to her bedroom to step into the pretty black boots.

“Watch my words, Nat. You’re going to need a black leather riding crop to swat all the unwanted people away.“

“I’ll bear that in mind, but today I think I’ll be fine. Plus what would people think if I arrive with a riding crop and no horse?”

“That you’re into BDSM perhaps?“

Natalia laughed while her face started to get really warm.

She sighed and as she walked towards the living room she said, “I think I’ll refrain from getting a riding crop, it definitely will give out the wrong message.”

“Too bad, “ Pamela said with a deep sigh, “It would have been fun.“

“For you perhaps but not for me,” bantered Natalia back to her companion, “Now, let’s see if I can do the same trick that Ellen did.”

She clapped in her hands twice and to her delight the portal appeared right in front of her.

As she stepped into the hall she said with an upbeat voice, “Brilliant! Easy peasy.”

Natalia was shocked as she heard a male voice ask, “What is easy peasy?”

She turned around to see a young man leaning nonchalantly against the back wall of the hall.

“This is Jack. Be careful, he likes to woo every new girl into his bed, “ Pamela warned.

Natalia smiled as she asked, “Oh hello, what’s your name?”

He smiled back and as he blatantly checked her out he said, “My name is Jack. And yours is?”

“Miss Bloom,” Natalia answered as she slowly walked towards him.

“Oh come on,” Jack said trying to lower the pitch of his voice, “I know everybody by their first name.”

Natalia slowly let her eyes pass his whole body before she asked, “And why should I give my first name to you?”

“Well,” Jack said with a smirk, “I know how things work here on Enzuinia.”

“Ask him his age, “ Pamela said in a disgusted voice, “that will shut him up.“

“Oh,” said Natalia, “So, you’ve been here long?”

“A couple of years,” he answered evasively, “long enough to lend you a hand.”

“You’re a type R android, aren’t you?” Natalia said as she moved to see Jack en profile.

“I see you’re very perceptive,” he said flatly as he turned his body to face Natalia again, “Why are you checking me out like this?”

Natalia tapped her finger on her lips as she looked at him for a long time.

“Well, that’s simple Jack,” she said with a blazing smile, “It seems that I like men who are taking care of themselves.”

He raised his eyebrows and replied with a little uneasy smile edged on his face, “and what is your verdict?”

“I have learned that you guys are a lot older than you look. So your estimation of a couple of years is closer to a couple of decennia.”

Jack wanted to say something but Natalia raised her hand to prevent him to speak.

She continued, “I understand that keeping your body in shape isn’t that hard considering what you are and I think you’ve started to be a little sluggish.”

“Sluggish?” he asked with a red face, “What the hell does that mean?”

“Oh, Nat you’re brilliant!“ gushed Pamela, “I’ve never seen him so shocked.“

Natalia had trouble to keep her face serious as she replied, “Your muscle definition is weak. I’ll bet you’ve haven’t been to the gym for at least a few years. Your arms are a little floppy, your chest lacks any interesting features. I think I’ll rate you a small six out of ten and that is because of your cute face.”

“How dare you to rate me as if I’m a.”

“A juicy piece of meat?” Natalia interrupted him with a sweet voice, “Tell me Jack, how did I score?”

“I’m not going to answer that question,” he spat.

“You don’t have to because I don’t give a fuck what you think of me,” Natalia replied calmly as she walked away from him, swinging her hips just a little more.

“Take the yellow door, “ Pamela said huskily, “It will bring you straight to the offices.“

“You’ll suffer for this, you cunt!” he fumed, “Nobody fools with me like this! You hear?”

Natalia ignored his threat and as she reached the golden yellow door, it opened swiftly enough she could keep on walking into the corridor.

As soon as the door had closed Natalia asked, “Wow! Who the hell does he think he is?”

“He was the main man about 40 years ago, “ Pamela said with a somber tone, “He managed to solve many cases but because of a major mistake he had blown the cover of his group. They barely managed to escape a certain death and after that he has been transferred to Enzuinia.“

“Oh, no!” Natalia gushed as she tried to imagine the situation, “His group must have been devastated.”

“We were, “ whispered Pamela.

“Pam, oh my,” she said softly, “I’m so sorry! Was Ellen in the group as well?”