Chapter 2

"You have to understand, Ms. Sterling," he said from across the table. "Everyone in Special Investigations is already the cream of the crop." He tapped my transcripts. "These are impressive, but high marks are the bare minimum. We want to see involvement ... commitment. We need pigs, not chickens."

"What are you playing at, Lieutenant? You'll have me believe that you've been courting me at every meet and greet, and now all the promises from your recruiters are just dust in the wind?" I growled. "I just turned down a very promising offer from Major Crimes because I knew that SI had a spot..."

He handed me a business card from Frekha Corp. "Call that number. Give them this code." Flipping over the card, he jotted down a number. "Show me you're not a chicken."

I snorted as I glanced at the card. The name on the card was Gregory Feist. "Frekha? I'm not a sex doll."

He looked me up and down. "Clearly."

I flushed; yes, I was all angles and no curves. "What does this kind of smut have to do with honest police work?"

"They're branching out into tactical 'ware. They've already got some good prototypes. And you must admit, they are one of the highest rated biotech companies these days. They know how people tick." I scowled at his smirk.

"There may still be a place for you, Ms. Sterling," he said, handing me back my transcripts and carefully collected letters of recommendation. "Special Investigations needs investigators willing to be on the cutting edge."

Of course, I called the number. I'd burned too many bridges to think I could get a position anywhere other than SI. Besides, SI was the elite; I knew I belonged there.

The girl who answered the call sounded like a sex worker with a helium habit. "Frekha Corporation," she purred. "How can I help you?" It was almost enough to make me suspect she was using a knock-off voice modulator. I couldn't take it seriously, but I still made an appointment. What else could I do?

When I finally got to my appointment I discovered that the owner of that voice was a Valley Girl - she had enough sexual body mods to drag her right into the Uncanny Valley. She'd clearly taken advantage of her employee discounts with Frekha. Her eyes had been reshaped to be bigger, rounder - she looked like a cartoon character. Her bee-stung lips looked almost absurdly artificial. Her inordinately sized cleavage was almost an uncanny valley in itself, with each globe roughly the size of a baby's head. She was fascinating; I couldn't imagine anyone finding that attractive.

She tilted her head in that tell-tale sign that let you know she was accessing the Nexus. I was amused that her eyes could look even more vacant than they had before. "Your eleven o'clock is here." It was clear the sultry high-pitched baby-voice was the result of another body mod - even the harmonics were all wrong. They set my teeth on edge.

She smiled at me. "Please, take a seat. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

I shook my head, hoping that would stop her from talking, and sat down in one of the lavish seats. Curious, I dipped into the Nexus and poked around the bumbling receptionist's facade. She was an open book, her status - Carolyn Putain was an intern at Frekha on her way to a degree in marketing. She'd even set her transcripts - she was getting high marks. Not what I expected from the valley girl sex bunny act she put on.

I'd wandered away from the trollop's facade and was busying myself with other distractions in the Nexus when a dulcet voice shook me out of my reverie. "Miss Sterling?"

I looked up at the source of the voice and was immediately captivated by the beautiful woman that was talking to me. I waved away the Nexus toolbars and stood up, giving the walking wet dream my full attention. If I hadn't already been into girls, she probably would have made me consider changing teams.

She was a study in almond - almond-shaped eyes the color of almonds. Her long hair, twined up behind her head in a bun, was also almond, weaving between the chocolate of an almond's shell and the cream of the nut's interior. Even her skin had a dusky shade, which I noticed in the curves and the ample cleavage looking to burst its way out of the suit she was wearing. I wanted to eat her up.

"I'm Rowena Kincaid. Mr. Feist is no longer with the company, but I'm keeping his appointments." I was so busy staring (and drooling) that I didn't notice her outstretched hand. I stood up, and shook her hand. "I see you appreciate the Hathor," she said, a Mona Lisa smile on her lips.

"I'm sorry, the what?"

"My body," she said, as I flushed. She led me into her office. "No need to be embarrassed," she said, her voice still as smooth as butter, as she sat behind the desk. "The Hathor was designed to evoke such responses. I wouldn't have uploaded if I wasn't satisfied."

"You're..."

"An Immortal," she said, cutting off my response. "Please don't use any of the unpleasant, derogatory slang. My original body was a cancer-ridden medical nightmare. Why wouldn't I want to leave it?" She looked at me in defiance. A dampness grew between my legs - even the simplest action she performed was hot. "So, I traded up." She smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back. She tilted her head, letting her eyes unfocus. Then, snapping back into reality, she let her eyes meet mine. "Now, let me pull up your file. Oh! You're one of the new contracts."

"I suppose," I said, still squirming in my seat. "The Lieutenant wasn't very clear, and Mr. Feist took the appointment without explaining much."

"It's standard boilerplate. Especially with the merger with Verdoux Enterprises, Frekha has been looking for more opportunity to showcase our products, espeicially in new markets."

"Verdoux? They're..."

"The most profitable tactical 'ware company? Why do you think they wanted Frekha? Between the two companies, our products have been stress-tested in some of the most depraved conditions you can imagine - the battlefield and the bedroom. And have come through functional." She flicked her hand, and a contract appeared in front of me. "As you can see, the costs for the hardware we're offering are substantial. So we want to use you as a marketing platform. As long as you remain with..." her eyes unfocused again... "the Bureau, no matter what division, you'll be earning credit against that debt. Of course, if you die, the debt is discharged; your family will not shoulder that burden."