(Two) New Parts.

"You've been keeping me in the kennel." Gabriel laughed, climbing the glass staircase to Rose's room. She was just in front of him, and her a*s was in his face. But if he was honest with himself, having her a*s in his face wasn't exactly unpleasant.
"Stop thinking that, perv." Rose said, as though she could read his mind.
"Thinking what?" Gabriel said, trying to fake innocence. It didn't work and he ended up snorting.
"Creep." Rose muttered.
"You wouldn't change me."
"I already changed you." Rose said grimly, opening the door at the top of the stairs and walking into her office.
"True." Gabriel nodded, his mood suddenly sombre. He followed her up the last few stairs and stopped. He looked around him, the office was huge; a whole floor, just for Rose. There were no solid walls, there were only glass windows circling them. The floor were blue, midnight blue, and the windows were tinted, giving the office an air of late night. The floor to ceiling glass that showed the city around them was reinforced, several inches thick. The skyscrapers outside, that couldn't even compare to the building, were crowded around.
"I've really been in the dog house."
"No, you've been in an office. This," Rose gestured around her at the open expanse, "is my office. The big difference is that it's mine."
"Of course." Gabriel nodded, "That makes sense."
"Anyway, follow me. I've got something for you in my desk."
"Something hot, I hope."
"It's a few sexy pictures."
"Really?" Gabriel asked, one eyebrow shooting up.
"Of course not, weirdo."
"Cheeky b***h."
Rose had reached the desk and was rummaging in one of the draws for something. She pulled it out. A black box, a few inches thick. It was tied with a red ribbon, clearly a gift. "You won't want this then."
"I want that." Gabriel smiled, reaching out to take it. "I want it now."
Rose handed it to him and watched him tug on the bow. The ribbon fell to the floor and as Gabriel bent to pick it up Rose jumped over her desk and into her office chair. It was the same as Gabriel's one down stairs. She relaxed in the chair as Gabriel opened the box.
"Are these...?" Gabriel pulled out a of the box a pair of black broken Ray-Ban Wayfarers. The lens on the right side was missing and the arm on the left was cracked and the end was missing. They were basically useless as sunglasses. "They are. You found my Wayfarers."
"Someone had to." Rose smiled at him, "They're a bit broken but check out the box."
Gabriel looked in the box again. There were a band new pair of Wayfarers; black on the outside, electric blue on the inside. He put them on, looking around the office. It took a few seconds for his right eye, the one that had been replaced, to focus again.
"Mine?"
"Yup." Rose nodded. She pressed a button on her metal desk. "Also, the blue'll tie in later on. I've got to show you something first."
"Oh yeah?" Gabriel leaned over Rose's desk, his face inches from hers with a cheeky grin on his face, "What've you got for me?"
"Well, I kinda need you to agree to something. But, before you freak out, I'm getting the best surgeons we have to do it."
"Surgeons?"
"I want to replace your augs." Rose said calmly, looking into Gabriel's eyes, "With weapons."
Gabriel leaned back and tilted his head to one side, then the other as though he was weighing up what Rose had just said.
"What do you mean?"
"I want to replace your harmless augs with weapons of mass destruction and take you with me to Rio, as my bodyguard."
"Mass destruction?" Gabriel's face lit up. His eyes were shining behind his new sunglasses. "Count me in."
"Thank you," Rose sighed in relief, "this means so much."
"Forget about it. You saved my life. I'll just return the favour, and then I'll save your life again so you owe me." Gabriel laughed at Rose's confused expression. "I'm joking, doll."
Rose's face regained it's usual calmness and she pressed another button on her desk. There were so many buttons on her desk, it was a small miracle she could remember them all, and a larger miracle she didn't have one that activated nukes.
"I need you to meet Shadree." Rose said quickly, "He's the best we've got at the moment and I think he's the best we'll have for a long time."
"Best what?"
"Surgeon. Techie. Lab rat. Weapons specialist. Designer. Cook. Oenophile, that's a wine connoisseur to you. And all round nerd." Rose counted them off on her fingers. "He's also a brony."
"Sounds interesting..." Gabriel muttered, almost under his breath.
"Here he comes now." Rose nodded over Gabriel's shoulder, towards the stairs.
There was a skinny young man, no older than early twenties, with shoulder length hair and a shy, darting glance. He walked, or scurried rather, over to the desk, where Rose sat with her legs tucked up on the office seat with her, and stood next to Gabriel. He was timid and quiet, and easily intimidated. Gabriel's bulk wasn't putting Shadree's mind to rest at all.
"Shad, this is Price."
"Shad?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow, he laced his fingers together and cracked them all at once. Rose said nothing, she just watched the smaller of the two men.
"Price." Shadree nodded, looking at Gabriel. "Gabriel Price. Shot three times, one bullet bouncing off of your shoulder blade, one burying itself in your spine and one just missing your heart. The ambulance you were in exploded, the gas tank caught on fire. Rose gave you a place in a cryo lab until you could be fixed."
Silence bellowed, the absence of noise was quite remarkable. Rose could almost taste the blood that had burst from Gabriel's wounds in the air, she could almost hear the screams and explosions of the war, she could almost feel the pain that she'd had to witness. Gabriel was mentally checking every bone and muscle that remained in his body, to make sure they were there. It didn't stop the phantom pain from the limbs that weren't there, the bullet holes that had since closed up and healed, and the aching headache that had plagued him for weeks after 'waking up' from his cryo sleep.
"Well..." Rose nodded, "I think that covers his life."
"Yeah." Gabriel mouthed, his mind split between two worlds.
"I just need you to show Price the designs for the new augs."
"Okay."
"What if I don't like them?" Gabriel asked, his mind snapping back into focus. "As in, what if I don't feel I can use the designs you've given me?"
"Then I'll redesign them for you. They're your augs."
"Good. That's settled. Now, go have fun boys. I've got a surgery and trip to Rio to plan."
"Good luck." Gabriel smirked, "And don't die before I get fixed up."
"You're the one that's gonna need it. I can't promise anything" Rose waved him away, sarcastically. She was trying not to giggle at his mock hurt expression as he left her office.
She looked down at her desk and switched the inbuilt computer on. She wanted live updates on Gabriel and Shadree's progress.
 
Shadree lead the way, his quick steps were small and Gabriel easily kept pace. Shadree was just taller than Rose, his brown hair was wavy rather than curly and his eyes kept fixed dead ahead of them. He seemed nervous, but then again, most people felt nervous around Gabriel. Especially those that knew his connections.
"Where are we going?" Gabriel asked as they entered the lift and Shadree pressed the button -19.
"My office. It's on negative nineteen."
"Ah. Why?"
"Because I asked for it to be there? Any higher and there'd have been too much traffic. Any lower and I'd have been isolated."
Gabriel nodded, but his question still hadn't been answered. "Why are we going to your office?"
"Because my office is where your augs are and where the designing kit is."
"Okay." Gabriel nodded, looking down at his perfectly crafted silver hand. "Did you make this?"
"Oh no! Not me." Shadree shook his head. "That's a proto. Only three of those exist. Rose's father made them and she made a fortune selling them after the war. In fact, she got so rich that she paid for a cryo space. Do you know how much those things cost? People say that it was meant for her father but he died, and apparently the cryo chamber is empty."
Gabriel frowned, he didn't understand this guy. "Why would she pay for it if it was empty? She doesn't do status things and that's just wasting money."
"Where were you until three months ago?"
"In a cryo chamber." Gabriel's eyes widened slightly. "Oh."
"Yeah, she put you in there instead of her dad." Shadree nodded. "And she spent a lot of time down here, with me, to design the next range of augs. Now we've got weaponry ones, and coloured ones, and ones with cooking utensils, and ones that have medical equiptment, and..." Shadree trailed off as he looked up at Gabriel. His face was like thunder, even under the Ray-Bans, Shadree could see that Gabriel's eyes were clenched shut. Gabriel was also clenching his jaw, his hands were balled into fists and he was breathing through his nose heavily.
Shadree took two shuffled steps to the left, as far from Gabriel as he could get. Gabriel was terrifying in this state. He was unpredictable, and that scared Shadree more than the physical threat Gabriel proposed.
"Um... We're here." Shadree whispered, stepping out of the lift. Gabriel opened his eyes, shook his head slightly and followed Shadree out. The floor was another circle. All of the floors were circular here. "Negative nineteen. We've got an operating room over there, a kitchen and a few bedrooms over there and over here are the offices. There are four of us on constant duty down here and sixteen on 'come-and-go'. They're only in when we need them."
"Uhuh." Gabriel nodded, his head was foggy and he needed something to drink. "That's all well and good but do you have anything to drink?"
"We have soda or water." Shadree replied without missing a beat. "These are the other three on constant. Kailie, Tam and Natt." Each waved from their various stations in the room. They were all dressed identically, the same black trousers and black polo that Shadree was wearing, covered by a white lab coat. Kailie was blonde, her hair was up in a ponytail and she was wearing thick goggles and holding two vials of dark coloured liquids. Tam had a crew cut, he was slightly more muscular than Shadree and he wore dogtags around his neck. He'd served at one point in the war, and it was clear what had taken him out. His right hand was an aug, the same colour as his black skin. Natt was another slightly muscular man, his hair was short, but not yet a crew cut. He was probably the oldest of them all and he had a pronounced limp as he walked over to greet Shadree and Gabriel.
"Shad, your computer's been switched online from above."
"I knew she'd do that it." Shadree nodded, his mouth settling into a thin grimace. "It's okay. We'll just work on it anyway."
"I'm lost..." Gabriel muttered.
"Come this way," Shadree nodded to a desk. "And grab a chair, we'll be here a while."
"Okay." Gabriel picked up one of the many chairs dotted around the room and followed Shadree into his office. It was walls on three sides with an open front instead of a doorway. Shadree's desk was easily twice the length of Gabriel's own upstairs and instead of a built-in computer, Shadree's desk had a built-in holocom. The pictures flickered a few centimetres off of the table.
"This is Grade One." Shadree said, opening a file with a tap on his desk. "These are all Weapon One. You can choose from and modify any of these."
"Any?"
"Any at all." Shadree nodded. "We have gun based augs, knife based augs, we have a couple of sword ones too. Just take your pick."
Several hours later, Gabriel had chosen one set of augs. He and Shadree were just making a few adjustments to the design.
"You know," Shadree started but stopped. He looked at the design on the holocom.
"Go on."
"Rose could spend a lot less money by taking already trained professionals to Rio..."
"So why's she taking me? That's what you're thinking, right?" Gabriel asked, "She's taking me because you always choose the best."
Shadree paused for a second and then nodded. He made a few corrections on the aug design and looked at Gabriel for confirmation. Gabriel grinned.
"When am I getting this done?"
"As soon as the augs have been made." Shadree grinned, "Won't be long now."
"Awesome."
 
Rose sat in her office, waiting for the final pop up on her screen. Surely it didn't take this long to fix on a few limbs? They'd been operating for nearly a whole day now. The meeting was set for three days from now, so they needed to hurry up.
Her computer pinged, another notification. 'LAST AUG FITTED. ESTIMATED RECOVERY TIME; 16 HOURS.'
Sixteen hours was a long time to let him recover. Could she wait that long? If she got someone else to sort out all the things he'd need, armour and briefing, then she could let him rest for longer if he needed. Her fingers danced across the pressure sensitive wood.
'PUT HIM IN MY ROOM. GIVE HIM 24 HOURS AND THEN CONTACT ME.'
'NURSE OR DOCTOR?'
Rose searched her memory, who would she trust to deal with this headcase? Someone that stood out from the croud but wasn't a show off...
'NURSE ID SIX-NINE-FOUR-TWO.'
'THAT SPECIFIC?'
'DOUBLE HER PAY. IF SHE DOESN'T TAKE THAT, THEN YOU CHOOSE ONE.'
She leaned back and waited. Five minutes later her desk pinged again.
'ACCEPTED. MOVING NOW.'
Good, now at least he was being looked after by someone she trusted not to lose it with him.
 
"I'm not sick. You don't need to be here, Clara." Gabriel muttered.
"You're not sick, that's true. But I do need to be here. Rose said."
"Rose said?" Gabriel asked, propping himself up on his elbow. He looked at Clarabelle, her long, glossy blonde hair was kept up in a high ponytail. "Then you best stay."
"Yeah." She smiled, her cheeks colouring slightly. "You're here for twenty four hours. Then you get to leave. But right now, I need to check the bandages."
"Okay." Gabriel lay back down on the bed. He looked up at the ceiling. Clarabelle's deft fingers unwrapped the bandages on his shoulder.
"Hmm... It's mostly healed." She said aloud, a small smile on her face as she took the injection off of the table next to the bed. "This is going to be cold, alcohol wipes always are. And then I'll inject the nanobots."
"Injecting nanobots? Hell... Rose really wants me fixed up soon." Gabriel smirked. "And she got me the only nurse I wouldn't kill. You're good at this."
"I don't blame her." Clarabelle peeled the packaging apart and wiped the cold alcohol onto Gabriel's skin. The wet skin was faintly sparkly. "Thank you. Rose knows firsthand, she had me after... That incident."
"What does that mean?" He asked, his brows meeting. Gabriel watched Clarabelle's face as she rewrapped the bandages around his shoulder. She shuffled down the bed and pulled the covers back from his new leg. She unwrapped the bandages and looked at the join between the metal and the flesh.
"The nanobots used in surgery are good, you know. You're only bruising." She said quickly, becoming absorbed in what angle she should inject the nanobots.
"You're not answering me." Gabriel growled, sitting up and grabbing Clarabelle's hand.
"I need to sort these injections out." Clarabelle said timidly, trying to pull her hand from his.
"Tell me."
"I'm sorry, I never should've mentioned it."
"Tell me." He tightened his grip. The fact that she was avoiding answering him worried Gabriel. He knew it was something bad.
"I can't." Clarabelle was almost in tears. "Please, let go of me."
Gabriel dropped her hand, realising he was hurting her. "Sorry."
"It's okay. Just let me finish this." Clarabelle injected the second nanobot injection into Gabriel's leg and rewrapped the bandages. "Better."
"Yeah... I guess." Gabriel muttered, looking at the ceiling.
"I, er, I have to go now. I'm needed in the medicentre." 
"Okay."

Author's Note

Part 1; http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/NamelessBeast/961971/

Reviews

[Amata Luna]

Beautiful. :D Just beautiful. This is a very good stuff NamelessBeast. I'm glad with how the story goes and I'm yearning much to read more. Man, this is so cool. Nice piece of work. :D Simply ingenious from an artistic writer like you. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Coyote Poetry]

The story is very good. I like the detail of each situation. You have create good characters and a very good storyline. You have my attention. I will keep reading. A excellent chapter.
Coyote