She furled her eyes and asked, “Are you telling me you are the old Jake?”
I nodded. “I know it’s hard to believe at first. But ask me some questions that only the old me would know the answers to.”
She squinted. Must be thinking hard.
“What did I say when you first came into my new home in Zor?”
That one I had to think about since it was a long time ago. I pictured my date with her and what we did.
“Can I see you again? By the way, your home was in Corey, not Zor.”
“And your reply?”
“I nodded.”
“Where did we eat?”
“Top of the Town,” I replied. “You paid too.”
“That was too easy.” Her eyes glazed over.
“What did you say in the tunnel after we rescued you in the mountains?”
“That was a long time ago. Sore eyes. ‘You’re a sight for sore eyes.’
“And my reply?”
“And so are you.”
Her jaw dropped and she stared.
“What did I say after Jake and I made love the first time.”
“Oh boy. That was a long time ago.”
I thought about my reply for a good ten seconds. “I do remember my saying, ‘Which way?’ And afterward, you said, ‘We can do this as often as you like.’”
“Oh shit,” was her reply as she stared with her mouth open.
I could see the idea taking root in her head.
She was quiet for almost a minute.
“This is gonna take getting used to,” she said. “Where do we go from here?”
“First, remember to use my new name. Mike Shapeck. Forgot the old name. Please don’t ever use it! My life could be at stake.
“Second, I suggest we start dating all over. You need time to get used to my new face and voice.”
She nodded.
“Sounds okay.”
“So how about we start with a dinner date?”
She looked at my face and body.
Must be wondering if she could fall in love with the new me.
I added, “Take your time. There’s no hurry.”
She nodded slower this time.
“When?” she asked.
Bingo.
“How about tonight?”
She added, “As long as I can pay.”
I had to smile at that one.
Yep, this was the same Gancha.
I tipped my head up and down an inch.
“Who’s in charge of the center now?” she asked.
“Vincent was until I walked in. Now I’m in charge. By the way, Vincent, Zetto, and Andy know about me. And Monk. But Deek and Alena don’t. And certainly not Sheila.”
Gancha sat silent for ten seconds. “The ambassador?”
I shook my head.
Gancha stood. “Can I go now?”
I looked her in the eyes. Her question meant she accepted my leadership. I nodded.
“Seven at Top of the Town?” she asked.
I nodded before she walked out.
I sighed. That was the big one.
But something nagged me. I had an unkept promise.
#
Deek Tanny, the captain on Homicide and Robbery at Metro Police, had risked his career and retirement when I asked him to convince the forensics lab to lose Leanna’s blood sample. I had made a promise that if Internal Affairs ever investigated and he lost his retirement, as well as his badge, that I would hire him.
Deek must have sweated bullets when I got killed. I was the only one who had made that promise as far as he knew.
Time to correct that. I tagged Vincent.
“If anything should happen to me, I’d like you to honor my promise that if Internal Affairs took Deek Tanny’s badge and retirement, I would hire him. Deek depends on it. I made the promise to protect Lee.”
I knew mentioning Vincent’s wife Leanna would get his agreement.
“Okay. Are you going to tell him about you?”
I said, “I’m thinking about it.”
This investigation would go much better with Deek’s help. There were some things he could do that I couldn’t.
But telling Deek would mean I’d have to get his promise to not reveal my being rebuilt as Mike, not even to his wife and kids. That might mean I would never be invited to his house, but I was prepared for that.
I emailed Deek.
“We need to talk. About Jake and his promise to you. Please come to the bagel place. You know where that is. Tomorrow at ten in the morning.”
I didn’t expect a reply right away. After all, Deek was busy doing cop stuff. I knew how that was since I had spent time as a cop in Los Angeles. Seemed a lifetime ago. In a way it was.
With still two hours to kill before I had to leave for my date with Gancha, I pondered eating. But I would eat at my dinner with her.
Time to catch up on the news.
“Telly on.”
During the broadcast of Channel One, my comm alerted me to a message from Acorn so I paused it.
“Am sending SG by Second Class. I think he’s eager to get back in field. He’s been instructor here for too long. Most of my instructors say same things.” Along with that, Acorn sent the man’s dossier.
As I read it, I was impressed. Stater Gong came from the British Army where he was a Ranger before being discovered as a full Binger. As a kid with a first name like Stater, he learned how to fight and could beat a boy twice his size. Did that several times before the others caught on. He kept fighting no matter how much he got injured.
As an adult at six foot, Stater was muscular. I saw that from his photo. He was also an expert marksman with a Snap or a rifle.
I sent a short reply before I hopped in the shower.
“Thanks for sending such good man in SG.”
I sat back in reflection over the class I had taken from Stater Gong. The man certainly knew his weapons and wouldn’t let me pass the course until I could disassemble and reassemble all the weapons, in less than thirty seconds─while blindfolded.
With time remaining before I had to get ready for dinner with Gancha, I unpaused the telly.
The news from Earth contained startling events too. Riots occurred in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and Marseille, France on rejuvenation. The poor were upset over its high cost. At seven million Brazilian reals or almost two million euros, only the wealthiest people could afford it. The reporter expected many more protests and riots around the planet.
Maybe I was lucky to get mine when I did.
Chapter 21
I put on my best suit for my dinner date. Gray suit jacket without lapels, tailored to hide my Snap. Gray pants. Black shoes. White shirt. No tie, of course.
After driving alone, I parked in the spacious lot. As the elevator rose to the Top of the Town restaurant in the Embassy Plateau, I found myself nervous. It’s not every day you get to have a first date with a woman. And this seemed like a first date. It would appear so to her too.
I walked into the main room of the restaurant and said to the female hostess at a podium, “I’m expecting someone. She might have made a reservation.”
Her eyes looked me over and she smiled.
Good. I still had the old magic.
“Her name, sir?”
“Morentoss.”
She looked at her board.
“Yes. She’s already here.”
She grabbed a menu.
“This way, please.”
I followed her into the large room full of tables. Most were occupied by two people, one male and one female. I felt adequately dressed in my suit.
The hostess led me to a booth with two seats.
And there she was, as beautiful as ever.
Gancha looked me over when the hostess stood in front of her as if to ask if I was her expected guest. Then Gancha nodded to the hostess.
My old girlfriend studied me closely as I sat. I expected that since it might take her time to get used to my new appearance
.
The hostess asked, “Can I get you something to drink, sir?”
Gancha had a glass of white wine in front of her.
“I’ll have what she’s having,” I replied.
The hostess smiled and walked away.
Oh boy. This definitely felt like a first date.
I sat quietly while Gancha studied my face. I studied her upper body in turn.
Tonight she wore a red dress with a hint of cleavage showing on her dark body. Her black hair was long and wavy, just like I liked it. Her lips were painted a brilliant red.
Oh that was good.
Her green eyes were set off by a hint of dark around the edges. I remembered her eyes.
“I called Vincent and he filled me in,” she said. “Acorn also sent a photo.” Her gaze went up and down my body.
“You’re different.”
I nodded, leaned toward her, and whispered.
“My name is Mike Shapeck.” I spelled it out slowly. “Please don’t use the old name anymore. Forget you ever heard it.”
Then something really nice happened. She smiled.
Oh, that was good.
“You’re about the same height,” she added.
“Yep. That much could not change. How have you been? Remember, I don’t have any memories of the past five months. I assume the other person and you had several dates during that time. I don’t have any memory of them.”
“This will take getting used to.”
“Take your time. I realize this must be a shock to you.”
“It is. I saw the images of your death and attended your memorial service.”
The hostess came back with a glass of Bordonnay and set it in front of me.
Gancha had wet eyes. Must have remembered her grief over my death.
I took a sip while I thought of what to say next.
“What did you say before our last mission?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“I’m not sure what mission that was.”
She nodded. “Right. You weren’t there. This is really going to take some getting used to.”
We both must have felt like teenagers on a first date. I know I did.
She added, “Do you have any missions in mind?”
I shook my head. “Not at this time. I’m still getting settled in.”
“Ron’s dead.”
“Yeah, I know. I miss him already.”
“He was good,” she said. “Very good.”
“That he was.”
“Can you describe what it felt like? The template, I mean.”
“There’s nothing to describe. I went to sleep and woke up to a whole new world.”
“How did you learn about being a rebuilt?”
“Acorn explained. Oh, by the way, he’s sending a new man to replace Ron.”
“What his name?”
Little alarm bells went off in my head. In my eagerness to see her and get conversation started, I had ignored a basic rule. I pulled out my comm and pressed a few buttons. Good. There were no broadcasting devices near us, other than our comms.
She asked, “Checking?”
“Yep. You made me forget.”
She beamed at that.
“Yep,” I added. “Ron’s replacement is Stater Gong. He’ll be here in a couple weeks. I’ll introduce you two then.”
“Is he any good?”
“I trained under him back on the home planet. He’s good. Superb, as a matter of fact.”
She asked, “As good as me?”
I had to grin at that one. “I won’t compare.”
My comm vibrated, alerting me to a message. I glanced at it and read a text from Deek. “Okay. You suggested tomorrow at ten at the old place.”
I pressed a button and said, “Sounds good. See you then.”
My comm would translate that to text and send it to him.
We both were silent for another minute before she broke the silence.
Gancha said, “You’re different now. Different face, different voice.”
“It’s the same ol’ me inside, Gancha. Try to remember that.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?”
She took a sip from her glass.
I took her comment as a good sign.
We talked about our dates. The ones before I was rebuilt. I had no memory of any after that. I don’t remember what we had to eat. Guess I was too nervous and focused on what she said.
After an hour, we sat back. I think she was more comfortable with me now.
“Shall we leave?” she asked.
I nodded and stood.
When she got up, I noticed she had on a tight dress and low-heeled red shoes.
She grabbed a matching-color purse that was big enough to hide a handgun.
“Where to? Your place or mine?” she asked.
Oh that was good.
“I’m staying at the ops center. Shall we go to yours?”
She smiled and nodded.
In the parking lot, she stopped off at her dark-green two-door Izu and I followed her in my white Hatzu. Her Izu was designed by Japanese and was built by Izu, Ltd in Zor. Cars were too expensive to ship from Earth but the design could be replicated here. That was good for local workers too.
I spent the night. All I remember was her comment after we made love.
“Yep. You still have it.”
Chapter 22
The next morning I made a quick stop at the ops center to change into a dark green suit and yellow dress shirt. Then I hopped over to the nearby Bagel Joe’s Deli.
I felt relief when I spotted Deek sitting in the same seat he had used when I offered my bribe. After standing in line for my bagel, I took my old chair at the deli and did a quick scan to check for broadcasting signals.
Deek wore the same gray suit from the many times I had met him. Cops can’t afford to get expensive threads. Might have to walk in muck. Since he worked behind a desk it was unlikely. But he had always tried to take a case or two to keep up his skills. He was damned good too.
He studied my face. “Who are you?”
“Can you cover your mouth when you talk? Somebody might read lips.”
I covered mine.
“I’m Mike Shapeck now. S-H-A-P-E-C-K. Please don’t use the old name anymore. Forget you ever heard it.”
He bowed his head and used his right hand to cover his mouth.
“And who would that be?”
“You used to know me as Jake Dani. I made a promise and I intend to keep it.”
Deek’s eyes opened wider at that one.
“Can’t be. I was the IO when Jake and Ron bought the ranch.”
“Yeah,” I said as I looked down. “My boss had me rebuilt from Jake’s template.”
Deek raised his head at that one. He was silent for all of three seconds.
“I heard there were only two rebuilts. Both on Earth.”
“That’s what the public knows.”
“Hmm, always mysterious, eh?
I replied, “You could say that.”
“I could say anything, actually. You’re not telling me much.”
“Ask me some questions that only the other person I can’t name would know.”
He sat quietly for a few seconds.
“Where did this alleged promise occur?”
Ah, always the cop. He used the word “alleged.”
“Right here.”
He asked, “What did you promise?”
“I said that if IA should ever take your badge that I’d hire you. If my memory serves me correctly, I said, ‘If you lose your retirement, you can work for me. Pays better, too.’”
“How did you pay?”
“I passed three envelops under the table, each containing four thou.”
He squinted.
“What did I say next?”
“I’m not sure. Dang memory. That was a long time ago. But you asked about taking Marcie and you to the Top of the Town. Which I did.”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
Good.
“This won’t be easy,” he said.
I nodded. “I can understand that. But it would help if you could try. Forget about my old name. Use my new name all the time. I’m Mike now. And don’t tell Marcie or your kids. Or anyone else.”
His gaze went downward.
Good. He was thinking it over.
He added, “I trust Marcie.”
“I don’t want to come between the two of you. But my life depends on how few know. The more who know, the higher the risk. This information is ripe for spreading.”
I added, “I told my next in command to honor my promise to you. In case anything happens to me, you’re covered.”
He nodded at that one.
“Good. You had me sweating when you died.”
So he accepted me.
“Sorry ‘bout that.”
“Jake, ….”
“Stop! Don’t ever call me by that name. He’s dead. Make the shift in your mind to call me Mike. It’s better this way.”
“Mike then. What kind of outfit do you work for?”
“We recruit people from all over.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
I replied, “And I won’t either.”
“Jake wouldn’t get mixed up in anything criminal.”
“Humph. If only you knew. We do crime all the time.”
“Oh?” he asked.
“Sometimes. Most of the time, not. But when we have to, we’re not afraid to step over the line.”
“Sounds like spook stuff.”
I smiled. “You can say that. Or not.”
“You always were mysterious.”
“Deek, I can help you and you can help me. I’ll try to not ask you to cross that line again.”
“You did once.”
“I know. It was to protect Leanna, one of my employees.”
He nodded at her name.
“I’d do the same thing for you, if you were one of us.”
“Still sounds like spook stuff.”
I sighed. “I wish I could tell you more. We’ve been friends for a long time. I’ve been to your home. Met Marcie, Doreen, and Tony. Ate meals with them.”
“Only Jake would say that.”
I shook my head. “Don’t use that name. I’m Mike now. Forget the old name.”
“That means you can’t come to my house.”
I nodded while looking at my bagel.
“Unfortunately, that’s right.”
Rebuilt: A Jake Dani/Mike Shapeck Novel (Jake Dani / Mike Shapeck) Page 8
