A Girl Called Andrea Part two: A Lead (701 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 2 on 6 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Sam (View user info) at 2003-12-04 10:24:08 EST
Part one: http://www.ubersite.com/m/19821
"Well, Legs, it seems you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't know yours. Care to share?" I asked.
"I'm called Andrea. My creator is a genius with circuitry, but he isn't that creative with names. I'm an android, so he called me Andrea. Simple, huh?"
"Just Andrea, huh? No last name?"
"Well, you could call me by my full name—AU-052076, but that's rather cumbersome. But you seem to like to call me 'Legs', so that will do."
"Legs it is, then. Now let's talk payment." Sure I was falling for Legs, but I've still got to look at the bottom line, don't I?
She waved me off, "Money isn't an issue." I've known enough people with disposable income to know the signs and I took her at her word.
"All right then, you want to tell me when you last saw your P.O.M.?"
"I never see it. As I begin to power down, my creator puts me on standby and recharges it. The last time this happened was last night. I woke up this morning and I realized I was running on backup. My creator was missing. So I searched my databanks for the most successful detective and I came here straight away."
She wasn't wrong about me being the most successful detective in LA. But I hadn't had a case in months. And I hadn't solved a case in years. Not since Delilah. She was my love and I let her get away. Actually, I let her get taken away.
It brings up too many painful memories even now, so I won't got into all the details, but I'll tell you a little bit. Delilah was a rich and beautiful heiress. I didn't care about any of that, though. She was sweet. She was the kindest, most generous woman I had ever met and for some reason, she loved me. She was kidnapped by the Russian mafia. They did care about her money. I was the best god damned dick in LA so it was natural that I would try to track her down. My friends told me I was too close. They were right. I made mistakes and I finally found her, all right. She was dead in an alley. Her body was riddled with bullets and her bruised face was staring into a greasy mud puddle. I was never again the same Frank Anton, private detective.
"Mr. Anton?" Legs asked.
I realized that the memory was distracting me. Just one of the problems I regularly faced since losing my Delilah.
"I'm listening,"" I lied. "Let's take a ride to your creator's place."
Legs opened up her umbrella and we headed out. Her creator's place was only a few blocks away so we didn't need the ride. I was glad because Legs didn't drive and my car was a piece of shit. You never want to see your clients driving a piece of shit.
The creator's home was immaculate. I didn't think it would be much help. But then I saw his computer. The job of private dicking has changed a lot since the popularity of the home computer. I approached it to boot it up when Legs jumped in front of me.
"Here, let me do it."
Who was I to argue with someone who was made up of the stuff inside the computer? I let her jump right ahead.
With the same deftness she showed in my office, she unzipped her dress and opened her hatch. She removed a few wires and plugged them into the computer. Her eyes began to move from side to side with remarkable speed, as though she were reading at a fast pace. Finally, her eyes stopped.
Without saying a word, she unplugged the wire, closed her hatch, and zipped up her dress.
"Well?" I asked.
"Well what?"
"What did you find?"
""A lot," she answered.
"Sweetheart, I can't help you if you don't clue me in."
"There's so much information. I can't tell you all of it."
"Legs, I've got to know something."
She looked like she was about to cry. Her big brown eyes began to well up. Her already ugly face began to bunch up like a child's. It was about to get wetter in here than it was outside. That's if robots actually cried. How the hell would I know?
"Calm down, doll-face. We'll get to the bottom of this. We'll work together, okay?"
She nodded. It seemed I was going to avoid the water works, but she was looking down at her feet.
"Ignore all the specs for you and any other creations of his. Let's concentrate on his personal documents and email. Okay?"
She nodded again.
"Is there anything in there about leaving town? Maybe a vacation or something?"
She shook her head.
"Anything that might make you think he was getting tired of his life? Any talk of depression or suicide?"
She shook her head again.
"Any enemies?"
She was starting to shake. She shook her head for a third time and I knew that all these dead ends were starting to get to her.
"It's okay, don't get upset. Did he owe anyone money?"
She looked up. "Y-yes."
"Okay, that's a start. Who did he borrow from?"
It was clear that she was accessing the file. "A man called Fyodor Petrovich."
It was fortunate that I was standing in front of a chair. My legs gave out and I fell into the chair.
Legs got alarmed. "What? What's wrong? What is it?"
"Petrovich," I answered. He's . . . the Russian mafia."
To be continued . . .
User Reviews
Submitted by Tak at 2003-12-09 11:53:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Man, kick ass.
I love it, I love it.
Submitted by drky (user info) at 2003-12-04 13:44:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice link Phinch
Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2003-12-04 11:53:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
sexy robots..
mmmmm
http://www.worth1000.com/cache/gallery/contestcache.asp?contest_id=1350
Submitted by drky (user info) at 2003-12-04 11:02:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Dun Dun Derrrrr!!!!
Badass
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2003-12-04 10:43:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
a plot twist
Submitted by Lord_Of_The_Strings (user info) at 2003-12-04 10:39:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You were right it did get better, well done