Bonus Scene
Twenty-nine years of service and . . . just sent to the Board like dumping a used car, for the shiny new model.
At least they didn’t send me to the arena.
He eyed the big RV he was being aimed at. The door slid open. “C’mon in before you freeze.”
He climbed in, and slid the door shut behind him. Found himself facing a man his size . . . left sleeve folded back and pinned, obviously missing the arm from the elbow down.
“There are clothes there. That door’s the lav, sandwiches and drinks in the fridge.” The man slid behind the wheel and had no trouble steering one armed as he backed out.
“I’m Michael Pine. Do you go by Sixty-five or . . .”
“Sixty-five. Where are we headed and what does PFUG stand for?”
“T3 Boreal, out of Solzhenitsyn. Really nice Recreation World, starting to develop its own agriculture and industry. So lots of options for an ex-cop—which is what I am, by-the-way.”
Sixty-five eyed the man’s stump. Medicaled out. Surprised he doesn’t have a prosthesis.
He pulled on a pair of pants then socks and shoes. A sweater.
Grabbed a drink and walked up to sit beside Pine.
The RV turned into Portal Facility Six and parked in the Solzhenitsyn lane.
“Good timing, just half an hour to wait.” Pine turned and eyed him.
“So . . . PFUG. Project Find Uncle Gustav. Started six years ago . . . hmm, probably almost seven by now. Anyway, a boy looking for the uncle who’d been kidnapped and never seen again, rumored to have been cyborged and sold .
. . Anyway, when the kid got a hold of a chunk of money, he started looking for the right Cyborg—bought everyone that came up on the board with a KHR 3720 conversion. ”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. Found him a year and a half ago. And . . . while he’s no longer looking for a specific Cyborg, he hasn’t stopped rescuing people.
No idea why he picked you. You can ask when we get back together .
. .” He leaned and looked out the side window.
“I think that’s his car down there . . .
so, probably while we’re waiting for the Boreal Portal .
. .” He started the engine, as the Portal switched destinations .
. . then pulled out and drove through like a pro.
“You’ve driven a lot of Portals?”
“Not a lot, but some cases took us Across.”
“And your Cyborg partner didn’t do the driving?”
Pine grinned. “So, Sixty-five? Just speculating, you know? If it were possible . . .