by Bibbo
I place my right fist in my left palm and rub its smooth surface. I feel the cold steel on warm flesh, and it brings me a bittersweet feeling. Before I lost my hand in a commando mission, I could still enjoy the simple things in life. Something about my touch would make a woman shiver with joy. Now, the women just complain about the temperature. It's awkward to make love wearing a glove, but sometimes I think the cost is worth it.
I'm Arnold Bobowsky, currently chief of security here at Malvan-X, where I'm standing in the lobby outside the penthouse office door, preparing to enter. I wait for a moment before I do so to keep from interrupting until the right time.
"Where is he?" the woman spits angrily as she brushes a strand of dark hair off of her face, revealing the deep, purple slanted eyes that drive men to their knees in the both the boardroom and the bedroom. "Did you get the signal? Did he spark?"
"Yes Ms. X," Dr. Quantos says, rubbing his bandaged chin where the escaping Eurostar had struck him, "we recorded his 'explosion' just before contact was lost with the Lioness. A few minutes later, he disappeared off of our scopes."
"According to police reports, Lorena is dead," I say as I enter the room.
"Yes, Chief Bobowsky, I received a similar report," Quantos replies, "but I don't know if I trust the authorities."
"My men have confirmed it," I reply as I bring my cigarette back to my mouth. "It seems that our new toy went ghost and went for a swim in the sands once he was cornered."
"We need to retrieve him before TriVext tries anything," the raven-haired woman says as she walks toward me. She runs her fingers down my muscled arm before settling on my hand. Unlike most women, the steel hand does not bother her. After all, it is her gift to me.
"Chief, we need Eurostar back. Will you get him for me?" she whispers breathily into my ear as her hand continues to travel. I am sure that Dr. Quantos is blushing behind her.
"A Class Alpha metahuman? That sounds like a lot of trouble," I reply coolly, removing my cigarette with my unoccupied hand to exhale. "Is this going to be worth my while?"
The woman just smiles. A lesser man would have been drooling and falling into a fetal position by now, but I am not a lesser man. That's why I am the security chief here, and that's why she has taken a personal interest in my work.
"I'll assemble a team. I'm going to need some equipment, and I expect Doc here to hand over whatever I ask for," I reply as I deposit the finished smoke into an ashtray. "Don't worry, beautiful, you'll get your man."
Dr. Quantos turns back to his work as Ms. X sighs and laughs to herself. Even with my increased strength and the other benefits my prosthesis give me, I'll have my work cut out for me getting a meta as powerful as Eurostar back in one piece. I just hope that the meta members of the Mandelovian Security Corps we have left at our disposal after the loss of Agent F7 and Lioness will be enough for our purposes.