" Feel that?" " Yep." "Ouch." "That?" "No, Sam, cos you didn't touch me." "My guess is we're dealing with phantom sensation." "So how do you explain the fact that last night I moved my toe?" "Not a lot, but it moved." "Show me." "Logan, spinal-nerve damage does not just heal itself." "Not ever." "I'm telling you, this isn't something I'm imagining." "I looked at the results of your blood work last night." "And I did find something... well, unusual." "You have pluripotents circulating in your bloodstream." " What are pluripotents?" " They're undifferentiated stem cells." "It's what an embryo develops from." "They can become any type of cell in the body." "Usually we only see them in the first few weeks after conception but for some reason... your blood is coursing with them." "Maybe these cells are regenerating what's been damaged." "I don't wanna speculate about something I can't understand." " Yeah, but isn't it possible..." " Anything is possible." "I'm not..." "I'm not telling you not to have hope." "But, as your doctor, I have a responsibility to give you the medical facts." "I'm getting out of that chair, Sam." "I'm gonna hold a good thought for you on that." "In the meantime, we'll run more tests." "We'll see what we're dealing with here." "Ow!" "Only my doctor tells me I'm imagining that it hurts." "He has a medical degree." "You think he's wrong?" "He can shove his medical degree." "I know he's wrong." "You did this, Max, when you transfused me." "Revved-up Manticore blood's the only explanation." "We're designed to recover from injuries fast." "Makes sense we'd have surplus stem cells." "Which I believe is what's repairing the nerve damage and reversing the atrophy in my legs." "All that from one transfusion." " Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" " I'm game." "I'm ready." "I found freedom in service." "You have served well." "No regrets." "No regrets." "The girl." "Find her." "He only lasted six months." "He knew the risk when he took the implant." "You all did." "You said a year." "I said you'd be paid for a year, whether you lasted that long or not." "Look, you want to live?" "You find the Manticore girl." "We give you her DNA and you can tolerate the implant for years, serve out your contracts and retire rich men." "They got a partial number off her pager." "They're working on the rest." " What's taking so long?" " Its memory was lost when it was damaged." "The only way to get the data is to run a quantum scan so they can reconstruct the LCD read-out." "It's time-consuming." "Once they get the number, we'll track down the person that called her last." "We set up on that person." "Let them lead us to the Manticore girl." "And this time... she won't get away." "What's up, my brother?" "Good morning, my sister." "Sketchy, my brother." " You all right?" " I am very well, thank you." "Forget to put water in the bong, boo?" "You talkin' strange." "I am practising speaking more clearly." "What's wrong with the way you talk when you don't sound ridiculous?" "My woman tells me that it's difficult for some people... many people... to understand me." "Who doesn't overstand you besides Normal, who's an idiot?" "Many people." "Most people." " My woman." " Jam Pony." "Don't be losin' your flava cos fools ain't got ears to hear." "It's gonna be a sad day in Babylon when you start sounding like some haircut in a suit." "I told you this is a place of business, not your answering service." " Does that mean I got a call?" " Yes." "Make it brief." "Yeah?" "That's me." "Hot run, 1298 Chapel." "You serious?" "Course I'm still interested." "Today?" "Sure." "Yes, and thank you." "In a dark world, that sounded like some good news." "Remember that Mr Sivapathasundaram dealio when we thought we'd get fired?" " It's our finest hour." " Yes." "I saw this "help wanted" ad and filled out an application just in case." "That was them." "They want me to start this afternoon." "You got a job?" "A real job?" "Do you get to keep your clothes on?" "I'm going to be doing telemarketing." "Selling insurance." " For?" " Death and dismemberment." "As long as there's misery in the world, might as well be an upside." " Kind of how I saw it." " Way to go." "Yeah, and when you get your foot in the door you could use your influence to get us out of this hellhole." "You have got Original Cindy's word on that." "Let's go!" "This is not a warehouse for human flesh!" "Let's go!" "Get to work." " Normal." " What?" "There's something I've wanted to say to you since the day I started working here." "I quit." " Is that right?" " I thought it over for a good 12 seconds and decided it's in my own long-term best interest to get the hell up out of here." "Well, I am so pleased." "One less disrespectful, loudmouth, deadbeat hooligan to ruin my day." "The door's that way." "Let's get back to work." "The things you learn to put up with when you have to." "Later, my peeps." "I gotta clean out my locker, bomb home... and dress for success." "See you at Crash tonight?" "You can tell us all about your first day." "Bye, boo." "I'm ready." " You understand the risks involved?" " I'll take my chances." "You know what to do." "You're one of us now." "Our friends back home got the rest of the number off the girl's pager." "Last call she got came from this address." "Cindy?" " Where's the girl who lives here?" " You just missed her." "Know where she went?" " Tell me." " Said something about landing a new job." "Washington Meridian Insurance, I think it was." "So have you worked in insurance before?" "Technically, no." "But remember back in school when you used to play the dozens?" " I'm sorry?" " You know, trading' insults." "Like "your breath's so bad, when people call you on the phone they hang up."" "I happen to be blessed with mad verbal skills." "Kids used to pay me cash money to come up with dis they could use." "So, in a way, I guess you could say I sold insurance against catastrophic tongue failure." "Maybe you'd better familiarise yourself with this." "It's our standard sales pitch." "Our manager, Mr Petrick, likes us to stick to the script." "No problem, sugar." "Here's the schedule of benefits for our policy." "Memorise it so you can answer any questions customers might have." "A'ight." "Well, I have to run to the bank for Mr Petrick." "When I get back we'll set you up with some numbers so you can start cold calling." "OK?" " OK." " OK." ""Ever worried what might happen to you or your dependants if you were left unable to work due to a disfiguring accident?" "Well, worry no more."" "No!" "Easy." "Easy." "Easy." "Honey, I'm home!" "Jeez, gimme the handcuffs, quick." "No, keep still." "Let me do it." " Let her go!" " Hey, take it easy." "You think you're gonna shake us down, Walter?" "Think again!" "Max." "Max, let him go." "It's not like that." "Walter, honey, why don't you put on your pants?" " Tell me this isn't happening." " It's happening." "It's been happening, and with any luck it's gonna keep happening." "This is the guy who used to shake us down once a month for 600 bucks." " He's changed." "He's a different man." " How?" "A few weeks ago we ran into each other at Dunkin' Donuts." "He apologised for the way he took our money." "We got to talking and I started to see there was more to him than I'd ever realised." " He's sweet and kind and funny." " And married, as I recall." "Which is why I kept things platonic." "Until his wife took off with some kid on a skateboard." "Poor guy." "Max, I am crazy about him." "But I thought things with this Mr Multiples guy was getting really serious." "Max, Walter is Mr Multiples." " Seventh floor is vacant and secure." " Roger that." "See you later, cupcake." "Pearl of a girl here." "May I speak to Caroline Berrisford?" "I'm from Washington Meridian Insurance." "We have a one-time offer." "...the security of knowing you will be looked after in the event of a disfiguring accident..." "You are entitled to a $50,000 payout if you were to lose both eyes, both legs and both arms, unless a functional prosthetic can be attached to any vestigial stump." "$25,000 if you lose an eye and a leg or both eyes and a hand." "If you sign up now you can take advantage of an offer that won't cost you an arm and a leg." "A few questions?" "Sure." "What do you wanna know?" "Excuse me?" "How much if you lost your what?" "What am I wearing?" "!" "Freak!" "You've reached the number you dialled." "Hey, Logan." "Pick up the phone." "It's me." "Just called to see how you're doing." "I'm headed to Crash to meet some friends." "Thought you might wanna come." "But you're out, probably saving the world." "Or maybe it's your bowling night." "Anyway, hope you're doin'good." "Call me." "She's hittin' it with the po-po?" "Getting kinky with the handcuffs?" "Do you mind?" "I'm trying to purge that image from my memory." "Original Cindy can understand the power of a well-starched uniform." "I once had me a girlfriend that was 100 per cent US Marine." "Damn, she was fine in her dress blues." "Ten-hut!" "He's twice her age." "Original Cindy can understand the allure of maturity." "I once had a girlfriend who had a daughter that was older than me." "She was fine, too." " Which got kinda complicated..." " Will you stop?" "All I'm sayin' is it takes all kinds to make a world." "This cop moves Kendra's furniture, who are we to judge?" "It's just everywhere I look, people keep changin' on me." "Kendra's knockin' boots with a guy whose coffee I spat in, you're makin' a getaway from Jam Pony hell, and Logan's..." "I don't know." "What?" "Your squeeze giving you a hard time, sugar?" "No." "It's just his... possibilities are expanding." " And he's not my squeeze." " Is he kicking' it with someone else?" "No, it's all good." "It's just all... different." "Boo, you dwelling too much on things that ain't party-related." " You know what you need?" " A pitcher of beer." "Read my mind." " So how much you rake in today?" " Nothing." "As in zip, zero, nada." "You mean you worked hard all day with no compensation whatsoever?" " Are you OK?" " Brother man's just havin' an identity crisis." "Anyway, the dealio with this job is it's a commission-type situation." " I followed the script straight up." " And no sale?" "Not even a nibble." "I even code-switched, pulled way back on the flava." "That's the problem." "You're not being yourself." "I don't know, boo." "Sister girl want the scrilla, peeps gotta feel what she's puttin' down." "The next round's on me." "You..." "But why?" "Why me?" "Help us live." "Why are they after you?" "Road rage." "I cut them off in traffic." "Has to be because you're a biosynth." "My guess is Manticore." "Judging from your age, an X5." "One of the 12 that escaped." "How do you know so much about us?" "I have a lot of time on my hands to research all the good conspiracy theories." "How about instead you clue me in on why these guys are seriously after my ass." "They've been told by their handlers that your genetic code can prolong their life spans." "Rumour is they're looking to create a new generation of soldiers that can tolerate the implant longer." "My guess is they want you so they can harvest your ova." "Like being a girl isn't hard enough." "They want me to be mommy to a whole army of these guys." "In a generation, they'd have themselves a perfect warrior." "And wouldn't have to recruit from their prison population." "The Reds are convicts?" "Fresh off death row." "A commuted sentence in exchange for becoming one of these soldiers." "More like a stay of execution until the implant kills them." "Why don't they remove it before they burn out?" "The implant rewires neural pathways." "So they can't survive without the interface." "Bottom line - how do I fight these guys?" "Manticore genetics are impressive, but in direct combat, there is no warrior equal to the Red Series." "Got it." " You lost the implant?" "!" " We lost a man." "A second man." "Have you any idea what that thing is worth?" " Did you hear me?" "A man died." " More of you will die if you don't get the girl." "Even if we do, how do we know it's not already too late for us?" "Maybe you'd rather be back on death row." "Let's see, you'd be dead by lethal injection almost eight months now." "Why don't you just go ahead and kill me?" "It's something you enjoy." "You're really good at it." "But you wouldn't dare, because that'd be suicide." "The one you followed to the Manticore girl." "Did she know you were on her tail?" " No." " Good." "Then she can still be useful." "Hello?" "Is this Mr Rogelio Riquelme?" "Do you worry what might happen if you were unable to work due to a disfiguring accident?" "No, no, don't hang up." "Do not hang up this phone." "I know you're a busy man, sugar, but let me keep it real for y'all." "You lose an arm or a leg and Washington Meridian Insurance is gonna drop 20 large on whatever's left of your ass, which is better than nothin', a'ight?" "Is that your seed I hear crying' his little head off?" "What's his name, boo?" "What's little Rogelio and the baby's momma gonna do if you stone-cold dead?" "No daddy, no dolla-dolla." "Unless you step to me and plan for that child's future." "Cos Original Cindy's got you covered all over like foundation make-up on a drag queen." "What can I do for you girls?" "Here's a question." "How'd they know you were at Crash?" " I don't know." " That's a problem." "Little accident." "How you feelin'?" " OK." " Did the transfusion help?" "Any change?" "If there was, don't you think you'd be the first one to know?" " It's Original Cindy." "Can I use your phone?" " Please do." " Washington Meridian." " How goes it in the concrete jungle?" "You know, you know." "I speak my word and the peeps just give me all they money." "Listen, boo, there's a new club opening tonight and I got some love with security." "Swing by here and pick me up and we'll get our drink on." "Tonight's no good." "But you gotta come meet my new hot boy, Carlito." " Carlito?" " He a fine-ass stud." "And he got a brother too." " What do you say?" "You gonna come kick it?" " Yeah, I can kick it." "I'm on my way." " Gotta jet." "Original Cindy needs a ride home." " Be careful out there." "What are you doing?" "I have a date with a couple of Reds and I need to be all that I can be." "You don't want to do that." "It could kill you." "I don't have a choice." "It's like turbocharging a turbocharged engine." "If the Reds burn out in months, Max might only last a few hours." "How do we disable the damn thing?" "By short-circuiting it." " With what?" " My defibrillator should do the trick." "You want me to blow 5,000 volts into Max's head?" "And the sooner the better." "What the hell is taking so long?" "She should be here by now." "I don't know." "The girl's gotta look good." "You warned her somehow." "Now she's in the wind." "And you're dead." "How do I look in red?" "Bring it on." "Go!" "Is that all you got?" " I'll be needing that implant back." " I thought I was worth more to you alive." "You were." "But with the implant in, you're dead anyway." " Don't be so sure." " Manticore transgenetics aren't bulletproof." "Good thing your boys never found out the truth." "That getting me was never about helping them." "You just wanted me for breeding." "There was no way I could have saved their lives." "There was never any hope for them." "They heard what they wanted to hear." "They fought hard." "Died for you." " They were criminals." "Scum of the earth." " So, what, they're just expendable?" "You gotta expect losses." "Max!" "Move!" "Aaaaagh!" "No..." "No regrets." "Max..." " Is she conscious?" " No." "Check her eyes." "Do you see blood?" "Yeah." " Damn." " She's seizing." "There's no time." "If you don't zap that implant it's going to burn out her nervous system." "Get the case from my wheelchair." "Yellow plastic case." "Get it." "Find the entry point." "Base of her skull." "OK, I see it." "You need to make direct contact with the implant." " So you'll have to cut in." " "Cut in"?" "Are you kidding?" "Do it now." "Yeah, I got it." "The number on the indicator?" " It says 300." " OK, I got the end of it." "He says he feels the end of it." "We leave the knife in, use it as a conductor and zap her with these paddles." "One on her forehead and one on her neck." "This is wack." "OK." "Do it." "Clear." "Logan, what's going on?" "Is she OK?" "The seizure's stopped." "She's breathing normally." "How's the headache?" "Not bad, considering the creepy metal insect stuck in there." "Shrapnel of past wars." "Got some myself." " Where's my girl?" " In the kitchen." "She's OK." "I ought to turn myself in to Manticore before someone else gets hurt." " Yeah, right." " Logan, I almost got my best friend killed." "So what are you gonna tell her?" " The truth." " Is that wise?" "Maybe not." "But after today I think she's earned it." " Say something." " What am I supposed to say?" "My homegirl just tells me she's not even human." "I'm mostly human." "I thought about telling you a million times, but..." "I was afraid to." "What, you didn't think you could trust me?" "When you and me hooked up... it was like, all of a sudden, there was this part of my life where I didn't have to be hiding or fighting or anything else, except... tryin' to make a livin' and kickin' it with my homegirl." "I never had that before." "A friend." "I was scared that if I told you what was up it would all change." "And that you would look at me like you are right now." "Like I was some kind of freak you didn't even recognise." "Damn." "All this time, I never knew." "Is this gonna change things?" "No doubt." "No doubt." "There's some issues here Original Cindy's gotta think on." "You could have died putting' that bitch in your head." "But you did it anyway to get my back." "You're my boo." "For life." "No matter what." "Now let me see this bar code of yours." "Sugar, that's kinda hot, a'ight?" "Hot run, 46 Euclid." "46 Euclid's been incarcerated." "Solicitation of a minor." "Oh, well." "We'll return that to sender." "Well, well, well." "Someone who's two hours late for work looks like they were a dirty little party girl last night." "God, look at your eyes." "What you been drinkin'?" "Gasoline?" "I had to have radical emergency amateur brain surgery to remove a nanochip before I stroked out from a neurochemical overload." "This is all one great big joke to you, isn't it?" "You're late one more time, missy, you're gonna be fired." " And get some eye drops." " How 'bout you leave her alone?" "Maybe she don't feel so hot." "Ingesting petroleum products will do that to you." "You're trespassing in private property." "Hear me out before you call the police." "I would like my old job back." "If you'd have me." "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone?" "What happened to greener pastures?" "What happened to the high horse you rode out on?" "Maybe Original Cindy needed to learn a lesson." "What, "opportunities don't grow on trees"?" "Or maybe you're not the goddess of the universe you thought you were." "I had some soul-searching to do about a lot of things." "Things I thought I already knew about." "So, what?" "Do I have to get down on my knees and beg?" "I really hate to see anybody prostitute themselves like this." "There's a lot to be said about the enemy you know." "I can understand if you're not a fan." "But if you give me another shot, I won't let you down." "All right." "But you're on permanent probation." "Is that understood?" "Original Cindy can live with that." "Come, come." "I and I be elated to have you back-a-yard." "Remember in ya heart lie a power for come tru any storm." "Boo, I didn't understand a word you said, and this is me." "He's happy to have you back." "And so am I." "Cos now I don't gotta feel so inadequate about being trapped in a place this lame." "I got a surprise for you." "Cover your eyes." "Is it a new carburettor?" "It is, isn't it?" " No." " Hmm." "Flowers?" "Jewellery?" " Since when do you wear jewellery?" " I'm open to the idea." "It's not jewellery." "Don't peek." "I'm not." "It's like some kind of miracle." "You're the miracle." "You did this." "You gave me back my life." "Thank the clever folks at Manticore." "I'd forgotten how tall you were." "There's always tomorrow." "Yeah." "Tomorrow." " You're gonna have to take it slow." " I don't wanna take it slow." "I wanna go fast." " Oh, yeah?" " Yeah." "Well, in that case... there's something I've wanted to do with you since we first met." "I think you might be up for it." "Shift." "Shift!" "Woo-hoo!" "Yeah, there's always tomorrow." "But there's a lot of stuff Logan and I have never had to face before." "And it's feeling like tomorrow we might just have to." "Funny what you can be scared of."