Dr. Guillotine was, in a word, repulsive.
Not just his appearance, though that was certainly true, with his blister-covered skin, mismatched teeth, and clunky cybernetics. But his personality was just as off-putting. It spoke to his technical skill that he still managed to get customers. Dana had been one for years, despite how much she hated the man. But she had nowhere else to turn to for cyberware. The official clinics were ludicrously expensive, and going to Vulture’s guys was risky for her since she had taken that job to track down one of her shipments. Word was she was hunting for Dana, alive.
“Well well well, Miss Stingray, I never thought I’d see the day where you mark that pretty face of yours with cybernetics.” He chuckled, a sore on his cheek leaking a little fluid.
“Listen, shitbag, if I can tell that you’ve been working on me when I wake up, you’ll be rat shit by morning.” Dana dropped her jacket on the table, and lit a synthetic cigarette. “I need discretion, not to look like some chrome freak.”
“Oh? So I can’t tempt you with any of these then? They’re quite useful.” Guillotine plugged in a set of mechanical tendrils, each one equipped with a series of blades and pincers. Like every other piece of tech the doctor had bolted to him, they were old, ugly, and brutally efficient.
“Y’know when I said chrome freak I meant you, pus-bag. The only reason those fuckin’ arms of yours are useful is ‘cause nobody without brain fungus would let you touch ‘em.”
“Your words are as sharp as ever, Dana. But if my eye doesn’t deceive me, you’ve gotten softer in other areas.” A tendril snaked around and poked Dana’s plush booty, which earned Guillotine a heavy kick to his bloated middle. “Now, now. I need to examine you for the anesthetic. Step onto the scale, if you would.” Dana bit back a retort. She didn’t exactly want to know how much she had gained, and Guillotine would be annoyingly thorough with his measurements. Relenting, she grit her teeth, and let him commence. “Weight…….one hundred and seventeen point seven-five kilograms. Waist measurement, ninety-nine point six centimeters. This latest job has filled you out, Miss Stingray.”
“Fuck off, I don’t need comments from a filthy shitstain like you. It’s this fuckin’ rich slut’s fault, eatin’ fuckin’ junk all day, every day.”
“You may want to stop joining her if you want to keep your delightful figure. That pauch you’re developing might turn away some suitors.” A tendril jabed a needle into her stomach, a stimulant to aid in cybernetic bonding. “Of course, I will always welcome you with open arms.”
“If you hugged me I’d kill you and then myself. Just fit my eye already. And refill the addiction suppressor while you’re at it.”
“Of course, dear customer. As for the payment……?”
“Yeah, you can keep the fuckin’ eye, freak!”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dana glared at her reflection in the mirror. There was her original, dark brown eye on the right. And, on the left, the new artificial one, glowing softly. There was no pupil in the yellow surface, making it very obviously false. “Guillotine, you rotting bag of slime! What part of ‘discrete’ did your maggot infested brain not get?”
“Calm down, dearest. You want colour matching, go to an official clinic. I work with what I have. Besides, that eye is top of the line. Recording, still images directly to an internal drive. Built in vital monitoring and navigation software. Plus a virtual intelligence that aids in close quarters combat. See?” Without warning, he shot one of her tendrils directly at Dana’s face. She dodged with ease, as the eye predicted the assault and directed her on the optimal way to move. “You’ve been given a bargain.” Throughout the exchange, he didn’t look away from the jar containing Dana’s old eye.
Dana sulkily pulled her jacket back on. She had to admit, it was a good piece of hardware. She checked the function of the camera, snapping a photo of her hand and accessing the internal storage. And then kicking Guillotine squarely in the back as she found several images of his grinning face on it, and some more disgusting parts. “Fuckin’ pervert!” She stormed out, deleting the images. She needed a shower.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Back in her rented hotel room, Dana watched the opposite building. She could see Sally’s chubby form through the cheap blinds, and the bulging, obese form of Fatass Felicity. That was at least the correct choice on her part. Felicity’s apartment had been hit two weeks ago, and the gang was clearly looking for her. Nothing had been taken except some identification files. At least until Dana showed up and helped herself to a few things worth selling.
Girl’s gotta eat, right?
Speaking of eating, she pushed a burrito into her mouth, chewing aggressively. She didn’t know what meat was in it, and she didn’t want to. The eye took a lot of energy, according to Guillotine, and she needed to increase her calorie density. The ration packs had met the trash compactor, and Dana had been hitting the local eateries. She hated the paste anyway. Beneath her miniskirt, her ass was expanding, suggesting that she wasn’t quite as adept at working out calorie intake as she should be. She didn’t pay much attention - she had more important things to think about. She checked her fake I.D. again. Juliette Corsika. It was as flawless as they came, well worth the five thousand credits. Now, the decision was who Juliette was.
Would a fellow new girl to the city make Sally feel more at ease? Maybe get her to reveal some details about herself? Or perhaps a victim of gang violence, looking for safety in numbers? Decisions, decisions. Dana saw the door open across the street, and Sally walked out. Finishing her burrito, Dana threw on her jacket, making her choice as she walked out of the room.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
