Sign of the Dragon (Tatsu Yamada Book 1), Niall Teasdale [books for 20 year olds .txt] 📗

frame tilted, lowering Tatsu’s head down to about waist height. Pauletta wheeled a tank on wheels over from the side of the room and lifted a hose. ‘If you’ve anything to say before we start, now’s the time.’

‘I’m good,’ Tatsu replied. ‘Oh, I got shot last Friday night. You might want to check my chest plate.’

‘Someone shot you with something that got through? Wow. Okay, I’ll check it. Obviously, checking out your chest is no major chore.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘No other problems?’

‘None that come to mind.’

‘Good. Open wide, said the bishop to the actress.’

Tatsu rolled her eyes – shaking her head was out given that it was clamped in place – and opened her mouth, pushing her tongue down. Pauletta pushed the pipe into it and through into Tatsu’s throat where a receiver port had dropped into position to accept it. Tatsu closed her lips around the tube when her system registered a solid lock.

‘Great,’ Pauletta said, ‘we’ll fill you up while I get the diagnostics going.’ A second later, the tube began to cool as pressurised hydrogen was piped into Tatsu’s fuel tank. In Tatsu’s sensorium, her maintenance display showed the progression to full.

Pauletta ducked under the cradle to plug a fibre-optic cable into the back of Tatsu’s neck, then the mechanic was all business as she began running diagnostic routines on a computer on a trolley. Satisfied that the automated check-ups were going, she went back to the wall and dragged over another device. This had a computer of some sort with a long, articulated arm attached. On the end of the arm was a scanning head. Working via a virtual interface, Pauletta activated the device and the arm extended out to place the head over Tatsu’s chest.

‘Okay, using terahertz radar, so you may notice something with that electronics warfare suite of yours.’

In reality, terahertz radar had almost no military value and most EW systems were not tuned to detect it. Nothing came up in Tatsu’s sensorium to say she was being scanned. Terahertz systems were used when you wanted to see through things. They could be used to see through light brush, clothes, and even thin walls. In this case, Pauletta was using it to see through Tatsu’s skin.

‘Yeah,’ Pauletta said. ‘Got it.’ What would have been a ribcage on a human was plate armour on Tatsu. Her pelvic girdle was the same while her sternum had interlocking rings of metal with a mesh overlayer for flexibility. ‘Punched through the plate, but there’s no cracking. Coilgun round, huh? Well, it doesn’t need replacing, but I can get a new one fabricated if you think you need it.’ She glanced at Tatsu, immobile with her mouth full of fuelling pipe. ‘You can tell me later. I’m going to go over the rest of you while I have this gadget out.’ The head began to move, scanning over Tatsu’s body. ‘Might as well do something while the diagnostics run.’

Obviously, Tatsu did not answer. She closed her eyes and let her mechanic work. There was really very little else she could do.

~~~

Tatsu opened her eyes when the cable was unplugged from her neck port. The scanner head had already been retracted and the unit wheeled aside. Next came the fuelling tube which she unlocked from her throat port as soon as Pauletta had a grip on it.

‘All done,’ the mechanic said. ‘You’re looking good for a thirty-seven-year-old cyborg. I want to keep an eye on your right bicep. That might need replacing in the next month or two. Showing some signs of wear. Everything’s green for now, however.’

‘Thanks, Pauletta,’ Tatsu said. ‘If we’re going to need to order a new muscle unit, order the chest plate at the same time. If I’m going to need to be opened up, might as well get it all over with.’

‘True enough. Okay, I’ll get it done.’ Pauletta flashed a grin. ‘Want to come upstairs for a quickie?’ The door buzzer sounded and she sagged a little. ‘Rain check on that. I’ll just see what’s up and then come back to unstrap you.’

‘Don’t forget. I have work.’

‘Would I do such a thing?’ Pauletta started for the door to the front room with a broad grin on her face.

‘Yes,’ Tatsu replied. ‘Yes, you certainly would.’

7th August.

There had been two more deaths. Tatsu and Nakano had been to two more apartments to view the bodies of Funabashi gang members with sword wounds, and tensions were rising on the streets. These men had not been leaders, but they had been what the Russians called ‘vor.’ The word meant thief and yet was considered a compliment. It was roughly the equivalent of a ‘made man’ in the Italian mafia, an official member of the gang rather than someone trying to attain that exalted state. If whoever was behind the murders was hitting the lower ranks now, it was reasoned, anyone could be next.

Nakano, of course, had it easy. His superiors were basically pressing him to dump the entire case onto Tatsu since it was clearly a Chiba problem. He was resisting, and Tatsu was not entirely sure why. He continued to turn up to each scene, he reviewed the case file periodically and added his notes, and it seemed like he did not want to leave Tatsu in the lurch.

He did leave much of the detective work to Tatsu, which was why she was going over forensics reports when her door buzzer sounded. Beside the door was a little panel with a screen on it which allowed you to see and talk to whoever was outside. Tatsu ignored that and pulled up the video feed in-vision. A man in a boring, brown delivery uniform from one of the big logistics companies. He had a box of some sort in his arms. ‘Yes?’ she asked.

‘I have a delivery for Tatsu Yamada. I need