"Ta-da!"

Shumira stepped from behind the screen, a big smile on her face, 
her hands thrown up into the air like a showgirl's. Ido, 
unabashedly (for once!) told himself that she had every reason to 
be proud of herself. She was beautified, an exquisitely fashioned 
woman, ready for the special occasion of a 'night out on the town' 
as he had called it. Her white-blonde hair was combed away from 
her face and put back in three hairbands down her back. She wore 
a white shoulderless dress that fit her figure, with white shoes to 
match. Her pantyhose was all but indistinguishable from her 
natural skin tone. To finish the ensemble, Shumira had carefully 
selected white clasp earrings, a white bracelet, a white handbag and 
a small yellow rose, pinned over her left breast.

Ido was speachless for a full quarter-minute before he said, 
"Shumira...you look beautiful."

"Oh, Shumira, you really do," Alita followed. She was almost the 
chromatic opposite from Shumira--her dress, shoes, handbag and 
clip-on earrings were black. Alita had chosen black pantyhose and 
a red rose instead; and, to this day self-conscious of her cyborg 
body, she wore long black gloves and a black bead necklace. Ido 
thought she looked beautiful, but in a different way than her 
friend.

As if hating to intrude, Kimji buzzed in and pearched on Ido's 
shoulder. Shumira laughed. "Ido watch fluffy while Shumira and 
Alita-chan out, OK?"

"Sure." Ido took the two by their hands as Shumira joined them by 
the dining room table. "Now, Gonzu's probably going to be at the 
New Kansas this evening, and I'll be hunting. Shumira, you can 
palm the lock when you two get back. And...I hope you two have a 
lovely evening together!"

"Okayyyy!"

"We will." Alita gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Do you and 
Gonzu ever have 'boy's nights out'?"

"Yes, we go to bed early." Ido returned the kiss, and gave another 
to Shumira. "Take care, now."

Alita and Shumira walked to the door of the apartment. Shumira 
paused in the entry way and gave Ido a little wave, a token gesture 
to let him know how much he meant to her. Ido gave the wave 
back, echoing the emotion.

That he did so was one of the reasons he was dreading the 
evening's activity.

Shumira stepped across the threshold and closed it behind her. 
Daisuke Ido remained where he sat, his rear resting upon the 
table's edge. How much he had changed in the years in the 
Scrapyard..."Not merely my behavior, either," he thought, recalling 
the months he had spent trying to break Gonzu of the very habit 
he was now obeying. He closed his eyes for a moment and 
thought about how he had physically changed. As a young man 
decending into the Scrapyard, he had been a well-fed game bird--
full of life, and pleasing to the eye, but hardly designed for a 
Darwinian world. Now, he thought himself like an eagle, muscle 
and sinew. But those tissues were aging; he could no longer 
pretend that he and Father Time walked along different paths. 
With that aging, his energies were being channeled into different 
things. Alita had introduced him to the world of music, Shumira to 
the world of society--these new hobbies captured many of the 
hours that he had pursued criminals. There were many new 
bounty hunters, many of whom Alita trained and he himself 
guided. "Soon", he said to himself, "I will hunt one last time, then 
nevermore." His energies would be devoted to other, quieter 
pastimes...maybe even a family.

He glared at the gargoyle. Kimji was in the window, watching the 
girls hailing a cab in the street below. Ido felt sick. There were so 
many things to take into consideration, so much baggage he 
carried with him now that had been absent when he left Tiphares. 
He looked longingly into the kitchen, unable to see the sideboard. 
Liquor would be a crutch, but that fact didn't seem insulting, or 
even important. It would be just one more example of his putting 
his own considerations ahead of those of others.

He looked back at the window. Kimji was staring at him silently, 
moving his tail like a pendulum under the windowsill. Ido nodded 
and lurched off the table. "I'll fetch my coat, then we'll leave." He 
strode out of the room, Kimji following in his wake.
--
Ido had brought his rocket-hammer with him to hide his true 
purpose in visiting Factory 33. He never hunted after his 
'appointments', he didn't have the spirit. He knew he wouldn't 
after this one.

Kimji was on his shoulder, trying to stay out of the sprinkling rain 
by hiding under the brim of Ido's hat. "Get out of my face, you 
pathetic rodent!" Ido growled. It had no effect. Ido gave up the 
effort, remembering the sorts of things that happened from 
Shumira--and by 'coincidence'--when he assaulted the cyborg.

The doors to Factory 33 swung open, and Ido trudged inside. 
Nothing looked abnormal--the massive collumns that filled the 
entryway were there, the LED lights that pointed visitors in 
different directions traced the same paths that they always had. 
And, for whatever reason, that beastly hum came from the center 
of the building. Ido hated that noise. It sounded like the tubes 
themselves as they rose and fell with the City in the Clouds.

Suddenly, a new hum began. One of the collumns was rotating on 
its base. In the space of a few seconds, it had turned around to 
expose a narrow slit in what had been its far side. Ido let his 
weapon fall to his waist then squeezed through. Inside was a chair, 
and a table the size and shape of a public ashtray, lit by a blue light 
from above. Ido and Kimji took their places as the strange room 
rotated around again, trapping them for the time being.

Kimji's eyelid dropped down; then his eye sunk back into his head. 
Ido couldn't see what was going on inside the cyborg, but didn't 
care to. A moment later, a series of bright light pulses began 
shooting out of the hole where Kimji's eye had been. At first they 
formed an indistinct yellow cloud; it became more focused and 
distinct, forming out three faces: three men, one much older than 
the other two.

He spoke with a heavy accent that a native of the Scrapyard would 
have found difficult to parse. --Well met, Daisuke Ido. You have 
been most tardy with your appointment.--

--I greet you, Chief Biggott Eizenberg, Doctor Yuri Russel, Roland 
Kappelmann,-- Ido replied flatly. --My schedule did not...--

--IF YOU PLEASE, Doctor Ido,-- the man on the left spat out, --my 
name is pronounced 'Bijoux'. Must I keep reminding you EVERY 
TIME that we have this conversation?--

--Ah, yes. How foolish of me.--

--Eizenberg...-- Kappelmann held up his hand. He shifted his 
attention to Ido. --Doctor Ido, it is going on SEVEN weeks since last 
we heard from you. I speak for the three of us when I say that this 
is MOST inexcusable.--

--I have an excuse. I have nothing to report.--

--Nothing?--

--No, Chief Eizenberg, nothing to report.-- Ido counted on his 
fingers. --No recovered memories, no unusual behavior, no 
anticonfoming behavior, no dreams. Nothing at all.--

Eizenberg shook his head. --Doctor Ido, we all know that that is 
simply not good enough. Your orders were to have a prepared 
account of all of F33-405's activities available every four weeks, is 
that not clear enough?--

--ALITA...is not my ward any longer! I cannot pry into her every 
activity, how do you expect me to prepare these blasted reports 
anyway?--

--You have your orders, Doctor...--

--Fuck your orders.-- Ido stood, shaking with rage. --Fuck you, and 
fuck your whole Bureau! You've been using me as your puppet far 
too long! I've had enough, and I want out!--

--Doctor,--

--SILENCE!-- Ido turned to the man on the right. --I know what 
this is about, Kappelmann! You don't have any proof that she's 
Yoko, but you can't stand to see ME alive and well on the surface 
after all these years! So you feed the Council half-truths, lies and 
innuendo to keep your budget up, at the expense of me and my 
family! NO MORE!--

--You can't walk away, Ido,--said Eizenberg.

--I've done it before, I can do it again. Even if I have to take them 
with me.-- Ido lifted up his weapon. --Now...are you going to let 
me go, or do I have to sign my name in the side of your Factory?--

Without another word, the image of the three men faded away.
--
Kappelmann leaned away from the monitor, rubbing his temples. -
-If I was to tell you that our interview went better than I had 
expected, would you believe me?--

--I would,-- Russel replied. --Whatever shall we do now?--

--Kill her. That's all we have to do.--

--Yoko?-- Russel looked at Eizenberg with shock. --Oh, you mean 
Shumira. No, I think not. Ido is unstable at the moment, there's no 
saying what he would do under the stress. And, by the time he will 
have been able to weather it better, he will have acted.--

--I agree. Chief Eizenberg, do we have a beta plan?--

--Yes.-- Eizenberg rose from his seat. --I shall get into contact with 
Professor Destin Enoch Nova, for he is our closest operative. I shall 
send him Yoko's case file and authorize him to use any means 
necessary to secure Yoko. At that point, Ido is unimportant to us, 
and we may dispose of him at our leisure.--

--Chief Eizenberg,-- Russel stood up at his chair, --this is the same 
Professor Nova who, in his first year of teaching, abducted his best 
and worst students and tortured them for three days before 
removing their brains? This is madness!--

--I can assure you, Doctor Russel, he is on the most stable of 
psychological footings now, and he is also the most qualified man 
for the job.-- Eizenberg had extracted a manila file folder from a 
cabinet and was pawing through it casually. --Kappelmann, with 
your permission, we would like Government authorization to 
proceed.--

--But...--

--Very well. Do what you will.--