“Yes, I know you’re a cyborg,” I told Dan. I had to drag him down the hall, he was so stunned.
I pounded on a heavy metal door, calling to Max: “You in here, Max? It’s JJ!”
He cracked the door a bit, revealing a single, searingly green eye.
“JJ? That you?” he asked.
“I just said it was me.”
“Who’s your friend?” he pried, eyeing Dan in his white uniform suspiciously.
I smirked. “I think you know him quite well, Max. It’s D-147.”
His eye almost went neon. “Dan? Really? Aw, I haven’t seen you in forever, man! Come on in, you guys!” He opened the door & stepped aside to let us in. His eyes glittered with happiness.
I took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar smell of metal, rubber, and oil. I gazed at all the projects he had been working on, current or half-neglected.
“So,” Max began, perching on a stack of crates, organizing a line of twenty different wrenches, “what brings you two back here?”
“We need you to take out Dan’s homing chip,” I said.
Dan nodded. “We’re in a bit of a major pickle.”