“You don’t know? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not sure about anything anymore.”
Ruby didn’t seem to hear me, waving and saying hello to almost every other staffer we passed. Ahead was the central hub of the floor, emblazoned with a sign that read “Medical Facilities.”
She led me to a private room whose walls I first thought were made of glass. Only after coming in and seeing them flicker off, reforming into a larger room, did I realize that they were made of solid-light, much like the tech that the robots used to appear like real people. The room was still small, with a table atop which lay a prepped tray of hermetically sealed doctor’s utensils. Across from it, lining the far wall, was a bed much like one would find in any hospital, with the nearest railing lowered and a series of controls along the plastic siding that controlled the mattress. Motioning for me to get on the bed, Ruby looked at the control console and the walls suddenly turned opaque, like frosted glass.
“Alone at last,” she said with a mischievous smile, reaching over for the equipment. “Now take the tech suit off, I’m going to give you a good, thorough examination. Prostate and everything.” Ruby grabbed a pair of latex gloves and snapped them on.
I didn’t care about being naked, and at this moment, I cared little about anything, so I ripped the shredded suit off and tossed it into a garbage can.
Ruby turned back to me, adjusting one of her gloves, and gave me a once-over, raising an eyebrow.
“On the bed, villain.”
I chuckled, shook my head, and sat on the bed, lying back as she came over.
She reached out and touched my rib cage, where there were some smeared char marks from the bullets. The cold caress of her fingers made me flinch.
“Did it hurt?”
I nodded as her gaze went down my body, all the way to my thighs and legs. Her green eyes danced all over my frame, a hint of a smile flashing across the sides of her mouth.
“I’m frankly offended you didn’t come on to me first,” she said, looking back into my eyes, but before I could respond, she went on. “Not that it matters, anyway. I’ve never been attracted to big and stupid. Here, let me cover you up. Looks like you’re a wee bit cold.”
She unfurled a blanket over me, covering my hips and lower torso.
“I thought you were with Superdynamic.”
Ruby laughed, “You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t strike me as the kind of guy that would care too much about that one way or the other,” she said, studying my chest, goosebumps popping up where she touched me.
“Too cold?”
“A little,” I said.
“Don’t be such a little girl about it,” she said, her hands exploring my body. She was probing like a blind person feeling your face to get an impression of your features, only Ruby’s vision seemed to be fine.
Her hands came to rest on the remnants of the wound Haha had made back on Hashima Island when he had buried his remaining self into my wrist.
“What’s this?”
“A friend did that,” I said, not wanting to get into the details.
She knew I was obfuscating and leaned on the bed.
“You can’t hide any secrets from me, Mister Blackjack. I’ve seen you naked as a jaybird now.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
Ruby stared at me, not satisfied with my answer. “Fine, have it your way. What about this?” she asked, rubbing the ugly scar on my right hand. It was the only souvenir from my big fight on Hashima Island, when my hand had broken during those last, few desperate moments as I brought down the walls.
“It’s a scar,” I said.
“Oh, this is going to be a lovely examination,” she snapped, placing her hand on my stomach, “Quit flinching, you big baby!” Closing her eyes, she lifted her hand so only the tips of her fingers were touching my body.
“Now don’t make a sound,” Ruby said, and then she seemed to get lost in concentration.
I looked at her, waiting for something to happen, but the only thing she did was slowly shift her fingers lower down my abdomen. I leaned back and settled into the bed.
“That’s right,” she said, almost entranced, “Just shut up and let me work.”
What work did she mean? Her hand was still on the slow decent down my body, going past my navel and down to my crotch. Was I going to score with