I wasted not a moment in opening the envelope, which wasn't even sealed in any case. The first thing that met my gaze was a sheet of paper I found rather unbelievable. It was a power of attorney, made out to my new name. It looked perfectly legal. there was also a state ID made out in that name, from the state of Maryland. And a passport, listing my country of origin as Japan. A green card, signifying immigrant status.

All of it looked perfectly legal, but of course it couldn't be. He had to have had all this documentation made for the body in advance, and just now decided to get some use out of it. At least that was the only thing that made sense to me. Though why this body could need such false paperwork I didn't know. It looked good enough to satisfy a bank though.

Walking along whistling into the bitter wind seemed like the right thing to do. Other passersby bundled up as I was,
shambled along with nods and quick muttered words. The snow spit itself in random directions, wind being cut by the skyscrapers the further I moved in. the branch I was supposed to go to was a good hour away at normal walking speed. How I knew that, I didn't know... but I didn't let it bother me.

Acting like the cold affected me however - hunching over into the wind and reducing skin open to the weather - made perfect sense. I took note of all the cameras in my path, traffic ones mostly. However most businesses had cameras watching the streets as well. The quick moment of giddiness that almost had me waving to them passed, and each was noted on the three dimensional map I was unwillingly building with the help of the software in my head.

It was annoying really, but it might come in handy later. The walk was enjoyable, even in the bitter cold. It was enjoyable just being alive.

I was also happy to note that the doc hadn't sent a tail. I half expected a few of his 400's to be watching me. If they were however, I couldn't spot them. For some reason I was sure I would be able to. They didn't seem all that stealth oriented and I felt pretty confident in my ability to spot someone following me.

--Warning Unsafe core temperature imminent. Heating suggested. Heating unit on? Y/N--

Cursing I turned it on. I knew my body heat would be tested at the bank as part of the process to determine if I were human or not and didn't know if the coat would fake it. A rookie mistake. With the heater on however I felt the difference immediately. I would be warm enough to pass during a cold day with luck, it was trying to heat me up to normal human levels as fast as possible.

Exactly 22 minutes and 32 seconds later (plus or minus .02 seconds) I walked into the target branch of first national. The front doors were of course the location of the first scan, and it didn't go off. I nodded politely to the guards,unzipping the coat a little and taking my gloves and hat off. The guards waved some scanners that I didn't recognize over me, and just like that I was past the second hurdle.

The third hurdle was my identification, which was scanned while they checked to make sure my face matched. The documentation passed all the scans, which was a mild surprise. I knew they were high level forgeries, but I really expected a flag from the green card. After all those things had to be filed with ICS and the FBI anymore, something very hard to do with forgeries. My compliments to the doc's hacker pals, whoever they were.

And just like that I was through, and could freely walk to the tellers. The lines were of course small, and it was easy to be patient. I found myself somehow casing the bank, noting the various security measures in place. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, which seemed a bit odd to me. But then it had been several days after the last attempted heist. Maybe less than a week at high alert is normal?

"Excuse me miss, can I help you?"

--Language protocol 04 initiated--

"Yes please, I'm here to make a withdrawal. It is rather sizable."

I passed over the paperwork involved, noting as an afterthought that my accent had changed. I now had a faint Japanese accent. Well that's interesting. It wasn't enough for me to miss the teller pale a bit and strain her smile.

"Follow me please miss Ningyo."

I was led to a back office, the office of one 'Salvatore DeSilvio, branch manager'. He was up and near the door, we shook hands and I fought back a bow with a slight pasted on smile. The protocols were more than language it seemed, regardless of what the file marker said. The teller passed the documents to the manager and stood aside.

"Please have a seat miss Ningyo."

"Thank you Mr. DeSilvio. How are you this afternoon?"

"Well, if a bit chilled. Though I trust you are more so. Would you like some tea? I have a wonderful blend of Gyokuro in the back."

Gyokuro was a form of Japanese green tea. Wonderful and slightly expensive stuff.

"That would be wonderful, Thank you Mr. DeSilvio."

He turned to the teller with no hesitation.

"Tea for our guest please Mrs. Heller."

He turned back to me as he seated himself and picked up my papers.

"So what can I do for you miss Ningyo?"

"I need to make a rather sizable withdrawal Mr. Desilvio. hopefully that will not be a problem?"

"Not at all Miss Ningyo. I just need to verify things first. A million dollar withdrawal is a hefty sum, and we of course must be thorough."

"Of course. Please do continue."

I tuned him out a bit as he started. I was fairly sure that since I'd passed the security checks it was clear sailing from here. Less than 5 minutes later (I was inspecting the paintings in the office from my seat, They were obviously Bob Ross paintings, I swear.) Mrs. Heller returned with a tray of tea and served us both (customer first of course). Catching Mr. DeSilvio's gestured dismissal she left without a word.

I sipped the tea, and it was as amazing as I had expected.

"Miss Ningyo?"

"Yes Mr. DeSilvio?"

"This all checks out. I'll be back in just a moment."

"Alright. One question though please."

He stopped and turned back, with perhaps more poker face than the occasion warranted. Odd.

"Those paintings Mr. DeSilvio... are they Bob Ross paintings?"

His grin threatened to break the porcelain mask he'd been wearing.

"Why yes Miss Ningyo, they are. I'll be right back."

He almost skipped down the hall, and I could have sworn I heard him humming. Very weird.

I stared at happy little trees until he returned 12 minutes and 41 seconds later. He held a black unmarked briefcase and closed the door behind him. I followed him to his desk where he opened the case to reveal neat stacks of 100 dollar bills. I took one stack out and fanned it, my new body making counting it that way easy. I could just take Mr. DeSilvio's word for it, but I decided not to, and checked each stack.

The amount was correct, and without a word the paperwork was sent across the desk and just as silently I signed it all, my penmanship looking surprisingly good... for some reason I expected a chicken scratch. I closed the case and looked up at him.

"The case is on the house Miss Ningyo. Please do enjoy your day."

I couldn't resist, and finished my tea before bowing.

"Thank you Mr. DeSilvio. Have a wonderful afternoon."

A guard shadowed me to the door, trying to be discrete about it. I had no more anxiety about the checks (they were designed to keep people out) and just that simply I was on the street.

It seemed a bit too easy. I don't know why I felt that way, but I did. Perhaps the bank was used to such odd requests? The withdrawal slip I'd signed said that the doc had a few hundred million deposited with that bank, so maybe there was a certain amount of cache that came with that.

I know if someone handed me 221 million to invest any way I saw fit, I'd bend over backwards to accommodate requests. Of course this also meant that I now had access to such a stash. The doc was being pretty trusting. Not that I would betray that trust.

I decided that even with this amount of money in my hands I'd not take a direct route back to the warehouse; something in me seemed to scream protests at the idea. It wasn't any programming as far as I could tell, which meant it had to be from my former life. I still had very little to go on there, but it was obvious I did more than just bag groceries or crunch numbers.

I set my sights on a dog park I knew of figuring I could skirt around it and see what was going on, as it was extremely unlikely anyone would be using it today. That would make being paranoid easy. Of course, there HAD been an attempted bank robbery. It had been foiled, but with the perpetrators still at large, a small Asian woman with a briefcase walking out of a bank could be seen as a perfect target of opportunity.

I spotted nothing out of the ordinary though. The few die hards in the park itself made me frown. Despite how cheerful the dogs looked I felt sorry for them. As for their owners, well the owners should know better. I turned away from the place with my mood going south, confidence surging.

--Query data retrieval?--
--Data retrieval 67%--

I wasn't sure, but that seemed like a good number.

--Query battery status?--
--Battery charge 71%--

That seemed even better, considering the amount of activity I had undergone so far. It would easily last me until the end of the day.

I was still a bit paranoid, but it seemed that not even the gangs or other thugs were out today. Not that I blamed them. A rather long moderately boring walk later and I was back at the warehouse. I knocked first this time, then entered. Save for the doc, I was ignored.

"Here you are doc. It went smoothly. Your pocket change."

He waved absently, making some small adjustment on what looked like steel leg bones. He had one leg framework built to the knee and parts spread before him on the workbench. It looked like a radio shack threw up, to be honest.

"Hard at work here, as you can see. Just put it on the table there. Do they still serve that wonderful coffee to their VIP's?"

"Couldn't say, they served me a green tea imported from Japan. It was very tasty."

"Hmm, interesting. I'll have to ask for some next time I go in person."

I sidled up to watch.

"Need any help?"

"Well, while you have the necessary dexterity, you don't have the necessary knowledge, so as much as I'd like to accept I'll
have to decline. If you need something to do Sara brought a laptop with several of my favorite movies loaded. Or you could read my files on said laptop to bring yourself up to speed on how I construct my robotic friends."

"Sounds like a plan, think I'll try and do both. What kind of movies do you have on it?"

"Mostly cloak and dagger things, or scientific thrillers."

Hmm, weird, I liked those kinds of movies too. Though something in me suggested that I liked to laugh at them....

"That will do, thanks doc. I'll try to get up to speed."

Sure I know he wanted me out of the way, but I wanted at least some idea of what he was doing and why. So as not to disturb the doc or his crew, I smuggled the laptop into the kitchen and fired it up. For some reason I picked the Bourne Identity. Sara was in the kitchen making dinner for the doc, but she didn't even glance my way. Not that I minded, she was a bit creepy.

It didn't take long for the snickering to start. Who knew this movie was a comedy? Cold war era bullcrap, fluffed with absurd fight choreography. Very few real elements, and far fewer screw-ups than in real life. Again, it was scary that I felt that way but I had nothing to back it, so I didn't let it worry me. By this time tomorrow I would know all the answers to my questions.

'Taken' was much better in this respect, though still a bit much.

**********************************************************************************************

Amazing, she could debate teas. I watched her acting on the bank's closed circuit security system, and she looked so
natural. From the slight pauses in bowing before shaking hands to the speech, she was perfect. I took the money out and tore
the briefcase apart. there did not seem to be a tracking device of any kind in the pockets or lining, no strange power sources in the bill stacks themselves.

I threw the money into a large paper bag and deleted the stolen security feed, terminating the internet connection before I could possibly be traced. Even now she was laughing at a movie, glee apparent in her face and movements. How had I done this? There was no way the procedure should have worked this well.

Ahh well, no time to worry about that. Ekaterina would be here tomorrow demanding her payment, and he had it. He could still salvage the situation. Time enough to settle the enigma later, I hoped. I wasn't sure my latest patron would be as
understanding as I hoped.

"Sara."

"Yes Doctor Langford?"

"Is dinner ready?"

"Yes doctor."

"Then let it sit and come help me please."

Sara started building the bone structure for the other leg. With her help it would still be several days of half sleep before the structure would be complete. After that came the hard part.

(tbc)