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Eden hesitated, but Jack let out a long sigh and shook his head, getting back to work. Hence, Eden walked back to her client. However, Mr. Charles was already getting up.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Charles. Are you leaving already?”
“Sorry, darling, but that’s a lot of excitement for this old man. Don’t worry, dear, I’ll come back sometime soon. Here.”
He gave her a little bill, which surprised Eden. No one used those anymore. She had only seen actual bills a couple of times before... The green piece of paper weighed strangely in her hand. Mr. Charles chuckled.
“I know you like old things like these. And me! See you some other time, Miss Eden.”
Although she walked him back to the entrance, Eden had a sour feeling about her customer leaving so soon. She turned around, but everywhere else was busy. Two of the girls had already gone upstairs with a customer, and the ones remaining were doing a great job of keeping the atmosphere joyful and busy.
Eden walked up to the bar, and Jack handed her a glass.
“There you go, darling.”
“Is Xixi okay?”
“Don’t worry, he won’t do anything bad while the Old Man is still alive and kickin’. Plus, he likes her. Xixi always said he never goes further than the usual services.”
“What an ass...” growled Eden, grabbing her drink.
“More like a brat. Goodness, if that guy becomes a Zodiac, then we are really in motha-fuckin’ trouble.”
Eden nodded.
“I really hope the old man stays around for a while.” She sighed.
“Tell me about it. I don’t know what’s the best option. Half the Zodiac will get rid of Parts like you and me. The Yakuza would kill the twins… Let’s face it, Eden, half the chicks here would become targets because of their past customers. Girl, we gotta lay real low for a while.”
Jack shook his head and poured another drink for himself, his bangs swinging sideways with his head’s movements.
“Eden, honey, you should leave now before that jerk comes back down. That little piece of shit enjoys ruining your legs. If the guy shoots at ya again, you’re going to have to repair them, and that ain’t something you can afford, hun.”
Eden nodded. She hadn’t even dared look at the damage under her skirt, but she was a bit worried about that as well.
“...What about security here? I bet your bouncer ran off after seeing Kris Yang.”
“Don’t worry, babe, I still got my good old girl under the counter,” he said, tapping the countertop. “Those babies from the twenty-first century make a mean job, and they don’t care which part they’re shooting at.”
He smiled and gave her a little wink.
“Alright. See ya, Jack. Be careful.”
“You too, hun.”
Eden finished her drink in one go with a faint smile and walked downstairs.
Their dressing room felt too big, silent, and messy without all the girls there. Eden walked to one of the seats in front of the mirrors and slowly took off her makeup. The red on her lips disappeared to leave a pale pink, and her skin was whiter than the foundation she had on too. She only left the curls in her hair as they were, only brushing her fingers through them to push them out of her face.
Then, she sighed and spun the chair around, her eyes going down to the skirt of her red dress. The hem was at her mid-thigh, a few inches below the hole Kris’ bullet had dug in. Eden slowly pulled up the skirt. Surely enough, a piece of the dark gray metal was showing.
The square area around the bullet hole was sticking out on her leg, the metal indented. Eden grimaced and grabbed one of the girls’ tweezers to dig that thing out. The little piece of metal fell on the floor, and she glared at it. That part was going to cost a lot to repair. She’d have to cover it with skirts for a while... She took a deep breath.
“SIN, deactivate the camouflage.”
Immediately, all the skin on her legs vanished. Instead, she was left with the truth: two dark gray robotic legs, without an ounce of flesh.
Eden grabbed her bag, taking out her clothes to change into. She quickly traded the red sequin dress for a long-sleeved turtleneck bodysuit and a pair of cargo pants. Putting her long hair into a high bun and grabbing her face mask, she threw her dress in the automated washing machine and got ready to leave in just a few minutes. Activating the oxygen flow in her mask, she stepped out of the bar and walked into Chicago’s nightlife.
