A Heaven for Toasters

CHAPTER 22: Journeys

Sunday, April 24, 2117, 11:08 a.m.

The doctor was so stunned by my recovery, she would have been happy to keep me in the hospital and running tests for the rest of my life. Mercifully, I convinced her to let me go after I promised to return for regular checkups in the next days.

Once released, I headed straight back to my hotel, where I slept like a fossilized log in the middle of a petrified forest.

The next morning, Captain woke me up with a hololens call. Leo was about to be released.

Half an hour later, I was standing before the mobile lab, my heart pounding. The door opened and out stepped Leo. A small army of men in white lab coats trailed him, led by an older man who seemed to be in charge.

"Leo," I cried out and barely stopped myself from rushing into his arms. Wait, is this even my Leo?

"Detective," he said, his face expressionless.

My stomach sank. I swallowed the tears rushing to my eyes.

For a split second, his eyes jerked sideways to point at the men in the lab coats. Mika, he mouthed, his lips barely moving.

My heart beat double-time. I looked away to hide the smile spreading across my face.

"Detective Pensive," the older man said and approached me. "Lovely to meet you. Thank you for looking after our friend here." He took me by the arm and guided me away from the others. "May I have a moment of your time?"

All I wanted was to be with Leo, but I nodded my consent. He led me back into the mobile lab and into a small office. A single desk lay at its middle, with one chair behind it and one facing it. He sat down on the former and motioned me to the latter.

I sat down, my eyes studying his face even as his gaze studied mine. He must have been handsome in his youth. Short white hair framed a square, wrinkled face. In a way, he reminded me of Leo—or what Leo might look like in five or six decades. Like Leo, he had piercing blue eyes, only his were pale whereas Leo's were darker. I found myself squirming under the intensity of his gaze like a schoolgirl called to the principal's office. Were Leo and I in trouble?

The man took out two glasses from a cabinet under the desk and filled them with water. "I hear you need to hydrate," he said and pushed one glass toward me.

"Thank you, Mr...." I let my voice trail to remind him I still didn't know his name.

"Most people simply call me the Professor." He gave a small shrug to indicate he didn't care much for the nickname. "That's not important. What's important is Leo." He steepled his fingers and leaned in to examine me, his eyes boring holes in my skull like trying to unearth my most intimate secrets. "What are your intentions toward him?"

Heat rose to my cheeks. I no longer felt like a schoolgirl. Now I felt like a prospective bride being interviewed for an arranged marriage. I didn't care much for the feeling. "I'm sorry, that's between Leo and me," I snapped.

His eyebrows shot to his hairline, then he chuckled. "Fair enough. Perhaps I should retry the introductions." He tapped his fingers on the table. "I have spent over twenty years designing Leo from scratch. No one knows him better than me. I've designed him to be truthful, especially to me. So, you can imagine my surprise when I found out he's been holding things back. Things like his feelings for you." He leaned in again to study me, waiting for my reaction.

I wrapped my arms around me. "I see."

He let out a small sigh as if my response disappointed him. "Detective... Mika... May I call you Mika?"