Machine Man (serial)

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CHAPTER NINE

The place Lola Banks had arranged to meet turned out to be an upmarket cafe. It had smoked glass and a deep green awning and wrought iron furniture out on the sidewalk. I felt a twinge of doubt about my ability to navigate this place without creating a scene, but thenscene. Then I saw Lola through the glass, sitting at a table with her hair in a pony-tail, and my heart jumped, and so did my legs. They jogged up the step and inside almost beforeand it was all I could do to duck beneathbefore the doorway. A few peopledoorway took off my head. Customers turned toward me, pasta dangling from their forks, and I stopped, feeling self-conscious.forks. I looked like a vagrant, you may recall. A six-foot six, dust-covered vagrant with titanium hooves. But Lola turned toward me and I stopped caring what other people thought, because shethere was radiatingnothing on her face but radiant joy.

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