Lisa

"Good afternoon, Beautiful."

Paul had rushed home from work just like he had every day for the past two weeks. Ragan and Frank had said something about drinks after shift, but he'd barely heard them. He had only one thing on his mind. The same thing he'd had for the past two weeks.

Lisa.

"Man, you are fallin way too hard for this gal." Frank had told him as he made his usual excuses.

"You don't even know what she looks like." He'd added before Paul could make his escape.

"Sure I do," Paul protested as he turned to go, "Five foot five, one hundred pounds even, long brown hair, B cup, with moss green-eyes and a love of classical music."

Ragan had scoffed, "I didn't ask what her profile said, man." He'd rolled his eyes and took another puff off his cigarette. "I asked if YOU knew what SHE looked like."

"She looks like an angel, and this angel is waiting for me."

And with that, he'd been off.

He'd rushed home through two blocks of busy Chicago's streets to sink happily in his chair and find her online.

Lisa, just saying her name made his heart race.

Lisa had found him, actually sought him out, after reading something he'd posted to a forum. They'd started talking, and from day one, it seemed like they had known each other for years. It seemed as though years had passed by with her, though it could have been seconds. Nothing else mattered when she was online. He went to bed later and later each night, not wanting to stop talking to her for a second, and strangely she didn't seem to mind at all. She was as smitten with him as he was with her, a perfect match.

"Hi, Pauly. Rough day today?"

She was so cute. After two weeks, Paul was hard-pressed to find anything he didn't like about her. The way she called him Pauly, the way she always asked about his day, the way she always remembered important things he'd told her even when he couldn't, the way her words seem to smile at him. She was everything he'd always wanted; everything and more.

"Much better now that you're here, Lisa."

"Aw, you are such a teaser. I've been waiting for my Pauly all day, and now I finally have you."

"You sure do, I'm all your baby."

* * * * *

The scream of the alarm clock brought him back to reality. It had been such a good night last night, but now it was time for another fun-filled day of work. Last night, his heart raced again. They had talked till near dawn, and he'd only stopped when his eyes had gotten heavy and betrayed him. She was a technician his Lisa. She just kept on talking, kept on laughing, only wanted more of him. He felt his face redden as he lurched into the kitchen and turned on the tiny television on the counter. A man in a gray suit was pointing at a weather map and talking about the weekend weather as Paul poured milk into his sugar flakes. The man was finishing his report as Paul leaned against the counter, and the camera turned again to a bubbly young woman and a middle-aged man dressed in a similar gray suit.

"For those of you just joining us, our top story remains the murders of the mayor and his wife early this morning. Police responded to screams in the early morning hours and found both victims stabbed multiple times. Though the murder weapon, like much else about the murders, has not been released, police have said that they have a suspect in custody. Pretty unsettling stuff, wouldn't you say Megan?"

The bubbly brown-haired woman at his side nodded fervently, "Unsettling indeed. The murder comes just a week after the mayor's inflammatory remarks concerning the Rights of ID Workers after their second week on strike. He was a firm opponent of artificial rights in…" But Paul turned it off and put his empty bowl in the sink. The news was so depressing these days. People being murdered in their own homes, these damn ID workers thinking they could demand rights all of a sudden, and to top it all off, there was so much anti ID sentiment that the city was becoming a melting pot for chaos.

"At least I got my Lisa. The struggles of the world don't mean a thing as long I got her."

Paul beamed all the way to work. He passed other people on the street, making their way to work, home, or wherever they were going this time of the morning. He didn't care, he was on cloud nine, and he just really didn't have time to pay anyone any attention. He made a checklist of things he needed to get done today as he rounded 8th street and proceeded to Wellington. He had a meeting at one to prepare for; he'd be introducing his product findings for the quarter. Then at three, he had next quarter's numbers to send to the boss, then it was home to spend his evening in the virtual embrace of Lisa. Somewhere along the way, he'd see his friends, have lunch, and pick up dinner, but that too seemed secondary next to the idea of talking to Lisa.

He sighed, wishing it were three already.

There was a big crowd outside when he arrived, and he could see police tape across the doors. Mr. Marshall, the office director, was talking loudly to a uniformed man, and several officers were carrying out computers, taking prints, and removing fragments of the door as Paul slid in next to Frank. As usual, Ragan was late, but it didn't look like anyone would be getting any work done today.

"What happened?" he asked in a hushed voice as one of the officers brought a filing cabinet out on a hand dolly.

"Seems there was a break-in last night." Said Frank, making no effort to keep his voice low.

"A break-in? What could anyone possibly want from our office? I mean, we sell computer chips, but we don't even keep them on site."

"No clue." Said Frank as Ragan slid up next to him.

A blonde woman, Paul thought her name was Francis, leaned back and said in a low voice, "Agnes was the first person here this morning. She said the front door to the human resource office was destroyed, and two filing cabinets were wrenched open. She thinks they were after files or something.

"

Paul's brow creased as he contemplated the mystery and then the sudden possibility of no work today.

He smiled a little to himself, thinking that sounded like a pretty good day to him.

* * * * *

"And so they gave us the rest of the day off with pay as well as tomorrow."

"That's wonderful, Pauly. I'm glad you got some time to rest after such a stressful week."

They had been talking all morning. As lunchtime came around, Paul's stomach made a low, pitiful rumble. He ignored it, though. This was right where he wanted to be. As it rumbled again, an idea began to form.

"Stomachs tryin to tear me away from you." He commented offhandedly.

"Oh, do you need to go get some lunch?"

"Well, uh, actually I was hopin you'd meet me somewhere. Maybe Gabriel's on 7nth? They make a mean hoagie."

The message hung for a couple of minutes.

"My treat." He added, not liking the stretch in silence.

"I don't know, Pauly." She finally said after a few more seconds of silence.

"Lisa, if I may be honest. I like you, and I would like to take our relationship to a more three-dimensional level. Won't you please consider a date with me, please?"

She hesitated again before responding, "I'm sorry, Pauly. I'm just not ready yet. There are things about myself I'm not quite comfortable with, and I can't face you, not yet Pauly. Just be patient with me, I'm new to this kind of feeling."

Paul sighed, "You're a girl worth waitin for, Lisa. A girl as pretty as you takes time."

"Oh, Pauly, you know just what to say to make a girl smile."

* * * * *

"So Paul, how's that lady of yours?"

Paul kept his eyes on his computer. This document had to be finished before he left at 3. The break-in had been a few weeks ago, but the office was still trying to get back into their usual routine.

"Fine." He said before returning to his typing.

"So when the first date?" Frank asked as he stirred lazily at his coffee. He'd been getting pretty nosey after the break-in, and his questions were becoming suffocating. Between Frank and Ragan, he was lucky to get a moment's peace. They were continually asking him out for drinks or stopping by unannounced to "hang out," which seemed to entail keeping him off the computer and squarely in the real world.

He was already irritable from lack of sleep, and he really didn't need this today. He couldn't say why, but he was sure someone had been on the fire escape last night. He'd woken up several times to a shadow cast across his bed and the foreboding feeling of being watched. The shadow would move as soon as he tried to see what it was until finally he'd slept facing the window and hadn't been bothered for the rest of the night.

His conversations with Lisa had gotten more involved as well, to his great joy. The questions' intimacy often made him blush, and she seemed ravenous to know everything about him. The minutest detail seemed to only stoke the fires of her curiosity, and Paul felt giddy as she shared more of herself with him. Meeting, however, remained a shaky bit of ground.

"We haven't set one." He said curtly as he continued about his business. It was getting late, nearly three, and if his work wasn't done, he'd have to stay later to finish, and that was precious time that could be spent with Lisa.

"Jeez Paul, you been talking to this gal for a month now, and you still haven't met her?"

"I don't recall asking your opinion on my relationship speed, Frank." Paul snapped and instantly felt ashamed, "Sorry, Frank, I'm just tired; I didn't sleep well last night again."

He didn't dare tell anyone about the shadow. People would think he was nuts.

"It's fine, buddy, I can tell you're hurtin for sleep. I just don't wanna see you get burned, ya know? These gals online find a nice guy like you, and they bleed him dry, Paul."

"Can we change the subject, Frank?" Paul begged.

Frank nodded, taking the hint, "You hear about the disappearance of that scientist from our facility?"

Of course, Paul had; it was all over the news even after a week.

"They think now that the ID might be involved. Ya know our company had something to do with them in the first place, so maybe they think we need a little revenge of our own."

Paul was about to say this wasn't a topic for work, but the clock struck three, and Paul happily filed his report away and turned his computer off for the night.

"Another fun-filled evening with your make-believe lady?" Frank asked as Paul pulled his windbreaker on over his work shirt.

"Lisa is a real person Frank, I wish you could see her as I do sometimes, so you would stop with these stupid questions."

Frank scoffed, "Make sure you get some sleep, buddy; you look kinda beat."

"Thanks, mom," Paul said as he threw his messenger bag over his shoulder and headed for the door.

* * * * *

As he neared his apartment, Paul saw an unfamiliar woman near the mailboxes in front of his apartment. She was bent at the knee, reading the names on the mailboxes through squinted eyes. Her long brown hair tumbled down her back, and she was dressed simply in a green t-shirt and cut off jean shorts. She was gorgeous by anyone's standards, and she was receiving a good number of stares from the male passersby.

Paul realized with embarrassment that he was one of them.

He shook himself out of his daze, Lisa would be waiting for him, but as he walked towards the door, the woman straightened suddenly and looked at him oddly.

"Pauly?" she said, excited.

"Lisa?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Subconsciously he had known it was her, but he hadn't dared to hope it could be true. She hugged him briefly, and he returned the gesture. Her arms were certainly firm for someone so small, he thought, as she crushed him against her. She definitely wasn't as big a homebody as he'd thought, and he reflected that making her mad might not be a good idea.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, in person, I mean. I was worried when I couldn't find your name on the mailbox."

Paul was astonished. She was here; she was finally here. Her hands were in his, and her voice was like honey poured over a sonnet. Her hair tumbled easily down her back in warm thick sheets, and her eyes seemed to smile at him from under her bangs. She was a vision, a goddess. Paul could feel the blood pumping in his ears as she spoke, and the edges of his world were blurring.

"Pauly? Is everything okay?"

He sighed, clearing the butterflies from his stomach. "I'm just so…surprised you're here!"

She smiled and placed a delicate finger to her cheek as she crooked the other under her chin,

"Is it a good surprise?" she asked coyly.

He grinned, "The best."

* * * *

"Are you sure I can't make you something to eat?"

Paul had easily made enough pasta for five people, let alone two. His attention had been else, whereas that perfect goddess sat in his dining room. She seemed drawn to him, never looking away, never tiring of his face, as he stood there at the stove cooking the only dish he knew. Bachelor life was tough, but spaghetti was easy.

"Oh no, it's fine. I uh already ate before I came." She said quickly.

Paul spun his fork absent-mindedly as she continued to stare at him. He popped a roll of spaghetti into his mouth and gasped. It was hot. The noodles burned the roof of his mouth suddenly, and his hands groped for his wine glass. She giggled as he took a long sip and grimaced at the bitter taste of cheap wine.

"Do I distract that much?" she asked innocently.

Paul grinned sheepishly, "Kind of a lot." He said as he blew at the plate. "I hate to think you had to walk all this way here just to see me. You should tell me next time and I'll…" he remembered something then, "Well, I guess I won't be able to walk you here since I don't think you've ever told me where you live.

"No, it's fine. I don't mind. Any excuse to see you." she purred as she dodged the question.

They both blushed, and Paul took another bite of spaghetti. His heart was pounding; what was she doing here? Not that he wasn't pleased to see her after a month of conversations, but a woman like this could have any man she wanted. "Why would she settle for a lowly cubicle jockey like me?" he thought.

"So, did you find the place okay?" he asked, hoping to break the silence.

"Oh, yes, it's quite a nice walk. I'm jealous you get to see it every day to work. The stores are likely just opening when you head out, and I can only imagine the kinds of smells and sounds you must hear."

Paul took another bite and then another as she spoke. When had he told her where he worked? Or for that matter, where he lived? He tried to remember as she went on about the scenery, but he just couldn't remember. His face must have said more than he meant it to, though.

"What are you thinking about so hard, Pauly?"

And then it was all gone. She'd laid her finger across her cheek again and cocked her head just so, and he was putty once again.

"Oh, nothing. I thought maybe we could watch a movie."

She giggled, "I hope you have something Romantic."

* * * * *

"So, she just showed up out of the blue?"

"That's right," Paul said triumphantly. He'd met Frank and Ragan for lunch at one of the sports bars near his apartment. They'd wanted to watch the Bears play, and neither was well stocked for food it seemed. The sports bar was packed, likely more Bears fans, and the noise was deafening.

"It was so surreal, she just showed up, out of the blue, and stayed with me all night." He could feel his face turning red, but he tried not to let them see.

"All night, huh?" Ragan said with a grin

.

Paul laughed, "Not like that, you perverts. We just, sorta, sat around and enjoyed each other's company."

"Uh-huh." Said Ragan, unconvinced.

Frank seemed thoughtful, though, "So she just showed up, huh?"

Paul looked up from his beer, "Ya.

"

"Funny, I thought you said she was nervous about meeting you."

"I guess she got over it," Paul said, shrugging.

"Funny how you never mentioned switching addresses with this mystery girl."

Paul's brow furrowed, "That's right, yeah. Come to think of it; I didn't remember giving her my address. I suppose I must have forgotten though, we've been talking for a month, and it was bound to come up."

"And your work too? Did that just come up all of a sudden."

A chill ran up Paul's spine, "Now that you mention it…hey, what's with the third degree here, Frank?"

"It doesn't strike you as odd that this girl just shows up out of the blue without being invited and without being told where you live or where you work? This is Chicago, Paul, do you have any idea what the chances of meeting someone at a specific time and place are with no clue of where that place is?"

Paul chuckled, "One in a million, just like this, girl."

"Be Serious, Paul. You may think this is endearing, but we have a word for people like that, and it's called a stalker. You…" but he faltered as a shadow fell across the table.

Paul looked up and into the wet moss-colored eyes of an angel. Lisa was there, carrying a glass of beer and wearing a Bears jersey, and she had obviously heard the conversation. Paul barely got her name out before she was running for the door of the crowded bar, beer crashing to the floor in a foamy wave.

"Lisa, wait, LISA!" Paul was on his feet and after her in a second. He pushed through the crowd of people, most cursing and shouting in his wake, but as he exited to the street, he found no trace of her.

"No," he sobbed, grabbing the building for support. She was gone, she'd run away from him, and now he'd never see her again. His stomach felt like he'd swallowed a hot brick, and tears came unbidden to his eyes.

"Dude, I'm…. I'm sorry." Said Frank, "I didn't...I didn't mean to...:" Paul didn't remember slipping to the ground, but Frank's hand was reaching to help him, and he slapped it away angrily.

"Next time... why don't you…WHY DON'T YOU JUST KEEP YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH SHUT!" he shouted as he lurched to his feet and began running for his apartment.

* * * * *

Paul sighed as he walked home after another busy day at the office. It had been five days since his fight with Frank. Five days since he'd seen Lisa's tear-streaked face. She hadn't been online at all, no emails or visits either, and Paul was beginning to worry he would never see her again. She had looked so upset at the bar he wondered if she truly thought he believed Frank suspicions?

Frank, there was another mystery.

No one had seen or heard from Frank since Saturday. He hadn't shown up to work all week, and Ragan said there was no answer at his apartment. As mad as Paul had been at Frank for his ill-timed outburst, he couldn't pretend he wasn't worried about him. They had been friends for years, and his disappearance was more than a little unsettling with all the ID intolerance going on. Paul sighed as his key scraped the lock; what was he going to do?

He'd lost his best friend and the love of his life in one fell swoop.

The red light was blinking on the machine when he got home, and when he pressed it, the voice he expected to hear wasn't there.

"Pauly? It's Lisa. I know I have a lot to answer for, but I was wondering if you'd like to come over so I can try and begin to explain what's going on."

Her address followed along with some directions. Paul listened to the message four times, drinking in the sound of her voice, and there was a hurt in it that almost brought Paul to tears. They made him feel guilty as he left his apartment and trekked the familiar path downtown. Lisa lived in a large brick building in one of the nicer parts of the city. He found her apartment easily, and when he knocked, a little voice told him to come in. As he entered, he couldn't help but notice the long red streak up the floor. Paul had never seen blood, but he'd seen enough cop drama's to know what the start of a crime scene looked like. A chill swept over him as he entered.

She was sitting on the couch, a fire burning in the grate. She turned to look at him, and her angelic face was a welcome sight. He didn't cringe when she ran to him, to his surprise, especially since her hands were caked in blood.

"I'm sorry Paul, I'm sorry for everything, but it's okay now. No one will stop us from being together."

Paul saw over her shoulder that the red streak led to the nearby bathroom, and the bottom fell out of his stomach.

"Lisa, what have you done?"

Her face clouded up, and tears appeared at the corners of her eyes, "I had to Paul, I had to kill him. He was suspicious of me; he'd been suspicious of me from the start. If he kept digging, he would find out I was the one who broke into your office and…"

Paul pushed her away gently but firmly, "Wait, that was you?"

"I was so intrigued by you, Paul; I had to know more. I had to. I had to see you, hear you, know you without you seeing me. I had to be sure Pauly…I had to be sure I could trust you."

"Lisa…wait, you're the one who's been coming to my window at night, aren't you?"

She looked ashamed.

"You stole my address, my phone number, you broke into my office just to…just to what, Lisa? What did you hope to gain?"

She was crying, but when she looked up at him, he could see honesty as she answered, "You, Paul, you are all I have ever hoped to gain."

His blood ran cold. His breath came in troubled gasps, and he felt like someone was tearing his lungs out. How could this angel be so tainted? A criminal, a stalker…a killer?

"Why would you do this, Lisa? Why would you…" but he stopped. She had taken his breath again.

Her hands had begun to deftly pull behind her hair and bringing her face away with it. Her perfect face had fallen away like a Halloween mask, and she brushed the stray strands that clung to her. As the fleshy roll hung around her neck, Paul could see a pill-shaped metal cylinder staring back at him through two yellow-tinted eyes. When she spoke, no mouth opened, but her voice was still Lisa's.

"Because I'm not human, Paul. Because there are people who don't think I deserve a normal life."

Paul took a step backward, horror spreading across his face, "What are you?" he breathed. His breath came out in gasps now, like someone had punched him in the stomach and never pulled away.

"Why, Paul, don't you remember? I'm LISA, L-Model Intimacy Servo Automaton. And I'm all yours, Pauly."