Outside In Part 17

"Uhayeah." I wondered what he was implying. Was he glad Riley and I were no longer together? Hard to tell. I didn't know Blake that well.

After our excursion to the cafeteria I took a brief nap, then changed into my skin-tight uniform. As long as Lamont stayed in our suite or in the infirmary the ISF shouldn't suspect anything.

I climbed into the air duct, grinning.

The Queen of the Pipes has returned.

There weren't many hiding places in Inside. I doubted the Committee knew the locations, but I didn't want to leave anything to chance so I ruled them out right away. They had probably taken him to an empty apartment. Since I had been confined to level three, I suspected he would be on level four. The Travas filled Sector D4, so that meant I had to search Sectors E4 and F4. Doable in the time I had.

I tried not to think about apartment number three-six-nine-five in Sector E4 as I carefully traveled through the air shafts and peered into rooms. At least there weren't any air filters to bypa.s.s.

After the rebellion we discovered that scrubbing air shafts and water pipes had been one of the jobs created purely for busy work. With a simple programming adjustment, the trolls cleaned the shafts and pipes without a scrub minder. Which worked well for me now.

When I reached Riley's apartment, I paused for only a moment. The empty living area and bedroom matched the hollow feeling in my heart. I didn't see Sheepy and wondered where he was. Moving on, I finished searching Sector E4 and crossed into F4.

I found Logan in a small room in the far northeast corner of Sector F. Sprawled on the couch, his arm covered his eyes. His s.p.a.ce also had a bed, refrigerator and a tiny washroom. The computer station had a screen, but no keyboard or box.

No guards, but I checked the hallway to make sure. A complex series of locks had been installed on his door. And when I returned to the air vent, I noticed the thick bolts securing it. What I worried most about were microphones and other sensors.

The air shaft was free of any sensors, and knowing Logan, any sensors within his reach would be dismantled by now.

So taking a chance, I said his name.

He sat up and squinted. "Trella?"

"Up here," I said.

He jumped to his feet and whooped. "I knew you'd find me!" No microphones then. "Come down! It's safe."

"I can't." I explained about the bolts. "Next time I'll bring my diamond wire."

"Oh." He dropped back onto the couch. "I can't escape anyway."

"Did they inject you with a tracer?"

"Yep. Nothing like having your own technology bite you in the a.s.s. If you see Anne-Jade can you punch her in the face for me?"

"She didn't lock you in there." I explained about the Controllers.

"The Travas have a link into the network," he said right away.

"That's what I thought. How's your eyesight?"

"Better, I can see about a meter so I can read the monitor if I had a working computer."

"Could you fix the damage to the network?"

"Of course. First thing I did when we gained control of the computer systems was to secure backup in case something like this happened."

I considered his problem. "You can't leave, but I can bring you what you need. Will you be able to hide it when your keepers come to check on you?"

"I should with proper warning." He surged to his feet, excited. "I have a sweet little sensor you can install in the ceiling of the hallway, and I'll needa""

"Slow down, Logan. Remember it's me. Start with the most important and we'll work from there."

He listed several items and I determined how many trips I would need.

"Zippy can pull the skid I rigged," Logan said in excite ment. "Then you can bring more."

"Where's Zippy?" I hadn't seen the little cleaning troll since the rebellion.

"Under the bed in my room." Ugh. Too close to the Committee for my comfort, but almost all the gadgets he needed could be found there, including the computer.

"Okay, Logan. I'll be back with your supplies, but it may be a while." I used more time to locate Logan than planned so I hurried back through the shafts as fast as I could without making noise, which wasn't very fast at all.

At least I arrived in my room without encountering trouble.

It was hour thirty-five. I changed my clothes and joined Lamont in the exam room. She helped an elderly man down from the table.

"I'm not sure when your ears will stop ringing, Ben," she said. "You were close to the blast and are lucky you didn't lose your hearing." Lamont handed him a bottle of small white pills. "Try these, one pill every ten hours. They might help."

He thanked her and shuffled through the patient room.

She watched him go then said, "When we move to a bigger place, I'd like a separate waiting room for walk-ins."

"You should be the one to design it," I said. "Do you know how to use the blueprint program?"

"No."

"Here, I'll show you." I went into her office and sat at the computer. The blueprint program was the only one I used. After the rebellion, Hank had me draw out the layout of the Gap between levels.

"You might have trouble," she said. "Something's wrong with the network. I can't access patient records right now."

I wondered why the Controllers would block them. No idea, but the program I sought popped up without hesitation, and I demonstrated to Lamont how easy it was to draw lines and type in labels.

I surrendered the chair to her. She caught on pretty quick. "This is fun."

Her comment reminded me of my trip through the shafts. I asked her if she had any problems while I was gone.

"Not really," she said.

"That's not an answer."

"One man stopped by to talk to you, but I said you were asleep and he said he'd come back later."

"ISF?"

"No. Big guy with freckles. Kind of cute." Bubba Boom. I wondered why he came by.

"No trouble from him," she said. "But what if the ISF comes by and you're not here?"

That could be a problem.

"I need a way to contact you," Lamont said.

I touched my earlobe, but remembered I'd lost my receiver in the riot, and the microphone on my uniform had been thrown into a hazardous waste bag. "I'll see what I can find."

"Did you locate Logan?"

"Not yet." I lied, but thought the less she knew the better.

I spent the rest of week 147,023 fetching supplies for Logan. Sneaking into his room next to the main Control Room caused my pulse to race. And even though I had been here two times before, I still sweated.

This last trip was for me. I had planted all those mics and they remained in position. Why not listen in? Logan had a device I could use. I also picked up a set of communication b.u.t.tons and receivers for me and Lamont. Logan would program them so no one could overhear our conversations.

Back in the duct, I used Zippy to haul the supplies. Round with cleaning brushes and a vacuum, he rolled along, pulling the skid. The noise hadn't bothered anyone so far. I'd encountered a few other cleaning trolls in the air ducts.

I reached Logan's without incident and opened the vent. The diamond wire had sawed through the bolts and we had rigged them to appear as if they still secured the vent. I dropped the supplies I brought to him, then swung down. He had managed to disguise most of his new toys. I hoped his keepers wouldn't check under his bed or under the couch.

"Who brings your food? ISF?" I asked him.

"No. The same two guys. Uppers, but not part of the ISF and I would know. Anne-Jade had me check into the background for all her officers to make sure they were trustworthy." He chuckled. "They're armed with stunners, but they have no idea their weapons won't work in here."

"Any luck?" I pointed to his computer. It looked the same, but according to Logan, he had installed all the important components behind the screen and the keyboard could be hidden before all the locks on the door were opened.

"No. They have built a wall around the important systems. I'm trying to find a way to slip inside without anyone noticing, but it's been difficult." He rummaged in the cushions of the couch, pulling out a long gla.s.s tube. It resembled a light bulb. He handed it to me. "A Trava computer in Sector D4 has to be connected to the network. Use that to find which one."

"How?"

"Get as close as possible and if the tube glows green, you've found it. Thena" He knelt next to his bed and reached under the mattress. Logan tossed me a small box. "Insert that into Zippy's undercarriage and he should be able to knock out that computer."

"Like when I used him to disable all the weapons in the Control Room?"

"Yep." He straightened and wiped the dust from his pants.

"Why not use a stronger pulse and hit all the computers in Sector D4 at once?"

"It's too risky over a large area."

"But after the computer's zapped, you'll be able to take back control?"

"Don't see why not."

Between sleeping, working for Lamont and searching Sector D4, I didn't have much time for listening to the mics or for implementing the other part of my plana"talking to Hank and Emek. I tried to think of a better way to organize my time.

Logan picked up the b.u.t.ton mic I had brought and fiddled with it. He snapped it onto my uniform. "All you have to do is turn it once to the right and it'll go to this receiver only." Dropping a small earring into my palm, he grabbed the other mic, adjusted it and gave it to me. I placed the set into my tool belt.

When he handed me the other receiver, I went into the washroom. The cut on my earlobe had healed, but a tiny hole remained. It wasn't big enough, but it was better than nothing. I pushed the receiver through my earlobe in one quick motion. It stung and I guess I could have waited until I returned to the infirmary and used lidocaine. Oh well. Waiting had never been one of my best traits. And looking at my reflection in the mirror, keeping my hair neat seemed to be another impossible task.

I contemplated cutting my hair as I untangled my messy braid. The knots in my hair resisted my fingers and I couldn't find a comb. When I peeked out to ask Logan, he sat cross-legged in the middle of the room with one of his gadgets nestled in his lap. I noticed how he squinted and brought objects up close to his eyes.

The computer beeped. He hopped up and sprinted to the monitor. "Someone's coming," he said.

My cue to leave. "See you later." I crossed the room and climbed up the wall to the open shaft.

"Trella, wait."

"Why?"

"It's not my keepers. Look."

I glanced over and almost lost my grip. On the screen was a moving picture of Anne-Jade and Riley walking down the hallway. They kept peering back over their shoulders as if worried someone followed them.

"Wow, Logan, that's amazing! How dida""

"They're here to rescue me," Logan said. He grinned, but an instant later alarm replaced his excitement. "If they mess with the locks, we're done. They're wired to set off an alarm if not opened in the proper order. You have to stop them!"

12.

"WHAT'S THE PROPER ORDER?" I ASKED.

"No time and it doesn't matter." He waved his arm.

The tracer. How could I forget?

"Hurry," he said.

I pulled myself into the air shaft and crawled the short distance to the hallway in front of Logan's locked door. Anne-Jade's hushed voice drifted up. Without hesitation, I popped the vent open and dropped down almost on top of them.

They both jumped back in surprise. Anne-Jade pulled her stunner. I braced for the sizzle slap of the weapon, but she lowered it.

"Trella?" Her shocked expression didn't last long. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Howa""

I held up a hand. "If you try to open Logan's door, you'll set off an alarm."

"Howa""

"He can't be rescued anyway. He has a tracer."

"Really?" Anne-Jade didn't sound convinced. "Yet you managed to circ.u.mvent the tracer in your arm."

I noticed she didn't put her weapon away. Although I felt Riley's gaze burning on my skin, I resisted glancing at him. "What I did won't work for him."