“I don’t know how I’ll be able to convince everyone about the Outsiders.”
“If Domotor and Emek get the computer and projector working, you won’t have to.”
Sloan straightened his shoulders. “We’ll need to coordinate. Do you have any listening devices?”
“No. Mine busted ages ago.”
He pulled out a couple sets from his tool belt. “For you and the Doc. I’ll make sure the others get them as well.”
I couldn’t wear mine yet, so I slid them into my pocket. “Thanks.”
“If you manage this thing, I might change my opinion about you,” Sloan said.
“Just when I thought there wasn’t a reason to stop the Outsiders, you go and provide me with one.” For a moment I almost forgot the pain he’d caused me. For a moment.
He gave me a sly grin. “After that crack, I can’t like you…ever.”
“Fine with me. Then I won’t feel guilty when I slap you later.”
“If we survive to later, I’ll give you a free shot.”
“There it is! That’s all the motivation I need.”
After Sloan left, I discussed Lamont’s job with her. “You have a legitimate reason to be on level five. You need to check on their health, see if others might be on the verge of having a seizure. Plus, you need to discuss their fertility problems and see if it’s widespread.”
“And incapacitate as many Outsiders as possible when the attack starts?” she asked.
“Unless it goes against your doctor’s creed?”
“I’ll be a doctor up until that moment, then I’ll change jobs for the duration.”
Curious. “To which job?”
“A mother.”
“Fighting Outsiders isn’t in that job description.”
She laughed. “It is when the child is you. No one hurts my little girl and gets away with it.”
Bubba Boom and Ponife arrived right at hour twenty-six. I had just finished changing into my blue climbing suit and adding a few special items to my tool belt.
Ponife gestured to the belt. “Why do you need that?”
“Since you destroyed the air plant, there are a number of air filters blocking the ducts. I need my tools to get through them. Unless you want me to climb down and bypass all of them. It would take up more time.” I shrugged.
“No. Bubba Boom make sure she does not have any weapons in there.”
Damn. I unhooked my belt and gave it to him.
He inspected the various pockets. Handing it back to me, he said, “Looks good to me.”
I hooked it around my waist, suppressing a relieved grin. He knew exactly what a few of my special gadgets did, yet he’d kept quiet. An excellent sign.
The Outsiders had the stairway blocked so no one could go to the upper level. I’d assumed they guarded the other stairs and the lift as well. I hoped Takia and Hana had found a way to bypass them.
As we climbed to level four and walked down the deserted corridors, I asked Ponife how they managed to convince everyone to leave.
“A trick,” he said. “We asked them to come along on a…tour of the great Expanse. To see their world beyond the white metal walls. To go inside the vehicle to see the Outside.”
