He shook his head. “Don’t know.”
I waited as he drank in more of the oxygen-rich air flowing from the mask.
“I have a million questions, but I’ll ask you them later,” I said. “Just answer this one. Do you think the fire was an act of sabotage or an attack aimed at you?”
“Both.”
The news sent a hot surge of fear, inflaming the burns on my skin. “Why aren’t you surrounded by guards?”
“He’s protected,” Anne-Jade said. She poked her head in between the curtain’s overlap.
I jumped. “How long have you been listening?”
“I’ve been here the whole time.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
She smiled. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Yeah right. You were hoping to overhear something juicy.”
Parting the fabric, she stood next to her brother’s bed. Anne-Jade glanced at him and then me. “And just how much juice do you think I could get from a couple of overcooked mutton chops like yourselves?”
Logan’s laughter turned into a coughing fit.
“Okay. Point taken. Who else knows about the attack?”
“The Committee has been informed of both sabotages and the attempt on Logan’s life.”
She gripped the rail on Logan’s bed as if a great weight rested on her shoulders. All humor fled her eyes and I realized she teetered on the edge of exhaustion.
Even though I was reluctant to ask, and I could probably guess the answer, I had to hear it from her. “And the Committee’s response?”
“Lock down and search all levels.”
Now I had to grab the rail or risk falling to the floor. We had come full circle. Instead of Pop Cops policing the lower levels, we now had ISF officers. They would confine everyone to theirbarracks until they could do a thorough search for evidence. At least, they included the upper levels.
Anne-Jade said, “Do you have any better ideas? We can’t let them keep blowing and burning up vital life systems. We also brought Ivie and Kadar in for questioning.”
“How did?—”
“We found your wipe board in the hallway outside the air plant. I remembered the names from our discussion with Bubba Boom.”
“But you don’t have any proof they’re involved. Just his suspicions.”
“Doesn’t matter. There could be another explosion or attempt to get to Logan or you.”
“Me? Why would they?—”
“To prevent you from discovering any more surprises. They’re still reeling from the fact we’re in a big ship and we have all this extra room to spread out.”
Good thing I’d kept quiet about the bubble monster.
Anne-Jade then asked me how I had gotten to the air plant so fast. “Did someone ask you to meet there?”
“No.” I explained about leaving Riley’s, but omitted the fact I had been going to find her. Any chance to discover what Ivie and Kadar had been up to had been ruined. And if they had been working with anyone, it would be impossible to find out now.
“A lucky coincidence,” Anne-Jade said. She smoothed Logan’s hair. “By the time the fire response team arrived they could only go a few meters into the plant. If you hadn’t dragged Logan closer…”
