I told him.
He whistled. “Cheeky of him. He’d be privy to more than he should. Are you going to plant them?”
“I promised to in exchange for information, but I didn’t agree to where I would place them. It just doesn’t feel right. We shouldn’t have to spy on our own people.”
“True, but I think bugging the Trava apartments and brig is a good idea,” he said. “Before you plant them, ask Riley to get the frequencies from them. We might as well listen in, too.”
“Should we tell Anne-Jade?”
“Not yet.”
“Is that wise?”
“Probably not, but I’ll blame the pain medicine and say it clouded my thoughts if she finds out.”
“Good luck with that, I’ve seen her mad and it’s not fun.” Her new profession suited her. As soon as she had donned that stolen Pop Cop uniform, she’d fit right in. Then I remembered. “Logan do you have any mics not being used?”
This time his smile broadened. “I have a few stashed in my room. Take what you need.”
The itch drove me insane. Tiny invisible bugs crawled over every centimeter of my arms and legs. Lamont claimed it was part of healing. If given the choice, I preferred the pain.
Riley visited, but he seemed distracted and never stayed long. I endured another fifty hours as a patient. Finally Lamont released me at hour sixty-two with so many instructions on how to care for my newly healed skin, I almost jumped back into bed. Almost.
“Are you staying with Riley?” Lamont asked as she packed a few meds and a salve into a bag for me.
“No.” I carefully pulled on the shirt and pants she had brought me. The curtains had been closed otherwise I would have flashed the ISF officers. Logan’s vision had improved, but he still had another week in here at least.
“The barracks?” Surprise laced her voice.
“Don’t worry about it.”
She stopped and pierced me with her doctor stare. “You need to sleep in a clean environment for another week. No pipes or air shafts or?—”
“I know.”
Lamont touched my arm. No longer in doctor mode, she said, “Stay in my extra room. No strings attached.”
“What if you find an intern?”
“At this point, it’s highly unlikely, but if I do, then we’ll wheel an extra bed into the sitting room. Once we move to the medical center on one of the new levels, we’ll have plenty of space.”
I considered. “Does no strings mean if I have a gaping wound, you won’t try to stitch it up for me?”
“No. I’m still your doctor. It means I won’t try to…mother you.”
“Okay, I’ll stay.”
She nodded as if I just agreed to take my pills on time and pushed the curtains back.
“Doctor?”
Lamont tightened her grip on the fabric and wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Yes?”
“Thanks.”
I contacted Riley through my listening device. His terse reply indicated he was in the middle of something and would catch up with me later. Heading up to the main control room in Quad G4, I planned to fetch those mics from Logan’s room.
The double metal doors failed to hiss open when I approached. Odd. A mechanical voice asked for identification. I said my name and they parted just wide enough for a large ISF officer to poke his head out.
