“I might as well go back. No sense tipping them off about me. It’s just a straight shot over to my room isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes. Head east, you’re the very last vent.” I scrambled up the ladder but paused as a horrible thought struck me. What if my “rescue” ended badly? No one would know about the Expanse’s ceiling.
“Logan just listen.” I explained about the extra-large level at the top of the Expanse, describing the symbols on the walls and the bubble monsters. “If I disappear, get Anne-Jade and climb up to the near-invisible hatch. I left the safety line tied to the ladder and I doubt anyone’s noticed.”
“Wow, Trella. How long have you known about this?”
“A few weeks. I’ve been busy fetchingyourjunk.”
He smiled. “And you didn’t inform the Committee?”
“Probably a bad decision at the time, but now I’m thrilled I kept it quiet.”
“Me, too. How long should I wait?”
“Ten hours. That’ll give me enough time to help Lamont and sleep. But if the Outsiders enter, don’t wait. I’m assuming you can contact your sister?”
“Of course. I have this sweet little device?—”
“Tell me later.” I entered the air shaft. As I hurried over and down to the infirmary, I replayed Lamont’s exact words in my mind. She managed to give me quite a bit of information. Two ambushers, armed with stun guns, and they waited in the exam room.
I slowed as I reached the ducts over the infirmary. Looping over the patient area, surgery and exam room, I noted how the two men had positioned themselves on either side of the door to our suite. Lamont had been strapped down on the exam table. White medical tape covered her mouth, but she had the best view of the air vent.
Potential rescue scenarios raced through my mind. I could find Anne-Jade and a bunch of ISF officers. Except they were unarmed and these two not only had stunners, but the one on the right side carried a kill-zapper. Who else could I trust? Logan might have some gadget… Zippy!
Sliding over to the vent above my room, I climbed down and grabbed Zippy from my bed. I hefted him up and into the shaft without too much noise. Hopefully, they’ll think the few thuds meant I had returned.
I tucked Zippy under my arm so he wouldn’t rub against the metal shaft. Back at the exam room, I removed the cover with care. Lamont’s eyes widened and she gestured at the men with her head. I nodded and put a finger to my lips before lowering Zippy just enough so he cleared the shaft. Flipping the switch, I hoped he would do his silent electromatic pulse thing.
Once I pulled Zippy back, I swung through the vent and dropped to the floor. I had the element of surprise and a stun gun. In the second it took for them to react, I shot them both. The sizzle slaps rang, but they didn’t fall down.
The man on the left pointed to his belt buckle. “Anti-stunners.” He aimed his weapon at my chest.
I flinched but nothing happened. Good job, Zippy. Then I realized it was me against the two of them. I bolted toward the patient area. And I would have escaped, too.
Except one of them yelled, “Stop or we’ll hurt Doctor Lamont.”
Damn. I turned. The right side goon held a scalpel to Lamont’s throat. Her angry gaze aimed a clear signal at me to keep running. They were probably bluffing, but I couldn’t take that chance. Not with her life.
“Drop your weapon,” Right Goon ordered.
An odd request considering I couldn’t hurt them with it. I placed it on the floor and Left Goon picked it up. Before I couldeven say a word, Left Goon stunned me with my own gun. The sizzle slap hit me in the middle of my chest, knocking me back.
CHAPTER 15
As the pulsefrom the stun gun traveled through my body, it left behind a stinging pain as if thousands of needles jabbed into me. The numbness followed, but it seemed slower. Eventually I couldn’t move, or think clearly, or talk. Voices reached me, but their words were jumbled. My vision blurred and I was unable to focus on one person or thing. I was helpless and uncaring at the same time. Odd.
Encased in something white, I sensed movement. I concentrated on the sounds around me. Water sloshed in the washers and driers whirred. Then the hum of the power plant dominated as the laundry noises faded.
The crunch and clink of the recycling plant grew louder, and I smelled the hot sweet scent of the glass kilns. The light changed to bluelights and all sounds were cut off.
The white material disappeared. The two goons talked to each other as my view changed to a lower point. They fussed with things around me then left.
Time passed until pain pricked my feet, then sizzled up my calves. Sensation returned with agonizing slowness. When the effects of the stun gun finally wore off, I sagged in relief that thefuzziness had lifted from my mind. It was quickly followed by panic.
I sat in a chair, but my wrists were clamped to the armrests with metal cuffs. A hard ring bit into my ankles, and I guess they were cuffed to the chair’s legs. My waist was strapped in as well. The chair wouldn’t move when I squirmed. I considered screaming for help, but the walls had been sprayed with insulating foam, which scared me more than being secured to a chair.
Taking deep breaths, I calmed my terrified thoughts and focused on the positives. I hadn’t been recycled. I wasn’t in the brig with Karla and Vinco. And Logan knew about Inside’s top level. What else?
