Damn. I decided to stick to the truth as much as possible. “I’ve been searching for Logan.”
“And?”
“I haven't found him yet.”
He relaxed a bit more. “The information?”
“I’ve been spending a lot of time in the air ducts, so I’ve overheard quite a bit.”
He considered. “Trella, I need to know who you believe. Me or Jacy?”
“You of course! Jacy?—”
“Was part of your rebellion. You were friends.”
Interesting word choice. Your rebellion. I acted confused. “Not since you told me about him and Sloan and the captain. Not since he locked me in a storage closet, leaving me to die of thirst because he's too much of a coward to finish me off. Where are he and Sloan anyway? Shouldn't the ISF arrest them?”
“The ISF won't touch Jacy. Plus, Anne-Jade has enough problems right now. We plan to deal with them.” He took my left hand in his. “They bothwillsuffer for hurting you.”
“We?”
He drew in a breath and let it all out at once. “Me, Hank, our core crew and... the Outsiders.”
I jerked as if surprised. “Outsiders? Who are--”
“They're from the Outside and they're angry about your rebellion. They have taken over the network, not Jacy.”
“They’re mad at me?” No need to fake the tremor of fear in my voice.
“No. Not at you.” He rushed to assure me. “They’re unhappy that our society has gotten out of control. Soon they will come Inside and fix everything!” His eyes glowed with conviction.
“Really? They’re coming inside?” I pretended to be stunned. Then I leaned closer as if suddenly enthusiastic. “Will they repair the air and power plant?”
“Yes and put our society back in order. No Committee, no ISF, no scrubs or uppers, they're going to fix it all.”
“How?”
“By returning our society to its original configuration.”
“Original as in Pop Cops?”
“No. As in the Outsiders once again being our Controllers, making the rules, enforcing the rules, and the rest of you can return to work. I’ll be one of their chosen liaisons.”
Sounded like the Pop Cops, but I knew better than to argue with him. “When are they coming?” I asked instead.
“Soon. We have to prepare for them. And that's where you come in.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You're a natural leader Trella. You united everyone to fight the Pop Cops. They told us to convince you of their benevolence. They want you to get everyone excited about them. That's why Jacy wanted you out of the way. He knows about the Outsiders and is trying to prevent them from coming inside.”
“Oh.” A twist I hadn't been expecting. “Did they contact you?”
“Not me. Hank. He's believed for some time that the Controllers live Outside and have been instructing us on how to live better lives. Though his beliefs were shaken a bit when you found Gateway and it led to Outer Space and not to them. He’s been searching the computers for information since your rebellion. He never gave up faith that they existed.
“All that nonsense about the Controllers being operating parameters and fail-safes was just that. Nonsense. When you think about it, there had to be a higher authority than the captain and admirals. The Travas followed the Controller’s rules, and we should have as well. A mistake that Hank and I are going to fix. And now you can help us.” He leaned toward me. “We're not going to let Jacy win. We're going to have an ordered society again, but this time you and I and Hank and all our supporters are going to be the leaders.”
Bubba Boom closed the gap between us. He wrapped his arms around my back and drew me in for a kiss.
