“You’ll live longer if you don’t know.” Ha. I managed to surprise him. “Are you going to tell me Karla’s schedule or not?”
“And what do I receive in exchange?”
Typical scrub. Nothing without a price. “I’ll act as a look-out for you. One time only.”
He laughed. “I have a ton of people willing to watch for us.”
“From air duct seventy-two?”
His smirk died. “You can get in there without an upper’s help?”
I nodded. Number seventy-two crossed over a few highly sensitive areas, including the control center and Pop Cop headquarters. The uppers didn’t want a disgruntled scrub near them. The two scrubs allowed in the shaft always had a Pop Cop escort.
Energized, he paced. “Can you install a listening device in seventy-two for me instead?”
“That’s illegal. How did you—?” Tech Nos. I didn’t need to know more. “You want me to put it where the cleaning trolls won’t suck it up?”
“Yes.”
I considered. “It’s more dangerous than acting as look-out. It’s worth two requests—Karla’s schedule and what you told her about me.”
“Deal.”
His response was too quick. I should have negotiated for more.
“I’ll have her agenda in an hour.” His posture relaxed, but concern lingered in his eyes. “I told the LC the truth.”
My stomach dropped as if I had just fallen off a pipe. “And?”
He huffed. “Same old Trell, giving nothing away. Not even for your fellow care mate.”
“The mate who bullied and tormented me? I guess you would find it odd I don’t hold any fond feelings over our time together.”
He waved my comment away. “You were cold from the start. We tried to bully and torment you just to get a reaction from you.” Jacy bent close and lowered his voice. “I told her all about it. How you escape into the ducts to be alone. No friends. No interest in associating with your fellow scrubs. But I neglected to inform her about your Queen of the Pipes title.”
“Why? It’s just a taunt.” Even Broken Man knew about it.
“Really? You spend hours in the pipes. You must know every nook and cranny of Inside. If I searched for a missing prophet and had exhausted every known area, I would turn to the Queen of the Pipes for guidance.” He paused, giving me time to understand. “She already suspects you’re involved, telling her about your title would give her a reason to arrest you.”
“But you could have earned a better post.”
He shrugged. “I did it for old time’s sake. Besides, if you’re hiding Broken Man, that means you actuallycarefor another person and there’s hope for you yet. Meet me here in one hour.” He strode away with his friends at his heels.
I spent the time sifting through all of Jacy’s comments. He had been wrong about me. I had friends in the care facility after Cog left. Before I was picked on and teased—the victim of multiple pranks and nasty rumors. At least one or two girls. I just couldn’t remember their names.
When I matched LC’s Karla’s work schedule to mine, I would have a single two hour window between hours thirty-eight and forty to search her office.
The heating ducts would be my best bet to enter Karla’s office. Low to the ground, the vents opened into every room Inside. Although, they were small. Zippy and I just fit. They alsosnaked between the rooms. One of the drawbacks to using the heating system was, there were no connections between levels. Since the power plant spanned all four levels, each level had its very own network of ducts. The other limitation was the heating system couldn’t be accessed from the Gap.
I needed to ascend to the fourth level, then enter the heating system. Aiming for the abandoned storeroom, I hoped Riley wouldn’t be there. As I moved through the air shafts with Zippy tied to my tool belt, my thoughts turned to the young upper I had surprised.
Riley’s comments replayed in my mind. He used the storeroom to escape assignments and avoid having to pledge loyalty to the Travas. Perhaps his life wasn’t as easy as I had thought.
I slowed down when I reached my destination. Peering through the air vent, I scanned the room below with care. The furniture had been re-arranged again, but no one was there. The green and brown couch was now located right below the hole, and a metal step ladder leaned against the side wall. Riley must have moved it for me. I smiled, but then dismissed the notion. An upper caring about a scrub? No way. And I wouldn’t believe it. Stick with the plan, I chanted under my breath.
Hanging from the air duct, I dropped onto the couch. I waited a moment. When no one rushed into the room, I slipped into the tight heating vent. Pressing Zippy’s on button, I counted to ten. He hummed and chugged along the duct as I pulled my body by my elbows and pushed with my feet.
I hoped any noise I made would be dismissed as the regular cleaning. Even if he didn’t work, having Zippy along would help my cover if I was caught.
