“Shouldn’t you be in an air shaft working?” Cog asked. He was elbow deep in a piece of machinery in the solid-waste facility. Black goo smeared his coveralls and dripped onto the floor. A fetid stench fogged the air.
“The Pop Cops are coming to arrest you and me.”
He ceased tugging. “How do you know?”
“Overheard Lieutenant Commander Karla. They’re going to threaten to recycle me if you don’t tell them about Broken Man. You need to hide. Now.”
Instead of pulling his arms out, he resumed his work.
“Cog!”
“Hush a minute. I need to think.”
“I thought it out. We both hide and then…”
“What? We live like fugitives for the rest of our days? Or do we find Gateway and leave? Do you believe in Gateway, Trella?”
“I believe something is going on in the upper levels. I believe the Pop Cops are lying to us.”
“No kidding. You need to answer my question. Do you believe in Gateway?”
“It doesn’t matter. We need to get you somewhere safe first, and then we’ll worry about the next step.”
Cogon grunted and pulled a wad of black cloth. “Contraband.” He unrolled the mass and a bottle fell. “Flushed through the waste system during a Pop Cop raid.”
“Cog!” My panic increased. He acted so casual.
“It does matter if you believe or not.”
“Why?”
“Because there is nowhere formeto hide. They’ll find me pretty quick and keep searching for you. I’m going to let them arrest me, and I’m going to confess to killing the Pop Cop on my own and clear your name. And I’m going to eventually tell them I hid Broken Man, sending them to various hiding spots. And when they don’t find him, I’ll confess to killing him, too and dumping his body in a number of tanks and feeding bits of him to machines. Hopefully they’ll investigate each and every claim.”
I stared at Cog as my body numbed with horror.
“See, Trell? It does matter. Because for me to endure, I need to know you believe in Gateway and know you’re searching for it. To know I am helping by keeping the Pop Cops occupied while you find it.”
“But you’ll be fed to Chomper!”
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
“ButIdo.”
“It’s not your decision.”
“You think finding Gateway is more important than your life?” I asked him.
“Yes.”
“Why? Aren’t you happy with the status quo? You smile at everyone. You have a ton of friends.”
He held up his filthy foul-smelling hands. “Thisisthe rest of my life. Nothing is going to change unlesswedo something. I’ve been waiting for the right circumstances. This is it.”
One of the maintenance scrubs hustled over. “Cog, a group of Pop Cops are looking for you. Want us to distract them?”
“No thanks. Go back to work.” Cogon met my gaze. An unanswered question still hovered between us.
“I don’t know if I believe in Gateway or not. But I won’t stop searching for it until I prove beyond a doubt it does or doesn’t exist. Will that help you?”
