Her offer was out of the question. Karla would not stop until she found me and I needed to confirm Gateway’s location, talk to Logan about those files, open Gateway, and turn myself in to the Pop Cops for Cog. Playing Ella the upper with a very nice lady wasn’t included in my to do list no matter how much I wished it were.
Instead, I reviewed each task. Confirming Gateway’s location would require climbing through the shafts. Not possible right now, but could be accomplished in another ten hours or so I hoped. The concern was if Karla had gotten the coordinates fromDomotor and/or Logan and beat me to Gateway. What then? The Pop Cops would control it. I could tell the scrubs about its existence. I barked out a laugh. I’d be the new prophet, raving about Gateway for everyone’s amusement. No. If Karla had Gateway, the game would be over.
If I found Gateway, I would need to learn more about Outside and how to open the door. Logan guessed the needed information hid in the old files. Opening the files required passwords and Logan. Again I needed to be able to climb to contact the Tech No. If Karla held Logan, or if we couldn’t deduce the correct passwords, then game over.
Opening Gateway depended on the success of task two plus we would need uppers to cover the computer alerts. I had a list of possible sympathizers, but one of them was a spy. Logan had planned to check the computer records of the uppers. If he couldn’t discover who worked for Karla, we’d need to find another group via Riley, and hope we didn’t contact another spy. If we did—game over.
The last task, turning myself in to Karla had the least problems. And once the game was over, it would be the only job left for me to do.
I needed to communicate with Karla somehow, and I really needed to find out what she knew and what she planned. Too bad I couldn’t crawl through the heating vents again and maybe listen?—
Jacy’s device! I had planted one in the air shaft over Karla’s office. If I could pick up the audio signal, I could listen in. I ignored the fact I had no idea how to do it. My whole future depended on ifs and hopes and assumptions and possibilities that I would consider it impossible right now if I thought about it too much.
I decided to think positive and impart maximum damage.
My tool belt was close enough to reach with a minimal amount of bending. I removed the listening device. Jacy might regret his offer to help.
I flipped it on and said, “Jacy I need your help again. Lieutenant Commander Karla is offering me a deal and I need you to be my negotiator. Tell Karla that I will turn myself in if she promises to free Cogon so he can return to work in the lower levels, and promises she won’t recycle me. She won’t accept those terms and she’ll counteroffer. Tell her you’ll communicate with me and let her know in twenty hours. Drag the negotiations out as long as possible. I don’t care what the final terms are for me as long as Cogon stays alive and no one else is arrested. I’m trusting you.”
“You don’t care what the final terms are?” Riley asked. He closed the door and stood there holding a steaming bowl.
“No. As long as I cause problems and do maximum damage.” I wondered how much he had heard.
“What about your friends? Don’t you think they care?”
“But I would be helping them. And besides, it’s my decision.”
“Maybe they don’t want you to help them. Did you ever think of that? Did you think about howyourdecision impacts others? Who you leave behind to deal with the gaping hole in their existence?”
Riley’s agitation seemed excessive. He noticed my confusion. “I guess it must be a family thing. Something a scrub wouldn’t understand. Although I wouldn’t call me and my still grieving father afamily.”
I remembered. Riley wasn’t angry at me, but at his mother. Her name was on Domotor’s recycled list. “I know you miss your mother?—”
“You don’t know. You’re ascrub. You don’t have a family.”
Now I was livid. “Of course I do. The scrubs are my family. I have a mother. I shared her with nine brothers and sisters, butshe loves us all. And I have Cog, who I will negotiate with Karla in order to save.” My outburst surprised me, but not as much as the realization that I truly believed what I had said.
Riley couldn’t keep the smugness from his voice. “Your description of life in the lower levels is completely different than how you described it to me when we first met. Perhaps uppers and lowers have more in common than you first thought.” He tried to suppress a smirk and failed. “Come on, admit it.”
“Did you come for a reason? I’msupposedto be resting.”
He held the bowl up. “Admit it and I’ll give you this stew.” He blew over the top, sending a delicious smell my way.
“You’re obnoxious.”
“I’ve been called worse.” He swept the food under my nose.
“All right. All right. Maybe I judged the uppers too soon.”
“Nope. Not good enough for this wonderful meal. I want three words: I. Was. Wrong.” He held up three fingers and waggled them.
“You’re mean. I’m injured and need nourishment to recover.”
“The stew’s getting cold.”
“Fine. I was wrong. Happy?”
“Ecstatic.” He gave me the bowl and a smile.
