At least he didn’t gloat. After scraping my spoon to retrieve the last bit, I decided the stew was worth my admission.
Riley hovered. I moved my legs so he could join me on the couch.
“You look better,” he said. “Your face isn’t as pale.”
“I have you to thank. You risked a lot by fetching the doctor.”
He shrugged. “Doctor Lamont is a friend of my father’s.” He pulled at a thread on the couch. “Considering the extent of your injury and blood loss, the doctor was amazed you made it up here.”
“You know how stubborn I can be. I wanted to warn you about Domotor. Once they break him, he’ll tell the Pop Copsabout you and Logan.” I looked at the clock. Hour twenty-one. Plenty of time for Vinco’s knife to do its job.
“They don’t have him yet,” Riley said.
I straightened, tugging my stitches. “What happened?”
“LC Karla knows he’s been using his port, but her computer experts can’t trace it back to an exact location. All she knows is he’s on level one. She’s been trying to search the entire level.”
“Trying?”
He grinned. “The Pop Cops have been besieged with a run of bad luck. Malfunctioning equipment, missing tools, miscommunications, and a broken water pipe.”
Jacy had headed my request, which meant he warned Logan and probably received my most recent communication. I wondered if Logan was the reason for Karla’s computer woes. “How do you know about her troubles?”
“One of the metal cutters overheated and injured an ensign. Doctor Lamont treated him. Nice, chatty fellow.” He leaned forward. “Now we have a little time to find Gateway.”
“Yes. But we’ll need Logan and a bunch of uppers to help.”
“We have me, my father, and Doctor Lamont. I have a cousin in mechanical that I can trust. Who else did Domotor mention?”
“Kiana Garrard, Hana Mineko, Takia Qadim and Breana Narelle. But one of them works for the Trava family. Logan might be able to tell us which one.”
Riley wound the couch’s thread around his hand. “I’ve heard of Takia. She works in the control room. One of only two people who are not Travas. I’ve met Breana and Hana. They were part of my father’s training group, but he hasn’t visited with them in hundreds of weeks. I never heard of Kiana Garrard. Do you know which system she works in?”
“No. We need Logan.”
“You’re in no condition to bring him through the air shafts.”
I agreed. LC Karla was occupied with locating Domotor. Perhaps Logan could take the lift. It would be a matter of timing, and Logan being able to find the Pop Cop uniform I had hidden. I shared my idea with Riley.
“It could work as long as his nerves don’t give him away. How are you going to contact him?”
I showed Riley the listening device.
He whistled. “When you decide to break the law, you certainly don’t skimp. Illegal technologyanda stolen Pop Cop uniform.”
“Borrowed. You’re not exactly Mr. Law and Order. In fact…” I had an idea.
“Oh no. This can’t be good.”
“Is there any way you can pick up an audio signal?” I asked.
He took the device and examined it. “If I had the frequency, yes. Why?”
“There is one hidden in Karla’s office. Knowing her plans will help us.”
His surprise didn’t last long. “Gee, I wonder how it got there,” he said with a hint of sarcasm.
“No idea,” I said, playing along. “Kids these weeks.” I tsked. “Always getting into trouble. Not like me, I’m the soul of conformity.”
