Chapter 16 #2
Logan bent over and pulled a wipe board out from under the couch.
“You'll need more than one wheel in order to lift my weight.” He wrote a list of supplies on the board and drew a little diagram of how to hook them together.
“This should work as long as the pulley is securely attached to the ladder.”
I studied his diagram. It didn't appear to be too complicated.
Hank could put this together in no time.
Except Hank wouldn't like us exploring in the Expanse.
I had a difficult time believing Hank was behind all the sabotage.
He was Cog's right hand man and good friend.
Perhaps he wasn't involved. And perhaps I was in denial.
Why did I have no trouble accepting Jacy’s involvement with the Outsiders? No answer. My head spun and I sat next to Logan. The trip to his room had taken me twice as long as normal. I had to keep stopping to catch my breath.
“Are you alright?” Logan asked.
“Just a little dizzy.”
“Me, too. I'm not sure if I'm sick, but I keep having these dizzy spells.”
That seemed odd. Lamont had also commented on feeling lightheaded. “Since when?”
“A few hours after you rushed off to help the doctor. Do you think something’s wrong with the air plant?”
“Could be. Last I heard, it was working even though not all the air filter bays have been repaired.” A strange thought floated to the surface of my mind. “Logan, do you know what's going on with the Outsiders?”
He gestured to the computer. “I managed to get into a few subsystems. It's frustrating as hell, like putting my toe in the water, but not being able to jump in!”
“And?”
“Oh. Their vehicle is still attached, but I think no one has opened Gateway yet. I don't understand why they haven't.”
“Maybe our air isn't right for them? Maybe the people who want them to come in have to adjust it slowly or risk hurting us?”
“Pure speculation. Maybe they're waiting for us to be told about them. Can you imagine if they just showed up? Massive panic.”
“Then why aren't their cohorts spreading the word?”
“Maybe they plan to sneak in? Get a sense of the situation first?”
Too many unknowns at this point, guessing would be a waste of our limited time. “You're right. It's all conjuncture. We need more data.”
“That's my girl.” Logan slapped me on the back. “Spoken like a true Tech No!”
Unfortunately, in order to get more data, I would have to get closer to Bubba Boom.
I’d rather be getting reacquainted with Riley, but I checked the power plant’s control room on level four, the air plant, and maintenance in Sector B2, but couldn't find Bubba.
He might be sleeping. I didn't even know what barrack he lived in. Actually, I knew very little about him.
While climbing around level four, I had placed the wipe board with the pulley diagram in Riley's bedroom, hoping he could make one and pass it to Jacy. Since I'd run out of places to look for Bubba Boom, I returned to the infirmary to help Lamont.
People filled the patient area. Lamont moved among them, handing out cups of water and white pills. Hair stuck out from her braid, and she moved as if walking through a thick stew.
“What's going on?” I asked her.
“Headaches, dizziness, and nausea,” she said. “And a few patients have minor bumps and bruises from passing out. Everyone's blaming the air plant.”
When I had poked my head into the plant, the air filtering machinery appeared to be working. However, a number of maintenance workers had been repairing one of the air scrubbers. “How can I help?”
“Can you wrap Jenna's sprained ankle? She twisted it when she stumbled down the stairs.”
“Sure.” I grabbed a roll of bandages and crossed to the girl with a bag of ice on her ankle.
We worked for a few hours as a steady stream of people from level three came in.
My energy dropped faster than normal. And a couple times, I needed to stop and catch my breath.
I worried that the Outsiders might just be slowly killing us all, which added to the low-simmering panic in the pit of my stomach.
I suspected at some point that the terror would erupt into a full boil.
Bubba Boom arrived. He appeared upset, and I asked him if he was feeling sick.
He glanced around the full room. “No. I heard you were all over Inside, looking for me.”
One of the maintenance workers must have spotted me. I rubbed my eyes. It was getting harder to sneak around Inside when everyone recognized me.
“Did I hear wrong?” he demanded, but somehow, I sensed he already knew the answer.
“No. I wanted to ask you about Jacy and Sloan. And the air plant.”
“Did you consider the danger? It's not safe for you to be running around without a couple bodyguards. Do you want Jacy to grab you again?”
Ah. The reason for his anger. “No. I just—”
“Let's go for a walk.”
We headed west toward the common area in Quad A3. The hallway was empty and the few people in the area sat listlessly on the couches and armchairs. Stranger than the emptiness was the quiet. So used to the constant babble of voices, my voice echoed and was probably heard by everyone.
We sat on a couch in the corner. I tried not to sit as far away from him as possible but still left a half meter between us.
“Jacy's goons caught me in the infirmary so I'm not—”
“You are now. Since you returned, we've had people in there to protect you.”
“I didn't see anyone.”
His anger deflated a bit. “You're not supposed to.”
“Oh.”
“Can you at least understand why I would be upset?”
“Yes. I'm sorry.”
“You're lucky word didn't get back to Jacy. Must be all these headaches.”
“Are you getting them, too?” I asked.
“No. Not yet, anyway.”
“You're one of the few who isn't sick,” I said. “Is the air plant malfunctioning?”
“No.”
“How can you be sure? Everyone's been complaining.”
Bubba Boom studied me as if trying to decide what to tell me. “Did Sloan or Jacy say anything to you about the network?”
“No. All they wanted was information.”
“About what?”
“What I've been doing these past few weeks.”
“What exactly have you been doing when everyone thought you were in the infirmary?” he asked. “You still haven’t told me how you know so much.”
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 both will suffer 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.