Outside In

by Maria V. Snyder

  Bubba Boom ambled to his feet and grinned. “Okay. I’m willing to wait until everything is mended. I’m sure all these troubles will soon settle down.” He gave me a mock salute and left.

  I collapsed back into my chair. My mind swirled. Between his accusations about Jacy and advances, I had no idea what to think. The thought of being close to another man… No. I couldn’t even contemplate it without my skin crawling.

  Why could I run into a burning room, climb up sheer walls, diffuse a bomb and defy the Committee without hesitation, yet be terrified to admit my feelings for Riley? My own fear had really screwed up not only my life, but Inside’s potential for peace and harmony. I hoped it wasn’t too late for all of us.

  The glass tube didn’t glow during my first sweep through the Trava Sector. I had covered about half of the Sector before I needed to return to the infirmary for my shift. Lamont had created a schedule in keeping with the intern ruse. It worked, except I spent my free time crawling through air and heating vents searching for an active computer.

  And as the hours passed, I felt more pressure to accomplish something. Anything besides how to determine if a wound was infected or not. Halfway through week 147,024, I completed the fourth and final sweep through the Trava Sector. Still no results. However, by spending so much time in the ducts above the Travas, I learned a few things.

  One—they were dangerously bored. Two men had pulled apart a heap of computers to build a couple of hand-held devices. They could be weapons or a way to communicate, I had no idea. But my glass tube didn’t glow so it wasn’t a link to the Controllers.

  Two—they planned to escape and release their comrades in the brig.

  Three—they wanted to regain control of Inside and protect something or somebody. Which didn’t make sense to me. They already had control. So why didn’t the so-called Controllers tell the Committee to release all of the Travas?

  My agitation grew and the tension in Inside filled every space. Fights broke out and a number of riots erupted. Anne-Jade’s ISF officers were swamped and many were injured.

  When she stopped by the infirmary to check on Yuri, I pulled her aside and informed her about the Travas’ plans.

  “They can have it,” she snapped. “Nothing is getting done besides the repairs to the air plant, and everyone has reverted to acting like the Pop Cops are back. They’re keeping to themselves and not helping despite the food rationing.”

  “And the Committee—”

  “Does nothing! They’re too afraid. I wish the Controllers would just lay it on the line and tell us what they want.”

  Interesting strategy. “Is the Transmission working?” I asked.

  “No. The three Travas who Karla named had no clue how to work it.”

  “If the Transmission isn’t fixed, eventually it won’t matter who has control.”

  “You don’t need to tell me, but the Controllers don’t seem worried about that.”

  Odd. “What about Hank? Can he fix the Transmission?”

  “He’s busy with the air plant repairs. And trying to help us find the saboteurs.”

  “Did Bubba Boom tell you who they are?” I asked.

  “Yeah. But the five of them disappeared when we tried to arrest them.”

  They could have been tipped off. “There aren’t many places to hide.”

  “You think? Such stellar intellect, I’m going to promote you to captain.”

  “No need to be nasty.”

  Anne-Jade rubbed her eyes. Exhaustion had etched deep lines into her face. “Sorry. I don’t have the manpower to search those places. If it wasn’t for Hank’s offer to keep an eye out, Sloan and his cohorts could be lounging in the dining room without having to worry about the ISF.”

  “At least with them on the run, there shouldn’t be any more attacks.”

  “One good thing,” she said.

  “One thing at a time.” Which reminded me of my task. “Anne-Jade, I know you’re swamped, but can you search the Trava Sector for the active computer? I’ve done all I can through the shafts and came up with nothing.”

  “We do regular inspections. Too regular from what you’ve told me.” She sighed. “I think it’s time for a surprise visit.”

  “Take the glass tube with you. It should pick up anything that is hidden.” I hurried back to my room and retrieved the detector and Zippy for her.

  She raised her right eyebrow. “You keep Zippy in your room?”

  “In case I need him. Can you bring him back when you’re done?”

  Anne-Jade left muttering about smoke damaged wits. I had told her the truth about Zippy, but not the entire reason I kept the little cleaning troll near my bed. He’s been with me through some tough times. And he filled the void left by Sheepy.

  At hour sixty, Anne-Jade returned with Zippy and the glass detector. Although her surprise inspection had netted her an interesting and scary array of illegal devices, weapons and contraband, she didn’t find a computer linked to the network.

  Which meant another person or group were the Controllers. Not good. Two hours later, I hurried over to Logan’s room.

  Faint voices rolled through the shaft as I neared his vent. I slowed, keeping as quiet as possible as I slid the final meter. Logan’s aggravated tone was easy to recognize. The other two sounded calmer and were harder to discern.

  “…long are you going to keep me here?” Logan demanded.

  “…safe…saboteurs…life,” a man’s voice said.

  “I’ll stay in the Control Room. No one can get in there.” Logan’s anger rang clear.

  “…rebellion…easy…”

  “That’s because we were all helping her. Besides, Trella’s not a danger to me, you unrecyclable idiot. She’s my friend.”

  More murmuring and I strained to hear the rest. The voices stopped and the door clicked shut. Metallic snaps and clangs followed before silence filled the room. I waited a few minutes until I was certain Logan’s keepers had left, then I dropped down to the floor.

  Logan stared at the closed door, hugging his arm to his chest.

  “Logan, if you want to leave here, just say the word and I’ll find you the perfect hiding place.”

  He spun around. “No worries, I’m fine. I just have to whine and complain to my captors or else they’ll suspect I’m up to something. Did you hear my little tantrum about being bored to death?”

  “No.”

  “Too bad, it was quite the performance.” He crossed to his computer and pulled the keyboard out from its hiding place. Tapping a few keys, the screen lit up and displayed the picture of the hallway. The two guards walked down the corridor.

  Still impressed by the moving pictures, I asked, “Do I even possess the rudimentary knowledge to understand how you invented a device that sees?”

  He puffed up his chest. “No. You need to be a genius like me.”

  “I’m glad your sense of self worth hasn’t changed,” I teased.

  “If you must know, I found the information and schematics in the computer. It’s called a Video Camera.”

  “I remember them now. They were all over Inside, and a room full of computer screens for watchers to keep an eye on everyone. But I thought they were all destroyed.”

  “Those were. They were about fifteen centimeters long, by five centimeters wide, by three high. Bigger than mine, easier to spot and to smash.”

  “You can’t blame them. It’s creepy having someone spying on you.”

  “Not that different from the mics we’re using.”

  “I disagree. It’s a big difference.” I shuddered.

  Logan shrugged. “I was hoping to make more of these, but…” He closed his eyes and touched his eyelids with his fingertips, smoothing the skin as if he could wipe the injury away. “There are a few Video Cameras pointed toward Outside. They hadn’t been damaged by the riots. I’d show you the pictures, but access to them has been blocked. Too bad, as they’re really fascinating.”

  Another shudder shook my
body. “No thanks. I’ve already seen Outside and I’m not fascinated at all.” Horrified would be my word of choice. To rid myself of the image, I studied the screen. “The big guy on the left seems familiar,” I said. “Too bad I missed their faces.”

  Logan’s fingers danced on the keyboard and the men walked backward, disappeared and appeared again, but this time facing forward. They continued to walk backward for a few steps, then froze.

  “How’s that? Or do you want them closer?”

  “That’s good.” I leaned forward and peered at the monitor. “The guy on the left reminds me of…someone. I’ve seen him before, but I can’t place him.” I hoped his name would eventually click.

  In the meantime, I updated Logan on the search for the computer linked to the Controllers’. “Not in the Trava Sector. Where should I look next?”

  He drummed his fingers on the edge of the keyboard. “Every Inside computer is suspect now.”

  “That’s…” I couldn’t even calculate a number.

  “Two thousand, four hundred and nine computers.”

  My emotions warred between being impressed by Logan’s memory and astounded by the sheer number of computers. “I couldn’t—”

  “Impossible to check them all.” His fingers tapped again. “Did you bring the detector with you?”

  “No.”

  “Next time you come, bring it along. I might be able to adjust it to hone in on the Controllers’ signal over a wider area.” He then added a number of other items he needed me to fetch for him.

  Heading back to the infirmary through the air shafts, I concentrated on remembering Logan’s list. When Doctor Lamont’s voice sounded in my ear, I almost hit my head on the top of the shaft.

  “Trella, Bubba Boom is here and he insists I wake you,” she said. “What should I do?”

  I fumbled for the button mic. “What’s so important?”

  “He wouldn’t say.”

  Curious. “Tell him you woke me and I’ll be out in a couple minutes. I’m almost home.”

  “Okay.” She clicked off.

  It wasn’t until I had swung down into my room that I realized I had called the infirmary home. I really needed to return our world to a more normal state before I started calling Lamont Mom.

  Changing into my green long-sleeved medical uniform, I pulled strands of my hair from my braid to appear sleep tousled. No need to act tired—sleep remained a low priority.

  Bubba Boom wasted no time with hellos. He took my hand and pulled me from the infirmary and out into the hallway.

  “Let go.” I yanked, but he wouldn’t release me. “What’s going on?”

  “I’ll tell you in a minute.” He kept his quick pace through the corridors.

  The few people we passed gave us either curious stares or smirks, or ignored us. Bubba Boom dropped my hand as soon as we reached a quiet corner.

  “I know you don’t believe me about Jacy.” He held a finger up before I could interrupt. “He’s in his office and you should see for yourself who he’s been…collaborating with.”

  “Why can’t you tell me?”

  “Better this way.” He pointed to a vent above our heads. “This will take you over the Committee members’ offices in Sector H3.”

  “I’m not supposed to go into the air shafts. The tracer—”

  “Isn’t that accurate. It’ll appear as if you walked through the Sector. You need to hurry before he finishes his meeting.”

  I glanced up. The vent was in the middle of the ceiling. “I’ll need a boost.”

  He squatted down, holding his hands out. “Stand on my shoulders.”

  I kicked off my mocs, grabbed his hands for balance, and stepped onto him. He stood with ease and steadied my legs. The vent was within reach and I pushed it open. As I squirmed into the duct, I marveled at Bubba Boom’s strength and height. He didn’t appear to be that tall, but I doubted even Cog could boost me that high.

  “I’ll wait here for you,” he called.

  It took me a few minutes to get my bearings and head in the right direction. Despite Bubba Boom’s suggestion to hurry, I slowed as I crossed over the Committee’s offices. Bluelights glowed from most of them. No sounds or voices drifted, but that didn’t mean no one was below.

  The bright square of daylights reflecting off the metal duct marked Jacy’s office well before his voice reached me.

  “…don’t know…she…problem,” Jacy said.

  Two almost-familiar male voices answered him, and I crept with care for the last two meters. The front half of Jacy’s desk and two sets of legs facing it were visible from my vantage point. I strained to match the voices with faces and names.

  “All your plans sound feasible, but you need to repair that Transmission before you can do anything else,” said an authoritative and scary voice. Why scary? I searched my memories.

  “We tried,” Jacy said. “Karla sent us a trio of idiots.”

  “No surprise. She was having fun with that little scrub. I’ll send you the right people.”

  I tucked that tidbit away for now.

  “How do we get them past Hank?” asked the third man.

  My hand flew to my cheek. I couldn’t forget that voice. Sloan. Bubba Boom was right. Jacy had set me up!

  “He has people in the power plant all the time,” Sloan said.

  “How long would they need?” Jacy asked.

  “A couple hours at most,” Authoritative and Scary said.

  “We’ll stage a distraction. If they wear the maintenance coveralls, they’ll blend right in,” Jacy said.

  While Jacy working with Sloan was a bad thing, fixing the Transmission wasn’t. I guessed Jacy had used the sabotage and the attack on Logan as a distraction so he could grab control of the computers and therefore Inside. It would make sense that he’d want to fix the Transmission once he gained power.

  “What happens once the Transmission is repaired?” Sloan asked.

  “We implement your plan,” Authoritative and Scary said.

  That comment supported my mutiny theory. Sloan and the other man stood and each shook Jacy’s hand over the desk. I willed the unknown man to turn left to leave instead of right so I could see his face.

  For once, I had my wish. I caught a glimpse of his beak of a nose and black mustache. His features were familiar. An upper, but not one I’ve seen more than once or twice.

  I chased the logic as I traveled back to where Bubba Boom waited. Scary had been one of my initial reactions, which meant I must associate him with a frightening event. Perhaps he had been a Pop Cop. But from the commanding tone of his voice, he was used to giving orders. Unfortunately, I knew most of the higher ranked Pop Cops. The answer slammed into me.

  The other man was Captain James Trava.

  13

  AS SOON AS I PULLED THE VENT OPEN, BUBBA BOOM appeared below. I hung down. He grabbed me around my waist and lowered me to the floor.

  He stared at me a minute before releasing me. “Now do you believe me?”

  “Yes. How did you know about the Captain?”

  “Hank never trusted Jacy, and one of our guys found a maintenance panel that had been tampered with in Sector D4.”

  “Maintenance panel?”

  “There’re these covers on the walls that blend in and are easy to remove in case you need to get to the pipes and wires inside. It’s better to pop off a panel than cut a hole in the wall. The Travas have been using the one in Sector D4 to sneak in and out.”

  “But there are ISF officers all over the place.”

  “Not up here. Heck, anyone wearing an upper’s shirt and pants can stroll around levels three and four without any problems.”

  Sounded familiar. I had traveled the halls of the upper levels without notice when the Pop Cops had been in charge. Why? Not enough Pop Cops and people who kept to themselves too scared to get involved. Same thing, different names. There had to be a way to break that cycle, to unite us. The answer eluded me.

  We headed back t
o the infirmary. I mulled over the information.

  Jacy could no longer be trusted so everything he had told me should be considered a lie. The biggest threat to Jacy and Captain Trava was Logan. Even though it had been for the wrong reason, the Committee had actually done the right thing when they put Logan into protective custody.

  As we neared the infirmary, Bubba Boom asked me to accompany him to the dining room. Since we needed to make plans, I agreed. I poked my head into the patient area to inform Lamont. Because of the tracer, she had to tag along, but she claimed it was a good idea.

  Bubba Boom had been quick to hide his frown, but she noticed and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t sit with you two.”

  No one spoke as we turned south toward Quad G3. My thoughts still sorted through all that I had learned in the last few hours. Lamont filled her tray and joined a group of friends while Bubba Boom and I found an empty table as far away from everyone as possible. My plate contained a greenish-colored casserole, but I had no memory of scooping it.

  I watched my mother. She appeared relaxed and when she smiled it changed her whole face, reaching all the way to her eyes. I realized she hadn’t been happy in a very long time. Which should seem obvious, but I held no memory of her ever showing any joy or peace even before she betrayed us.

  What was different? Her daughter was alive and despite her tendency to downplay the risk, she put herself in considerable danger by carrying the tracer for me. I thought about what I’d done without hesitation for my friends.

  I’d been willing to sacrifice myself for Cogon. Would I have done it for some stranger? While I’d like to think I would, if I was truly honest with myself, the answer would be probably not. And why were we strangers at all? We lived in a giant metal cube. Granted, the Pop Cops had separated us, but if we went back far enough, we were all related to one of the original nine families.

  A little zip of understanding jolted me. Could the solution to our problems be that simple?

  “…look. Should I be worried? Trella?” Bubba Boom waved a hand in front of my face.