“Great. Take off these damn cuffs,” I said.
“Not until the Committee gives me permission. Sorry.”
I stared at her. “Come on, it’s me. You can’t be happy with how they’re running our world.”
“Do you really think I like being called the Mop Cops?” She balled her hands into fists. “I worked so hard to not be the Pop Cops and look what happened. Bombs, computer failure and someone tries to kill my brother. It’s a mess and I wouldn’t even know how to fix it at this point.” Anne-Jade punched the wall. The Control Room workers glanced at us as the loud bang vibrated. “It’s our fault, you know.” She rubbed her knuckles absently. “The Force of Sheep gave them the power. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
It did. I mulled over what had happened. Why did the Committee fail? Then I remembered where they sat at the conference table. All the uppers sat along the left side, then Domotor, Jacy and the rest of the scrubs on the right side. Jacy had known the problem all along and so did I, but I’d hoped it would work itself out. That the uppers and scrubs would play nice together and forget all the Pop Cop propaganda.
But they remained divided. And all the current problems just drove them further apart, which didn’t make sense. With saboteurs threatening all our lives, we should be banding together, not sitting on opposite sides.
“Trell, you have that look. What are you planning?”
“Maybe we should take the power back and start again,” I said, thinking a new smaller Committee could have people like Hank who viewed our world as a whole and not two groups.
“Too late.”
“Why?”
“Because someone else beat you to it.”
11
“ARE YOU SAYING THE COMMITTEE NO LONGER HAS the power to make decisions?” I asked Anne-Jade.
“Yep. They’re just following orders. And so am I.” A look of self-disgust creased her face.
Even though I feared the answer, I asked, “Who is issuing these orders?”
“The Controllers. They have hijacked the computer network, shutting down access to all but a few people. If the Committee doesn’t do as they say, they’ll erase the programs for running vital systems.”
“But that would hurt them as well.”
“They’re in the network, Trell. They don’t need air or water. Just electricity.”
“Anne-Jade, you know better. Logan said they were an operating system. Nothing more.”
“Well, Logan is blind and the Committee has him locked away somewhere. So as far as I’m concerned, I obey their orders.” She rubbed her face.
A sudden surge of outrage consumed me. “I can find Logan for you.”
“Not from the brig.”
Surprised, I gaped at her. “I answered all their questions.”
“And the Controllers will tell them what to do with you.”
“I haven’t been involved with the Committee in weeks. Why would the Controllers consider me a threat?”
“You planted those mics. You helped diffuse a bomb. Those aren’t the actions of someone who is uninvolved. And the last thing they want is for you to be involved.”
My head spun with all the information from Anne-Jade. It seemed like an elaborate joke and I expected Anne-Jade to laugh at me for falling for it. But her shoulders dropped and worry filled her eyes.
“Don’t let the Committee know I told you all this,” she said.
“I won’t.”
We were summoned back into the conference room. I noticed the vampire box on the table right away.
I endured a lecture about planting the mics on my own and how I should have come to the Committee right away. No surprise.
“Since you no longer wished to be a consultant to the Committee,” Domotor said, “we insist on your cooperation to stay out of our affairs, and to keep out of the air shafts, the Gap and the Expanse. Failure to comply will result in your incarceration in the brig.”
Big surprise. How did they plan to enforce… The vampire box. A cold wave of dread swelled in my chest as I remembered those tracers Anne-Jade had invented. She must have told the Committee about them.
Domotor met my gaze. His gray eyes held an impotent anger. “You’re also confined to level three and are hereby designated as Doctor Lamont’s intern.”
Another shock. While I enjoyed helping patients, being forced to was another matter.
“Do you agree to all these conditions?” Domotor asked.
“What happens if I say no?”
“The brig.”
I thought so. No choice. I agreed.
Anne-Jade removed the handcuffs and shoved my right arm into the vampire box. The pricks in my forearm just below my wrist stung more than usual. I wiped the blood on my shirt.
“A tracer has been implanted into your arm,” Domotor said. “If you stray from level three for any reason, we will be informed. Should you be tempted to remove the tracer, we will also be alerted. The device monitors temperature.”
Damn. He had read my mind. With access to the medical supplies, removing the device would have been easy. However, body temperature was approximately thirty-seven degrees centigrade while Inside’s ambient temperature was kept at twenty-two degrees centigrade.
The meeting ended and the Committee members either milled about or filed out. Returning to my seat, I had to wait for Anne-Jade to escort me to level three. She discussed the lockdown with Takia. No one spoke to me. Jacy remained in his seat, studying me. I ignored him. Let him wonder.