Unpredicted Variables (Across the Years Part Five)

This Comes From Inside

"I already checked through most of the public areas," Bonnie explained as Carlos worked, bent over one of his arms. "The bakery, the Daycare, the Alley-obviously-the two arcades...I was going to try Backstage tonight."

"Right," Carlos nodded, narrowing his eyes as he fixed up Bonnie's arm. "Keep searching. I wasn't able to find any sign of him in Parts and Service or the Utility Tunnels, but he has to be somewhere."

Bonnie sighed. "I..." he started as Carlos pulled away, his work finished. Bonnie moved his arm, ensuring it was functional before shaking his head. "I don't understand why we're doing this, Carlos."

"Because Gregory is missing. We were both looking out for him, we can't just-" Carlos sighed, walking over to a nearby desk and placing his tools down.

"I mean, obviously yes, I agree, but..." Bonnie glanced down. "What can we do that the security guards can't? They know the place better, they have more resources...anywhere we look, they'll have already. Not to mention those new bots that take over during the night shift..."

"The STAFF bots?" Carlos asked, glancing over at him.

"Yeah. They cover almost every inch of this place, and they're all hooked into the Storyteller. I just-" Bonnie shook his head. "I feel like if there was something to find, they'd have already found it by now."

"I understand," Carlos sighed, walking over to the door and opening it. "This feels...useless, sometimes. But the thing is..." he pursed his lips as Bonnie walked over. "I'm not sure if we can trust them."

"What?" Bonnie asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I just..." Carlos shook his head, continuing down the pathway. They were in the back of the Bowling Alley, with the mechanisms to return the balls and fix the pins nonmoving. "I think...here's the thing, Bonnie. That other kid, Tony? When the guards sweep the Plex, they're looking for him."

"They're looking for both Gregory and him," Bonnie replied as he walked back to his dressing room.

"I...I'm not sure that they are," Carlos replied, wincing as he locked up the closet that they'd been leaving from before turning.

Bonnie twisted, looking at him. "What?"

"The police know about Tony," Carlos explained as he walked past Bonnie and over to the computer by the wall. "The entire county does at this point. They're looking for him, he's in the news, there's a panic about it...but with Gregory, he just vanished. Because...he wasn't supposed to be here, originally. And I'm worried, because...well, a while ago Vanessa pulled me aside when I brought him up, and she said that the police couldn't find out about Gregory, that it would ruin us if they knew...so I'm worried that maybe, the security guards don't want to find him. Because if they don't...it's just another problem solved."

Bonnie shook his head. "You really think they'd do that? It's a bit of a leap, saying that they'd let Gregory...die, just so that..." Bonnie shook his head. "Maybe you're not giving them enough credit."

"Maybe...maybe not," Carlos replied, shaking his head.

Bonnie glanced over. "What about the other Glamrocks?" he asked. "Eclipse, Freddy, Roxy, Monty, Chica, even the DJ. maybe we could recruit them into our little 'Find Gregory' team?"

"It's too much of a risk," Carlos replied, shaking his head. "Sure, we'd be able to cover more ground, but they're all hooked into the Storyteller, in Show Mode, almost 24/7. Even unintentionally, they'd reveal what we were doing to the Storyteller, which would then reveal it to the guards, who would probably force us to stop. The only reason I trust you is because I know you go around in Safe Mode instead."