Pillar's Fire

Chapter 48

Mira wanted to get as far away from town as possible, but as they drove into Pillar from the north and worked their way toward the city center, she began to feel uneasy. "So where are we going?"

"Actually, we're already here." Logan whipped into the parking lot of the Reformer housing unit located across from the COO. "It's the perfect place to hide when you think about it – and it's part of our new plan."

There was no way Vaughn and Kya agreed with this hair-brained idea. "You're joking, right?"

Logan chuckled as he pressed a LifeChip against his skin so that it stuck. "Nope. Let's go," he said, and got out of the car.

He's crazy, Mira thought, watching him as he came to her side. He looked confident, but as he opened her door, whispers of doubt taunted her. Logan hadn't always made the best decisions. Of course, neither had she. "There's no way I'll pass any inspection," she said.

He grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet. "You're my new recruit," he said, dragging her along toward the stairwell.

She stumbled along behind him. "But my picture...the Sweeper captured me on camera." She dug in her heels. "There's got to be a better place."

Logan sighed. "Wait a sec." He went to the Renovatron Custodial open-door closet and wheeled out a three by three bin that held a few dirty towels. "Hide under these and I'll wheel you inside."

"Isn't there a check-in crew? And the Renovatrons take care of all laundering needs. You're hardly a Renovatron. It's not going to work."

He shrugged. "I'll just say it's a special case. We need to diagnose the towels for bacteria. They won't really care, Mira."

He was probably right. Swinging her leg over the edge, Mira lowered herself inside. After curling into a ball, Logan adjusted the towels over her.

"This is going to be a bit bumpy. I don't have the key to the elevator," Logan said.

Thump, thump, thump. The wheels clunked against each concrete step as Logan yanked the cart up them. "Lucky we only have one more flight to go," he said.

"You're telling me," she grumbled, each jarring step jamming her teeth together.

"Just keep thinking about how they'll never guess to look for you here. And once Vaughn and Kya get here, we'll be one big happy family again."

"I guess," she said.

Logan rammed the cart through a door. Mira could hear the check-in crew, but the sound was muffled so she couldn't tell exactly how they'd responded to Logan's lies. They must have believed him, and must have checked him through because they were on the move again.

"Here we are," he said, thrusting the cart into one of the Reformer apartments. "Sorry we had to take the long route past the lab." He flipped the towel off her head.

As Mira climbed out of the cart, she frowned. "How did you know where the lab was?"

"I make it a point to know details like that." He walked into the living room.

She trailed behind him, staring out the window he was exposing by opening the room-darkening curtain. The COO was right across from them.

Logan pointed out the window as she approached. "That system is the heart of Pillar."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." He curved his hands around both her forearms and turned her to face the kitchen area. Between her and the bar was a chair – identical to the one at the Stint. "I am a spy."