Turn of the Pipes (A Redpoint One Romance) (21 page)

The bot gave a subdued beep that faded out, in
a way that reminded him of the noises Irvine made. Ah, Irvine. He
couldn't blame the trouble-making newt this time.

With the thought, several things connected in
his head. How Rachel's bot hated Irvine. Irvine hating Rachel.
Didn't Paul mention Irvine hissed when they came back from the
date?

The answer was so ridiculous, but perfect all
at the same time.

"Bot, get me back to my warehouse as fast as
possible. I think I have the answer," Ignacio said.

"You're giving up?" Vasiliy asked.

The bot whistled at him in a questioning tone
again. Rachel was right. Bots should have names. "I'm not giving
up. I have an idea. You. Wait, I'm calling you Trident for now.
Trident, please take me home."

The bot gave one more chirp and took off back
the way they'd come so fast Ignacio broke into a jog to keep up. At
first, he thought Vasiliy had stayed to continue the search, but
then heard him running behind them.

He thought it would take a while to get back
home, as it seemed like they'd been moving through the corridors
forever. Yet, they popped out of the hidden wall Eddie had used in
no time.

Knowing where they were, he ran past the bot
and to his warehouse. The bot paused at the front door while
Ignacio continued inside and into the animal side.

Vasiliy followed him, stopping at the front
while Ignacio continued to the back where he pulled out a carrier,
making sure the tray in the bottom was filled with plenty of water.
"Rachel wasn't kidding. You really do breed newts."

"And salamanders," Ignacio said, heading back
up the aisle.

Irvine waited for him, as if sensing Ignacio
had come back just for him. Catching him was another matter. Irvine
wanted to explore on his own, not get put into a
carrier.

Usually, the cleaning bot was enough to catch
a newt and put him in a carrier. He should have known it wouldn't
be so easy while in the midst of an emergency. Between himself and
the cleaning robot, they cornered Irvine against a rock and Ignacio
shooed him into the carrier.

Irvine hissed at him before settling in the
pan of water in the middle.

"Keep the hiss for when it means something,"
Ignacio told him.

Vasiliy crossed his arms over his chest, his
eyes going from Ignacio to the carrier, and back again. "What are
we doing now?"

Ignacio continued out of the warehouse,
knowing the man would follow. "Now we head back and search again.
Trident, take us back where we stopped the search."

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

IGNACIO COULDN'T RUN while carrying Irvine, having to content
himself with a fast walk. Trident beeped and chirped at him in
annoyance despite Ignacio telling it he couldn't move faster. He
didn't like moving slow, either. It took much too long to get back
to where they'd stopped searching.

Once they did arrive, Ignacio kept moving as
fast as he dared. Irvine watched the scenery from amid the water,
apparently unconcerned. Probably happy. Irvine liked new vistas, to
judge by his pipe exploration. To walk the corridors was rather
boring.

"What are we expecting to happen?" Vasiliy
said as he trailed behind.

"Irvine hates Rachel," Ignacio
said.

"You think Irvine will be able to sense what
we can't and our sensors can't?"

"It's worth a try. I haven't heard anyone over
the ID bracelets say they've had any success."

The lack of success seriously worried Ignacio.
So many people searching, and not a sign of Rachel anywhere? They
knew Rachel's last location. Someone should have found someone,
somewhere.

Up and down corridors they went with Trident
sometimes leading the way, but leaving Ignacio to choose new
directions at the junctures. He wished it wouldn't. He didn't trust
his instincts in the corridors. In fact, if he didn't have the bot
and Vasiliy with him, he would be seriously worried about being
hopelessly lost.

Large corridors, small corridors, some barely
large enough for him to get Irvine's carrier through. He was
completely turned around, tired, and achy, but he didn't stop. He
wouldn't stop until someone found Rachel.

Then came a small hiss.

Ignacio stopped, looking down. The bot stopped
and turned to stare at Irvine. From the direction Irvine faced,
they knew where to head. The big problem came from the long solid
wall of pipes several layers deep. Not one door intersected the
pipes in either direction, allowing them an easy way to get
through.

He moved towards the wall and the hissing grew
louder.

"He's hissing," Vasiliy said.

"I know. She's here. Somewhere."

As if to reinforce it, Irvine hissed at the
wall again.

Vasiliy lifted his ID band. "Boss, we might
have found Rachel's general location."

"We'll find you. Don't move," Arthur answered
back.

Ignacio did move. He walked up and down the
corridor until he came as close to Rachel as he could get. At
least, according to his newt compass.

Arthur and Damien arrived first. When Ignacio
pointed to the wall and told them they would find Rachel on the
other side, Arthur asked, "Why do you think she's here?"

"Would you believe a newt led us?" Vasiliy
asked, pointing at Ignacio's carrier.

Arthur and Damien both stared at him in shock.
Arthur asked, "You're telling me you found Rachel with the help of
a newt?"

"A newt who detests her," Ignacio said. "Trust
me. Rachel is nearby."

"Your pet hates your date. Not good," Damien
muttered as he examined the wall.

"Not a pet. He'll be transferred to a breeding
program once his isolation period is finished," Ignacio
automatically corrected. "Any idea what is on the other side of
this wall or how to get there?"

"There used to be a door here," Arthur said,
studying the same wall.

"I'm getting the same sensation. Why would it
move now?" Damien demanded. "Notice the lights closest to the wall
are out?"

"None of the smaller repair bots anywhere
along the wall, either," Vasiliy said.

"Listen," Arthur said sharply.

All four of them froze along with the bots
around them, staring at the wall. Ignacio couldn't figure out what
he meant. He couldn't hear anything other than Irvine's occasional
hissing.

"I've never sensed that before," Damien
finally said.

"Nor I." Arthur raised his ID band. "Tish, we
need you here ASAP."

"On my way," a female voice said.

"I still don't hear anything," Ignacio said.
"What's wrong?"

Two other people arrived. Arthur turned to set
them to start searching all corridors around the area for any
system faults. Damien answered, "Are you aware there is a
consciousness to Redpoint One?"

"Yes. Several animals can sense it and respond
to it in a positive manner, making Redpoint One a prime breeding
place for several endangered species," Ignacio answered, earning a
look of surprise from Damien. "Plus, I've been around a while. You
hear things."

"Right. Well, right now, it is not present in
this area," Damien said, gesturing towards the wall.

Ignacio didn't like the sound of that. Nor
that Rachel might be trapped somewhere in the middle of it. A place
where once a door led inside, a door no longer there.

He stepped out of the way as even more people
arrived along with a small army of bots. He felt so helpless
watching and not being able to do anything. Irvine splashed around
in his water, unconcerned at the excitement and worry around
them.

A woman with light brown hair in a ponytail
with holographic hair ties arrived with three bots in tow. Each bot
also sported a holographic hair tie of a different color on their
eyestalks. It must be Tish, the one Rachel mentioned named her bots
after colors.

Tish settled at the end of the corridor,
intent on a repair. Her three bots crowded around her feet and up
on the wall near where she worked. Before long several of the
lights closest to the wall blinked on. A small success, but one
Ignacio was happy to see. Now, if only they could get past the
wall.

Tish returned to Arthur. "I didn't see
anything else to repair. I can't figure out what is going on around
here. It's as if this area has disappeared according to Redpoint
One. It doesn't even sense it."

Not the kind of news Ignacio wanted to hear.
He swallowed hard. They had to figure out how to get past the wall.
If they couldn't go straight forward, then they would simply have
to get more sneaky about it, just like Irvine when he decided he
wanted to escape.

"What about above or below?" Ignacio
asked.

"We do both, plus surround," Arthur said.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and find a different entry into the
area.

Which started another search. The maintenance
crews spread out once again, trying to find a way inside. The
followups on the ID bands increased as each person checked in on
what they found.

Vasiliy headed out with another engineer to
test security systems, so Ignacio chose to follow Tish as she
headed for the next level up. Somehow it felt like the right
direction to head in, and he noticed the maintenance crew put a lot
of trust in the gut instincts. It flew in the face of his logical
science mind, but it if worked, it worked.

The direction also got Irvine's attention once
they moved back in the general area after climbing a narrow ladder.
Irvine climbed up the wire mesh at the front of the carrier and
hissed at the wall.

Tish looked down at him, startled. Her bots
mirrored her reaction. "What is that about?"

"Irvine doesn't like Rachel," Ignacio
said.

She grinned. "Is this the infamous
newt?"

"The one and only. Rachel is nearby. Irvine
always seems to know. Don't ask me how."

"Good enough for me. Look, over there." Tish
took off running with three bots trailing her.

Ignacio followed more slowly, trying not to
jolt a hissing Irvine. He came to a stop next to a large bulkhead
which Tish was already working on the controls for. An even better
clue came from an Irvine hissing so much Ignacio thought he would
make himself hoarse.

He heard Arthur's voice coming from her band.
"I'm on my way up."

Ignacio waited in front of the tall doors
blocking off the corridor, waiting for them to open. Tish continued
to work at the controls, but the doors didn't move.

He looked over at her. "Why isn't it
opening?"

"Good question." Tish banged on it with her
fist. "It's working as far as I can tell, but I can't get it to do
anything."

Arthur appeared, trying the same console. "We
found a locked bulkhead. What about this one?"

Tish shook her head. "Won't work. I think the
problem extends multiple levels."

"I wonder how many systems it's impacting?"
Arthur stopped working on the console, looking up at the ceiling of
the corridor. "Going up helped before, let's try it
again."

Only the new level wasn't as easy to move
around in. The corridors were too narrow to allow two people to
walk side by side, with a low ceiling that threatened to grow even
lower if they went too much further. Already, it brushed at the top
of Ignacio's hair. Tish led the way, but she kept looking back to
watch for Irvine's reaction.

"I'll tell you when we get close," Ignacio
said, concerned she might hit her head against a pipe if she didn't
pay attention to where she was going.

"All this feels wrong. I'm a nervous wreck,"
Tish said.

She wasn't the only one.

***

Rachel's fingers ached from grasping the pipes. The bots
around her helped prop her up in the small air-pocket at the top of
one of the enclosed corridors, but even it was shrinking
fast.