Chapter 27

"California!"

Miesha is already annoyed with Dot, insisting she is not an Escapee every time Dot uses the term. "I'm a fool is what I am!" she says, and I try to understand how that is better than being on the run.

Miesha sits in the front seat with Dot so I can lie down and rest if I need to. How can I rest? Seeing where I'm going is more important. We're on a deserted country road that leads away from the warehouse.

"Are you sure that is the girl Escapee's destination?"

"No, and we--"

"Yes." I override Miesha's response. "I know that's where she'd go. And her name is Kara."

Dot nods. "Kara. Then we might find her in Topeka if we hurry."

"No! Not Topeka. Calif--"

"All roads lead to Topeka!" Dot and Miesha say simultaneously, and they both laugh, which only makes me uneasy. Their mutual understanding instantly shifts me to outsider status.

Dot sees that I am not smiling or laughing. She explains that the major transgrid network is like a giant X crisscrossing the country with the major Train Depot Interchange at its center in Topeka. Smaller grids fan out from there. The small gridline in Boston goes to the major line in Albany, and from there it's a straight shot to Topeka. The trains move fast, but so do the cars that travel on the same grid. Dot says with Kara having to find her way around at the Albany station and then waiting for the next train, we might be able to get to Topeka just ahead of her. If not, we can go straight from there to California.

"No! We have to stop her in Topeka. Whatever it takes. Speed! Just do it! She can't get to California before me."

Dot looks at me in the mirror and then, removing her hands completely from the steering bar, swivels around to face me. Her customary smile is gone. I think she doesn't like my tone. She crosses her arms on the back of the seat and looks directly into my eyes. The car continues to maneuver on its own. "You must understand, Customer Locke, that I will do anything I can to help an Escapee. This is my chance to be somebody too--the most I can ever hope to be. I will have my own story of Escape to share with others like me. And if ... if for some reason I am unable to share my story, then stories will still be told about me. I will always be known as Officer Dot Jefferson, Liberator. I have crossed the line, and for me there is no going back. Because I have tampered with Star Cab property when I retooled this vehicle, I am beyond a simple temporary Release now. I will be recycled. So your success is my success. But there are obstacles that even I can't overcome."

I clear my throat. "Okay."

"The Topeka transgrid lane has a fixed speed of three hundred fifty kilometers per hour. I cannot go faster or slower."

I nod.

"And if my Retool left any traces of Star Cab ID--they can be very inventive in how they embed it--we could be rerouted at any Security Tunnel. And if--"

"Dot, okay, I get it. You don't need to tell me more. It's going to be tough, but--" I shift in my seat. How can I begin to explain something I don't really understand myself? And should I be explaining to a Bot at all? This whole world is crazy--I never asked for it. Neither did Kara. I thought we had escaped one hell, but maybe we were only transported to a new one. For 260 years, we've had only each other. Maybe we didn't touch or hold each other, but we had our thoughts. Kara's voice held me when there were no arms to do that. A voice, even a tormented one, is something, when it's the only thing you have outside of yourself. Kara kept me sane. I have to get to her before she makes a mistake like mine, one that can't be undone.

Dot is still looking at me. She patiently waits for me to finish, like I haven't lapsed at all but have only inhaled an extra breath. "I trust you, Dot. But please hurry as much as you can. It's important."

Her smile returns. "I know, Customer Locke. I know."