Chapter 54

Twilight. I feel like my dad coming home from work, sore, tired, and hungry, and way dirtier. Except this isn't my home. I have no home.

It's a strange thought to belong nowhere and to no one. This past year I thought of Gatsbro's estate as my new home. Why didn't I question it sooner like Kara did? Maybe I just wanted to avoid the obvious for as long as I could. For now, Jenna's home is my home, and even though it's probably temporary, right now it looks pretty good--even the sagging porch.

I walk up the back steps and hear commotion inside. Jenna yelling, Oh, no, Kayla squealing. In two steps, I leap through the back door, already pulling my pack from my shoulder and reaching inside for the knife. One step into the kitchen and I freeze. I release my fingers on the knife still inside my pack.

"Ole!"

"About time!"

"Look what the cat dragged in."

Jenna, Allys, and Kayla are seated around the kitchen table--and so are Dot and Miesha. Dot sits in a high-tech assistance chair and wears a sombrero. Miesha is draped in a red and green serape, and her hair is now black. They look just as surprised to see me as I am to see them. Jenna jumps up from her chair and comes toward me. "What in the world happened to you?"

I look down at my bare chest. Besides dried sweat mixed with dirt, there are a few scratches. Wait until she sees my back. "I had a wrestling match with a spider."

"You didn't--"

"Yeah. I did." But none of that matters. They made it. Dirt, sweat, and all, I walk over to Dot and Miesha and hesitate for only a second before I hug them. Miesha is caught off guard and stiffens for just a moment, but then she hugs me back. I really don't care what we have or haven't done before. Today I almost went over a cliff, and I'm glad to see them.

"Mission accomplished, Customer Locke!" Dot says. "We shopped ourselves all the way down to Mexico!"

I pull up an empty chair next to them and run my finger along the rim of Dot's sombrero. "I can see that, Dot. Looks like you got some new wheels too."

"And then some," Miesha says. "It took a hefty chunk out of the money card, but it was worth it. She was becoming quite a load to push."

"And it does everything," Dot says. "I can even go up and down steps. It's almost as good as legs."

"I like it better than legs," Kayla says.

Dot beams.

"We were able to get her recharged too," Miesha says. "She's good to go for at least another three weeks."

"And speaking of good to go--" Jenna excuses herself and Kayla, saying Kayla needs a bath. Kayla protests that it's too early, but Jenna is firm, promising more playtime later. I know she is trying to protect Kayla from hearing too much and there probably are plenty of things she shouldn't hear. When they're both out of the room, I turn back to Miesha and Dot. "How did you find the place?"

"We were just telling everyone about it when you walked in. We found out you have to be very careful about the Network in these parts. There are infiltrators." Dot says the word like she is talking about aliens from another planet.

"We were nosing around at the station and were just about to ask a CabBot when we were intercepted by someone from the Network," Miesha adds.

"Good thing too," Dot says. "He told us that some of the CabBots are bounty hunters. You would never see that sort of thing in Boston. The Network contact didn't know you, of course, but as soon as we mentioned your friend Jenna, he knew right where to take us. She's a regular stop for them."

A regular stop? Allys looks sideways at me. I return her glance by raising my eyebrows. Jenna's questionable circle of friends continues to grow. I look back at Miesha. "What about Gatsbro? Do you think he followed you down to Mexico?"

"Oh, he followed us all right, like a shark after bloody chum. We saw him twice when we had delays at two of the stations. The last time was in El Paso. Once we crossed the border into Mexico, we rented a car and abandoned it in a small town about a hundred miles away. We left the code on the seat so anyone could take it. Hopefully someone will--all the way to South America."

Dot jumps in. "That was my idea. That should keep your pursuer guessing for a while."

My pursuer. It would almost sound romantic if it wasn't so deadly. I remember the cold, detached amusement in Gatsbro's eyes in the alley, and then when Miesha locked the doors and he pounded on the windows, I saw the sputtering rage. He's not just pursuing product anymore--he's after vengeance too. How dare anyone as low as us interfere with his carefully calculated plans. "Let's hope it keeps him guessing forever."

Miesha leans forward on the table and says in a low voice, "What about Kara?"

I knew it was only a matter of time before we got to that. I shake my head. "She hasn't shown. I don't know what to think. It's been too long. She had no money. Nothing--"

"Don't worry, Customer Locke. Your friend--there was something different about her." Dot confidently nods her head. "I am very good at figuring out customers, and she had what we call drive. Like a sweeper. One set course, and nothing gets in their way. She will make it."

I cringe and am almost glad Kara's not here for that analogy. If she heard herself being compared to a mountain of mindless metal--little more than a glorified vacuum cleaner--it would set her on a rampage. But Dot is right. One course. That's Kara. Once she sets her mind on something, there's no stopping her.

Miesha and Dot tell me more about where they went and the trail they left and the sights they saw. There is an odd moment of quietness among us as we all witness Dot describing the wonders she saw for the first time, from the mystic orange sunsets of Santa Fe to the jewel blue sea of the Gulf. Jewel blue. I think her description makes us all pause. Is that standard CabBot vocabulary? What is the blueness of blue for a Bot? It makes me wonder, Whose blue is bluer, mine or hers?

Dot tilts her head to the side, noticing the silence, and immediately turns the conversation back to me, wanting to know about my arrival here. I share with them my encounter with the bounty hunter CabBot. Dot winces when I describe taking his arm off, but then comes to my defense and says it served him right. I tell them about having to run and walk all the way here in the rain, and tell Miesha the coat worked well, like she said it would.

"He's quite attached to it," Allys adds. "He wore it this morning, just as a fashion statement."

I roll my eyes.

"He never cared much for fashion before," Miesha says.

"Exactly," Allys replies.

Miesha looks back and forth between Allys and me, but says nothing.

Jenna and Kayla return, and Allys orders me to go wash off at least one layer of mud because dinner will be ready soon, and then she shows Miesha to the room where she and Dot will stay.

As I strip my clothes off and turn on the shower, my thoughts return to Dot's earlier words about Kara. She will make it. When? What is taking her so long? But one thing Dot said plays over and over again in my head. Your friend--there was something different about her. Something different. There always was.