Chapter 15

Jamison packed the last of the leftovers into the refrigerator.

"Mama! Daddy!" He called into the dining room. "What are we doing tonight? For my Gotcha Day?"

"Your daddy's off tomorrow," Enya replied. "We were thinking of going out for a movie and then dessert. What say you?"

Jamison's face lit into a grin. He vibrated.

"REALLY?!" He said.

"If that's what you want," Trevon replied.

"Yes! That's what I want."

A second later, he was wrapped in a warm embrace. He sniffed perfume.

"Go finish your homework," Enya said, "so we can celebrate tomorrow."

Jamison gathered his telescope and leapt through the hallway. He placed his hand in the bioscanner. When it flashed green, the door split to either side from a jagged center.

Jamison glanced at the hallway behind him and gulped.

"I'll be back," Trevon announced to Enya. "I've got to take this."

Jamison became aware of the door resealing, and he tumbled through the gap. He rested his head against the wall. He felt around, and put his arm against a sleeping pod. His dresser was strewn with nourishment packets.

He looked around, and Nessa watched her holofeed.

"No way," she whispered.

With a mechanical grunt, a machine rolled forward, carrying a touch screen on its back, and a satellite dish on its front. Nessa had seen those before. It was the corner she couldn't move her eyes from. A metal disk on the ceiling. A metal disk on the floor.

Nessa heard a deep, muffled voice outside Jamison's room. As Jamison and his implant slipped toward the desk, the words took on meaning.

"Yes. N377A will get you anywhere. Alright. Good luck to you, sir."

"N377A," Jamison muttered to himself.