Read Online Outside In by Maria V. Snyder - Free Book Online Page B

was empty when Bubba Boom and I entered. I showed him the pieces Logan found. He set everything out on a table, including the fragments he had gathered. Arranging and turning the bits, he scrutinized each one.
    Logan arrived, but I hushed his questions. He stood next to me as we waited for Bubba to finish.
    “This doesn’t look familiar,” Bubba said. He held the biggest chunk up to the light.
    “Not one of yours?” Logan asked. His tone was almost nasty—very unusual for him.
    “I stopped building these. You know that better than anyone,” Bubba said.
    These two had a history. Wonderful.
    “The Pop Cops aren’t around. You could have returned to your old ways.”
    Bubba Boom huffed in exasperation. “You’re still mad at me? I never told the Pop Cops about you and your sister. That was more important than the fact I stopped helping you design your little gadgets.”
    “Those gadgets—”
    “Logan, that’s enough,” I said. “He agreed to assist us with finding the bomber.”
    Giving me an odd look, Logan said, “How did you find out about him?”
    “Jacy.”
    Logan and Bubba exchanged a glance.
    “What?” I demanded.
    “A distraction?” Logan asked him.
    “Could be.”
    Fear sizzled up my spine. “Another bomb?”
    “No,” Logan said. “More like keeping you busy and away from the real culprit.”
    “Why would Jacy do that?” I asked.
    “Don’t know,” Logan said. “He’s hard to read.”
    “Anything that doesn’t have numbers scrolling across it is hard for you to read,” I teased.
    “Real funny. At least I didn’t fall for Jacy’s disinformation.”
    “Not quite,” Bubba Boom said.
    “What does that mean?” I asked.
    “Just because I stopped playing with fire, doesn’t mean I ignore what’s going on around me.” He held up a twisted piece of metal. “I recognize this.”

5
    “DO TELL,” LOGAN SAID.
    I swatted Logan on the arm. “Cut it out.” He acted like a two-hundred-week-old, and I wondered if he had looked up to Bubba Boom only to be disappointed when the man caved in to the Pop Cops.
    “There’s a couple of scrubs,” Bubba said. “I wouldn’t call them Tech Nos as their devices are rudimentary, but they’ve gotten together and built a few incendiary apparatuses.”
    “Could they be responsible for the damage in the power plant?” I asked.
    “Possible. One of them works in the wastewater treatment plant, the other in hydroponics. As far as I know they’ve only set off a couple stink bombs. One time they cleared everyone out of Sector E2 due to the stench.” He smiled at the memory. “They also helped keep the Pop Cops occupied while you were busy rebelling.”
    Which meant Jacy knew about them. “What are their names?”
    Bubba Boom squinted at the warped metal in his hands. He turned it over and over. “What if they’re innocent?”
    “Then we keep searching. We’re not like the Pop Cops,” I said.
    “Really? Then why are there ISF goons patrolling the barracks all the time?” he asked.
    “Because of the fights,” Anne-Jade said from the doorway. “They’re not working so they’re bored. Nine times out of ten boredom leads to trouble. We did our share of proving that theory didn’t we, Bubba?”
    A wide grin spread on his face, matching Anne-Jade’s. “We sure did,” he said.
    Logan’s displeasure deepened. “As much as I’m not enjoying this little reunion, we need the names of the two stink bombers.”
    Bubba Boom met Anne-Jade’s gaze. “Promise me you won’t do anything rash? That you will be one hundred percent sure they’re guilty before you arrest them?”
    “When have I ever done anything rash?” Anne-Jade asked.
    He gestured to me. “When you risked everything helping her.”
    “That wasn’t rash,” she corrected. “Risky, dangerous and suicidal, but not rash. We studied the situation carefully before offering our assistance.” She winked at me. “Stubborn scrub almost turned us down, but it worked in our