Malparadiso Station Episode 3.5
Season 3 Episode 26 Trade Off
Episode 26: Trade Off
Slime trotted up the wide path to SharpyGranny’s diner. He would need to tell her to contact Yroi, if she could. They’d need a new deal since the Guard had crashed Yroi’s pod. He had other caches, but he didn’t want to reveal them.
He wondered who would be in the tunnel, maybe the new cook. He made a signal, “Click..clickclick.”
His signal was repeated, not answered. It was not one of his tribe. He moved forward more slowly. He could make a light with the comm panel, but that made him a target.
“Click. Clickclick. Click.”
He heard his signal repeated. Whoever this was didn’t know the codes, wasn’t from the tunnels. Halfway up, he called out. “Who’s there?”
“Slime?” A woman’s voice, soft, maybe Yroi. Why was she in the tunnel? A trap?
He didn’t answer but moved silently closer. He heard breathing, shuffling. One other person, not the Guard, then. They would not know his name.
A whisper. “Slime, it’s me. Yroi.”
She was only a few meters away.
“Be still. I come to you.” He approached. “Close your eyes. Making light.” He tapped the comm unit, facing it toward the wall, away from them both. He held his hand over his eyes except for a small slit.
Yroi stood there with her digits over her eyes. She was learning the dark ways.
He turned off the comm unit. “Why you here?”
“The Guard is looking for me. They came to Granny’s...”
“Yes, your pod too. Broke it. We got all food out, but not safe now.”
“I don’t know anything. But I brought Granny a message, and they might get it from her.”
“What’s in the message?”
“I don’t know. My boss sent it. If I could get back to a lift, I could get back to him. Maybe he could help us both. He said he wanted to meet you.”
“I can’t ride lift.”
“I have his pass—ride with me.”
Slime considered. “Why he want to meet tunnel kid?”
“He grew up in the Lev2 tunnels. Iabbeshank. I don’t know his tribe name.”
“Okay. What lift?”
“Spiral 3, Section 5 outer side, just past the Full Bowl.”
“We can get there, but we have to go back to tribe first.”
“Okay.”
He took her hand and led her back down the tunnel. In a few minutes they met Teeth, still sitting on the takeout bag.
“Her again. She’ll be the death of you,” Teeth said.
“All the better for you.” Slime noted the sleeping tribe. “I’ll be gone for a while. Can you wait to sleep for an hour or two?”
“And if you don’t come back?”
“Then it will be up to you to decide.”
#
When they reached the lift, the corridor was crowded with people craning to see. A Guard escorted Granny Claws from the diner. A sign on the door said “Closed.” The diner never closed.
Yroi and Slime threaded their way through the onlookers. At the lift, they had to wait for people coming down to get off. A few dropped further down, but finally the drop was empty, though the side tunnel was crammed.
“Step in with me,” Yroi said, waving her ID card across the Inspector. She set the lift for Iabbeshank’s code and they moved up into the room beside his office. Yroi released the drop.
They stood still, listening. Nothing.
Slime did not like the small space, just a room with a drop, and a door to he didn’t know where. No escape. He could not even get to the Lev2 tunnels to try for an alliance.
They cracked the door to see who might be outside.
A Guard. Yroi gave her ID to Slime. “It will at least get you back to Lev3. Maybe you can sell it.”
She showed him the controls. She walked out to face the Guard, probably the last time he would ever see her.