"It's working!" Miesha shouts.
The cab coasts off the next ramp.
"You are brilliant, Customer Locke! Disabled vehicles are moved off the grid automatically to avoid impeding traffic." The grid hook spits us out at the bottom of the ramp, and we coast as much as we are able down a deserted road. We are in the middle of nowhere.
I fall into the back seat, out of breath. "Can we keep going at all, Dot?"
"I think we can limp along for a short way. At least away from here. The signal has most certainly stopped transmitting, but they will come searching soon anyway because they know our approximate location."
She pulls on a lever on the left side of the steering bar, and we jerk forward, the car moving in awkward jumps and at a very slow speed. This car is not going to get us far. How will we make it to Topeka in time now?
The deserted road leads into a small town. All I see is a rest stop with a diner, a ratty public park with some restrooms, a little market, and a few other nondescript buildings. Most look abandoned.
"I think it would be expedient to park the car in a hidden location," Dot says. "And for you to find another mode of transportation."
I notice that Dot's tone has changed. She is quiet and reserved, the way she was when Kara and I first entered her cab.
"Good idea," I answer. "How about that building there?" It is a large metal barn with piles of rusted garbage outside. Junkyards still look the same. One of the doors is open, and a loose beam hangs from the roof.
Dot drives in, and I hop out to close the door behind us, leaving it only slightly ajar for light. Miesha gets out too, but Dot remains seated in the disabled car because there's not really anything else she can do.
Now what? I've solved us right into a corner. And I'm starving. And I have to pee. I walk over to Dot's door and peer in.
She smiles. "I saw a diner just a block down," she says. "You're hungry. You can get something to eat there and find out about alternative transportation. You should hurry. There will be at least a one-hour delay at the Topeka station to change trains, so you still have time." She puts her hands up on the steering bar and nods like she is dismissing me. "Remember," she adds, "your success--"
"I know, Dot. Thank you." I stand there. She's right. We need to go, but I feel like I should say something more. "You'll be okay?" and I instantly want to slam my head against the roof of the car for being an idiot, but instead I just stand there until she nods and then I walk away. Miesha leaves with me.
We walk out into the dusty graveled yard without speaking.
I briefly look back at the barn but keep walking. "If we had a wheelchair..."
"You mean an assistance chair."
"Whatever."
Miesha stops walking. "Hell, how hard could it be to yank a Bot out of a cab?"
We both turn and run back to the barn. Dot is surprised to see our faces poking back in the windows. "Dot, what would happen if we disconnected you from your console?"
"Without the car recharging me, I would lose function within two to three weeks, depending on how I conserve energy."
"How do we do it?"
"The Servicers at the warehouse simply lift after pressing lights on the control panel."
I look at the smashed control panel.
She points to the base of the console. "Or you can press the release buttons on either side here. But you don't have to go to the trouble to dispose of me, Customer Locke. When the Servicers arrive, I plan to dump all my memory so there would be no chance of them finding out about you. You are safe. I will be permanently disabled."
"No, Dot. You're not dumping anything. You're coming with us." I pull open the door and push the release button on my side of the console, and Miesha pushes the button on her side. Dot is fussing, still not understanding what we're doing. I pull her from the car. She is heavy. Even though she's only half a body of circuits and wires, she must weigh a hundred pounds. I heft her over my shoulder.
"But it is against the law," she protests.
"What isn't?" I adjust her weight on my shoulder. "Come on, you're going to see the inside of a diner for a change."
Chapter 32
The diner seems to be the only place in town that has any life in it. We see two cars parked outside and a light flickering in the front window.