Nell had taken a piece of her device with her, the piece that communicated (illegally) with satellites to act as a GPS. The rest of the PDA that she'd left with Derek would report her location once she turned on the GPS. She had no intention of doing that until she'd been taken, because then Derek might try to stop her. \
It was pouring in sheets. She didn't have her backpack with her, just her clothes. She'd let her hair down, and the water plastered it to her face. That, combined with her miserable pose and facial bruises, made her look completely pathetic. She wasn't sure where she should go if she wanted to be found, but she wanted it to be sooner rather than later because she didn't want to walk in the rain for the entire night. That would suck.
She went to 831\1's old hideout. If she was right and Seer's men had been the ones to find Ben, they might still be there. On her way she formulated a plan: she would pretend to be going to Ben, and would pretend to think that the robot was still alive... or as alive as Ben had ever actually been, if she was going to be picky about words.
She was thinking this and complimenting herself for her brilliance when they found her all on their own. She knew it was happening when she got to the block that Ben lived under. She saw the robot and for a moment she was confused. The girl was suspicious.
"Ben?" She called.
"Fixer!" the robot called back. "I'm glad to see you! Where on Earth have you been?"
And Nell was sure then that it wasn't Ben--Ben's ability to communicate was not so fluid. Ben spoke a confused and broken language that was sometimes like English and sometimes more like programming code.
This was not Ben, and Nell knew that Seer was near.
It was pouring in sheets. She didn't have her backpack with her, just her clothes. She'd let her hair down, and the water plastered it to her face. That, combined with her miserable pose and facial bruises, made her look completely pathetic. She wasn't sure where she should go if she wanted to be found, but she wanted it to be sooner rather than later because she didn't want to walk in the rain for the entire night. That would suck.
She went to 831\1's old hideout. If she was right and Seer's men had been the ones to find Ben, they might still be there. On her way she formulated a plan: she would pretend to be going to Ben, and would pretend to think that the robot was still alive... or as alive as Ben had ever actually been, if she was going to be picky about words.
She was thinking this and complimenting herself for her brilliance when they found her all on their own. She knew it was happening when she got to the block that Ben lived under. She saw the robot and for a moment she was confused. The girl was suspicious.
"Ben?" She called.
"Fixer!" the robot called back. "I'm glad to see you! Where on Earth have you been?"
And Nell was sure then that it wasn't Ben--Ben's ability to communicate was not so fluid. Ben spoke a confused and broken language that was sometimes like English and sometimes more like programming code.
This was not Ben, and Nell knew that Seer was near.
