Seer had been gone for fifteen minutes when a man came into the room and removed his helmet. He was a white guy with deep-set eyes and uneven ears. His short yellow hair was plastered to his wrinkled forehead. Nell's immediate impression of the newcomer was that if he had a jumpsuit like hers, he could have passed for a janitor expertly. For now, he had a swat uniform like his comrades, and his rifle was slung across his back.
"Fixer," he said tonelessly.
Nell raised her eyebrows to tell him she was paying attention.
"Got a question for you. Your answer won't leave this room, I guarantee it," he began. The pitch of his voice varied little, and on the surface it sounded like he wasn't interested in the conversation. At the same time, he seemed very commanding and powerful.
"Alright," she said cautiously. She moved behind the table and out of the man's reach. She didn't know what to expect, and felt safer at a distance.
"Is your name--your real name--Nell?"
Nell's heart stopped and she was immediately aware of adrenaline seeping from its gland into her body. This response was enough of an answer for the man.
"The robot said, it said, to tell you 'bye,'" he said. "It was the strangest thing I ever heard. It didn't fight, just let us shut it off. Told me to tell Nell goodbye."
"She," Nell corrected. "Ben was a she."
The man didn't understand, but he offered his hand to Nell. "I'm Walker. I carried you upstairs. That's Doug, he sewed you up."
Nell shook hands carefully, as if afraid that Walker might have had a hand buzzer in his palm. She also didn't want to shake hands so vigorously that she upset her stitches.