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.

"We can use my money card to hire a car," Miesha says. "That is, if we can find one. And we can get some food while we're at it, too."

"You know I can't eat, don't you? When we go into the diner, I can't eat. Not one bite. What will I do? I can't eat--"

Dot has suddenly developed a mouth that won't quit. She has never been outside her car except in the Servicers' warehouse. "Dot! Be quiet! Just act normal!"

"Pretend like you're not hungry," Miesha adds. "No one will notice."

We rattle along the uneven sidewalk, Dot holding on to the sides of the makeshift assistance chair we made from a rusted-out cart we found in the yard. We threw a piece of canvas over the front of the cart, covering where the rest of her body should be. I open the door to the diner, and Miesha pushes Dot inside. A waitress yells to us without turning around. "Take any seat!"

I look around the diner for available tables. Nearly all are empty. A shabby mix of red and blue vinyl chairs are scattered around them. The floor sticks to my shoes. It's not a place I want to linger in anyway. We'll just find a driver and a car, get some food to go, and be on our way. The sooner the better. I survey the room, wondering who here belongs to the two cars out front. In the corner is a man in a brown uniform with an official-looking emblem on the sleeve. He takes a long, glaring, sideways look at us and turns back to his coffee. At the counter are four men, all with long, dusty black coats. They remind me of the land pirates. They look at us too and snicker among themselves when they turn back to their food. Friendly place.

"Didn't you hear her? Sit down!"

Miesha and I both jump. More snickers. I turn around and see a cashier behind a counter. Half the hair on her head is missing, the other half tangled clumps, and the skin beneath one eye is peeling away. She is a Bot.

"We're sitting! We're sitting!" Dot pipes up. "There! Let's sit!" She points to the empty table right next to us.

Miesha and I look at each other. We've made a big mistake. She nods and I ease myself into a chair. The waitress walks over and smacks the cashier on the side of the head. Now I know why one side of her head is bald. "Shut up, Kit! You're going to scare off the paying customers!"

This isn't going to be a fast stop. We're going to have to maneuver over eggshells we can't even see. I look at Dot. She's not talking anymore, just watching the cashier Bot smoothing her remaining clumps of hair and pressing the skin beneath her eye back into place. She sees Dot staring and hisses at her like a cat. Dot looks down at her canvas lap.

The waitress whirls and squints one eye at us. "You are paying customers, aren't you?"

"Yes," I answer. "Just something quick, though. To go."

One of the men at the counter spins on his seat to face us. "What's your hurry, Fancy Boy? You don't like the company here?"