Chapter Forty-Three
The Barracks
“Men always seemed to have more fun, but when women took over, they never found out what the joke was.”—The Spark Plug Odyssey
Hilda headed for the Operators’ barracks and was almost there when she heard Vegas’s voice on the H-Pad 11.
“Spark Plug Odyssey—is that a manual or a book?”
Hilda stopped in the middle of the Zen garden. A mouse ran across her feet, followed by two more.
Mice—where did that come from?
“Mechanical, nothing to worry about,” said the H-Pad 11.
“Verruca has a fondness for mice.”
“That’s just her fridge; seems to collect them.”
“Fridge?”
“Yes, like a drink dispenser but so much more.”
Hilda stared at the H-Pad. As if she didn’t know that . . . She thought about Verruca’s kitchen, which brought back memories of her childhood.
