Page 34 of Never Enough

“While I certainly don’t like the fact that she extracted that promise, don’t stress yourself out about it. I’ll deal with that problem with her. It’s not your fault.” He winked saucily at Cherry. “All right. If you’re good, then I’m off to stalk a kitty cat.”

Her laugh was natural, even if her color was still off. “Ithink you might have met your match, Nemo. You’ve heard that herding cats is impossible. Catching them is even more so.”

He saluted her, tapped his ear to allow Midas to hear him again, and he punched the button for the elevator doors. They opened, and he disappeared inside.

Following Nova’s initial instructions, Nemo found himself facing the ventilation shaft in question. This one was much larger than the shaft he had traversed in Valencia with Haskell. If need be, he’d be able to sit upright inside it.

“Considering the size of the exit she used in the conference room and where I am now, the system must widen and narrow in places,” Nemo observed over the comms.

Nova answered his unasked question, “That is correct, Nemo. According to the building specifications, she is actually in a separate system. You are in the maintenance conduit for getting at electric, gas, water, and cable services. She is in the heating and cooling system itself. Unfortunately for her, she’s actually heading the wrong way. She went south at the first junction when she should have gone east, which means she is actually burying herself farther into the building. I can direct you to a place where she will eventually work her way to you. Which do you prefer—follow her or wait for her?”

“This is really going to take some getting used to,” Nemo mumbled under his breath. “I’ll cut off her escape route.”

“Very well,” the computer voice replied. “Continue to follow the shaft to the south. When you come to the first junction, you will need to proceed upward.”

Nemo arrived at the junction in less than a minute. Looking in the upward direction, he swore. “Of course, there couldn’t be a ladder.”

Nova apologized, “I am sorry for the inconvenience, Nemo. These conduits weren’t meant for people to crawl through them except in isolated circumstances.”

“Is it my imagination, or is the up shaft smaller?”

“You are correct. It is meant to be an air shaft, not for a human to pass through.”

Midas interrupted, “You’re going to have to use your broken fin, so start swimming.”

“I am sorry, Nemo. Do you need fixing? I can recommend?—”

Midas chuckled. “No, Nova. Nemo is able to dislocate his shoulders at will due to an injury at birth. The broken fin is a reference to an animated fish in a Disney movie. The fish has a damaged fin that is smaller than the other fin.”

“I understand, Midas. Thank you for the explanation. I will retain this information for future communications.”

Nemo rolled his eyes. After muttering a few expletives, he wedged himself into a crouch just below the upward shaft. “Okay, get ready for a big bang,” he warned. Hunching his shoulders, Nemo swung his right shoulder as far forward as he could in the small space, then drove it backward hard against the wall behind him. There was a bang and a guttural interjection at the shock, but the action had the desired effect. Nemo’s right shoulder was now out of the socket. “You bastards are so lucky that working like this doesn’t hurt. Just gonna be sore as hell later.”

“No, but I know that taking them out of joint and putting them back in does hurt,” Midas mumbled, “so I appreciate the sacrifice. I’ll have Cherry get in touch with the masseuse.”

Nova interjected, “There are seven licensed massage therapists within one mile. Shall I make you an appointment?”

“Thank you, Nova,” Midas replied. “We have one on retainer.”

“You are welcome, Midas. If you change your mind, I will store the names and numbers for future reference.”

Nemo cracked his neck to the left and then to the right as away to work through the initial discomfort. “Big bro, she needs some fine-tuning. Next thing you know, she’ll be ordering pizza.”

“If you are hungry, Nemo, there are four pizza delivery services within four blocks?—”

“No, thank you, Nova!” Nemo shook his head. “Gonna have to watch my language with her. She’s as bad as that Alexa thing.”

Midas chuckled. “Hey, she’s beta, little bro. Give her time. She’ll figure it out eventually. She's an AI, not human.”

“Okay, starting up the shaft.”

With only the sheer walls and his own body strength, Nemo wedged himself into the tight space, moving upward in small increments. His muscles burned with the bunching and pressure being placed against the walls as he used pressure and locked muscles to force his way up approximately twenty feet to the next junction.

“I would so kick ass atAmerican Ninja,” he grunted as he pulled himself into the wider conduit. “Since I can’t show my pretty face, I’d wear a costume like that guy who tried to do it as a T-Rex. Or Spider-Man.”

Nova popped in, “I would be happy to?—”

“No, thank you, Nova!” both brothers called out.

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