Edward ran to the other phone in Nema's room and called Youssef. He and Ed discussed the situation and resolved to place her on the weekend mail route. Edward hung up the phone and proceeded to do more research on the whereabouts of Alabaster using her Tomato. She tracked down Alabaster's exact location from her computer and pinpointed the business from a webcam she had hacked into. She scoured the landscape and saw girls going underground via trapdoor. Edward configured from her findings that Alabaster had moved her business exactly 10 miles from her previous location. Edward scanned the location using a special access code and quickly figured out the depth, circumference, and volume of the underground facility. She jotted something down on a piece of paper.
"Let's see... Located exactly 25 feet underground in the outskirts of Tharsis... Covers exactly three acres of land all encased in a nice titanium enriched facility... Ooh, looks as if they've updated to an entirely cybernetic-security system. All alarms and surveillance cameras supposedly have the highest control options possible... Too bad the protection of the access codes is weak...it's like taking candy from a baby..."
Using the same access code, Ed hacked into yet another webcam, this one inside the facility, and saw four girls and two boys sitting in a chamber. She studied them for a while, observing their quiet demeanors and attempting not to disturb their activity. Three of the girls were asleep on hard metal benches and the last one was conversing with one of the boys in Lambadi. Edward switched on the captions option on her keyboard and waited as the process authenticated. Soon the white letters began to translate their conversation:
"When did you arrive?"
"Around three days ago... I was placed in here because I used my real name. That mean lady broke some of my fingers with her cane when I asked her why. She doesn't seem that pleasant at all..."
"Well why did she bring us here?"
"To make money off us..."
And with that last statement, Edward's heart broke as she lost her guard and began sobbing loudly into the webcam. The children looked up and saw a puffy-eyed redhead wailing away into the camera.
"What the hell is that?" Uttered the older boy with the broken hand. He and the girl he was speaking to neared the camera and stared at Edward during her catharsis.
"Hey! Hey miss, you better pipe down or Alabaster's gonna come down here!" He banged on the screen to get her attention. Edward attempted to regain her composure, breathed in slowly, and rubbed her eyes.
"Sorry, sorry! I'll shut up..." She said.
"Since when did they start monitoring us?" He incredulously inquired.
"Oh, I'm not one of Alabaster's! I'm not even in Tharsis..."
"Who are you?" Asked the girl.
"Eh she's probably peeping in on everyone in here... Probably one of those voyeuristic weirdos who don't want to pay anything... Well lady, you got caught. We've seen enough creeps like you today so get lost-"
Edward screamed "NO, no, no! Not at all! I'm not peeping in on you! I swear! I'm just trying to help you out...I'll prove it to you!"
The boy stared at her for a moment.
"Why should we trust that?"
Edward warmly smiled at him before stating, "Because, Twink, I wouldn't want you to think I forgot all about you..."
The boy slowly gasped at the realization of whom he was speaking to.
"How did you- oh my word...Pippi?! Is it really?!"
Edward nodded her head...
"Good grief it's been a long time... How did you break through all the security?!"
"I just manipulated some of the interfaces and scanned the needed access codes onto my computer... I can't believe she moved you guys 10 miles away, that's berserk!"
"What's berserk is how you blew the other location to smithereens... Good thing you got away like you did, or else Alabaster would have sent you to the Phytonic Temple..."
"Phytonic Temple?"
"Oh, they're some religious movement that worships the GeoPlants on Gunsmoke... Alabaster sends her most unruly or slow-selling walkers to it... It's almost like a cult."
"Oh really? That's weird... I think I've seen them around Gunsmoke protesting outside of facilities that use the plants..."
"You live on Gunsmoke?"
"Mhmm..."
"Wow... It must be so nice to be free..."
"Well, I can help you out if you want me to..."
"You mean, like busting us out of here?"
"Sure... You remember my friend Nema, right?"
The boy stared at her blankly.
"Oh! You probably knew her as Ruby..."
"Oh right! Ruby, yes..."
"Well, she and I were gonna pay a little visit to Alabaster's tomorrow... Whaddya say you drop this joint and come with me & Ruby?"
"I'd love to... But how are you gonna get in and out?"
"Don't you worry, Twink... We have our ways, but just remember this: Be on the lookout for two sharp dressed men... We'll have a special request for you and some other clients... So spread the word for anyone who wants to join in on this liberation party!"
"Ohmygosh, really? I will! How many can you manage?"
"Gee, I haven't thought about that yet. Hey Nema! How many can we fit on the ship? Okay... She said at least 25..."
"Wow... Well I'll be sure to spread the word & be on the watch for you guys... This is so great... Maybe I'll actually get to see home again..."
"I'm sure you will... I'll talk to you later, Twink..."
"Bye Pippi!"
"Bye."
And with that, Edward hung up and began conversing with Nema about a game plan. They decided they would enter the premise in the disguise of two men and would request a "harem service". Once they entered the harem room, Edward would disable the trapdoors and alarms with a handheld device and they would take the underground canal route to Nema's ship, all 25 walkers with them. They would load the ship and return each liberated walker to his or her home planet. Nema estimated a total of six hours maximum to accomplish this goal. It was 12:45 A.M. when they finalized the plan. The decided to set off at 6:15 in the morning.
"We gotta get some sleep, Edward... We're gonna need it in the morning...".
"Yeah, you're right... I'll set my alarm for 5:15..."
"Sounds perfect. Sweet dreams, Ed."
"Yeah, you too, Nematode..."