Digit swallowed hard. He stared at the place that used to be his home. The outer appearance hadn't changed very much, but it seemed to radiate evil. There was no touch of kindness or warmth that had always been there under Motherboard's control.
"Are you okay?" Inez whispered.
"Fine." Digit grunted.
He could feel her sympathetic gaze, and he had to take a deep breath. She knew how difficult it was to see the shards of his old life, sticking out like sharp shells in grainy sand. After all, this place brought back memories for her, too.
"Ready?" Inez murmured.
Digit nodded. "Baduh bing, badah boom."
Inez smiled faintly.
She surged ahead, straight through the front doors. Digit took a deep breath, waiting to see if an alarm would sound.
Hacker must have particularly confident that no one would ever walk through his front doors undetected, because as far as Digit could tell, there was no security system.
Digit crept in exactly ten minutes after Inez. He headed toward the south side of the building, searching for closets or storage rooms that Hacker might have stuffed Motherboard's old screen in. He prayed that Hacker hadn't had the foresight to destroy it.
"Hackie-poo!" A shrill, irritating voice caught Digit's attention. He moved forward to see through an open door. Hacker was standing in a tuxedo, while Wicked carefully scrutinized him up and down. "You look scrumptious!"
"Great, Wicked. Can I go now? I have a lot of things to do – like find those stupid Earthlies."
"Don't worry, dear, let me just finish making the last few measurements. Then you can go." Wicked reassured him sweetly.
Digit stared.
Hacker…and Wicked…were getting married?
It took all of Digit's self-control not to burst into laughter. He wondered how long it was going to last before one of them killed the other.
He was just about to move on when he felt eyes on him. He turned to see Delete's eyes on him.
Digit's heart stopped. Delete was Hacker's loyal duncebucket – he would give up Digit's position immediately.
Delete opened his mouth, and then closed it. He walked over.
Digit felt frozen. He couldn't move. He was cemented to his spot in terror. All their hard work over. Done.
Delete looked at him carefully, and then reached over and closed the door. Just before it fully hid him, he mouthed "Go!"
Digit stumbled away, hurling down the corridor. As soon as he passed a safe corner, he hid.
His Squack Pad suddenly screeched to life, and he yanked it out.
Inez's eyes were sparkling on the other end.
"Digit!" She whispered. "I found it! I've found Motherboard's screen!"
"Inez," Digit replied hoarsely. "That's great! I think I've found out something, too."
"What is it?"
"I think Buzz and Delete are on our side." Digit admitted.