“What’s the setting?” I asked.

Cog just looked at me. His eyebrows pinched together, and confusion shone in his eyes.

“The intensity.” I tried again. “It’s on the side.”

Cog turned the weapon over. “Ten.”

“That’s why. It’s on the maximum setting. A ten blast could easily kill an average-sized man.” I still didn’t see understanding in Cog’s creased face. “You’re twice the Pop Cop’s size. I would have set the damn thing to ten, too, if I had to incapacitate you. Look, we don’t have time for this. We need to get Broken Man to a hiding place.”

“Impossible,” Broken Man said. “Inside has no hiding place.” His face looked pale in the light.

I smiled at Broken Man’s regurgitation of Pop Cop propaganda, then pulled myself back onto the roof. Using my rubber-handled pliers again, I fixed the broken wire, restored the lights and accessed the lift’s controls.

“Push the button for level two,” I called.

When we reached level two, I opened the back doors. A maintenance room was located adjacent to the elevator shaft.

“Cog, wheel him out and take the Pop Cop, too.”

Cogon finally realized how dangerous it was to delay. Galvanized into action, he cleared everyone from the elevator.

“Leave them here, and get back on the lift,” I said through the roof’s hatch.

“He can’t stay here. It’ll be the first place they’ll look,” Cog said.

“I know, but he can’t travel through the corridors. We’ll have to camouflage him.”

“How?”

“Laundry bin.”

Understanding smoothed Cog’s face. He delivered the laundry to the upper levels, so it wouldn’t look out of place if he was seen pushing a bin.

With Cog as the sole occupant, I sent the lift back to level one, and again opened the back doors. This time the doors led to the laundry. Bins full of clean laundry filled the area by the lift. Cog grabbed one, waved to the working scrubs and pushed it into the elevator. I brought him back to level two.

“Stand in the doorway,” I said. Returning the controls to the panel inside the lift, I swung down. “Help me put the hatch back on.” I sat on Cog’s broad shoulders and replaced the cover.

We joined Broken Man in the maintenance room as the lift resumed its regular service. The bin was full of towels. We removed them and Cog lifted Broken Man into the bin.

Before we covered him, he asked, “My wheelchair?”

“It’s too big. We’ll have to leave it behind,” I said.

“Now what?” Cog asked as he finished arranging the towels.

“Take him down to Quad C1, but don’t use this lift.”

“To the Power plant?” Cog asked.

“Yes. I’ll meet you there.”

“What about the Pop Cop?”

“Leave him. Someone will find him.”

“And the stun gun?” he asked.

“Put it back in his belt. It’s too dangerous to keep.” The Pop Cops would be mad enough once they discover a fallen colleague, but it would be worse if they believed one of the scrubs was armed.