Rat Trap Read Online Free Page A

belly.
    Rat squirmed. Relaxing his hug, Jeff set her on the desk.
    â€œDon’t squish,” she signed, then reached for the keys. She typed: YOU KNOW ONLY SCIENTISTS WHO TAKE PRETTY PICTURES OF THE SUN. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY .
    Rat was right. He knew nothing about scientists who would create someone like Rat, then teach her to hack computers and shoot guns.
    â€œYou won’t find a gun like that here. That’s super-advanced technology. Maybe even military stuff. Was Rodengenics connected with the military?”
    Rat ignored him. She was busy tapping into the space station’s supply list. Searching for her gun. Was she part of some top-secret project? Jeff wondered. A ninja rat?
    Rat had taught him the special sign language of the lab mostly by asking him questions. Lots about outdoors. Tough ones. What did dirt smell like? He learned practically all the signs trying to explain how dirt under a pine tree smelled compared to hot sand at the beach.
    Rat hadn’t been as thorough when answering his questions. Now he wondered: Were there things she didn’t want him to know?
    A tickle on his wrist. Jeff flinched. But Rat just wanted him to look at the screen. It displayed a technical drawing. The label read: PHOTONICS PRIMARY IMPULSE LASER SOURCE.
    â€œPhotonics …” Jeff had heard that word before, on the day he and his parents arrived. There was a reception. Nobody paid any attention to him except a little old lady. She sat crumpled in a wheelchair as if the gravity was dragging her down. She only stayed long enough to invite Jeff to visit the Photonics lab. Somehow Nanny had never fit a visit into the schedule.
    â€œThat’s part of a light computer,” Jeff said, studying the drawing. “Some kind of artificial intelligence project.”
    The scale markings showed the egg-shaped laser was only two inches long, but the megawatt rating put it in the same power range as a gun. Uh-oh! Rat had found something that might actually work.
    The printer hummed and spat out a small note with the location of the Photonics Lab: Ring 5, section S, compartment 12. Ring 5 was a good place for an old person. It had only half the gravity of Ring 9.
    â€œGo there,” Rat signed. “Get laser.”
    â€œThey’ll never let me have that.”
    â€œNot ask. Take.”
    â€œThat’s stealing.”
    â€œSo?” Rat tilted her head to fix one black eye on him. “You take food.”
    â€œI’m not stealing that food. It’s on my account. I’m paying for it. I mean, Mom and Dad are.”
    Startled, Rat sat straight up, then threw herself at the keys.
    â€œHey, what’s the matter?”
    She scrambled to enter a series of commands, pausing only long enough to type: FOOD ACCOUNTS. INVESTIGATOR WILL CHECK .
    â€œThat’s right! And everyone knows I don’t like liverwurst. What can we do?”
    MUST ERASE DATA TRAIL. NO MORE TALK. GO.
    â€œNo.”
    YES.
    Rat spun away from the keys. She lurched to the edge of the desk. Her mouth opened wide, baring sharp teeth. A sound came out. A loud, viperous hiss .
    Jeff jumped backward. It was only the second time he’d ever heard Rat make a sound. When the sniffer had caught her leg, her scream had called him to the rescue.
    But this!
    Get away.
    Fast.
    Out the door— run !
    Jeff’s knee smarted as the skin flexed, breaking open the five scabs.
    Run!
    Leave the sharp toes and ferocious teeth far behind.
    The rip of Velcro became a steady drone. His calf muscles grew warm, then burning. Lungs demanded more air. The color-coded section markers of Ring 9 came and went, came and went: hydroponics unit two, power substation, personal storage, living quarters block C, observation lounge …
    Jeff knew the space station better than anyone coming here from Rodengenics. He ought to be able to think of a way to outsmart the investigator. He had to. He couldn’t let Rat kill somebody!
    Jeff slowed