Ultraviolet Catastrophe (11 page)

My head swam from whatever drugs he’d injected, and my muscles felt rubbery. I could barely hold myself upright as he pulled me toward the front door.

“Lexie? Everything alright?” Coco asked, her eyes widening with concern.

Grant nodded as we passed. “She’s not feeling well. I’m taking her outside for some air.”

I tried to struggle against him, but it felt like too much work. “Let me go,” I yelled, but my voice was barely a whisper.

“Muscle weakness is a side effect of the drugs as they destroy the nanobots. You’ll feel fine in a few minutes.” Grant smiled down at me. “I wish you wouldn’t struggle. You’re going to love Branston.”

Inside my body, my cells felt like they were exploding. Pain shot through me with each movement until the world was tinged with red. My lungs tightened until I could only gasp for air. I wanted to scream for help, but it felt like my body belonged to Grant now. I moved when he did, lurching forward like a puppet. He steered me out the door and toward a nondescript black sedan. The fall heat smacked me across the face, and I started to pant. I was on fire.

And then I heard shouting.

Dad and Asher sprinted toward us. A surge of relief made my whole body tremble. I’d never been so happy to see someone in my life.

Grant dropped my arm as Dad threw a punch, connecting with the guy’s jaw.

Asher grabbed me from the other side and pulled me out of the way. He slipped an arm around my waist. “Are you alright?”

I tried to nod, but my neck muscles still wouldn’t obey. I met Asher’s worried gaze, hoping he could read my thoughts in my eyes. His eyes searched mine, and he nodded once. Then the sound of Dad pummeling Major Grant made us turn.

Dad’s face glowed red, and his hair stood on end. He punched Grant over and over, the man’s body jerking with each hit. Blood seeped from his split lip and dripped onto his neat button-down shirt, leaving a smear of crimson. But Grant just stood there, hands at his sides, not defending himself.

“Stop him,” I whispered.

Asher leaned me against the car before sprinting across the sidewalk to grab Dad’s arm. “That’s enough, Dr. Kepler.”

Dad glared at Asher for a moment before dropping his arm. He turned back to Grant. “What the hell are you doing here? What did you do to my daughter?”

The major wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, smearing it with red. “I didn’t do anything to your daughter. We were simply talking.”

Dad spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving Grant’s face. “And that’s why she can’t move? You son of a bitch.”

Asher grabbed Dad’s arm before he could hit Grant again. “Dr. Kepler, we need to get Lexie to a doctor.”

Grant’s eyes narrowed. “Before you do something rash, you should consider what’s best for Lexie, not some knee-jerk reaction based on your misguided opinions. We can give her opportunities Quantum Technologies can never match. We’re on the cusp of something great, William. We want you to be a part of it.”

“And I want you to go to hell.” They glared at each other, and Dad clenched his fists again. If we didn’t get away from here, he was going to seriously injure Major Grant. And I knew the military would prosecute him to within an inch of his life if Grant was hurt

But Dad gritted his teeth, reigning himself in with more self-control than I’d expected. “Get out of here, Grant. Before I do something I’m
not
going to regret.”

Grant shook his head, adjusted his now-ruined shirt. Blood splattered the blue cotton like a child’s finger painting. “This isn’t over, Kepler. Lexie belongs to Branston.”

My skin crawled at his words. What did he mean?

Dad stepped forward. “Leave her the hell alone. That’s an order.”

Grant smirked. “You know you can’t touch me, William. I’m much higher up the food chain. You should be the one watching your back.”

Dad grabbed Grant by the shoulders and shoved him against the car so hard he grunted on impact. “Lexie will never go to Branston.” Dad’s eyes bulged, and a muscle throbbed at his temple. Slowly, he dropped his hands and stepped back from Grant with a growl. “I’m not going to tell you again. If I see you in Oak Ridge, I’ll kill you myself.”

He grabbed Grant’s arm and shoved him into his car. The three of us watched the man drive away, his taillights flashing red before he turned the corner and was gone.

Dad turned back to me, his face twisted with worry as he studied me. “Lexie? Are you all right?”

I felt my muscles slowly start to respond as I nodded. “I think so.”

Asher still had his arm around me, and I couldn’t help leaning into him as he started toward Dad’s car. “Let’s get her back to your house.” His muscles were solid against my side, and his scent wrapped around me, familiar and comforting.

I smiled weakly. “Thank you.”

“Any time, Lexicon.”

Asher and Dad almost lifted me into the leather seat, and Asher leaned down to look me in the eye. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I know.” I took a shaky breath as Dad climbed into the driver’s seat. “I’m sorry.”

Asher looked puzzled. “For what?”

“For freaking out at you the other day.”

“It’s forgotten. Get some rest, and I’ll stop by later to check on you.” He peered further into the car to talk to Dad. “I’ll get my dad from QT. He’ll want to make sure Lexie’s okay.”

We pulled away from the curb and started toward home. On the corners, the security bots were frozen, sparks spitting and jumping from inside the chest cavities. Someone had sabotaged them to get into town. I didn’t even need to guess who.

As we drove, the tension grew like a tangle of weeds between Dad and me, choking down the questions until the hum of the car engine was the only sound. In the driveway, he eased the car into park and got out, coming around to my side. My muscles felt almost back to normal, but I was glad to have his shoulder to lean on up the path to the house. I slanted a look at him from the corner of my eye. His lips were thinned into a line but I couldn’t tell if he was still mad at Grant…or at me.

Once inside, he set me down gently on the couch, then turned away, his shoulders hunched around his ears. Dad paced the room, and with his wild hair and tortured face, he looked like the picture of a crazed scientist. He hadn’t even bothered to take off his lab coat.

I watched and counted. Four steps from the couch to the window. Six steps from the window to the kitchen. Three steps from the kitchen to the couch. The image of his tracks popped into my head like someone had drawn them with a marker. It was a perfect scalene triangle.

He paced the path twice before he finally shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to me. I curled my shoulders forward and stared at the scuffed tips of his loafers.

“Lexie, I’m sorry.”

I shook my head, still not sure how to respond. So many confused thoughts and emotions swirled through me that I didn’t even know where to start.

“We’ve tried for so long to keep Branston from finding you that we never considered what would happen when they did.”

“How did they? You said I was safe here.” My voice trembled. I didn’t want to have to look over my shoulder every time I left the house.

He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, and I don’t like it.”

Yeah, understatement of the year.

I shook my head. My voice felt rusty and my throat still burned from the drugs, but at least I could talk again. “Dad, Grant said you actually went to Branston and worked there. Why didn’t you tell me?” Why had he lied to me? Again.

He paused, stared out the window, and when he spoke, his voice was hollow. “Yes, I went to school at Branston. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. The first time I ever felt like I fit in. I worked on special projects, made a name for myself, joined their ranks as a teacher, but once they admitted me to their inner circle, I discovered the truth. The trustees had another agenda, one I couldn’t go along with.” His eyes were haunted as he stared at me. “They were using students as their experiments, performing genetic testing to turn those kids into killers, to make them smart and deadly. I didn’t want that to happen to you.”

“So you decided to experiment on me yourself instead?” My voice cracked on the last word.

“Never! At the time, I didn’t know there were other options. I didn’t know places like Quantum Technologies existed until I started searching for a way out.”

“Why didn’t you drop the pretense, stop giving me the drugs, when you found out? You’ve worked for QT for almost my whole life. Why didn’t you hide me from Branston here?”

Dad started pacing again. “I didn’t trust QT yet. I was scared they’d be just like Branston. I convinced the QT directors we needed to continue the drug research, but I hid your participation in as much paperwork as I could. I told you — I wanted you to have a normal childhood.”

“Normal?” My voice rose to a screech, and I pressed a hand to my head as it began to throb. Whether from Grant’s drugs or this conversation, I couldn’t tell. “Those drugs made me feel like I was a freak. I thought I was smart, but then I’d forget things or have to study extra hard for something I’d learned just the day before. Nothing worked right for me. My brain felt like it was either full of holes or it was running on overdrive. And you weren’t around, so it’s not like you could see it. I just thought it was the ADHD.”

His eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t know. You never said anything, and your mom assured me you were fine.”

“How could I say anything when I never saw you and we barely spoke?”

His knuckles went white as he clutched the edge of the couch. “I’m sorry, Lexie. Sorry for so many things.”

I shook my head. “Sorry isn’t enough, Dad. People at QT know you drugged me. When they find out…they’ll hate me for being a freak.”

“They won’t find out. Only Dr. Rosen, Dr. Danvers, and Asher know about it. I promise you none of them will tell. They want to keep you safe here at QT as badly as I do.”

My head snapped up. “You know about Asher?”

“Of course. Asher told me himself. He wanted to understand why I’d do that to you. Why I’d turn off something that made you…
you
.” Dad grimaced. “He had some choice words for me, but he was right. It wasn’t my decision. And it’s not fair I took those opportunities away from you, no matter how scared I was. I’m so sorry, Lexie.”

I chewed my lip, mind churning with my dad’s words. Asher had defended me. To my own father.

Dad crossed the room and put his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “I know we’ve started off badly. But please, can we try again? Can you give me another chance? Branston knows where you are now, and they’ll be waiting for us to slip up again. Let me protect you.”

I stared up into his pleading in his eyes. I wanted to trust him, wanted to believe that things would be different, but he’d disappointed me so many times before. Was he still lying to me? I pleated the hem of my shirt between my fingers.

“Dad, the shot Grant gave me. He said something about it disabling the nanobots. I thought they only worked at QT.”

Dad’s eyebrows reached his hairline. “What? How did they know about that?”

“Know about what?”

“The nanobots are for more than just security at QT. They’re also a tracking device and alarm system. QT can activate the bots and find you anywhere in the world.” He paused, gave me that look again. His voice was hollow when he finally said. “They can also use them to wipe your brain.”

My skin crawled. “So if Branston were to kidnap me, QT could wipe everything out of my mind?”

He nodded. “It’s supposed to be a fail-safe mechanism. But now, if Branston can disable them…” Dad started pacing again, the tendons in his neck standing out corded and hard. I just wanted him to tell me it was going to be okay. But it wasn’t. Maybe never again.

He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m going to have to talk to Dr. Rosen and Dr. Danvers about this. We need to run some tests to see if there are any side effects.”

My head jerked up at the fear in his voice. The wrinkles around his eyes had deepened, and I noticed for the first time the flecks of gray at his temples. He and Mom had sacrificed their lives to protect me. They both could have been famous scientists, working anywhere in the world, but instead, they’d hidden from Branston, moving whenever they got too close.

They’d given up their relationship to keep me safe, and even though their lies still pissed me off, I could almost understand the deception. Almost.

I nodded. “Dad, I want to trust you, but no more lies, okay? Or forgetting about me or abandoning your responsibilities. We have to work on this.”

He held out a hand. “I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes, but I promise to do my absolute best.”

I shook it. “It’s a deal.”

I fell asleep for most of that afternoon — probably exhausted from whatever drugs Grant had injected me with. Dad woke me up just before dinner with a soft knock on my door.

“Lex? Honey? Time to wake up. Dr. Rosen and Asher are on the way over. I want him to make sure you’re okay and run some tests.”

I moaned and sat up. The last thing I felt like doing was entertaining Asher or his dad when I felt like I could sleep for a week. I crawled out from beneath my bedspread and shivered, reaching for my Columbus High hoodie. I frowned at the rat’s nest of my hair and scraped it back into a quick ponytail. It would have to do.

“Can I get you something?” Dad asked from the kitchen as I cocooned myself on the couch.

“Tea would be great.” My teeth wouldn’t stop chattering, and I didn’t know if it was still shock or the effects of Grant’s drugs.

The doorbell rang, and I heard my dad answer it. Asher and Dr. Rosen wandered into the living room a moment later. I smiled weakly at them both, and Asher frowned.

“Lexie, you look tired,” Dr. Rosen said, squatting down in front of me and reaching for my wrist. He took my pulse and nodded. “You don’t seem to have a fever or increased heart rate, though. How do you feel?”

“Like I got injected with a brain-altering, nanobot-destroying compound.”

He smiled. “I hear it hurts.”

Dad wandered in carrying a tray with mugs and a teapot. He poured me a mug, and I clutched the warm cup between my hands. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Emmet’s going to need to take some blood and do a quick check-up. Are you up for that?”

I nodded and reluctantly put the mug down. “Let’s get it over with.”

Dr. Rosen followed me to my bedroom where he drew three vials of blood, listened to my heart, and did a general inspection. He frowned several times but didn’t say much until we were done.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to do about the nanobots. I’ll get these samples analyzed, and then we can decide. I’d feel better if I knew how long the drug stayed in your system or even what it was. I’m afraid if there’s still a trace of Grant’s serum, it’ll just destroy any new nanobots we inject. And we need them working if we’re going to keep you safe.”

“So what about going to QT then?”

“I think it’ll be fine.” He smiled encouragingly at me, but I could see from the way he rubbed his hand along his jaw he was concerned. “We’ll get this figured out. I promise.”

Together, we wandered back out to the living room. Dad had made a fire in the fireplace, and he and Asher were sitting in awkward silence in the two armchairs flanking it. Both of them sprang to their feet as we entered.

I curled up back on the couch and grabbed my mug. Dad and Dr. Rosen exchanged a glance, and I knew they wanted to talk about me in private. Somehow, I couldn’t really bring myself to care.

“Call if you need anything, Lex,” he said as they headed into the kitchen.

Asher moved to the couch, tucking the blanket around my icy toes and then perching on the arm to study me. “You don’t look so good.”

“What — a hoodie and a ponytail don’t cut it here in Oak Ridge? I’m shocked.”

“Not what I meant. You look pale. And there are bruises beneath your eyes. If that guy hurt you…” His voice trailed off but not before I heard the threat in his voice.

“I’m fine. Just tired. It would have been much worse if you and my dad hadn’t shown up. How did you know?”

Asher’s lips thinned. “He just felt off. Especially after I’d heard the security bots had exploded. Only someone with some seriously advanced tech could have gotten past them. I just wish I’d gotten there earlier.”

“Well, I appreciate it.” I stared down into my tea as it finally hit me for the first time. My stomach lurched. They’d tried to kidnap me. The liquid sloshed over the sides as my hands started to shake, and Asher leaned forward to take the mug from me.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now, and we’re not going to let them get that close to you ever again.”

“But what do they want? I’m nothing special.” My voice broke, and I had to look away from his intense gaze.

“You haven’t had time yet to figure out what you are, Lexicon. But trust me, you are special.”

His words made me shiver, and I stared into the crackling fireplace, at the flames dancing on the blackened logs. I hated feeling like I stood out, even at QT where everyone else was a freak, too. But special? Did Asher know something about all this that I didn’t?

From the corner of my eye, I saw Asher get up and rummage in his messenger bag before pulling out his laptop. He came back to sit on the couch, his shoulder pressed to mine, the warmth from his body soaking into me and finally driving the shivers away. I felt unexpectedly comfortable with him.

“Ok, so now that Branston has really pissed me off, I think it’s time for some more information.” He smiled slyly and cracked his knuckles. “Prepare to see the master at work.”

I shook my head. “I’ve been searching for information on them since Monday. Even the resident genius can’t find something that’s not there.”

He winked and pulled up a browser. “Watch and learn, grasshopper.”

If I thought I had mad Google skills, they were nothing to what Asher had. He crawled into the Branston website using a hole in the code, and every time they tried to shut him out, he opened a new one.

Asher shook his head, fingers flying over the keyboard. “Whoever designed this site thought they were being sneaky with the .php, but not if you leave gaping holes in your code.” He finally paused and let out a low whistle. “Well, damn. Looks like our Major Grant is on the Branston board of trustees. Along with one of the heads of the National Institute of Science, a few foreign nationals, and three Army generals.” He took a screenshot and saved it to his hard drive. “I can see where they’d want to keep this secret. I don’t think the scientific community would approve of them being so close with the government.”

I peered over his shoulder, but I didn’t recognize the names. And then the page disappeared, replaced by a warning message: “Page not found.”

Asher smirked at the screen. “Too little, too late, guys.” He brought up the code finder in his browser and scanned it quickly. “Just looking for another hole. Now that they know we’re here, they’re searching, too, trying to plug them. But I have a few more tricks to play.”

He pulled up the Run prompt on his Start menu and typed a string of characters. Another window popped up. “This is one of the bots I created to search for deep holes in web codes. It should find us another back door into the site. I want some more information on our Major Grant.”

I watched, lips parted as the code scrolled through. I caught a few strings of letters and numbers that almost made sense. They tickled the back of my brain, like a memory I’d forgotten, almost clicking into place, but then Asher crowed and started typing again.

“Found one. Now we race to get there before they shut us down.” His fingers flew over the keyboard, and I tried to keep up with what he was typing on screen. The website pages flashed by until they stopped on what looked like a personnel file.

Major Timothy Grant.

Asher copied and pasted as much as he could in the five seconds before the site crashed. It wasn’t much, but as we stared at the info, both of us frowned.

Hired:
9/1/1989

Supervising Manager:
Carla Danvers

Original Hiring Manager:
William Kepler

Skill set:
Genetic manipulation of DNA and RNA, particularly in vitro gene therapy resulting in new development and mutation. Head of new taskforce to develop enhanced intelligence.

My head spun again, and I leaned back against the couch and closed my eyes. “Do I even want to know what that means?”

Asher’s voice was dry as he said, “It means Grant used to report to your dad. And Danvers. That’s got to be more than just coincidence.”

“You are so not making me feel better here.”

“Yeah. Makes me really wonder what exactly was in the shot he gave you. And what they intended to do with you once they had you.”

I glared at him. “Seriously, Asher. Just stop. I can’t handle this right now.”

“Better to handle it now than later when they have you trapped in their facility.”

I knew he was right, but it was so much easier to ignore it. To hope that my dad would hide me, protect me like he said he could. But I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I was going to have to deal with this myself. And Asher was someone I needed on my team.

“Fine, but can we do this tomorrow when my head isn’t throbbing? I think I’d be a lot more useful.”

“That’s my girl. We’re going to figure this out. Together.”

Dr. Rosen called the next morning with the results of my blood test. Dad was in the middle of making coffee and paused, pressing his finger below his ear. I couldn’t help staring. The whole communicator thing was still so cool.

“No trace in her system?” Dad nodded. “All right. And the nanobots are still intact?” He frowned and listened for a few minutes.

I tapped my fingernail against the counter impatiently. At least when Mom talked on her cell phone, there was the chance I could overhear the conversation.

“That’s strange. Grant doesn’t usually miss the mark like that. Thanks for the call, Emmet.” Dad pressed his ear again and poured himself a cup of coffee before turning to me. My skin pricked at the furrow forming between his eyebrows.

“Dr. Rosen says there’s no trace of the drug in your system, and the nanobots are still intact. Whatever Grant injected you with didn’t work.”

I stared at him. “So what about the side effects? I couldn’t move for, like, half an hour.”

“I don’t know. One of Grant’s specialties is biochemical engineering. As much as I hate the guy, he’s a thorough scientist.”

And Dad would know after supervising him at Branston. I chewed my lip. “Well, I guess that’s a good thing then. I can go to school like normal tomorrow.”

He nodded, though he still looked troubled. “I don’t see why not. I’m going to have Emmet run a few more tests to make sure we haven’t missed anything, but if he says you’re fine, I believe him.” He took another sip of coffee and grimaced. “What kind of sludge did I buy?”

“I think it was on sale last week.”

“Don’t let me go grocery shopping by myself ever again.” He poured the cup down the sink and smiled at me. “Let’s go get breakfast at Coco’s.”