Ionic Attraction

by D. R. Rosensteel

  Jane smiled. “I forgot you had an eidetic memory. Where are we?”

  “Computer room. Let’s go.”

  Jane followed Zachary inside. The cold, dim room had the eerie feel of a nest of scorpions. A low clicking sound came from rows and rows of computers on dark, dismal benches. Red blinking lights stared out like eyes at Jane from the darkest corners of the room, and quiet, high-pitched squeaks echoed out of nowhere every few seconds.

  “Not as bad as Darkside,” Jane said.

  Zachary’s eyes narrowed. “We have to be careful. This place is monitored, so we’ll have only a few minutes once I crank up the coolers.”

  “Where are they?”

  He pointed to a row of equipment beneath the computer benches. “High-speed cooling turbines. Every time you hear a squeak, it’s a turbine revving. I just have to overload them, then we can get out of here. They’ll spike the power draw and fry the mainframe permanently.”

  Zachary opened a panel on the wall. Inside, wires of all colors were strung with neat precision alongside banks of chips and circuit boards.

  The Collider will fire in seven minutes.

  Zachary grunted. “I’m on it, LYDIA.”

  He worked quickly inside the panel, closed the door, and turned to Jane with a grin. “Main system power supply. I popped the heat sinks and changed the power phase. Let’s get out of here.”

  You have four minutes until the Collider fires.

  “Will you quit nagging me!” Zachary grabbed Jane’s hand. “Come on, we have to throw that switch.”

  “Lead the way.”

  They retraced their steps back to the lab. Jane opened the door slowly, hoping no guards were waiting. Everything was as they had left it, the cage door open, the wall of pumps and liquid nitrogen tanks standing ominously near. “All clear.”

  “Let’s pull the switch, then we’re out of here,” Zachary said as they entered the room.

  Suddenly Jane noticed something that sent shockwaves of terror through her. “Darkside is empty.”

  “What?” Zachary’s mouth dropped open.

  “Benson and Piper are gone.”

  Two minutes until ignition, Zachary.

  A group of guards burst in. “On the floor! Now!”

  Mamont and Dr. Reddington entered the lab then stopped next to the liquid nitrogen tanks. Zachary took a step toward them.

  “Shoot them!” Mamont yelled.

  The guard leveled his handgun at Jane. She covered herself with her arms just as the gun exploded. Everything moved in slow motion. Fire flew as the barrel recoiled in the guard’s hand and Zachary hit Jane, knocking her backward. He twisted them both in midair and landed hard on his back, with Jane on top of him. His eyes were wild. He pulled a remote from his pocket and hit a button. The floor began to hum, and the guards inside the cage seemed to be a mass of confusion. One by one, their knees buckled as though the gravity inside the cage had suddenly tripled. Their guns ripped from their hands and slammed against the floor like it was a giant magnet. Their bodies snapped to the floor just like the guns. Suddenly, pipes separated from the liquid nitrogen tanks with a deafening rush of wind. Frigid smoking liquid sprayed out, covering Mamont and Dr. Reddington.

  “Wow,” Zachary said, lying on the floor next to Jane, smiling at her. “That worked better than I expected. Did I hurt you?”

  Jane took a minute to catch her breath. Her knees hurt from landing on the hard floor, but nothing felt broken. “You saved my life. That guard shot at me.”

  Zachary’s breathing was quick and shallow. “Neanderthal on the job.”

  Jane jumped to her feet. Mamont and Dr. Reddington stood motionless, staring at her, covered in white powder and ice. “What did you do?”

  “I turned that part of the floor into a giant electromagnet. All the metal objects the guards carry will hold them until we turn off the power.” He winced then glanced at Mamont and Reddington. “And them, I blasted them with liquid nitrogen. May have gone a bit overboard. I think they’re frozen solid.”

  Zachary struggled to his feet. He gritted his teeth then wobbled, bracing himself against Jane.

  “Your face is pale.” Jane threw her arm around him to steady him. “Are you okay? Did you get liquid nitrogen on you?”

  That’s when she saw the blood.

  “You’ve been shot!” Jane screamed.

  Zachary grimaced. “I don’t think it’s too bad.”

  “We have to get you to the hospital.”

  Jane watched his pants leg darken as blood spread rapidly from a hole in the back pocket.

  “Does it hurt?” she asked.

  Zachary nodded. “I can’t believe it. I got shot in the butt.”

  “Sit down.” Jane pushed him toward the metal chair.

  “Are you serious? I got shot in the butt.”

  “I have to stop the bleeding,” Jane said. She sprinted to the supply cabinet and returned with tape, gauze, and a bottle marked Isopropyl Alcohol. She poured the alcohol over the gauze. “This is going to hurt.”

  “It does.” Zachary squeezed his eyes closed. “Mostly my pride.”

  Jane pressed the gauze against the hole in Zachary’s back pocket and taped it in place. “Don’t pass out on me. I don’t think I can carry you all the way to the hospital.”

  “Underachiever,” Zachary said.

  Jane choked back a laugh. “This isn’t funny, Zachary. You have a bullet wound.”

  “In the butt.”

  The Collider has locked on to an asteroid and is beginning the gravitation sequence.

  “That’s not good,” Zachary said. “We have to pull the switch. Can’t let him murder Deer Lodge.”

  “We have to get you to a hospital or you’ll die.”

  Zachary pulled Jane into his arms. “It’s a butt wound.”

  “I can’t lose you,” Jane whispered.

  “Won’t happen. We still have an unfinished experiment. Important data to collect.” Zachary limped across the room and stopped at the switch. “I hope Mikey’s code works.”

  “You’re impossible.” Jane raised the grid protecting the switch, then Zachary leaned against her, and together they pulled the switch. Suddenly, he fell against the wall. His face was pale, sweat beaded on his forehead.

  Jane put her hand on his cheek. “You’re cold.”

  “Gunshots hurt.” He closed his eyes and smiled. “I have a secret.”

  “Zachary, save your strength. Your brothers are coming.”

  “After I realized that I was in love with you—”

  “Don’t talk,” Jane whispered, fighting tears. “You’re delirious. You’re not in love.”

  Zachary pointed to his backside. “Bullet hole.” Then he pointed to Jane. “Girl. Classic definition of a guy in love. I mean, getting shot in the heart would have been more classic, but then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  Jane choked. “I love you, too.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Zach

  The virus has infected the entire system.

  “Thank God,” Zach said. His butt burned and his heart raced. He was still losing blood, but Jane’s bandages had slowed it considerably. He ached but couldn’t let Jane know how weak he really felt. He had to get them back to the Mastermind Complex safely. “Let’s get out of this dump.”

  “Can you walk?” Jane was in distress but handling it like a warrior. And that made her even more beautiful.

  “No problem.” He took a step toward the door, and his knees buckled. “Okay, maybe I’ll lean on you a little.”

  “We have to get to the caves.”

  The thought made Zach ache more. “That’s a lot of walking.”

  “We need help. Where are your brothers?”

  “They’ll be he
re.” Zach wondered if they would panic when they saw him.

  There is a hovervator available.

  “Not a good idea, LYDIA,” Zach said. “I’m not crazy about being trapped in a hovervator shaft by thugs with guns.”

  The Large Hadron Collider has lost its cooling system.

  “I know,” Zach said. “That’s what we planned.”

  The force of the Hadrons is more than the collection system can handle. You designed it to control the power output of a fully functioning Hadron collision, but when Michael’s virus allowed it to overheat, the collimators ruptured.

  “Are you saying that no guards are coming?” Jane asked.

  They are trying to shut down the Collider to minimize the damage. The hovervator is the only place they aren’t.

  “I don’t like it, but I think it’s our best option,” Jane said. She lifted Zach’s arm and ducked under it, draping it around her shoulder. Pain shot through his hip, and he moaned.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “I’m okay.” They left the lab and worked their way slowly toward the hovervators. Zach was lightheaded but felt as though he could make it with Jane’s help. The burning in his backside grew worse, and his right leg was beginning to stiffen. For Jane’s sake, he pretended his condition was better than it was. Truth be told, he could collapse at any moment. He had lost too much blood. They reached the hovervators after what felt like an eternity, and Jane punched a button. The light above the doors flashed, and a bell pinged.

  “What if there’s somebody on it?” Zach asked. He was in no condition to fight.

  Just then, the hovervator touched down. The doors slid open and Zach’s brothers rushed out.

  “Zach!” Mike screamed. “Oh my God, Zach!”

  “He looks awful.” Nolan’s face was pure white. He struggled to get the words out. “How many times was he shot?”

  “Once,” Jane said. “Small caliber. He’s pretending to be okay, but he’s not.”

  “We have to get him to a hospital.” Mike’s eyes were bugging out of his head like he was about to lose it.

  “I’m standing right here,” Zach said. “I can hear everything you say.”

  “Zach.” Nolan’s voice quivered. “Please don’t die.”

  “I got shot in the butt, dude.” The Bro Link suddenly kicked in and Zach knew he wasn’t fooling anyone. “How bad is it, Nol? Tell me the truth.”

  “Bullet’s still in there.” Nolan’s voice caught in his throat.

  Mike squeezed his hand. “No exit wound.”

  Zach noticed that Jane’s face was filled with horror as well. “That’s not in my favor, is it?”

  Nolan took a breath and turned to Mike. “Notify them that we need a surgeon, like now.”

  “On it.” Mike whipped out his phone and tapped a few times.

  “How bad is it? Really?” Zach felt anxiety building. His legs began tingling.

  Nolan took his hand. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

  “Hang in there, bro,” Mikey said, laying his palm on Zach’s cheek. “We’ll get through this.”

  Zach was beginning to get dizzy. He noticed that Mike’s face was soaked with tears. So was Nolan’s.

  “Jane, I’m cold.”

  Nolan wiped his eyes. “He’s going into shock.”

  Mike took off his shirt and wrapped it around Zach.

  Jane shouted, “I’m sending coordinates. Tell Anna and Mina we’re switching to Plan B.”

  “What if the equipment can’t handle it?” Nolan asked. “There are four of us.”

  “What’s Plan B?” His words came out slurred. Everything was growing distant, like he was back in Darkside.

  Jane’s voice echoed in Zach’s mind. “We don’t have any choice.”

  Just then, the world shook, and Zach wondered if Darkside was tearing him apart.

  Cold. It was cold. “Can you turn down the air conditioner?” Zach felt as though he’d been dropped into an ice bath. He could see Jane holding his hand but couldn’t feel her. “Did we save Deer Lodge?”

  Mikey and Nol looked down at him. Jane’s mouth moved, but Zach couldn’t hear her words.

  She was so beautiful. She had the eyes of an angel. A light glowed around her head, like a halo. Zach was spellbound as the growing light shone through the soft strands of her hair. Her face grew brighter and brighter, so bright that Zach’s eyes hurt. He tried to squint but he couldn’t. Jane brought her face closer to his. Her mouth moved subtly, and all Zach wanted to do was kiss her.

  Suddenly Jane’s voice broke through the fog as she screamed, “Now, Mina! Hurry!”

  Then Zach felt a searing pain, and everything went black.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Jane

  Jane walked down the long, empty hallway leading from the hovervators to the War Room. The sun’s beams shone through the glass ceiling with a vengeance, warm and bright on her face. After Darkside, she welcomed bright light.

  Mr. Parker had texted that he’d just gotten in from Washington and wanted her to meet him before they joined the debrief with her team. He stood leaning against the wall, looking down the corridor at her. His eyes were unusually bright and his grin unexpectedly wide. Hopefully, that would be in her favor, because her nerves were on edge after the way she had spoken to him. Though his face didn’t show it, she was pretty sure she knew what was coming.

  He pushed himself off the wall and waved her to come closer. “Four thousand people saved, a terrorist behind bars, and your team home safely. Well done, Jane. The president sends her personal thanks.”

  Wow. That was unexpected.

  “And to celebrate, we’re going to take a trip to Deer Lodge to see Grandma.”

  Again. Wow. Jane forced a smile. “I’d like that.”

  “I saw the video LYDIA recorded of your little exploits. Those watches your team wore came in very handy. Benson’s confession will prove Zachary’s innocence.”

  “I know.”

  He paused and gazed down at her. “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m sorry I disobeyed orders, Mr. Parker.” Jane looked up at her father. “I understand if you take me off the team.”

  “Take you off the team? Jane, I should have never gone to Washington. I have done my best to raise you and teach you to be strong and independent. And I did an excellent job of it, but I should never have thought—”

  “I didn’t mean the things I said.” She felt rude interrupting, but she had to. It had been eating at her since she’d learned he was on his way back from Washington.

  “Well, you were right about them. I’ve been a good boss, but I have done a very poor job of being a father. And I’m sorry.”

  Jane glanced up at the cameras lining the hallway. No blinking lights. Still…

  “Mr. Parker, I don’t think mentioning our relationship in public is a good idea.” She thought back to Benson’s threats against her family. “Telling Zachary who you are was a mistake, and even though I believe he is trustworthy, I shouldn’t have done it. It’s not safe. I understand why we have to be careful, and I want you to know, I’m totally in. No more slipups. I can’t risk anyone connecting the two of us.”

  “About that. I have one more trip to Washington, and I’d like you to accompany me.”

  “Really?” Jane’s heart leaped. Her dad was taking her to see the president! “I suppose it makes sense, you know, an intern accompanying you. I promise, I will toe the line. Nobody, and I mean nobody, will ever know we’re anything but student and Director.”

  “I want you there when I resign.”

  Oh.

  “But, Mr. Parker, I—”

  “Dad, Jane. Call me Dad.” He reached into his jacket and handed her an envelope. “I have something I should have shown you long ago.”

  Jane reached out ten
tatively and took the envelope. She opened it and gasped when she read the paper inside. “I don’t get it. Where did this come from?”

  “It’s my birth certificate. With my real name on it.”

  Suddenly Jane’s heart felt like it would explode with joy. “James Allen Lew.”

  Dad nodded. “Yes. You have my birth name. My real name.”

  Jane reached up to hug her dad, but then saw the cameras along the ceiling. She dropped her arms and hugged herself instead. Was this actually happening? How could she not scream? She had to tell…no one. Not a single soul. THIS WAS SO AWESOME!

  “The cameras are off.” Her dad laughed and pulled her into the warmest hug she could remember. “I love you, Janie.”

  “I love you, too, Dad.”

  He squeezed one more time, then turned toward the War Room. “We shouldn’t keep them waiting. This way, Miss Lew.”

  “Right behind you, Mr. Parker. Oh, one more thing?”

  Her dad stopped and turned to face her.

  “Don’t resign. The world needs ORDER.”

  “I’m not losing you to this job.”

  Jane couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She felt as though she had been rescued for the second time from Darkside. It was like every Christmas that would ever happen had suddenly arrived on her front door. “You won’t.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Dad raised an eyebrow. “One condition.”

  “What?”

  “You and your teen geniuses stay on my team.”

  “Done. I have a condition, too.”

  “Yes?”

  “We keep our secret. We can’t allow anyone to make the connection between us. It’s how we keep each other safe. Agreed, Mr. Parker?”

  “What do we do about Zachary?”

  “He took a bullet for me.”

  Dad smiled. “Agreed, Miss Lew.”

  “Let’s go.” She opened the War Room door and walked through. Anna sat next to Michael, Mina next to Nolan. Zachary’s eyes connected with Jane’s. She shot him a subtle smile then looked away.

  “Good to have the team back together,” Mr. Parker said when they had taken their seats. “How are you feeling, Zachary?”