Ultraviolet Catastrophe

by Jamie Grey

  She shrugged. “But the rest of you guys are staying, right?”

  Asher shook his head. “Lexie and I are going to do some studying. I’ve got to go, too.”

  Amy wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. “But, Asher, we haven’t spent any time together in days.” Her voice had that pouty cadence guys seemed to love but that sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. I gritted my teeth and stomped toward the stairs.

  Asher pulled away. “Enough, Amy. I’ve already told you we’re over.”

  She blinked her long eyelashes at him. “And I told you I could convince you otherwise.”

  Everything inside me finally snapped. I was tired of her games. Tired of her hanging all over Asher. Tired of playing nice with someone who wanted nothing more than to destroy my family and friends. In three steps, I was across the room and in her face.

  “You know what, Amy? Asher isn’t interested. I’m not sure why it’s taking so long to get that through your fat skull. You don’t look stupid.”

  She dropped her arm, eyes narrowed. “Asher and I…”

  “Don’t exist.” I grabbed the front of Asher’s shirt and jerked him toward me, pressing my lips against his. The touch of his skin to mine set my blood pounding in my ears. Crushed against Asher’s chest, the heat from his body soaked through my shirt and set me on fire. His lips feathered over mine, and he deepened the kiss until I was floating. My palms pressed against his skin, feeling our hearts beat in unison, his muscles hard beneath my fingers. An ache built deep inside me, and I never wanted this kiss to be over.

  When we finally pulled apart, I wasn’t the only one breathing hard. A hungry smile played across his lips, and he raised an eyebrow at me.

  I had to look away, or I would have combusted.

  I caught Zella’s amused expression before she tried to hide it behind her hand. Max’s eyes were wide and stunned.

  Amy glared at us with narrowed eyes, her hands on her hips. “Are you two done with your little performance?”

  Asher draped an arm around me and pulled me tight into his side. For once, he’d earned that arrogant smile. “For now. But we can give you a replay if you need one.”

  Amy blinked and her voice went back to that cajoling tone. “Asher, we were together. I thought we had something.”

  “I’ve been telling you since September we were just friends, Amy. That’s it.” Asher shook his head. “Come on, you guys, I have to get Lexie home.”

  Amy put her hand on Asher’s arm. “Wait…please…” Her eyes darted around the room, resting on each of us. She looked panicked. “I need to tell you…”

  But Asher pushed her aside. “We have to go, Amy.”

  “But the project. Do you have any idea what’s at stake here?”

  “I think we might.” His voice was icy and I would have felt sorry for Amy if I didn’t know she’d betrayed all of us.

  “Then stay. Help me figure this out,” she pleaded. Amy moved to touch Asher’s sleeve and he stepped out of her reach.

  “We’ll see you later, Amy.” Asher grabbed my hand and led me upstairs.

  I panted as we sprinted through the house, and I couldn’t tell if it was because of the kiss or Amy’s outburst. She’d looked crazed, and I almost felt bad for the girl. I still had no idea why she was helping Branston, but it had obviously unhinged her.

  We burst out the front door, and I sucked in a deep breath of cool, fresh air, Asher’s hand still gripping mine.

  “That was unexpected,” Max said as we walked toward the car. He shook his head, his brows furrowed as he opened the back passenger door.

  Zella shook her head and pushed him into the car. “You really are the blindest guy I’ve ever met, Max.”

  Friday night at Quantum Technologies. The building was dim and quiet; only the faint whirr of the heater kicking on broke the silence. Shadows lurked in every corner, and it kind of felt like a horror movie as we stood in the creepy lobby. Just the four of us.

  I glanced behind me through the door and out into the dark night. We could still turn around, walk away from this. I could tell my mom to run, and we’d be safe from Branston. For a while.

  But then Asher smiled at me and squeezed my hand. Max and Zella were whispering about something, heads together. My heart swelled. I cared about these people, about QT, and about this town. I’d built a life here, and I was going to do whatever it took to keep it safe.

  Sam sat behind the desk, arms crossed. “You guys don’t have something better to do tonight than hang out here?”

  “We’re working on some extra credit for my parents,” Zella said, pressing her hand to the scanner. It beeped, and the metal scanner whirled as she stepped through it. The rest of us did the same.

  “Be careful. The security protocols have been increased. One step in the wrong direction, and it’ll zap you.”

  “Zap?” My voice cracked.

  “Yeah, zap.” Sam waved his fingers at us. “Freeze you in place, charge you with a bolt of electricity. This old security system has a few tricks up her sleeve.”

  Asher slung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. I couldn’t stop my eyes from drifting closed and letting his warmth drift over me. “Don’t worry — I’ll protect you.”

  I straightened and flashed him a grin. “I can protect myself, thank you very much. Besides, you know I only like you for your brain.”

  He stuck out his tongue at me, and the four of us made our way down to the robotics labs in Division Five. The hall lights flickered on as we approached, and Zella typed in the password on the keypad. The lab doors slid open, a breath of metallic-smelling air wafting out to greet us. Zella’s mom looked up from one of the tables and smiled at us as we entered. Inside, the lab was kind of creepy, with various half-built robots and bodies scattered throughout. Arms and legs were scattered on the tables, wires hanging limply from their stumps. Some of the parts looked human; others were just robotic shells of metal and cable.

  “Hey, Mom.” Zella dropped her backpack on one of the tables and kissed her mom’s cheek.

  “Thanks for helping out tonight, guys.” Zella’s mom finished tightening a screw on one of the robots standing along the wall.

  Max nodded, scanning the room. “No problem, Dr. Wheeler. We’re just glad to help.” His expression turned to longing as he gazed at the table full of internal electronic systems. I stared at the bio-skin draped over metal frames on the wall. It looked so lifelike.

  “You ready, Helen?” Zella’s dad came out of the office at the far end of the room, wiping his hands on his lab coat. “Can’t be late for Danvers’ big meeting.”

  She frowned. “I don’t know why she scheduled it after-hours. It’s bad enough she cuts into our workdays; now it’s on a Friday night? I just hope it’s important. The last meeting we had was about reporting our project time. That’s what we have administrative assistants for.”

  “We’ll be fine down here — don’t worry about us.” Zella waved at her parents as they left the lab. The door slid closed behind them, leaving the four of us staring at each other. None of us wanted to be the one to make the first move.

  Finally, Zella squared her shoulders. “We ready to do this?”

  Asher nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Let’s set our timers. Max, you have the stuff?”

  Max nodded and held up his messenger bag. “Tools to remove the photon core. Titanium alloy explosive device and timer to destroy the machine. I think we’re all set. You?”

  Asher cracked his knuckles. “USB in my pocket with the hack, my magic fingers, and Lexie as my wingman? What could go wrong?”

  I flashed him a sour look. “I’m glad you guys are excited about this.” I wiped my palms on my jeans. They just wouldn’t stop sweating. If we got caught, it was over for all of us and maybe even our families. Not even Asher’s cute dimple could calm the panic thundering through me right now.

  “Let’s do this.” Asher held his hand ou
t, and the rest of us piled on top.

  I bit my lip before suggesting, “Go team?”

  Max stuck his tongue out at me. “How about, ‘good luck’?”

  His words sucked all the oxygen from the room. We were all quiet for a long moment as the reality sank in. We were actually going to do this.

  I swallowed — hard — and tried to push the fear away. We wouldn’t get anything done if we freaked out about it now. “See you guys soon.”

  Asher and I left the lab, using the elevator to get back to the second floor office level. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the elevator doors. “Amy texted me last night. Tried to apologize.”

  I studied the Captain Science logo on his cheesy science t-shirt, almost afraid to meet his eyes. “Oh?”

  “I deleted it.”

  “Good.” I risked a glance at his face. “So I’ve been wondering. What exactly did she mean the other day when she brought your mom up at Coco’s?”

  He looked away. “Mom wants to come back to work at QT. She threatened if anything went wrong with the project, she’d apply to head it up herself. I can’t have her back here, Lexie. If she left us again…”

  I took his hand, squeezed it. “That’s why you were so adamant things go well? That we not tell Danvers? So your mom wouldn’t have a reason to come home?”

  Asher nodded. “I know I can’t stop her, but Amy threatened to tell everyone what was going on if I didn’t help her with her work.” He rocked back on his heels. “Stupid thing is, I would have done it because we were friends up until that point.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. We need to focus on Danvers and Branston. We’ll take care of your mom later. Together.”

  He smiled, and I felt a familiar surge of heat flow through me. I forced myself to ignore it as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Asher and I exchanged worried looks before stepping out into the deserted hallway.

  “We’ll be fine,” Asher whispered as he took my hand.

  The warmth of his skin soaked into me, steadying my heartbeat. I nodded and forced a weak smile. “If you say so.”

  We crept toward Danvers’ office at the end of the hall. My whole body was on edge, waiting for the slightest sound of detection, my eyes scanning the shadows as we walked. Asher crouched before Danvers’ door to inspect the keypad and lock.

  My stomach sank at the flashing lights and the impossible technology standing between us and her computer inside. “We’re never going to get in there. It’s impossible.”

  Asher’s grin was wicked. “You should know me better than that by now.” He pulled his smartphone from his pocket and slid an attachment into the jack. A cord stretched from the phone and ended with a flat piece of square metal the size of a credit card. He slid it into the card lock on Danvers’ door.

  “It’ll take a few seconds while the program runs.” He tapped some controls on the app, and the lights on the door panel flashed as it scanned for Danvers’ password.

  “When did you have time to make that thing?” I peered over his shoulder, watching as numbers spun on the screen, searching for the right combination.

  “I’ve had it for a while. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to break into a security-level-alpha QT office.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I gave him a mock look of shock.

  “Well, I’d never think you’d stoop so low. Do I even want to know why?”

  “You know why, Lexie. I wanted to find out about you, about what had happened to you after you’d left all those years ago.”

  I jammed my hands into my pockets and looked away. He didn’t know all of it. And he definitely didn’t know about what had happened to him. While I hated Branston for experimenting on us, I couldn’t hate the fact we were hopefully smart enough to stop them.

  “There we go.” The numbers settled into a pattern, and his phone screen turned green. The door clicked open. “Brains before beauty?” Asher asked, holding the door open for me.

  “Ha ha. Funny.” I slipped inside and pulled out my flashlight, shining the beam around the room. It looked exactly like it did when I’d met with her a few weeks ago — sleek modern desk, low bookshelves along the wall, a small table with three chairs in the corner.

  Asher moved to the other side of the desk and sank into Danvers’ chair before turning on the computer. The glow filled the room enough for me to switch off my flashlight.

  “I’m still not sure why you have to use Danvers’ machine for this,” I said as the sound of the keyboard clicking filled the room. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to do it remotely?”

  He shook his head, the light from the screen making his eyes shine weirdly blue. “It’s forensics. I can’t have Branston tracking this back to me. And, hopefully, there’s already a link between networks. Even my skills probably aren’t good enough to sneak in undetected.” He paused, chewing his lip as he typed. “There. The first firewall is down. I have access to her email.” He let out a low whistle. “I hate that we were right. Here’s Amy’s email with our planted info. Looks like she sent the plans to Danvers and Major Grant at Branston immediately after we left last night.”

  I clutched the edge of the desk as my head spun. Amy and Danvers both had been working for Grant. Of course. It all made sense now.

  “Hey, you okay?” Asher half-rose from the chair, and I shook my head.

  “He emailed me right before the explosion. Branson told Danvers to run the test, knowing it would fail.” My voice shook. “I hate that that guy freaks the hell out of me.”

  He frowned. “Well, I hate that I never suspected Amy or Danvers. And I hate even more that I didn’t believe you when you tried to warn me, Lexicon.”

  A warm glow pushed away some of the nausea churning in my stomach. “If we’re going to be friends, you should probably get used to the fact that I’m always right, Rosen.”

  “And you should get used to the fact that I plan on being more than friends.”

  Heat turned my skin to goosebumps at the confidence in his words. When had I fallen so hard for the guy? And though he was cute, it wasn’t even how he looked that made my skin tingle. It was his brain, his sense of humor. Everything that made him Asher.

  I forced myself to look away before I threw myself at him. “Back to work, buddy. We’ll have plenty of time later.” My voice was husky, and I hoped he’d think I was just trying to whisper.

  “Promise?” He grinned as he continued hacking Danvers’ computer.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket before I could respond, and I pulled it out to check the text message from Max.

  Photon core removed. Five more minutes, and we’ll have the detonator installed.

  “Is that Max? What’s their status?” Asher asked.

  “They’ll be done in five minutes. How are we doing? Almost there?”

  He nodded. “I’m almost through Branston’s network. The exploits worked perfectly, especially since Danvers has a path to the network on this machine already. I’m copying over as many of their files as I can while I scan their system.”

  The knot of panic in my stomach eased a bit. “What else is there to do?”

  The corner of his lip twitched. “I created a little virus to destroy all copies of the original Project Infinity. Even better, it’ll take down their system and destroy most of their records, including the ones they stole from Los Alamos and the other facilities. It’ll take five more minutes at the most.”

  We’d been there fifteen already, but I wasn’t going to rush him.

  “There. I’m in and loading the virus.” Asher leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. “Where do you want to go for dinner after we’re done here? I’m starving. I thought maybe we could drive into Knoxville. We could finally have our date at that quiet little restaurant downtown.”

  “I think Coco’s is closer. And I’m going to need a piece of her chocolate silk pie. Stress-eating for the win.”

  He chuckled. “And you weren’t even the one doing all the
work. Maybe I should make you buy me dinner.”

  Before I could come up with a snappy answer, an earsplitting shriek cut through the building. Lights flashed on and off, filling the room with blinding light. My whole head filled with piercing pain.

  Asher pounded his fingers into the keyboard. “Shit. The security system just kicked in. We’re on lockdown.”

  “Max and Zella? Are they okay? Did they set this off?” I pulled my phone out of my pocket like I was moving in slow motion. Every action made my very bones ache. I scanned the screen, but there was no signal.

  “The protocols shut down all computer networks, wifi signals, and cell signals. I’m already inside the system, but it looks like it was set off somewhere on this level.”

  “Was it us?” I yelled over the sound of the sirens. The sound echoed oddly in my head.

  “No. It was me.”

  Dr. Danvers stood in the doorway, and my stomach bottomed out like I’d dropped ten floors in the elevator. She looked calm and unflustered as always, professionally dressed in a pantsuit with her hair scraped back into a bun.

  She pulled a hand out of her pocket and pointed a small handgun at us. “Move away from the desk.”

  My feet wouldn’t obey.

  “Come on, Lexie.” Asher pulled me along with him until we stood in front of the desk, then he moved to shield my body with his.

  Danvers crossed the room to her keyboard and typed a command one-handed. The gun never moved.

  Instantly, the sirens stopped mid-screech, and she looked up with a cold smile. “That’s better. Now you can tell me exactly what you’re doing in my office.” Her eyes narrowed. “And how exactly you’re still standing.”

  I glanced at Asher, and he shook his head, eyebrows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t we be standing?” I asked.

  Danvers tapped her fingers on the desk, and my skin crawled at her appraising gaze. “QT has a very special security system. When you started here, you received an inoculation to be recognized by the system, correct?”