Ultraviolet Catastrophe
Page 70A scientist screamed, and everybody pushed forward to see what was happening.
Asher shook his head, eyes wide as he stared out into the parking lot. “It wasn’t me.”
A bright light appeared in the sky, flooding the space in front of the door with lights. Another helicopter touched down, this one with the QT logo painted on the side. Smoke wafted from one of the missile launchers attached to the bottom of the machine.
As its headlights swept the area, I spotted a burning corpse near the wreckage of Branston’s chopper. I caught sight of a red high heel before the light moved away, and I gasped, turning to hide my face in Asher’s shoulder, fighting back the nausea burning my throat.
He rubbed my back, but the image of Danvers’ twisted body was burned into my mind.
Behind me, scientists whispered and gossiped in shock. They grew silent as my dad approached us, Mom pushing his wheelchair.
He tapped a code into the security box at the door, and the airlocks hissed as they reversed. “Let the regents inside, please.”
A guard pushed the door open, and the scent of burning metal and cold, fall air eddied through the lobby.
Dad looked tired, but he smiled at me and squeezed my hand. “You okay, Lexie?”
“I am now. You?”
He nodded. “Which one of you called them? Asher?”
Beside me, Asher shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Since they wouldn’t listen to me in your room the other day, I hacked into Dad’s account and told them everything. I figured they needed to know what we’d found.”
“Not after she almost killed you, Dad.” I pulled Asher out of the way as the trio of regents entered the building. They were all dressed in suits, but the woman in front was the obvious leader. She gave off an aura of efficiency and intelligence, and I recognized her from the Einstein-Rosen bridge announcement last month.
“First of all, Dr. Kepler, was anyone killed?” She waited for his report, arms crossed.
Dad shook his head. “Thanks to Lexie and Asher, everyone is safe. Except for Danvers herself.” He gestured to the parking lot.
A muscle jumped in the woman’s jaw before she pressed the skin below her ear, turning on her communicator. “Body retrieval. Parking lot. Now.”
She turned back to us. “Alexa Kepler?”
I nodded, fighting to stand upright and look calm despite the exhaustion and trauma that were making my knees tremble.
“I’m Dr. Eleanor Franklin. I’m very pleased to meet you. Your contributions to QT this semester are astonishing. You stopped something that could have led to the destruction of the city. We’re very lucky to have you.”
“Um…thank you. But I couldn’t have done it without Asher and Max and Zella.”
“Ah, yes.” She turned her cool smile to Asher. “I wish we’d listened to you sooner, young man. We owe you all a great debt. You can be sure this will not be forgotten.”
Dad cleared his throat. “I think we need to debrief and send the rest of the staff home. It’s been a long night, and we have a huge mess to clean up.”
She nodded. “You’re right, Dr. Kepler. And the first order of business is to appoint a new director. You.”
“We can discuss it further if we must, but the other regents and I feel you’re the best person for the job. Please say you’ll accept.”
“Very well.” He looked calm, but I knew my dad. He had to be bursting with excitement. Mom squeezed his shoulder before he turned back to Dr. Franklin. “Let’s get the rest of this mess sorted out. I have a feeling it’s going to take all night.”
Asher slipped his arm around me as we watched him roll off toward his office with Mom and the regents. “I saw my dad head toward the med wing. Let’s go check on Zella.”
We found Max pacing the waiting room when we entered. His eyes were huge and shadowed, and he looked like he’d been the one who’d been shot.
“What’s going on, Max? How’s Zella?” I asked.
“Dr. Rosen is with her now. The bullet went through her leg cleanly, so they’re stitching her up.”
Asher nodded. “Dad’s good with a needle, but Zella’ll probably have a scar.”
“I don’t care as long as she’s all right.” He sighed. “I just need to see her.”
“Soon. I’m sure Dr. Rosen will let us know the moment she’s done. Come sit down, and we’ll tell you what happened with Danvers.”
“Right. Danvers.” Max took the chair beside me, but his gaze kept straying to the door as Asher and I told him what had happened.
I was mid-sentence when the door to the med wing swung open. Max shot to his feet as Dr. Rosen stepped through. He nodded at us, his salt-and-pepper hair crazier than usual. “Zella is fine. She’s stitched up, on pain meds, and ready for visitors. But only for a few minutes. She needs to rest.”
“Guess he finally figured out he liked her after all,” Asher said. “Took him long enough.”
“It was pretty obvious, wasn’t it?” I grinned at him. “Sometimes you geniuses just can’t see what’s right in front of your face.”
“Hey! I take offense to that statement.”
“Who said I was talking about you?” With a wink, I slipped my hand into his, and we pushed open the door to Zella’s room.
Max was already at her side. Zella blinked up at him, smiled weakly. And then, before we could even blink, Max leaned down and kissed her gently.
“Maybe we should give them some time alone,” I whispered.
Asher’s fingers grazed my jaw, turning me to face him. “I think that’s a very good idea.”
The tenderness in his gaze made my breath hitch in my throat. And when he bent his head and kissed me, I finally felt like Quantum Technologies was exactly where I belonged.
Epilogue
You know it’s going to be a good day when the guy you’ve been crushing on all semester shows up first thing in the morning carrying two cups of coffee and a dozen donuts.
“Help a guy out, won’t you?” Asher asked. The snow was coming down, and it had dusted his dark locks and tangled in his eyelashes. I stood in the doorway for almost thirty seconds before I realized I was staring at him.