Ultraviolet Catastrophe (15 page)

I stared off into the shadows. “What are they using all this space for?”

His gaze never left the computer, but at least he answered me. “They’re building the wormhole machine and will conduct the first tests here in this lab. They’ve created a triple-enforced structure made of a titanium-tungsten alloy that should be able to withstand the mass field generated by the experiment.”

I nodded, but he still wasn’t looking at me. I slid onto the stool beside him and logged into the computer. “Are you going to tell me what’s really going on?” I asked, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

“It’s nothing.”

“Right. You jump down my throat like that all the time.”

Asher let out a shaky breath. “I got an email from my mom last night. And it didn’t help Amy was around when I was reading it. I know she thought she was trying to help by asking questions, but she just wouldn’t leave me alone about it.”

“But I thought you hadn’t heard from your mom in months.”

“Exactly.” His blue eyes glinted with anger and something I guessed was hurt. “And the first time she contacts me is about this freaking project. Not to see how I’m doing but to get the details about it. To see if it’s going to threaten her top-dog status.”

“I’m sorry, Ash.”

He turned to look at me. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I didn’t mean it.” His lips pressed together in a grimace. “If anyone has a problem with self-esteem issues, it’s me.”

I bumped shoulders with him, trying to cheer him up. “We could start our own club. I’m sure we could think of a few more people who’d like to join.”

He sighed and opened the official project simulation on his computer. “Okay, enough of my self-pity. Let’s run some numbers,” he said, cracking his knuckles.

Our fingers flew over the keys as we inputted the numbers and formula. Asher started with Avery’s original while I entered my changed calculations. The sound of keyboards tapping filled the warehouse as we worked to verify my results.

Beside me, Asher’s long fingers flew over the keys, his eyebrows furrowed. Even though I was still slightly annoyed, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. Even when I had a non-existent relationship with my own dad, I had never doubted he loved me. I could only imagine how much worse it would be to not even have him care.

“Done,” Asher said, dropping his hands into his lap.

I finished typing the last string of the formula into my simulation and nodded. “Me too.” I paused and turned to him. “What happens if I’m right?”

He leaned back and put his hands behind his head. “You get a big fat award for stopping the experiment from killing us all. And my eternal gratitude of course.”

“Of course.”

“Okay, let’s do mine first. This is Avery’s original equation.” He hit the submit button. Together we watched as the simulation ran perfectly — the machine generated the wormhole and worked as we’d expected it to.

I frowned at the monitor. “But it was supposed to fail like it did in your office. How could it pass? Is our simulation wrong?”

Asher shook his head, looking as confused as I felt. “I don’t think so. I reviewed all their work, and it seemed sound to me.” He slipped a USB drive into the computer and copied off a couple of files. “We’ll take this upstairs to compare it when we’re done here. Let’s run your numbers now.”

I clicked the submit button and ran the simulation again, this time on my machine.

The program ran perfectly.

I stared at Asher. “Um…what does that mean? There should be some difference in the results, right?”

Asher’s jaw clenched. “There should be. Yes. Try it again.”

I reset the numbers and started the simulation again. We both watched as the machine built the wormhole successfully.

“How is that possible? It can’t have the same results with different numbers.”

“I don’t know.” He rubbed the back of his neck “I just don’t understand it.”

Behind us, a metallic voice announced, “Welcome, Dr. Danvers.”

“Shit.” Asher hit several buttons on my computer, and the screen went black just as she walked into the warehouse.

Dr. Danvers paused, her eyebrows coming together as she spotted us at the computers. “Asher? Lexie? What are you two doing here?”

Asher straightened, shoulders relaxed and a smile on his lips. He was back to playing his part as project lead without missing a beat. “Just running some calculations through the simulation. I figured we’d do it today while we wouldn’t be in the way. I think Dr. Avery and his team are down in Division Ten if you were looking for them.”

Her gaze flicked between us and then to the computers behind us. “That’s right,” she said, moving toward Asher’s computer. “I remember now. He sent me an email earlier in the week.” She nodded at the monitor. “How is it going? Are the tests running as expected?”

“Of course. Let me show you what we have so far.” Asher ran Avery’s numbers, and once again, everything worked perfectly. I just didn’t understand how.

“You guys are making great progress. And Lexie, I was glad to see you were part of the verification team. How are you feeling about the work?” Danvers asked.

I opened my mouth to tell her what we’d discovered, but behind her, Asher shook his head ever so slightly and I changed my tactics. “It’s been such an amazing experience working on this project. I can’t thank you and Asher enough for giving me this opportunity.” I sounded like a kiss-ass, but she just nodded.

“I’m glad you’re finally feeling like part of the team. Good work here, you two. Now, I need to do some of my own research.” She looked pointedly at the door.

“Oh. Of course.” I slid from my stool, and Asher slipped the USB drive into his pocket. “See you later, Dr. Danvers.”

Back in the hallway, I frowned at Asher. “What was that all about?”

“Not here,” he said. “Let’s get back to the lab.”

Unease settled onto my shoulders. Asher was a QT guy through and through. Not sharing his findings with Danvers was too weird for me to ignore.

Paranoid now, I kept silent as we made our way back to the lab. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing up and down the hallway or trying to tiptoe. QT felt different all of a sudden.

Asher let me enter the lab first and then locked the door behind him.

I pressed my back against one of the computer tables and gripped the edge. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” Asher started pacing. “Danvers didn’t want us in there. Did you see the look she gave me?”

I nodded. “And what was she doing there herself? She said she already knew Avery and the team would be somewhere else today.” I slid onto a stool and studied the blank computer screen. “Do you think she knows the calculations are wrong?”

Asher stared at me. “Why would you think that?”

“I’m not sure. She just seemed relieved when the simulation ran as expected.”

“I just don’t get it. Danvers has been head of QT for three years. She’s won us some amazing projects and advanced the research here. She’d never jeopardize this project.” Asher shook his head and continued pacing. “But what if it’s Avery? What if he’s trying to pull something?” He stared past me, eyes unfocused. It was kind of creepy. “If he debunked the Einstein-Rosen bridge calculations with his own, he could pretty much write his ticket for Danvers’ job. He’d be famous. Though I’m sure my mom would be here in a heartbeat to fight it.”

“Why would your mom care?”

“Because she’s a Rosen. She’d see someone else taking the lead as a blemish on our name. And, of course, she’d be annoyed someone else moved ahead in the physics world.” His voice dropped, sounded strangled. “Oh my god, was that what her email was about?”

“Do you think we need to tell someone? I bet my dad could help.”

Asher shook his head. “No. We don’t have proof yet. We need to rework our simulation software and re-verify the test. We have to be absolutely positive.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Would you mind running your numbers again? I feel like I’m going crazy here. Like we made it up or something.”

“Yeah, I’m feeling that way, too.” I spun around on the stool and logged back into the computer. Asher moved to stand beside me, resting his arm on the counter as he leaned in to watch the sim. I was way too conscious of his closeness, of the heat from his body and the way he made my skin tingle. I tried to focus on the computer and not his muscled arm beside me.

We watched the simulation play through three times in utter silence before I turned to face him, my knees practically touching his hips. Despite the fear curling through me, I couldn’t help but want to do other things with those hips.

I jumped down from my stool to move away, to stop the thoughts racing through my head, but his body trapped me between the counter and himself. I stared into his eyes, noticing the flecks of gold, the freckles lightly dusting his cheekbones.

Still staring at the screen behind me, he said, “Damn it, Lexie, it just doesn’t make sense. It’s like they programmed their sim to work no matter what numbers were plugged in.”

His gaze slid to mine, and we stared at each other, not touching, not moving. I licked my lips, and his blue eyes darkened before dropping to my mouth.

My heart hammered with slow, painful thumps. Slowly, Asher leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk on either side of me, trapping me in the cage of his arms. Heat surged through me at the expression in his eyes. Like I was the only girl he’d ever wanted.

Like he really saw me.

He inched closer, and my whole body reacted to his presence by coiling like a spring, waiting for his touch. Asher’s hands dropped to the waistband of my jeans, the heat of his skin searing even through the thick material. The air between us smoldered until my arms erupted in goosebumps. I was drowning in the blue depths of his eyes.

He let out a soft breath that smelled of cinnamon, his lips all but touching mine. All I had to do was lean forward and…

And then the computer behind me screeched.

We shot apart like a gun had gone off. I ended up halfway across the room, standing awkwardly beside his desk. I tugged at the bottom of my shirt, not daring to meet Asher’s gaze. But I shouldn’t have worried. He’d already moved to turn off the beeping computer.

His hands froze on the keyboard as the screen flickered. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” He glared at the computer screen. “Someone found us. They’re deleting your calculations.”

I sprinted to his side. Numbers scrolled across the screen, the simulation flashing as he tried to stop the wipe. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his shoulders tensed as he typed feverishly.

“If I hack into the server and find out where this wipe is coming from, maybe I can stop it. Or at least trace it back to whoever’s doing it.”

“Can you reverse it?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. They’re using a firewalled connection, and I can’t break through fast enough to track them.” His fingers flew for a few more seconds until the computer beeped again.

“No!” He typed even faster, though I hadn’t thought it possible. “They can’t do this!”

I peered over his shoulder, but I couldn’t make sense of the strings of letters and numbers streaming past on the screen. “What’s happening?”

“They’re deleting our simulation, too!”

“What?” I didn’t mind so much about my calculations. I had them all written down. But the simulation had taken Max, Zella, and Amy more than two weeks to develop. They were going to kill us.

“How did they track it to this lab? How is this even possible?”

The computer screen went black, and Asher slammed his hand down on the table. “Apparently, QT has a network-wide scan looking for these parameters, and a system in place to delete them if found. But why?” He kicked the stool out of his way, and it toppled to the floor with a clatter.

All that work. Gone. Someone had deliberately shut us down.

Asher growled and snatched his bag from the desk. A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Shouldn’t we try to fix it? To recover the simulation?”

“What’s the point? They’ll just shut us down again.” He slammed through the lab doors, and I scurried to follow, giving the dead computer one last glance.

As if worrying about Avery’s equation and obsessing over my almost-kiss with Asher wasn’t enough excitement for the weekend, I got an email Sunday night from Dr. Danvers requesting a meeting first thing Monday morning.

She’d added a personal note to the email: “
Just want to check in and see how you’re adjusting to QT on your one-month anniversary.
”

I frowned at my tablet. This was not good. At all. Asher and I hadn’t talked about how to handle the mistake in Avery’s equation, but I knew he wanted to keep it from Danvers if possible. Which was going to make for a very interesting meeting.

Monday morning, I stood outside her office door and tugged at my shirt. I’d worn a button-down and khakis instead of my usual jeans, and I wished I hadn’t. I felt on edge enough already — I didn’t need a scratchy collar making it worse. With a deep breath, I pushed open the door to Danvers’ office.

Marilyn, her assistant, was one of those ageless women somewhere between forty and sixty, with gray hair molded to her head like a helmet. She nodded at me as I entered. “Good morning, Lexie. Dr. Danvers is waiting for you. Go on back.”

“Thanks.” I followed the hallway to the back of the suite. Dr. Danvers’ office door was open, but I knocked on it anyway.

She looked up from her desk and motioned for me to enter. “Lexie. Right on time. Come in.” She’d worn her hair loose today, the golden length curling around her shoulders, and the navy suit she wore set off her blue eyes. When she smiled at me, it seemed genuine, but I was already on edge, so it didn’t do much to reassure me.

I took the seat in front of her desk and tucked my bag beneath the chair. “Good morning, Dr. Danvers. Did you have a good weekend?”

“They’re always too short, especially when I spend most of it here. How about you? Did you and Asher finish your research on Saturday?”

I ignored the snakes in my stomach. “We just needed to test a few things. It’s interesting to be part of this project. I’m learning so much.” I forced myself to use my most innocent smile

“I’m glad Asher included you on his team. He’s a smart kid.” She leaned forward, steepling her fingers. “What sorts of things are you focusing on?”

“Physics stuff in general. I didn’t get to do much of that at my last school, so I’m learning something new every day. I think I’m finally getting the hang of it, though it feels a bit like studying a foreign language.”

“I can imagine. It’s always hard to be thrown into a new situation, but you seem to be doing well. I’m impressed. How about your classmates? Are you making friends?”

I stared at the slick glass desk for what felt like a full minute before finally answering. “I’m not sure if I’d say that. They’ve all known each other for so long, and everyone has the same sort of background and experiences. It’s tough to find something in common.” I shrugged. “Not to mention I don’t exactly feel qualified to be in the same room as most of them.”

“Oh, Lexie.” She shook her head, her voice kind and gentle. “You do belong here. I know you’re still struggling, but trust me. You’d be bored to death at Branston Academy.”

I froze, then remembered Dad must have told her about Grant’s attack. “How do you know?”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. I used to work there myself. Your dad and I were coworkers actually. When things got bad, we both decided to leave. It wasn’t easy. Branston doesn’t let go of anything if they can help it.” The smile faded from her face.

“I wasn’t sure at first, but I like QT. And from what Dad said, I’m better off here. But I still wonder, especially on the days where I feel like a failure.”

“You do fit in here, Lexie. I promise. It’s just going to take some time. And I’m always here if you need me.” She turned to her computer. “Now, I want to hear all about your part of the experiment and if you guys are discovering anything interesting with the verification process.”

I blinked rapidly and then spent the next ten minutes walking a fine line between honesty and omission. She was very interested to learn about the simulation Zella, Max, and Amy were working on and that our verification project was right on track. Nothing unusual to report as of yet.

I felt very scientific and professional when she nodded and said, “It sounds like your team is making great progress. I’m pleased. Keep up the good work.”

“Thanks, Dr. Danvers.” I tugged my bag from beneath the chair. “I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to meet with me.”

“Any time, Lexie. And I’d love to be kept in the loop if you discover anything unusual.”

There it was. I twisted my fingers together, surprised it had taken her that long to say it. “Of course. You’ll be the first to know.”

“Excellent. Now, I really need to get to a meeting in Division Seven. If you’ll excuse me?” She was already gathering up her tablet, so I nodded and scurried down the hall to the main door, waving to Marilyn as I left.

Outside, I rounded the corner before sinking back against the wall and wiping my sweating palms on my pants. I still couldn’t tell if I’d been reading more into our meeting than was there, but whatever the truth was, I needed to stop worrying about it. If Danvers had suspected something was wrong, she would have said something.

“Hey, you okay?” Zella stood at the end of the hallway. “You look pale.”

I straightened, forced myself back into friendly-Lexie mode. “I’m fine. I just had a meeting with Danvers.”

Zella’s eyes widened. “Really? What for?”

“She’s been really nice. Wants to make sure I’m fitting in I guess.” I shrugged and started toward the elevators. “I think she feels sorry for me.”

Zella followed, hitching her backpack up her shoulder. “QT is pretty different from what you’re used to?”

“Um, yeah. Just a little.” I pressed the elevator call button, and Zella frowned at me.

“I just don’t get it. I mean, if you’re that smart, wouldn’t you have tested out of regular public school? Wouldn’t they have sent you here a long time ago?”

I froze. I’d been wondering how long it would take for someone else to ask that question. And I still didn’t have a good answer. So I shrugged, trying to play it off. “Public school was easy; I didn’t have to work at it. And my dad wasn’t exactly around to keep an eye on me. I’d still be there if I hadn’t been stupid and scored too high on a test last year.” The best lies always had a hint of truth.

She shoved her hands into her pockets and shook her head. “It just doesn’t seem possible.”

I glared at her. “Oh my god, Zella, give it a rest. You don’t think I’m smart enough to be here? That’s fine. But I’m sick and tired of hearing it. Danvers obviously believes I belong here. And Asher does, too.”

“Asher’s only interested in you because you’re new. Like everyone else.”

“Well, it’s been a month. If they were going to get tired of me by now, don’t you think it would have happened?” I crossed my arms. “You know what, Zella? I don’t care what you think of me, but we have to work together on this project, which means we have to get along.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” she snapped. “Especially when I haven’t seen one reason why you should still be here.”

“No? How about what Asher and I discovered this weekend? Have you heard about that yet?”

The elevator doors slid open, and I stomped into the car. She followed me inside but didn’t respond.

“Guess not then. Well, I’m sure he’ll tell you. Eventually.” I crossed my arms, watching the lights on the panel as we descended toward Asher’s office.

Zella huffed, and I resisted glaring at her again. I still had no idea what her problem was. It just didn’t make sense. What had I done to piss her off so badly?

I fled the elevator, not bothering to wait for her, and pressed my thumb to the scanner, barely waiting for the beep to shove open the door.

Max and Amy were already waiting for us, and Max tilted his head to study me. “Everything all right?”

Zella threw herself into a chair, still glaring. I ignored her and gave Max my friendliest smile. “Just fine.”

“Hey, Lexie. Zella.” Amy had her feet up on Asher’s desk and was playing with a strand of her hair. “Did you see Asher anywhere? He’s late as usual.”

I shook my head. “What — did you forget your tracking device on him?”

Her eyes widened, and I chewed on my lip. Zella had gotten to me more than I’d thought.

Zella turned to Amy, cutting me out of the conversation. “Did you guys hang out this weekend?”

Amy leaned in, whispering loud enough that my dad probably heard it in his lab. “I spent the night.”

Zella’s eyes bulged. “What?”

“I went back to his place Friday night. We were working on some of those simulation issues we’d come across. It got late. I crashed there. It was all very innocent.” But the way Amy raised her eyebrows left no doubt in anyone’s mind about what had really gone on.

I was glad I’d pinned a smile to my face because it would have slid to the floor right then. Our almost-kiss hadn’t meant anything if he’d been busy hooking up with her the night before.

“Are you guys back together?” Zella asked.

“Not officially. But it’s only a matter of time.”

I envied the absolute belief in her voice, even as it crushed the tiny flicker of hope I’d let myself feel. It was better this way. I didn’t need a boy distracting me while I tried to find my place at QT.

“What’s a matter of time?” Asher asked as the lab doors slid open. He dumped his bag on the desk and dropped into his chair. It was like he was a magnet, our attention immediately drawn to him.

Amy and Zella exchanged sly glances, and Amy said, “Only a matter of time until you showed up. We were going to send out a search party.”

“Good thing I’m here then. We have a lot to talk about, don’t we, Lexie?”

Amy’s head snapped in my direction, but I ignored her. “Yeah, Asher and I spent most of the weekend together. Working.” I resisted adding an eyebrow wiggle, though part of me wanted to see what Amy would do.

She frowned. “So you were here, Ash? Is that why we couldn’t hang out?”

He nodded and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. “We had some unexpected issues come up with the validation project.”

Zella went still, her hand paused above the tablet she’d been typing on. “What’s wrong? We delivered the simulation last week. We should be right on target.”

Asher lowered his arms and sat up. “Lexie and I ran into a bit of an issue. She realized there might be a problem with Avery’s formula, and when we ran the numbers, we discovered she was right. Your simulation worked perfectly. If Avery’s experiment is created with his calculations, the whole thing will implode, destroying QT and killing thousands of people.”

Zella let out a soft gasp, her gaze flying to mine. I wanted to snap at her that, yes, finally there was proof I belonged at QT, but Asher cut us both off before we could say anything. “It gets worse. We ran the numbers through the Project Infinity machine, but we didn’t get the same results. And before we could figure out what was going on, someone wiped our experiment.” He paused, frrowned at us. “The simulation you guys built is gone.”

“No!” Max shot to his feet. “It took more than two weeks to finish. What the hell were you doing?”

Asher held up his hands. “It wasn’t our fault. The network had been programmed to search and destroy. What we don’t know is who programmed it or why.” Asher rested his chin in his hands. “The question now becomes what do we do about it?”

“We tell Danvers of course,” Amy said. “If there’s something weird going on, she needs to know.”

Asher shook his head. “That’s not an option right now.”

She stared at him. “Why not?”

“I want to take care of this without involving anyone at the top until we know more about what’s going on. Anyone else have a suggestion?”

Max leaned against the table where Asher and I’d almost kissed, and I pressed my fingers to my cheeks to hide my blush.

“Does this mean we can’t rebuild the simulation using any QT computers or any computers connected to the network?” Max asked

Asher nodded. “They’re obviously scanning for these parameters. If we try this again, we’ll need two simulations. One based on your original. The other created from the simulation we found on the project computers.” He frowned at Max. “My question is why we didn’t use that simulation as our base in the first place.”

The tips of Max’s ears turned pink, as if he’d been caught doing something bad. “I figured we’d get more recognition if we could show we built the simulation from scratch rather than reusing the work of the project team.”

“Thank god you did because otherwise we would never have found the problem. Unfortunately, I’m afraid Lexie’s discovery puts us all at risk. Someone’s going to great lengths to keep those numbers secret.”

“How do you figure?” Amy asked, shaking her head. “It just seems like a mistake to me.”

“Then why would both of the project simulations give us the same results using different numbers? No, someone’s rigged it so everything looks like it’s working correctly.” He paused and leaned forward. “Someone is trying to sabotage this project.”