Ultraviolet Catastrophe(22)
Author: Jamie Grey

I shook my head. If I wasn’t so freaked out by everything, I might like this place. Until I remembered, I wasn’t here for fun. I was here because Branston had been searching for me since I was three. And my parents had drugged me to keep me safe from them. Goosebumps shivered on my skin, and I pushed on.

It was only four blocks, but I was sweating by the time I reached downtown. The security robots I’d seen on my first day stood sentinel on corners or wandered up and down the street, the sun glinting off their arms and legs. Their heads were made of a single sheet of metal, polished to a high gloss and shaped into an oblong, with slits for their eye sensors. I clenched my trembling fingers and moved past them. Hadn’t the scientists at QT read any science fiction? One of these days, the robots were going to try to take over.

A trickle of sweat dripped down my neck, and I wanted nothing more than a huge iced coffee and a seat in the air conditioning. Coco’s Coffee sat at the end of the block, and from what I could tell, it was the local hang out — for scientists and students alike. I recognized a few of my classmates sitting outside, despite the heat. Even worse, I spotted Asher and Amy, heads bent together over a bowl of ice cream.

I ducked behind a potted cedar. Amy probably knew all about the drugs by now. If she and Asher were dating, I was positive he’d told her. And if Asher knowing about it wasn’t bad enough, perfect, popular Amy knowing about it was a thousand times worse.

Sneaking around the plant, I pushed open the door to the coffee shop and winced as a bell jangled at the entrance. Inside was airy and casual, with a bank of booths on the far side and tables scattered throughout the room. Cheerful daisies sat in squat vases on each table, and photography and artwork dotted the walls. It seemed like any other coffee shop.

Except for the barista behind the bar.

In a town full of scientific geniuses, this girl stuck out like a supernova. Her hair was died purple and stuck out in spikes from her head. She had ear gauges in both earlobes and a stud in her nose. But when she smiled at me, a dimple flashed in her cheek, and she had the sweetest, softest Southern drawl I’d ever heard.

“What can I get for you, darlin’?” she asked.

I studied the tattoo on her neck of an atom before snapping my gaze to her dark brown eyes. “Um, the biggest iced coffee you can make, please.”

“It’s a scorcher out there, isn’t it?” She furrowed her eyebrows as she pulled a recycled paper cup from the stack. “Wait a minute — you’re Dr. Kepler’s daughter, aren’t you?”

I nodded. “Lexie. How did you know?”

“You look like him. And Will is a regular.” Her dimple flashed again. Exactly how many women in Oak Ridge knew my dad? “I’m Coco. How are you settling in?”

I shrugged. “It’s only my first week. I’m assuming it’ll get better.”

Coco nodded. “QT is tough. I left after I graduated and never looked back. Mom still works there, but I wanted nothing to do with it. I went to the CIA instead.”

I eyed her ripped shirt and chain-link bracelets dubiously. “CIA? Like the feds?”

She laughed. “No, the Culinary Institute of America. In New York. I’m a chef. And a damn good one if I do say so myself. Though, of course, all my best dishes are top secret,” she added with a grin.

“A top secret café in the middle of town? This place is crazy,” I said, shaking my head.

“Did you notice the bots standing around Main Street? Oak Ridge has the best security in the world. They’re tied into the QT system and can take you out at a hundred yards. Don’t even try to talk about my meals outside of Oak Ridge.” She winked and handed over a tall, iced coffee, but her words made my skin crawl. “Here you go. Enjoy. And it was nice to meet you, darlin’. I hope we’ll see you often.”

“Thanks.” I took my coffee and wandered over to an empty booth along the wall.

The bell jangled, and Asher slipped inside with an empty bowl and two glasses. He turned to order something from Coco and spotted me in the corner. Our eyes met across the room, and he took a hesitant step toward me, the corner of his lip twitching up. I sat up straighter and shoved my hair behind my ears. Keep it cool, Kepler.

But before I could find out what he was going to do, a man wearing khakis and a button-down shirt entered. He scanned the coffee shop, his gaze resting on me briefly, before he moved toward the counter.

Asher glanced at the guy with a frown, then turned away and finished his order.

I stared into the swirling depths of my coffee and pushed away my disappointment. Asher was here with Amy. I shouldn’t expect anything from him now. I’d blown it with him by freaking out the other day.

“Excuse me, are you Alexa Kepler?” The man stood beside the table and smiled at me, wrinkles framing his eyes. Dad had the same ones from staring into a microscope most of his life.

I nodded. “Yes, sir. Can I help you?”

He glanced over at Coco and Asher, who were still chatting, and then back to me. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

I tilted my head at him. His salt-and-pepper hair was buzzed short, and his posture was rigid, like he had iron in his spine. Each movement was brisk and efficient. Military, even. “Have a seat.”

He slid into the booth across from me and cupped his mug between long fingers. “Alexa, my name is Timothy Grant. Major Timothy Grant. I trust you received my email the other day?”

I jumped to my feet, blood roaring in my ears. Across the room, Asher stared at me. He frowned and pulled out his phone before slipping out of the coffee shop.

Grant put a hand on mine, his voice soothing and even, drawing my attention back to him. “Lexie, please. I mean you no harm. I simply want to talk. You can walk away if you ever feel threatened.”

I felt my knees tremble as I sank back into the booth. “How did you find me?” I whispered.

His expression was grim. “Your mother’s led us on quite the chase, but eventually, we figured out where you were. I wish we’d found you before you started at QT. It would make all of this so much easier.”

I clutched the edge of the table. I hadn’t heard from Mom since Monday. “Where is she? What did you do to her?”

Grant shook his head. “Nothing. The last I heard she was in Seattle. Perfectly healthy. But I’m not here to talk about your parents, Lexie. I’m here to talk about you. I want to offer you a spot at the most prestigious scientific academy in the world. We’ve been waiting for you since you were born.”