Linkage: The Narrows of Time (8 page)

He changed the screen to show the video feed
from inside the core. He was afraid to look, but did anyway. “Oh,
no!”

“What’s wrong now?”

Drew pointed his finger at the screen. “Look,
it's gone!”

“Could you
be
a little more fucking
specific?” Lucas asked with a snarl, scooting his chair closer to
Drew’s station.

Drew wished he had his brother’s cuss word
vocabulary so he could respond in kind. Instead, he kept quiet. He
used the frame-by-frame mode to replay the video recording from
inside the chamber. They both saw that just before the E-121 and
its container disappeared, an instantaneous flash had filled the
core. It had originated as a microscopic point of light near the
center of the container, before expanding vertically and then
horizontally like a four-pointed star. A few frames later, the
brightness subsided. The E-121 and its receptacle were gone.

“Where the hell did it go?” Lucas asked.

Drew zoomed in the camera. “Beats the
shi—snot out of me.”

“What’s that shit covering the base?”

“Looks like some type of black film.”

“I need to get in there,” Lucas said. “Prep
the chamber.”

Drew flipped several riser panel switches to
power down the reactor’s subsystems.

Lucas rushed to get into the safety gear,
before snatching two electronic devices from the equipment cabinet,
and a plastic sample container from the supply cabinet.

He stepped inside the chamber, completed
decontamination procedures, and rushed back to the reactor. He
hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening the
core’s protective shield. When he looked inside, he confirmed the
reactor was empty. There was no sign of E-121 or its container,
only the black residue remained.

He used the portable multi-spectrum analyzer
from storage to scan for all known forms of radiation, but found
none. He turned to Drew and gave the thumbs down signal. Next, he
used the Radon detector to check for signs of the toxic gas. He
held up its sensor probe while walking the length of the chamber.
Once again, he gave the all clear signal to Drew. He opened the
plastic container and used his glove-covered finger as a scoop to
retrieve a sample of the black powder for Drew. He left the reactor
with the specimen in hand, completed decontamination procedures,
and changed back into his clothes.

He put the sample container on the desk in
front of his brother. “Here, don’t say I never gave you
anything.”

Drew picked up the plastic container, held it
close to his eyes, and shook it gently. “What do you think happened
to E-121?”

Lucas leaned back in his chair and rubbed the
back of his neck and shoulders. “I have no clue. Do you think we
used too much power and vaporized it?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Kleezebee’s going to be royally pissed.”

They spent the next hour checking the
available data logs, instrument readings, and video feeds.

“The answer has to be in here somewhere.”
Lucas flipped through the final few pages of data on the computer
screen. He sat back in his chair, yawned, stretched, and then
rubbed his watery eyes. When he looked back at the computer screen,
he noted a single, nonconforming data value just below the top edge
of the screen. He had almost missed it. He scrolled back a page and
found another strange value just above it. He was suddenly
wide-awake.

“Holy shit! There was a massive power spike
inside the reactor.”

“How massive?”

“According to the readings, about a trillion
times the level we were using at the time.”

“That’s not possible. You must be misreading
the values.”

“Hey, all I can tell you is what the log
says. Somehow, the reactor was hit with a huge power spike.”

Drew tilted the computer screen toward him
and stared at it for good minute, before flipping through several
of the data pages. “You’re absolutely right. The spike’s timing
does seem to coincide with E-121’s disappearance.”

Lucas had intended to see if they could
recreate the accident. However, with the discovery of the unknown
energy spike, it was going to be difficult to do. He handed the
black powder container to Drew. “Go see if Griffith can identify
this stuff.”

“Why me?”

“It’s your turn,” Lucas said, smiling. “Have
fun, little brother.”

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Lucas was leaning
back in his chair with his eyes closed when he heard Drew come
through the lab door. “What’s the verdict?”

“It doesn’t exist.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

Drew gave the container to Lucas. “It doesn’t
register at all. Griffith ran it through his mass spectrometer, but
it didn’t detect any chemical or biological compounds. It’s as
though the stuff wasn’t even there.”

“So I take it this stuff is safe?” Lucas
asked, not waiting for confirmation before opening the lid. He
retrieved some of the black substance and rubbed it around between
the tips of his fingers. It felt smooth, almost like baby powder,
but heavier. He held his fingers up to his nose and took a whiff.
“Kind of smells like . . . oranges.”

“So what’s next?” Drew asked.

Lucas reattached the container’s lid and
cleaned off his fingers with a paper towel. “I don’t know about
you, but I’m spent and can’t think straight. It’s been one brutal
night. Let’s close up shop and come back tomorrow to see if we can
figure this out before DL gets back from Washington.”

“Did you forget about the mainframe’s
servicing tonight?”

“Oh, shit, that’s right. Okay, we’ll come
back Sunday, then.”

Lucas backed up their instrument readings and
data logs onto a USB flash drive in case he wanted to review it
later. He unzipped Drew’s backpack and put the thumb drive and the
black powder container into it.

The brothers followed established shutdown
procedures for their equipment, before returning to their
apartment.

Chapter
8

Saturday, December 22

Lucas stepped out of the oversized shower
stall in their apartment, wiping himself off with a beige,
terry-cloth towel from the towel rack. He slipped on his
boxer-briefs and a pair of ankle-high white socks.

He stood in front of the cracked mirror and
watched his hands lather up his face with shaving cream. “What do
you wanna do for breakfast?” he yelled to Drew, almost smearing
some of the cream into his right eye.

“Hang on a minute, I’m on the phone,” Drew
answered from the other room.

Lucas scraped the five-bladed razor across
the middle of his chin, trying not to cut open one of his childhood
scars. The blade pulled and ripped at his stubble, reminding him to
buy replacements at the on-campus drugstore. When he finished, he
rinsed off his face, toweled it dry, and then waited for signs of
blood to appear. There were none. He ran a blast of hot water
through the blades and tapped the razor twice against the edge of
the sink.

Drew rolled into the bathroom, squeezed past
the back of Lucas’ legs, and positioned his wheelchair between the
sink and the toilet. Their apartment had an oversized handicap
accessible bathroom, its only redeeming quality. He put his shaving
kit on the edge of the sink along with a can of air freshener. The
can was shrink-wrapped with a price sticker on its side.

“Round two?” Lucas asked.

Drew laughed. “I should’ve known better than
to have those onion rings yesterday.”

“Can you hold on a minute? I just need to
brush my teeth.”

“Sorry, can’t. Something’s peeking
already.”

Lucas handed him an extra roll of toilet
paper from under the sink. “Here, you might need this.”

* * *

Ten minutes later, Lucas was on the couch
when he heard the toilet flush and smelled the air freshener. Lucas
went into the bathroom and stood next to Drew, who was washing his
hands in the sink.

“I think you need to use more of that spray.
It’s hard to breathe in here,” Lucas said, holding the shirt collar
over his nose.

“I don’t smell anything.”

“You never do.”

Lucas dodged his brother’s left arm as Drew
removed his pajama top. It was all part of his brother’s shaving
ritual. After that, Drew would spend a good ten minutes brushing
each of his teeth twenty-one times.

“Damn, how many push-ups did you do today?”
Lucas asked, seeing Drew’s pumped up biceps.

“Three hundred seventy-five, a new personal
best.”

Lucas looked at his physique in the mirror.
“I’d be lucky to do fifty. Plus it would take me all day.”

“I had a lot of extra energy today.”

“Maybe you should think about wearing a
short-sleeved shirt, to show off those guns to the ladies.”

“I don’t think so.”

Lucas flexed his right bicep while looking in
the mirror, but it was barely noticeable. “I know I would if I had
your guns. It seems like no matter how hard I try, I can’t put on
any weight. I still look like I did in eighth grade.”

“Except you’re a foot taller.”

“Seriously, dude, you should think about it.
I see major hotties checking you out all the time.”

“I doubt that. Besides, I don’t care about
them. I figure I’ve found the only girl for me.”

“Who?”

“Abby.”

“The chick from the lab?”

Drew smiled.

“Granted she’s smokin’ hot, but you just met
her. She could be a bunny-boiler for all you know. Besides, how do
you know she’s even interested?”

“Because she gave me her phone number
yesterday and I just called her. We’re meeting this morning for
coffee at the Wildcat House.”

Lucas was impressed by his brother’s
initiative, especially since Drew did not drink coffee. His brother
was more of a milk and cookies kind of guy.

“Am I invited?”

“Sure, if you want. But I think she’s only
expecting me.”

Lucas was hungry, but coffee was not his
first choice for breakfast. “Maybe I’ll just grab something
here.”

“It’s up to you. She probably won’t mind if
you join us.”

“No, you go ahead. I’m going to make some
cinnamon oatmeal. Maybe even fry up a slab of bacon,” Lucas said,
trying to flex his chest muscles in the mirror. “You might want to
bring her a gift.”

“What kind of gift?”

Lucas smiled. “Like a dozen red roses wrapped
in a big yellow bow. She obviously likes flowers since she wears
them in her hair.”

“I don’t know. That sounds expensive. Can’t I
just get her something small?”

“Maybe a box of chocolates?”

“I’ll think about it,” Drew said, thumbing
through the dust inside his wallet. “When Mom calls later, be sure
to find out what the cardiologist said.”

“Do you really think you’ll be gone that
long?”

Drew grinned. “You never know.”

* * *

Drew waited for the shuttle driver to
retrieve his wheelchair from the bumper rack. After getting in his
chair, he thanked the driver and tipped him a dollar, not knowing
if gratuity was appropriate or if the amount were sufficient. Lucas
normally took care of fetching his wheelchair from the rack, so
tipping the driver was uncharted territory. Either way, the buck
was all he could spare.

He made his way along the sidewalk next to
the science lab. To his right was a flower garden flush with mums,
pansies, petunias, and some other flowers he did not recognize.
Perhaps the botany department was experimenting with some new type
of flora. He strolled next to the flowerbed, reached down, and
snapped off one of the more radiant red flowers. He placed it
across his lap, then un-tucked his shirt and used it to hide the
gift. He resumed his trip, entering the west end of the Student
Union where he rode the elevator up two levels and found Abby
sitting at a table near the front of the Wildcat House restaurant.
She was wearing a low-cut pink sweater and jeans. In front of her
were two jumbo-sized Styrofoam cups of coffee and a plate of
chocolate chip muffins.

She smiled when they made eye contact. Drew
blushed. She stood up and walked over to greet him, wrapping her
arms around his shoulders for a tight hug. Drew wanted to hug her
back, but missed the opportunity when she let go before he could
act. She looked into his eyes, as if he needed to say something.
“Wow, it’s nice in here,” he said loud enough for everyone to
hear—not what he expected his lips to say.

“Haven’t you been in here before?” she
asked.

“No. We always eat in the cafeteria on the
first floor.”

“Well, then, I guess it’s up to me to show
you all the hot spots,” she said, handing him one of the cups of
coffee as he reached the cozy, two-person table. “I love this
place.”

He put the cup on the table before sliding
his wheelchair under the edge. He was sitting directly across from
her, only an arm’s length away. He wasn’t sure if the time was
right, but couldn’t wait any longer. He reached under his shirt to
retrieve the red flower, then gave it to her. “This is for
you.”

“Oh Drew, it’s so beautiful. Thank you sooooo
much. Nobody has ever given me flowers before.”

Drew smiled but didn’t respond.

“What kind of flower is it?”

“I really don’t know. But when I saw it, it
made me think of you. It’s breathtaking.” He wasn’t sure where
those words came from, but he actually sounded smooth and charming,
as if he’d done this before. Lucas would be proud of him.

Abby gently hugged the flower across her
chest. She stood up, came to his side of the table, and then hugged
him again, though this time she lingered much longer. A second
chance, he thought. Don’t mess up. He wrapped his arms around her,
finding her tiny body soft and inviting. The warmth of her sweet
breathe caressed his neck and her perfume was intoxicating. He was
in heaven. He prayed she’d never let go, but she did.