3:59

THIRTY-NINE

3:22 P.M.

WALKING INTO DR. BYRNE’S OFFICE WAS LIKE walking into a tomb.

It wasn’t the lab where she and Nick’s brother had conducted the experiment, of that Josie was sure. It wasn’t big enough, for starters, and lacked a full lab setup. This was strictly an office: desk, chairs, bookcases, file cabinet, framed diplomas on the wall. All perfectly normal.

Josie didn’t have much time before Richard might get suspicious. There was no way the findings of the investigation would be locked away in Dr. Byrne’s office, but maybe Josie could find something else that might hint at what happened to the X-FEL that day? It was her only shot. She had to think: Where would Dr. Byrne keep important information about her projects?

The locked file cabinet was the obvious choice. Six feet tall with four enormous drawers, it probably had experimental notes going back a decade or more. But that would be more of a reference for Dr. Byrne. Not an easily accessible source of information. No, that would be in her desk.

Josie sat down and opened the large bottom drawer. It was lined with hanging file folders containing the most recent notes and findings. Okay, this was a start. But what exactly was she looking for? A filed marked “How to openly sabotage an X-FEL” was probably a stretch.

Josie flipped through a few files. The names were all innocuous: “calibrations,” “beam tests,” “Jo’s school projects.”

“Jo’s school projects?” Josie said out loud. That didn’t sound right. Josie glanced at the framed photo of Jo and Dr. Byrne on the desk. As far as Josie could tell, Jo wasn’t exactly an academic.

With a trembling hand, Josie pulled the file from the drawer.

The first thing she noticed was that the file was full of chat transcripts. Printed out conversations between two anonymous screen names: xa929 and drtr000. There were no personal references—no names, no genders, no job descriptions—and as Josie read through them, she quickly understood why.

xa929: $200 million is the final offer

drtr000: Accepted

xa929: When can we expect delivery of the product?

drtr000: After the first test, I shall deliver the product the following day as soon as I have confirmation that the money has been wired into my account

xa929: How will you obtain the product?

drtr000: Not your concern

xa929: Understood

Holy shit.

A “product” sold to the highest bidder.

Had Josie just stumbled across proof that Tony Fiorino’s experiment had been sabotaged?

4:45 P.M.

Nick loosened his tie as he sped back to Bowie. “And you’re sure that’s what you saw?”

“Positive.”

“Two hundred million dollars.” Nick whistled. “That’s enough to kill for.”

“I wonder who they were selling to?” Josie wondered out loud.

“A foreign power, a private company.” Nick ran his fingers through his hair. “Hell, maybe even the Grid. Everyone and their mom would want exclusive ownership of a way to get rid of the Nox.”

Josie nodded. “A traitor. There was a traitor working on Project Raze.” She paused, and looked right at Nick. “It could be anyone,” she said. “Anyone with access to the laser.”

“Even Dr. Byrne herself,” Nick said.

“Would she really keep transcripts of her own illegal activities in her desk drawer?” Josie asked. Seemed like a bonehead move.

“Maybe.” Nick shrugged. “If she felt like she was about to get caught, she could always pretend to be a whistle-blower.”

Josie nodded. “Yeah, that could make sense.”

Nick set his jaw. “If it’s true,” he said slowly, “if she’s responsible for my brother’s death, she’d better pray she never comes back here.”

3:59 A.M.

“NO!”

There’s a crash and a bang from the kitchen, then the violent sound of breaking glass. Jo runs down the hall to the kitchen and stops short at the door.

Her mom is ripping the kitchen apart. She opens every cupboard, every drawer, and pulls their contents out. She examines everything, then drops them on the floor. She dumps boxes of cereal and pasta on the counter. Canisters of flour, sugar, and who knows what else are poured unceremoniously on the table. Plates and silverware, condiments and tea bags—she’s tearing the room apart.

After every inch of the kitchen has been ravaged, her mom leans on the counter, her back to Jo.

“Mom?” Jo asks.

She doesn’t turn around, just continues to lean on her elbows, head hung low, panting.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s gone,” she says, her voice little more than a croak. “I’ve lost it.”

“What?” Jo asks gently. She’s never seen her mom like this.

“I put it in the one place no one would look for it. But now . . .” Her mom babbles on like she doesn’t hear anything. “If it’s back there, I . . . we have nothing. It was our future here.”

“Um, okay,” Jo says. “Then we’ll just go back and get it.” She tries to keep the excitement out of her voice.

Her mom swings around suddenly and storms up to Jo, grabbing her fiercely by the shoulders. “We can’t go back. Do you hear me?” She shakes Jo violently. “We can never go back.”

Jo breaks free. “Why not?”

“The explosion,” she says. “Tony’s dead. You said it yourself.”

“Mom, I don’t understand.”

“The experiment was sabotaged and I disappeared with the last of the formula. See?”

Jo stiffens. This is why Nick hates me.

“There will be a warrant out for my arrest,” her mom continues, a panicked look in her eyes. “And the Grid will be after me as well.”

“We’ll fix it. We’ll have him fix it.” I have to go back. I have to explain this to Nick.

Her mom releases her grasp and turns toward the window, planting her hands on the counter. “We cannot go back. Ever.”

Josie was smiling before she even opened her eyes. Short of a dream showing her the way home, this was the best thing that could have happened. She pulled off the sleep mask and calmly climbed out of bed. She knew what Dr. Byrne had lost. And more importantly, she knew where to find it.

For the first time in days, Josie could see the light in the darkness.