Absolute Mercury, page 10
“She told me about her accident.”
“Really?” That was a surprise. “She doesn’t remember it. What did she say?”
“That she was five, her friend’s mom was driving them to dance class and hit some ice, and someone else hit ice, and the cars collided. But she said they did this.” He made a smashing noise and slammed his curled hands together, throwing them up in a classic explosion move.
“Did she tell you her friend died?”
“What? No. Damn. That explains it, though.” He went quiet for a moment. “She’s kinda brilliant huh?”
“Yeah. She was always smart, but too young to measure how, you know? She had really long rehab, and in some ways her brain works so fast, but then it’s like it runs up against a wall that wasn’t there before, and she gets frustrated. It can be…”
“Yeah.”
Shit. Oliver heard it in his voice. “She had an episode?”
“Not exactly. I don’t know. I mean, your mom told me what to look for, and it wasn’t that. She just got really jittery. Slowly, like it grew on her without either of us noticing. Then she started talking really fast about stuff I couldn’t catch.” He rotated his hands palms up. “I couldn’t get her to focus on me or answer questions but when I started replying as if we were having a conversation—you know the way some people do with babies and dogs? She laughed and snapped out of it, playing pretend with me. Then she asked for a Coke. Which I did not give her. I get hyped on half a can of that stuff, and she’s the size of my pinkie.”
Oliver took a deep breath and let it out. “Thanks, man. I mean it. She’s unique, and not everyone handles that well. Especially a guy who’s—”
“Do not make a disparaging reference to my age, please.”
He snorted and turned down Casey and Mercury’s street. “Fine. But really. You have earned a lot of cred with me. Makes up for your annoying jerkiness the other day.”
Casey winced. “I thought I apologized for that.”
“We’ll call it even.” Oliver pulled into the driveway and put up his fist. Casey bumped it, then frowned.
“Dayum. We talked all about Dani and I didn’t get any dirt about the light wall thing.”
“Mercury will tell you.”
Casey threw open the door and gave a long, loud, very fake laugh. “You don’t know my sister.”
“We’ll see.” He chuckled. “Night, man. And thanks again.”
“Sure. See you at school. Night.” He closed the door, and Oliver watched him go up to the front door and let himself in. He’d hoped to see Mercury again, but there was no way to do that without being all obvious about it. She wasn’t anywhere in sight, and he reminded himself that she had been really tired. Maybe she was in bed already.
He turned back around and prepared for whatever talk his parents insisted on having about this whole thing. He probably should be more concerned about it, but he really wanted to get involved with their studies of Emory. Or EE1952. He’d call her that if that Dr. Jacobs guy was would be more informative. He didn’t seem all that excited about telling them anything, but then would come out with information almost reluctantly. Mostly when he had to explain why they were wrong. Yeah, that would be useful.
The problem was that he didn’t know exactly why he wanted to be involved. Curiosity? The chance to be part of some cool shit no one else was part of? Sharing something with Mercury that he alone could share?
Falling for her.
Those words had come from his brain. Or some other part of him. But it couldn’t be true. It wasn’t supposed to happen. How did he stop it?
Did he really want to stop it?
Everyone was in the kitchen, opening pizza boxes at the table, when he got home.
“I thought you already ate dinner,” he said to Dani.
“Mom said I can have one slice. Mmmmm.” She chomped into a slice with spinach, feta cheese, and mushrooms.
“Gross.” He sat and slid three slices of meat-lover’s onto a plate. “So you had fun with Casey, huh?”
“Yeah. He’s perfect.” She sighed. But when Oliver opened his mouth to warn her off a crush on a guy twice her age, she put up a hand. “Stop. He’s gay.”
“Yeah, I think I got a vibe between him and our running back,” he said without thinking.
His mom slapped his hand. “You’d better be careful about saying things like that. You don’t know if they’re out and what would happen at school.”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t ever say anything, you know that. In public,” he had to add, since he’d just said it.
“So the O’Briens let their fifteen-year-old date?” His father folded his plain-cheese slice in half.
“I don’t know, Dad. It’s not my business. And Mercury isn’t fifteen,” he groused, knowing where this was leading.
“Son.” He set the pizza on his plate. “We talked about this.”
“And I told you I don’t want to get involved with anyone this year. How many times do I have to say it?”
“I think you should stop, because it’s obviously not true. There is a lot of energy between you two.”
Oliver choked on a piece of pepperoni and grabbed for his glass of water. “Dad.”
He chuckled. “Sorry. Double meaning. But that’s my point. It was already problematic to be attracted to a teammate, to get involved with someone who could impact your future the way she could. And that goes both ways. Declan told me she’s interested in officiating, and that’s an intense path that requires a lot of focus.”
Oliver didn’t say anything. He kept eating his pizza, knowing his thoughts would be visible, even if he didn’t say the words. Sarah Thomas, the first female NFL official, had three kids. It wasn’t like they weren’t allowed to have lives. But mentioning kids would totally set his father off. He could also point out that they’d raised him to be supportive and considerate and shit like that. He didn’t want to live his life all about him.
“Now there’s this Emory thing, and whether or not you end up giving them what they’re asking for, it doubles the complication.”
“Emory, like my school?” Dani asked. She’d been avidly listening, kicking her feet below her chair. The fact that her feet barely reached the floor made him feel like they shouldn’t talk about this stuff in front of her, but he was trying to stop treating her like she was a baby—her words.
“What’s the most unusual thing about your school, Dan?” He made himself take another bite of his pizza, even though he wasn’t feeling hungry anymore. “Different from any other school you’ve ever been in?”
She chewed slowly, thinking. “No other school has ever had a pet snake.”
His eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Yeah, Bruno. He’s a young boa. They feed him mice. Thawed from the freezer mostly, but sometimes little bitty alive white ones. He’s too small to hurt us, so I get to hold him, and—”
She went on for several minutes about Bruno, completely distracted from asking Emory questions. Once she was done eating her slice, which took longer because of the snake chatter, she obeyed Mom’s order to go get ready for bed, leaving Oliver right back where he hadn’t wanted to be.
“Oliver, I agree with your father about Mercury, but we know it’s not up to us. We can just give you advice and hope whatever you do, things work out.”
Relieved, he thanked her. Too soon.
“This Emory thing, though…” She met his father’s eyes, and Dad nodded. She slid her plate to the side and folded her hands on the table. “Again, as that lawyer woman pointed out, you are eighteen and can proceed without our blessing. So we’re not going to withhold it. I think you heard all of our concerns in the car.”
“I did.” Over and over.
“I’m also aware, as someone who works in a scientific field, that having an internship with XyMass on your record can open a lot of doors to your future. So it’s not all negative.”
That tracked with what he’d been thinking. “I want to go back tomorrow and see the anomaly. I mean, it’s pretty amazing, right?” His mind blew again, a little bit. “Interdimensional energy, Ma.”
“You’re aware of the Fantastic Four, right?” his father joked.
“That was cosmic energy,” he joked back. “Totally different. And Mercury’s parents work with it. They wouldn’t let Mercury near it if it was that dangerous.”
His mom sighed. “Yeah, they assured us of that. Holly’s not convinced she wants Mercury involved with it, either, but she’s also really excited about a possible breakthrough. I could tell. So I can’t go by that. Still.” She grabbed Dad’s hand, and they both looked at him. “Let’s go see what happens tomorrow and take it one day at a time. Okay?”
“Okay.” Oliver hadn’t felt anything this close to happiness…well, since yesterday on the football field, actually. Everything was jumbled right now. They’d done so much it felt like a long time since he almost hit the wall. Part of him was afraid tomorrow would be a let-down. But that would be okay. Then they’d just go back to the way things were three days ago.
Well, better than that. Because they had a lot more football to win.
Chapter Thirteen
Mercury had had to cancel meeting Autumn and Molly in the library yesterday, so she pushed to go to XyMass early so she had time to see them Sunday afternoon, instead. But when her mother woke her up at seven to say they had to be back at XyMass at eight again, she wanted to punch herself in the face.
Her sleep had been better. After a fruitless attempt at getting her parents to talk about Emory, she’d gone right to bed. She didn’t remember dreaming or waking up in the night, but now, even after a shower and coffee, she was still tired.
“Hey, Perkyface.” Casey walked around the kitchen island where she sat hunched over her second cup. “Where’s Mom?” He squinted at her, hand curled around the refrigerator door handle. “Why do you look like one of Trinity’s trophies?”
“Shut up.” She ran a hand down her face. Their cat had a contained area outside that she couldn’t get out of, but small critters occasionally got into. She played with them. Never killed or ate them, but messed them around and then carried them inside to show off. They looked battered and dazed and probably exactly how she looked right now. “Mom went back upstairs to finish getting dressed. We’re leaving in five minutes.”
Casey dropped bread into the toaster and pushed the lever down. “They wouldn’t tell me anything last night, and you were already asleep after Oliver drove me home. I was very disappointed.” He leaned on his elbows across the marble from her. “So what’s the anomaly?”
“Interdimensional energy.”
“Whoa.” He reared back, and she could practically see his mind racing. “But that’s it? Just energy? How did energy—”
“No one knows how it got to the field. They talked about vibrations and resonance being necessary for consciousness or whatever. Oliver didn’t tell you anything?” She would have expected Casey to pester him, but whether he would have said anything or not, she didn’t know.
Casey shrugged. “I didn’t get a chance to ask. We mostly talked about Dani. And I figured he’d signed an NDA and you were my best bet for deets.” He grabbed the orange juice carton he’d taken out of the fridge and chugged.
“They didn’t make us sign anything yet, but no, they don’t want us to talk about it.” She told him about entrance Z and the mention of outside interests.
“Well, shit.” He lowered the carton, then took one final swallow and chucked it in the trash can. “If you’re in danger, then I’m in danger. They’ll take me for leverage, as the most important person in your life that you’d do anything for.”
“Sure.” She smiled. “And I’ll give them whatever they want to keep you safe.”
“Phew.” He slumped in fake relief. “Thank you. You’re a good big sister.”
“The best.” Footsteps upstairs told her she was almost out of time. “Anyway, Oliver and I vibrate at the same frequency, and it’s the same as Emory—that’s the energy bleed—and they think that kind of woke her up, and now they want to see if our presence lets them do what they’ve been trying to do—and failing—for decades. She’s the whole reason Xyland exists and that’s pretty much it.”
Mom walked into the kitchen. Casey snapped his mouth shut but not before she saw it hanging open while he stared at Mercury. She winced and braced herself, but Mom only sighed and gave them both a knowing look.
“Doesn’t leave this house,” she warned Casey. “Any of it. Ever.”
“Duh.” He turned around to check his toast, which had popped up a while ago. “Ugh. Cold.” He flipped it and popped it back down. “So it’s not going to turn Mercury and Oliver into mutants?” There was an edge of actual concern in the words.
“No,” Mom said firmly. “At least, it’s never turned anyone else into a mutant.”
“Greeeaaaat.” Mercury downed the rest of her coffee.
“Hey, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” Casey rallied. “You could be like Storm. Control the weather.”
“Or I could be like Rogue and can’t touch anyone.” She slid off the stool and stifled a yawn. Maybe it had already started, and her mutant power was going to be sleeping. “Let’s go get this over with. I need to meet up with Autumn and Molly later, go over this big assignment.” It was a lame excuse. Hopefully her mother didn’t realize that the three of them didn’t have any shared classes.
She fell asleep in the car. The rattle of the gate at entrance Z woke her, and she wasn’t surprised to see a couple of security people outside the gate this time, watching for them. It had been two days now since the video got out, and the longer it was out there, the greater the chance of someone seeing it.
“Who exactly are they worried about, and what do they think they’ll do?”
“There are actually a couple of other anomalies around the world just like this one, and everyone is proprietary about their control of it. We’re all carefully spying on each other to see if anyone has a breakthrough. No one ever has.”
“That doesn’t answer the question,” she pointed out, but her mother just shrugged. “Why can’t you all just share the data?”
“We do, to an extent. Garfield and Felicia meet with their counterparts once a year. No one believes everyone is sharing everything, but honestly, I think the only thing we haven’t shared is that there’s nothing else to share.”
“Until now.”
“Until now.”
The gate finished pulling back and the lethal spikes thumped into the ground. The speaker crackled with the order to proceed, and her mother drove in, following the blue line to where a few other cars were already parked. No one was in them, so it looked like they were the last ones here.
“What’s the goal?” It seemed pretty obvious to her, though. “Just some new energy source to make XyMass billions more dollars?”
“That was originally Henry’s expectation, but we’ve let go of that possibility. We don’t think it generates enough, even if we found a way to harness it. It’s become pure science, but now…” She cleared her throat. “Theories are in the earliest stages with the new information we have. It’s like we’re starting fresh, and the possibilities are endless again.”
Mercury didn’t like everything riding on her. “If nothing comes of this, are you going to lose your job?”
Mom laughed. “No, sweetie. I work on a lot more projects than this. You don’t have to worry about that.” She reached over and put a reassuring hand on Mercury’s knee. “Adam may not have seemed like it yesterday, but there’s no pressure here. The fate of the world, the company, my job—and your dad’s—none of it rides on your involvement with the Emory project.”
“Okay.” That made her feel a little better. They got out of the car and walked to meet Felicia, who was holding the door open for them. She was practically bouncing in excitement.
“Good morning! Thank you so much for coming back, Mercury. How was your night?”
They started down the dim hallway.
“It was all right.”
Felicia studied her for a few steps. “You still look tired, though.”
She shrugged. Nothing she could do about that right now. They crossed into the office section they were in yesterday. It was much quieter than the day before, with only a couple of people working, and the other spaces were empty.
“So, we did get the internship idea approved,” Felicia told them, her stride quick. “If you and Oliver agree, we can get the paperwork and structure set up early this week and determine a schedule for you to come in. I’ll oversee the administration of it and some write-ups for your college applications.”
“You’re getting a little ahead of things, Felicia,” Mom said. “We don’t even know if all of that will be worth the effort.”
“Well, yes, but it’s better to get started so we don’t have to delay progress.” They’d reached that half-circle space but instead of taking them to the secure elevator or through the doors to the medical wing, Felicia went to the secure door with the keypad and screen. She pressed a button, and a man’s face appeared on the screen. He looked intimidating but smiled when he saw Felicia.
“Morning! You got the rest of our gang?”
“Good morning, Fredo. I do.”
“Great. Let’s get started.” He looked away from the screen and did something Mercury couldn’t see. The keypad beeped, flashing blue, and Felicia tapped out a code. Then she stepped back and centered herself in front of the door. The camera above the door emitted a beam of light at Felicia’s face. The pad on the door itself lit up. She typed in another code and pressed her thumb to a small square. Then she went back to the unit on the wall and leaned forward, pressing her forehead to a ridge at the top. The door clicked three times, each one deeper than before, like each lock was bigger or heavier. Felicia pulled it open and stepped through. Mercury made a move to follow, but the door closed behind the woman.
“We go through individually,” her mom told her. “You have to get entered into the system. And you have to be standing here alone to do it, so the data doesn’t get contaminated. Fredo will walk you through it.”
