Page 19 of Saint

“Let’s go,” said Gabi. The two women went running toward the ATV to head to the labs.

“Wait for me!” yelled Adam, running after them.

“I don’t understand any of that, but if it helps that woman and all these people find out why they are the way they are, then I’m all for it,” said Saint.

“Hey, Luke, Hex, where’s Ryan and Doug?” asked Pigsty.

“Probably still out at G.R.I.P.,” grinned Hex. “We do have trackers on everyone, you know.”

“I know,” he said. “But it’s close to dinner, so I thought they’d be here.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Luke.

“Nothing. I mean, I don’t think so anyway. The DOD has left four messages on the G.R.I.P. client line asking for the new device to be demonstrated in person in D.C. by the end of next week or they stop the contract.”

“Fine,” said Hex. “Stop the damn contract. We don’t need them. We’ll keep the shit for ourselves.”

“What is it they’re working on?” asked Luke. Pigsty shrugged as Doug and Ryan walked up, both men laughing along with Paige. “Hey, what is this last contract that you’re working on for the DOD?”

“Why?” asked Paige.

“They’re creating quite a fuss about it being demonstrated live in D.C.,” said Luke.

“Well, it’s pretty complicated, but essentially, it will identify radiation not in the electromagnetic spectrum before it spreads.”

Everyone stood still, staring from one person to another.

“What did I say?” asked Paige.

“Paige, is this identifying radiation that could possibly appear as pink?” She nodded, pursing her lips.

“Well, yes. I suppose that would be one thing. There are lots of devices that detect radiation as it’s leaking or already exposed, but some believe the release of pink radiation is more difficult to detect. Especially the complex electromagnetic fields of blue and red that were used about fifty years ago. Those types of radiation didn’t prove effective in devices.”

“What about humans?” whispered Hex.

“Humans?” frowned Ryan. “Humans can’t survive exposure to large amounts of any radiation.”

“Even pink?” asked Luke.

“I-I’m not sure,” said Ryan. “I think I would need to consult with medical and maybe Thomas.”

“Ryan? I’m asking you to dig into this big time. Find out what the fuck might be causing all these people to have these skills, including our geniuses, after they were exposed to what they believe was pink dust or possible pink crystallization.”

“Holy shit.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Pigsty? Who is the person in charge of this contact at the DOD?” asked Cam.

“Michelle Fryar. Chief of Defense Technology. Sounds like a made-up title to me,” he said, shrugging.

“Has she ever managed a contract for the DOD and us before?” asked Luke. Pigsty pecked away on his computer and shook his head.

“Never. In fact, she took over this project about a year ago. It’s been in the works for nearly three years now.”

“Three years,” frowned Cam. “Isn’t that when Kane said they started noticing more invasions in their area?”

“Yep,” grimaced Luke as he rubbed his knee. They all looked at him with a smirk.

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