“What?”
“I think Dr. Pillay is—” Everett cocked his head to the side. “What is that?”
Langston realized Everett could hear Peter and the Wolf. “Mute,” he called out. The music stopped. “What’s up?”
“I think Dr. Pillay might be doing something a little crooked.”
Langston leaned on his elbows toward the screen. “Why?”
“That last day at work, I was in the supply room. Almost everyone else had gone home, but I wanted to finish up. You know how I keep telling Cody to stop stacking cardboard boxes in the aisle?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, his dumb ass stacked the boxes in the aisle. Of course I ran into them, and like a million pipettes fell on the floor. So I’m on my hands and knees in the back, trying to pick up these things. Then the door opens, and I hear Dr. Pillay arguing with some woman.”
“What woman?”
Everett shrugged. “I could barely see her from where I was. She was wearing orange. That’s all I could tell.”
“What were they saying?”
“Of course the heater kicked in, and it was blowing all loud through the vent.” Everett rolled his eyes. “So I’m straining to hear, right? Dr. Pillay said something about his ‘cut.’ He was really ticked off, and so was the woman. I could see her arm, and she was poking him in the chest with her finger.”
“You didn’t see her face at all?”
Everett shook his head, and Langston stared down at his keyboard, thinking. On the last day before he left for Christmas vacation, the woman in Dr. Pillay’s office had been wearing orange. A crackling sound made him look up. Everett was unwrapping a candy cane.
“Did you hear anything else?” Langston asked.
“Dr. Pillay said something like, ‘My cut should be bigger because I’m taking a bigger risk.’”
Langston furrowed his brow. “His cut?”
Everett stared at Langston intensely. “He said ‘nanobots,’ Langston. I don’t know what he said about them, but I definitely heard ‘nanobots.’”
Everett gnawed on the end of the candy cane loudly while Langston tried to make sense of this.
“I saw her,” Langston said. “I saw her that same day, and she saw me. Called me ‘William.’”
Everett slowly took the candy out of his mouth. “Who’s William?”
“No idea.”
“This is getting weird.”
“They were in his office, and it looked like they were having a disagreement there, too. I tried to figure out who she was, but all I got was a name.”
“You got her name?”
Langston grimaced. “Yeah.”
“Tell me you didn’t.”
“What? It’s just so easy.”
“You’re going to hack into someone’s computer one day and really mess up, Langston.”
“I know.”
“You gotta stop doing that, dude. For real.”
“I know!”
Everett took a deep breath and popped the candy back in his mouth, letting it hang on his bottom lip like a curvy cigarette. “You checked his email?”
“Calendar,” Langston said. “Antoinette Grayson. No company name. No contact info.”
“Antoinette Grayson?” Everett made a face. “What kind of name is that?”
Langston shrugged and drummed his fingers on the desk. “Do you think that had something to do with why NRAI was pulled?”
Everett lifted his eyebrows. “I don’t know what’s going on. You think we can get anything out of Dana? She likes us.”
Langston liked Dr. Pillay’s secretary, but felt uneasy about broaching the subject with her. “I think we need to keep this to ourselves for now.”
Everett looked up abruptly. “I think my sister’s here. She said she might come by. Talk to you later?”
“Yeah.”
Everett reached toward the screen. His image froze, then Langston’s screen returned to the desktop.
Langston went back to the workroom. “Play track two.”
The room filled with Bach’s “Suite No. 1.” Instead of resuming work, Langston stood in front of the suit form, staring at it, but not really seeing it. He mechanically reached for the resonator on the workbench and let it rattle around in his relaxed fist like dice, thinking.
“You look beautiful,” Langston said.
Jade wore a colorful top, fitted black jeans, and heels. Her hair was up, and her cinnamon cheeks sparkled with glittery blush.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “You look nice, too.”
I better look nice, he thought. I changed clothes four times.
“Thanks.” Langston held out his hand. “Ready?”
She took it. “Ready.” She looked at him as they waited for the elevator. “How’s your arm?”
He rolled his shoulders back. “It’s feeling better. Not great, but better. My headache’s finally gone.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” She looked in her purse for a second, then closed it. “My classmate said there’s going to be ’90s music tonight.”
“Yep. I heard the DJ was good. And there are going to be two cover bands, too.”
“Sounds like fun.”
The elevator doors opened, and Langston smiled. “We are going to have a very good night.”
Langston and Jade stayed in the middle of the crowded dance floor at The Spotlight, a downtown rooftop club, for almost three hours. The thump of the bass, the flickering lights, the undulating glowing crowd… Langston was practically hypnotized by the churning room. Everyone’s arms and necks were luminescent with multicolored glow sticks, creating spectral ribbons of color.
Jade swiveled her hips while Langston tried to keep up with her moves. Everett had once told him that he danced like the characters from A Charlie Brown Christmas. However, Jade, being the gracious companion she was, didn’t seem bothered by his epileptic shimmying. It was the first time he’d let loose on a dance floor, and he was having a lively time. It all went well until he started doing the Running Man to Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly.” When his elbow jabbed another dancer’s head, he decided to take a break.
“It’s getting hot,” Langston shouted over the music. He pointed to the bar, questioningly. Jade nodded, and they danced off the floor. He ordered a shot of marshmallow-flavored vodka for her and a beer for himself, and they sat at a table in a dim corner.
“The DJ is amazing!” she said.
“See? I told you we’d have fun.”
Jade dug in her tiny black purse for her phone. “Let’s take a picture.”
She popped up from her seat and sat in his lap. Langston panicked immediately. Be cool, man. Stay strong, he thought. His hands hovered around her hips, then up to her shoulders, then back down. Jade grabbed his hands and wrapped them around her waist, before pressing her cheek against his and holding up the phone.
“Cheese!” she said.
Langston looked up just in time to be blinded by the flash. Jade checked the photo and laughed. “Oh, Langston.”
In the picture, he was smiling with his eyes closed.
“I’m going to fix my makeup, and we’ll take another one.” She got up. “Be right back.”
Langston watched her walk to the back before turning his attention to the dance floor. That’s when he saw her.
A dark-haired woman was standing on the dance floor. Though she was among exuberant dancers, she wasn’t moving at all or sporting the glowing accessories everyone else was wearing. She faced him squarely, and though he couldn’t see her face clearly, he was certain she was the same woman he’d seen from the flower shop. Rise and shine, Langston.
He rose out of his seat slowly and waited for her to do something, anything, but she just stood there, unmoving. She stepped forward, and Langston remembered the night he was shot, the arm from the car window slowly extending and pointing a gun right at him.
He glanced down at her hands. She didn’t appear to be holding anything, but he took a step backward
anyway. She moved in his direction, and Langston did an about-face and ran to the back of the club. He burst into the ladies bathroom. Two inebriated, scantily clad girls squealed and burst into laughter.
“There’s a boy in here!” one girl said.
“If you’re looking for a good time, you’ve come to the right place, cutie,” the other said.
Jade was at the mirror, holding lip gloss. “Langston?”
Langston grabbed her purse off the counter and started toward the door. “Let’s go.”
“Let’s go? Why?”
Langston could hear her heels clicking behind him as she tried to catch up.
“We gotta go,” he said, reaching back for her hand. He felt for her, but didn’t made contact. When he turned, she was standing outside of the bathroom with her arms crossed, giving him that I’m-not-doing-anything-until-you-answer-me look. She held out her hand.
Langston glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see his nightmare right behind him. Boo!
“We have to get out of here,” he said, handing the purse over. “Seriously.”
“Why? You were fine a minute ago.”
“I know.” Langston was now trying to nudge her toward the exit. “But it’s not safe here anymore.”
“Why isn’t it safe here?”
“That lady is here.”
“What lady?”
“The one I told you about from my nightmare.” Nudge. “The scary one who screams.” Nudge. “She’s here, and we need to go.”
“Okay, that’s it.” Jade raised her hands then let them fall to her sides. “I was willing to let that weird thing you did the other day go. Johnny said you were cool, and I thought you were like, normal, but I cannot do this.” Jade stomped her foot. “Every time I start liking someone, they turn out to be totally nutso. What is it, Langston? Come on, full disclosure. What is it? Bipolar? Schizophrenia? Pain pills? Crack?” She frowned. “Are you on crack?”
“No!”
“It’s got to be something! Normal people don’t act like this.”
“I’m not on drugs.”
“You were fine before. Now a woman from your dream is chasing you. Do you hear yourself?” She spoke slowly. “A woman from a dream is chasing you. Does that sound logical to you?”
Langston looked down the hallway. “I… I mean… she was here.”
“Really?” Jade pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “Where was she?”
“On the dance—”
“What was she wearing?”
“I didn’t see—”
“Did she say anything?”
“I wasn’t that close.”
Now it was Jade’s turn to nudge. She pushed him down the hall and back into the crowd. “Okay, Langston,” she said, when they’d gotten to the bar. “Show her to me. Point her out. Go ahead.”
Langston scanned the dance floor, the stage, and craned to look out onto the terrace where a few people were.
“You don’t see her, do you?” Jade asked.
He shook his head.
“That’s because she’s not real.”
Langston inhaled and exhaled slowly. “I know it sounds irrational, but there was a woman here, and she reminded me of the woman in my dream. She was just standing there being weird.”
“You’re calling someone weird? You, who kissed me then ran off. You, who stares at potted palm trees. And do not even get me started on the fact that someone supposedly chased and shot you for no apparent reason.”
“It was a ficus tree, actually.”
“Focus, Langston!” Jade slapped the bar for emphasis. “Who gets chased and shot accidentally? Seriously. Or maybe you didn’t. Maybe you did it to yourself!”
“Okay, okay.” Langston reached out and took her hands. “I’m sorry. I know this is…”
“Strange? Stupid? Scary?” Jade offered. “Yes, Langston. It’s all those things!”
It was then that he noticed she had tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “Please don’t be upset.”
“It’s New Year’s!” Jade shouted. “I told myself, no more shitty New Year’s! Now look.”
Langston checked his watch. 11:47. He nodded toward the terrace. “I think we both need some fresh air.”
They walked out into the cold night air, and Jade hugged herself to keep warm. Swanky fire pits dotted the terrace, and they walked to one at the far end, away from the music speakers. They didn’t sit. Instead, they stood by the fire, overlooking the twinkling, Seattle city lights in silence.
“I didn’t mean to call you a crackhead,” Jade said quietly. “And if you do have a mental illness, I’m sorry.”
Langston smiled. “No apology necessary. I deserved it. I promised I’d be on my best behavior, and I freaked out again.”
Jade sniffed.
“We’ve talked,” Langston said, turning away from the city so that he could see her face. “But we haven’t really talked, you know? I like you—a lot—and I want you to like me, too.” He hesitated. “You want full disclosure so… here it is.”
He looked back at the beautiful skyline, the half-moon hanging bright against the velvety black sky.
“I’m trying to figure out this whole life thing, Jade, and I swear it’s getting more complicated by the day. I’m pissed because my advisor at Bronze Leaf is a jerk. He yanked a project that I was very much invested in without any consideration for my interests. Because I don’t technically need it for my dissertation, there isn’t a lot I can say to make him change his mind.” Langston scratched his head. “So now I’m having the same recurring nightmare I used to have as a kid, and I haven’t been getting enough rest. I’m worried about what that means. Like, am I really crazy? And how would I even know if mental illness runs in my family? No one can tell me anything about my birth parents except that my mom was fifteen years old when she had me. That’s it.” He looked at Jade. “Someone did chase me, and they were trying to hurt me.”
Langston sat on the edge of the large stone fire pit. He was tired. He wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and pull the covers over his head.
“So,” Jade said. “If I hang out with you, am I putting myself in danger?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She sighed loudly and plopped down beside him. “And the woman?”
“I know I sound off, but I did see her… and she was the woman from my dream. And this isn’t the first time I’ve seen her, like in real life. I don’t know what this means, and I’m petrified that you’re going to walk away and think badly about me, and I don’t want that.”
He stared down at his shoes. He could see, peripherally, that she was looking at him and wanted to ask what she was thinking, but was afraid of what she’d say. The muted music from inside and the ambient noise of the city settled around them.
“Maybe we should go,” Jade said.
That was it, then. He’d put himself out there, and this is what he got. Langston got up, and they headed back into the building to get their coats.
The crowd started chanting. “Ten… nine… eight!”
Langston looked up and saw the projected numbers on a wall. He kept walking through the tight knot of people until he felt Jade’s hand on his.
“Wait,” she said.
He waited for her to speak. They just looked at each other as the crowd continued to shout.
“Five… four… three… two… one! Happy New Year!”
Noisemakers resounded erratically as “Auld Lang Syne” played and people cheered. Langston took his hand out of hers. “It’s okay. You don’t have to—”
Jade grabbed his face and kissed him. Even as the ballad morphed into a high energy song, she didn’t let go of him.
Everything—Dr. Pillay, the nightmare, the car chase—went away. Right then, the only people who existed were him and Jade, and, if was up to him, Langston would never stop kissing her. He felt balloons bounce lightly on his head and arms and heard the fireworks bursting outside, but
he didn’t notice the cloud of confetti that had begun swirling upwards around the two of them like a slow motion cyclone.
Chapter Ten
“Are you serious?” Langston complained to the computer in the lab. He entered the ID number of the nano batch he’d injected again. “ID DOES NOT EXIST” flashed on the screen.
“Yes, it does,” Langston argued. He carefully entered each number again.
ID DOES NOT EXIST.
“Great. Just great.”
Not only were the nanos ineffective, but now they were lost somewhere in his body. There had been talk of making biodegradable units, but the materials were expensive, so the initial rollout of nanos needed to be extracted. Until he figured out a way to get an MRI of himself without anyone knowing, their location would remain a mystery.
He exited the application and sat staring at the home screen. Guess my cloaking program worked a little too well.
Everett appeared in the doorway holding three paper bags. “Time to eat!”
Langston followed him to their office.
“They were out of roast beef, so I got you turkey,” Everett said. “Cool?”
“Yeah.” Langston dug into his bag and pulled out a sandwich. “Thanks for the food run.”
Everett crammed six fries in his mouth. “Iumfrahhway.”
“What?”
Everett held up a finger, chewed, and swallowed. “I said I needed fresh air anyway. Dr. Pillay is all up in my business about my simulation.”
“The arterial reconstruction?”
Everett nodded.
“Why?” Langston unwrapped his food. “It’s not due until March.”
“Exactly. I was like, ‘It’s January.’ He was all, ‘I know what month it is.’” Everett rolled his eyes and crammed in more fries.
Langston took a bite of his sandwich. They’d been back for two weeks, and it was evident to the students, staff, and faculty that Dr. Pillay was more agitated than usual. Langston rolled his chair to the door and closed it, lowering his voice. “Do you think it has something to do with that Antoinette lady?”
“Oh! Speaking of, I asked Dana about her.”
Langston nearly choked. “What?”
“Relax.”
Langston coughed. “Relax? I thought we agreed to keep it between us. What did you say to her?”
The Wiseman Revelation (The Wiseman Series Book 2) Page 8