CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Saint and the others watched as Marilisa and Griffin walked up and down the long, tree-lined drive. Sometimes, they would stop and stare at one another. Other times, they would laugh.
“Are you alright?” Saint asked Trevor.
“I am,” he nodded. “I meant what I said. There’s enough love for everyone. She deserves to know her biological parents, and it’s obvious those she thought were her parents were not.”
“I’m going to protect her, Trevor. I’m not going to let anyone get to her.”
“I know,” he nodded.
“How’s everyone doing?” asked Ivy, Bryce’s wife.
“Well, we’re still trying to figure out how all this pink dust and pink particles in everyone’s brains work. But, we’re good,” smirked Saint.
“Let’s wait to see the slides on our new folks before we assume they have pink particles as well,” said Gabi. Ivy was frowning at them, deep in thought.
“What’s wrong?” asked Trevor.
“It’s just that, well, maybe this isn’t pink at all.”
“It looks pink on the slides,” said Gabi. “And all the people who were at The Depot said there was pink dust everywhere. What are you thinking?”
“It’s something we learn in photography. Everything is based on light. You can’t always trust what you’re seeing with the naked eye. Pink, for instance, even pink radiation that I’ve tried to photograph, isn’t really pink.”
“Wait, you were trying to photograph pink radiation?” asked Saint.
“It’s a long story, but it was for an article about a leaking reactor. Anyway, it wasn’t pink at all. It’s an illusion. A mix of red and blue light that makes it appear pink. But it’s not.”
“Shit,” muttered Riley, looking at Gabi. “It might not be pink at all. We need to change the way we’re looking at these particles. We’ve been trying to find the source of something pink. It might be that we need to look for the source of two things that are blue and red.”
“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.”