Chapter Twenty
And just like that, the honeymoon phase was over.
On our way back, Gabby called and asked that we head straight to the lab.
I knew we still had a lot of work to do, so I was grateful for the stolen time Kevin and I’d had together.
Still, it sucked to be back in reality. He dropped me off with one last kiss before heading out to get rid of the car.
I watched him drive away, already missing the bubble we’d been in.
When I walked in, Andrew was unconscious, lying on a table they’d turned into a makeshift bed. I stared in disbelief as David wiped the side of his head. “Is that blood coming out of his ears?”
“Yes. Are you sure you caught all the chips in his body?”
“I thought I did. But we were moving so fast, it’s possible I missed something? I’m not sure now.”
“You should know his nose was also bleeding earlier,” David said, stepping aside so I could get a closer look.
I took my bracelet off. “I probably just need to heal him.”
“Not yet,” David said. “We actually gave him a sedative to avoid any pain. If you heal him, it might wake him.”
“We don’t want that yet, young lady.”
“Dr. Ryder! I didn’t know you were here.”
“Oh, but I am.” He walked up with a wand that lit up in bright green when he turned it on. Dr. Ryder looked at me and said, “I do believe this is reading you. Would you mind taking a few steps back?”
I jumped out of his way. God knows the last thing I needed was some kind of rambling speech from the man.
Immediately, the light turned to red. Dr. Ryder scanned his own arm, and it was all red.
Then he moved on to Andrew and started on his feet.
“Clear.” He moved on to his full leg. “Clear.” Then the pelvis area.
“Clear.” When he moved to the stomach area, it was glitching back and forth with red and a faint green.
“Perhaps his side. David?”
David motioned for me to help, and we propped Andrew on his side, using a blanket to help him stay in place.
“Right there,” Dr. Ryder said, proceeding with the wand. “Curious, isn’t it? No Luminary powers in his bloodwork, yet there are these—”
“What? He doesn’t have powers?” I asked.
“No. Which is good, right? We were told not to give him a bracelet,” David said.
“Oh, yes. It would appear Mr. Cole has been stripped of his gift.” Dr. Ryder scanned his back and his neck.
The wand turned bright green in both areas.
“But as you can see, there are some parts of his body that are functional. Perhaps the chips are Luminary-infused?” He turned to look at his partner, who was scratching his chin. “David?”
“That would be my guess, yes. Not fully operational, but they have some power.”
“Well, there you have it.” Dr. Ryder raised his hands. “Why don’t you disarm them, Ms. Ryan?”
I nodded and placed my hands over Andrew’s back and neck. I concentrated until I felt the little pops. “Want to scan him again?”
Dr. Ryder moved the wand upward from where he left off. “I have to go slow to make sure we don’t make any mistakes. Please take another step back, young lady.”
His chest and arms were clear. His temples and eyes were not.
“I really thought I caught it all. Why are there so many?”
“Unable to tell,” Dr. Ryder said. “But they’re not operational. I believe if they were, he’d be gone by now. They do, however, have some minor power left in them.”
I quickly did my thing and short-circuited the remaining chips. “These feel different. Smaller . . . barely there?”
“Aha! Exactly right! I, too, had to tweak my wand here to scan any energy, not just Luminary powers. Several times indeed.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nanites, perhaps, David?”
“It makes the most sense. They’ve been working on nanite technology for years; that must be it.
It explains how Ryan missed it.” David nodded, looking at me.
“You’d have to know to look for something very faint, easily confused with normal cellular activity.
For now, it would be best if you’d heal Andrew’s body in case there’s any lasting effect from the implants. He will wake.”
I did as asked and helped Andrew sit up. “How you feeling?”
“Ryan?” Andrew stretched his neck from side to side. “Good. I’m good.”
“Yes, yes, young lady. He’s good. We’ll give it a few more days to ensure this phase is over, then we will check on him again.” He patted Andrew on his back. “Mr. Cole, why don’t you go with Gabby? She’ll give you some tea to keep you warm.”
Gabby looked up from her laptop and raised an eyebrow but nodded. Dr. Ryder watched as she took him to the other room, then turned to look at his partner.
David raised his hands. “Well, Marcus. What is it?”
“I have a theory, but I might be wrong.” He shook his head. “I believe the nanite chips are recharging via Mr. Cole’s blood as it pumps. But perhaps this young lady here has already disarmed them completely.”
“Why don’t we remove them now?” I asked.
“We cannot. We must be sure that is, in fact, the case, or it will all go wrong.” He looked toward the door. “Nanites are probably impossible to—Never mind. I do not want to worry Mr. Cole, but his life could be in danger. We must monitor the situation for now.”
After that, I kept a close eye on Andrew.