Gretchen McNeil - 3:59

“I’ve missed you,” Jo says. She pushes off the car with a thrust of her pelvis and snakes her way over to Nick. He stands frozen, his eyes locked on to hers as she places a hand on his chest and slowly traces it down the front of him. “I’ve missed every part of you.”

“Josie?” Nick says. His voice is husky. “Wh-what’s gotten into you?”

Jo smiles. “Oh, you know. With all those unexplained murders recently, I’ve just been reevaluating my life. What I want. Who I want.”

“Oh.”

“Didn’t you hear?” Jo says. She hooks a finger into Nick’s belt loop. “Two more bodies found this morning. That makes six this week alone.”

Nick takes a step toward her. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess that would make you question . . . things.”

Jo leans forward, pressing her chest into his. “Do you want me to show you what I’ve been thinking about?”

Nick swallows. His head bends down to meet Jo’s upturned face. She can feel his want and she smiles to herself. That was too easy. What was wrong with Josie that she couldn’t keep him?

His lips graze her own when suddenly, his body stiffens.

“Nick!” Madison races across the parking lot and pulls Jo away from Nick. “What the fuck are you doing? Were you kissing her?”

Jo laughs hysterically, uncontrollably.

“This isn’t funny,” Nick snaps. He grabs Madison by the shoulders. “I wasn’t doing anything, I swear. I was just shocked. But we’re done.” He glances at Jo, his face hard. “There’s definitely nothing between us anymore.”

Jo sobers up immediately. She’s heard that before from Nick. But this time, she doesn’t quite believe him.

“Whatever you say, Nick.” Jo tosses her hair, casting an exaggerated wink at him as she turns to leave.

We’ll just see about that.

2:43 P.M.

“ARE YOU SURE THIS IS GOING TO WORK?” NICK said. He fidgeted with the tie Josie had brought for him to wear for his fake interview. “I mean, do you even know what you’re looking for?”

Josie reached over to the driver’s seat and straightened his tie, just like she used to do for her dad—her real dad—on the rare occasion he had to wear one. “What, yes. Where, not a clue.”

“Oh, that’s comforting.”

Josie smiled. “Isn’t it?” She patted Nick’s tie. “Just stick to the script, okay? You’re a potential Grid employee, scouting out post-graduation jobs. We just have to act like stupid high-school kids, ask the right questions, and hope we get lucky.”

Nick pursed his lips. “I thought you scientific types didn’t believe in luck.”

“We don’t.”

With a sigh of resignation, Nick stepped out of his car and into the afternoon sunshine. Josie followed, and together they stood side by side at the entrance of the National Headquarters of the Grid.

The building was unpretentious, all metal and glass in a utilitarian style popular in the 1970s. The entrance was unguarded, and employees came and went as they pleased with the use of security badges tethered to their clothes on retractable cords. But other than that, the headquarters for one of the most powerful companies in the world was oddly informal.

Four stories, lined straight across with windows showcasing a variety of mundane office tasks. In one window, a woman stood at a copy machine, staring out onto the lush grounds of Fort Meade. In another, two men sat at rapt attention while a woman in a lab coat diagrammed at a whiteboard. In a third, a man had his feet up against the window, his chair tilted back, as he gabbed away on the phone.

Where the government hospital at Old St. Mary’s had been like gaining access to a maximum-security prison, as Josie and Nick strolled up to the main entrance to the Grid, it felt like they were walking into the DMV for a license renewal.

After a check-in at the receptionist’s desk, which produced two visitor’s badges, a young man in khaki pants and a tucked-in polo shirt hurried into the lobby.

“Nicholas Fiorino?” he said, extending his hand to Nick.

Nick flashed a giant shit-eating grin. “That’s me.”

“Richard Katz,” the young man said, pumping Nick’s arm furiously. “Director of Public Outreach for the Grid.” His gaze drifted to Josie. “And you must be Josephine Byrne,” he said in somewhat reverential tones.

Now it was Josie’s turn to fake-smile. “You can call me Jo.”

Richard took her hand in both of his and shook it delicately, as if he was afraid she might break. “It’s lovely to meet you, Miss Byrne.”

“Jo,” Josie corrected.

“Right.” Richard gingerly let go of Josie’s hand, but his eyes never left her face. “And you may call me Richard.”

Josie caught a glimpse of Nick rolling his eyes, and fought hard to suppress a giggle.

“Well, now that introductions are complete, shall we begin the tour?”

Nick cleared his throat and launched into the speech Josie had painstakingly coached him on during their drive to Fort Meade. “Absolutely. I’m most interested in the recent developments in free-electron—”

“How about you, Miss Byrne?” Richard said, crossing right in front of Nick without so much as acknowledging his presence. “What can I show you here at the Grid that might pique your interest?”

Josie wasn’t used to getting hit on, especially by grown men who could spend thirty to life in state prison for so much as laying a hand on her. The thought of playing up to Richard Katz, Director of Public Outreach, kind of turned her stomach, but if it could get them the information they wanted, she was all for it.

“Actually,” Josie said with a soft smile, “I’m most interested in the recent developments in free-electron lasers. Particularly in their applied usage for Project Raze.”

Richard’s eyes grew wide. “I’m not authorized to escort tour groups through the upper laboratories. Technically, they are government facilities, sponsored by the Grid but not directly controlled by us, and they’ve clamped down on access since . . . er, I mean . . .” His voice trailed off and his eyes shifted back and forth uncomfortably.

“You mean since the explosion that killed Nick’s brother and sent my mom into a mental hospital?” Josie tried to sound as innocent as possible while still pressing her advantage. Maybe if she made Richard feel like a big enough douche, he’d show them what they wanted to see.

“Um, yes.”

“Please?” Josie said, laying it on thick. “Just a quick look? It would mean a great deal to me.”

Nick was having a hard time controlling himself. Standing just out of Richard’s line of sight, he was going into convulsions as he tried to keep himself from laughing out loud.

“Well . . .” Richard checked the time on his watch. “I suppose we could do a quick walk-through of the fourth floor.” He glanced up at Josie. “But perhaps it would be best if you didn’t mention this to your father?”

Josie smiled. “I wouldn’t even think of it.”

Richard obligingly guided Nick and Josie up to the fourth floor. He prattled on about how the Grid isn’t just a power company, but a philanthropic research facility as well. He preened over the importance of the research they conducted, its lasting impact on humanity, his own crucial position within the organization. When the elevator opened on the fourth floor, he walked briskly down the halls, throwing out the occasional factoid about one or another ongoing project while his eyes scanned the hallway, anxious lest someone find them up there.

Josie was only half listening as they blew past closed door after closed door. She kind of wanted to ask him about the shelters Madison had mentioned where poor people who couldn’t afford extravagant power bills from the Grid were forced to relocate, but she didn’t want to antagonize him. Besides, she had more important things to think about. Security, for instance. While the main entrance of the building displayed a pointed lack of it, on the fourth floor, each and every door was barred by an access-card reader. Even the restrooms. Some had a doctor’s name stenciled onto the door; others just a department label. Josie had no idea what she was looking for; only in Saturday-morning cartoons did secret bad-guy headquarters have “Secret File Rooms” conveniently displayed for meddling kids.